The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I, Part 13

Author: Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs. The story of the townships of Allen County
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Chicago : R.O. Law Co.
Number of Pages: 760


USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Vol. I > Part 13


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Major Fountain [Fontaine] was living when our troops Drove the Indians from the Battle Ground. Major Mc- Millen [McMullen] collected the troops and tarried on the Battle Ground until the Indians had entirely Disappeared and not one was to be seen or heard. * *


* My opinion is there was more Indians killed in that Battle than was killed when


Genl Wayne defeated them in 1794. If Harmar had sent out a detachment of six hundred men next day to Col- lected the Dead and Buried them and ascertained how many of the enemy was killed I think there would have Been no risk in it. As it was the Indians was so completely cut up the Day of the Battle Such a move would have Been an honor and Credit to the Campaign. I can Never agree that Harmar's Campaign was a De- feated one."-From the Notes of Pri- vate Thomas Irwin. See "Historic Highways of America," vol. viii. Quoted by permission of the pub- lishers, The Arthur H. Clark Co., Cleveland.


(13) "Two soldiers, Captain Asheton says, signalized themselves on this oc- casion by gigging the foe, like fish, with their bayonets. *


* * An af- fecting incident occurred here (at the St. Joseph river) that deserves to be noticed. An old Indian had two boys who rushed into the river by his side. One of them was shot down near him. He dropped his gun and seized him, no doubt in order to save his scalp from his enemies. The other was killed also. He drew them to the shore and sat down between them, where he was killed."-Recollections of David Hamilton Morris, first lieu- tenant of Captain Asheton's company in Harmar's army.


(14) "I am clearly of the opinion that had the enemy made an attack upon our camp this evening or the following morning, the militia were so panic struck that few of them would have stood. The consequences that would have happened stared every person with horror-the sick and wounded and all the stores, artil- lery, etc., would have fallen a prey to the savages."-Major Denny;


Draper manuscripts. "Indeed," said Ensign D. Britt, in his testimony be- fore the court of inquiry, "the gener- ality of them [the militia] scarcely deserved the name of anything like soldiers. They were mostly substi- tutes for others, who had nothing to stimulate them to their duty."


(15) General Harmar considered the battle on the site of Fort Wayne to have been a success, if we may judge from the record in his journal. He wrote, under date of October 17, 1790: "The detachment under Major Wyllys


Denmy


SIGNATURE OF MAJOR EBENEZER DENNY.


Aide-de-camp to General Harmar and General St. Clair.


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"HARMAR'S DEFEAT"


1790


and Colonel Hardin performed won- ders, although they were terribly cut up. Almost the whole of the federal troops were cut off, with the loss of Major Wyllys, Major Fontaine and Lieutenant Frothingham-which is indeed a heavy blow. The consola- tion is that the men sold themselves very dear. The militia behaved them-


selves charmingly. It is reported that not less than 100 warriors of the savages were killed upon the ground. The action was fought yes- terday near the old fort up the river St. Joseph. The savages never re- ceived such a stroke before in any battle that they have had. The action at the Great Kanawha was a farce to it." In addition to the loss of Wyllys, Fontaine and Frothingham, the whites left on the battlefield Cap- tains Thorp, McMurtney and Scott, Lieutenants Clark and Rogers, and Ensigns Bridges, Sweet, Higgins and Thielkeld, of the militia.


(16) Robert Gavin, Sr., in a recent conversation with the writer, stated that his father, who came to Fort Wayne in 1849, "worked" the Com- paret farm, in Lakeside, for several years, and that in turning over the soil, a large number of human bones were found. A. M. Harrington, who lived at the corner of Coombs and Begue streets, made it a fad to col- lect skulls from the battlefield, and his cellar showed many specimens of grim reminder of Harmar's fateful day. Mr. Gavin stated that the bones were gathered and buried in trenches so as to clear the land of their pres- ence.


(17) Michigan Pioneer History and Farmer's History of Detroit.


(18) Severe criticism of the per- sonal conduct of General Harmar brought to his defense some of the ablest men under his command. Major W. Ferguson, commanding of- ficer of artillery, testified: "Report says he was intoxicated all the cam- paign, and unable to execute the im-


portant duties of his station. * * * I do declare that from leaving Fort Washington to our return, I never seen Gen'l Harmar intoxicated or so as to render him unfit for the execu- tion of any duties. In him and his abilities as an officer I placed the greatest confidence. (Draper Manu- scripts, Frontier Wars, vol. iv.) En- sign D. Britt, in his testimony, states that General Harmar succeeded in bringing friendly relations between Colonels Hardin and Trotter which weakened the expedition at the be- ginning. Lieutenant David Hamilton Morris, writing as late as 1842, said: "I regard General Harmar as a vet- eran soldier and an accomplished gentleman and especially as the sin- cere friend of the poor soldier."


(19) The British authorities were moved to concern themselves in the protection of the Detroit merchants who, with strong petitions, pleaded for the aid of the home government to preserve their business interests in the Maumee-Wabash valleys. Sir John Johnson was addressed in August, 1791, by means of a petition which contained these sentences: "As we understand you are about setting out [from Montreal] to Que- bec, we [the merchants of Detroit] take the favorable opportunity of re- questing the favor of your repre- senting to His Excellency, Lord Dor- chester, the present very alarming situation of the trade to the south- ward of Detroit, wherein we are very largely interested. * * * The trad- ers suffered considerable loss last year in consequence of the burning of the Miami villages [site of Fort Wayne]. * * * The loss of their houses and part of their goods has been severely felt." The petition closes with an appeal to Lord Dor- chester to advise the Indians to agree to a peace treaty with the Americans which would restore trade conditions. (Michigan Pioneer and Historical Col- lection.)


CHAPTER XII-1791.


St. Clair's Defeat Imperils the West-Washington's Apprehensions.


Harmar's failure to establish a fort at the head of the Maumee-Conse- quences of the campaign-Washington summons St. Clair and outlines his plan-Generals Scott and Wilkinson and Colonel Hardin invade Wabash region-Ouiatanon destroyed-St. Clair's army weakened by desertions-Poor equipment-Harmar predicts St. Clair's defeat-Forts Hamilton and Jefferson established-Army goes into camp on the fateful night of November 3, 1791-General Butler's proposal meets with resent- ment on the part of St. Clair-Slough discovers Little Turtle's lurking savages-Butler fails to inform the commander-in-chief-Savages attack the camp at daybreak-"The bloodiest battlefield of American pioneer history"-The retreat-Death of General Butler-Many women massacred -Denny carries the news to the president-Washington in a rage-Sav- ages rejoice, and prepare for the coming of the next leader of the Americans.


T HERE has remained the feeling that if General Harmar, instead of conducting an aggressive warfare against the Indians, had built a strong fort at the head of the Maumee as soon as he arrived here, his would have endured as an honored name throughout the west. Such a move, fol- lowed by the establishment of supporting garrisons, might have accomplished all that Wayne succeeded in doing four years later. It is obvious that the army of Harmar was unfit for the work he tried to do. That these men could have built good forts and formed their garrisons seems alto- MAJOR GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR. gether reasonable.


Sent, in 1791, by President Washing- ton, on a campaign against the allied tribes of the northwest, with explicit instructions to establish a chain of forts with the site of the city of Fort Wayne as the central stronghold, St. Clair's army was met by the savages under Little Turtle and defeated on "The bloodiest battlefield of American pioneer history." The disaster opened the way for Wayne's victorious cam- paign in 1793 and 1794. The portrait is after the pencil sketch by Colonel John Trumbull.


But history is not a recital of that which might have been. Washington summoned Governor St. Clair to Philadel- phia. The conference was de- voted to a discussion of the plans for a second expedition to be led by St. Clair in person. In order to conceal from the Indians and the British their movements 114


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1791


115


ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT IMPERILS THE WEST


in preparation for the expedition, Washington directed St. Clair to despatch one or more invaders into the enemy's country. Con- sequently General Charles Scott, with 800 Kentucky cavalrymen, was sent into the Wabash region, with the ancient settlement at Quiatanon1 as the chief objective. This town, with several others, was destroyed by the troops of General Scott, General James Wilkin- son and Colonel John Hardin. Many Indians were killed.


Describing the town of Quiatanon, General Scott said: "Many of the inhabitants of this village were French and lived in a state of civilization. By the books, letters and other documents found here it is evident the place was in close connection with and depend- ent upon Detroit."2


Meanwhile, General St. Clair made active preparations to take an army from Fort Washington to the head of the Maumee and there build the fort which Harmar had failed to establish.8


One onlooker, depressed by the memory of his own misfortunes, predicted the defeat of St. Clair's expedition. That prophet was Josiah Harmar.4


On the 17th of September, 1791, after a vexatious delay, deeply annoying to the president, St. Clair's forces moved northward from Fort Washington (Cincinnati), with Brigadier General Richard Butler, second in command. Secretary of War Knox had written that the president "is greatly anxious that the campaign be dis- tinguished by decisive measures." Weary of St. Clair's delay in leaving Fort Washington, the president authorized Secretary Knox to inform him that "unless the highest exertions be made by all parts of the army, to repair the loss of the season, the expenses which have been made for the campaign will be altogether lost, and the measures from which so much has been expected will issue in disgrace."5


Hundreds of the men and several officers deserted the army during the first few days of the march northward from Fort Washington.


Nothing pictures the condition of the army more significantly than the following extracts from the journal of Major Denny, aide-de-camp to General St. Clair:


"Unpardonable mismanagement in the provision department. *


* * A number of the militia who had deserted were appre- hended in Kentucky and confined in jails. * *


* Two artil- lerymen attempted to desert to the enemy, were taken, tried and sentenced to suffer death; were hanged. * * * Forage en- tirely destroyed; horses failing and cannot be kept up."8


After establishing Forts Hamilton and Jefferson in Ohio on its march northward, as a part of the general plan to place a line of


116


THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE


fortifications extending from the Ohio river to the Maumee, at the site of the city of Fort Wayne, St. Clair's troops reached a tributary of the Wabash at a point about one and one-half miles east of the present Indiana-Ohio boundary. This spot, elevated from its sur- roundings, was chosen as an ideal place of encampment for the night of November 3-a date long to be remembered in the history of the frontier. The army now numbered 1,400 regulars and militia and 86 officers. The weather was bitterly cold. The commanding general was ill with gout. An estrangement had sprung up between St. Clair and General Butler when the former refused to entertain the suggestion of Butler that he MILITIE CAMP (Butler) be permitted to pro- 2 ceed with 1,000 men to the con- W -E fluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers and there establish the proposed central stronghold.


TRIBUTAR


THE


PIVER The troops, busy with the preparations for the night, were innocent of the truth that hun- SH dreds of savages, under the MAIN BODY OF AMERICAN TROOPS leadership of Little Turtle, had (HIGH GROUND) come from the regions of the Maumee and the Wabash, and RETREAT- had surrounded the camp. It is the record of one of the soldiers-Thomas Irwin-that St. Clair "observed that he did PLAN OF THE ST. CLAIR BATTLE- FIELD. not think the Indians were The diagram shows the plan of the camp of the troops of General Arthur St. Clair, which suffered defeat by the Indians in the morning of November 4, 1791. The city of Fort Recovery, Ohio, now occupies the site. watching the movement of the army with a view to attack them other than to steal horses or catch a person if they had a chance."7 Alas! The moment of doom had already come !


A night scouting expedition, led by Captain Slough, returned to report the discovery of the presence of the Indians in large num- bers. General Butler, to whom Slough reported, failed to carry the fatal news to General St. Clair, who was confined to his quarters with illness-indeed, the commanding officer knew nothing of the scouting party until five days later.8


Early on the morning of the fatal 4th of November, the army was aroused and entered upon parade before dawn. It was the plan to make a prompt start for the northwest, and to hold the


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ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT IMPERILS THE WEST


1791


Indians at a safe distance while the fort which Washington longed to establish should be erected at the head of the Maumee.º


THE "BLOODIEST BATTLEFIELD OF PIONEER HISTORY."


The sun had not yet risen when the army was thrown into a state of consternation by the yells of the savages who advanced from all sides and at once commenced their fierce attack upon the startled encampment.1º With the Indians were many of their white sympathizers.11 Advancing under the shelter of shrubbery and the smoke of their own firearms and that of the whites, the savages


poured their leaden hail into the camp for a period of nearly three hours.


Quoting from Denny's journal, we gain a strong pic- ture of the scene:


"Our left flank gave way


first. Was at that time with the general [St. Clair] engaged toward the right; he was on foot and led the party himself that drove the enemy and re- gained the ground on the left. "The savages seemed not to fear anything we could do. They could skip out of reach of the bayonet and return, as they pleased.


LAKE ERIE


SITE OF


R


MAUMEE


BATTLEFIELD OF FALLEN TIMBERS - WAYNE , 1794


SITE OF FORT WAYNE


(HARMAR'S BATTLEFIELD 1790)


"INDIANA 80


SITE OF FORT RECOVERY- ISCENE OF THE DEFEAT OF ST. CLAIR 1791


4 BOUNDANY


OFORY JEFFERSON


FORT HAMILTON


DANY UNE


.-


D SITE OF FT. WASHINGTON (CINCINNATI)


ONIO


WHERE ST. CLAIR'S ARMY WAS SLAUGHTERED.


The map shows the place of the de- feat of St. Clair's army in 1791, while en route to the site of Fort Wayne to erect a fortification under instructions of Washington.


"The ground was literally covered with the dead. The wounded were taken to the center, where a good many who had quit their posts unhurt, were crowded together. It appeared as if the officers had been singled out; a very great proportion fell. The men being thus left with few officers, became fearful, despaired of success, gave up the fight, and, to save themselves for the moment, abandoned entirely their ground, and crowded in toward the center of the field, and no exertions could put them in order even for defense.


"The enemy at length got possession of the artillery, though not until the officers were all killed but one, and he badly wounded, and the men all cut off, and not until the pieces were spiked. Ex- posed to cross-fire, men and officers were seen falling in every direction. A few minutes longer and a retreat would have been im- practicable. Delay was death! No preparation could be made ; numbers of brave men must be left to sacrifice; there was no alter- native. Both officers and men seemed confounded; they could not move until it was told that a retreat was intended. The stoutest and most active now took the lead, and those who were foremost in breaking the enemy's line were soon left behind. At the moment


PRESENT ONIU" . - - **


118


THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE


of retreat one of the horses saved had been procured for the general; he was on foot until then; I kept by him and he delayed to see the rear. The enemy pursued, though not for more than four or five miles; they turned to share the spoil. The road for miles was cov- ered with firelocks, cartridge boxes and regimentals. How fortunate that the pursuit was discontinued ! A single Indian might have fol- lowed with safety on either flank."


The fugitive army did not halt until safely within and about the palisades of Fort Jefferson.


The spoils of the camp were of high value to the savages. Their gleeful mistreatment of the dead and of the living is a tale of horror. "Perhaps never before nor afterward did any battlefield present a scene equal to that Wabash slaughter field. The dying were tor- tured and the dead frightfully mutilated.''12


Five hundred and ninety-three privates were killed in the en- gagement. Thirty-nine officers lost their lives, including General Richard Butler, one lieutenant colonel, three majors, twelve captains, ten lieutenants, eight ensigns, two quartermasters, one adjutant, and a surgeon. As the troops were leaving the field, Captain Edward Butler found his brother, General Butler, fatally wounded. He was propped up on a mattress in his tent, a loaded pistol placed in each hand, and left to his fate. As his friends left the tent by the rear, the Indians surged in at the front.13


The wives of many of the soldiers, as well as other women, had accompanied the troops. One writer14 states that about 250 women were with the army, of whom fifty-six were killed in the battle, and but a few escaped subsequent death or captivity. The first whites to visit the field at a later day found the corpses of many women pinned to the ground by large stakes driven through their bodies.15


Rightly has the scene of St. Clair's defeat been called "the bloodiest battlefield of pioneer American history."


Major Denny, whose journal throws much light on this dis- astrous campaign, was chosen to carry the news of the defeat to President Washington. The difficulties of travel required that six weeks should elapse before the president received the message. The dispatch was handed to Washington as he entertained friends at dinner. Excusing himself at the conclusion of the repast, the presi- dent and his secretary, Tobias Lear, entered a private room.


Says Washington Irving,16 in describing the scene :


"The general walked slowly backward and forward. As yet there had been no change in his manner. Taking a seat on the sofa by the fire he told Mr. Lear to sit down; the latter had scarce time to notice that he was extremely agitated, when he broke out suddenly, 'It's all over! St. Clair defeated !- routed ! The officers nearly all killed, the men by wholesale; the rout complete; too


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1791


ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT IMPERILS THE WEST


shocking to think of, and a surprise into the bargain!' * * * 'Yes,' exclaimed he, 'here on this very spot I took leave of him; I wished him success and honor. 'You have your instructions from the secretary of war,' said I. 'I had strict eye to them, and will add but one word, Beware of a surprise! You know how the Indians fight us. I repeat, Beware of a surprise.' He went off with that, my last warning, thrown into his ears. And yet! To suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a surprise-the very thing I guarded him against-O, God! O, God!' exclaimed he, throwing up his hands, and while his very frame shook with emotion, 'He's worse than a murderer! How can he answer to his country! The blood of the slain is upon him -the curse of the widows and orphans-the curse of heaven!' When his wrath had subsided, Washington said, 'This must not go beyond this room,' and later, in a calmer moment, he added, 'Gen- eral St. Clair shall have justice ; * * * he shall have full jus- tice.' "


St. Clair retained the confidence of Washington to the last of his days. He served for several years as the governor of the North- west Territory and of Ohio Territory, and died at Greensburg, Pa., in 1818, in comparative poverty.


The site of the city of Fort Wayne, to which vast numbers of the savages repaired from the scene of the battle, laden with rich spoils, became a scene of wild rejoicing; indeed, the entire Maumee valley was alive with savages exulting over their victory and pre- paring to carry on the conflict against the Americans.


NOTES ON CHAPTER XII.


(1) Quiatanon, established in 1719 or 1720 by Francois Margane, Sieur de Vincennes, had been maintained as a French and British stronghold for nearly three-fourths of a century. (2) American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i, page 129.


(3) Secretary of War Knox, im- pressing upon General St. Clair the importance of his mission, had writ- ten him, on March 1: "The post at the Miami village [site of Fort Wayne] is intended for the purpose of awing and curbing the Indians in that quarter, and is the only prevent- ative of further hostilities. The gar- rison which should be stationed there ought not only to be sufficient for the defense of the place, but always to afford a detachment of five or six hundred men to chastise any of the Wabash or other hostile Indians or to secure any convoys for provisions. *


* * The establishment of said post is considered as an important object of the campaign and is to take place at all events. It is hardly pos- sible, if the Indians continue hostile, that you will be suffered quietly to establish a post at Miami village; conflicts, therefore, may be expected. : * The establishment of a post . at the Miami village will probably be regarded by the British on the frontier as a circumstance of jeal- ousy." (Michigan Pioneer and His-


torical Collection). (4) "He * predicted a de- * feat. 'You must,' said he [to Major Denny], 'go on the campaign; some will escape, and you may be among the number.'"-Journal of Ebenezer Denny, page 357.


(5) American State Papers, vol. Iv, page 192.


(6) That the savages and their al- · lies were watching every move of St. Clair's army is shown by the follow- ing extract from a letter written by Simon Girty to Colonel Alexander McKee, October 28, 1791, as the army was moving northward from Fort Washington: "This is to let you know that 1,040 Indians are this day going from here [site of Fort Wayne] to meet General Butler [Butler was second in command] and his army, with the intention to attack him on his march to this place. * * * The principal officers are St. Clair, Butler, Gibson and Duncan, all of whom you know as well as I." Both had known these American officers before they (Girty and McKee) de- serted from Fort Pitt and cast their lots with the enemy. In the attack on St. Clair, the Indians were led by Little Turtle, of the Miamis, Blue Jacket, the Shawnee, and Buck-ong- a-helas, the most noted of the Dela- ware chiefs, with Little Turtle in su- preme command. Tecumseh, the


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THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE


famous Shawnee chief of later days, had command of the Indian scouts who followed and observed the oper- ations of St. Clair.


(7) See "Historic Highways of America," vol viii, page 145.


(8) St. Clair's Narrative, page 55.


(9) At this time, and, indeed until Fort Wayne was finally built, the plan to erect a fort at the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers was a favorite topic of consid- eration at the seat of the national government. On December 26, 1791, Secretary Knox, in his official report, said: "It will appear, by reference to Report A, which accompanies this report, that the great object of the late campaign [St. Clair's] was to establish a strong military post at the Miami village [site of Fort Wayne], lying upon the river of that name [Maumee, called Miami at that time], which communicates with Lake Erie, and that subordinate posts were aiso to be erected on the river Miami. That by an examination of the posi- tion of the said Miami village, and its contiguity to, or connection with, the waters of the river St. Joseph, of Lake Michigan, and the river Illi- nois, and thereby the Mississippi, the Wabash and thereby the Ohio, the Miami of the Ohio, which at times, may afford considerable facility to transportation; it will appear that the said position with its proper com- munication, is greatly superior to any other in order to serve as a barrier to protect essentially a frontier of up- wards of eleven hundred miles stretching from the upper parts of the Allegheny to the lower parts of the Ohio. That it was intended to garrison the said post at the Miami village [Fort Wayne] and its com- munications with one thousand or twelve hundred troops and have it




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