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 32
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The principal object of the expeditions against the Indians, from Fort Wayne and other points, as the reader will remember, was to destroy their provisions and means of subsistence, thereby effectu- ally disabling them for renewed efforts in the following spring (1813); and Richard M. Johnson, who had witnessed the effect of these movements and the efficiency of the mounted riflemen, on his return to Congress, had laid before the war department a plan for a mounted expedition against the tribes, as already referred to, dur- ing the winter of 1812-'13.
The good effects of the expeditions were stated by him to be : "Security to the northwestern frontiers from Fort Wayne to the Mississippi-to the convoys of provisions for the northwestern army, when its force was diminished in the spring, and the neutral-
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ity of the savages in future, from the powerful impression that would be made on their fears; that the winter season would be most favorable for the movement-enabling the horsemen, while snow was on the ground, and the leaves off the bushes, to hunt out and destroy the Indians prowling about."
With this view, two regiments, consisting of about 1280 men, were proposed to be employed, which were then considered sufficient to traverse the entire Indian country, from Fort Wayne to the lower end of, and beyond, Lake Michigan, by way of the Illinois river, back to the river Ohio, near Louisville, Ky .; and "to disperse and destroy all the tribes of Indians and their resources to be found within that compass." Colonel Johnson also presented this subject to the Governor of Kentucky ; and the same was finally submitted, by the Secretary of war, to General Harrison, on the 26th of De- cember, 1812. Said the Secretary, in this communication : "The President has it in contemplation to set on foot an expedition from Kentucky of about 1000 mounted men, to pass by Fort Wayne, the lower end of lake Michigan, and round by the Illinois back to the Ohio near Louisville, for the purpose of scouring that country, des- troying the provisions collected in the Indian villages, scourging the Indians themselves, and disabling them from interfering with your operatious. It is expected that this expedition will commence in February (1813); and it will terminate in a few weeks. I give you the information, that you may take it into consideration in the estimate of those arrangements, you may find it necessary to make, for carrying into effect the objects of the government. I send you a copy of the proposed plan, on which I wish to hear from you without delay. You will particularly state, whether you can effect these objects in the manner which is suggested, by adequate por- tions of the force now in the field ; and in that case, whether it will be better to suspend the movement of this force until the spring."
In the expedition under Colonel Campbell, in the middle of the winter, to the towns on the Mississinewa, as the reader"will remem- ber, General Harrison had already anticipated the plan of Colonel Johnson.
After having further considered the proposition of Colonel John- son, General Harrison made the following response :
" I am sorry not to be able to agree with my friend, Colonel John- son, upon the propriety of the contemplated mounted expedition. An expedition of this kind directed against a particular town will probably succeed. The Indian towns cannot be surprised in suc- cession, as they give the alarm from one to the other with more rapidity than our troops can move. In the months of February, March, and April, the towns are all abandoned. The men are hunt- ing, and the women and children, particularly to the north of the Wabash, are scattered about making `sugar. The corn is in that scason universally hid in small parcels in the earth, and could not be found. There are no `considerable villages in that direction.
RESPONSE OF GEN. HARRISON TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. 251
Those that are there are composed of bark huts, which the Indians do not care for, and which during the winter are entirely empty. The detachment might pass through the whole extent of country to be scoured, without seeing an Indian, except at the first town they struck, and it is more than probable, that they would find it empty. But the expedition is impracticable to the extent proposed. The horses, if not the men, would perish. The horses that are now to be found, are not like those of the early settlers, and such as the Indians and traders now have. They have been accustomed to · corn, and must have it. Colonel Campbell went but 70 or 80 miles from the frontiers, and the greater part of his horses could scarcely be brought in. Such an expedition in the summer and fall would be highly advantageous, because the Indians are then at their towns, and their corn can be destroyed. An attack upon a particu- lar town in the winter, when the inhabitants are at it, as we know they are at Mississiniway, and which is so near as to enable the detachment to reach it without killing their horses, is not only prac- ticable, but if there is snow on the ground is perhaps the most favorable."
These practical suggestions of the General were sufficient. The plan was abandoned, and " the attention of government was direc- ted to the organization of a mounted corps for the spring; " and Colonel Johnson was " authorized to organize, and hold in readi- ness, a regiment of mounted volunteers-which he readily complied with, on his return to Kentucky, at the close of the session of Con- gress, and soon moved towards the scene of action.
Addressing his men, he said : " The regiment of mounted volun- teers was organized under the authority of the war department, to await its call, or to meet any crisis which might involve the honor, the rights and the safety of the country. That crisis has arrived. Fort Meigs is attacked. The northwestern army is surrounded by the enemy, and under the command of general Harrison is nobly defending the cause of the country against a combined enemy, the British and Indians. They will maintain their ground till relieved. The intermediate garrisons are also in imminent danger, and may fall a bleeding sacrifice to savage cruelty, unless timely reinforced. The frontiers may be deluged in blood. The mounted regiment will present a shield to the defenseless ; and united with the forces now marching, and the Ohio volunteers for the same purpose, will drive the enemy from our soil. Therefore on Thursday, the 20th of May, the regiment will rendezvous at the Great Crossings in Scott county, except the companies, &c., which will rendezvous on the 22d at Newport; at which place, the whole corps wili draw arms, ammunition, &c."
Calling upon General Harrison, who, at this time, was at Cincin- nati visiting his family, who then lived there, Colonel Johnson's regiment was accepted, and he was ordered by General Harrison to proceed immediately to Fort Wayne, to take command here and of
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the posts on the Auglaize ; also " to make incursions into the coun- try of the Indians; to scour the northwestern frontiers; and, if possible, to cut off small parties who might infest the forts, or be marching from the Illinois and Wabash towards Malden and Detroit -never to remain at one place more than three days."
An officer from each regiment was at once sent back to raise another body of men. The regiment under Johnson was com- posed as follows :
R. M. Johnson, Colonel ; James Johnson, Lieutenant-colonel. First battalion-Duval Payne, Major; Robt. B. M'Afee,* Richard Matison, Jacob Elliston, Benjamin Warfield, John Payne, (cavalry) Elijah Craig, Captains.
Second battalion-David Thompson, Major ; Jacob Stucker, Jas. Davidson, S. R. Combs, W. M. Price, James Coleman, captains.
Staff-Jeremiah Kertly, Adjutant; B. S. Chambers, Quartermas- ter; Samuel Theobalds, Judge-advocate ; L. Dickinson, Sargeant- major.
James Sugget, Chaplain and Major of the spies; L. Sandford, Quartermaster-sargeant ; subsequently added, Dr. Ewing, Surgeon, and Drs. Coburn and Richardson, surgeon's mates.
The regiment arrived at Fort Meigs on the first of June, 1813. From this point Colonel Johnson proceeded alone to the Indian village of Wapoghconata, on the Auglaize, " to procure some Shawanoe Indians to act as guides and spies ; " and after a few days returned with thirteen Indians, among whom was the half- bred, Anthony Shane, whose father was a Frenchman, and in whom the largest confidence was placed by those who knew him in the northwestern army. Shane had been an active opponent of Wayne, in 1794, but after the treaty of Greenville, had been a most faithful friend of the United States.
On the 5th of June, the regiment under Johnson again took up its line of march for Fort Wayne. When the troops reached Shane's crossing of the St. Mary, about forty miles from Fort Wayne, they were halted and drilled for some time, and here remained over night. Heavy rains having but recently fallen, the St. Mary was found impassible ; and on the following morning a rude bridge was formed over this stream by felling trees across it, upon which the army crossed with their baggage and guns, while their horses were gotten over by swimming them by the side of the fallen timber.
The remainder of the route to Fort Wayne proved very difficult ; " all the flats and marshes being covered with water, and the roads very miry."t
Reaching the Fort on the evening of the 7th of June, it was found that the boats had all gained the common landing place, at the base of the hill, just below the garrison, in safety, but one, which had stranded on a sand-bar a short distance above, in sight of the fort; and while attempting to get the boat off, the boatmen
* Author of " History of the Late War in the Western Country." ¡M'Afee.
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were fired upon by some Indians lurking near, and two of the men killed, while the third, in attempting to swim to the shore, was drowned.
Arriving a little in advance of the regiment, Colonel Johnson and staff, as soon as it was possible to get ready, mounted their horses and crossed to the boat. The Indians at once fired upon their advance, and then retreated.
The spies having now suggested that the Indians were consider- ably stronger than the party under Colonel Johnson, a pursuit was deferred until the arrival of the regiment, when a chase was immediately commenced and continued for some ten miles ; but rain beginning to fall heavily, the party was compelled to return to the fort again, without having gained sight of the Indians.
But a further pursuit was at once determined upon ; and the next day, (the Sth) after a council of officers, and some necessary pre- paration, an expedition was formed to proceed in the direction of the southeast end of Lake Michigan. With this view, the regi- ment, towards evening, deposited their heavy baggage in the fort ; supplied themselves with ten days' provisions, and soon crossed the St. Mary, to encamp for the night in the forks, opposite the garrison, where the river had now just begun to rise ; "though," says M'Afee, " on the evening of the 5th, it had been at the top of its banks at Shane's crossing, but forty miles from its mouth by land. Hence," continues he, " if we suppose the current to run three miles an hour, (which is near the truth), the distance by water would be two hun- dred miles, so extremely crooked is the course of the river."
Early on the following day, the regiment took the Indian trail again, leading towards the old Pottawattamie village of Five Med- als, which had been destroyed, as the reader will remember, the previous year, but which was now thought to have been rebuilt. The regiment marched forty miles this day, before night. Stopping now to rest and permit the horses to graze, with a view to an attack upon the Indian village at daylight the next morning, a heavy rain came up, preventing the execution of the plan ; but " after encoun- tering many obstacles in crossing high waters and marshes, they arrived at the Elkhart river before it had risen so as to be impassa- ble, and in half an hour afterwards the village of Five Medals was gained and surrounded ; " but found unoccupied.
Determining now to visit a village on the other side of the St. Joseph of the Lake, known as Paravash, on the morning of the 11th, the regiment began its march for that point, but, upon arriv- ing at the St. Joseph, and finding it impassable, further movement upon this village was abandoned. A rapid advance was now made upon the White Pigeon's town, arriving there in the afternoon of that day, meeting a few Indians on the way, who made their escape in a canoe across a stream on the route, which was also found im- passable. The village of White Pigeon had long been the most extensive Indian town in that region ; and the main trace of the
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Indians, from Chicago and the Illinois country to Detroit, passed directly through this town, but appeared to have been but little traversed that spring. Here, near this village, the regiment en- camped till the following day, when, having fulfilled his instructions to visit this trace, with a view to intercepting any movements of the enemy that might be making by this route, and finding also that the provisions of the troops had been considerably damaged by the rains encountered, Colonel Johnson determined to return to Fort Wayne; and, as there was an Indian path at that time leading direct from the White Pigeon town to Fort Wayne, the regiment now began its return march over this trail for the Fort, whither, after a march, in all, with heavy rains every day, of some two hundred miles, on the 14th, the troops again drew up at the Fort here, con- siderably fatigued, though as determined and earnest as ever in their patriotic efforts.
Though not encountering the Indians in his route, or finding them at either of the villages visited, yet the movements of the ex- pedition under Colonel Johnson greatly increased his knowledge of the country ; and it was now soon ascertained that all the In- dians in the British service, and who had principally been engaged in the siege of Fort Meigs, were still mainly held and maintained in the vicinity of Malden.
After a few days' stay at Fort Wayne, and finding themselves much rested from their late fatiguing and most disagreeable march, the regiment under Johnson proceeded down the Maumee, with an escort of provisions, to Fort Winchester. The provisions were placed in boats, with a number of men to man them, while the troops continued their way along the road opened by General Win- chester, on the north side of the Maumee, encamping every night with the boats. Arriving at Fort Winchester, Colonel Johnson re- ceived a dispatch from General Harrison, recommending him to make an attack on the enemy at Raisin and Browntown. To this suggestion, though by no means explicit, Colonel Johnson at once began to give his attention, feeling, from his high sense of patriot- ism and regard for General Harrison and any suggestion emanating from him, that the plan should be executed, if possible.
Having, just before this suggestion to Colonel Johnson, heard of the success of the American arms below Fort Meigs, and "that General Proctor was ordered in that direction to assist in repelling the invaders ; and believing that Proctor had left Malden with a con- siderable portion of his force, the General supposed that an excel- lent opportunity had offered to attack his savage allies in the Michi- gan Territory, by a coup de main with the mounted regiment."
But Colonel Johnson, owing to the fact of his horses being much exhausted from the effects of their late expedition from Fort Wayne, as well as for lack of a sufficient number of men, a detachment of his regiment having been engaged in escorting provisions from St. Mary's, was unable to carry out immediately the plan proposed by
255
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RELIEF OF FORT MEIGS.
General Harrison. The execution of the plan proposed was con- sidered most hazzardous indeed ; and to have attempted a march of a " hundred miles, through swamps and marshes, and over diffi- cult rivers, with guides not very well acquainted with the country," and with horses greatly worn down, " to attack a body of Indians who could, in a few hours, raise more than double the force of the regiment" of 700 men then under Johnson, required some considera- ·tion as well as time and preparation. " But fortunately for the regi- ment, on the next day an express arrived from General Clay, com- manding at Fort Meigs, with information that the British and In- dians threatened to invest that place again, and with a request that Colonel Johnson would march his regiment there immediately for its relief. Orders to march were given without delay ; and such was the zeal and promptitude of both officers and men, that in half an hour they were all ready to march, and commenced crossing the Maumee, opposite the fort. * * * The heads of the column were then drawn up in close order, and the Colonel, in a short and impressive address, instructed them in their duties. If an enemy were discovered, the order of march was to be in two lines, one parallel to the river, and the other in front, stretching across from the head of the former to the river on the right. He concluded with saying : ' We must fight our way through any oppos- ing force, let what will be the consequences, as no retreat could be justifiable. It is no time to flinch-we must reach the fort, or die in the attempt.' Every countenance, responsive to the sentiments of the speaker, indicated the same desperate determination. The ground on which the enemy had gained their barbarous triumph over Dudley was again to be traversed; and his allies woulddoubtless hope to realize another 5th of May, in another contest with Ken- tucky militia. The march was again resumed, and the regiment arrived at ten o'clock in the night, opposite Fort Meigs, without molestation, and encamped in the open plain between the river and the hill on which the British batteries had been erected."*
Apprehensions of an attack were now strong. Information, gain- ed from a Frenchman and an American prisoner, who arrived at Fort Meigs on the 20th of June, was to the effect that the British were determined to renew the attack on the fort, and were to start for that purpose about that period. At this time, General Harri- son was at Franklinton, where he was made acquainted with the determination of the British.
Before quitting Franklinton for other points in view, he held an important council with some chiefs of the friendly Indians of the Delaware, Shawanoe, Wyandott, and Seneca tribes; informing them " that a crisis had arrived, which required all the tribes who remained neutral, and who were willing to engage in the war, to take a decided stand either for the Americans or against them-that the President wanted no false friends-that the proposal of General Proctor to exchange the Kentucky militia for the tribes in our friend- *M'Afee.
.
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ship indicated that he had received some hint of their willingness to to take up the tomahawk against the Americans-and that to give the United States a proof of their disposition, they must either re- move with their families into the interior, or the warriors must accompany him in the ensuing campaign and fight for the United States. To the latter condition, the chiefs and warriors unani- mously agreed ; and said they had long been anxious for an invita- tion to fight for the Americans. Tahe, the oldest Indian in the western country, who represented all the tribes, professed, in their name, the most indissoluable friendship for the United States. Gen- eral Harrison then told them he would let them know when they would be wanted in the service-" but," said he, " you must con- form to our mode of warfare. You must not kill defenseless prisoners, old men, women, or children." By their conduct, he also added, he would be able to tell whether the British could re- strain their Indians from such horrible cruelty. For if the In- dians fighting with him would forbear such conduct, it would prove that the British could also restrain theirs if they wished to do so-humerously telling them he had been informed that General Proctor had promised to deliver him into the hands of Tecumseh, if he succeeded against Fort Meigs, to be treated as that warrior might think proper. "Now," continued he, "if I can succeed in taking Proctor, you shall have him for your prisoner, provided you will agree to treat him as a squaw, and only put petticoats upon him ; for he must be a coward who would kill a defenseless prisoner."
The subject being now strongly pressed upon the government, the Indians were soon reluctantly employed by the United States against the Indians in the employ of the British ; and the move- ment, says M'Afee, " was perfectly justifiable, as a measure of self- defense ; yet," continues he, " there is only one reason which recon- ciles me to it-we thus demonstrated that the north-American sav- age is not such a cruel and ferocious being that he cannot be re- strained by civilized man within the bounds of civilized warfare. In several instances," he further remarks, " strong corps of Indians fought under the American standard, and were uniformly distin- guished for their orderly and humane conduct."
On the first of July, General Harrison set out from Fort Meigs for Lower Sandusky, accompanied by seventy mounted men, under command of Captain M'Afee.
Soon after his departure, the Indians had begun again to invest the vicinity of Fort Meigs ; and late on the evening of the 20th of July, the vessels of the British army were to be seen in the Manmee, some distance below the fort.
Early on the following morning, a picket-guard, of some eleven men, having been sent to a point about three hundred yards below the fort, were surprised by the Indians, and seven of them killed. At this time a large body of British and Indians were seen encamped below old Fort Miami, on the north side of the river;
SHAM MOVMENTS OF THE BRITISH ON THE SANDUSKY ROAD. 257
and the woods in the rear of the fort was soon after possessed by the Indians, who began to commit some depredations, by occasion- ally firing into the fort, and capturing some horses and oxen.
General Harrison was at once apprised of the siege, while all in the garrison were attentively engaged in preparing for the move- ments against the fort; and General Clay was most vigilant in all his efforts.
On the 23d, with a body of some eight hundred Indians, Tecum- seh was seen moving up the river, with a view, as was supposed, of attacking Fort Winchester. On the 25th, the enemy removed his camp to the south side of the river, which superinduced the belief that an attempt would be made by the British to take the fort by storm.
General Harrison was still kept advised of the movements of the British ; but his force was not sufficient to enable him to reach the garrison as he had wished, though he continued to assure Gen- eral Clay that all needed aid would reach him from Ohio and other points in good season. On the evening of the 26th, some hours after the arrival at the fort of the express from General Harrison, heavy firing was commenced on the Sandusky road, about the distance of a mile from Fort Meigs. The discharge of rifles and musketry, accompanied by the Indian yell, could be clearly dis- tinguished ; and by degrees the apparent contest approached to- wards the fort, though sometimes it appeared to recede. It lasted about an hour, and came in the end near the edge of the woods. The general pronounced it a sham battle, intended to draw out the garrison to relieve a supposed reinforcement. A few discharges of cannon at the fort, and a heavy shower of rain, at length put an end to the scheme, no doubt to the great mortification of its projectors. The express from General Harrison had providentially arrived in time to preserve the garrison from the possibility of being deluded , by this artifice of the enemy. On the next day the British moved over to their old encampment, and on the 28th embarked in their vessels and abandoned the siege. The force which Proctor and Tecumseh brought against the fort in this instance was about 5000 strong. A greater number of Indians were collected by them for this expedition than ever were assembled in one body on any other occasion during the whole war.
Having raised the siege of Fort Meigs, the British sailed round into Sandusky Bay, while a competent number of their Indian allies moved across through the swamps of Portage river. to co- operate in a combined attack on Lower Sandusky, expecting, no doubt, that General Harrison's attention would be chiefly directed to forts Winchester and Meigs. The General, however, had cal- culated on their taking this course, and had been careful to keep patrols down the Bay, opposite the mouth of Portage river, where he supposed their forces would debark .*
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