Kewaunee County's Earliest Veteran: War of 1812

Wisconsin was still part of the Michigan Territory that day in 1834 when Major Joseph McCormick (left) sailed north from Manitowoc with a group of men exploring the lakeshore. When the men reached what is now called the Ahnapee River, they went upriver for what they said was nine miles. How did they sail that far? The river was wide and deep, held in place by the thick forests surrounding it. Within a generation of first settlement in 1851, the trees were cut and the river was left to seep into the surrounding area and bake in the hot sun, becoming the river we know today. 

McCormick’s goal was locating lands and viewing the area. Spending a few days in the area, the men were favorably impressed. McCormick reported beautifully timbered land, rich soil, and game in abundance. In short, the area that became Algoma had everything one could possibly want. McCormick envisioned a village that did not take root. Then. Those in Manitowoc had recently relocated to the place and another relocation was not in the cards. Settlement became a reality in the days between June 28 and July 4, 1851, when the three founding families – Warners, Tweedales and Hughes – came north. In the meantime, Wisconsin became a state and the settlement was in the newly created Door County.

History tells us that some in McCormick’s party of that day knew his plans, but went on to get the land for themselves. It is possible that it happened, however a look at the Bureau of Land Management website indicates the earliest landowners had military warrants and likely never set foot in what became Kewaunee County, let alone what became Algoma. One Barlow Shackleford patented the first piece of land that would become the city called Algoma on February 1. 1843. At any rate, it was nearly 20 years later when McCormick made a return trip, then electing to live near Forestville

McCormick was the area’s “mover and shaker.” He was a member of Wisconsin’s Assembly in 1872 when Kewaunee Enterprise called him a “Democratic warhorse.” The well-known, highly respected, robust McCormick was eighty-six at the time. Also called an “uncompromising Democrat,” McCormick served with distinction in the War of 1812, was a member of the Texas Constitutional Convention, a 3-year member of the Indiana legislature, and was eighty-four when elected to Wisconsin Assembly.

A Horace Greely supporter even though he was opposed the man in an earlier day, McCormick felt Greeley was neither deceitful nor was one who resorted to trickery to further his positions. McCormick had little faith in Civil War General U.S. Grant, who also was running for president.

McCormick felt Greeley’s election would  put an end to reconstruction issues while bringing peace and reconcilliation. He felt that if the Democrats ran a 3^rd ticket, it would ensure more reconstruction, a continuation of military power and ku-klux-klan legislation. McCormick said he’d vote for the liberal because he saw no chance of a Democrat beating Grant.

McCormick was born in Wyoming, Pennsylvania on April 18, 1787, and lived in Indiana, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois before settling in Manitowoc. Commissioned as a captain in the War of 1812, he was promoted to a major, participating in several engagements, the most noteworthy being Tippecanoe.

In June 1872 Major McCormick was out riding with his nephew Miller McCormick who had come from New York. As the men started out on a trip to Sturgeon Bay, the horse made too short of a turn, causing the buggy to tip while throwing McCormick to the ground. Dr. Parsons came to his aid immediately, however there had been serious injuries to his hip and shoulder. A week later the paper said that while he was improving, he was unable to move without assistance. McCormick’s Masonic fraternity was credited with providing exceptional care. At the time of the accident, the Oswego (N.Y.) Gazette carried a tribute to McCormick’s great-nephew who had died in France.

When McCormick died in late August 1875, Ahnapee Record said his death was caused from the carriage’s overturn 3 years earlier. His Masonic funeral was the Peninsula’s largest to that time.

Joseph McCormick was buried in the old Defaut Cemetery, now the northeast corner of the Evergreens. One hundred years later, there was no marker on the Major’s grave, prompting great grandson Ray Birdsall and his sister to arrange for a stone. McCormick served in the War of 1812, and is Algoma’s earliest buried veteran.

Photo by T. Duescher