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 16
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CHAPTER XIV-1794
The Building and Dedication of Fort Wayne.
Wayne's Legion departs from the vicinity of the British fort-Incidents of the march to Fort Defiance-Illness of the troops-The final lap to the goal of their hopes-The army reaches the site of Fort Wayne-How the prospect impressed the soldiers-Wayne selects a location for the fort-Work on the buildings and the palisades is commenced-The "strike" of the volunteers-Wayne urges haste to avoid the coming cold -Courtmartial of offenders-Corporal Reading condemned to death-The spy in the tree-top-Unruly soldiers steal beef-Wayne well pleased with the fort-An account of the dedication-Colonel Hamtramck names the post "Fort Wayne"-Hamtramck is given command of the post-Destitute condition of the troops-Wayne's "shoe" order-Departs for Greenville- His letter to General Knox.
T HE FIRST great object of Wayne's expedition-the defeat of the savages-was accomplished. The second-the establish- ment of Washington's long-dreamed-of fort at the head of the Maumee-was now to become a reality. The third-the winning of the various tribes of the Indians to a treaty of lasting peace-(was reserved for the following year,
Waving a farewell to the British garrison of Post Miami, the troops composing Wayne's legion departed from the scene of their triumph and looked to the westward as they took up the march toward the goal of their hopes, the place where the city of Fort Wayne now stands.
The features of the progress of the triumphant army and an appreciation of the character of the men composing it are best gained from the narrative of one of the officers, Lieutenant Boyer, who made a record of the movement of the army from the time of its departure from Fort Greenville until its return to that post. Boyer's Journal appeared in The American Pioneer, Vol. I, edited and published by John S. Williams (1842 and 1843).
On the 15th of August the army reached the site of the present Napoleon, Ohio, where one savage was killed and two others wounded while attempting an attack upon the rear of the army. Many buildings and vast acreages of corn were destroyed by the troops as they continued their march toward Fort Defiance. Dr. Carmichael and Dr. Haywood were busy caring for the sick and wounded. Constant rain for several days made the progress of the army slow and tedious. Settling themselves for a period at Fort Defiance, Brigadier General Todd's brigade served as escort to a large number of pack horses sent to Fort Recovery to secure sup- plies for the troops. Three men of the camp were killed or captured while foraging for vegetables. Large numbers of the soldiers were taken ill. "Provision is nearly exhausted," wrote Boyer in Sep- tember 4. "The whiskey has been out for some time, which makes
the hours pass heavily. * * Hard duty and scant allowance 138
1794
THE BUILDING OF FORT WAYNE
139
will cause an army to be low spirited, particularly the want of a little 'wet.' "'
On the 14th of September, the army took its departure from Fort Defiance, and followed the north bank of the Maumee a dis- tance of eleven miles. The following day found the troops camp-
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PIROGUE LANDING
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USED AS A MILITARY CEMETERY
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60 .59: 15 14:
WHERE THE TWO STOCKADED FORTS WERE LOCATED.
From the most reliable sources of information it appears certain that the original stockade erected by General Wayne's troops in September and October, 1794, occupied a site which included a portion of lots 11, 12 and 13, Taber's addition to Fort Wayne, and that the new fort, erected in 1800 by Colonel Thomas Hunt and rebuilt by Majors Whistler and Vose, included lot 40-the present Old Fort Park. (See Chapter XIX).
MAJ. WHISTLER. 1815-16
LO 40
E. MAIN-ST. OLD FORT
12
FORT ERECTED BY COL.
35 ; 36 : 37:
GARDENS
ST.
COLUMBIA
MAUMEE
4 13
COLUMBIA AVE.
JOSEPH
FORT ERECTED BY GENERAL WAYNE, 1794 DEMOLISHED ABOUT 1800 AND THE SITE WITH ADJOINING
140
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
ing on the river nearly opposite the present city of Antwerp, Ohio. The next evening brought the legion of Wayne within the borders of the Allen county of today, and that night the army encamped near the east line of Milan township.
THE ARRIVAL AT THE SITE OF FORT WAYNE.
From Private Bryant comes the story of the arrival of the legion upon the spot chosen by Washington as the site of the fort, the establishment of which was to mark the end of the Indian out- rages in the west. Says Bryant :
"The road, or trace, was in a very bad condition, and we did not reach our point of destination until late in the evening. Being very tired, and having no night duty to perform, I turned in as soon as possible and slept soundly until the familiar tap of the reveille called us up, just as the bright sun, the first time for weeks, was breaking on the horizon. After rubbing my eyes and regaining my faculties sufficiently to realize my whereabouts, I think I never saw a more beautiful spot and such a glorious sunrise. I was standing on that high point of land overlooking the valley on the opposite shore of the Maumee, where the river St. Mary's, the sheen of whose waters were seen at intervals through the autumn-tinted trees, and the limpid St. Joseph quietly wending its way from the north, united themselves in one common stream that calmly flowed beneath."
Less sentimental are the observations of Lieutenant Boyer, who thus describes his first impression of the site of Fort Wayne :
"The army halted on this ground at 5 o'clock P. M., being 47 miles from Fort Defiance and 14 miles from our last encampment. There are nearly five hundred acres of cleared land lying in one body on the rivers St. Joseph, St. Mary's and Miami [Maumee] ; there are fine points of lands contiguous to these rivers, adjoining the cleared land. The rivers are navigable for small craft in the summer, and in the winter there is water sufficient for large boats, the land adjacent fertile and well-timbered, and from every appear- ance it has been one of the largest settlements made by the Indians in this country."
Upon this ground the troops went into camp.
"This day," writes Boyer on September 18, "the commander- in-chief reconnoitered the ground and determined upon the spot to build a fort." The chosen spot appears to have been a tract of ground represented today by lots 11, 12 and 13 Taber's addition. Lot 11 is the location of the new building of the Western Newspaper Union, at the northwest corner of East Berry and Clay streets. Cer- tain it is that the fort which succeeded the original structure occu- pied a site to the north of it and probably within a distance of three hundred feet, measuring the shortest space between the lines.
Private Bryant, speaking of the location of his camp on the morning of September 17, adds: "On this point it was decided to place the fort, as it overlooked and commanded a vast scope of the country round about, having a beautiful green sward of about ten acres in extent, with a background of heavy timber."
Concerning the activities of General Wayne, as soon as the site of the fort was determined upon, Lieutenant William Clark, in his journal, wrote on September 14:
141
THE BUILDING OF FORT WAYNE
1794
"The ground [has been] cleared for the garrison just below the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's. The situation is toler- ably elevated and has a ready command of the two rivers. I think it much to be lamented that the commander-in-chief is determined
GENERAL WAYNE'S CAMP BED.
Probably the most interesting and valuable item in the exhibit of historic mementos in the relic room of the Allen county court house, is the camp bed used by General Wayne during his western campaign. The bed, which is made of walnut and hinged in such manner as to permit it to be folded and placed in' a small box, has an interesting history. After his Revolutionary war service, Wayne, who had used the bed during his campaigns, took it to his farm home near Waynesboro. In 1792, he brought it on his western expedltlon and used it until the time of his departure from Greenville where the famous treaty was effected. He then gave the bed to Major Ambrose Whitlock, who had served through Wayne's western campaign and had assisted in the building of the fort. After the death of Major Whitlock at Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1863, the bed remained in the home until some time after the death of the widow, Elizabeth Whitlock, when it came into the possession of the nephew of the widow, James W. Binford, then living at Paris, Illinois. In 1890, Mr. Binford removed with his daughters to Washington, D. C. Two years later, Mrs. Amy R. Seavey, of Fort Wayne, while in Washington, learned of the relic and visited the Binfords. This resulted in the loan of the bed to the local Sons of the American Revolution for exhibition purposes during the centennial cele- bration in Fort Wayne, in 1895. Again, in 1902, through the efforts of the mem- bers of the Mary Penrose Wayne chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the daughters of the late James W. Binford loaned the relic, with the understanding that it should remain on exhibition in Fort Wayne until such time as a proper place could be made for it in the National Museum in Washington. It is considered a permanent feature of the Fort Wayne his- torical exhibit.
142
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
to make this fort a regular fortification, as a common picketed one would [be]equally as difficult against the savages."
The actual work of construction, according to Boyer, was begun on September 24. The manner of the progress of the work is sug- gested by the words of Byrant and Boyer. The former observes: "We, the volunteers, were soon organized into squads, some with axes and others with spades, the axe-men to fell and hew the timber, and the spade men to dig the trench and fill the parapet. We axe- men proceeded up the hill to cut the heavy timber standing in abundance."
Boyer says: "This day the work commenced on the fort which I am apprehensive will take some time to complete." On October 3 "every officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier belonging to the square" was engaged in "hauling trees on the hind wheels of wagons." The first day, the men got a gill of whiskey per man, which, Boyer observes, "appears to be all the compensation at this time in the power of the commander-in-chief to make the troops."
An interesting incident of the building of Fort Wayne is related by Private Bryant :
"It was on the morning of the first day we were at work felling the timber. A squad near where I was at work were engaged in felling a very large and very tall oak standing near the outer edge of the opening, which had been cut nearly through and tottering in mid-air, when a voice was heard overhead which somewhat startled the men at first; but on looking up, they beheld a 'red varmint' perched in the topmost branches. This fellow, no doubt, after finding he was caught, had made up his mind that it was death anyway, and concluded to take his chances and go with the tree. But as it began to tremble and shake, he got shaky himself, and, like Captain Scott's 'coon, had to come down and that in a hurry. The boys, as they watched him scramble down, ached to get a shot at him, but they dared not. He was a large, fine-looking Indian. In the belt around his naked waist was a knife and a toma- hawk. He appeared perfectly undaunted; in fact, assumed an air of defiance, and, when marched off to headquarters, seemed well pleased that he had escaped being killed by the falling tree or the bullets of the soldiers. He was evidently a spy and had climbed to the top of the tree to see what was going on in camp, little dream- ing that his adventure would result as it did. When the tree fell, a buckskin pouch was found filled with parched corn and jerked venison. He was held a prisoner for some weeks, and one morning it was announced that he was non est. How he escaped was a mystery that was never solved."
That the labor was hard during the severest of the cold weather is shown by Lieutenant Boyer's observation, on October 4, that "the fatigues go on with velocity, considering the rations the troops are obliged to live on." The following day, Boyer writes that everything is quiet, "and nothing but harmony and peace, which is something uncommon." But trouble was soon to break in camp. Two days later, the volunteers, engaged in work on the fort, went on "strike" and refused to proceed with their labor. "They have stolen and killed seventeen beeves in the course of these two days
.
1794
THE BUILDING OF FORT WAYNE
143
past," observes the lieutenant, who adds that the volunteers finally agreed to devote their energies to the construction of a blockhouse.
Religious services in camp were conducted by the chaplain, Rev. Mr. Jones, who appears to have been the first Protestant minister to visit the site of Fort Wayne. Lieutenant William Clark's references to the work of the chaplain are not always of the most complimentary character. Writing under the date of Sunday, Sep- tember 28, the lieutenant observes : "Agreeable to the order yes-
1
FROM A DAGUERREOTYPE OWNED BY MRS. ADAM LINK
RUINS OF THE LAST BLOCKHOUSE OF OLD FORT WAYNE, IN 1852.
As far as the writer has been able to learn, the original daguerreotype from which the above pen drawing was made is the only existing photographic pic- ture of any of the buildings which formed a part of old Fort Wayne. The daguerreotype is owned by Mrs. Adam Link, of Fort Wayne, who says of it: "The picture was made by Charles Stevens, of Kennebunk Port, Maine, who was here as the guest of his cousin, Mrs. O. L. Starkey, my mother, who was then Miss Hannah Fairfield. On the day the picture was made, 'Charley' Mun- son (later prominent in the affairs of the county, but then a mere lad) was driving his cow to the pasture in 'the old apple orchard,' in the present Lake- side. My mother and several others joined him for a walk. When they reached the ruined blockhouse, Mr. Stevens made the picture. The man at the top is John Fairfield, my uncle. The others, from left to right, are Amanda Hender- son (Mrs. Bloomhuff) Addie Fairfield (Mrs. H. J. Ash). Priscilla Fairfield (Mrs. A. S. Hall), Hannah Fairfield (Mrs. O. L. Starkey), and 'Charley' Munson."
Miss Lizzie Johnson Says: "I am certain this building was torn down in 1852. On returning from a vacation in the summer of that year, we found everybody saying: 'They've torn down the old fort.'"
E. G. Anderson says of this building: "When we children came to Fort Wayne in 1846, with my father, Calvin Anderson, first landlord of the Hedekin house, this log building was still in good repair and was occupied by two Irish families. The Carroll family and Mr. Donovon, with his children, Tim, Mich and Ellen, were the last to make their homes in the historic structure. The building faced the east, overlooking the Maumee."
John H. Jacobs, of Spy Run avenue, also remembers this building well, as it was standing when he came to Fort Wayne. At the present time, there is a general feeling of deep regret that the fort was allowed to go into decay. The older residents explain the matter by the statement that the course of the Wabash and Erie canal required the destruction of one of the blockhouses and a palisade section, and that in the later years the ruined, dilapidated build- ings became the rendezvous of undesirable citizens. The last building, shown in the illustration, was torn down by John Fairfield in 1852. Some of the wood was made into walking sticks which are preserved as relics.
144
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
terday, the [troops] were marched in order between the fort and the blockhouse, and there received a short sermon by our chaplain. The sublimity of his reasoning did not penetrate deep into the minds of our troops, as it wanted some connections." That the lieutenant, whose keen observation brought him prominently to the attention of the nation as a leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition of later years, was not wholly oblivious to the efforts of the chaplain, is shown by his quotation of the minister's text of Sunday, September 21: "If the Lord be for us, who can be against us?" This is probably the first recorded word of scripture spoken on the site of Fort Wayne.
During these days, many problems appeared to worry General Wayne. Provisions were scarce, and prices high. "Brown sugar, one dollar; chocolate, one ditto; butter, three-fourths; mutton, one- fourth; salt, one dollar per quart; tobacco, one dollar per pound; whiskey, six and eight dollars per quart," wrote Lieutenant Clark, while Lieutenant Boyer makes this observation : "A keg of whiskey containing ten gallons was purchased this day for eighty dollars; a' sheep for ten dollars. Three dollars was offered for one pint of salt, but it could not be obtained for less than six."
Captains Springer, Brock and Gibson made successful trips to Greenville to secure food and supplies, but it was found impossible to meet the needs of the army. Wayne urged every possible element of co-operation and loyalty, from the beginning, in order to complete the fort before cold weather should add to the heaviness of the undertaking. Said he, in the orders of October 2:
"The lateness of the Season and a Variety of other Pressing Circumstances, render it indispensibly Necessary that every Officer & Soldier not actually on Guard or other Duty, should turn out as a General Fatigue in order to complete the Fortification with all possible dispatch-Mr. Thorp will cause Guiding Poles to be put to the hind wheels of all Waggons in Camp this Afternoon, and repair all Axes and intrenching tools that may require repairs immediately -Every Man on fatigue is to receive one Gill of Whiskey per Day until further Orders."
That the conduct of the volunteers was a source of deep concern to Wayne appears in Boyer's narrative of the 1st and 2d of October. He writes :
"The volunteers appeared to be uneasy and have refused to do duty. They are ordered by the commander-in-chief to march to- morrow for Greenville to assist the pack-horses, which I am told they are determined not to do. * * * This morning, the volun- teers refused to go on command, and demanded of General Scott to conduct them home; he ordered them to start with General Barber, and if they made the smallest delay they would lose all their pay and be reported to the war office as revolters. This had the desired effect, and they went off not in good humor."
WAYNE'S TROUBLES WITH THE MEN.
Trouble between the men was the occasion of several trials by courtmartial, while the fort was building. During the first week, Wayne, annoyed by the practice of the men' discharging their fire- arms in the neighborhood of the fort, issued this forceful order:
145
THE BUILDING OF FORT WAYNE
1794
"Any Non Commission'd Officer or Soldier, or follower of the Army who shall be Detected in fireing in the Vicinity and hearing of the Camp *
* (unless at an Enemy) shall immediately receive 50 Lashes for a breach of the Order-Should any Com- mission'd Officer be so lost to Discipline as to Violate the Same, he shall be immediately arrested and tried for giveing a false alarm."
The lawlessness of the troops is revealed also in Wayne's order of October 25, after the fort had been dedicated :
"The alarming and Villainous excess to which Marauding, Plundering and Stealing have been recently carried on by the un-
Fort Knox Bort Vincennes Jany 4th 1792
Dear Jenomal
I have been sent By Governor off llow to this place where arrived an the 21° of December I found the Indians of the Waban in a very pacific Hale.
A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE FIRST COMMANDANT OF FORT WAYNE.
Two years and nine months before Wayne built his fort at the head of the Maumee Major John Francis Hamtramck was assigned to the charge of affairs at Vincennes. The above fragment of a letter from Hamtramck was addressed to Secretary of War Henry Knox. The original letter is in the war department at Washington.
principled part of the Soldiery belonging to the Legion, is such as to require the most exemplary Punishment-The Commander in Chief therefore offers a Reward of Twenty-five Dollars to any Person or Persons who will discover the Principal or Principals concerned in killing any of the Cattle or Sheep belonging to the Publick, or to the Contractor (without proper Authority)."
Matters finally reached such a state that Wayne was compelled to acquiesce in the death sentence pronounced by the judges who presided over the courtmartial of a commissioned officer. Already Captain Joseph Brock had been tried on charges preferred by Captain Benham; Cornet Blue, accused by Ensign Johnson, came before the court; Robert Bowles, arrested for misconduct, made a public apology to Contractor Sloan; James Murrow, master ar- mourer, was sentenced to receive fifty lashes as a result of convic- tion on charges brought by Captain Brock, and was obliged to ask the pardon of Brock and Sergeant Porter; Private Charles Hyde - was acquitted of charges preferred by Major Hughes; Private
146
THE PICTORIAL HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE
Michael Burns received one hundred lashes for insulting Sergeant Reed, and Private David Johnson was given seventy-five lashes for helping to steal a cow.
But the most severe blow fell upon Corporal James Reading. With Privates John Fay Miller, John Hassell and Elivine Crowell, he was convicted of complicity in the theft of a cow. Miller, Hassell and Crowell were each given a heavy fine and one hundred lashes, while Reading was condemned by Wayne to be "hanged by the neck until dead"-and thus he became the first man to receive a legal death sentence at Fort Wayne. This sentence was executed at Greenville on Sunday morning, November 30, 1794, "in front of the Legion," at which time John Keating also suffered the death penalty by shooting.
During September, the troops engaged in constructing a "sloop" or "bateau," designed for use in transporting goods between Fort Wayne and Fort Defiance, over the Maumee. "The Ottaway sloop, loaded and set out this evening for Defiance," wrote Lieutenant Clark in his journal, on the 8th of October. "She had not proceeded
ANDIRONS OF THE OLD FORT.
The wrought iron andirons, evidently the product of crude workmanship of the old fort blacksmith of an early day, are owned by the Baird brothers, of Eel River township, Allen county. They were found by Michael Horn during some work of excavation on the old fort site and given by his son Michael to Robert B. Baird.
AKE
SUPERIOR
0
7
HURON
LAKE MICHIGAN
DETROIT
LAKE ERIE
CLEVELAND
FORT WAYNE ONE
OUIATANON
FORT WASHINGTON (CINCINNATI)
ENVINCENNES
AMARIETTA
WAYNE COUNTY IN 1796. The shaded portion of the map shows the area of the original Wayne county of the Northwest territory.
one mile before she ran on a rock and capsized, losing a greater part of her load. She was again righted and proceeded on." An- other boat of the flat-bottom style was launched on the Maumee October 17.
Meanwhile, the work on the fort was pushed with all possible speed. Wayne spent some of his time in inspecting the neighbor- hood. That he was interested in ascertaining the location of the old French forts-now long since gone-is suggested by his speech made to Little Turtle and his allies at Greenville in the following year, in which he told of "tracing the lines of two forts at that point."
Wayne appears to have been well pleased with the new fort. In a letter of September 27, addressed to Secretary Knox, he said: "I have been induced to bestow much labor upon two forts [Fort
147
THE BUILDING OF FORT WAYNE
1794
Defiance and Fort Wayne] of which the enclosed are draughts." He added : "I am free to pronounce them the most respectable now in the occupancy of the United States even in their present situa- tion, which is not quite perfect as yet."
THE DEDICATION OF FORT WAYNE.
Finally came the momentous 22d of October, the day of the dedication of Fort Wayne, on the fourth anniversary of the battle at Harmar's Ford. The buildings were not yet finished, although, says Boyer, "all of the soldiers' huts are completed, except covering, and the weather is favorable for that work."
From Private Bryant, already quoted, comes an account of the dedicatory ceremony. Says he :
"The day the fortification was completed, a beautiful flagstaff was erected which we got into position as the sun was declining beneath the golden horizon. Colonel Hamtramck then formed the entire forces of the garrison into line, and, while the drums and fifes struck up our favorite tune, a tune that had inspired the soldiers on many a hard-fought battle of the Rovolution-
The white cockade and the peacock feather, The American boys will live forever; The drums shall beat and the fife shall play Over the hills and far away,
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