But that morning was different. While gazing out at the magnificent Sangamon, seventeen-year-old François was at a crossroads. He always enjoyed sleeping outside, under the stars so thick, they couldn’t be counted. The solitude brought him peace and for a brief moment he forgot about all of his troubles.
Private François Dufresne of Sangamon River, Illinois was young, high spirited and found guilty. Against his Uncle Sebastian’s wishes he enlisted in the United States Army. He was temporarily stationed at Ft. Kaskaskia near Chester, Illinois, on a bluff top overlooking the Mississippi River. It was not technically a fort, but an earthen redoubt. The word means a place of retreat. Redoubts were a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era.
Frontier settlers throughout Woodland North America often built such redoubts as defensive moves during times of threat from Native Americans. In 1803 Ft. Kaskaskia was also known as a place of recruitment for hunters, outdoorsmen and sharpshooters to be drafted into the newly militarized Lewis and Clark Expedition commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to find an inland passage from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.
Annawan was very old and one of many native laborers working within the confines of the fort. His aged wrinkled skin looked like thick leather and contrasted against his long grey hair, he had the aura of a warrior. It was said that he was once a great chief within the Pottawatomie tribe. His exact age was not known and he walked with a decided limp some say due to a great battle injury. But he could hold his own with the younger laborers in terms of work produced and his demeanor seemed to demand an instant respect. But because of the bigotry of the times he was looked down upon by the soldiers and often spat upon and ridiculed. Annawan took no retaliation and accepted his destiny with dignity.
Sergeant Charles Floyd was responsible for the new recruits. He was loud and brash and didn’t suffer fools in his charge. He was big in stature and his long dark hair and unkempt beard complemented a volatile temper. And he had a strong hatred towards the Native American Indians at the fort. During drills François saw Sergeant Floyd beating down Annawan with the butt of his rifle. He didn’t know the reason for this attack on the weaker man but his nature immediately took over. The retaliation was not out of disrespect or malice but purely out of instinct and his sense of fairness. A cheering crowd gathered around as Private Dufresne took the Sergeant to the ground and off of the elderly Annawan.
Other soldiers and Indian workers immediately tended to the injured Annawan as François continually beat the attacker until he felt the pain of a hard blow to his lower back causing him to fall away. A beaten Sergeant Floyd laid on the dirt in his own blood and eventually lost consciousness.
After being found guilty of attacking a superior the court-martial tribunal passed its sentence of three years in the military stockade. While being escorted in shackles under the hot sun he could feel the many eyes upon him, some looking on with disgust and others with admiration. Looking up he saw Annawan within the crowd and their eyes met. The elderly chief nodded his head in acknowledgment and respect bringing a smile of satisfaction to the prisoner.