History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families, Part 2

Author: B.F. Bowen & Co., Pub
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1182

USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 2

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HISTORICAL

RELATED STATE HISTORY.

FIRST EXPLORERS.

After the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, or, to be exact, when Columbus touched off the coast of Florida, more than one hundred and fifty years were to pass before the white explorers were to touch foot to the soil later embraced within the bounds of Indiana. Colonies were established in Florida. Virginia and Nova Scotia by the rival governments of Europe, but not until 1670-2 did the first white travelers venture so far into the North- west as Indiana or Lake Michigan. These explorers were Frenchmen by the names of Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon, who then visited what is now the eastern part of Wisconsin, the northeastern portion of Illinois and proba- bly that portion of this state north of the Kankakee river. In the year fol- lowing M. Joliet, an agent of the French colonial government, and James Marquette, a missionary stationed at Mackinaw, explored the country around Green bay, and along Fox and Wisconsin rivers as far westward as the Mississippi, the banks of which they reached on June 17, 1673. They de- scended this river a short distance and returned by way of the Illinois river. At a village among the Illinois Indians, Marquette and his followers were re- ceived with friendly hospitality, and made guests at a great feast of hominy, fish, dog meat and roast buffalo. In 1682 LaSalle explored the West, but it is not known for sure whether or not he entered the territory now embraced in Indiana. He took possession, however, of the whole Mississippi region, in the name of France, and he named it in honor of the king, Louisiana. Spain at the same time claimed the region around the Gulf of Mexico. Con- sequently, the two nations clashed.

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

EARLY INDIAN INHABITANTS.

At this time the country of Indiana was held by the Miami confederacy of Indians, the Miamis proper, originally the Twightwees, being the eastern and most powerful tribe. Their villages were few and scattering. These In- dian settlements were occasionally visited by Christian missionaries, fur trad- ers and adventurers, but no permanent settlement was risked by the white men. The "Five Nations," farther to the east, comprised the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas. In 1677 the number of war- riors in this confederation was two thousand one hundred and fifty. About I7'II the Tuscaroras retired from Carolina and joined the Iroquois, and the organization then became known as the "Six Nations." In 1689 hostilities broke out between the Indian tribes and the French colonists of Canada, and the following series of wars served the purpose of checking the grasping policy of Louis XIV, and to retard the planting of French colonies in the Mississippi valley. Missionary efforts, however, continued with more failure than success, the Jesuits allying themselves with the Indians in habits and customs, even encouraging inter-marriage between them and their white fol- lowers.

NATIONAL POLICIES.

The English, who were envious of the French, resorted to every method to extend their territory westward. Both nations secured aid from various Indian tribes, and a bloody and merciless warfare continued for many years. France continued in her effort to connect the Canadian country with the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of trading posts and colonies, which further in- creased the jealousy of England and really laid the foundation for the French and Indian war, which terminated in the treaty of 1763, at Paris, and by which France ceded to Great Britain all of North America east of the Mississippi river, except New Orleans and the island on which it is situated. The British policy, after getting control of the Indian territory, was still un favorable to its growth in population. In 1765 the number of French fam- ilies within the limits of the Northwestern territory did not exceed six hundred. These were in settlements around Detroit, along the Wabash river, and in the neighborhood of Fort Chartres on the Mississippi river. Of these families eighty-five resided at Post Vincennes, fourteen at Fort Ouiatenon on the Wabash, and in the neighborhood of the confluence of the St. Mary and St. Joseph rivers. The colonial policy of the British government opposed any measures which might strengthen the settlements in the interior of this

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

country, lest they became self-supporting and independent of the mother- country. Thomas Jefferson, the wise statesman and governor of Virginia, saw from the first that actual occupation of western lands was the only way to keep them out of the hands of foreigners and Indians.

Accordingly he engaged a corps of scientific men and sent them to the Mississippi river, to ascertain the point on that stream intersected by latitude 36 degrees thirty minutes, to the southern line of the state, and to measure its distance to the Ohio. He intrusted the military operations in that quarter to General Clark, with instructions to select a strong position near the named point, and erect a fort and garrison the same for protecting the settlers, and to extend his conquest toward the great lakes on the north. Conforming to his instructions, General Clark erected Fort Jefferson on the Mississippi, a few miles above the southern limit. The result of these operations was the addition to Virginia of the vast Northwest territory. The fact that a chain of forts was established by the Americans in this vast region convinced the British commissioners that we had entitled ourselves to the land. During this time the minor events were transpiring outside the territory in question which later promoted the settlement in what is now known as Indiana.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK EXPEDITION.

George Rogers Clark, some time in the spring of 1776, a resident of Kentucky, but a native of Virginia, formulated a scheme of more rapid set- tlement in the great Northwest territory. That part of Kentucky was occu- pied by Henderson and Company, who pretended to own the land and set a high price on the same. Clark doubted the validity of their claim, and wished to make a test of it, and adjust the control of the country so that settlements might be fostered. He called a meeting of the citizens at Harrodstown, to assemble June 6, 1776, and consider the claims of the company, and consult with reference to the interests of the country.

This meeting was held on the day appointed and delegates elected to confer with the state of Virginia as to the propriety of attaching the new country as a county to that state. Many causes prevented a consummation of this object until the year 1778. Virginia was favorable to the enterprise, but would not take action as a state. Governor Henry and a few others, how- ever, assisted Colonel Clark all they could. Clark organized an expedition and took in stores at Pittsburg and Wheeling, and proceeded down the Ohio to the falls, where he built some light fortifications.

At this time Post Vincennes comprised about four hundred militia. It

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

was a daring task for Colonel Clark with his small force of men to go up against it at Kaskaskia as he had planned. Some of his men, becoming alarmed at the critical situation, deserted him. He conducted himself so as to gain the sympathy of the French, and through them, the Indians to some extent, as both were very bitter against the English who had possession of the lake region. He took Kaskaskia first, and succeeded by kindness in win- ning them to his side. It was difficult, however, for him to induce the French to accept his paper, continental money, in payment for provisions. Colonel Vigo. a Frenchman, who had a trading establishment there, came to the rescue, and prevailed upon the people to accept this paper. Colonel Vigo sold coffee at one dollar per pound and other goods in proportion.

The next post was Vincennes, defended by Fort Sackville, an important possession to gain. Father Gibault, of Kaskaskia, who also had charge of the church at Vincennes, being friendly to the Americans, used his influence with the people of the garrison, and won them to Clark's standard. They took the oath of allegiance to Virginia and became citizens of the United States. Clark had concluded treaties with several Indian tribes, and placed Captain Leonard Helm, an American, in command of Vincennes. On learn- ing the successful termination of Clark's expedition, the general assembly of Virginia declared all of the settlers west of the Ohio organized into a county of that state, to be known as Illinois county ; but before the provisions of the law could be made effective. Henry Hamilton, the British lieutenant governor of Detroit, collected an army of thirty regulars, fifty French volunteers, and four hundred Indians and moved upon and took Post Vincennes in Decem- ber. 1778. Captain Helm and a man named Henry were the only Americans at the fort. the only members of the garrison. Helm was taken prisoner and the French disarmed.

Upon hearing of the taking of Post Vincennes, Clark, who was still at Kaskaskia, determined to retake the place. He gathered together about one hundred and seventy men, and on February 5th started from Kaskaskia, crossing the stream of the same name. The weather was wet and the low- lands covered with water. He had to subsist on such game as he could kill en route. The men underwent great privations, wading through acres of water to their hips, and suffering intensely with the cold. However, Colonel Clark shared all of the hardships of the men and asked nothing of them which he would not undergo himself. They reached the little Wabash on the thirteenth, and two days were occupied in crossing the swollen stream. They found the roads no better, but marched down and reached the Big Wabash on the seventeenth of the month. The next two days were consumed

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

in attempting to cross the angry stream. Finally canoes were constructed and the entire force crossed the main stream, and then found the lowlands en- tirely under water and ice which had formed recently. His men refused to proceed. All of Clark's persuasions had no effect upon the half starved men. In one company was a small drunimer-boy and also a sergeant who stood six feet and two inches high. Clark ordered him, the sergeant, to mount the boy on his shoulders and plunge into the water. He did so, and the small drummer beat the charge from his position, while Clark, sword in hand, followed. This maneuver was electrical, and the men, with a cheer, followed their leader. On arriving within two miles of the fort Clark halted his men and sent in a letter demanding surrender, to which he received no reply. He next ordered Lieutenant Bayley, with fourteen men, to advance and fire on the fort, while the main body of men moved in another direction and took pos- session of the strongest portion of the town. Clark then demanded Hamil- ton's immediate surrender, on penalty of being treated as a murderer. Hamil- ton refused indignantly. Fighting began and continued for over an hour, when Hamilton proposed a three days' truce. Clark, characteristically, sent word that nothing but unconditional surrender was satisfactory. In less than an hour the surrender was dictated by General Clark. This was on February 24, 1779.

Of this expedition, of its results, of its importance, as well as of the skill and bravery of those engaged, a volume could well be written. The expedition has never been surpassed in modern warfare, when we consider that by it the whole territory now included in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan was added to the Union, and so admitted by the British commissioners in the treaty of peace in 1783. But for the result of this expedition our western boundary would have been the Ohio instead of the Mississippi. Clark rein- stated Captain Helm in command at Vincennes, with instructions to subdue the marauding Indians, which he did, and soon comparative quiet prevailed on Indiana soil. The whole credit of this conquest belongs to Colonel Clark and Francis Vigo.

NORTHWEST GOVERNMENT.

By the conquest of Colonel Clark, Indiana came within the territory be- longing to Virginia. In January, 1783, the General Assembly of the Old Dominion resolved to cede this territory to the general government of the United States. The proposition made by Virginia was accepted by the gov- ernment and the transfer made early in 1784. The terms were that Virginia was to be reimbursed for all expenses incurred in exploring and protecting

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

settlers in the territory; also that one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land should be granted to the soldiers who, with Colonel Clark, had made the famous expedition. After all these matters had been attended to, in the spring of 1784, the matter of governing this section of the west was referred to a committee of Messrs. Jefferson, of Virginia, Chase, of Maryland, and Howell, of Rhode Island, which committee, among other things, reported an ordinance prohibiting slavery in the territory after 1800, but this article of the ordinance was rejected. The Ordinance of 1787 has an interesting his- tory. Much controversy has been indulged in as to who is really entitled to the credit of framing it. This undoubtedly belongs to Nathan Dane; and to Rufus King and Timothy Pickering belongs the credit of having inserted the anti-slavery clause which it contained. Mr. Jefferson had vainly tried to secure a system of government for the Northwest territory excluding slav- ery therefrom. The South, however, invariably voted him down.

In July 1787, an organizing act without the slavery clause was pending, which was supposed to secure its passage. Congress went into session in New York City. July 5th, Rev. Manasseh Cutler, of Massachusetts, came to , New York in the interests of some land or speculators in the Northwest territory. He was a courtly gentleman of the old school type and had gotten into the confidence of the Southern leaders. He wished to purchase five million, five hundred thousand acres of land in the new territory. Jefferson and his administration desired to make a record on the reduction of the public debt, and this was a rare opportunity. Massachusetts' representatives could not vote against Cutler's scheme, as many of their constituents were inter- , ested in the measure personally; Southern members were almost committed. Thus, Cutler held the key to the situation, and dictated terms, which were as follows :

I. The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever.

2. Providing one-thirty-sixth of all lands for public schools.

3. Be it forever remembered that this compact declares that religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happi- ness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always be en- couraged.

Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platfrom and would not yield, stating that unless they could procure these lands under desirable conditions and surroundings, that they did not care to purchase. July 13, 1787, the bill be- came a law. Thus the great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin were consecrated to freedom, intelligence and morality. October 5, 1787. Congress elected General Arthur St. Clair governor of the North-

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

west territory. He assumed his official duties at Marietta and at once pro- ceeded to treat with the Indians and organize a territorial government. He first organized a court at Marietta, consisting of three judges, himself being president of the court.

The governor, with his judges, then visited Kaskaskia for the purpose of organizing a civil government, having previously instructed Major Ham- tramck at Vincennes to present the policy of the new administration to the several Indian tribes and learn their feelings. They received the messenger with a cool indifference, which, when reported to the governor, convinced him that nothing short of military force would command compliance with the civil government. He at once proceeded to Fort Washington to consult with General Harmer as to future action. In the meantime he intrusted to the secretary of the territory, Winthrop Sargent, the settlement of the dis- puted land claims, who found it a hard task, and in his reports states that he found the records so falsified, vouchers destroyed, and other crookedness as to make it impossible to get at a just settlement, which but again proves that the "graft" of the twentieth century existed decades before this word had been coined.

The general court in 1790 passed stringent laws against the sale of intoxicating liquors to Indians and also to soldiers within ten miles of any military post; also prohibiting any games of chance within the territory.

The consultation between St. Clair and General Harmar ended by a de- cision to raise a large military force and thoroughly chastise the Indians about the head of the Wabash river. Accordingly, Virginia and Pennsyl- vania were called upon to muster eighteen hundred men at Fort Steuben, and, with the garrison of that fort, join the forces at Vincennes under Major Hamtramck, who proceeded up the Wabash as far as the Vermillion river, destroying villages, but without finding an enemy to oppose him. General Harmar, with one thousand four hundred and fifty men, marched from Fort Washington to the Maumee, and began punishing the Indians, but with little success. The expedition left Fort Washington September 30th, and returned to that place November 4th, having lost during that period one hundred and eighty-three men killed and thirty-one wounded. General Harmar's defeat alarmed as well as aroused the citizens in the frontier counties of Virginia, thinking the Indians might invade that state.

The governor of Virginia called out the militia along the upper borders of that state; at the same time Charles Scott was appointed brigadier-general of the Kentucky militia now preparing to defend the frontiers of that state. This excited Congress and a war board was appointed, consisting of five

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

members. March 9, 1791, General Knox, secretary of war, wrote to General Scott recommending an expedition against the Indians on the Wabash. March 3, 1791, congress invested Governor St. Clair with the command of three thousand troops, and he was instructed by the secretary of war to march to the Miami village and establish a strong and permanent military post. After that was accomplished he was to seek the enemy with all his available forces and make them feel the effect of the superiority of the whites.

ST. CLAIR AND WAYNE EXPEDITIONS.

Although seriously damaged, the Indians were far from subdued. The Canadians and English along the border gave them much encouragement. In September, 1791, St. Clair moved from Fort Washington with a force of two thousand men and a number of pieces of artillery. November 3d, he reached the headwaters of the Wabash, where Fort Recovery was later built, and here the army camped, consisting of one thousand four hundred effective men. The following morning the army advanced and engaged a force of twelve hundred Indians. Here the American army was disastrously defeated, having thirty-nine officers and five hundred and thirty-nine men killed and missing, twenty-two officers and two hundred and thirty-two men wounded. Several pieces of artillery and all their provisions were taken from them. The property loss was estimated at thirty-two thousand dollars. There has always been some disposition to blame General St. Clair for this awful de- feat, but his recent biographer, John Newton Boucher, of Greensburg, Penn- sylvania, proves conclusively that he was not to blame. Be that as it may, he resigned his commission after that battle and the work was taken up by General Anthony Wayne, of Revolutionary fame, who organized his forces at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and in October, 1793, moved westward at the head of an army of three thousand six hundred men. He proposed an of- fensive campaign. The Indians still held that the Ohio river should be the boundary line between the United States and their lands.

Major-General Scott, with about sixteen hundred volunteers from Ken- tucky, joined the regular troops under General Wayne on July 26, 1794, and on the 28th the united force began their march for the Indian towns on the Maumee river. Arriving at the mouth of the Auglaize, they erected Fort Defiance and on August 15th the army advanced toward the British fort at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, where on the 20th, almost within reach of the British, the American army gained a decisive victory over the combined forces of the hostile Indians and a considerable number of Detroit

DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

militia. The number of the enemy was estimated at two thousand, against about nine hundred American troops actually engaged. As soon as the action began this horde of savages abandoned themselves to flight and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving Wayne's victorious army in full possession of the field. The Americans lost thirty-three killed and one hundred wound- ed; the loss of the enemy more than doubled this number.

The army remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn fields were consumed and destroyed for a considerable distance both above and below Fort Miami, as well as within pistol shot of the British garrison, who were compelled to remain idle spectators to this general devastation and con- flagration, among which were the houses, stores and property of Colonel McKee, the British Indian agent, and general stimulator of the war then existing between the United States and the savages. On the return march to Fort Defiance the villages and corn fields for about fifty miles on each side of the Maumee were destroyed as well as those for a considerable distance around that post.

ORIGIN OF FORT WAYNE.

September 14, 1794, the army under General Wayne commenced its march toward the deserted Miami villages at the confluence of St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers, arriving October 17th, and on the following day the site of Fort Wayne was selected. The fort was completed November 22d and garrisoned by a strong detachment of infantry and artillery under the com- mand of Colonel John F. Hamtramck, who gave to the new fort the name of "Fort Wayne." In 1814 a new fort was built on the site of this structure. The Kentucky volunteers returned to Fort Washington, and were mustered out of service. General Wayne, with the federal troops, marched to Green- ville and took up his headquarters during the winter. Here, in August, 1795, after several months of active negotiation, this gallant officer succeeded in concluding a general treaty of peace with all the hostile tribes of the Northwestern territory. This treaty opened the way for the flood of immi- gration for many years, and ultimately made the states and territories now constituting the mighty Northwest.

Up to the organization of the Indiana territory there is but little history to record aside from those events connected with military affairs. In July, 1796, after a treaty was concluded between the United States and Spain, the British garrison, with their arms, artillery and stores, were withdrawn from

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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.

the posts within the boundaries of the United States northwest of the Ohio river, and the detachment of American troops consisting of sixty-five men under the command of Captain Moses Porter took possession of the evac- uated post of Detroit in the same month.

In the latter part of 1796 Winthrop Sargent went to Detroit and or- ganized the county of Wayne, forming a part of the Indian territory until its division in 1805, when the territory of Michigan was organized.

ORGANIZATION OF INDIANA TERRITORY.

On the final victory of the American army in 1796 the principal town within what is now the state of Indiana was Vincennes, which comprised only fifty houses, but presented a thrifty appearance. There was also a small settlement where now stands Lawrenceburg, and several smaller settlements around trading posts, and the total number of civilized inhabitants in the territory was estimated at four thousand eight hundred seventy-five.

Indiana territory was organized by act of Congress May 7, 1800, the material features of the ordinance of 1787 remaining in force and the people were invested with all the rights and advantages granted and secured by that ordinance.

The seat of government was fixed at Vincennes. May 13, 1800, William Henry Harrison, a native of Virginia, was appointed governor. John Gib- son, of Pennsylvania, was made secretary of the territory. General Harrison called together the first territorial legislature or council March 3, 1801. From this time to 1810 the chief questions under discussion were land speculators, African slavery and the hostile views of the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, and his brother, the wily Prophet.

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History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families, Part 2

Author: B.F. Bowen & Co., Pub Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1182

Author: B.F. Bowen & Co., Pub
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1182