THIS WEEK in the War of 1812 (June 1-June 7, 1814)

June 1 Chesapeake Campaign

Rear Adm. George Cockburn
(Royal Museums Greenwich)

Raids by a British fleet continue along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. A skirmish off Cedar Point, Maryland (June 1, 1814) ends as an indecisive encounter near the mouth of the Patuxent River between an American flotilla and British ships from Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn’s fleet.

Both sides maneuvered for advantage and exchanged shots at long range, but the Americans broke off the action action before any damage was done to ships on either side.

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June 6 War of the Frontier

Explorer, soldier and Indian fighter William Clark, is territorial governor of Missouri and a brigadier general of militia. On June 6, 1814, Clark establishes Fort Shelby near present day Priarie du Chien, Wisconsin.

William Clark in 1810

Clark, who was co-leader f the 1804-1805 Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana territory – yes, that William Clark – makes the preemptive move to occupy a fur-trading settlement at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The waterway connects the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed.

But the fort was the beginning of renewed Indian troubles on the Frontier. The British and local Indians, including Dakota, Ojibway and Winnebago, plan to attack and besiege the fort.