Jersey County, Illinois - Chapter 9: Indian Troubles, 1919

Incitement Of Indians

During: the brewing; of the troubles which led to the second war between the United States and Great Britain, the Indians were incited to cause considerable trouble. Not only did they steal anything of value upon which they could lay their hands but they killed and made captives of settlers of Illinois. To protect the settlers blockhouses and stockades were erected in all of the settlements.

These blockhouses for the protection of the lives and property of the settlers, were built of logs, the second story crossing the first story at the corners, with loopholes for rifles. The stockades were made of logs or poles, set close together in the ground, and twelve to fifteen feet in height, with gates of heavy puncheon plank, securely fastened on the inside, and wide enough for the passage of carts either in or out. These were built so as to include a well or spring. When there was only one family, or a small number of persons to protect, only one blockhouse would be built in the stockade, but frequently there was one at each corner of the stockade, and the size of the stockade varied according to the number of these blockhouses. The largest and most pretentious of the blockhouse forts was erected one and one-half miles north of the present site of Edwardsville, and was named Fort Russel, after Col. William Russel. The cannon from the ruins of old Fort Chartres were removed and installed in the new fort, making it the strongest and best ap¬ pointed, as it was the largest, of any of the forts in the territory. During the Indian troubles of 1812-14, Governor Edwards, as commander-in- chief of the Illinois troops, made this fort his headquarters, and spent here most of his time when he was not actually engaged in the field on expeditions against the Indians. He made three of these expedi¬ tions, from each one of which his army returned from its campaign of perils and hardships without finding the enemy, and without suffer¬ ing loss, to headquarters at Fort Russel.

Conditions At Fort Russel

Here at Fort Russel, were gathered about the governor, within the protecting walls of the stockade, much of the talent, fashion and wealth of the territory, and here his excellency presided with all of the courtly grace and dignity befitting his exalted office of governor of the vast territory of Illinois, and commander-in-chief of its armies. Dress parades and balls, his excellency, with his most beautiful and accom¬ plished guests, leading the festivities, were of frequent occurrence. These were the safety valves, relieving the pressure of the burdens of state, and the fear and anxiety caused by the Indian depredations throughout the territory.

Indian Massacres

The massacre at Fort Dearborn, Chicago, occurred August 15, 1812, when the whole American force, and women and children were killed or captured. On July 10, 1814, at Woodriver, six miles east of the present site of Alton, Mrs. Reagan, her twro children, two sons of Wil¬ liam Moore, and two sons of Abel Moore, were brutally murdered, while passing through the woods from the cabin of William Moore to the Reagan home, by a band of Indians. The details of this horrible occurrence were given in an address delivered by Hon. Thomas J. Selby of Hardin, Calhoun County, at the anniversary celebration of the establishment of Jersey County, August 5, 1914, from facts gathered from persons who were present at the burial of the victims of this brutal outrage. This massacre made a profound impression throughout this part of the country; the Indians were followed by Capt. Samuel Whitesides and his company of rangers, to the Sangamon River, where the leader was shot in a tree top, and in his belt was found the scalp of Mrs. Reagan. The rest of the band scattered and escaped in the woods.