You can thank Indiana’s role in history for speaking English instead of French or Spanish. It’s an often-overlooked part of history.
That’s the message retired Indiana University Northwest professor Ken Schoon gave his audience at the Dunes Learning Center on Sunday.
Two historical markers in Northwest Indiana tell of a skirmish between British and American troops during the Revolutionary War. One is near Trail Creek at Indiana Dunes State Park; the other is at Krueger Memorial Park in Michigan City. Each claims to be at the site of the battle.
“People who live in Porter County and LaPorte County are fiercely loyal of their historical marker,” Schoon said.
The story begins with George Rogers Clark leading a group of Virginians to capture the British fort at Vincennes in February 1779. After a two-day siege, British commander Lt. Col. Henry Hamilton surrendered the fort.
“People in the Calumet region decided if they could do that, we can do the same thing,” Schoon said. “Grab your muskets. Let’s go capture Fort St. Joseph,” near present-day South Bend and Niles, Michigan.
“They found the doors were open and there was nobody inside because it was winter and the British had gone out hunting to provide enough food, so these American patriots went in, they took control of the fort without firing a shot,” Schoon said. The next morning, they took all the mink and muskrat pelts stored in the fort and headed west.
The British returned from their hunting expedition, saw people had been there and that the cooking fire was still hot, and pursued the Americans. The British caught up with the Americans near the shore of Lake Michigan at Le Petit Fort. The Americans were led by Lt. Tom Brady, for whom Mount Tom at Indiana Dunes State Park is named, Schoon said.
Eighth graders run up the second of three dunes at Indiana Dunes State Park on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Mount Tom, one of those dunes, is named for Revolutionary War Lt. Tom Brady. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune)
Le Petit Fort wasn’t much of a fort, he said. It had a stockade fence built mostly to keep the deer out of the garden, not to repel human invaders.
The actual location of the fort, though, is the subject of some debate. It was near a creek, according to accounts, but that could be either Dunes Creek or Trail Creek, which had yet to be named, Schoon said.
In 1781, the Spanish showed up at Fort St. Joseph and again found the doors open because the British were out hunting. They took down the Union Jack and hoisted the Spanish flag, then returned to St. Louis. This time, the fire was cold, so the Spanish troops weren’t pursued and captured, Schoon said.
During peace talks in France, Benjamin Franklin pushed for this area to be part of the United States because of George Rogers Clark’s victory at Vincennes. Spain said it should belong to them because of their victory at Fort St. Joseph. “Everybody laughed,” Schoon said.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
