DATE VISITED: 05/01/2015
HISTORICAL
SITE: Fort Wayne
LOCATION: U.S. Highway 59, just north of Watts,
Adair Co., Oklahoma
MARKER #: 65-1995
“Fort Wayne established in 1838 by Lt. Col. R.B. Mason, 1st
Dragoons, U.S. Army, at request of Arkansas citizens fearing Cherokees who were
being removed from southeastern U.S. Named in honor of Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne,
the fort was originally located in the NE corner of present-day Watts on a hill
overlooking Illinois River. Considered poor location because many soldiers died
there, including Capt. John Stuart, 7th Infantry. In 1839, fort was
abandoned and moved to Beatie’s Prairie, west of Maysville, Arkansas. That site
abandoned in 1842 and troops moved north to establish Fort Scott, Kansas”
PERSONAL
REFLECTIONS:
Driving down the highway I see this historical marker coming
up and I quickly pulled to the side of the road. I wish I had done more of this
on our way out here but I was unsure how long everything would take and my
relatives in Arkansas were expecting us at a certain time.
My photographer…Dana…took the picture and we were on our way
again. It’s funny, in the Sacramento area and to a lesser degree, in California
as a whole, I may not know the history behind a lot of the landmarks but they
are familiar on some level. We get out of my home area and I don’t have the
faintest idea why something would be determined historical.
There were two “Fort Wayne’s” built. The fort established in
1838 was the second “Fort Wayne”, the first being built by Capt John Stuart of
the 7th Infantry.
Mason was ordered to move the Fort from the south bank of the
Illinois River headwaters to Spavinaw Creek in Indian Territory.
While it was built to relieve the fear by the residents of
northwestern Arkansas that the Cherokee’s were settling in the area, it was
mainly built to protect a military road and became a link in Forts built to
protect the “new” American West.
The 2nd Fort was abandoned in 1842 because the
large number of soldiers coming down with malaria and in an ironic twist…was
handed over to the Cherokee Nation, the very people it was built to offer
protection from.
When the Civil War started, the Cherokee leader Stand Watie
took over the site and formed the Cherokee Mounted Rifles, part of the Confederacy.
In 1862, the Union met the Confederates for the Battle of Old Fort Wayne and in
a surprise attack, forced the Confederate Forces to retreat almost 70 miles,
leaving behind most of their artillery and capturing Col. Stand Watie.
I read that until the landmark was put up most residents of
the area didn’t know that Fort Wayne had even existed. It’s good that someone
did because it would be a shame to lose this history and I’m really glad that
we took a couple of minutes to grab a picture.
The etching of the fort above is of Fort Wayne, Indiana -- not Fort Wayne, Indian Territories.
ReplyDeleteThank you for letting me know. I am an amateur but I do like to be as accurate as I can be. I've removed the picture until I can do more research. Again, thanks!
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