Fort Wayne (fort)

[1] The first fort with that name was built in 1794 by Captain Jean François Hamtramck under orders from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne as part of the campaign against the Miami during the Northwest Indian War.

It was constructed to secure the territory gained in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in which Wayne had recently been victorious.

On October 22, 1794, with construction nearly complete, and in honor of the fourth anniversary of Harmar's Defeat, the fort was officially dedicated by the US Army in the early morning hours with fifteen cannon rounds to symbolize the fifteen states of the union.

The new fort contained multiple guard houses and Indian "factories" (trading posts).

[10] Captain James Rhea, who had retreated to his quarters on the grounds of being ill, was in charge of the fort and considered surrendering, but his two lieutenants relieved him of duty.

Captain Rhea was formally relieved of duty and one of the lieutenants, named Ostrander, was given official command of the fort.

On March 30, Little Turtle, William Wells, and the two Quakers embarked southwards of Fort Wayne to survey lands best suited for a farm.

This region, known as the "Great Marsh", characterized the southern rim along Fort Wayne, and extended down to where Huntington, Indiana exists today.

[11] The group would eventually set upon an area 20 miles southwest of Fort Wayne along the Wabash River, where attempts were made to teach the natives on farming and tilling of the soil.

The Eagle Marsh preservation in Fort Wayne is one of the lasting remnants of these original marshland ecosystems.