USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > History of Fort Wayne, from the earliest known accounts of this point, to the present period. Embracing an extended view of the aboriginal tribes of the Northwest, including, more especially, the Miamies with a sketch of the life of General Anthony Wyane; including also a lengthy biography of pioneer settlers of Fort Wayne. Also an account of the manufacturing, mercantile, and railroad interests of Fort Wayne and vicinity > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46
97
MOVEMENTS OF GEORGE ROGERS CLARK.
ginia, soon snuffed the air of the pioneer settlements. He saw the situation. His soul arose equal to the emergency, and was among the first to propose a plan of relief for these sufferers of the forest. On the 2d of January, 1778, he issued instructions to the farmers, and directed the heroic Lt .- Col. Geo. Rogers Clark, of Albermarle coun- ty, Virginia, to "proceed with all convenient speed to raise seven companies of soldiers, to consist of fifty men cach, officered in the usual manner, and armed most properly for the enterprise, and with that force to attack the British fort at Kaskaskia; " charging him, most explicitly, as follows : " During the whole transaction, you are to take especial care to keep the true destination of your force secret ;- its success depends on this." The sagacious fore- sight of Henry knew the man for the work.
Clark set about the task with a will. He was born a hero, and was said to be one of the finest looking men of his day, and would readily " have attracted attention among a thousand." Conscious dignity is said to have sat gracefully upon him. Agrecable in temper; manly in deportment; intelligent in conversation ; largely competent as an officer ; vivacious and bold of spirit, Col. Clarke was the man for the occasion.
His captains having reached Fort Pitt in the month of June,* with less than six lines, in companies, with boats in readiness, Clark and his little army were soon aboard, and floating down the Ohio, whither they descended to the falls, in view of the pres- ent site of Louisville, Ky., where they encamped, hoping to obtain additional force from Kentucky stations ; but, after some considera- tion touching these posts, deeming it unwise to reduce their strengh, with one hundred and fifty-three men, Col. Clark, armed after the Indian style, continued his course to the mouth of the Tennessee river. Obtaining important information at this point relative to the British posts on the Upper Mississippi, and sinking his boats to prevent discovery, he started overland to surprise and capture Kaskaskia. Each man carrying his own baggage and ra- tions, through marshes and forests, for a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, often knee-deep in water, with their apparel dirty and ragged, beards unshaven for three weeks, presenting alto- gether a wild, frightful aspect, on the evening of the Fourth of July, 1778, Clark and his men approached Kaskaskia, and con- cealed themselves about the hills east of the Kaskaskia river. Sending out spies to watch the inhabitants, soon after night-fall, ho was again in motion, and took possession of a house, in which a family resided, about three-quarters of a mile from the town, which contained about two hundred and fifty dwellings. Finding boats and canoes at this point, Clark divided his troops into three par-
*The general inconveniences of the day -- the thick forests, etc., all combined to render everything in the way of military and pioneer movements exceeding y slow, and often precarious.
(7)
98
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
ties-two to cross the river, while the other, with Clark himself, moved forward and took command of the fort.
The Indians and French had long known the New Englanders by the appellation of "Bostonias," and the Virginians by that of "Long-Knives." Many strange and fearful stories had long gone forth among the French of these posts concerning the Long-Knives. English officers visiting the Kaskaskians, had told them that the Long-Knives would not only take their property, but were so bru- tal and ferocious that they "would butcher, in the most horrible manner, men, women, and children !"-a fact that had previously reached the ear of Clark, and in pretension, at least, as the most salutary means of effecting his purpose, he determined to carry out the idea and take the inhabitants by storm ; and, accordingly, persons who could speak the French language, were directed to pass through the streets of the town and warn the inhabitants to keep within their dwellings, " under penalty of being shot down in the streets."
Crossing the river, the two parties strode into the yet " quiet and unsuspecting village at both extremes, yelling in the most furious manner, while those who made the proclamation in French, ordered the people into their houses on pain of instant death."* The word was ont. The little village of Kaskaskia was in an uproar. All was consternation, fear, and trembling. Men, women, and chil- dren ran for dear life, and " Les long couteaux !- les long cou- teaux!"-the Long-Knives !- the Long-Knives ! rapidly arose upon the theretofore quiet air of Kaskaskia, and the inhabitants precipi- tately betook themselves to their dwellings to escape the ven- geance of the intruders. The victory was short and decisive. No blood had been shed ; and two hours later, the inhabitants of the village had all surrendered and delivered up their firearms. All consummated after the best style of a commander well adapted to the occasion, and who knew just how to carry out the plan of ac- tion to the best advantage,-a movement termed by the French rouse de guerre,-the policy of war ; and to render the movement the more earnest and effectual in its character, the French Gover- nor, M. Rocheblave, was taken prisoner in his own chamber, and the night was passed by the Virginia soldiers in patroling the streets with whoops and yells after the manner of the Indians, which gave the inhabitants great uneasiness, but was all turned to the best account by Col. Clark. The inhabitants were now fully pursuaded that all they had previously heard concerning the Long- Knives was too true. Clark had even carried his plan so far as to prohibit intercourse with each other or his men; and for five days they were thus held in suspense within their cottages. His troops now, (the fifth day) being removed to the outskirts of the village, the inhaditants were privileged again to walk the streets ; but soon observing them conversing with each other, without giving any cause therefor, or permitting a word to be said in self-defence, *" Western Annals," pages 268, 269.
99
THE KASKASKIANS CONFER WITH CLARK.
Clark ordered several of the officers of the place to be put in irons. Not that he wished to be cruel or despotic, but that his strategetic plan might prove more effectual and certain in its operations ; and the wild, reckless, indifferent, dirty, ragged appearance and manner of Clark and his men, gave the greater awe and force to his plan of action.
At length, M. Gibault, the parish priest, accompanied by " five or six elderly gentlemen," by permission, called upon Col. Clark. All looking alike dirty, and but little different in their general ap- pearance, the deputation were greutly at a loss to know with whom to confer as commandant, and thus some moments elapsed before they were able to speak. But, very submissively, the priest, after a short interval, began to make known their mission. He said " the inhabitants expected to be separated, perhaps never to meet again, and they begged through him, as a great favor from their conqueror, to be permitted to assemble in the church, offer up their prayers to God for their souls, and take leave of each other."
To this Clark, with an air of seeming carelessness, replied that "the Americans did not trouble themselves about the religion of others, but left every man to worship God as he pleased ; " and readily granted the privilege desired, but charged them on no account to attempt to leave the place ; and no further conversation was per- mitted with the deputation.
The little church was soon open, and the people rapidly crowded into it. As though the last opportunity they would have thus to assemble, all mournfully chanted their prayers, and bid each other adieu, little presuming that they would ever meet again in this life ; and so great did they esteem the privilege granted them, that, at the close of the exercises, the priest and deputation repaired again to the quarters of Clark, and, on behalf of the people of the village, graciously thanked him for the indulgence granted them. Begging leave to say a word regarding their separation and their lives, they asserted that they knew nothing of the troubles between Great Britain and the colonists; that all that they had done was in subjection to the English commandants ; and that while they were willing to abide by the fate of war in the loss of their property, they prayed that they might not be separated from their families ; and that " clothes and provisions might be allowed them, barely sufficient for their present necessities."
The stratagem was now complete. Fear had lapsed into resig- nation ; and the spirit of hope in the Kaskaskians had fallen below the common ebb of even partial security. The achievement of Clark's plan was complete, and, with an air of surprise, he abruptly responded : "Do you mistake us for savages? I am al- most certain that you do from your language! Do you think that Americans intend to strip women and children, or take the bread out of their mouths ?" " My countrymen," continued he, " disdain to make war upon helpless innocence. It was to prevent the hor-
100
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
rors of Indian butchery upon our own wives and children that we have taken arms and penetrated into this remote stronghold of British and Indian barbarity, and not the despicable prospect of plunder. That now the King of France had united his powerful arms with that of America, the war would not, in all probability, continue long; but the inhabitants of Kaskaskia were at liberty to take which side they pleased, without the least danger to either their property or families. Nor would their religion be any source of disagreement, as all religions were regarded with equal respéet in the eye of the American law, and that any insult offered it would be immediately punished. And now, to prove my sincerity, you will please inform your fellow-citizens that they are quite at liberty to conduct themselves as usual, without the least apprehension. I am now convinced, from what I have learned since my arrival among you, that you have been misinformed and prejudiced against us by British officers ; and your friends who are in confine- ment shall immediately be released."
The utterances of Clark were soon conveyed to the people; and from fear and apprehension all was changed to joy and praise. The bells rang, and te deums were sung. All the night long the villa- gers made merry. All the privileges they could have desired were' granted them, and Col. Clark was readily acknowledged "the commandant of the country."
Soon planning an expedition against Cahokia, in which the Kas- kaskians themselves took part, that place was taken with but little trouble and no bloodshed. Close upon the achievement of this success, through the aid and friendship of M. Gibault, the priest of Kaskaskia, Vincennes was also soon captured, with but little ef- fort, and the American flag displayed from the garrison. Capt. Williams was now appointed commandant at Kaskaskia; Capt. Bowman at Cahokia, and Capt. Helm at Vincennes .* The French at these points were now all fast friends of the Americans, and re- joiced at the change that had been made from British to Ameri- ean rule ; and Clark proceeded to re-organize the civil government among them, appointing influential and prominent French resi- dents to fill the offices.
At this period a Piankeshaw chief, of great influence among his tribe, known as the " Big Gate," or " Big Door," and called by the Indians "The Grand Door to the Wabash," from the fact that, much as with the famous Pontiac and the Delaware Prophet, farther to the eastward, with whom the reader is already familiar, nothing could be accomplished by the Indian confederation on the Wabash at that period, without his approbation. Receiving "a spirited compliment " from father Gibault, (who was much liked by the Indians,) through his father, known as "Old Tobac," Big Door r( + turned it, which was soon followed with a " great talk " and a belt of wampum. These Indians, under British influence, had previ-
* The fort at Vincennes was called Fort Patrick Henry, after its capture by Clark.
-
101
THE WABASH INDIANS DECLARE FOR THE LONG-KNIVES.
ously done much " mischief to the frontier settlements." Capt. Helm now soon sent a "talk" and wampum to the "Big Door." The chief was very much elated, and sent a message to Helm, stating that he was glad to see one of the Big Knife chiefs in town; that here he joined the English against the Big Knives, but he long thought they " looked a little gloomy ; " that he must consult his counselors ; take time to deliberate, as was the Indian custom ; and hoped the Captain of the Big Knives would be patient. After sev- eral days, Old Tobac invited Captain Helm to a council; and it is said Tobac played quite a subordinate to his son (Big Door) in the proceedings thereof .*
After some display of eloquence in reference to the sky having been dark, and the clouds now having been brushed away, the Grand Door announced " that his ideas were much changed; and that " the Big Knives was in the right;" " that he would tell all the red people on the Wabash to bloody the hand no more for tlie English ;" and jumping up, striking his breast, said he was " a man and a warrior ; " " that he was now a Big Knife," and shook the hand of Capt. Helm, his example being followed by all present ; and soon all the tribes along the Wabash, as high as Ouiatenon, came flocking to Vincennes to welcome the Big Knives. The interests of the British are now said to have lost ground in all the villages south of Lake Michigan.
A few months later, and the jurisdiction of Virginia was exten- ded over the settlements of the Wabash and the Upper Missis- sippi, through the organization of the "County of Illinois," over which Col. John Todd had been made civil commander.
On the first of September, the time of enlistment of the troops under Clark having expired, and seventy of his men already re- turned home, to take their places, Clark at once organized a com- pany of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, commanded by their own officers, and soon started a formidable and rapid move- ment against the Indians, with whom he made no treaties or gave any quarters. His idea and spirit was to reduce them to terms, without any parley ; and soon the name of Clark became a terror among the tribes of the northwest. Before the close of December, (1778) these hostilities had nearly ceased, and everything wore a friendly air among the French settlers.
The news of Clark's success having at length reached Detroit, by way of this point, Hamilton, t the British Governor, at once determ- ined to recapture the posts again, and accordingly with eighty reg- *" Western Annals," pages 173, 174.
+The following passport, issued by Governor Hamilton, at Detroit, will convey a lively sense of the condition of affairs, and spirit of the northwest at this carly period : " By Henry Hamilton, Esq., Lient. Governor and Superintendent of Detroit and De- pendencies, &c., &c. " Detroit St., No. 254. It is permitted to John Bte. Dubois and Amable Delisle, employed by Mr. Macleod, to depart from this post and go to St. Vincennes ;-- they having been posted, taken the usnal oath, and that of fidelity, and given bond in the penalty of Two hundred and Fifty Pounds, New York currency, by which they bind themselves that they will not sell rum, wine, cider, or other strong
102
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
ulars, a large number of Canadian militia, and six hundred Indians, he ascended the Maumee, to this point, crossed over to the Wabash, and made a rapid movement upon Vincennes, thinking to take the fort by storm, and destroy all within the garrison. Thus they moved forward. Helm was not to be dismayed. Full of confidence, and with an air that served to signify that the fort was full of soldiers, he leaped upon the bastion, near a cannon, and, swinging his lighted match, shouted with great force, as the advancing column approached, " Halt! or I will blow you to atoms!" At which the Indians precipitately took to the woods, and the Canadians fell back out of range of the cannon. Fearing that the fort was well manned, and that a desperate encounter would ensue, Hamilton thought best to offer a parley. Capt. Helm declaring that he would fight as long as a man was left to bear arms, unless permitted to march out with the full honors of war, which were at length agreed upon, and the garrison thrown open, Helm and five men, all told, marching out, to the utmost astonishment of the British commander. But Helm was afterwards detained in the fort as a prisoner.
The season now being late and unfavorable, Hamilton determin- ed to take no further steps toward a capture of the other posts till spring. But in the meantime Clark, towards the last of January, 1779, received word as to the loss of Vincennes, and on the seventh of February, with one hundred and thirty men, he took up his line of march through the forest for Vincennes, a distance of one hun- dred and fifty miles, ordering Captain Rogers, with forty men, on board a large keel-boat, with two four-pounders and four swivels, to ascend the Wabash within a few miles of the mouth of White River-there to await further orders .* The march through the wilderness was one of peril and hardship-the river bottoms were inundated ; and, as they moved through these lowlands, the sol- diers were often, while having to feel for the trail with their feet, compelled to hold their guns and amunition above their heads. Their food on the march was parched corn and jerked beef. At
liquors to the Indians, directly or indirectly, nor allow the same to be done by any one in their employ ; that they will demean themselves as good and faithful subjects ; that they will exhibit their passport, on arriving at the Miamis (this point) and at the Weas. (Omatenon, below Lafayette) 10 those who are invested with authority ; and they bind themselves, under the pains of severe punishment, not to aid, assist, or cor- respond with the enemies of his Majesty ; and also that they will give information, as soon as possible, to the governors or officers commanding the nearest forts or posts, of those who violate any of the provisions above mentioned. And if any one should es- cape from any of the posts dependent to this Government, they shall immediately give notice thereof to the Lieut. Governor.
Given at Detroit, under my hand and seal, House of the King, the 17th of June, 1778. HENRY HAMILTON, L. s. By order of the Lieut. Governor, P. DEJEAN."
*Col. Clark seems to have had his attention long fixed upon this point, but was doubtless governed by a fair sense of wisdom in all his movements. In a letter to one Major Boseron, of Vincennes, bearing date, " Louisville, Feb. 28, 1780," Clark said : " I learn that there is a report of a number of savages collected at Omi (the Miami village at this point) with an intention to disturb the settlement of St. Vincents. 1 hope it is groundless ; if not, I could only wish that they would keep off for a few weeks, and I think they would be more sensible of their interest."
103
LA BALME'S EXPEDITION.
length, after some delay, on the evening of the 23d of February, arriving upon an eminence within sight of the fort, Clark ordered his men on parade, near the summit of the hill, overlooking the fort, keeping them marching for some time, in a manner that seem- ed to the English commander as if there was a large army ap- proaching-at least a thousand men, he thought, with colors plain- ly visible. During the night a deep ditch was dug to within rifle- shot of the fort, and before day-break, a number of men were sta- tioned therein " to pick off the garrison." It was a success ; every gunner attempting to show his head along the cannon of the fort, or peer through a loop-hole was shot; and on the 25th of February the fort was surrendered, and Hamilton, Major Hay, and a few others, as instigators in the incitement of Indian murders on the frontiers, accompanied by a strong guard, were sent to Virginia to answer for the crimes charged upon them, and where they were put in irons and held for a time in close confinement in retaliation for the massacres that had occurred ; but were finally released at the suggestion of General Washington.
This achievement on the part of Clark and his brave comrades, left them,-with no further attempts of the English to regain the lost forts, on the Wabash and Upper Mississippi,-in posses- sion of all the lower portion of the West until the close of the Rev- olution, when, at the treaty of peace with the English in 1783, on the basis of its having been conquered and held by Col. Clark, Great Britain conceded that all of this extended region of territory belonged to the United States.
In the fall of the year (1780) following this signal success of Clark at Vincennes, a Frenchman, by the name of La Balme* form- ed a plan at Kaskaskia for the capture of Ke-ki-ong-a, (this point) then held by the British.
"This village," says the account,t "was situated on the banks of the St. Joseph river, commencing about a quarter of a mile above its confluence with the St. Mary, which forms the Miami, (Maumee) and was near the present city of Fort Wayne. It had been a principal town of the Miami Indians for at least sixty years before the Revolution, and had been occupied by the French be- fore the fall of Canada, who had erected a fort at the confluence of the rivers, on the eastern side of the St. Joseph. At the period of the Revolution," continues the account, "it had become a place of much importance, in a trading and military point of view, and as such, ranked, in the north-west, next to Detroit and Vincennes. It was, accordingly, occupied as a post or seat of an official for In- dian affairs, by the British in the beginning of the war. Col. Clark, on the capture of Vincennes, had meditated an expedition against this place, as well as against Detroit; and though he seems never
#Pronounced by the French settlers of the time La Bal.
+By Charles B. Lasselle, Esq., formerly a resident of Fort Wayne, but now residing at Logansport, Ind., first published in the " Democratic Pharos," of Logansport, 1857
104
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
to have abandoned the idea, yet he could not succeed in his ar- rangements to attempt its execution. But while the subject was still fresh in the mind of Clark and the inhabitants of the Lower Wabash, another individual made his appearance to undertake what even the daring Clark, with greater resources, did not deem prudent to venture upon. This was LA BALME. But of him and his expedition, it may be here stated, very little information of an entirely authentic shape, is within our reach. Excepting about a dozen lines in Mr. Dillon's Historical Notes, no published account whatever of this expedition has ever appeared. Whatever may be given in this brief sketch, has been obtained mostly from some of those who were in part eye-witnesses to the events, and from tra- dition as handed down by the old inhabitants. La Balme was a na- tive of France, and had come to this country as some kind of an officer, with the French troops, under LaFayette, in 1779. We are not apprised whether he came to the west on his own responsibility, or whether he was directed by some authority; but we find him, in the summer of 1780, in Kaskaskia, raising volunteers to form an expedition against the post of Ke-ki-ong-a, with the ulterior view, in case of success, of extending his operations against the fort and towns of Detroit. At Kaskaskia he succeeded in obtaining only between twenty and thirty men. With these he proceeded to Vin- cennes, where he opened a recruiting establishment for the pur- pose of raising the number necessary for his object .* But he does not seem to have met here with the favor and encouragement of the principal inhabitants, or to have had much success in his en- listment. His expedition was looked upon as one of doubtful pro- priety, both as to its means and objects, and it met with the en- couragement, generally, of only the less considerate. Indeed, from the fragment of an old song, t as sung at the time by the maidens of Vincennes on the subject of La Balme and his expedition, pre- served by the writer, it would seem that plunder and fame were as much its objects, as that of conquest for the general good. Injus- tice may have been done him, in this respect ; but it is quite cer- tain, from all accounts, that though a generous and gallant man, well calculated to be of service in his proper sphere, yet he was too reckless and inconsiderate to lead such an expedition. How long he remained at Vincennes, we have not now, perhaps, any means of knowing. But sometime in the fall of that year-1780-with, as is supposed, between fifty and sixty men, he proceeded up the Wa- bash on his adventure.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.