Fort Dearborn

The History of the Controversial Battle of Fort Dearborn during the War of 1812 and the Settlement that Became Chicago

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Colin Fluxman

Tucked safely away in storage is an unnamed sculpture commissioned by George Pullman and sculpted by Carl Rohl-Smith depicting the "Fort Dearborn Massacre". It was originally installed near the mansion of the creator of the Pullman Palace Car Company, which manufactured railroad sleeping cars in the mid-19th century. Although placing such a sculpture at that location may initially sound weird, the Pullman mansion had been built on the site of a controversial battle that took place at an old, historic European fort along the Chicago River in Illinois in 1812. The ongoing fighting between white settlers, militias, Army units, and Native Americans not only bled into the War of 1812 but was one of the main causes of it. Many Americans chaffed at the fact that along the Northwestern frontier, the British in Canada were supporting Indian resistance to American settlement. So-called "war hawks" from that region in Congress pushed for a declaration of war, and many hoped that a war would not only stop Indian depredations but evict the British from Canada and lead to completion of some unfinished business from the American Revolution, namely Canada joining the US.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors

Two Things Would Improve It

Like many works from Audible, I think this one would be improved by a PDF map, or two. Second, pronunciation of some of the tribal names was inconsistent, and I think may have been incorrect. At least, it did not always match what I had heard growing up near Chicago. Overall? I still thought it was very good.