War of 1812: Mississinewa Battlefield

Back in December of 2009 I had a blog entry titled War of 1812: The Battle of Mississinewa, well this week I finally made it up to the battlefield. It is located in Grant County, Indiana that is about seven miles north of Marion, Indiana. While not a big battlefield one can still gain a perspective of the land and how that affects the flow of battle.

Me next to the battle summary

It was a good time to travel up to the battlefield as the actual campaign took place this time a year with hostilities on December 17th and 18th. There were accounts of quite a bit of frost bite within the US ranks, and if it was anything like when I was there easy to see why. I cannot imagine how cold and miserable it must have been on the ten day march from Greenville, OH (Modern day Columbus) to the target area and back again. I was cold in modern winter wear on the field for around an hour. 

Headstones of  the fallen US troops

Today most of the land surrounding the battlefield is farm land, but the glimpse you get at the battlefield would tell a different story. The terrain would have been small rolling hills, thick vegetation, and swampy. One of the reasons for launching this campaign in the winter was the thought that the marshy areas would be frozen over and easier to pass. Between the cold and the difficulty of the terrain I believe it must have favored the Indians even though the outcome did not.

View of the battlefield terrain

By Civil War battlefield standards this site is not large at all. The battlefield has a couple of monuments one to the Indians and then one for the U.S. troops. There are also headstones for the fallen U.S. troops. In the parking lot there is a large wooden sign that gives a short summery of the campaign as well. Of course I recommend going and taking in actual landscape whenever possible as I feel it gives one a greater perspective of the stories and history of the action.

Monument to the Indians

Monument for the US Troops

For more of a history on the campaign itself you can visit my old blog post. You can also visit Mississinewa 1812 for upcoming events an photos of past ones.