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Blue Mounds Fort

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Fort Blue Mounds
Sign across the river from the original site.
LocationDane County, Wisconsin, USA
Nearest cityBlue Mounds
BuiltMay 10, 1832
NRHP reference No.01001044
Added to NRHPSeptember 24, 2001

Fort Blue Mounds, also known as Blue Mounds Fort, was located in Blue Mounds, Dane County, Wisconsin, USA.

History

The settlement of Blue Mounds was founded in 1828 by Ebenezer Brigham on the south slope of the eastern mound of the Blue Mounds.[1] When word arrived that Chief Black Hawk and his 1200 Sauk followers had crossed the Mississippi River, it was decided that a fort needed to be built in order to protect the settlers.[1]

On May 10, 1832, the construction of Fort Blue Mounds began with the combined help of the residents of Blue Mounds along with newly promoted Colonel Ebenezer Brigham leading them.[2][3][1] The fort was built a mile south of Eastern Mound on the highest part of the open prairie.[3] This allowed for an extensive, commanding view of the open country for miles.[3] People who defended the fort, were able to see to the east, south, and west with the mound bounding the northern side of the fort.[3]

World quickly arrived at the settlement of an engagement between Black Hawk's people and Illinois militia on May 14, 1832.[1] The battle was called the Battle of Stillman's Run, and the Illinois militia had been defeated by the indians.[1] This brought fear to the settlers, and they worked quickly to complete the fort that in about two weeks, the fort was completed.[3][1] What also may have contributed to their fear, was the closeness of the Ho-Chunk tribe.[1]

From May 20 to September 20, 1832, the settlers and miners joined General Henry Dodge's Michigan Territory Militia during the Black Hawk War.[2][1]

James Aubrey was the first to command at the fort, but after his death when he was killed by the Indians on June 6, his first lieutenant Edward Beouchard took command of the fort.[3] He wouldn't command long before Captain John Sherman would succeed him in command of the fort.[3][1]

Archaeology

The site of the orignal fort was owned by Colonel Brigham's decendants until it was donated to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin who dedicated the place as a state historical site on September 5, 1921.[2] Through the evacation, it was found that the layout of the fort was very similar to that one at Apple River Fort.[1]

Design

The entire fort was surrounded by a picket-fence that was about one hundred and fity feet in length on each side.[3] The wall was made from oak trees that ranged in height from sixteen or seventeen feet, with three feet of the trunk planted in the ground.[3] At two of the corners of the fort were two, twenty foot square block-houses.[1][3] Inside the wall was a log-building in the center of the fort that was thirty by twenty feet that would be used as a store-house and barracks.[1][3]

Significance

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l [Birmingham, Robert. "Uncovering the Story of Fort Blue Mounds," Wisconsin Magazine of History, Spring 2003. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Wisc mag of History pg. 124 Retrieved on August 19, 2007
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wisc Hist Soc Retrieved on August 19, 2007
  • Sources


Category:Forts in Wisconsin Category:Registered Historic Places in Wisconsin Category:Dane County, Wisconsin Category:Black Hawk War

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