Fort Shelby/Fort McKay (Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin)
Prairie du Chien · Wisconsin · War of 1812
History & Significance
Fort Shelby was a United States military installation in Prairie du Chien, built in 1814. It was named for Isaac Shelby, Revolutionary War soldier and first governor of Kentucky.
American forces arrived in Prairie du Chien on June 2, and on June 6 began building the fort on a large mound north of the main village. Although the defenses were unfinished, the barracks were occupied by June 19.
Both nations were anxious to control the site because of its importance to the fur trade and its strategic location at the intersection of the Mississippi River and the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a transportation route linking the Mississippi with the Great Lakes. On July 17, 1814, Lt. Col. William McKay along with British forces and 400 Indian allies began a siege of the American fort.
On July 20, the Americans officially surrendered and vacated the fort. The British renamed the fort Fort McKay after Major William McKay, the commander of the forces that won the battle.
Fort McKay remained under British control until 1815, when the British destroyed it before leaving the area. When news of the war's end finally reached the British at Fort McKay in April 1815, the British troops returned to Mackinac, burning Fort McKay upon their departure.
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Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Shelby_(Wisconsin)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Prairie_du_Chien
- https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS392
- https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS1696
- https://villalouis.wisconsinhistory.org/explore/
- https://www.fortcrawfordmuseum.com/history-war-of-1812.html
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/war-1812/battles/prairie-du-chien
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_du_Chien,_Wisconsin