USA > Kentucky > The history of Kentucky, from its earliest discovery and settlement, to the present date, V. 1 > Part 40
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From the military posts of Niagara, Detroit, and Mackinaw, yet detained contrary to the terms of the treaty of peace eight years before. the British continued treacherously to supply the Indians with munitions of war. and to incite them to hostilities against the frontiersmen. 1 McAfee recites, in evi- dence of this, the letters of Colonel McKee, the British commandant of . Fort Miami, written soon after this, and published after in the Ainerican journals, having fallen into the hands of our Government. There were many people in England who hoped that the British power would some day regain the sovereignty of the States, and in this hope probably the ministry shared. From this, and also from the chagrin and irritation caused by the failure of their arms in the Revolutionary struggle, proceeded this unjustifiable con- duct. It resulted in no advancement to any interest whatever of England or her colonies; but did have the effect to cause the butchery of thousands of men, women. and children of their own blood and kindred, and the almost complete annihilation of the tribes of miserable savages whom they bribed and incited to engage in these atrocities. President Washington was well apprised of these intrigues and perfidy of the English agents, and sought in vain for redress by negotiation. Only the exhausted state of the country restrained him from another resort to arms to enforce the rights of the West- ern men.
The president was now convinced that treaties with the Indians were practically worthless to protect the frontier. He favored more energetic measures than Congress would sanction, but took the most effective means at command to chastise the savages. 2 General Harmar was furnished over three hundred regulars, and authorized to call upon Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia for such volunteer contingent as were needed. The rendezvous was at Fort Washington, now Cincinnati; from which place some fourteen hundred men began the march in September, 1790, toward. the Miami towns, now the site of Fort Wayne. As General Harmar canie in sight, with his troops; they beheld the main town in a blaze, having been fired by the retreating Indians. A detachment of one hundred and eighty Kentucky militia and regulars, under Colonel Hardin, were drawn into an ambuscade of some six hundred savages, and routed with heavy loss. The Indians were led by the noted chief, Little Turtle. The main body of General Harmar's troops lay at a distance of only six miles, but did nothing to relieve the situation. Having again divided his army, the smaller subdivisions under Colonel Har- din were attacked in detail, after the Indians had been re-enforcing for two days: and after desperate and destructive fighting on either side, a general
1 McAfee's History.
2 Marshall, Vol. I , p. 362.
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ATTACK ON THE INDIAN TOWNS.
retreat was ordered. In the two battles, the entire Indian forces encoun- tered in the first, a seventh, and in the second, a third, of the American army, while General Harmar lay off but a few miles with the main body inactive. There were nearly two hundred of the whites killed. The Indian loss was severe, but not ascertained.
The prejudice of the frontiersmen against the employment of officers and men of the regular army was very great and well founded. Braddock's de- feat, where Washington's riflemen saved the remnant of the English army, and other experiences taught the same views to the president. But so em- barrassed was he by the existence of the regular military establishment around him, that it was next to impossible to order a military movement without placing at the head and front the regular officers and soldiers. It would have been a grievous affront to a very powerful element of the polit- ical machinery of the Government, in which were many old friends and comrades in arms.
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Though the warnings had already come from Kentucky against the policy, the president could not entirely heed them. Yet, to satisfy the Kentuckians, a local board of war was appointed, consisting of Generals Scott, Shelby, Innes, Logan, and Brown, who could call out the militia to act with the regulars when they deemed proper.
1 Under direction of this board, an expedition of eight hundred mounted men, with General Scott first and General Wilkinson second in command, was organized. Crossing at the mouth of Kentucky river, they penetrated the wilderness, and reached the Indian towns on the Wabash in June, 1791, some forty or fifty miles north-west of Indianapolis. Colonel Hardin, with about one hundred men, was detached to attack some smaller villages on the left, while General Scott led the main body against the principal village, Ouiatenou, the site of Lafayette, the smoke of which was discernible. As the troops reached the high ground overlooking the Wabash, they discov- ered the Indians trying to escape in canoes over the river. Wilkinson was ordered to follow them up with a battalion, which he did in time to com- pletely empty five canoes crowded with savages, with the deadly rifles of his men, though under a return fire from a Kickapoo town on the opposite bank. Captains King and Logsdon were ordered by General Scott to cross their companies below this town, and, under command of Major Barbee, to attack it. The enemy was soon driven out of it. Colonel Hardin had been successful enough to kill and capture some sixty of the enemy in the villages on the left. General Wilkinson, with nearly four hundred men, was next dispatched to attack an important town at the mouth of Eel river. This was successfully done, the town burned, and several hundred acres of grain destroyed. These assaults proved a severe chastisement to the Indians. Besides killing over one hundred men and taking many prisoners, extensive growing crops were destroyed. The troops returned home with small loss.
I Marshall, Vol. I., p. 373.
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
This expedition having been undertaken so early in the season as to enable the Indians to replant their crops, General Wilkinson, in August, called for another volunteer force of five hundred men, with Colonels Hardin and McDowell second in command, by authority of the board of war. The response was prompt, and the march begun toward the same section on the Wabash, which they crossed some miles above the present site of Logansport. General Wilkinson then directed an attack upon the important town of Languille, as the French had given it. The enemy fled with little resistance, after losing nine killed and thirty taken prisoners. The same cruel course of destroying the crops was found necessary, and five hundred acres were laid waste, now too late to replant for winter supply.
During this year, 1791, Captain Hubbell was descending the Ohio in a flat-boat, in which were nine men, three women, and eight children. Near the mouth of Kanawha, they were attacked by a large party of Indians in canoes, probably near one hundred in number. Captain Hubbell had served some six years gallantly in the army of the Revolution, and was conceded the command. In three canoes, manned by thirty Indians each, the attack was made. The fight became brisk and desperate on both sides. Captain Hubbell, after firing his own gun, took up one from a wounded man and raised it to fire, when a bullet from the enemy knocked off the lock. He coolly seized a fire-brand, sighted his gun, and touched off the powder in the pan. As he was in the act of firing his third shot, a ball passed through his right arm, and for a moment disabled him. Recovering himself, and seeing the Indians about to board the boat, he seized a couple of army pis- tols, and drove them back with effective shots. Without loaded arms, he, with one or two of his men, beat off the Indians with billets of wood used in cooking. The savages, perceiving Captain Greathouse's boat, now in sight, left Captain Hubbell's to attack that. The crew made no resistance, and the men were instantly killed and the women made prisoners. The Indians again turned their attention to the first boat, manning their canoes with fresh men, and putting in their midst the captured women. It was a hard alternative to fire so near these women, but self-preservation is the first law. But four men were left capable of defense. Captain Hubbell was wounded twice. As the Indians would rise to fire. the men would give them the first fire, and usually with deadly effect. Despairing of success, the Indians retired to the shore. The current now carried the boat within thirty yards of the shore, when the only two men left unwounded were put at the oars to hasten it by, which was successfully done, though nine balls were shot into one oar and ten into the other. The current now carried the boat far out into the river, and the fighting ceased. Three were killed and five wounded. As the boat reached Limestone, hundreds of people came to view the scene of carnage and conflict, with the dead and wounded men. and also horses and cattle. The sides were specked with bullets, and in one blanket, hung up as a curtain, one hundred and twenty-two bullet-holes
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BRAVERY OF FRONTIER WOMEN.
were counted. A force was at once raised to disperse this body of savages, who discovered several dead Indians on the shore, together with the bodies of Captain Greathouse and the men, women, and children captured with him.
The decoy and capture of Captain May's boat and crew, the pursuit, the fighting, and the escape of Captain Thomas Marshall, with the abandonment of two out of three of his boats, and many other incidents of river depreda- tion, followed each other at brief intervals at this period. The skirmishes, the ambushes and assassinations, the robberies of live stock, and the de- struction of property, were of almost weekly occurrence.
In April, 1792, Captains Calvin and Kenton, of Mason county, crossed the Ohio and pursued a party of Indians down to the Miami valley, who proved to be led by Tecumseh. Though they surprised the savages by a night attack in camp, yet the skill and bravery of their leader not only saved his men from panic, but rallied them for effective resistance. The fighting resulted in several killed and wounded on both sides, but nothing decisive.
About the same time, a prosperous settlement of the Cooks, Lewis Mastin, William Dunn, William Bledsoe, and several others, with their families, in Quinn's Bottom, on South Elkhorn, and some four miles from Frankfort, was raided by about one hundred Indians. The brothers Cook were first killed, and their wives, with three little children, left to defend the cabin. The door was barricaded, and the only gun seized by one of the Spartan women. Having no bullets, she split in two a piece of lead and rounded it to fit the rifle, and quickly loaded it. The Indians had failed to beat down the door, and, putting the end of the gun at a small opening in the logs, she took deliberate aim at an Indian and shot him dead. The infuriated sav- ages mounted the roof and set fire to it. One of the women ran up to the loft, and, while the other handed her water, put out the flames as often as the torch was applied. The water failing, she broke a lot of eggs and quenched the flame again. Lastly, they unrobed the vest of the dead hus- band of one, saturated with his blood, and smothered the kindling fire with it. The savages, baffled and uneasy lest an escaped messenger might bring an avenging force upon them, now abandoned the house, went off a dis- tance, and climbed some trees for observation. Coming down, they sunk the body of the dead Indian in the waters of Elkhorn, and departed. Be- sides the Cooks, there were killed Mastin, two of Dunn's sons, and one negro, and two negroes captured. A company of one hundred men pursued these bandits, but they escaped over the Ohio with a loss of one or two.
This year, a scurrying band of Indians attacked the house of Mr. Stephen- son, of Madison county, early in the morning before all had risen from bed. Firing into the house, they seriously wounded Mrs. Stephenson before de- fense could be made. Stephenson sprang from the bed and seized his rifle, and drove back the savages, while two young men living with him came to
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
the rescue. The assailants were driven off, with several killed and wounded. Mr. Stephenson was wounded and one of the young men killed.
Several raids were made into that portion of Ohio county lying next to Green river. In one of these, Mrs. John Anderson was scalped and two of her children killed, and Hannah Barnett captured and carried off. In another, McIlmurray was killed, Faith wounded, and Vannada made a pris- oner. Earlier than this, some twenty young persons of both sexes went out from a station on the river, to pull flax. Two mothers went out to visit or carry them meals, one taking her little child. They were fired on and pur- sued by Indians, and all ran for the fort. The mother with the babe, being delicate, was falling behind, clinging to her child. The other mother turned back, in the face of the fire and pursuit by the Indians, took the child in her arms, and ran safely over two hundred yards, to the fort. The feeble woman fell in one hundred yards of the station, when an Indian ran up to tomahawk and scalp her. Just in time, a shot from one of the garrison stretched him dead at her side, and saved her life.
In August, 1792, a party of Indians were marauding on Rolling Fork of Salt river, in Nelson county. Major Brown made a vigilant pursuit to. overtake and chastise them. Bringing them to bay, a sharp fight ensued, in which four of the savages were left dead on the field, and three of the whites killed and wounded.
Again we must omit the details of incessant harassments by these red bandits, who prowled the forests in every direction, giving but a few as illustrative of the perils that yet beset the settlers.
In the appointment of a commanding officer for the West by the Federal Government, General Hamilton consulted Mr. Brown, then the only con- gressman from this section. General St. Clair's name was mentioned, when Brown suggested that he was old and infirm, had been unfortunate in the service of the Continental army, and was without the confidence of the Western people, who, more than ever, since Harmar's defeat, believed that the officers and men of the regular army were unacquainted with, and unfit for, the methods of Indian warfare. It was difficult to ignore the demands. of the military arm of the national service, and the appointment of St. Clair was made, with a concession to the Kentuckians of the improvised military board, of which mention has been made.
The Government now felt the necessity of more enlarged measures and plans for the punishment and subjugation of the savage tribes. Orders were issued to enlist in several States troops for the regular service, to the num- ber of two thousand, to be placed under the command of General St. Clair. Kentucky had been called upon for about one thousand volunteers; but so intense was the feeling of prejudice against General St. Clair, and the regu- lar service generally in such warfare, that no response was made to the call. St. Clair was bedfast with gout and rheumatism, was an imbecile with dis- ease, age, and inexperience in such campaigning, and was then unfit to lead
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DISASTROUS DEFEAT OF THE ARMY.
an army in any campaign. Why the sagacity and well-known experience of President Washington would sanction or tolerate an appointment, that foreboded disaster in the discontent of the troops and the general murmur of protest throughout the country, is an enigma of history which the author does not attempt to explain. The novel expedient of drafting one thousand men for the army was resorted to in Kentucky; but no general officer could be found who would accept the command of these enforced recruits, and this was finally given to Colonel Oldham. 1
About the Ist of October, 1791, the army of over two thousand men, well armed and provisioned, which had rendezvoused at Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, began its march, by way of Fort Hamilton, on the Big Miami, toward the Indian towns on the Maumee river. The march was slow and wearisome to frontiersmen, as it was conducted after the ordinary routine of military science. Forts and stations were constructed on the route for storage of supplies, and for protection in case of disaster; the roads needed to be repaired for the passage of the artillery, and all had to move to the order of military precision. The army was officered by brave and tried subordinates, but the volunteer material was of a very mixed and doubtful element of the refuse of the States where they were enlisted. It was the most formidable force and equipment ever sent against the North-west In- dians. The Kentucky conscripts did not conceal their disaffection from the first, and hints of another Braddock's or Harmar's disaster were murmured. They began their desertions by individuals, and then by squads. Finally, a large part of a battalion followed, when the general detached a regiment to bring back the deserters.
On the 3d of November, the army came to a village on a small tributary of the Wabash, which St. Clair mistook for the St. Mary's, a branch of the Maumee, and here encamped in two lines, with the creek in front. The right wing was composed of Butler's, Clark's, and Patterson's battalions, commanded by Major-General Butler, forming the first line; and the left wing, of Bedinger's and Gaither's battalions and Colonel Darke's regiment, forming the second line. The right flank was protected by the steep bank of the creek and Faulkner's corps; some of the cavalry and their pickets covered the left. The militia were thrown over the creek some five hundred yards, and encamped in the same order, in front of which a company of regulars was picketed.
Near sunrise on the 4th, the enemy, in strong force, attacked the militia, the picket company having fallen back and given information to General Butler of the advance of the Indians, who treated the report as unworthy of attention, most fatally. Colonel Oldham had disregarded the regular orders to put out scouts, to keep advised of any movements of the enemy. The morning call and parade were over; and the troops, dismissed, had laid aside their arms, when suddenly a horde of Indians dashed into the militia
I Marshall, Vol. I., pp. 377-337.
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
camp, and completely routed them. In a stampede, they ran back upon Butler's and Clark's lines, and created some disorder. The Indians hotly pursuing, poured a reserved volley into these ranks, and increased the con- fusion. The officers rallied the men, and got them in some order. In quick succession, the savages boldly attacked the center of the front line, also the artillery, and the second line. Throwing themselves flat on the ground, or concealed by trees or logs, they kept up a galling fire, especially upon the artillery. The troops responded with small arms and artillery, but with not very destructive effect. The camp was now surrounded, and the slaughter was great at every point. The soldiers began to be disheartened, and then disordered. though the officers bravely rallied them. The savages charged into the camp with brandished tomahawks, and were driven out with the bayonet. Again they charged, and yelled, and fought desperately. Many officers and men had fallen, among them General Butler, second in com- mand. St. Clair was helpless in his cot. No quarter was given or expected. A retreat or a general massacre was now inevitable. A charge was made on the right of the enemy, the way cleared to the road, and then followed a disorderly stampede, each man caring for himself, and all deserting wag- ons, artillery, baggage, guns, and every encumbrance. General St. Clair managed to get away on a pack-horse, with aids to mount and dismount as he retreated.
In four days the general reached the rendezvous. Fort Washington, with the main remnants of a shattered army. Rumors flew over Kentucky that St. Clair was besieged in Fort Jefferson and in great danger. Generals Scott and Wilkinson at once called for relief volunteers, who warmly re- sponded, ready to march on Fort Jefferson. The facts being known, these calls were withdrawn. Over eight hundred men, out of fourteen hundred engaged, fell in the carnage of this slaughter. Far more disastrous than Harmar's, it was paralleled only in the defeat of Braddock at DuQuesne. It was the fatal issue of an unbroken series of blunders. The appointment by the War Department of the Federal Government, the infirmities and un- fitness of General St. Clair. the indifference of General Butler to the report of the pickets, and the failure of Colonel Oldham to observe the general order to put out scouts in the enemy's country, betray an unmilitary disre- gard of discretion impossible to be apologized for. The Indian forces engaged were estimated at fourteen hundred, about the same as the whites. They were commanded by the daring chiefs, Little Turtle and Brant. It is said that Little Turtle withdrew his men from pursuit, telling them that they had killed enough Americans. Pursuit must have ended in almost anni- hilation.
General Wilkinson, who was a man yet of power and prestige in Ken- tucky, was honored with the commission of lieutenant-colonel in the Second regiment of the United States army, and placed in command of Fort Wash- ington. In January, he announced the arrival of the clothing and pay of
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THE LEGISLATURE ASSEMBLES.
the soldiers of General St. Clair's army, which, had they come in time, might have saved the men a great amount of suffering and privation, and produced a far better state of feeling in that ill-fated body of troops. Through the coverts of the woods and brush which clothed the country everywhere, the savage bandits resumed their butcheries upon the isolated farm-houses and wayfarers, while piratical bands continued to decoy and assail those who sought the more convenient transit to Kentucky by way of the Ohio river, accounts of which would fill volumes.
By the provisions of the constitutional convention at Danville, on the 4th of June, 1792, the governor and Legislature assembled at Lexington. Isaac Shelby had been chosen governor by the college of electors ; Alexander S. Bul- litt, speaker of the Senate, and Robert Breckinridge, speaker of the House of Representatives. On the 6th, Governor Shelby met and addressed the Legisla- ture, in person, after the custom of the British monarchs, which was imitated by the colonial governors, and by many governors of the States for a long time, and by President Washington. James Brown was appointed secretary of state, and George Nicholas attorney -general. The first United States senators were GOVERNOR ISAAC SHELBY. Hons. John Brown and John Edwards. A joint committee of the two houses, according to order, announced that they had waited on the governor, and had received his reply that he would, the next day, at twelve o'clock, in the Senate chamber, meet the General Assembly, in order to make his communications. Accordingly, on the day appointed, the speaker and members of the House of Representatives re- paired to the chamber of the Senate, a little before the time for expecting the governor, and took the seats prepared for them, on the right front of the speaker's chair, the senators being on the other. At the appointed hour, the governor, attended by the secretary, made his appearance at the portal of the hall, when the speaker of the Senate, leaving his seat, met the gov- ernor, and conducted him to one placed on the right of the speaker's chair.
After the repose of a minute, the governor arose with a manuscript in his hand, and respectfully addressing, first the Senate and then the House of Representatives, read the communication which he had prepared ; and de- livering to each speaker a copy of the manuscript, he retired, as did also the speaker and members of the House of Representatives, who were re- formed in their own hall immediately after. Thus the first courtly proceed- ings of a State inaugural in Kentucky passed off.
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Each house resumed its appropriate functions, and, among the first busi- ness, ordered the communications from the governor to be entered on the journals.
In substance, they recommended to the attention of the Legislature the prosperity of the country as the great object of government; the establish- ment of both private and public credit, as among the most efficient means of effecting this desirable result. The first was represented to depend upon a speedy and impartial administration of justice, the latter on a scrupulous adherence to all public engagements.
Then he successively urged the speedy adjustment of the disputed titles to lands, by the mode pointed out in the Constitution ; the regulation of future elections, in such manner as to guard against undue influence ; the appoint- ment of two senators to represent the State in the Congress of the United States, and the passage of a law to compel sheriffs and other public officers to give security for the due performance of their duties.
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