Prairie du Chien

 On July 17, 1814, Lt. Col. William McKay along with British forces and allied Native Americans began a siege of the American Fort Shelby. After American commander Lt. Joseph Perkins refused to surrender, British forces began firing on the fort and the gunboat protecting the fort while Native Americans ransacked the nearby Village of Prarie du Chien. Heavy fire from the British militia forced the gunboat to withdraw undermining the fort’s defenses. The Americans surrendered the fort on July 19. As a result of the action, the British temporarily prevented American control of the upper Mississippi River.