Henry Atkinson
Henry Atkinson (1782 – June 14, 1842) was a United States army officer. He was a native of Person County, North Carolina.
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Early career
He entered the United States Army in 1808 as a Captain in the infantry, serving at various outposts on the Western frontier. He moved to New York and was promoted to colonel in the United States Regular Army, seeing considerable action during the War of 1812. He commanded the 6th U.S. Infantry from 1815 until his death.
Career after War of 1812
After the war, Atkinson led two expeditions to the Yellowstone River in 1819 and 1825. Appointed Commissioner together with Indian agent Benjamin O'Fallon and with a military escort of 476 men, General Atkinson and his fellow commissioner left Fort Atkinson on May 16, 1825, and ascending the Missouri, negotiated treaties of friendship and trade with tribes of the upper Missouri, including the Arikara, the Cheyenne, the Crow, the Mandan, the Ponca, and several bands of the Sioux. At that time, there was still rivalry with British traders on the upper Missouri.
The treaties acknowledged that the tribes lived within the United States, vowed perpetual friendship, and recognized the right of the United States to regulate and license trade. The tribes agreed to forswear private retaliation for injuries and to return or indemnify the owner of stolen horses or other goods. Efforts to contact the Blackfoot and the Assiniboine were unsuccessful. Returning to Fort Atkinson at the "Council Bluff" in Nebraska, successful negotiations were had with the Otoe, the Pawnee and the Omaha. [American Indian treaties: the history of a political anomaly by Francis Paul Prucha, p. 143.]
He was appointed brevet brigadier general and was in overall command of U.S. forces during the Black Hawk War. Atkinson was criticized for mishandling the operations of the war and his reputation did not prosper as did those of his subordinates Zachary Taylor and Henry Dodge.
Atkinson later superintended removal of the Winnebago to Iowa; Jefferson Barracks (near St. Louis) and Fort Leavenworth were begun under his direction. He spent the remainder of his career stationed at Jefferson Barracks. [Who Was Who in American History; the Military].
Personal life
He married Mary Ann Bullitt on January 16, 1826. They had a son, named Edward Graham Atkinson.
Death
He died at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on June 14, 1842. Fort Atkinson, both the fort and the town, in Iowa, is named for him.
Sources
- Nichols, Roger L. General Henry Atkinson: A Western Military Career. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965. Template:OCLC
- Ghent, W. J. "Atkinson, Henry." Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons. 1928.
