Fort Atkinson Military Post

FORT ATKINSON MILITARY POST

CRITICAL INFORMATION

LOCATION: Fort Atkinson is located at the town of Fort Atkinson, Iowa between Calmar and Jackson Junction on Highway 24.
HOURS: The fort is open anytime during daylight hours. For a guided tour, or for having the museum opened, contact Scot Michelson (319) 425-4161. The Rendezvous is held every last full weekend of September. Hours of the Rendezvous are 9:30-4:30 on Saturday and 9:00-4:00 on Sunday. Rendezvous School Day is held on the Friday before Rendezvous from 10:30-2:00 p.m. No registration is required, however questions may be directed to Ron Franzen, Box 114, Fort Atkinson, IA 52144, Phone: (319) 534-7514 or Al Becker, Box 161, Fort Atkinson, IA 52144, Phone: (319) 534-7502.
PARKING: Parking is available in front of the gate entrance to the Fort.
COST: No fees are charged for visitations or for the Rendezvous.
RESERVATIONS: None required for attending the Rendezvous or for Rendezvous School Day.
GROUP SIZE: No specific limit.

OBJECTIVE

To understand the role the military post of Fort Atkinson played in the development of northeast Iowa during the 1840s

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What is the history of the Fort Atkinson military post?
What was the structure of the military post and what were its basic functions?
What were some of the hardships and decisions faced by soldiers on the Iowa frontier?
What was the role of the Winnebago Indian in the story of Fort Atkinson?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FORT ATKINSON

OVERVIEW: In the broader context, the story of the military post of Fort Atkinson is a story of United States government policy of removing Native Americans from the east side of the Mississippi to the west side. In the narrower context, the story is about the struggle to tame the land and wilderness of what would become northeast Iowa.
THE TREATIES: A series of government treaties brought about the first involvement in northeast Iowa between the various Indian tribes and the military troops. A treaty of 1825 established a "neutral line" that ran from the Upper Iowa River to the Des Moines River. The purported purpose of this neutral line was to separate the warring Sioux from the Sauk & Fox. In reality, the "line" provided comfort and security for white settlers who either traveled from eastern states and up the Mississippi River into Wisconsin or for settlers moving into the southeastern portion of the Iowa Territory.

When the "neutral line" concept failed to solve the issue, a treaty in 1830 established twenty-mile-wide strips on both sides of the neutral line creating what was called the neutral ground. The Sioux agreed to move twenty miles to the north of the original neutral line, and the Sauk & Fox agreed to move twenty miles to the south.

THE WINNEBAGO: Meanwhile, the U. S. government desired to get one more tribe, the Winnebago, located in Wisconsin, across the Mississippi River away from the advancing whites. With the Treaty of 1832, the Winnebago gave up their claim of land around the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers in return for a portion of the neutral ground in the Iowa Territory. Resisting the move, the Winnebago were persuaded to sign another treaty in 1837 whereby they gave up all land claims they had on the east side of the Mississippi River.

Once again the Winnebago resisted leaving their homelands in Wisconsin. The region contained their tribal burial grounds, and the Winnebago also had concern for moving into the region near their old enemies, the Sioux. General Henry Atkinson then suggested the idea of establishing a temporary fort along the Turkey River within the neutral ground. Atkinson promised that the U. S. military would provide protection to the Winnebago tribe from the Sioux tribe located to the north. While the Fort was not really constructed for this purpose, the soldiers did monitor the location of the Sioux, and the soldiers also removed white settlers and traders who were prohibited by treaty from entering the Neutral Ground.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE FORT BEGINS: The first log barracks of the fort were constructed in the year 1840. The cold Iowa winters led to many desertions that first winter, so beginning in April 1841, the first stone barracks were constructed. Due to the difficulty the infantry (foot soldiers) had in monitoring the various Winnebago bands throughout the neutral ground, in June of that year, the first mounted soldiers, called dragoons arrived.
THE BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED AT FORT ATKINSON: Labor continued on the fort and by the fall of 1842 most of the work was completed. A total of 24 buildings were erected. Ten of these existed inside the walls of the Fort, and included such buildings such as the barracks, powder house, and cannon houses. Another fourteen buildings were located outside the gates. Some of these buildings included the stables, bakehouse, blacksmith shop, root house, and icehouse.

MAIN ARMY UNITS ARE PULLED FROM THE FORT IN 1846: In the year 1846, the regular army troops stationed at Fort Atkinson were sent to Mexico to fight in the Mexican-American War. Volunteer troops took over the manning of the Fort. Meanwhile, pioneer settlement of southeast Iowa increased rapidly and settlers had now advanced to the north reaching the southern edge of the neutral ground. The government and the military now made the decision to move the Winnebago Indians out of the neutral ground region and into Minnesota. The Winnebago signed a treaty in 1846 that relinquished their land within the neutral ground, and in June 1848, the military escort of the Winnebago into Minnesota was complete. With the Winnebago gone, the last company of infantry soldiers left Fort Atkinson in February 1849.
AFTERMATH OF THE FORT SITE: In 1855, the Fort was sold to private owners by public auction, and the outside buildings were torn down. It wasn't until the 1920's that the residents of the town of Fort Atkinson realized the role that the military fort had played in the history of their community as well as the United States. Through efforts of local citizens, the Iowa Board of Conservation acquired the fort site in the 1920's.
RECONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATIONS AND SOME BUILDINGS: In June 1940, workers remarked the foundations of the original buildings within the stockade. In 1957, funds were appropriated to reconstruct the north barracks into a visitor center, and partially reconstruct the log stockade. This work was undertaken between 1958-1962.
FORT ATKINSON BECOMES A STATE PRESERVE: In 1968, the Fort was dedicated as a State Preserve. In 1976, the Iowa Conservation Commission along with the Travel Development Division of the Iowa Development Commission began a new program that promoted interest areas on state-owned land. Fort Atkinson became the starting point for this initiative.
BEGINNING OF THE ANNUAL FORT ATKINSON RENDEZVOUS: The first Rendezvous was held within the grounds of Fort Atkinson in the year 1977. The purpose of the Rendezvous was to re-enact the time period of the 1840's through a frontier experience that included authentic costumes and reenactments of military life at the Fort. In addition, the Rendezvous included hunters and trappers displaying their furs for barter and trade which was typical of the Rocky Mountains west.

PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES

Read and discuss the background story of the military post of Fort Atkinson. Emphasize the treaties that led to the Fort's development, its purpose, the Indian tribe involved, the types of buildings constructed both inside and outside the fort walls, and the types of army units stationed at the Fort.
Present a map of Fort Atkinson and discuss the layout of the Fort as well as the function of each part (see attached map).
Identify vocabulary associated with the military post:

INFANTRY -- foot soldiers
DRAGOONS -- soldiers mounted on horseback
CANNON HOUSE -- buildings situated in opposite corners of the fort; window observations could be made both outside and inside the stockade wall
POWDER HOUSE -- where the ammunition was stored
NEUTRAL LINE -- imaginary line defined by the government and the Indians as a means to keep enemy tribes away from each other
NEUTRAL GROUND -- a later defined 40-mile-wide area to separate the Sioux and the Sauk & Fox tribes from each other
RENDEZVOUS -- a meeting usually held between fur trappers and fur traders to trade and exchange their goods
WINNEBAGO -- a Native American tribe from Wisconsin that was escorted by the military into the neutral ground in the year 1840. There were about 2400 members of the tribe that lived in 22 separate bands.
GENERAL HENRY ATKINSON -- military general who escorted the Winnebago into the neutral ground. The military post was named in his honor.

ON-SITE ACTIVITIES

Walk around the Fort grounds and specifically examine the inside & outside of the Cannon Houses and the Powder House. Use the building map developed in class to search out the foundations of the various buildings.
Have the students sit in a large circle in the middle of the grounds facing to the outside. Play taped Native American music as the students write ideas on
- What hardships might soldiers have faced at this military post?
- How might the soldiers and Winnebago Indians have different attitudes as to the purpose of the Fort?
- What would be sources for food for the soldiers at the Fort?
- Imagine you are a soldier at this Fort in the year 1841. List all of the things you might do during one day.
- Discuss the above items if time permits.
While sitting on the ground, have students shut their eyes. Each person should think about what "sounds" they would here if they were a soldier at the Fort in the 1840s (i.e. blacksmith pounding iron; musket shooting practice; horses of the dragoons; soldiers practicing marching).

POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES

Students share and discuss the things they observed on their visit to Fort Atkinson.
Divide the class into small groups. Develop a time-line of the major U.S. history and Iowa history events that occurred from 1830-1850. Include all of the Fort Atkinson events within this time-line.
Have students imagine what life was like for a soldier at Fort Atkinson in the 1840s. Have students write a page in a diary identifying what a day was like at the Fort.

FORT ATKINSON RENDEZVOUS
Each year, during the last full weekend in September, a frontier rendezvous is re-created on Saturday and Sunday. Approximately 140 teepees and lean-tos are setup and participants (buckskinners dressed in authentic costumes of the fur trappers & fur traders of the 1840s) demonstrate skills of that time period. The event is free of charge. Various foods, trade and craft vendors display and sell their goods.

FORT ATKINSON RENDEZVOUS "SCHOOL DAY"
A "School Day" is held on the Friday preceding the rendezvous. Usually geared toward 4th-8th grade students, buckskinners demonstrate for students various skills of the time period. These skills include pottery making, flint & steel (fire making), musket shooting, a military camp where soldiers perform maneuvers and explain uniforms, and blacksmithing. All of the demonstrations, lasting 15-20 minutes each, are started on the half-hour between 10:30 to 2:00 p.m. Students are welcome to spend all or part of the day at the event. No food or drink is served on the Fort grounds during "school day", so students often bring a sack lunch and drink to cover the noon lunch. A drinking fountain and portable restroom are located on the grounds. "School Day" is free of charge. More than 1000 northeast Iowa students usually participate in this educational event.

RESOURCES OR CONTACT PERSONS

Ron Franzen, Box 114, Fort Atkinson, IA 52144 Phone: 1-319-534-7514.
Al Becker, Box 161, Fort Atkinson, IA 52144 Phone: 1-319-534-7502.
Scot Michelson (for a guided tour, and opening museum)- Phone: 1-319-425-4161.

EXTRAS

Fort Atkinson Diagram