Fort Brown's Namesake (1812) OR (1795)?

Fort Brown's Namesake -Mystery Solved?

Where is Fort Brown? 

Fort Brown is located on the west bank of the Auglaize River 20 miles north of Fort Jennings. It was one of a chain of forts built along the Auglaize river during the War of 1812 to support troops moving to the front lines and to keep supply routes open.

Historical Marker at Fort Brown

41° 6.699′ N, 84° 24.881′ W

FORT BROWN was built m 1812 by a "Col. Brown."
Together with Fort Jennings and Fort Amanda to the
south, and Fort Winchester to the north, it guarded
the army supply route into the Maumee Valley. In
1813 Gen. Greene Clay's Kentucky Militia, forming
the left wing of Harrison's army, passed this site in
boats on their way to relieve besieged Fort Meigs.
According to tradition several soldiers are buried
on this site

Setting the Stage 

Harrison's 1812 war plan called for capturing the British stronghold at Detroit before Winter weather set it. He was still at St. Marys in September that year with 3000 Kentucky volunteers. His second-in-command, Gen. James Winchester, was at Ft. Wayne with a force of 2000. The plan called for Winchester to advance along the Maumee as far as Defiance and halt there and wait for supplies and further orders. Meanwhile, Harrison ordered Lt. Col. William Jennings to advance with his regiment along the Auglaize deliver a large herd of cattle, food and other supplies to Winchester once he arrived in Defiance.

On Sept. 30, Harrison received word that Winchester was unknowingly marching toward a large British and Indian force near Defiance. Jennings receiving the same word immediately halted (Fort Jennings, Oh) and threw up a temporary encampment of fallen trees and brush. Lt. Col. Pogue and Barbee were at St. Marys so Harrison quickly assembled his 3000 man force and started immediately for Defiance. The sense of urgency in the situation is witnessed by the fact that despite the terrible weather, Harrison's force advanced 30 miles that day and arrived Jennings encampment just as the sun was going down.

When it was discovered that it was a false alarm, Harrison ordered Lt. Col. Barbee to return to St. Marys, and Pogue, to finish cutting a road to Defiance. Once done Pogue was to return to the "old Ottawa Town" 12 miles from St. Marys and build a stockade.

The red line represents the road Pogue was to cut from Jennings to Defiance a distance of 35 miles. Forts were normally constructed 20 miles apart as that was a typical days march for soldiers.

Dead Ends

On of the most frustrating things about doing historical research is that one can spend hours, days even months following a lead only to find out it leads to a dead end. Such was the case in something I read at this site: https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=18989

In the "Historical Sketch - Paulding County, Ohio," when discussing the early military history of the county, it states the following: "It was first traversed by Americans under Gen. 'Mad' Anthony Wayne in 1794 enroute to the Battle of Fallen Timbers. During the War of 1812, it was crossed again by Gen. James Winchester, who fought a running battle across Emerald Twp. with the British and Indians. Also in 1812, Ft. Brown was built at the confluence of the Big and Little Auglaize Rivers by a detachment of Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison under Colonel Samuel Wells."

My first thought was to check to see if Colonel Samuel Wells was ever in the area of the Fort Brown site. Turns out he may not have been. Harrison's papers indicated that Colonel Wells was at Shane's Crossing (Rockford, Oh) in Mercer County in September 1812, 35 miles from Brown and the next time I find him is at Fort Wayne where he joined Winchesters forces later that month. Dead End. It seems likely Wells's troops didn't built Fort Brown so whose did?

The one thing we know for certain is that it was built before March 1813. That's proven by 2 sources. The first from a journal entry kept by Ensign William Schillinger at Fort Amanda. On March 24, he wrote:

Wednesday, the 24th of March, 1813
Weather cold & cloudy, All hands busy raising a block house - our Major dispatch,d our orderly sergeant and one Man on express to forts - Jennings, Brown & Defiance - Our Men which had been complaining all able to walk about

The second was a journal entry written by Lieutenant William Shafor of the Ohio militia. On April 12, 1813 he wrote:

“April 9th, we were ordered to Amanda, and on the same night started to Fort Jennings, arriving there on the 11th. On the 12th we went to Brown and on the same night to Defiance and on the 14th to Fort Meigs.

The $1,000,000 Question

So here's the million dollar question: Is it possible Pogue's men built Fort Brown and if so, who was Brown?

Harrison had ordered Pogue to cut a road from Jennings encampment to Defiance a distance of 35 miles (the red line). The army built forts 20 miles apart (a days march) and coincidentally, at 20 miles, one days march, from Jennings Fort Brown was built.

Here's What We Know

Pogue's Command	Officers	Men
Lt. Col. Pogue, Robert (Staff)	2	9
Capt. Simon R. Baker	3	41
Capt. Joseph C. Belt	3	75
Capt. William Brown	3	80
Capt.  Clemmons	3	59
Capt. John Dowden	3	98
Capt. Washington Kennedy	3	63
Capt. John McKee	3	79
Capt. George Matthews	3	56
Capt. Whitehead	3	37
Capt. McGuire	3	57
Capt. Thompson Ward	3	64
Waggoners (teamsters)		10
Totals (officers & men)	35	728

Consider This

This from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress - http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000947


BROWN, William, a Representative from Kentucky; born in Frederick County, Va., April 19, 1779; attended the common schools; moved with his father to Bourbon County, Ky., in 1784 and to Cynthiana, Harrison County, Ky., about 1795; studied law; was admitted to the bar and practiced; served as a colonel in the War of 1812; member of the State house of representatives; elected as a Republican to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819-March 3, 1821); moved to Jacksonville, Morgan County, Ill., in 1832, where he died October 6, 1833.

COINCIDENCE?

The 1830 Morgan County Illinois census shows William Brown living just 10 doors away from another Fort Amanda soldier; Sgt. Baxter Broadwell of Capt. Daniel Hosbrook's company in the tiny village of Jacksonville, Illinois. Consider this:

Pogue was ordered to cut a road from Jennings to Defiance.
Fort Brown was built half way (20 miles) between the two points

• Captain William Brown, one of Pogue's company commanders was later promoted to Colonel.
• William Brown and Baxter Broadwell were lawyers and both were very involved in politics and both moved to and died in Jacksonville, Illinois during a cholera epidemic; Brown in October 1833 and Broadwell in December 1833.
• 
  
• My Theory (at the moment)
• I believe that Fort Brown was built by and named for 34 year-old Captain William Brown (b.1779 - d. 1833) a company commander in Pogue's regiment assigned to build the road between Jennings and Defiance. Brown was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Kentucky militia. He went on to a distinguished law career and served in the United States Congress. In his later years, he moved to the village of Jacksonville, Illinois and lived a short distance from Baxter Broadwell, a sergeant in Daniel Hosbrook's company at Fort Amanda.

Information from the website: Findagrave

Name: Col William Brown Sr
Birth Date: 19 Apr 1779
Birth Place: Frederick County, Virginia, United States of America
Death Date: 26 Oct 1833
Death Place: Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, United States of America
Cemetery: Wood Wreath Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: New Berlin, Sangamon County, Illinois, United States of America
Has Bio?: Y
Spouse: Harriet Burgess Brown
Children: James N Brown
Ruth Ann Smith

  OR

There was A  Colonel William Brown an officer in General Wayne’s army.  As Wayne was preparinjg to build his post; Head of Auglaize near Tawa Town, did he a post named Fort Brown.  It was more than a one day jouney from Tawa Town to Defiance using the  Auglaize meaning he would have needed at least 1 post between Tawa Town and Defiance.