Ray County Missouri
War of 1812
Just a few decades after the American Revolution, the United States again fought the British in a demand
for neutral rights.
The War of 1812 was a serious threat to settlements along the Missouri River corridor. Indian attacks, primarily
the work of the Sac and Fox tribes that were instigated by the British, encouraged Missourians to take up arms
in the war. The British outposts supplied Indian tribes with guns and ammunition, causing trouble on the Missouri
frontier. The attacks were in response to western land hunger. The constant pressure on the federal government
to open new lands for American settlers repeatedly forced or persuaded Native American tribes to sign treaties
giving over more of their land each year.
Missouri territorial officials organized and raised several companies of rangers. There were no major battles in
the territory. Fighting was characterized by a series of Indian raids, skirmishes, and atrocities. Almost all of
these took place in the areas north of the Missouri River, either in the Boon's Lick region or along the Missouri
and upper Mississippi rivers. During this period, there were two federal forts in Missouri Territory: Fort Bellefontaine
and Fort Osage.
The Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, was signed on Christmas Day in 1814. By 1816, significant Indian resistance
to white settlers in Missouri was at an end.
Veterans in Ray County: (coming soon)
2009
Ray County Genealogy & History
Information from National Archives
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