USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. I > Part 33
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On the 9th inst., Colonel Miller was sent on the same dangerous service, with the Fourth Ohio Regiment and a body of militia, in all numbering 600 men.
The fear of an ambuscade along the low and forest clad grounds through which their path lay caused them to proceed with caution, and Captain Snelling was ordered to lead the advance. No enemy was seen till they had reached the Indian village of Monguagon, about half the distance to the river Raisin, where from behind a breastwork of logs a squad of British and Indians obstructed their path. A sharp and bloody battle immediately followed, in which the new Ameri- can troops fought like veterans, and drove the British from the field; but the Indians, led by Tecumseh, though exposed to the terrible fire of the Americans, in which their loss had been severe, still hung around the skirts of the victorious Americans and made their position dangerous. In this emergency, Colonel Miller dis- patched a messenger back to Detroit to obtain provisions for the sustenance of his men, till they could fight their way through the treacherous forest path to meet the convoy. The required provisions were at first ordered to be sent under command of Colonel McArthur, but a storm delayed the departure of the train till General Hull thought best to recall Colonel Miller, rather than reinforce him, and he was ordered back to Detroit.
Arrangements were now made to open communica- tion with the expected convoy by a route further to the west, which was less exposed to the numerous enemy who hovered around the banks of the Detroit river along the road which Colonel Miller had passed, and which
Gen. Brock Demands the Surrender of Detroit. 383
had frequently exposed his men to the fire of the Eng- lish vessels which patroled its waters.
Colonels Cass and McArthur were detailed for this service on the 14th, with 400 picked men. General Brock reached Malden the same day, and immediately taking the offensive, advanced to Sandwich, opposite Detroit, and addressed to General Hull the following note:
"SIR: The power at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a war of extermina- tion, but you must be aware that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops will be beyond my control the moment the contest com- mences. You will find me disposed to enter into such conditions as will satisfy the most scrupulous sense of honor. Lieutenant-Colonel McDonnell and Major Gregg are fully authorized to conclude any arrangements that may prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood. I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
"ISAAC BROCK, Major-General, etc. "His Excellency, Brigadier-General Hull, etc." The reply was as follows:
" HEADQUARTERS, DETROIT, Aug. 15, 1812. " SIR: I have no other reply to make than to inform you that I am prepared to meet any force which may be at your disposal, and any consequences which may result from any exertion of it you may think proper to make. I am, etc.,
" WILLIAM HULL, Brigadier-General.
"His Excellency, Major-General Brock, etc."
Says General Hull in his official account of the attack of Detroit and its surrender: "On the 15th, as soon as General Brock received my letter, his batteries opened on the town and fort, and continued until even- ing. In the evening all the British ships of war came nearly as far up the river as Sandwich, three miles below Detroit. At daylight on the 16th, the cannonade recommenced, and in a short time I received informa- tion that the British army and Indians were landing below the Spring Wells, under the cover of their ships
384
Detroit Surrendered.
of war. At this time the whole effective force at my disposal at Detroit did not exceed 800 men. Being new troops and unaccustomed to camp life; having per- formed a laborious march; having been engaged in a number of battles and skirmishes, in which many had fallen and more had received wounds; in addition to which a large number being sick and unprovided with medicine and the comforts necessary for their situation; are the general causes by which the strength of the army was reduced. * * * It now became neces- sary to fight the enemy in the field, collect the whole force in the fort, or propose terms of capitulation. I could not have carried into the field more than 600 men, and left any adequate force in the fort. There were landed at that time of the enemy a regular force of much more than that number, and twice the number of Indians. Considering this great inequality of force, I did not think it expedient to adopt the first measure. The second must have been attended with a great sacri- fice of blood and no possible advantage, because the contest could not have been sustained more than a day for want of powder, and but a few days for want of provisions.
"In addition to this, Colonels McArthur and Cass would have been in a most hazardous situation. I feared nothing but the last alternative. I have dared to adopt it. * * I well know the high responsi- bility of the measure, and I take the whole of it myself. It was dictated by a sense of duty and a full conviction of its expediency."
The surrender of the garrison of Detroit, together with the town and the entire territory of Michigan, took place on the 16th. It forms a humiliating page in American history, for which the tardiness in the govern- ment in sustaining General Hull was more responsible than General Hull himself; albeit, it is but a just tribute to English heroism to admit that it had a potent in- fluence in the work. That General Hull could have taken Malden at first, and thus saved Detroit, is proba- ble; but in default of this, that he could have held Detroit was impossible. No wonder the fall of the
385
Gen. Hull Tried by Court Martial.
place stung the American heart, when thousands of our old revolutionary soldiers were yet living, who beheld the triumph of English arms with indescribable bitter- ness. General Hull was tried by court martial, and sentenced to be hung. Happily for humanity's sake, the president pardoned him. The sentence appeased the pride of the nation, as well as to help conceal the mistakes of the government, till history in its own des- tined time should vindicate truth, even at the expense of the government.
NOTE .- The following is an item from a journal kept by the father of Hon. L. W. Claypool, of Morris, Ill., who was a soldier in the Ohio ranks at the surrender. It is inserted as a simple statement of the facts, which verify the English account of the surrender, as well as Hull's statement. It was furnished the author by Hon. Wm. Bross, Chicago:
" Aug. 15 .- British began firing opposite Detroit at 6 o'clock. Con- tinued till after night. Ended by throwing a few shells. They received heavy firing from our side. The day following, at 6 o'clock, renewed the firing. The compliment was returned. Firing continued three hours. We ceased firing first. Sent over a flag of truce. British offi- cers came over. Talked of capitulation, well understanding that 1,000 British had crossed at Spring Wells, and that a vast number of Indians were back of the fort (perhaps 1,500). Under consideration of these facts, surrendered the whole to the British. They took possession at 11 o'clock. We gave up our arms at 12 o'clock. In the evening, went on board the schooner ' Nancy.' Continued here till the 18th. Sailed to Malden. Lay there till the 20th : Six in the morning till 12 o'clock. Sailed twenty-three miles. Anchored all night; 21st -- wind unfavorable; 22d, Sunday-cast anchor at Puttaut Bay island; weighed anchor at 4 o'clock Sunday; 23d of August-landed at the mouth of Black river; 24th-marched twenty-seven miles down Lake Erie to the town of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, Ohio."
GOVERNOR HULL'S RESIDENCE, 1812, TAKEN PROM FARMER'S HISTORY OF DETROIT.
CHAPTER XVII.
Fort Dearborn in Danger-Its Evacuation Ordered by General Hull-Win-a-mac, the Friendly Messenger- Vacillating Policy of Captain Heald, the Commander -Inflexibility of Ensign Ronan-John Kinzie, his Wise Counsel-Council with the Pottawattamies- Bad Faith of Captain Heald in the Destruction of Arms, etc .- Honorable Confession of Black Partridge -Arrival of a Heroic Friend-The Fort Evacuated -Indian Treachery-Mrs. Helm's Graphic Account of the Massacre which Followed.
During the waning fortunes of General Hull at Detroit, ere he had surrendered the place, evidently apprehensive of his fate, he determined to send a messenger to Fort Dearborn to apprise its inmates of the situation, and give them timely warning to save themselves by retreating to Fort Wayne, if the garrison were not in a situation to hold out till succor could come to their relief. Win-a- mac, the Pottawattamie chief, of whom mention has been made in a previous chapter, was in his camp, and to him the mission was intrusted. He started from Detroit on the 28th of July, with an order from Gen- eral Hull to Captain Heald, who held command of Fort Dearborn, and arrived safely at Chicago on the 7th of August, according to the account given in Wabun; but Lanman states that he arrived on the 9th, which appears more consistent, as to the time it would take to travel the long wilderness path connecting the two places. He brought exciting news. War had been declared by the United States against England; Michilimackinac
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387
Capt. Heald's Dilemma.
had fallen without resistance, and Detroit was closely pressed by the British and their swarthy allies. Under these adverse circumstances the evacuation of Fort Dearborn was ordered, providing they had not means to defend it, as the only means of safety left open to the garrison. Captain Heald was further instructed to dis- tribute all the goods in the fortand agency house among the Indians after leaving the post.
Had all these conditions come upon them in their natural routine, better preparation could have been made to meet them, but the news coming as it did, fell like an avalanche upon the unsuspecting tenants of the fort. To add to their perplexities the relations between the commanding officer and his subordinates, particu- larly Ensign Ronan, were not harmonious. This young officer was bold, perhaps an erratic, and certainly an out- spoken free thinker, regardless of any restraining limit, dictated by policy or conservatism, to the expression of his sentiments. For this, and without doubt for other causes, Captain Heald took no counsel with his sub- ordinate officers as to what was to be done, but resolved in his own mind to evacuate the fort, although this decision was against the advice of both Win-a-mac, who had amply proved the sincerity of his friendship, and Mr. Kinzie, whose long and successful career among the Indians entitled his opinions to respect, and in vain did both of them exert themselves to dissuade him from the hasty resolution.
First, Win-a-mac had at a private interview with Mr. Kinzie, strongly advised that the garrison should shut themselves up in the fort, and remain till reinforced; but if evacuation was determined on, let it be done immediately, before the Indians, through whose country they must pass, should become acquainted with the news he had brought from Detroit. To this advice Captain Heald replied, that inasmuch as he had deter- mined to leave the fort, it would be necessary to wait till the Indians of the neighborhood could be collected to receive an equal distribution of the property ordered to be given to them. Win-a-mac then suggested an immediate evacuation, with everything left standing,
388
Order to Evacuate Fort Dearborn.
and while the Indians were dividing the spoils the garri- son might escape.
This plan was also recommended by Mr. Kinzie, but was rejected, and the next morning the order for evacu- ating the post according to the original plan of Captain Heald, was read at the roll call. The impolicy of this plan being apparent to the subordinate officers, in the course of the day they sought an interview with Captain Heald to remonstrate against it. They represented to him the frail tenure by which the treacherous chain of friendship now bound the Indians to the American in- terest. That good will toward the family of Mr. Kinzie was its only hold, and it was not to be expected that the few chiefs who showed this feeling toward this one household would be able to restrain the turbulent pas- sions of the whole tribe when the war whoop was once raised. That their retreat must be slow, incumbered as it would be with women, children and invalids. That succor might arrive before an attack could be made from the British, who had just taken Michilimacki- nac; but if not it were far better to fall into their hands than expose themselves to the fury of the savages.
To these suggestions Captain Heald replied that a special order had been issued from the war department that no post should be surrendered without a battle, and his force was inadequate for this, and that he should be censured for remaining when a prospect for a safe retreat appeared probable, to insure which he proposed, after distributing the goods to the Indians, to promise them further reward for escorting his command safely to Fort Wayne. From this time the under officers, seeing the impossibility of changing his purposes, remained silent on the subject, but Mr. Kinzie was still persistent, and while conversing with him one day on the parade ground, on the subject, Captain Heald, in reply to his arguments, said, "I could not remain if I thought best, for I have but a small store of provisions." "Why, Captain," said an impulsive soldier, "you have cattle enough to last six months." To this the unoffended Captain replied, "I have no salt to preserve the meat."
.
389
Council with the Pottawattamies.
"Then jerk it, as the Indians do their venison," con- tinued the persistent soldier .*
As the weary days advanced, the Indians assumed an air of insolence quite inconsistent with the spirit of friendship. Impertinent squaws cast malignant glances at the fort, as they thronged around its gates as if a jubilee was about to reward their watching, and uncouth warriors sometimes pressed through the gates, heedless of the sentinel's protest, and once a gun was discharged in the ladies' parlor by one of these unwelcome visitors.
On the 12th, a council was held with the Pottawatta- mies, who had by this time assembled in considerable numbers around the fort. The conference took place on the parade ground just outside the palisades. Captain Heald laid aside his prejudices and invited all the officers of the fort to take part in its deliberations, but they had lost all faith in the pretensions of the Indians, and declined. Moreover, they had been informed that it was to be made the occasion of a mas- sacre of the officers, the truth of which rumor was strengthened by perhaps well grounded suspicions. Under these apprehensions they betook themselves to the block house, where the cannon were shotted ready for any hostile demonstration which might show itself. Captain Heald, however, with undiminished faith in the Indians, accompanied by Mr. Kinzie, convened the council. At its sitting, the Indians were informed of his plans to withdraw from the fort, and were prom- ised the gift of all the goods, not only in the fort itself, but of those in the agency house, including the ammunition and provisions. The Pottawattamies on their part promised an escort to conduct them safely to Ft. Wayne, for which they were to receive a liberal reward on the spot, and an additional one on their arrival at the place. Thus closed the council with apparent good will and confidence on the part of Cap- tain Heald, not shared by his junior officers or soldiers. As already stated, Win-a-mac had brought to the garrison the news of the fall of Michilimackinac, but
* As beef or venison was preserved by drying and smoking, in the early day, which process was called jerking .- AUTHOR.
390
Destruction of Arms, etc.
from prudential motives the Indians were not informed of it. This attempt at concealment, however, was una- vailing, for Tecumseh had sent a messenger to them to secure their co-operation in the general warfare which he was waging against the Americans as a British ally, by telling them the news so auspicious to their cause. No sooner had the council closed and the chiefs with- drawn than Mr. Kinzie, alarmed at its impolitic terms, protested against furnishing the Indians arms, which would probably be used against themselves, and Cap- tain Heald himself, for the first time awakened to a sense of surrounding danger, determined to destroy all the arms and ammunition not wanted for his own use, instead of giving it to the Indians, as stipulated in the council.
The next day the goods were distributed, all but the ammunition, arms and the liquors, of which there was a plentiful store. The Indians were far from being satisfied. The things they most coveted were still with- held, and at night they hung about the premises, crawl- ing prostrate through the tall grass, wherever it afforded concealment within hearing of what was going on at the fort. When night came, their serpentine toil was rewarded with a full discovery of what they had suspected. With indignation they beheld the destruc- tion of the muskets, the fragments of which, together with powder, shot, flints and gun screws, were thrown into a well at the extremity of the sally port. Next
came the casks of liquor. These were rolled to the bank of the river, the heads knocked in and the con- tents given to intoxicate the fish. The Indians, how- ever, got a taste of the precious nectar, which, diluted as it was, they sipped from the surface of the water, under cover of night, while drinking which they declared that the whole river tasted like strong grog.
However agreeable such a spoliation might be to modern apostles of temperance, it was offensive to the Indians to the last degree. Aside from such a waste of property, they looked upon it as a piece of treachery on the part of Captain Heald, which had deprived them of the most essential part of the promised gifts. This
391
Black Partridge Returns His Medal.
last act was the most fatal error yet committed, as it compromised all the good fellowship that existed between the Indians and the garrison, on which alone Captain Heald had based a frail hope of security.
Up to this time the leading chiefs of the Pottawatta- mies (it is fair to infer), felt their ability to restrain the war spirit among the young braves who longed for a chance to achieve notoriety by ornamenting their belts with the scalp of an enemy, and were as unscrupulous as to the means employed to obtain it as some of our modern politicians are as to the issues that party strife thrusts into the arena of what should be the policy of the nation.
Black Partridge was conspicuous among the friendly and considerate chiefs, but after the destruction of the
PEACE
AND
BLACK PARTRIDGE'S MEDAL.
arms, etc., feeling that he could no longer restrain the war spirit of his people, he entered the quarters of Captain Heald with deep dejection. "Father," said the high minded chief, "I come to deliver up" to you the medal I wear. It was given me by the Americans, and I have long worn it in token of our mutual friend- ship, but our young men are resolved to imbrue their hands in the blood of the whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not wear a token of peace while I am compelled to act as an enemy." Whatever effect this startling disclosure produced on the minds of the garri- son, it was now too late to make any change in their plans; for nothing was left on which to subsist or with which to defend themselves, as only twenty-five rounds
-
392
Early Record of Capt. Wells.
of ammunition to the man and one extra box of cart- ridges had been reserved from the general distribution.
This was the situation on the night of the 13th when the devoted garrison returned to rest, perhaps for the last time. While this suspense was continuing at the fort, succor was on the way to them. The wife of Captain Heald was the daughter of Colonel Samuel Wells, of Kentucky, whose brother (afterward Captain William Wayne Wells) when thirteen years old had been taken captive by the Indians, in one of the border skirmishes, which were frequent occurrences in those early times .* He was adopted into the family of Little Turtle and bred in the lofty virtues of which that dis- tinguished chief was so able an exponent.
At the defeat of St. Clair, Mr. Wells had been in the front and maintained the position till a wall of dead bodies of the American artillery men shielded him from the tempest of bullets which assailed his men. Not- withstanding he had won laurels with the people of his adoption whom he had thus far successfully defended, in his reflective moments he clearly foresaw their de- clining fortunes, and resolved to abandon them to a fate from which it was impossible to extricate them. As might be supposed, this resolution filled his heart with contending emotions, painful beyond the power of but few to conceive. On the one hand were the associa- tions which had gathered around his maturing years, perhaps all the more tender because hardships and toil had been ever present with them. On the other was his ambition to cast his lot among his own people, who alone could elevate him to a position that his talents deserved. But as treachery with him was impossible, he plainly told his adopted father, Little Turtle, his in- tentions, and with much pathos bade him good-by, as he left him, and allied himself to the army of General Wayne, in 1794. With him he fought during the cam- paign and after the peace which followed it, he again joined Little Turtle, who now fully shared his senti- ments, and both went to Philadelphia together, in 1798, to take measures to bring civilization to their race.
* See Western Annals, page 615.
393
Capt. Wells Arrives at Ft. Dearborn.
Here the celebrated traveler, Mr. Volney, met Mr. Wells, and has left an interesting record of the inter- view .* He was also received with marked respect by the Quakers at the place, who never lost an opportunity to extend the open hand to help the Indian race. He then returned to Fort Wayne, where he remained till the war of 1812.+ The war whoop was now again ringing through the forest, and he was once more thrust into its theater. Rumors of the disaffection of the Pottawattamies, who hung around Fort Dearborn, reached him, and he promptly flew to the defense of his friends at the place, one of whom (Mrs. Heald) was his blood relation.
He arrived there on the 14th and found things in a desperate condition.
It was too late to defend the fort, and the only re- source left was to retreat in the face of a savage foe, dangerous from their numbers at best, but now irritated by the destruction of the arms and liquors which had been promised to them. Hope revived in the hearts of the devoted garrison when he, at the head of fifteen Miamis, entered the walls of the fort, and, consoled by this small reinforcement, all but the sentinels retired to rest.
The morning of the 15th arrived. All things were in readiness, and 9 o'clock was the hour named for starting.
Mr. Kinzie had volunteered to accompany the troops in their march, and had intrusted his family to the care of some friendly Indians, who had promised to convey them in a boat around the head of Lake Michigan to a pointį on the St. Joseph's river; there to be joined by the troops, should the prosecution of their march be permitted them.
Early in the morning Mr. Kinzie received a message from To-pee-nee-bee, a chief of the St. Joseph's band, informing him that mischief was intended by the Potta-
* Volney's View, page 357.
t Whiting's Historical Discourses, delivered at Detroit, 1832.
# The spot now called Bertrand, then known as Parc aux Vaches, from its having been a pasture ground to an old French fort in the neighbor- hood.
394
Capt. Wells in the Front.
wattamies who had engaged to escort the detachment; and urging him to relinquish his design of accompany- ing the troops by land, promising him that the boat containing himself and family should be permitted to pass in safety to St. Joseph's.
Mr. Kinzie declined acceding to this proposal, as he believed that his presence might operate as a restraint · upon the fury of the savages, so warmly were the greater part of them attached to himself and his family.
The party in the boat consisted of Mrs. Kinzie and her four younger children, their nurse Grutte, * a clerk of Mr. Kinzie's, two servants and the boatmen, besides the two Indians who acted as their protectors. The boat started, but had scarcely reached the mouth of the river, which, it will be recollected, was here half a mile below the fort, when another messenger from To-pee- nee-bee arrived to detain them where they were.
In breathless expectation sat the wife and mother. She was a woman of uncommon energy and strength of character, yet her heart died within her as she folded her arms around her helpless infants, and gazed upon the march of her husband and eldest child to certain destruction.
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