Chicago and the Old Northwest, 1673-1835 / A study of the evolution of the northwestern frontier, together with a history of Fort Dearborn

by Milo Milton Quaife

APPENDIX IX

THE FATED COMPANY: A DISCUSSION OF THE NAMES AND FATE OF THE WHITES INVOLVED IN THE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE

No comprehensive record of the names and fate of those who composed the company which marched out of Fort Dearborn under Captain Heald on the morning of August 15, 1812, has ever been made. Here for the first time, a hundred years after the massacre, an effort is made to supply such a record. Such success as has been achieved is due to a study, in addition to the sources of information which have been used by previous workers in the local historical field, of several new sources unknown to or unused by students hitherto. The most important of these is the Fort Dearborn muster-roll for May 31, 1812. This, together with the list of survivors given by Lieutenant Helm, the data left by Captain Heald,[969] and the letter of Judge Woodward to Colonel Proctor constitutes the basis of the present study.

[969] Aside from the Fort Dearborn muster-roll for May 31, 1812, the papers left by Heald which are of chief importance for our subject are the following: the official report of the evacuation (Appendix IV); Heald's Journal (Appendix III); the Fort Dearborn quarterly returns for the quarter ending June 30, 1812; the monthly return for June, 1812; a tabular statement concerning the troops engaged in the massacre and their fate; a summary statement concerning the women, and concerning the men who perished in captivity. With the exception of the official report all of these papers are in the Draper Collection.

At the outset of the effort to name and account for the members of the fatal company, a difficulty is encountered concerning the precise number of regular soldiers in Heald's company. In his official Report, Heald stated that his force of regulars numbered fifty-four. Whether he intended to include himself in this number is not clear. The tabular statement, preserved among his papers, of the composition of his force and its fate, which gives the total strength of his company as fifty-four, exactly one-half of whom were slain, would seem to indicate that he did. Yet the latter document disagrees with the Report in the number of slain, which the Report gives as twenty-six. Turning to Heald's Journal we find the number of soldiers slain in the battle placed at twenty-six, and the number of survivors at twenty-seven, which would give a total strength of fifty-three. There is reason for believing that the number of regulars slain in the battle was in fact twenty-six, but it is manifestly impracticable to determine certainly, from the accounts left by Heald, the exact strength of his company on the morning of the massacre. Heald had, to the end of his life, the garrison muster-roll for May 31, 1812, and other contemporary records, and these are still preserved. An examination of them suggests an explanation of the reason for his conflicting statements. The garrison muster-roll for May 31 and the monthly return for June each show a strength of fifty-five men, while the quarterly return of June 30 and the inspection return of the same date show a strength of fifty-four. The first two agree in showing four officers and fifty-one non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates present; the third shows three officers and fifty-one of lesser rank present, and the fourth four officers and fifty of lesser rank. There is disagreement, then, between the contemporary returns over the number of the garrison at the end of June; yet it is evident that its nominal strength at that time was four officers and fifty-one men of lesser rank, although one of the fifty-five may possibly have been absent. There is no reason to suppose that there was any alteration in this number between the end of June and the fifteenth of August. Without venturing to say that there is any unquestionable preponderance of evidence that the strength of Heald's company, including himself, on the latter date was fifty-five rather than fifty-four, from a consideration of all the factors involved I incline to believe that it was. In the calculations and statements that follow, therefore, it is to be understood that the total number of regular soldiers involved in the massacre is reckoned as fifty-five.

Including the commander, then, ninety-six persons comprised the doomed company which evacuated the fort on the morning of the fifteenth of August. These fall logically into several groups, varying greatly as to size: John Kinzie, a neutral and non-combatant; Wells, the leader of the Miamis; the nine women and eighteen children of the company; the twelve Chicago residents composing Heald's "militia" company; and finally the fifty-five regulars. The first two of these require but little consideration here, as the fortune of each has been discussed elsewhere. Wells was slain, while Kinzie passed unscathed even through the carnage around the wagons where not another white man escaped with his life.

There is no uncertainty respecting the fate of the women of the company. The subject has already been discussed at length and only a brief recapitulation need be given here.

No. Name Fate
1 Cicely, Mrs. Heald's negro slave Killed in battle
2 Mrs. Fielding Corbin Killed in battle
3 Mrs. Heald Returned to civilization
4 Mrs. Helm Returned to civilization
5 Mrs. Lee Returned to civilization
(Ransomed by Depain and
Buisson at Chicago)
6 Mrs. Holt Returned to civilization
(Possibly the woman ransomed
along with Mrs. Lee)
7 Mrs. Burns Returned to civilization
8 Mrs. Simmons Returned to civilization
9 Mrs. Needs Died in captivity of exposure
and hardship

Of the eighteen children in the massacre only a very incomplete record can be made from the sources that have come to light thus far. Neither Mrs. Heald nor Mrs. Helm had children; each of the remaining seven women, with the possible exception of Mrs. Corbin, had one or more. Mrs. Burns had several, some of whom bore her former name of Cooper; probably several belonged to Mrs. Lee. Black Cicely had one child, and Mrs. Simmons two. One child each at least, and perhaps more, belonged to Mrs. Needs and Mrs. Holt. Twelve of the children perished in the massacre, most of them in one wagon at the hands of a single fiend, and six survived it. One of these, the Needs child, met perhaps the saddest fate of all the company, being tied to a tree by the savages and left behind to die. The other five returned with their mothers to civilization. Two of them belonged to Mrs. Burns, and one each to Mrs. Simmons, Mrs. Holt, and Mrs. Lee.

Unless additional sources of information shall come to light, the names of most of the members of the Chicago "militia" will forever remain unknown. All of the twelve men were killed in the combat except the leader, Thomas Burns, who, badly wounded, was killed a short time later by a squaw. One of his followers was his stepson. Joseph, or James, Cooper; Lee, the farmer, must have been another although there is no positive record to this effect. Of the others the names of but one or two can be conjectured even. If the boy who escaped from the April massacre was the son of Lee, he doubtless was one of the militiamen. Probably Louis Fettle, who lived at Chicago from 1803 to 1812 and then disappeared from recorded history, was still another. In this connection the conjecture may be hazarded that Pierre LeClaire, the half-breed interpreter, was one of the twelve. Griffith represents that he deserted at the beginning of the fight, for which Griffith at first intended to kill him, but relented when LeClaire pleaded that it was the only way to save his life. If the suggestion that LeClaire was one of the militiamen be accepted, the statements of Heald and others that all of them perished must be regarded as erroneous. This view, however, would explain Heald's statement in his Journal, otherwise erroneous, that twelve militia, including Wells perished.

I have reserved for consideration last the most perplexing problem, that concerning the regulars of the Fort Dearborn garrison. The names of the fifty-five men are preserved in the muster-roll of May 31, 1812. The only man who attempted to record the names of those who survived the battle was Helm, and his list, while incomplete, and inaccurate in various respects, furnishes the most convenient starting-point for determining the names of those slain in the battle, and the subsequent fate of the survivors. Excluding Burns, the militiaman. Helm lists the following twenty-seven survivors:

1. Captain Nathan Heald
2. Lieutenant Lina T. Helm
3. Sergeant John Crozier
4. Sergeant Wm. Griffith
5. Corporal Joseph Bowen
6. John Smith, fifer
7. Private Prestly Andrews
8. Private Fielding Corbin
9. Private James Corbin
10. Private Daniel Daugherty
11. Private Dyson Dyer
12. Private Nathan Edson
13. Private John Fury
14. Private Richard Garner
15. Private Paul Grummo
16. Private Wm. N. Hunt
17. Private James Latta
18. Private Michael Lynch
19. Private Elias Mills
20. Private August Mortt
21. Private John Needs
22. Private Joseph Noles
23. Private Thomas Poindexter
24. Private John Smith
25. Private James Starr
26. Private John Suttenfield
27. Private James Van Horn

As far as it goes the accuracy of this list is confirmed by other sources of information, except for Andrews and Starr, concerning whose fate there is no mention elsewhere. On the other hand Woodward, whose information was obtained from Heald and Griffith, names Denison and McCarty, the former badly wounded, among the survivors; the report of the nine survivors who arrived at Plattsburg, New York, in 1814, adds the name of Hugh Logan; while David Kennison, who was buried at Chicago with great civic pomp forty years later, evidently survived the massacre despite the fact that his name does not appear in any of the sources. We have, therefore, the names of thirty-one survivors, three more than there actually were. Probably two of the names in error are those of Andrews and Starr, mentioned above; possibly the third is that of Logan, although obviously there can be certainty respecting none of the three. A comparison of this list with the complete garrison roll discloses the names of those certainly slain in the battle, twenty-four in number, as follows:

1. Surgeon Isaac Van Voorhis
2. Ensign George Ronan
3. Sergeant Isaac Holt
4. Sergeant Otho Hays
5. Corporal Thomas Forth
6. George Burnett, fifer
7. John Hamilton, drummer
8. Hugh McPherson, drummer
9. Private John Allin
10. Private George Adams
11. Private Asa Campbell
12. Private Stephen Draper
13. Private Nathan A. Hurtt
14. Private Rhodias Jones
15. Private Samuel Kilpatrick
16. Private John Kelso
17. Private Jacob Landon
18. Private Frederick Locker
19. Private Peter Miller
20. Private Wm. Moffett
21. Private Wm. Prickett
22. Private Frederick Peterson
23. Private David Sherror
24. Private John Simmons

There were twenty-six slain, however, according to Heald's Report and Journal. The two names needed to complete the list are probably those of Prestly Andrews and James Starr.

We have thus reached, although not with absolute certainty in every case, the names of twenty-nine survivors and the twenty-six who lost their lives in the battle. It remains to follow the fortunes of the former and trace out those who perished in captivity and those who finally returned to their countrymen. Helm's list is of little assistance here, for his account of the fate of the survivors is both incomplete and inaccurate. The fate of twelve of the twenty-seven on his list is left a blank; opposite the names of five stands the word "released," and opposite two "deserted." In fact, eleven perished in captivity and eighteen returned to civilization. It is evident that Helm was ignorant of the arrival of the nine Fort Dearborn soldiers at Plattsburg in the spring of 1814, and of the news they brought of their comrades who had perished in the wilderness. One of the nine he records as killed, one as released, and leaves the fate of the others blank. Why Hunt and Crozier should have been set down as deserters is not apparent. In fact, the former froze to death in captivity, while the latter effected his release through the agency of a friendly Indian.

The most practicable starting-point for determining the names of those who perished in captivity and those who escaped from it is afforded by Heald's tabular statement. This indicates that twenty-seven survived the battle, nine of whom died in captivity, and eighteen returned to civilization. Our study, however, has already established the names of twenty-nine survivors of the battle. On the assumption, which there are strong reasons for making, that the two not included in Heald's statement perished in captivity, the names of all belonging to the latter class, and of all who were restored to freedom, can be determined. Elsewhere Heald gives the names of nine who died in captivity. They were:

1. Richard Garner
2. Wm. N. Hunt
3. James Latta
4. Michael Lynch
5. August Mortt
6. Hugh Logan
7. John Needs
8. Thomas Poindexter
9. John Suttenfield

The accuracy of this list is confirmed by other sources with respect to all except Poindexter, concerning whose fate there is no mention elsewhere. The two names wanting to complete the list of those who perished in captivity are Micajah Denison and John Fury, who according to Woodward were so badly wounded in the battle that but little hope was entertained of their recovery.

With this list of eleven as our basis it is possible to determine with reasonable assurance the names of the men who were tortured to death the night following the massacre. Forsyth's letter shows that Lynch and Suttenfield, badly wounded, were killed by the Indians, while en route to the Illinois River. The report of the Plattsburg group of survivors accounts for the death of four others. Hunt froze to death; Needs died about the middle of January, 1813, probably from the hardships of his captivity; Logan and Mortt were tomahawked because of their inability to keep up with their captors. The five remaining, Garner, Latta, Denison, Fury, and Poindexter, are evidently the men who were tortured to death at Chicago. Concerning the first two we have the positive statement of Woodward in his letter to Proctor. The belief that this was the fate of the others rests, obviously, on inference and deduction.

To determine the names of the eighteen who returned to civilization it is now necessary only to eliminate these eleven names from the list of the twenty-nine survivors already given. Concerning the return of twelve of the eighteen there are positive records, while that of Kennison may safely be inferred from our knowledge of his later life and death at Chicago. Of the other five no mention or record has been found, and their names are obtained only by the process of analysis which has already been gone through. In the list that follows these five are given last:

1. Captain Nathan Heald
2. Lieutenant Lina T. Helm
3. Sergeant Wm. Griffith
4. Corporal Joseph Bowen
5. Private James Corbin
6. Private Fielding Corbin
7. Private Dyson Dyer
8. Private Nathan Edson
9. Private Paul Grummo
10. Private Elias Mills
11. Private Joseph Noles
12. Private James Van Horn
13. Private David Kennison
14. Sergeant John Crozier
15. Private Daniel Daugherty
16. Private Duncan McCarty
17. John Smith, fifer
18. Private John Smith (father of the preceding)

Although some doubt necessarily attends the conclusions which have been reached concerning the fate of some of the members of the Fort Dearborn garrison, practical certainty attaches to the conclusion reached concerning the great majority, and it is believed that the present study is as accurate and complete as can be made with the sources of information at present available. The study may properly conclude with a tabular recapitulation, embodying the conclusions reached as to the names and fate of the regular soldiers of the Fort Dearborn garrison on the morning of August 15, 1812.

1. Nathan Heald Capt. Returned to civilization
2. Lina T. Helm 2nd Lieut. Returned to civilization
3. George Ronan Ensign Killed in battle near the baggage wagons
4. Isaac Van Voorhis Surgeon's mate Killed in battle near the baggage wagons
1. Isaac Holt Sergeant Killed in battle
2. Otho Hays Sergeant Killed in battle in individual duel with an Indian
3. John Crozier Sergeant Returned to civilization
4. Wm. Griffith Sergeant Returned to civilization
1. Thomas Forth Corporal Killed in battle
2. Joseph Bowen Corporal Returned to civilization
1. George Burnett Fifer Killed in battle
2. John Smith Fifer Returned to civilization
3. Hugh McPherson Drummer Killed in battle
4. John Hamilton Drummer Killed in battle
1. John Allin Private Killed in battle
2. George Adams Private Killed in battle
3. Prestly Andrews Private Killed in battle
4. James Corbin Private Returned to civilization
5. Fielding Corbin Private Returned to civilization
6. Asa Campbell Private Killed in battle
7. Dyson Dyer Private Returned to civilization
8. Stephen Draper Private Killed in battle
9. Daniel Daugherty Private Returned to civilization
10. Micajah Denison Private Badly wounded in battle; tortured to death the ensuing night
11. Nathan Edson Private Returned to civilization
12. John Fury Private Badly wounded in battle; tortured to death the ensuing night
13. Paul Grummo Private Returned to civilization
14. Richard Garner Private Tortured to death the night after the massacre
15. Wm. N. Hunt Private Frozen to death in captivity
16. Nathan A. Hurtt Private Killed in battle
17. Rhodias Jones Private Killed in battle
18. David Kennison Private Returned to civilization; died at Chicago in 1852
19. Samuel Kilpatrick Private Killed in battle
20. John Kelso Private Killed in battle
21. Jacob Landon Private Killed in battle
22. James Latta Private Tortured to death the night after the massacre
23. Michael Lynch Private Badly wounded; killed by the Indians en route to the Illinois River24. Hugh Logan Private Tomahawked in captivity because unable to walk from fatigue
25. Frederick Locker Private Killed in battle
26. August Mortt Private Tomahawked in captivity
27. Peter Miller Private Killed in battle
28. Duncan McCarty Private Returned to civilization
29. Wm. Moffett Private Killed in battle
30. Elias Mills Private Returned to civilization
31. John Needs Private Died in captivity
32. Joseph Noles Private Returned to civilization
33. Thos. Poindexter Private Tortured to death the night after the massacre
34. Wm. Prickett Private Killed in battle
35. Frederick Peterson Private Killed in battle
36. David Sherror Private Killed in battle
37. John Suttenfield Private Badly wounded; killed by the Indians while en route to the Illinois River
38. John Smith Private Returned to civilization
39. James Starr Private Killed in battle
40. John Simmons Private Killed in battle
41. James Van Horn Private Returned to civilization