of Alexander, Pulaski, Union, Johnson, Massac and nearby counties Fort Massac Fort Massac history, 250th celebration May 18, 2007 Metropolis - Fort Massac - reconstruction | encampment | pictures Fort Ascension, as it was known in 1757, was established to solidify France's claim to the lower Ohio River Valley. Later rebuilt and renamed “Fort Massiac” in 1759, after the French Foreign Minister, the fortification was abandoned by the French at the close of the French & Indian War with the British and Colonists. Prior to the arrival of a British force, the Chickasaw seized the opportunity to burn the empty fort. In 1778 George Rogers Clarks' spent the night on the site prior to beginning the march to liberate Mississippi Valley French settlements from British control during the Revolutionary War. The American “Fort Massac” was built on the site of the ruined French fort in 1794 to stabilize a volatile region where British, Spanish, French, American and Native American interests collided. The fort served as an effective deterrent to large-scale aggression in the region and hosted a succession of historically significant persons that included Lewis & Clark en route to explore the Louisiana Purchase, General and soon to be President Andrew Jackson and the infamous Aaron Burr seeking to establish a personal empire in the West. After being damaged in the New Madrid earthquakes and seeing service in the War of 1812, the fort was abandoned in 1814. Local residents soon dismantled the fort for its timber. The site was later a Union encampment during the Civil War. (see Ft. Massac menu links) Cantonment Wilkinsonville This short-lived military post (1801-1805) supplanted Fort Massac for a few years and the largest military outpost in the fledgling United States with an 800-1000 man garrison. The post consisted of over 20 log barracks, numerous support structures, a headquarters, a stone powder magazine and a log palisade enclosing the compound. About 400 acres were cleared with the site overlooking the Ohio River at the head of the Grand Chain of Rocks, about 14 miles above the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and near the old French Tannery. Little remains today of the post with the exception of about 70 unmarked soldiers' graves including that of Revolutionary War Lt. Colonel David Strong, commander of the post. The purpose of the Cantonment was to strengthen the U.S. military presence in an area subject to the intrigues of the European powers and succession-minded Westerners unhappy with the policies of the young American Congress. The troop buildup at the post reflected Alexander Hamilton's wish to go to war with France and the build down occurred after President John Adams averted hostilities at a crucial time in American history. The Cantonment had hosted Generals William Henry Harrison and Wilkinson to settle Indian treaties. It is also ascribed to be the meeting place of General Wilkinson and Aaron Burr who conspired to carve a new republic out of the West. { see WilkinsonVille ) Fort Defiance More a railhead and supply depot than a fortification, Fort Defiance and the City of Cairo became one of the most important pieces of real estate in the country at the beginning of the Civil War. By June of 1861, 12,000 Union Troops occupied the area and another 38,000 men were within a one-day ride. The site became an important supply depot for Grant's Western Army and a naval base as the Union and Confederacy battled for control of the lower Mississippi. The Union shipped supplies from Chicago to the far tip of Illinois via the Illinois Central Railroad, fueling Grant's push deep into the Confederacy and altering the course of the War Between the States. pic: cannons at Ft. Defiance These descriptions are from a Shawnee College news release. <
Ohio River Valley History
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