USA > Michigan > Monroe County > History of Monroe County, Michigan : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests Volume I > Part 21
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The two governors, having made up an issue by legislative enact- ments, found themselves confronted by a military force that had been called out to enforce their respective legislative pleadings. Governor Mason, representing the tenant in possession, was content to rest at ease. Governor Lucas, representing the plaintiff, had to open the trial. He found it convenient to observe a "masterly inactivity" for some days. The whole country in the meantime became wild with excitement.
FALL OF MILITARY LEADER
Mr. Way relates a ludicrous incident that occurred on the Perrys- burg side of the river, which is as follows: Most of the soldiers that came from a distance came with their arms in small squads, as they hap- pened to get together, without any organization. A well known citizen of Perrysburg, not having the warlike preparations much at heart, dressed himself in a commissioned officer's uniform and, mounted on a very fine horse, made something of a military display on the streets. As one of these squads arrived in Perrysburg over the Black Swamp road and was about proceeding to the river to cross over to the place of rendezvous this would-be officer assumed authority over them and undertook to conduct them to the ferry. After proceeding some dis- tance the men doubted the authority of the man in military clothes lead- ing them, especially as they had heard many of the Perrysburg people did not think much of the war.
When the squad got near the river they deployed into line and with fixed bayonets closed upon their leader between their line and the river and called on him for his commission or authority that he claimed to exercise. They told him they were full-blooded Buckeye Boys, come to defend the territorial rights of the state ; if he was one of them, all right; if not, they intended to know it. By this time he began to look for an opening for escape; but the boys closed up and moved steadily towards the river with muskets at charge. Soon the officer was sitting upon his horse as far out in the river as the horse could go without swimming. The boys told him he should stay there until he showed his authority or
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orders from General Bell for his release. He was kept there till he nearly perished with cold, when a number of citizens of the town came and entreated the soldiers to let him off.
Governor Lucas had determined in his mind to order General Bell with his force to Toledo as soon as he could make the necessary prepara- tions and risk the consequences; but before he had got his preparations made two eminent citizens, Hon. Richard Rusk of Philadelphia and Colonel Howard of Baltimore arrived from Washington as commis- sioners from the President of the United States, to use their personal influence to stop all warlike demonstrations. Hon. Elisha Whittlesey of Ohio accompanied the commissioners as a voluntary peacemaker. They remonstrated with him and reminded him of the fatal consequences to himself and the state of a collision between the forces. They advised him to abandon forcible measures to get possession of territory and wait for a peaceable settlement of the matter by Congress.
PROPOSED SETTLEMENT
The commissioners and Mr. Whittlesey had several conferences with both governors, and finally on the 7th of April submitted the following propositions for their assent, to wit: "1st. That the Harris line should be run and re-marked pursuant to the Act of the last session of the legislature of Ohio without interruption. 2nd. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio having taken place throughout the disputed territory, that the people residing upon it should be left to their own government, obeying the one jurisdiction or the other, as they may pre- fer, without molestation from the authorities either of Ohio or Michi- gan."
JUSTICES DIVIDE TERRITORY
Dr. Horatio Conant settled at Maumee in 1816. General Cass, then governor of Michigan, being intimately acquainted with him, either as a joke or otherwise, sent him a commission as justice of the peace in the county of Erie in the territory of Michigan. (This portion of the north- west territory previous to and for some time after the organization of Michigan Territory, was called Erie county and district.) The doctor regarded the commission as a joke and never contemplated acting under it. In 1819 Seneca Allen was an acting justice of the peace in Waynes- field township under the laws of Ohio, residing on the south side of the river near old Fort Meigs. Waynesfield was the only organized town- ship at that time in the Maumee valley. His territorial jurisdiction was quite as large as the present congressional district. He heard about Dr. Conant having commission from the governor of Michigan, and notified him that he must not attempt to do any business under it. Some time in the month of December, 1819, Allen had an engagement to marry a couple on the north or Maumee side of the river. The river was high and full of running ice, and very unsafe to cross. Conant lived near the banks of the river on the Maumee side. Allen lived near on the Perrysburg side and nearly opposite. Allen finding it impracticable to get over the river to fulfill his engagement, called to Dr. Conant across the river and requested him to marry the couple. The doctor reminded him of the objections he had heretofore made to his right to act under his commission, and declined; but Allen insisted on his doing it and stated that this was a case of necessity and that necessity knew no law ; that his commission from the governor of Michigan would do well enough for the occasion.
Dr. Conant married the couple and received a jack-knife as his fee.
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Some time afterwards the two justices met and Allen made this proposi- tion : He proposed, for himself, to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the territory on the Perrysburg or south side of the river, and that the two should have jurisdiction in common on the Maumee, or north side of the river. Allen was very liberal, for he conceded far more territory about which there was no dispute than there was of the disputed terri- tory.
NARRATIVE BY AN ACTOR
The following narrative by an active participant in the exciting events occurring, adds something to the humorous side of this vaudeville War. It recently came into the hands of the author : "The Toledo war occurred in 1835. By general order No. 1 of that year, Stevens T. Mason, act- ing governor of the territory of Michigan, and Adjutant-General Larnered, the cavalry company of this place which was in full bloom and under the command of Capt. Peter Slingerland, commissioned by Gov. Mason, myself holding the commission of first lieutenant of said com- pany, by the same authority, was ordered to rendezvous at the hotel kept by my father in Ann Arbor, for general inspection, and for the purpose of arming and equipping ourselves for the defense of our fron- tier line between our territory and the state of Ohio, a dispute having arisen as to the original survey, whether the line now established was correct or not. The disputed territory embraced a strip of land some seven miles in width, extending west to the Indiana line. We met as above stated, were inspected and passed muster, but when the time came to advance on the enemy, a difficulty arose as to the horse that I had employed in doing duty to our company. It belonged to my father, and he refused to let me have it, for he wisely said that he could not afford so valuable an animal to be slaughtered or captured by the foes of our glorious territory, only on the grounds that the authorities would become responsible for the full value of the animal.
"Our colonel informed the proper authorities of our situation and very soon an order came to have the horse got in line. Accordingly it was equipped according to law and the line was formed early in the morn- ing. Two appraisers were appointed, viz. : my father and Mosely May- nard. The business of appraisal was through with in a hurry. The horse was numbered 85. The company took dinner at father's house. We were immediately ordered to Ypsilanti, to join a mounted company of that place. The number of that company was 85. When we arrived at Ypsilanti we were ordered to consolidate the two companies. The question then arose (a very important one) what to do with the extra set of officers. Col. Owen Welch who was then young and vigorous as many of us at that time had reason to know, proposed the following plan, viz: that the officers of each company should throw the dice and the highest number thrown at three trials should decide the elections, and the men so elected should lead their countrymen on against the brave Buckeyes in the terrible contest now looming up in the distance between the two contending parties. The first in order were Capt. Slingerland, of Ann Arbor, and Capt. Forsyth, of Ypsilanti. Capt. Slingerland was elected by six dots. Then came my turn with the first lieutenant of the Ypsilanti company. I beat him by four dots. Ypsilanti got the second lieutenant and Ann Arbor the ensign. That question settled, our colonel was transferred to the milta. Then came general order No. 4, which was to promote our captain to major, to take charge of our detachment until we could join the rest of our brigade at head- quarters at Monroe or Toledo. This made a vacancy in our ranks and as a result I was promoted to the captaincy, and the balance of the officers
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were promoted for the same cause in the same way, by our commanding officers. There was only one more office to be filled and that was done by the two companies. My impression is that a Ypsilanti man was appointed, but it might have been James Welch, of Ann Arbor; I am not sure.
"Our headquarters were on the east side of the river, in a hotel kept by Dr. Andrews. How proud and haughty (not to say insolent) we were that we came out ahead of the Ypsilanti boys. They appeared rather down-hearted, but whether it was caused by their failure to secure the prominent officers, or the terrible prospect before them, I cannot say, but we cheered them up and gave them the best the house afforded in provisions and a superabundance of good whiskey, (not the forty-rod of the present day). It had the effect to make them as well as us, valorous and remarkably courageous. We were gritty as hyenas and boasted greatly of our ability to whip our cursed enemies, the Buckeyes, who were unpardonable trespassers on our soil,-the very soil that our great congressmen had bequeathed to us and our posterity. We would show them that we could whip them five to one. We would not leave a man of them to tell the awful tale to their friends, of their destruction; their braves should fall beneath our conquering heroes and terrible should be the slaughter. Words like these fell from the lips of our noble chieftains and were echoed back by the noble patriots who composed the rank and file of our beautiful territory. Our country being rich in resources, the boys went their length in rations for that night at least. The next morning the major issued his first order, order No. 6. It was to this effect. Drilling the brigade from 6 to 8 o'clock, then from 10 to 12, then from 2 to 4. This serv- ice continued only one or two days, as we were soon ordered to the front, or to the headquarters then at Toledo. Our first day's march carried us to Knagg's tavern, 10 miles west of Monroe, on the River Raisin. Our quartermaster, of course, went on in advance of our columns to prepare quarters for the night, for our own men, but no others. The officers had no reason to find fault with him for he made ample provision for them. He obtained permission of Maj. Knaggs that the officers should occupy the house, the horses were to occupy the barn. He got good quarters for the men in a small field near the house and barn. Here they pitched their tents for the night, after receiving strict orders from myself not to touch a thing belonging to the major, not even the smallest thing should they appropriate that belonged to Major Knaggs. The major was present when the order was given and heard it. I was very explicit and told them distinctly that should they disobey the order a most terrible penalty would be certain to follow. I said should any be caught in the act of stealing from the major, or of doing any harm to him or his property, for any such misdemeanor, I should certainly report them to headquarters and have them court-martialed. The men gave three hearty cheers for the captain, all pledging themselves to obey my order to the letter. So I left them in charge of the ensign and lower officers until morning. The officers were provided with a bountiful supper by Major Knaggs at his own expense. Moses Rogers was second sergeant and my orderly. He took the care of my horse as well as his own. We all, officers and privates, fared as well as could be expected under the circumstances.
"Next morning we were all on hand at reveille, which took place at five o'clock. The first man I met after the roll was called was Rogers. I asked how matters were. He said that the quartermaster had furnished treble rations, the horses were getting fat, and that the cooks were pre- paring breakfast for all the officers and men, and that I had better Vol. 1-10
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eat with them, for they had been to a little extra trouble to get rations for the officers. I left him and passed on. The next man I met was Knaggs. He was in a terrible rage, as mad as a hatter. I said : 'Knaggs, what is up ?' He said the boys of my company had stolen five or six swarms of his bees, all his ducks and chickens, all his decanters, tumb- lers, with three or four casks of liquor out of his bar, and what else, God only knew. He said he would soon find them out and have them brought to justice. I said to him it could not have been my men, for they would not disobey my orders, especially after giving the charge I did last night, and which he heard. 'It cannot be possible,' said I; 'but I will have the roll called after breakfast, and put them in line and have them examined by Major Slingerland and yourself. I will also be present, and if we find any who show signs of guilt, I will have him dealt with severely by a court-martial.' This seemed to satisfy the old man for the time being. Very soon we were called to breakfast, and found that the quartermaster had made ample preparations, as the following bill of fare will indicate: Roast beef, roast pork, ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese, butter, honey, wheat bread and coffee, of the first quality, were all among the eatables. I asked the boys how they got all these extra rations. The only answer given to the major and myself was, that the commissary had furnished them. That officer being present, we questioned him. He said he did furnish a part or the whole of them, and plead in justification that the territory was rich and could afford her fighting men good rations. I related to him the charges made by Knaggs to myself. He said he would clear the company from all such charges, 'for,' said he, 'the militia have encamped near another tavern, about one mile above us, and they were caught stealing honey and chickens and had even killed a fine ox that was owned by the tavern- keeper.' I said that did not excuse the men under my command. If any of them were found guilty, the major and myself would certainly have them punished severely. At that moment Major Knaggs came in, and to my great surprise accused my men of stealing his honey, poultry, etc. He said the proof was plain enough, for they might he seen on the table. The commissary stated that he bought the beef, pork and other eatables yesterday, and he could prove it by Hatch, the teamster for our company. Hatch said the commissary had stated the facts, and further stated that he had been up to the other camp and had King and a number of others up for stealing honey and other things, including ducks and beef. This rather cooled Knaggs down somewhat, but said he would not be satisfied until I had the company in line and have them all examined. I was entirely willing and even anxious that his desire should be complied with. I, of course, wanted to clear the boys, if not guilty, and was willing to do anything for them I could as their chief officer. So I ordered James Welch, my orderly, to form the company into two ranks, open file of three feet space, giving the major a good chance to examine each man. He commenced on the right of the com- pany and all went well until we came to one of the corporals, by the name of Wicoff. I noticed that his left arm and chest were badly swollen, the arm was a size or two larger than the other. Knaggs at that moment came up, and said we had at last got the right chap. I asked Wicoff what the matter was with his arm, and what meant that swollen face, and what the cause of his excessive rotundity of person just at this time. He said he 'was detailed yesterday to guard the baggage wagon, with four others detailed for the same purpose under me. I became tired of riding on horseback, and tied my horse to the teamster's wagon and got onto the load with him; the wheels suddenly falling into a deep rut, I was thrown from the wagon and struck my face and left arm, causing
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extreme pain and enormous swelling of my chest. In fact, it came near killing me.' I said to him, 'I for one, give credit to your statement ; but I fear the major will require you to prove it.' 'I do,' said Knaggs. I then ealled an orderly-Welch-to inform me whether Wicoff was detailed as he said. He said he was. Hatch, the teamster, being ques- tioned, corroborated Wicoff's story. The four men who were detailed with him stated the same thing. This satisfied Knaggs. So the coast was now clear, and we finished the rear rank, finding no further evidence of disorderly conduct and the matter ended satisfactorily to Knaggs.
"About that time, Captain Crane's detachment came past, bringing reports that the militia were stealing everything they could lay their hands on. So my company got clear for this time and were ordered by Maj. Slingerland to mount and proceed forthwith to Monroe, which order was promptly obeyed. We arrived there about noon, and took our dinner in the court-house square. The dinner consisted of the remains of the rations furnished by the commissary the day before, as I have stated, except the contents of Major Knaggs's bar.
"The men, the night before, by an order of the commissary-a respectable man of Detroit, appointed by Gov. Mason-ordered a guard of eight men to draw from Knaggs' bar its contents and start business down by the side of the River Raisin. They obeyed orders and deposited the liquor in a still place in the river, and there it lay safely until the next morning and then it was carefully taken up out of the river, placed in one of the baggage wagons and conveyed to Monroe, where the com- missary dealt it out to the men for their grog rations at their dinner. Knaggs followed on the trail; but he was not any wiser, for he never found out about the liquor. Major Slingerland took the commissary in hand about the matter, but could get no satisfaction further than that he had given Knaggs an order on the territory for an amount that would cover the value of his liquor. So ended that chapter.
"From Monroe we were ordered to proceed immediately to the disputed territory on the line that divided us from Ohio. We arrived there on the evening of the day we left Monroe. On arriving there our company formed a line in front of a tavern. The quartermaster went into the house to secure quarters for the officers and stabling for the horses. The landlord drove him out, not with the point of a bayonet, but with an axe and ordered us from the premises, calling us rebels and traitors to the country. He said he would have the regular army called out to defend him and his property. But it was of no use to resist the invincible host from the Wolverine state.
"Orders were given, however, as usual, to respect the man's property, and our army was ordered to pitch their tents in the most convenient place that could be found. A strong guard was stationed to keep off the enemy and protect ourselves. The officers found quarters in the house and the commissary furnished abundant rations for the officers, men and horses, from the landlord's cattle yards, roosts and gran- aries, all, of course, in accordance with army regulations. The land- lord and his family were put under guard, lest they should pass through our lines into the territory of our enemies and thus frustrate the grand objects and designs of our government, for we were aware of the fact that should the Buckeye be notified of our extreme weakness (only one hundred and fifty strong), they might make a Bull Run advance on us and use us up. Capt. A. D. Crane, with his Dexter braves and another company, were too far in the rear to give us immediate aid, and we had to do the best we could under the circumstances.
"We kept our enemies under heavy guard that night. A picket guard was ordered out. A scouting party was also sent out. In the
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morning the scouts returned with the cheering news that it was all quiet at the front. They also reported that they were very fortunate in capturing many of our enemies. But I was so unfortunate as not to see any of the captured men. What a night that was for us poor officers and soldiers. Think of the blood that was shed and the awful carnage that followed such a terrible war. The fatigue resulting from our long marches was, of course, almost intolerable. The terrible con- flicts with our foes, how they loom up in history. After this fearful night, we breakfasted on the remains of beef, chickens and honey, pro- vided by our commissary the day before.
"We were soon ordered to mount and march in close columns, lest some of our men might straggle off and be gobbled up by the enemy. We were now in the enemies country, and orders came from Major Slingerland, to make Toledo our headquarters, that being the place where our governor had made his headquarters. In due time we arrived there and made our report to the adjutant-general. We soon went into camp upon the farm of Major Stickney of the Ohio militia. He was grit to the back-bone. He threatened summary vengeance upon our men if they were so presumptuous as to put a finger upon anything belonging to him. But his threat availed nothing with our invincibles. His barn was filled with hay and grain of all kinds. Our worn-out horses gratefully acknowledged the kindness of our quartermaster in the ample provisions made for their wants, and with appetites almost unparalleled in the annals of war, resulting from long marches and short feed, they stowed away large quantities of the major's fodder, not thinking, I suppose, of the awful threats of the owner.
"While the men were engaged in removing the major's fodder from his barns to our camp, he with his rebel horde, consisting of about twenty men and boys, fell upon our men with pistols, pitchforks, clubs, and other deadly weapons, but our brave boys feeling the importance of the great work before them, were invincible, and had but little trouble in keeping the rebels at bay. When one portion of our for- midable army became fatigued, another force would be employed. This kind of skirmishing was kept up for a whole week, each day, until the major's forage was used up.
"During all this time our army was duly drilled, with scouts in the country to report the probable strength of the enemy. The reports were duly forwarded to headquarters by orderlies who were on duty day and night, and it is not yet known how many horses were killed in the great haste to give information to the commander-in-chief. This was all important, as it was feared that unless constant dispatches were conveyed to our army, the rebels would surprise us and annihilate our entire force. Thus we defended our beautiful country. But soon an adjustment of the matter was effected and our army returned to their homes and their disconsolate families, without the loss of a single man or an ounce of human blood. But notwithstanding our bravery and the immense suffering from long and frequent marches our government has entirely forgotten us in the bestowment of pensions either in money or lands.'
CONTRIBUTION TO BROWN'S ARMY
The contribution of Monroe county to the army of General Brown was the Second regiment of infantry, with the following officers com- prising the field and staff; Warner Wing, colonel; Apulus Brown, major; Wm. M. Smith, surgeon; Lewis E. Bailey, adjutant; Almon S. White, quartermaster. The company commanders consisted of Cap- tain George W. Darrah, Joseph Moross, Gabriel Bissonette, Herman A.
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Spaulding, Noyes Wadsworth, John Bradford. A company of light- horse was also enlisted in Monroe of which the following were officers : captain, Joseph Wood; first lieutenant, James McBride; second lieu- tenant, B. Hotchkiss; cornet, Stephen B. Crego. The aggregate num- ber of troops was 1160, whose pay amounted to $13, 638.76. Naturally, the county contiguous to the contested territory was in a state of com- motion and excitement during the period of active preliminary action and were daily expecting an outbreak of hostilities, the end of which or the results, none could foretell.
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