September 4-15, 1812 - US forces win the Battle of Fort Harrison. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Native American forces intensified their attacks on the American frontier in Indiana. Holding Fort Harrison on Wabash River, Captain Zachary Taylor (right) possessed a garrison of 50 men of which only 15 were fit for duty. Augmented by five local settlers, his garrison was attacked by a 600-man Native American force on the night of September 4/5, 1812. In a determined action, Taylor's men extinguished a fire in the fort's blockhouse while also holding the walls. At dawn the enemy retired and began a siege of the fort. Low on food, Fort Harrison was relieved on September 12 when Colonel William Russell arrived with over 1,000 men. The defense of Fort Harrison was the first victory of the war for the US Army after a string of bad defeats. Taylor would go on to become one of the US Army's key commanders during the Mexican-American War.
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