Old Fort Madison (Fort Madison, Iowa)
Fort Madison · Iowa · War of 1812
History & Significance
A disputed 1804 treaty with the Sauk and affiliated tribes led the U.S. Army to establish a post near the mouth of the Des Moines River; the Army ultimately settled on a location at present-day Fort Madison. The fort was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States.
The initial garrison consisted of 60 men of the U.S. Army's First Infantry Regiment crowded inside a five-cornered fort measuring 120 by 160 feet. During its early years, the fort was a popular trading location and one of the highest-volume factories in the government system, where tribes exchanged fur, lead, and other goods for manufactured items including axes, traps, knives, and firearms.
In September 1812, hostile Sauk and Fox bands besieged the fort, and the post commander ordered the burning of the trading factory outside the fort to prevent Indians from using it as a fire source against the garrison. Throughout 1813, Winnebago and Sauk forces launched repeated attacks, killing soldiers and harassing the fort with burning arrows.
With supply lines failing and starvation threatening by late 1813, the post commander ordered the fort destroyed to prevent its use by British or Indian forces, and the garrison escaped by river to St. Louis. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. A replica fort was built in 1988 to resemble the original structure.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Reconstructed War of 1812 fort with palisade walls and period buildings
- Original archaeological site showing pre-1813 fort remains
- Exhibits on fur trade, Native American relations, and Mississippi River history
- Strategic riverfront location overlooking the Upper Mississippi River
- War of 1812 garrison life and frontier military operations
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Madison,_Iowa
- https://www.fortmadison-ia.com/203/History-of-Fort-Madison
- https://historicoldfortmadison.org/
- https://www.forttours.com/pages/fortmadison.asp
- https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/e9370644-7fe5-43b0-80af-6b9f311dda5d