History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 40

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan > Part 40

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After a visit of two weeks, my father returned to Michigan, and at the proper time, went up to the Thames, and himself, his brother and five hired men entered the harvest field, and were progressing finely in securing the grain. At this time Tecumseh was, with a band of his Indian warriors, stationed a few miles above where my father was at work with his men. Pre- vious to this, war had broken out between England and the United States; and my father had consulted Esquire Jacobs about his remaining in Canada long enough to secure his grain, and settle some other business matters, and was informed that he could; and as his office was civil and military, he would protect him. Esquire Jacobs was a very prominent and influential man. and under his protection my father felt safe. But some envious and loyal person had informed Tecumseh that seven Americans were at work in a field some distance below and urged their capture. Tecumseh's feelings being hostile to all Americans, he sent sixteen of his band, all mounted on horses, to take my father and his men prisoners; but fortunately, a friend of my father's, on learning that Tecumseh was about to send a band of his warriors, mounted his horse and ran him to the field where my father was at work, and gave timely notice. The messenger told my father that he must leave the field instantly or he would be a prisoner within ten

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minutes. My father expressed a wish to go to the other side of the field to get his coat, as it contained his pocketbook, papers, and all of his money; but his friend insisted that it would not be safe to do so, and he and his men rushed to the river, jumped into a canoe and rowed down as fast as possible for about a mile, when my father jumped on shore at his boarding house to get his clothes. He had just entered the house when the band of Indians came up; on seeing them, the lady of the house requested my father to jump down celler, which he thought not safe to do, if the house was searched; he jumped through the window and entered the harvest field where her husband was at work, and went to work with the other men. The Indians were told that there were seven men in the field, and when they saw the six men in the canoe, they hesitat- ed, giving them time to cross the river and enter the woods. They found lodgings that night at a French house near the mouth of the Thames, and the next day took the road leading to the River St. Clair, and crossing over at Harsen's Island, hired a friendly Indian to take them across to Clinton River, when they followed the road bordering Lake St. Clair and so safely reached Detroit.

My father, being separated from his comrades, found many kind and sympathizing friends. He was furnished with a wallet filled with provisions. and a boy by the name of Putnam gave him a large cavalry pistol with powder and ball. With these supplies, my father entered the woods, traveling on a line with the road. It was late in the afternoon when father entered the woods, and when night came he was forced to climb a small tree to protect him from the wolves, who came so near he could hear them snap their teeth. At the dawn of day the wolves left, and father descended from the tree, took the road, which he safely traveled, reached Windsor, crossed the river and entered the city of Detroit. It was a happy greeting when the seven men met in Detroit; his companions supposed that father had been taken prisoner.

The boy Putnam when grown to manhood became Col. Putnam, who joined the Can- adian patriots and was killed at the battle of Windsor, at the patriot invasion in 1832.

My father remained in Detroit and witnessed its shameful surrender by Gov. Hull. He gave me a description of that scene, and of the appearance and conduct of Gov. Hull on that day. It was fashionable in those days for gentlemen to wear ruffled bosoms and white cravats; the Governor had besmeared his with tobacco spittle in his excitement and fright. At that time there was a lawyer by the name of Brush residing in Detroit, who was believed to be a traitor and unfriendly to the American cause, and who had a controlling influence over Gov. Hull. It was believed by the citizens of Detroit, capable of judging, that Brush had se- cretly consorted with Gen. Brock and advised the manner of attack. It was known to many of the most prominent men of Detroit, that Brush had advised the surrender of Detroit, and argued the impossibility of successfully defending it; that he was Hull's adviser, and his influ- ence over him great. There was one thing noticeable, that when Brock had arrived within musket range, he halted, and stood regarding the American force, and their ability to oppose him, as if in doubt whether he was not leading his men into a trap.

I have listened to Judge William Conner, of Mt. Clemens, while discussing the conduct of Hull and Brush in the surrender of Detroit, and they gave it as their opinion, supported by the best men of Detroit, that the cause of its surrender was cowardice on the part of Hull, and treachery on the part of Brush.

Detroit, after its surrender, was put in command of Maj. Mulir of the British Army; he was a perfect gentleman, and treated the citizens with kindness and respect. The British had collected together about fifteen hundred wild Indians; some of them were Pottawatomies, but they were mostly from Mackinaw and along the shore of Lakes Michigan and Huron, and to keep them from annoying the citizens of Detroit, they were stationed at the River Ecorse, be- low the city. The Indians were commanded by a half-breed by the name of Magee. Once in awhile some of these Indians would venture up to town, at sight of which many of the women, children and timid citizens would be alarmed, but Magee, when notified of their pres- ence, would go into the street and give a few tremendous yells, at the sound of which the In- dians would gather around him, and he would order them back to camp, and they would instantly obey him. At times when the Indians would come to town, Magee would be so drunk that he would have to be assisted into the street and held upright by some of the citizens; but,

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notwithstanding, his unearthly yells (and he had a voice like a lion) would bring all the In- dians around him, and he would order them back to camp.

While the British held Detroit, they sent two expeditions against Fort Mays, then called Frenchtown; now the city of Monroe, where there was a little stockade defended by Ohio militia. At the first attack, the British troops were repulsed with considerable loss. Some of the best marksmen in the little picket fort, when the British had placed their artillery to play upon the fort, were ordered by their commanding officer to pick off the men at the gun, a six- pounder, and if possible not allow it to be fired; and I have been told that they did their work so thoroughly that the British had to abandon their gun; that the moment they attempted to load it, every man fell. On the return of this party, my father asked a Welsh soldier how they made out; he shook his head and said, ' very bad;' on asking the reasons of the failure, he said. ' Yankees squint, he never squint,' meaning that our riflemen took aim when they fired, but he did not.

The next expedition the British sent to capture Fort Mays was more successful; they not only took the little stockade, but they allowed the Indians to murder their prisoners and the inhabitants; this affair is known in history as Winchester's defeat, and it was a cruel and sad affair. The Indians on their return had the scalps taken from the slain elevated on poles as they entered town, among which was seen some beautiful hair, taken from the heads of females.

The inhabitants residing on the border of the river and Lake St. Clair, and in fact all per- sons having their residences north of Detroit, were compelled, at the breaking-out of the war, to seek safety in Detroit. The Indians, in passing down the St. Clair River, would go on shore and shoot down the cattle, sheepa nd hogs of the inhabitants, and take anything they took a fancy to, and for this reason all the inhabitants of Northern Michigan were compelled to seek protection in Detroit, and there remained until relieved by Gen. Harrison.

The British at Malden and Americans at Erie were pushing forward, with all possible dis- patch, the building and equipping of vessels of war intended by each Government to command our Lakes, both fleets being in readiness by the 1st of September, 1813

The British, while holding Detroit, to prevent Gen. Harrison from gaining information of their strength and operations, kept a strict guard over their citizen prisoners, allowing none to leave the town; but a merchant of Detroit got permission to go down to Malden to settle some business, and on his arrival the battle between the two fleets had begun. I have for- gotten the merchant's name, but think it was Truax. He produced a glass and a ladder, and got on top of a house, and there witnessed the whole transaction, and as soon as he discovered that the American fleet were the victors, he hastened back, putting his horse at a fast trot, to bring the glad news to his American friends. It appears that the officers commanding Detroit had got the news before Truax's arrival, but held it secret from their American prisoners, who were waiting with the greatest anxiety, and were most joyfully relieved on Truax's arrival. Now followed great confusion at the fort and in the town; the British were in a hurry to evacuate the town, and seized every boat and canoe to convey them and their baggage across the Detroit River. Amid this confusion and hurry of the British, the Americans collected and held a secret consultation; they knew that the British soldiers would leave Detroit that night; but they had great anxiety about those six hundred wild Indians lying at the River Ecorse; fearing they would rush into town and rob, and perhaps inurder the citizens, it was thought a mes- senger should be sent to Commodore Perry, requesting him to send them succor as soon as possible.

The persons selected to bear the message to Commodore Perry were William Macomb, William Conner, Henry Graveraet, -- Naggs, Charles Stewart and Harvey Stewart; there were two other persons selected, the names of whom I have forgotten-eight in all. A canoe had been secured and hid, and our messengers, each paddle in hand, jumped into their canoe, and propelled it down the Detroit River, exerting themselves to deliver the message to Commo- dore Perry as soon as possible. The night was dark, and on arriving at the mouth of Detroit River, no shipping could be seen; but they heard the sound of oars, and judging from the peculiar sound of the oars that it must be a ship's boat, they hailed, 'Boat a-hoy!' the answer was, 'Ariel;' the boat hailed in turn; the answer was, 'A canoe from Detroit with a message

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for the Commodore!' The officer in charge of the boat took the canoe in tow, and brought the messengers to the Commodore's ship, where they remained that night, the Commodore assuring the messengers that 'if the Lord would permit, he would relieve their anxiety, by bringing his ships before their town by 9 o'clock the next morning.' The Commodore asked the messengers many questions, and on hearing that they were all well acquainted with the sections of country through which Gen. Harrison would have to pass in his pursuit of the British troops, he gave them his letter of introduction to Gen. Harrison, who, on a further examination, em- ployed the whole eight persons as guides to his army up the River Thames. At this time Gen. Harrison was crossing his army and landing them at Malden, under cover of Perry's fleet. I will here relate a little circumstance as related by my father. The report of cannon at the battle between the American and English fleets on Lake Erie was plainly heard in Detroit, and while the battle was raging, father took a stroll up town, hoping to hear from the combat- ants; on entering Smith's Hotel, he saw a number of British officers seated around a table drinking whisky and discussing the probabilities of success to the British arms. One of their number, a civil officer, after filling his glass and elevating it high, said, 'God will bless the British arms, and I drink to the success of our brave seamen now engaged.' At that speech of the British official, father said he became excited, and knowing that he could gain no satis- faction by replying, left the house in disgust; but soon after Mr. Truax returned from Malden and brought the glad news of Perry's victory; it was then amusing to see the boaster's hurry to get over the Detroit River.

After Harrison's army had crossed over at Malden, Perry's fleet weighed anchor, and the wind being moderate, all sails were spread, and the army being in line for marching, both pro- ceeded up the river, the army keeping abreast of the fleet, which my father said was the most beautiful sight he ever witnessed. Where the army rested that night, I am not certain, but I believe they reached Dalson's Station, on the River Thames; if so, it would be fast marching, as the distance would be at least sixty miles. The British had troops stationed at Dalson's, who had joined the retreating army from Detroit, and in their hurry had left some of their supplies. When the army halted at Dalson's Station, Gen. Meigs rode up in front of his brigade and gave his order not to molest the citizens by entering their gardens and orchards, saying, 'We have not come to molest the peaceable citizens, but to fight those who are in arms against us.'

Gen. Trotter, on hearing Gen. Meigs' order, rode up in front of his men and said : 'Boys, don't go to bed hungry; if you can find anything good to eat, take it, and I will pay for it.' It appears that the whole army approved and followed Gen. Trotter's order. It was vegetables the men wanted, and they took them, wherever found. The next morning Gen. Harrison sent for the men whose gardens had been invaded; the damages were estimated and paid to the sat- isfaction of all. The British troops, in their hurry, left at Dalson's Station several hundred loaves of bread, which Mrs. Dalson was selling to our men at twenty-five cents a loaf, which my father put a stop to, by informing the men that it was left by the British troops, and did not belong to Mrs. Dalson.

After the army left Dalson's Station on their march up the Thames, the Indians would place themselves in ambush on the opposite side of the river and fire at our men; at such as- saults, a return volley from the infantry would put the Indians to flight; but they would run ahead of our men, and, at some bend in the river, open fire again. There were three assaults of this kind by the Indians before Harrison's army engaged the British troops at Moravian Town.

I must stop here and give an account of a very singular and daring old man by the name of Whitney, a Kentuckian, and at that time about seventy years old. While a boy, I have heard Judge Conner and my father relate the circumstance many times, of Col. Whitney's adventures and death at the battle of the Thames. It appeared that Col. Whitney was an old resident of Kentucky, and had fought many a battle with the Indians on the bloody ground. He said that this would be the seventh Indian war he had engaged in, and he expressed a great desire to see Tecumseh. Col. Whitney had no command in Harrison's army, but on account of his age and experience in Indian warfare, he was treated with great respect by Gen. Harrison and his offi-

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cers. Col. Whitney's tent was the best in the army; his horse was a spirited and splendid animal; his rifle was silver mounted, and he had with him two active negro servants, and he traveled wholly at his own expense. The army after leaving Dalson's Station soon came to a branch of the Thames called the forks. The British in their hurry had thrown the plank from the bridge into the river, leaving the timbers or frame standing, and had also set fire to a large log house on the opposite side of the river. Gen. Harrison on his arrival ordered the plank replaced and the fire in the log house extinguished, believing that the house contained valuable military stores, which was found to be true.

Col. Whitney, mounted on his spirited horse, was always with the advance guard of the army, and the order was given to cross the creek and extinguish the fire; the Colonel, rifle in hand, attempted to cross on the timbers of the bridge, but they being muddy, he slipped and fell into the water below, the fall being about twelve feet; he came ashore without assistance, and proceeded at once to clean his rifle, and when the army was ready to march he took his station with the advance guard. The army had not traveled many miles when they were fired on by the Indians, as before stated. At the second assault of the Indians, Col. Whitney got his eye on one of them, leveled his rifle, and fired. He saw the Indian fall, and to ascertain whether he had killed him, swam his horse over the river, and found the Indian dead; he scalped him, swam his horse back, and took his station with the army; and here we must leave the Colonel until after the battle of the Thames is over.

The officer in command of the British forces saw that further retreat was useless; that Harrison's pursuit was so vigorous that he could not avoid a battle, so formed his men, placed his artillery and opened fire on the Americans. Gen. Harrison returned the British fire, and then ordered Col. Johnson to charge with his regiment of horse. The Colonel dashed through and broke the British lines, followed by the American infantry, and the British surrendered. Dur- ing this battle with the British Regulars, Tecumseh had placed his Indians a little below, and off to the right, a low piece of ground thickly grown with brush lying between him and the Americans. It was quite difficult to pass through this brushwood, and the officer in com- mand of that part of the army assigned to fight Tecumseh and his Indians, in his endeavor to get through the thicket of brushwood, met with so severe a fire from the Indians that he was forced back, and sent to Gen. Harrison for support. This message came immediately after the surrender of the British Regulars, and Col. Johnson was ordered to the support of the van- quished party. Then followed another charge upon the Indians, and here Col. Johnson had that desperate encounter with an Indian chief, not Tecumseh, as claimed by history, and as Judge Conner and my father had good reasons for believing, from the fact that the Indians fought at least three-quarters of an hour after Col. Johnson had returned wounded and disabled. My father says that when the battle began, he took his station with Gen. Trotter's brigade, which was placed in reserve; he saw the Colonel when he returned, badly wounded, his horse pierced by seven. balls. and falling immediately after the Colonel was taken from him; the battle with Tecumseh and his Indians was still raging, and continued for at least half an hour thereafter. It was the opinion of those acquainted with Indian warfare, that the Indians fought until Tecumseh fell, and no longer. But all admit that Col. Johnson had, while wounded and dis- abled, a dreadful encounter with some daring Indian chief, notwithstanding all awarded to Col. Johnson the honor of being the most efficient officer of that day's fight.

The battle over, Gen. Harrison gave orders to an officer to take his men and examine the battle-field where the Indians fought, to take care of the wounded, to collect and bury the dead, and report to him. My father asked and obtained liberty to accompany that officer over the battle-field. After passing through the thicket of brushwood, they ascended to higher ground, with little or no underbrush; the trees were large but sparsely scattered over the field. The officer in command divided his men into small parties, and sent them over the battle-field. My father remained with the officer, and in their search they first came to Col. Whitney, and about four rods distant lay Tecumseh, both dead on the battle-field. My father had seen Tecumseh often in Detroit, and pointed him out to the officer, who had never seen him before. The shout that Tecumseh was dead brought all of the parties together to see him, and he was soon stripped of his dress and ornaments; but how and where Tecumseh was buried, father did not remain

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to see; but he could have taken his turban, and has since often expressed a wish that he had. Who killed Tecumseh is a question that cannot be answered, but Judge Conner, my father, and many others believe that Col. Whitney went into battle with a desire to meet Tecumseh, and it is possible that he killed him; Gen. Harrison and his officers lamented the death of the old veteran; but how they disposed of his body, I never learned.

I will now relate an incident as related to me by my step-mother. At the assault made by the British on Lower Sandusky, commanded by Col. Crogan, there were many Indians from about Mackinaw that accompanied the British troops, but they met with such a spirited resis- tance that they hurried back in great fright. The Indians traveled in their large birch canoes, which would carry sixteen persons. Two canoes filled with the retreating Indians were passing up the St. Clair River, and when opposite Harsen's Island they were overtaken by a thunder storm at about 8 o'clock at night, and one of the canoes filled with Indians was upset; here were about sixteen Indian warriors in the middle of the river in total darkness, struggling to find the shore, their whoops and yells, mingling with the thunder's roar, rendered the scene truly frightful. My step-mother in her fright seized an infant daughter of her brother's, threw a blanket around it, and was about rushing for the woods, fearing death by the hands of those wild and barbarous Indians, but her brother refused to let her go. The storm lasted for an hour or more, and then all was quiet on the river; but there was no sleep that night, for Mr. Graveraet and his sister were both anxiously waiting to know the cause of the hideous yells on the river that night. At dawn the next morning, two canoes were seen to leave the opposite side of the river, and approach the residence of my step-mother; on landing, the Indians came on shore, over twenty in number, their faces painted black; they told Mr. Graveraet that they had been to war, that the British were defeated at Lower Sandusky and a great many killed; that they were returning home; that one of their canoes was upset that night and two of their number drowned; that on account of the darkness of the night, they had great difficulty in get- ting ashore. Mr. Graveraet wished that the whole of them had been drowned, yet he expressed sorrow for their misfortunes, and they in turn advised him to leave immediately, as the Kit- che moco-mons (long knives) were coming by hundreds and would kill him.

I will relate another incident of the war of 1812, as I have heard it from the parties con- nected with it. At the breaking-out of the late war with England, there resided a family of Indians on the Big Bear Creek, on the Canada side, who were known as the Sha-na-way family; in this family there were five brothers, all warriors; one of them bore the name of Me-gish, who followed the British Army and was at the battle of Lundy's Lane, where he was killed. I got the particulars of his death from his mother and sister who often repeated the story of Me- gish's death in my hearing when a boy. They say that he got between the two armies as they were approaching, and a little before the battle commenced; that he was fired on and killed by the Americans; this circumstance would not be worth relating were it not for the statement of Capt. Chesby Blake, one of the old pioneer captains of our lakes. Capt. Blake, at the break- ing-out of the war, and while the British fleets were blockading our coasts, was mate of a brig outward bound, and then lying at Newbury Port, waiting for an opportunity to go to sea; he had been waiting about two months, and seeing no chance of passing the British squadron, determined to remain inactive no longer, and at his solicitation the whole brig's crew joined the American army; Blake, possessing a good business education, was placed in the Commissary De- partment and his regiment belonged to Scott's Brigade. In 1840, Capt. Blake came to Harsen's Island for the purpose of getting some choice timber for one of Mr. Newbury's boats, and during his stay lodged with my brother, Capt. John H. Stewart. My father called to see the Captain one evening to have a chat, and the conversation turned on the late war with England, and the part each had taken. Blake here stated that he was at the battle of Lundy's Lane; that as the two armies were approaching, and a little while before the action, an Indian attempted to pass be- tween the armies, running for dear life; his Captain said, 'Blake, can't you kill that Indian ?' at which he leveled his gun and fired, but did not hit him; he loaded his gun in an instant, and fired again; the Indian gave an upward leap and fell apparently dead. After the Captain had ended his story, I told him that that Indian's mother and sister had, more than thirty years ago, related the same circumstance of their brother's death, and both statements put together go to show a strong probability that Capt. Blake killed the Indian Me-gish.

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History of St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources, its war record, biographical sketches, the whole preceded by a history of Michigan, Part 40

Author: Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author:
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A.T. Andreas & Co.
Number of Pages: 818