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1812: The Fort Dearborn massacre takes place near Lake Michigan on what is now 18th St. Chicago....only it wasn't a massacre. It was a single 10-15 minute battle in two wars The Pan-Indian uprising under Tecumseh and early round of the War of 1812 when British interests had made allies of the western native Americans. (British politics!??) Led by 400 Pottawattamie warriors, the battle lasted 10 minutes. American Legion Captain Wells, a longtime veteran and Indian agent, adopted and raised by Indians, knew the Indians would attack and had painted his face black: a sign of bravery, a sign to the Pottawattamie that he knew their intentions, and as a sign that he knew he was going to die. As the evacuated garrison walked down the beach, Wells rode in advance to keep an eye on the Pottawattomie, and he was one of the first to go down when they attacked. Wells disengaged from the main battle and attempted to ride to the aid of those at the wagons. In doing so, he was brought down; according to eyewitness accounts he fought off many Native Americans before being killed, and a group of Indians immediately cut out his heart and ate it to absorb his (raw)courage...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wells_(soldier) Ensign Ronan, also dying bravely leading 90 civilians to safety, was the first commissioned West Point Corps of Cadets graduate to die in battle. A sculpture: "Defense" mounted adjacent to the site of Fort Dearborn, centered the bas-relief on an unnamed junior officer who was depicted performing the role — protection of civilians — that Ronan tried to carry out in reality. Ronan Park a 3-acre park located at 3000 West Argyle Street on the Chicago River, is named in his honor.American loss: 26 regulars, all 12 of the militia, two women and twelve children killed, with the other 28 regulars, seven women and six children taken prisoner...some would later be ransomed. Seen from the perspective of the War of 1812, and the larger conflict between Britain and France which precipitated it, this was a very small and brief battle, but it ultimately had larger consequences in the territory. Arguably, for the Native Americans, it was an example of "winning the battle but losing the war": the U.S. later pursued a policy of removing the tribes from the region ie The Northwest Territories, resulting in the Treaty of Chicago, which was marked at its culmination in 1835 by the last great Native American war dance in the then nascent city. Thereafter, the Pottawatomie and other tribes were moved further west. Fort Dearborn was rebuilt in 1816. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Dearborn (<one of five sources)