Fort Johnson

Fort Johnson was a U.S. Army post built on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in modern-day Warsaw, Illinois, during the War of 1812. The fort was established in September 1814 by Major Zachary Taylor, future 12th President of the United States (1849–1850). Troops retreating from the Battle of Credit Island constructed the fort after effectively surrendering control of the upper Mississippi to the British and allied Indian tribes, including the Sauk. The fort, which held a full company of men, was completed in just a few weeks, and had a commanding view of the Mississippi valley, the mouth of the Des Moines River, and the foot of the Des Moines Rapids. Because of the chaotic situation along the Mississippi River frontier, the fort was abandoned in late October 1814 after provisions ran out. The company retreated to Cap au Gris near St. Louis. Black Hawk described the founding of the fort and a skirmish in his autobiography: A party of braves followed to watch where they landed, but they did not stop until they got below the Des Moines Rapids, where they came ashore and commenced building a fort. I did not want a fort in our country, as we wished to go down to the Two River country in the fall and hunt, it being our choice hunting ground, and we concluded that if this fort was built, it would prevent us from going there. We arrived in the vicinity in the evening, and enca

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