page_title: Siege of Dunlap's Station
section_title: The station
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Dunlap's Station / The station
caption_attribution_description: English: Published: [ca. 1792] Copy-Specific Note: ACQ: Harmar Papers. References: Brun 708. Note: Signed at lower right: B. Shaumburgh. Ground plan of fortified settlement with table of references identifying types of buildings. Additional note discusses changes made to roofs of the houses. Physical Description: 1 ms. map&#160;; 32.5 x 20 cm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Dunlap%27s_Station
context_page_description: The Siege of Dunlap's Station was a battle that took place on January 10–11, 1791, during the Northwest Indian War between the Western Confederacy of American Indians and European-American settlers in what became the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Ohio. This was one of the Indians' few unsuccessful attacks during this period. It was shortly after the Harmar Campaign attacks and unprecedented defeat of U.S. Army forces. A few months after the siege, the Army's St. Clair's campaign famously failed.
  This small episode, a week after the so-called Big Bottom Massacre in what became southeast Ohio, turned into an iconic event: Ohioans felt that traitors had tortured innocent civilians.
context_section_description: Dunlap's Station, later referred to as Fort Colerain, was on the east bank of the Great Miami River, and established in early 1790 in the midst of what was also called Little Turtle's War. It served three main functions: 
  US expansion into Native territory, recently captured from the British, New Jersey-based land speculation, and a settlement for farmers, their fields and pastures.
  The Northwest Territory had been established in 1787, within which Judge Symmes had organized the Miami Company and then advertised the availability of this land. They hired the Irish surveyor John Dunlap, who led the party of men, women and children.
  It was located next to the 2,000-year-old Colerain Earthwork, aka the Colerain Township Group (a lost geometric and hilltop enclosure),
  and one or more sacred Adena mounds, This prime floodplain site would have attracted the farmers. The natives may have lost the meaning of these older sacred sites, though.
  The settlers cleared the land, constructed the station, and grew crops outside during the first summer. The blockhouses were built as a refuge from Native attacks, since this was still primarily Shawnee land. While neighbouring Indians and settlers had managed to share an earlier Christmas feast, naturally an application was made at Fort Washington for a garrison.
  "...A small detachment of United States troops, under the command of Lieutenant Kingsbury, occupied the fort. It consisted of a corporal and eleven men, besides the commandant. Their names were Taylor, Neef, O'Neal, O'Leary, Lincoln, Grant, Strong, Sowers, Murphy, Abel, McVicar and Wiseman.
  The plan shows the cabins of the settlers.
  There were on the north side of the fort, Horn, McDonald, Barrott and Barket, with their families, and
  on the south side, White, with his family and McDonald, whose family was not at the station..."
  Three blockhouses had been constructed for the military garrison, as had a shelter for the hand mill. The ten settler's cabins faced together, A cleared line of fire was begun by removing brush and felled trees, but this was not completed in time. Another vulnerability had been that the lower edges of the roofs were on the outside and had, for example, become a way into the Fort for their dogs. This was reversed, but there were still open spaces between some of the logs. As per Shaumburgh's Plan, all this was linked with 8' high fencing of log pickets, and then extended to the shore, The total enclosed about one acre.
caption: Shaumburgh's Plan of Dunlap's Station
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