Fort Dearborn massacre

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Date	August 15, 1812
Location	Chicago
Result	Indian & British victory

Combatants

Potawatomi
United Kingdom

United States

Commanders

Chief Blackbird

Nathan Heald

Strength

500+

69 military + civilian dependants

Casualties

39 military + 27 civilians

Detroit frontier
Tippecanoe – 1st Mackinac Island – Maguaga – Fort Dearborn – Detroit – Fort Harrison – Fort Wayne – Mississinewa – Frenchtown – Fort Meigs – Fort Stephenson – Lake Erie – Thames – Longwoods – Prairie du Chien – 2nd Mackinac Island – Lake Huron – Malcolm's Mills

The Fort Dearborn massacre occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn, Michigan Territory (in what is now Chicago, Illinois) during the War of 1812. The massacre followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the U.S. General William Hull. This event is also sometimes known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn.

Fort Dearborn's commander Captain Nathan Heald ordered all whiskey and gunpowder to be destroyed so it would not be seized by the local Indian tribes allied with the British. He then prepared to abandon his post. Heald remained at Fort Dearborn until support arrived from Fort Wayne, Indiana, led by his wife's uncle, Captain William Wells. A column of 148 soldiers, women and children then left Fort Dearborn intending to march to Fort Wayne. However, about one and a half miles (2 km) south of Fort Dearborn, a band of Potawatomi warriors ambushed the garrison, killing more than fifty and capturing the remainder as prisoners to sell to the British as slaves. The British did purchase the captives, but released them immediately afterwards.

Fort Dearborn was burned to the ground, and the region remained empty of U.S. citizens until after the war had ended. The massacre is commemorated on the flag of Chicago as the first red star.