History of the St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources.., Part 40

Author: Western historical company, Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas & co.
Number of Pages: 814

USA > Michigan > St Clair County > History of the St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources.. > Part 40

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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-

277

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

cers. Col. Whitney's tont 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 eross 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 ashoro without assistance, and proceeded at once to elean 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 pursnit 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 brusk 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 thieket of brushwood. met with so severe a fire from the Indians that he was forced baek, 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- (nished party. Then followed another charge upon the Indians, and here Col. Johnson had that desperate encounter with an Indian chief. not Tecumseh, as elaimed 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; ho 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 night.

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 largo 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 Teemsch. 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 io see him, and he was soon stripped of his dress and ornaments: but how and where Toeumsch was buried. father did not remain

278

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

to see; but he could have taken his turban. and has since often expressed a wish that he liad.

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 S 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 ansiously 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 tive 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 chiat, 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.

27!

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

My father was married to Miss Mary Graveraet in the winter of ISIt, and remained in the city of Detroit during the war, which ended in February, ISI5. The people who had aban- doned their homes made preparations to return, and in the month of April, 1815, my father moved his family and goods up to Harsen's Island, and took possession of the house and lands of his wife that had been abandoned during the war. The settlers on the border of Lake and River St. Clair were, at the breaking ont of the war, compelled to remove all their stock of horses, cattle and hogs to Detroit (to protect sich from the Indians), where all were consumed; and while many were deliberating how, and where they were to be supplied. Capt. Andrew Wesbrook went to the State of Ohio and purchased cattle, selecting such as were most required to meet the immediate wants of the inhabitants: this he continued to do until all were supplied. As Capt Wesbrook was in his day a very prominent man in St. Clair County, I will here mention a few incidents of his life. Before the war with England, he was a wealthy farmer and busi- ness man, residing near the Moravian town on the River Thames; in his immediato neighbor- hood, there lived one Maj. Tawsby, who was an aspirant for Government favors. At the breaking-out of the war the British Government, took immediate steps to organize the militia of Canada, and at such organization, Tawsby received a Major's commission, and Wesbrook was offered a Captain's commission under Tawsby, which he indignantly refused. Wesbrook was born in the State of New York, and his sympathies were with the American cause; and he. on the appointment of his enemy. Tawsby, determined to leave Canada and join the Americans: he had counted the consequences of this act; and. knowing that the confiscation of his valuable prop. erty would follow, he collected his goods together, and all that he could not remove he burned with his house and barn. On Wesbrook's arrival in Detroit, he stated his case to Gov. Hull and received a Captain's commission, and was found to be a very useful man in the Commissary Department in collecting supplies for the troops. There were many reconnoitering parties sent up the River Thames during the war, or before the surrender of Detroit, and Capt. Wesbrook was a valuable guide to such parties. On one of these expeditions, Capt. Wesbrook, learning that Maj. Tawsby was at home, surrounded his house, and took him prisoner. The hatred that Wesbrook and Tawsby bore toward each other was mutual and violent. After this reconnoiter- ing party had gone into camp for the night, and the guns all stacked, Tawsby seized a musket and made a lunge at Wesbrook with intent to kill him, but in the act he stumbled and the bayonet entered Wesbrook's boot: for this act Tawsby was put in irons until he reached . Detroit. Capt. Wesbrook, at the close of the war. purchased a farm of a Frenchman joining the Recor farm, and other lands adjoining, from which he made one of the best farms then in St. Clair County, Our first Representative to Congress from the Territory of Michigan made known to that body the loss of Capt. Wesbrook's property in Canada, and on such representa. tion an act was passed granting him two sections of land, which he selected mostly in the town- ship of Clay. in St. Clair County, which lands passed through several purchasers, and now comprise the valuable farms of Sova and Dana Richardson.

My father, soon after his settlement on Harsen's Island, and in the month of May follow- ing, was visited by his brother. Daniel Stewart, who had determined to make his home in Michigan; after a short visit, he returned to West Bloomfield, N. Y., to settle his business af- fairs there before he sought a permanent home here; he was to bring with him Aura P. Stew- art (the writer) and John H. Stewart, the two boys that father had left in care of their grand- mother at West Bloomfield. Unele Daniel spent the months of June. July and August in preparation for his journey. He had purchased soveral erates of carthenware, several barrels of salt, and other articles which bore a great price in Detroit, hoping to realize a good profit on his arrival there. On the Ist of November, he placed his goods in wagons, and, with his boys in charge. left for Michigan. On our arrival at Buffalo. there were no vessels in port bound to Detroit; a little craft, that hardly could be called a vessel, was lying in Buffalo Creek taking on a cargo of salt for Detroit, and our unele engaged a passage on board the miserable, shabby thing; she was not ceiled inside, had no cabin, and her bulk-head was formed of salt barrels. leaving a space in the afterpart which was called the cabin; a platform was made on which some buffalo robes and blankets were spread at night on which to sleep. The whole ship's crew consisted of three persons, to wit: Mr. Mason, the owner, Capt. Thomson, master, and

280

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

Jack Bachallor, sailor. In his contract, uncle was to furnish his own board. a large part of which he had brought with him; the stores of the vessel's crew consisted of a bucket of beef, six loaves of bread, and a small bag of hard tack. There were not ten buildings in Buffalo on our arrival there; the British had, during the war, burned the town. My brother and I amused ourselves on our arrival in looking down the cellars and up the chimneys; there were no ware. houses in town, at any rate near the creek; the freight was brought to the vessel in carts drawn by oxen -- rather a novel sight this would be in the great city of Buffalo to-day ! On the second day of our arrival. the miserable thing called a vessel put to sea; how long we were in reach- ing Put-in-Bay Islands I do not remember, but I well remember that my brother and. I, on the day before, were told that the ship was placed on short allowance: that thereafter our portion would be one cake of hard tack a day, and as much water with it as we wished to drink. I in- quired after grandmother's butter and cheese, and was informed that they were reserved for the night watch.

I was awakened one morning by a loud noise on deck, and I crawled out of the hole. called a cabin, to ascertain the cause; on reaching the deck, I saw that we were near land, and was told the vessel was aground on an island; I inquired if my father lived on that island, and was disappointed on learning that he did not-that it was one of the Put-in-Bay Islands. All on board were pushing with poles and rolling barrels of salt over the deck, trying to get the vessel off': not succeeding. the captain declared that the craft could not be gotten off unless the anchor was carried out into deeper water; there was no boat on board and it was decided that Jack, the sailor (who, was a tall, stout man) should get overboard, and carry the anchor on his back out into deeper water. Jack refused at first, but finding by measurement that the depth of water where the vessel lay was hardly above his hips. cousented, and a rope was tied under his arı and he was lowered gently into the water, where he received the anchor on his broad shoulders; with it he waded cautiously ont until the water reached his armpits, when he dropped his heavy load; a few turns at the windlass sufficed to float the vessel.

The wind being favorable, the vessel was steered up Sandusky Bay, and when near the head of the bay it was judged that we had passed Detroit River; the vessel's course was changed, our navigators thinking it best to keep along near the shore, hoping in that way to find the river. On the day after leaving Put-in-Bay, a gale of wind sprang up, overtaking the vessel on a lee shore. Recognizing the impossibility of weathering the storm, the captain beached the craft. As soon as the shore was reached she commenced pounding, and the oakum began to work ont of the seams, letting the water into the cabin: our bedding and clothes were wet. notwithstanding my brother and I endeavored to force the oakmun back with our jack- knives to prevent such a catastrophe. The seams appeared to give way all at once, and the water came in upon us so fast that we yelled lustily to be taken out of the miserable coop. At every dash of the waves the vessel was thrown nearer the shore, and when she appeared motion- less, Uncle Daniel jumped overboard and took us ashore on his back. Soon the vessel became immovably fixed in the sand, and then commenced a search for our clothes and other effects, but the vessel was full of water and nothing could be found. Brother and I lost our extra suit of clothes, in which we expected to appear on meeting our father: the captain, on learning that the bedding in the cabin was getting wet, secured his clothes and blankets, which were all that were saved. The only things got ashore that night were the foresail and jib, of which a tent was made in which to sleep, the jib composing the bed. In coasting along the shore we had noticed, some three miles below where we were wrecked, a number of tents, and, as we had nothing to eat, my uncle and Mr. Mason determined to find them that night and procure food, promising to return at an early hour next morning. We boys were unused to long fasting, and thought it hard to go to bed without our supper, especially after having been on short al- lowance for two days previous, but, being weary, we soon forgot our troubles in sound sleep.

On awakening next morning, we found we had been sleeping in the water, and that the vessel had been stranded on a sandy beach formed by the waves; also, that on the other side of us was a great marsh extending inland several miles, covered over with muskrat houses. Soon uncle and Mr. Mason arrived; they brought with them a little bag of flour, a dozen dressed muskrats and a camp kettle. Sailor Jack immediately went to work preparing breakfast: hav-

281

HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.

ing no kneading pan nor anything to bake in, his only alternative was to make some balls of dough and place them in the kettle along with the muskrats: the kettle was hung over a quick tire, for all were famously hungry, especially we boys. After the contents of the pot were thought ready to serve, they were placed in portions on a piece of sail cloth by Jack, and broth er and I went at work to satisfy our famishing stomachs. Good old grandmother's puddings and pumpkin pies never relished better ! we ate withont reserve, and when completely gorged. threw ourselves on the sand and rolled and laughed for very satisfaction. Iafterward learned that this shipwreck occurred in Sandusky Bay, at a place between Soder and Stony Points. The next day we had another feast on like delicacies, and about S o'clock A. M .. a man from the camps arrived with a canoe, having been previously engaged to take unele and Mr. Mason to the River Raisin --- to Frenchtown, now the city of Monroe.

Capt. Thompson, when two days ont from Buffalo, was seized with agne chills and every other day confined to his bed on the cabin floor. When camping on the beach, his at. tacks were more violent; these ague attacks may have beon the main cause of running the vos- sel past the Detroit River. In the absence of uncle. Capt. T. was cross to us and interfered with our play; in his sick state the poor man appeared to be deranged, and it seemed to be a relief to him to give us boys a blowing up, and at length we became frightened; having learned the whereabouts of the hunters' camp. we determined. the next morning, to leave at an early hour. Accordingly we left Jack and the captain sound asleep on their bed of sail cloth and sand. The distance was about three miles, and we hurried our steps, hoping to reach the camp at the breakfast hour, hoping to get a change of diet. On our arrival, the hunters received us very kindly: the first thing we asked for was something to eat, and they gave us what was left of their breakfast, which we ate with a good relish. That day for dinner we had ducks and potatoes stewed in a pot, and bread baked in a pan before the tire: this. to ns, was an extra and delicious meal. for half fed as we were we had begun to dislike boiled dough and muskrat. of which we complained to our hunter friends. They tried to persuade us that muskrats were excellent eating, provided they were properly cooked, and promised to give us some of their cooking for our supper. Their manner of cooking was to run a sharp stick through them, and then place the other end in the ground near the camp fire, turning them around as occasion ro quired until thoroughly cooked: this we found to be an improvement and ate of them very heartily. Next morning after breakfast. we prepared to return to the wreck, hoping to meet with unele, but before leaving, we had obtained liberty from the hunters to return if nucle had not arrived. On our arrival we were glad. not only to find uncle, but to see a largo boat and a number of mon at work taking on board the stuff saved from the wreck. Unele had brought some fresh beef, a number of loaves of bread, and some cooking utensils, and before leaving one of the men was selected to prepare what was to be our dinner and supper: this was hastily eaton and all jumped on board the boat glad to get away from the wreck: brother and I began to calen- late on soon reaching home and meeting: our father, whom we had not seen for the past three years. We had a calm and beautiful evening, and our French boatmen enlivened the hours with song after song, as they tugged at the oars. I had never seen any Frenchmen. or listened to their speech and song: we boys were so much amused and delighted that we could not sleep. though comfortably stowed away in the bow of the boat. At about midnight, the boat reached a little sand island in the month of Miami Bay, where we rested until daylight the next morn- ing. when we continued our journey and that day reached Frenchtown. on the River Raisin. Uncle, on making inquiry for a place to lodge his boys, found a man who offered to board us for a stipulated sumn for two days, and on going to our boarding house we found but one room in the log cabin, only one bed and the children covered with rags. The place appeared more dismal than the tent in the saud we had so gladly left. Our disappointment increased when supper time came, for that meal consisted of a slice of bread, roasted potatoes and salt. If we conld have made a selection we should have preferred the muskrat stew on the beach we had left. Being dissatisfied with our supper and weary, we asked to go to bed, and here our aston- ishment and disgust was increased when our landlord. from a corner in the house, brought ont an old buffalo robe and spread it out before the fire: he told us not to undress as he had no covering for us: that we would not be cold, as he kept a good fire burning all night. The next morning

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the St. Clair County, Michigan, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources.., Part 40

Author: Western historical company, Chicago. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas & co. Number of Pages: 814

Author: Western historical company, Chicago. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas & co.
Number of Pages: 814