Following the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, tribes of the Western Confederacy including the Potawatomi, ceded claims to most of Ohio and portions of Illinois where Chicago now stands. There were several forts in the area, but the pertinent one here is Fort Dearborn, constructed in 1803 and named for then Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. In 1810 Captain Nathan Heald was placed in command of Fort Dearborn. There were several drawbacks to this posting. One was the isolation of the Fort and the other was constant running tiffs between various officers stationed there and the settlers and traders around the Fort. Captain Heald disagreed with selling liquor, arms and ammunition to the local Natives. The traders, such as John Kinzie, protested that this was their most lucrative line of trade. Nevertheless, Heald and Kinzie worked together consistently enough that Heald was able to form relationships with the leaders of local tribes and bands.Black Patridge was a war leader of the Peoria Lake Potawatomi. He received a peace medal depicting George Washington from General Wayne during the Greenville Treaty negotiations and considered his promise to keep the peace binding. In 1811, he refused Tecumseh's offer to join his confederacy, telling him that as long as the medal hung around his neck he could never raise his tomahawk against the Settlers. As the War of 1812 loomed, relations between Natives and Settlers in the Fort Dearborn area would test that promise. Most of the Native tribes and bands in the area supported Tecumseh and were willing to support the British. On April 6, 1812, a band of Winnebago Indians murdered two white settlers. Terrified residents near Fort Dearborn took refuge in the Fort and in an adjoining house. Captain Heald beefed up his small garrison by arming a small group of citizens and forming them into an impromptu militia. On July 17, 1812, British forces captured Fort Mackinac and Heald received orders to evacuate Fort Dearborn.
In addition to his men and the citizen's militia, Heald and Indian Agent William Wells engaged 30 Miami warriors to guard their march. On August 12, 1812, Heald held a council with Black Partridge and other Potawatomi leaders and promised them the leftover guns, ammunition and whiskey if they would let the garrison go unharmed. The Natives were aware that Heald would not leave these items behind, but would likely order them destroyed. Angry at this broken promise, the Potawatomi demanded that they be allowed to fight the Settlers as soon as they emerged from the Fort. Unable to resist the warriors' urging and still keep his standing among his people, Black Partridge agreed. He returned to Fort Dearborn and requested to speak to Captain Heald. Taking the medal off his neck, he warned the Captain what was about to happen and pleaded with him not to evacuate the Fort. Faced with orders and a potential onslaught from British forces, Heald had no choice.On August 15, 1812, Heald led a group of 54 troops, 12 militia, 9 women and 18 children, plus the Miami escort out of Fort Dearborn with the intention of marching to Fort Wayne, IN. About a mile and a half away from the Fort, they discovered the Potawatomi warriors waiting in ambush. Heald formed his men and charged the Natives. As the troops became engaged with the warriors, the baggage train and civilians were left open to attack and other warriors headed that way. The militia and some of the women put up a stiff resistance, but all of the men, two women and most of the children were killed. Agent William Wells was killed when he left the main battle to aid those at the baggage train.
Among the civilians at the baggage train was Margaret Helm and her small daughter. Margaret had been born Margaret McKillip, the stepdaughter of trader John Kinzie who was well-liked by the Natives. She had grown up in the area and knew Black Patridge. He waded through the chaos, found Margaret and her daughter and led them away from the fighting to the shores of nearby Lake Michigan. There, he guided her into the water as though he intended to drown her, but instead gave her and her daughter time to crawl to a hiding place as close to the water line as they could. Novels, not substantiated by history, indicate that he may have mercy-killed another young girl whom he was not able to save. Meanwhile, Heald and his remaining troops surrendered to the Natives. Heald tallied his loss as 26 troops, all 12 militia, 2 women and 12 children killed. The survivors, including Margaret Helm and her daughter, were taken to the Potawatomi camp near Fort Dearborn and most were later ransomed.
Repercussions fell, not on the Potawatomi, but on the Miami who may or may not have taken part in the Battle. Accounts differ as to whether the Miami fought on the side of the Americans, stood neutral, or turned against the Americans. The only opinion that seemed to matter was that of Military Governor William Henry Harrison, who wasn't present but accused the Miami of fighting against the Settlers. He ordered attacks on Miami villages, which drove them to the side of the British throughout the rest of the War of 1812. The Fort was not re-garrisoned until 1816, when Settlers again began coming to the area. The Potawatomi ceded further claims to the area in 1835, with the Treaty of Chicago, and removed to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Black Partridge was a signatory on several later treaties, but his eventual date and place of death are unknown.
Now, for the statue. In 1893, George Pullman (of the Pullman railway family), commissioned sculptor Carl Rohl-Smith to create a statue depicting Black Partridge rescuing Margaret Helm and her daughter. The statue was installed, removed, reinstalled and finally removed again. It remains in storage in Chicago, the copper it was made of beginning to tarnish and compromise due to neglect. It likely will not be conserved or replaced because of objections to its depiction of Native Americans.
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