Papers contain materials on the War of 1812 in the West, including correspondence (1812-1817) of the territorial governors of Illinois and Missouri, Ninian Edwards and William Clark, concerning military operations in Illinois and American attempts to secure Indian allies.
Among the materials are two letters (1813-1814) of Brigadier General Benjamin Howard, concerning the military situation in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; material on the destruction of Fort Dearborn in August 1812; an 1820 manuscript history of the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo tribes by Major Morrill Marston of the 5th U.S. Infantry, stationed at Fort Armstrong; letters from John C. Calhoun, Thomas L. McKenney, Pierre Menard, and William Clark; a copy of the 1833 Chicago treaty with the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi; land records for a Spanish tract west of Mississippi granted to Julien Dubuque; maps of the upper Mississippi showing other rivers, forts, trading sites and Indian villages; and Fort Armstrong Indian agency records (1822-1830) noting traders, boatmen, interpreters, names of tribes, and receipts and disbursements.
Also present are letterbooks (1814-1833) of outgoing correspondence to government, military, and business associates noting the War of 1812, the death of Tecumseh, biographical sketches of Tecumseh and Main Poque, a Potawatomi warrior, Forsyth’s travels as Indian agent throughout northern Illinois, Prairie du Chien, and Fort Snelling (1818-1820), intertribal warfare of the Sauk and Fox tribes against the Sioux (1822), rising tensions caused by white hunters and lead miners invading Indian lands in northern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin, attempts to discourage white squatters from hunting and trapping on Indian territory; the treaty of Prairie du Chien (1825); and the Winnebago. Correspondents include William Clark, Ninian Edwards, Benjamin Howard, Thomas L. McKenney, Lewis Cass, and successive Secretaries of State William Eustis, John C. Calhoun, and James Barbour. Prominent Indian leaders discussed are the Potawatomi Black Partridge and Gomo; the Sauk Keokuk; the Shawnee prophet (brother of Tecumseh); the Sioux chiefs Red Wing, Little Crow, and Wabasha; and the Winnebago prophet Tomah (also known as Thomas Carron).
Other letterbooks, 1817-1833, contain copies of incoming correspondence and instructions from John C. Calhoun, William Clark, and Thomas L. McKenney and outgoing correspondence to William Clark noting the routine affairs of the agency, the rising tide of discontent among portions of the Sauk and Fox tribes due to their removal to Illinois, white encroachment on mineral lands owned by the Indians, sketches of leading chiefs and braves of the Sauk and Fox nation, essay about the fur trade radiating from St. Louis, and suggestions for securing better qualified Indian agents.
Writings by Forsyth include a manuscript entitled “Manners and Customs of the Sauk and Fox Nations of Indians,” containing accounts of tribal traditions, history, government, religion, customs of war and peace, family life, medicine, hunting practices, and language; descriptive data on the Chippewa, Kickapoo, Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Winnebago tribes, and the Shawnee prophet; and a visit to an encampment of the segment of Kickapoo in October 1832.
