Fort Harrison was a War of 1812 era stockade constructed in Oct. 1811 on high ground overlooking the Wabash River on a portion of what is today the modern city of Terre Haute, Indiana, by forces under command of Gen. William Henry Harrison. It was a staging point for Harrison to encamp his forces just prior to the Battle of Tippecanoe a month later. The fort was the site of a famous battle in the War of 1812, the siege of Fort Harrison in Sept. 1812 that was the first significant victory for the U.S. in the war. The fort was abandoned in 1818 as the frontier moved westward. Background In 1811, while General William Henry Harrison marched his army north From Vincennes to meet the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe, the army encamped on the high grounds of Terre Haute and constructed a fort overlooking the Wabash River. Harrison had long advocated building a fort in the strategic location. The fort protected the army's supply lines, as well as the capital of the Indiana Territory downstream in Vincennes. The site, located in present-day Vigo County, Indiana, at the northern edge of Terre Haute, was only two miles from the Wea village of Weauteno. It was said to be the location of a historic battle involving the Illiniwek, and was initially called Camp Bataille des Illinois. Major Joseph Hamilton Daveiss proposed that the stockade be named Fort Harrison in General Harrison's honor. The fort was finished October 28, 1811, and had a stockade encircling the post. Leaving the fort and a small garrison under Colonel James Miller, Harrison led his army to the Tippecanoe battleground, where it confronted an army led by the Shawnee prophet, Tenskwatawa. When the army returned, Harrison left Captain Josiah Snelling in command of Fort Harrison, in reward for his performance at Tippecanoe. Snelling served as commandant of the fort from November 11, 1811 until . During that winter, the fort was shaken by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. Snelling was later transferred to Fort Detroit. After the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain Zachary Taylor, future President of the United States, was ordered by Harrison to leave Fort Knox and assume command of Fort Harrison. The United States had suffered a series of defeats immediately after war was declared, at the hands of the British, Canadians, and Indians. These victories helped motivate other