Editing Fort Madison, Iowa (section)

====Final siege and abandonment====
As the War of 1812 expanded to the frontier, British-allied Sauk and other tribes began a determined effort to push out the Americans and reclaim control of the upper Mississippi. Beginning in July 1813, attacks on troops outside the fort led to another siege. Conditions were so dangerous that the Army could not recover the bodies of soldiers killed outside the fort and troops could not leave the fort to collect firewood. The Army burned outbuildings to prevent them from falling into Indian hands.<ref name="Zee 1918">Van der Zee (1918); Jackson (1958, 1960, 1966)</ref>

After weeks of paralyzing siege, the Army finally abandoned the post, burning it as they evacuated. They retreated in the dark through a trench to the river, where they escaped on boats. The date of the abandonment is unknown, as much of the military correspondence from this period of the war is missing, but it probably happened in September.<ref name="Zee 1918"/> Black Hawk observed the ruins soon after. "We started in canoes, and descended the Mississippi, until we arrived near the place where Fort Madison had stood. It had been abandoned and burned by the whites, and nothing remained but the chimneys. We were pleased to see that the white people had retired from the country."<ref name="Black Hawk 1882"/>

United States government had established [[United States Government Fur Trade Factory System|a federal fur trade station]] at Fort Madison in 1808. It was burned down in 1812 by order of the military commander who feared that it would endanger the fort.<ref>Wesley, Edgar Bruce (1935). Guarding the Frontier. University of Minnesota Press, p. 40.</ref>

[[Active Regular Army units with campaign credit for the War of 1812|Three active battalions of the current 3rd Infantry]] (1–3 Inf, 2–3 Inf and 4-3 Inf) perpetuate the lineage of the old 1st Infantry Regiment, which had a detachment at Fort Madison.