USA > Kentucky > The history of Kentucky : from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 15
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WAR IN EUROPE. 257
CHAPTER XX.
Critical foreign relations with the United States-Berlin decrees -Restraint upon commercial enterprise-Attack upon the Chesapeake- Great excitement throughout the Union- Embargo-One hundred thousand militia called for-Reso- lutions passed in Kentucky-Declaration of war-Indian difficulties-Tecumseh-His attempts to form a confedera- tion of the tribes-Assembling of warriors at Tippecanoe- March of Harrison-Battle of Tippecanoe-Death of Joseph H. Daviess-Return of Tecumsch-His interview with Har- rison-Hull appointed to command the northwestern army -Invades Canada-Returns-General Brock summons De- troit-Surrender of Hull-Indignation of the states-Volun- teers from Kentucky-Hopkins marches against the Illinois Indians-Is deserted by his men-A second northwestern army organized-Harrison commissioned a brigadier-general -Appointed commander-in-chief.
THE war which had been so long raging on the continent of Europe, was now to have its effect upon the foreign relations of the United States. In order to counteract the naval su- premacy of Great Britain, Bonaparte, after hum- bling the power of Austria, dissolving the German empire, and overturning by a single blow the kingdom of Prussia, issued from the battle-field of Jena, on the 21st of November, 1806, his fa- mous Berlin decree.
By this decree all the British islands were de- clared in a state of blockade, and all trade in English merchandize was forbidden. The neu- trality of a nation was not respected, and Ameri-
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
can vessels bearing British merchandize, were held as much liable to seizure as the ships of Frenchmen or belligerents, engaged in the same trade.
The effect upon the United States was to raise the rate of marine insurance to such a ruinous height as to put a stop almost entirely to com- mercial enterprises. Something, however, was hoped from a remonstrance made by the Ameri- can ambassador at Paris to the French minister of marine, but the reply of the latter was found to be by no means satisfactory.
One indication of a favourable change in the aspect of affairs yet remained. In his message to Congress, the president communicated the in- formation that Monroe and Pinkney, had agreed upon the terms of a treaty with Great Britain, by which the disputed points of neutral rights would in all probability be adjusted. Difficulties arising soon after, in relation to the right of im- pressment, prevented the negotiation from ending so happily as it had begun, and, in all probability, increased the series of annoyances which at length resulted in a declaration of war.
The attack upon the Chesapeake, off the capes of Virginia, by the English frigate Leopard, by which several lives were lost and a number of seamen wounded, created the greatest excitement throughout the Union.
On the 2d of July, 1807, an embargo was de-
259
LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS.
clared, closing the ports of the United States against British vessels. One hundred thousand militia were ordered to hold themselves in readi- ness for service, but without pay ; and volunteers were invited to enroll themselves.
The great distress experienced by the com- mercial states in consequence of the embargo, led to its suspension at the ensuing session of Con- gress, until July, 1808, when it again went into operation. In March, 1809, a different mode of defence was resorted to. An act prohibiting all intercourse with Great Britain, France, and their dependencies, was passed by Congress. In re- taliation, Bonaparte issued another decree, by which a vast amount of property belonging to the citizens of the United States was seized in the ports of Spain, Naples, and Holland, and confiscated to the use of the French treasury.
In 1808, Madison succeeded Jefferson as Presi- dent of the United States, and during the same year Charles Scott was chosen Governor of Ken- tucky.
At the previous session of the legislature, a charter had been granted to the bank of Ken- tucky, with a capital of one million of dollars. One of the first acts of the session of 1808 was to pass, almost unanimously, a series of resolu- tions offered by Henry Clay, which strongly in- dicate the warlike feeling pervading the state at that time.
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
In these resolutions it was declared, " that the embargo was a measure highly judicious, and the only honourable expedient to avoid war : that the general assembly of Kentucky would view with the utmost horror a proposition in any shape to submit to the tributary exactions of Great Britain, as attempted to be enforced by her orders in council, or to acquiesce in the viola- tion of neutral rights as menaced by the French decrees ; and they pledge themselves to the gene- ral government, to spend, if necessary, the last shilling, and to exhaust the last drop of blood, in resisting these aggressions."
The voice of the people promptly responded to the sentiments expressed by their representatives. Great numbers of volunteers immediately enrolled themselves ; articles of foreign fabrication, espe- cially in respect to wearing apparel, were dis- carded, and substituted almost universally by clothing of domestic manufacture.
The breach between the government of the United States and that of Great Britain daily became wider; the people grew clamorous for an immediate resort to arms ; and at length, not- withstanding the strenuous opposition of the east- ern states, Congress, on the 18th of June, 1812, issued a formal declaration of war.
The augmenting prospect of a war between Eng- land and the United States had long been viewed with satisfaction by many of the Indian tribes.
261
TECUMSEH.
Receding, year by year, before the advancing footsteps of the whites, the necessity of self-pre- servation gradually forced upon their minds the project of a fixed boundary line, within which limit they might enjoy the freedom of their own hunting-grounds.
Notwithstanding the treaty of Greenville, and the extension of white settlements far beyond the Ohio, the idea of limiting the Anglo-Saxon popu- lation to the banks of the latter river was still entertained by a large proportion of the Indians. Among those chiefs who exerted their influence in support of this favourite but visionary project, none rose to such renown as the celebrated Te- cumseh. The born foe of the whites, he declared " he could not look upon one of them without feeling the flesh crawl upon his bones." Ardent, energetic, and resolute, he devoted his whole life to the service of his people. From his boyhood up he took part in every battle in which it was possible to be present, and when he found, from the continually increasing numbers of his foes, that nothing was to be gained by desultory war- fare, he undertook the herculean task of uniting all the tribes, hitherto at variance with each other, into one friendly league of brotherhood in arms against the common enemy. Calling to his aid the mysterious powers with which the Indians supposed his brother the Prophet to be invested, he visited the various tribes from Michigan to
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
Florida, making prophets in all the chief towns, and gaining numerous proselytes to his cause. Upon such as declined to embrace his projects, he hurled the most withering denunciations ; while, to his adherents, he promised exemption from wounds in battle, and a certain success to their efforts.
On several occasions previous to his last and most important journey to the South, Tecumseh visited General Harrison, then Indian agent and governor of Indiana, and claimed the lands which had been ceded by the treaty of Green- ville, on the plea that " they belonged to all the tribes, and could not be parted with but by the consent of all."
During the month of July, 1811, he again made his appearance at Vincennes, accompanied by about four hundred warriors. He apologized for several murders that had been committed by the Indians, and informed General Harrison that he had succeeded in inducing all the western tribes to place themselves under his direction, and that as soon as he had established a complete con- federacy, it was his intention to visit the presi- dent and settle all difficulties.
It was shortly after this, that, taking with him a few followers only, he proceeded on his south- ern mission. While he was absent, the Prophet's town at Tippecanoe became the scene of the wildest excesses. Warriors flocked in from all
263
HARRISON'S MOVEMENTS.
parts of the country, until they increased in numbers to a thousand men. Horrible incanta- tions were frequently practised, warlike ha- rangues roused the faint-hearted and inspired the strong. Lawless and bold, they broke out into excesses which the Prophet was unable to control,. and at length precipitated the war before Te- cumseh returned, and while his vast and compre- hensive plan of general hostilities was as yet imperfectly organized.
After receiving numerous reports of outrages committed by these reckless savages, Governor Harrison moved toward the Prophet's town, and on the 5th of November encamped on a small creek, about eleven miles from the point of his destination. His whole effective force, which numbered somewhere near nine hundred men, was composed of two hundred and fifty regulars, a large body of militia, and one hundred and thirty volunteers, many of whom were from Ken- tucky, and among them, acting as major of dra- goons, the former district attorney, the brave and chivalrous Joseph H. Daviess.
During the march, which was resumed the following morning, parties of Indians were con- stantly seen hovering at a distance, but all at- tempts to open communication with them proved ineffectual.
About a mile and half from the town, Harrison determined to encamp, and to endeavour once
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
more to obtain a conference with the Prophet. The hostile manifestations in front, joined to the advice of his officers, induced him to continue his march. After advancing a short distance, he was met by a deputation of three Indians, with whom a suspension of hostilities was agreed upon until the next day.
The army then moved to a dry piece of oak- land, about three-quarters of a mile from the Prophet's town, and there encamped for the night.
The order of encampment was the order of battle, and each man slept immediately opposite his post in the line. On the morning of the 7th, a little after four o'clock, and within two minutes of the usual signal being given for the troops to turn out, a sudden attack was commenced by the Indians upon the left flank of the camp. They had crept up so near the sentinels as to hear them challenge when relieved, and had intended to rush in upon them and kill them before they had time to fire. One of them, however, dis- covered an Indian creeping toward him in the grass, and fired. It was followed by an Indian war-whoop and a desperate charge. The whole army was instantly on its feet. The camp-fires were extinguished. The general mounted his horse and proceeded to the point attacked. Some of the companies took their places in the line in forty seconds after the report of the first gun ;
265
BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.
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and all the troops were prepared for action in less than two minutes. The battle immediately became general, and was maintained on both sides with desperate valour. Observing that the left of the front line was sustaining a severe fire from a large body of Indians posted behind trees, Major Daviess was ordered to charge at the head of his dragoons, and dislodge them. Dashing for- ward at once with a mere handful of his men, Daviess was met by a fierce attack on both of his flanks, by which the major himself received a mortal wound, and his party were driven back. The Indians, however, were immediately after- ward dislodged by Captain Snelling at the point of the bayonet.
Notwithstanding this repulse, the conflict was continued in front and on both flanks with un- abated fury until near daylight, when the Indians were routed by the infantry at the point of the bayonet, and being closely followed by the dra- goons were driven into a marsh and entirely dis- persed.
The destruction of the Prophet's town, and the corn in its vicinity, took place the day after the battle. On the 9th, the victorious army com- menced its march to Vincennes.
A few days after this disastrous battle, Tecum- seh returned from the South, and hurled the bit- terest denunciations upon the head of his brother for the rashness by which he had annihilated, in
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
a few hours, plans which had been laboriously maturing for years.
To Governor Harrison, Tecumseh sent word he had returned from the South, and was ready to visit Washington. The reply of Harrison being unsatisfactory to the haughty chieftain, the jour- ney was not undertaken.
It was not until the month of June, 1812, that he sought a personal interview with the governor. At this, his last conference, he reproached Har- rison with having made war upon his people dur- ing his absence, and after scarcely deigning to listen to the reply, he left Fort Wayne and has- tened to Malden, in Upper Canada, where he he joined the British standard.
For some time after the declaration of war be- tween the United States and Great Britain, the Americans sustained only a succession of defeats. General Hull, who had been appointed by Madi- son to the command of the northwestern army, crossed the river from Detroit and invaded Up- per Canada. After marching a few miles down the river and threatening Fort Malden, he be- came disheartened at a trifling resistance offered by a British outpost, and fell back to Sandwich, where he remained, comparatively inactive, until the 8th of August, when he evacuated Canada, and again occupied Detroit.
On the 15th of August, General Brock, com- mander of the British forces in Upper Canada,
267
HULL'S SURRENDER.
y
after capturing a small American garrison at Mackinaw, reached Sandwich, opposite Detroit, and summoned Hull to surrender. The answer of Hull was a refusal, and the batteries of the British were immediately opened. On the 16th, under cover of their ships, they landed on the American shore a little below the town, and ad- vanced, in a close column of twelve deep, to the assault of the fort.
While all was hushed expectation among the militia who were posted in the town, and the garrison at the fort,-at a time when there was neither wavering nor irresolution to be discovered among any of the defenders, nothing but hope and high determination,-an order was issued from the commanding general not to fire, the troops were directed to withdraw into the fort and stack their arms, and a white flag, in token of surrender, was hoisted upon the walls.
By this disgraceful and humiliating act, not only was the deceived and indignant army of Hull made prisoners of war, but the territory of Michigan fell into the uncontrolled possession of the British conqueror, and with it the command of those Indian tribes, whose aggressions, up to this period, the Americans had been able for the most part to restrain.
The surrender of Hull was received through- out the Union with one universal burst of exe- cration. Kentucky had already offered the ser-
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
vices of seven thousand volunteers to the govern- ment, fifteen hundred of whom were on their march to Detroit, when the tidings reached them that the city and fort were in possession of the British officers.
Ardently desirous of being actively engaged, two thousand volunteers responded to the call of the governor, and marched against the Indian vil- lages of Illinois. Becoming uneasy at the scar- city of their provisions, and broken down by the hardships they encountered on their march, they at length grew restless and insubordinate. After wandering across the prairies for several days to no purpose, they refused to proceed any farther, and turning a deaf ear to the remonstrances of their officers, they broke up their array, and pro- ceeded to their homes.
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PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN.
CHAPTER XXI.
Plan of the fall campaign of 1812-Harrison appointed com- mander of the northwestern army-Winchester marches from Fort Wayne-Difficulties of the route-Deplorable condition of the troops-Winchester halts at the Rapids- The enemy approach Frenchtown-A detachment of Ken- tuckians under Colonel Lewis sent against them-Proctor advances from Malden-Battle of the River Raisin-Surren- der of the Americans-Inhuman massacre-Reception of the news in Kentucky-Four regiments of volunteers raised- Harrison builds Fort Meigs-Is reinforced from Kentucky- Siege of Fort Meigs by Proctor-Advance of General Clay- Colonel Dudley destroys a part of the British batteries-His detachment surrounded by British and Indians-Terrible slaughter of the prisoners-Inhuman conduct of Proctor- Tecumsen-His indignant reply to the British general.
THE plan of the fall campaign of 1812, as it emanated from the war office at Washington, was to unite as many regulars as could be enrolled in time, or detached from other service, to the large force of militia from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ken- tucky, and Virginia, already assembled at Fort Wayne, under their respective generals, and after raising General Harrison to the chief command, to direct his march at once upon Detroit. When the capture of that town and fort was effected, and the British expelled from the territory of Michigan, another attempt was to be made to penetrate into Canada, for the purpose of reduc- ing Fort Malden, the possession of the latter
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
post by the Americans being of the utmost im- portance, both from its proximity to Detroit, and from the protection and encouragement it af- forded to the Indian tribes of the northwest.
General Harrison proceeded at once to as- sume command of the army. He reached Fort Wayne on the 23d of September. Finding that General Winchester had already marched with a detachment of troops for Fort Defiance, with the intention of proceeding to the Rapids, he rode forward until he overtook the latter officer, and after a brief conference returned to the settle- ments for the purpose of putting in motion the centre and right wing of the army.
Obstacles, however, of the most serious charac- ter soon occurred to try the patience of the gene- ral, and test but too severely the spirits of the men. The difficulties in transporting supplies and munitions of war over a route which in the rainy season was but little better than a succession of swamps and marshes, the deplorable condition of the troops under the combined effects of hunger, disease, and hardship, joined to the ill success of two expeditions sent out against the British and Indians encamped at the Rapids, infused a melan- choly presentiment into the minds of many, and dampened the ardour of all.
The 1st of January, 1813, found the right wing of the army under Harrison at Upper San- dusky ; while the left wing, under Winchester,
271
ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH.
still remained at Fort Defiance. The force of the latter, amounting to nearly eight hundred men, consisted principally of volunteers from Kentucky, among whom were Colonels Allen and Hardin, eminent lawyers ; Major Madison, audi- tor of the state ; Colonels Scott and Lewis, and many other gentlemen of equal wealth and re- spectability.
Leaving Fort Defiance, the left wing, under Winchester, reached the Rapids on the 10th of January, and were there halted until the forces under Harrison should form a junction with them.
On the 13th, however, a messenger brought intelligence of the advance of two companies of Canadian militia and two hundred Indians upon Frenchtown on the river Raisin. Fearful of the consequences to be apprehended from the ap- proach of the enemy, the inhabitants anxiously besought General Winchester to protect them.
Regardless of the fact that, notwithstanding the comparatively small force at that time con- centrating at Frenchtown, it was a position which could receive in a few hours immense reinforce- ments from Malden, only eighteen miles distant, with the lake firmly frozen between, the Ken- tuckians, impelled by a spirit of humanity, in- stantly requested permission to advance against the enemy. With much reluctance General Win- chester consented. The command of the detach-
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
ment, numbering about five hundred men, was given to Colonel Lewis. The officers immediately subordinate to him were Colonel Allen, and Majors Madison and Graves. The distance from the rapids to Frenchtown was forty-eight miles, which was accomplished by forced marches in less than two days.
When the Kentuckians reached the vicinity of the town, they were informed that the British were already in possession of it. An immediate attack was resolved upon, and after a spirited conflict, ending in the complete rout of the enemy, the victors encamped within the line of. pickets from which the British had been driven.
This was on the evening of the 18th. Two days after they were joined by General Win- chester, with a reinforcement of two hundred and fifty regulars under Colonel Wells.
Finding the volunteers had taken up a position on the right of the enclosure, Wilkinson refused to occupy the vacant space on the left of the line, and from a too fastidious desire to preserve that military etiquette which assigns to regulars the post of honour, encamped his men on open ground outside the pickets.
On the evening of the 21st, Winchester was informed that General Proctor was making pre- parations to march from Fort Malden with a large force ; but not anticipating the celerity with which the British movements would be made, he
273
AMERICANS SURPRISED.
retired to his head-quarters at the house of Colonel Navarre, distant nearly a mile from the camp, intending on the following day to throw up some defences for the protection of the ex- posed portion of his troops.
But while the volunteers and regulars were thus lulled into such a state of fatal security that not even a single picket was thrown forward to warn them of the approach of an enemy, Proctor, at the head of the combined force of two thousand British and Indians, was marching upon French- town with equal speed and secrecy ; and on the morning of the 23d of January, 1813, suddenly assaulted the camp in two divisions. The regu- lars under Proctor advanced at once toward the line of pickets, while the Indians, under their chiefs Round Head and Split Log, attacked the regulars encamped on the open ground.
Under cover of a heavy cannonade from six field-pieces, the British attempted to penetrate the enclosure ; but were received by so deadly a fire from the rifles of the Kentuckians, that after sustaining a loss of one hundred and twenty men in killed and wounded, they retreated in great disorder, when the field-pieces were again man- ned, and a heavy and destructive fire was directed against the picketing.
During the time occupied by this fierce assault and repulse, the Indians had taken possession of some unoccupied houses within musket-shot of
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
the right of the exposed regulars, and from these, and other situations affording shelter to their own persons, poured volley after volley upon the helpless and bewildered troops.
In a few minutes the American regulars were. totally routed. While they were in full flight, Winchester arrived, and endeavoured, but inef- fectually, to rally them. Colonels Lewis and Allen, with a body of brave Kentuckians, made a sortie from the fort in the hope of saving the small remnant of the troops from destruction.
The battle once more became general. Win- chester and Lewis were taken prisoners by the enemy, and Allen, Woolfolk, Simpson, and Meade, all gentlemen of estimable character and high standing in Kentucky, were killed. Of those who had thus sallied from the picketing, not a single Kentuckian returned, and of the fugitives they so chivalrously endeavoured to suc- cour, scarcely one escaped death or capture.
While this fearful conflict was being carried on outside of the picketing, the volunteers within, under the command of Majors Madison and Graves, effectually succeeded in maintaining their position, and for four hours boldly resisted the assaults of the British regulars and the heavy cannonade by which they were supported.
This gallant but unequal contest was continued until eleven o'clock, when, having but one keg of cartridges remaining, and receiving from Proc-
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FEROCIOUS MASSACRE.
tor the most positive assurances of protection, they consented to surrender themselves prisoners of war.
The loss of the Americans in this disastrous battle, in killed, wounded, and missing, was three hundred men; and of the British and Indians, about the same number.
Scarcely, however, had the surrender taken place, before the infuriated savages, breaking through all restraint, commenced the horrible work of scalping, stripping, and mutilating the dead. Such of the helpless wounded as yet lay upon the field of battle were despatched with tomahawks, in the presence of Proctor and other British officers, who were either unable, or un- willing from motives of policy, to check the blood- thirsty ferocity of their allies. The prisoners who had passed through the battle unhurt found safety in the British ranks. The wounded yet remaining were intrusted to the charge of the Indians, to be marched in the rear of the army to Malden. The consequences might have been, and perhaps were, foreseen. Some were slaugh- tered in mere wantonness ; others from a san- guinary impulse of the moment. Those, also, who sank by the wayside from exhaustion or bodily weakness, were immediately despatched. Very few of the number ever reached the British garrison.
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