After the War of 1812, the U.S. government concluded it had to do more to protect its resources in the Northwest, especially routes used by American fur traders. Garrisons were therefore posted and forts built at Detroit, Mackinac, Chicago, and elsewhere in the West, including at three crucial locations along the Fox-Wisconsin waterway.
Shortly after the British withdrew from Prairie du Chien's Fort McKay in 1815, three permanent military outposts were established in Wisconsin: Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien (1816), Fort Howard at Green Bay (1816), and Fort Winnebago at the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers (1828). Besides... more...
![Link to article: The surveyor that laid out Madison recalls his days in the field in 1837.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | The surveyor that laid out Madison recalls his days in the field in 1837. |
![Link to article: A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857. |
![Link to article: A teenager comes to Green Bay as a new bride in 1824.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A teenager comes to Green Bay as a new bride in 1824. |
![Link to article: An early Yankee settler recalls Prairie du Chien's infancy.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | An early Yankee settler recalls Prairie du Chien's infancy. |
![Link to article: John Shaw recalls Tomah, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and other Indian leaders.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | John Shaw recalls Tomah, Black Hawk, Keokuk, and other Indian leaders. |
![Link to article: A participant tells how the Oneida, Stockbridge, and Brothertown came to Wisconsin in the 1820s.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A participant tells how the Oneida, Stockbridge, and Brothertown came to Wisconsin in the 1820s. |
![Link to article: An officer's daughter recalls her girlhood at Fort Howard, 1824-29.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | An officer's daughter recalls her girlhood at Fort Howard, 1824-29. |
![Link to article: A missionary travels 1,500-miles among the Ojibwe and Sioux in 1838](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A missionary travels 1,500-miles among the Ojibwe and Sioux in 1838 |
![Link to article: An 1886 visit to the Menominee community of Keshena](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | An 1886 visit to the Menominee community of Keshena |
![Link to article: Henry Dodge brought his slaves to Wisconsin](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Henry Dodge brought his slaves to Wisconsin |
![Link to article: A woman's memoir of the founding of Sheboygan](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A woman's memoir of the founding of Sheboygan |
![Link to article: Recollections of Wisconsin slaves by pioneer settlers.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Recollections of Wisconsin slaves by pioneer settlers. |
![Link to article: A Green Bay girlhood in the 1820s.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A Green Bay girlhood in the 1820s. |
![Link to article: A Yankee Childhood in Dodge County](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A Yankee Childhood in Dodge County |
![Link to article: Memoirs of a Fox River Homesteader](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Memoirs of a Fox River Homesteader |
![Link to article: Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events |
![Link to article: Governor Philipp reflects on his childhood in Sauk County, 1920](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Governor Philipp reflects on his childhood in Sauk County, 1920 |
![Link to article: Girlhood and motherhood on the Wisconsin frontier, 1824-1860.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Girlhood and motherhood on the Wisconsin frontier, 1824-1860. |
![Link to artifacts: A mid-1800s birchbark maple sugar container](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | A mid-1800s birchbark maple sugar container |
![Link to artifacts: The oldest toast in Wisconsin](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | The oldest toast in Wisconsin |
![Link to book: An 1875 history of the Chippewa Valley](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | An 1875 history of the Chippewa Valley |
![Link to book: Folklore and folktales collected by Charles E. Brown](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Folklore and folktales collected by Charles E. Brown |
![Link to book: A speech by Brothertown Indian leader Samsom Occom, 1771](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A speech by Brothertown Indian leader Samsom Occom, 1771 |
![Link to book: A guide to the Mohican language, 1789](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A guide to the Mohican language, 1789 |
![Link to book: The first book printed in Wisconsin, an Ojibwe almanac](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The first book printed in Wisconsin, an Ojibwe almanac |
![Link to book: Descriptions of Wisconsin disasters and catastrophes, 1848-1948](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Descriptions of Wisconsin disasters and catastrophes, 1848-1948 |
![Link to book: The language of the Brothertown Indians' ancestors, 1722](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The language of the Brothertown Indians' ancestors, 1722 |
![Link to book: A Munsee language edition of Methodist hymns, 1874](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A Munsee language edition of Methodist hymns, 1874 |
![Link to book: Stockbridge and Munsee Testimony, 1892](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Stockbridge and Munsee Testimony, 1892 |
![Link to book: The Stockbridge-Munsee Constitution, 1857](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The Stockbridge-Munsee Constitution, 1857 |
![Link to book: Increase Lapham describes territorial Wisconsin for new settlers.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Increase Lapham describes territorial Wisconsin for new settlers. |
![Link to book: A teenager's diary of coming overland from Ohio in 1846](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A teenager's diary of coming overland from Ohio in 1846 |
![Link to book: Fr. Baraga's 1853 Ojibwe Dictionary](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Fr. Baraga's 1853 Ojibwe Dictionary |
![Link to book: A clergyman locates the Biblical Garden of Eden in Wisconsin, 1886](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A clergyman locates the Biblical Garden of Eden in Wisconsin, 1886 |
![Link to book: A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1)](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1) |
![Link to book: A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2)](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2) |
![Link to book: The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley |
![Link to images: Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868 |
![Link to images: Prairie du Chien merchant and judge James H. Lockwood, 1856.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Prairie du Chien merchant and judge James H. Lockwood, 1856. |
![Link to images: A photograph of Augustin Grignon near the end of his life.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | A photograph of Augustin Grignon near the end of his life. |
![Link to images: Oneida Chief Daniel Bread in 1856](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Oneida Chief Daniel Bread in 1856 |
![Link to images: Stockbridge Chief John W. Quinney in 1849](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Stockbridge Chief John W. Quinney in 1849 |
![Link to images: Wisconsin's first Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Wisconsin's first Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge |
![Link to images: Early Wisconsin settler and Madison Promoter James Duane Doty](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Early Wisconsin settler and Madison Promoter James Duane Doty |
![Link to images: Madison's first white woman settler](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Madison's first white woman settler |
![Link to images: Stockbridge Indian leader Austin E. Quinney, 1849](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Stockbridge Indian leader Austin E. Quinney, 1849 |
![Link to manuscript: James Doty explores Lake Superior in 1820 with Lewis Cass](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | James Doty explores Lake Superior in 1820 with Lewis Cass |
![Link to manuscript: Northern settlers try to join Minnesota, 1847](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Northern settlers try to join Minnesota, 1847 |
![Link to manuscript: Brief Ho-Chunk Language Vocabularies, 1830-1930](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Brief Ho-Chunk Language Vocabularies, 1830-1930 |
![Link to manuscript: Letters by relatives of Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1861-1919](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Letters by relatives of Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1861-1919 |
![Link to manuscript: Climatological observations at Portage, 1828-1842](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Climatological observations at Portage, 1828-1842 |
![Link to manuscript: Ledger books from Fort Winnebago, 1831-1851](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Ledger books from Fort Winnebago, 1831-1851 |
![Link to manuscript: Menominee Chief Oshkosh is acquitted of murder, 1830](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Menominee Chief Oshkosh is acquitted of murder, 1830 |
![Link to manuscript: Sioux warriors ambush their enemies at Prairie du Chien, 1830](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Sioux warriors ambush their enemies at Prairie du Chien, 1830 |
![Link to manuscript: Residents of Prairie du Chien petition Congress, 1816](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | Residents of Prairie du Chien petition Congress, 1816 |
![Link to manuscript: A ledger book from an early trading post in the Fox River Valley.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | A ledger book from an early trading post in the Fox River Valley. |
![Link to map: The rectangular survey gets underway in Wisconsin, 1835.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/map.gif) | The rectangular survey gets underway in Wisconsin, 1835. |
![Link to map: The imaginary capital city that its chief promoter envisioned, 1836.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/map.gif) | The imaginary capital city that its chief promoter envisioned, 1836. |
![Link to map: A member of the party maps the Cass and Doty expedition of 1820.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/map.gif) | A member of the party maps the Cass and Doty expedition of 1820. |
![Link to map: States and territories created under the Northwest Ordinance.](https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/images/map.gif) | States and territories created under the Northwest Ordinance. |