Fort Ouiatenon was a Blockhouse Fort in Indiana along the Wabash River.
French period
Fort Ouiatenon was originally constructed by the French government as a military outpost to protect against Great Britain’s western expansion. Its location among the unsettled woodlands of the Wabash River valley also made it a key center of trade for fur trappers. French merchants and trappers from Quebec would arrive at Fort Ouiatenon in search of beaver pelts and to take advantage of trade relations with the native Wea Indian tribes.
In 1717, Ensign François Picote de Beletre (related to another Picoté de Bélestre, see Adam Dollard des Ormeaux) arrived at the mouth of the Tippecanoe and Wabash with four soldiers, three men a blacksmith and supplies to trade with the nearby Wea people, an Algonquian-speaking nation closely related to the Miami people. They built a stockade on the Wabash, eighteen miles below the mouth of the Tippecanoe. François-Marie Bissot, the Sieur de Vincennes assumed command of the fort sometime in the 1720s. The French settled on the north bank, with Wea villages on the south bank.[3]
In order to convince the Wea to trade exclusively with the French, the Governor-General of New France, Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, issued permits for trade at Ouiatenon. Traders immediately began to bring a steady flow of goods to the new town.[4] Soon the officials in Louisiana sent more men to help Vincennes to hold the Wabash River.[5] Ouiatenon was described as "the finest palisaded fort in the upper country," and was one of the most successful trading posts in the region.[6] At its peak level of activity during the mid-18th century, Fort Ouiatenon may have supported over 3,000 residents,[7], and it was central to a hub of five Wea and two Kickapoo villages.[8]
British period
After the surrender of New France to the British in September of 1760, Robert Rogers dispatched troops to occupy Ouiatenon. a contingent of British soldiers led by Lieutenant Edward Jenkins arrived in 1761, capturing and occupying the fort.[9]
On June 1, 1763, during Pontiac's War, the Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten peoples captured Ouiatenon.[10] They surprised Lieutenant Jenkins and his men and captured Fort Ouiatenon without firing a shot (Somewhere around 20 soldiers in the garrison). Seven similar posts were also captured in the widespread Indian uprising against the British presence.
The British made little use of Fort Ouiatenon after the French and Indian War; it was never garrisoned. In the mid-1770s, the fort was described 70 yards from the Wabash river.
The Ouattanon nation of Indians is on the opposite side, & the Kiccaposses are round the Fort, in both villages about 1000 men able to bear arms.[11]
As late as 1778, Ouiatenon was a staging ground for war parties fighting on behalf of the British government. [12]
Yup, Lieutenant Edward Jenkins is JJ"s Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather!!! All this sculpting is just a family thing for him, a monument to past Jenkins !!!!
This is so so diorama friendly. Let's face it - we got the Blockhouse, the Jetty for the Wabash River, the Palisade, Roger Rangers in preparation who could easily be depicted as being suprised, attacking Indians --- it's really not the Raid on Saint Francis but the Raid on Fort Ouiatenon!!!!
Ransom Stoddard: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
On second thought, I might be stretching this a tad too far --- I so love conspiracy theories!!!
.
French period
Fort Ouiatenon was originally constructed by the French government as a military outpost to protect against Great Britain’s western expansion. Its location among the unsettled woodlands of the Wabash River valley also made it a key center of trade for fur trappers. French merchants and trappers from Quebec would arrive at Fort Ouiatenon in search of beaver pelts and to take advantage of trade relations with the native Wea Indian tribes.
In 1717, Ensign François Picote de Beletre (related to another Picoté de Bélestre, see Adam Dollard des Ormeaux) arrived at the mouth of the Tippecanoe and Wabash with four soldiers, three men a blacksmith and supplies to trade with the nearby Wea people, an Algonquian-speaking nation closely related to the Miami people. They built a stockade on the Wabash, eighteen miles below the mouth of the Tippecanoe. François-Marie Bissot, the Sieur de Vincennes assumed command of the fort sometime in the 1720s. The French settled on the north bank, with Wea villages on the south bank.[3]
In order to convince the Wea to trade exclusively with the French, the Governor-General of New France, Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, issued permits for trade at Ouiatenon. Traders immediately began to bring a steady flow of goods to the new town.[4] Soon the officials in Louisiana sent more men to help Vincennes to hold the Wabash River.[5] Ouiatenon was described as "the finest palisaded fort in the upper country," and was one of the most successful trading posts in the region.[6] At its peak level of activity during the mid-18th century, Fort Ouiatenon may have supported over 3,000 residents,[7], and it was central to a hub of five Wea and two Kickapoo villages.[8]
British period
After the surrender of New France to the British in September of 1760, Robert Rogers dispatched troops to occupy Ouiatenon. a contingent of British soldiers led by Lieutenant Edward Jenkins arrived in 1761, capturing and occupying the fort.[9]
On June 1, 1763, during Pontiac's War, the Wea, Kickapoo and Mascouten peoples captured Ouiatenon.[10] They surprised Lieutenant Jenkins and his men and captured Fort Ouiatenon without firing a shot (Somewhere around 20 soldiers in the garrison). Seven similar posts were also captured in the widespread Indian uprising against the British presence.
The British made little use of Fort Ouiatenon after the French and Indian War; it was never garrisoned. In the mid-1770s, the fort was described 70 yards from the Wabash river.
The Ouattanon nation of Indians is on the opposite side, & the Kiccaposses are round the Fort, in both villages about 1000 men able to bear arms.[11]
As late as 1778, Ouiatenon was a staging ground for war parties fighting on behalf of the British government. [12]
Yup, Lieutenant Edward Jenkins is JJ"s Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather!!! All this sculpting is just a family thing for him, a monument to past Jenkins !!!!
This is so so diorama friendly. Let's face it - we got the Blockhouse, the Jetty for the Wabash River, the Palisade, Roger Rangers in preparation who could easily be depicted as being suprised, attacking Indians --- it's really not the Raid on Saint Francis but the Raid on Fort Ouiatenon!!!!
Ransom Stoddard: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.
On second thought, I might be stretching this a tad too far --- I so love conspiracy theories!!!
.