Siege of Fort Wayne

For the civil war battle, see Battle of Old Fort Wayne.
Siege of Fort Wayne
Part of the War of 1812

Fort Wayne[1]
DateSeptember 5–12, 1812
Location
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Result United States victory
Belligerents
Miami
Potawatomi		 United States
Commanders and leaders
Winamac James Rhea
William Henry Harrison
Strength
500 warriors 100 (garrison)
3,000 (relief force)
Casualties and losses
About 25 killed[2] Hundreds

The siege of Fort Wayne took place from September 5 – September 12, 1812, during the War of 1812. The stand-off occurred in the modern city of Fort Wayne, Indiana between the U.S. military garrison at Fort Wayne and a combined force of Potawatomi and Miami forces. The conflict began when warriors under the Potawatomi chiefs, Winamac and Five Medals killed two members of the U.S. garrison.[3] Over the next several days, the Potawatomi burned the buildings and crops of the fort's adjacent village, and launched assaults from outside the fort. Winamac withdrew on 12 September, ahead of reinforcements led by Major General William Henry Harrison.[4]

The attack on Fort Wayne was one of several attacks on U.S. military outposts by the Potawatomi in September 1812. Other coordinated attacks occurred at Fort Dearborn, Fort Harrison, Pigeon Roost, and Fort Madison.[5][6]

  1. ^ Lossing, Benson (1868). The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812. Harper & Brothers, Publishers. p. 315.
  2. ^ Allison (1986), p. 212.
  3. ^ Hickman, Kennedy (6 November 2019). "War of 1812: Siege of Fort Wayne". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ Tucker, Spencer, C. (2014). Encyclopedia of the Wars of the Early American Republic, 1783–1811. ABC-CLIO, LLC. pp. 357–783. ISBN 978-1598841572.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Gilpin (1958), pp. 137, 139.
  6. ^ Skaggs 2014, p. 124.