[411] Kingsbury Papers, records of court martial proceedings, passim.
Two specific instances will be cited, in both of which Captain Whistler acted as president of the court martial. On May 23, 1811, Peter Sendale, a private soldier, was tried for drunkenness. The accused pleaded guilty, but advanced the ingenuous excuse by way of extenuation that he had worked hard all day in the Colonel's garden, that he had the latter's permission to go and get a drink, and that he "took a little too much." Notwithstanding this plea he was sentenced to receive twenty-five lashes on the "bear back." In the other case two men were charged with desertion. They admitted the offense, but pleaded in mitigation of it that they had repented of the act and were returning to their post of duty when arrested. The testimony given satisfied the court of the truth of this, yet the prisoners were sentenced to pay the cost of their apprehension and to be confined at hard labor with ball and chain for a period not to exceed one year. The court took occasion to observe that the punishment was not proportioned to the heinousness of the offense, and that its mildness was due solely to the testimony concerning the prisoners' belated repentance.
We may now direct our attention to Fort Dearborn itself and to those persons who composed its official family from 1803 to 1812. There exist two contemporary pictures of the fort and its surroundings in the year 1808, one the verbal account of Surgeon Cooper as recorded by James Grant Wilson,[412] the other a diagram carefully drawn to scale by Captain Whistler, and accompanied by a summary verbal description.[413] The river at that time made a sharp turn about an eighth of a mile from the lake, and after running in a general southerly direction lost itself in the lake a mile south of its present mouth. The fort was built on a slight elevation close to the bend of the river, which enveloped it on its northern and eastern, and to some extent on its western, sides. The barracks and other structures for the accommodation of the garrison were built around the four sides of a quadrangle, facing inward toward the center. Two blockhouses, one containing two small cannon, the other containing one, stood at the northwestern and southeastern corners of the quadrangle, and the whole was inclosed within a double row of palisades, so arranged that the blockhouses commanded not only the space without the four walls, but also that inclosed between the two rows of palisades. Thus if an enemy should scale the first row he would only find himself within a narrow inclosure between that and the second which was swept at every point by the fire from the blockhouses. From the northwest corner of the stockade to the river was a distance of eighty feet, and from a point midway of the eastern side it was sixty yards.
[412] Wilson, Chicago from 1803 to 1812.
[413] The original is in the files of the War Department at Washington. Because of its historical value the verbal description which accompanies the drawing is reproduced here:
INDEX ANNEXED TO THE DRAUGHT OF FORT DEARBORN &C.
No.
1 Block Houses
2 Port Holes for Cannon
3 Loop Holes for small arms
4 Magazine
5 Inward Row of pickets
6 Outward Row of pickets
7 Main Gate
8 Wicket Gate
9 Guard House
10 Comm'g Officers Barracks
11 Officers Barracks
12 Soldiers Barracks
13 Contractors Store
14 Hospital Store
15 Asst. Military Agt. Store
16 Small Houses in the garrison
17 Agents House
18 Factors House
19 Interpreters House
20 Armerers Shop
21 Merchants Shop
22 Bake House
23 House in Factors Dept.
24 Stables
25 River Cheykago
26 Banks of said River
27 Wharf of said River
28 Low ground between said bank & River.
29 Beach between Sd. River and Lake.
30 John Kinzie Esq. House on the opisite side River
31 Oather Dwelling Houses on opisite side River
32 Old Grist Mill Worked by Horses
{ N. 33 Covered Way to procure Water } Omited in their places
{ N. 34 Gutters to carry off the Water }
Note. the Barracks are two storeys high with shingled Roofs and Galliaries fronting the parade. The measurement of the Garrison including the Block Houses And Barrick are laid down at' twenty feet to the Inch the Cupolas are not yet built on the Block Houses as laid down. The Dwelling houses mentioned in the Indian Department are laid down at forty feet to the Inch, the oather houses without any Regular rule. The River is not regularly surveyed but still gives a strong Idea of Its Courses it is about six miles in length, except in high water, at which time there is no portage to the Illinois River.
The distances from the defirant places to the Garrison as mentioned with Red Ink on & red lines, are accurately measured, but not laid down by a scale. The woodland on the reserve Lyes on the north, & west, sides of the Garrison except a small strip of woods about one mile in length and two hundred yards in breadth. Lying on the bank of the river south west of the Garrison. Along the Margin of Said Woods, is good medow and supplyes the Garrison with hay. On the North and west sides of the Garrison there has been a quantity of underwood and shruby Bushes such as prickly Ash &c. they are now cut down and cleared off, all within one Fourth of a Mile of the Garrison.
On the south and southwest sides of the Garrison is a large parraria on which stands The aforesaid strip of woods as laid down in the Draught, and the distance from the Garrison three fourths of a Mile. On the East side is the Lake. There has been A picket fence on the Opisite side of the river, northwest of the Garrison as laid Down, this fence might serve as a Barrier against the Garrison as the pickets were five feet in length, sufficient in thickness to prevent a Musket Ball from doing execution to an Enemy lying behind them. I thought it proper for the safety of the Garrison to have them taken up and replaced with a common rail fence. At this time the Garrison (except the Houses on the Opisite side of the river being somewhat in the way) is perfectly secure from any ambuscade or Barrier.