USA > Michigan > Outlines of the political history of Michigan > Part 23
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360
FORT STEPHENSON BESIEGED.
[CHAP. XII.
who were near by in the woods. He was accompanied, as usual, by Elliott, the In- dian agent, who was sent to demand a surrender. The fort was garrisoned by George Croghan, a young major of 21 years, with a garrison of 167, and one six-pounder. As usual, the demand for surrender was accompanied by the representation that it was made to prevent the effusion of blood, and that the Indians could not otherwise be re- strained. Lieutenant Shipp, who was sent out to meet the flag of truce, knew, as did Croghan also, what sort of restraint General Proctor put upon his Indians, and surrender was not in their minds any more appropriate than it had seemed to Har- rison at Fort Meigs, who had expressed his opin- ion that such propositions, with such suggestions, were insulting. Shipp informed them that when the fort was taken, there would be no one left to massacre; and he was called in by Croghan, not before he had been assaulted by an Indian in the presence of the bearers of the flag, with the evident design on their part of intimidating him. The work was not supposed defensible against artillery, but the little garrison strengthened it while the assault went on. They had no fears of the Indians, so long as they remained in their entrenchments, and they determined to hold out against the British until they were relieved or de- stroyed. All night long, and during most of the next day, a cannonade was kept up against the little fort, with no effect. The six-pounder was
361
SLAUGHTER OF ASSAILANTS.
CHAP. XII. ]
used by the defenders very sparingly, for lack of ammunition, but their unerring rifles kept the ene- my at a respectful distance. At last Proctor, chagrined and exasperated at the effect of the obstinate defence on his Indian allies, and afraid of Harrison's approach, determined to storm the fort. Croghan, calculating that the assault would be made against a weak angle of the fort, by first making a breach and then pushing up along the ditch, strengthened the exposed point by heaping up bags of sand and flour, and placed his six-
pounder where it would rake the approach, load- ing it with a light charge of powder and a double charge of leaden slugs. The assault was made late in the afternoon of the 2d of August. After about half an hour's conflict at close quarters, where the rifles of the besieged did considerable damage to the besiegers, Lieutenant Colonel Short, of the regulars, followed by his men, leaped into the ditch and approached the point where they supposed the defences had been weakened. When they arrived within about twenty yards the gun was unmasked, and the first discharge threw them back in disorder, and the ditch was filled with a mass of dead bodies, and struggling men, wounded and confounded at the terrible havoc. Those who could move at once retreated, and the whole in- vesting force withdrew. The number of the killed among the British is not known. About fifty were left in the ditch. The killed and missing were stated at 91. The wounded there were no means
362
INDIANS DEMORALIZED. [CHAP. XII.
of estimating. The Indian loss could not be as- certained, as they took off all their killed and wounded. The garrison lost one killed and seven wounded-none of them severely.
During the night, Proctor departed with all his company, leaving behind a gun-boat loaded with clothing and military stores. He left to avoid Harrison.
This brilliant defence was one of the most glorious exploits in our annals, and Croghan was justly honored with universal applause. The dis- asters of Proctor at Fort Meigs and Fort Stephen- son shook the confidence of the Indians, and they began to regard him as a failure. But they were now in a desperate case. They had gone into Canada and in many instances taken their families. They had brought devastation on all the border country, and were dependent on the British stores for rescue from starvation. The United States had abstained as far as possible from using Indian auxiliaries, and this policy had been the cause of the defection of Walk-in-the-Water and Round- head. Immediately after the Battle of Fort Ste- phenson the head chiet of the Wyandots Tarhee, (or the Crane,) Black-hoof, who had fought against Braddock, and Big Snake, chiefs of the Shaw- anoes, and Tocktowayning or Anderson, chief of the Delawares, asked leave of Governor Meigs and General Harrison to take part in the coming campaign. They brought 259 warriors.
363
CHAP. XII.} SHELBY AND THE KENTUCKIANS.
During these transactions a forged letter arrived in Kentucky, purporting to be signed by General Harrison, to stop recruiting, which was acted upon as genuine until orders came for speed and urgency. The source of it was never discovered.
Kentucky had determined to send forward a large volunteer force, and enlistments went on with enthusiasm. The venerable Governor Shelby, sixty-six years of age, but still active and stirring, announced that he would lead them in person. His gallantry during the Revolution, at the Battle of King's Mountain, had rendered him famous, and just as these events were progressing the State of North Carolina, through the hands of Henry Clay, sent him a magnificent sword, in re- cognition of his services in that battle. Richard M. Johnson, afterwards Vice President of the United States, raised a regiment of mounted rifle- men, - a class of soldiers not then as well known as they have been since, - which turned out to be of great value. Mounted rangers were in great demand for many branches of service, and they were held in mortal terror by the Indians, who. were themselves in many instances very bold riders, but never in this region did much fighting on horseback.
The disaffected tribes in Michigan and Indiana were chiefly the Ottawas, Chippewas, Miamis, Weas and Potawatamies, although some of the Wyandots had been gained over, and Tecumseh had more or less of his own tribe with him.
.
364
OKEMOS.
[CHAP. XII.
Dickson's Indians largely represented scattering tribes of the further west and north, between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. Okemos, one of the principal Chippewa chiefs of Michigan, was present, with a party of his braves, at some of the engagements along the Maumee and Sandusky. While on the Sandusky River, they were startled one day by the approach of a body of rangers, and concealed themselves among the limbs of a large tree, that had recently been felled or blown over near the trail. The soldiers rode by without discovering them, but one young brave, after they had passed, could not resist the temptation of ris- ing upon the trunk and giving the war-whoop. The troopers were upon them before they could escape from their trap, and left them all for dead. After some time Okemos came to himself, but his eyes were blinded with clotted blood, and his limbs so mangled that he could not rise or help himself. Cautiously imitating the note of an insect, he was answered, and discovered that his brother also lived, but as helpless as himself. By painful efforts they managed to reach a little stream and wash their eyes and faces clear, and by crawling and rolling they got down to the Sandusky River, and into a canoe. They were unable to manage it, and drifted down, and were discovered and relieved by friends. By the time they were able to get about, the Americans had regained control in Michigan, and Okemos got Colonel Godfroy to intercede for him with General Cass. He after-
1
365
COMMODORE PERRY.
CHAP. XII.]
wards, with the rest of the chiefs, executed a treaty of fidelity, and never again interfered with the Chemokoman. He lived to nearly a hundred years of age, being active and vigorous in body and mind to the day of his death, although a wound in his shoulder never healed, and his head was completely furrowed with sabre-cuts. His habits were temperate, and among his contempor- aries of the French, he was always welcome and respected. The township near Lansing, where he spent his later years, bears his name. His memory was very accurate and tenacious.
The people were untiring in their efforts, and the volunteer army began to assume formidable proportions. About the time that the British were compelled to retire to Canada, Commodore Oliver H. Perry, of Rhode Island, had fitted out his little fleet at Erie, to try conclusions on the water. The British naval chief Captain Barclay, was a brave and experienced officer, and the progress of the American navy, which they had not been able to interrupt, does not appear to have given much uneasiness to the enemy. General Harri- son had made his plans to cross over into Cana- da by the aid of Perry's fleet, and the time ap- proached for aggressive measures. On the 31st of July, 3,500 mounted volunteers had appeared at Newport, Kentucky, where Shelby had called for less than half that number. In due time, when some- what disciplined, they moved northward. At Ur- bana the army was organized into eleven regiments,
366
NAVAL MOVEMENTS.
[CHAP. XII.
five brigades and two divisions. On the 15th and 16th of September, the whole of Harrison's army, except Colonel Johnson's Regiment, was encamped on Lake Erie, and the prisoners taken by Com- modore Perry had been landed and put in charge of a guard. Johnson was to move round the lake when the embarkation of the rest of the troops began.
On the 5th of August, Perry floated his ships over the bar at Erie into deep water, and on the 1 2th moved westward with ten vessels, great and small, and reached Put-in-Bay on the 15th. Here he was in communication with Harrison, and their plans were soon matured. Barclay gathered his fleet in Malden, from which place Perry made va- rious futile efforts to draw him out. Having as- certained that Proctor's need of provisions would compel Barclay to communicate with Long Point, Perry made preparations for an immediate battle, and on the 9th of September he determined, if there should be further delay, to proceed to Mal- den and attack the British fleet. He had received accurate information of the strength of each of Barclay's vessels, through Major Henry B. Bre- voort, of the army. This gentleman, whose family resided in Detroit, was equally at home on the land and on the water, and was well known to all the old citizens of Detroit as one of the most transparently honest and single-minded of men, brave, intelligent, and one who when he swore to another disappointed him not, though it were to
367
BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE
CHAP. XII. |
his own hindrance. He rendered good service in the fleet as commander of marines on the Ni- agara, and the knowledge which he had obtained enabled Commodore Perry to plan the work of each of his vessels in advance, so that the gene- ral scheme was arranged the night before the vessels came out, although some changes became necessary when the time of action approached.
At day-break on the roth of September, the look-out from Gibraltar Island, at the mouth of Put-in-Bay, discovered the British fleet, and Perry sailed out to meet it. The vessels engaged on the British side were the ships Detroit and Queen Charlotte, brig Hunter, schooners Lady Prevost and Chippewa, and sloop Little Belt, carrying 63 carriage-guns, one pivot-gun, two swivels, and four howitzers. The American fleet consisted of the brigs Lawrence, Niagara and Caledonia, schooners Ariel, Scorpion, Tigress and Porcupine, and sloop Trippe, carrying 52 guns and two swivels. The Lawrence and Niagara each had 20 guns, three of the other vessels having one gun each, and the others two, three and four. The British had more long guns,-the Americans more carronades, but heavier metal. The numerical forces of men were very nearly equal. Captain Barclay had a larger proportion of old man-of-war's men.
The engagement began a quarter before noon. At three o'clock the British fleet surrendered, after one of the closest engagements known in naval history. No entire British fleet had ever
1
368
PERRY'S VICTORY.
[CHAP. XII.
been captured before. The utmost bravery was shown on both sides. The American loss was 27 killed and 96 wounded; the British 41 killed and 94 wounded. Most of the loss in the American fleet was on Perry's flag-ship, the Lawrence, which lost 22 killed and 61 wounded. The brave vic- tor was as humane as he was valiant, and the dead of both fleets were buried together, with the same honors and the same solemn services, while the wounded were all tenderly cared for, and the unfortunate British commander, who was dread- fully crippled, was treated with the generous kindness which he deserved.
Perry's subordinate commanders of vessels were Jesse D. Elliott in the Niagara, Stephen Champlin in the Scorpion, John H. Pocket in the Ariel, Daniel Turner in the Caledonia, Thomas C. Almy in the Somers, George Senat in the Porcu- pine, Augustus H. M. Conklin in the Tigress, and Thomas Holdress in the Trippe. Brevoort com- manded a detachment of soldiers acting as ma- rines.
Immediately after the enemy struck, Perry wrote upon his cap, on a scrap of paper, his cele- brated laconic dispatch : "We have met the ene- my and they are ours," and sent it to Harrison, who was on the lake shore west of Sandusky, about 30 miles from the scene of the battle. The cannonade was heard as far off as Cleveland, and Tecumseh, from his camp on Bois-blanc Island, had listened to the sounds, and endeavored to
CHAP. XII.] TECUMSEH TAUNTS PROCTOR. 369
determine the result of the battle, while Proctor, at Malden, was equally intent to listen. Proctor concealed the result from his Indian ally until it was impossible to prevent his knowledge of it. On the 18th, when the British General prepared to evacuate Malden, the Indians became greatly excited and enraged at his cowardice, and he only pacified them by promising to make a stand at the Moravian towns on the Thames. Tecumseh felt very keenly the desperate position into which he and his followers had been brought by their confidence in the British, and insisted that Proctor should at least stay and fight, or leave the arms and ammunition to the Indians, who would resist to the last extremity. In contempt for his cow- ardice, he compared him to a fat cur, sneaking off with his tail between his legs, after making a great show of courage. Malden was evacuated on the 18th, and an officer was left behind to burn up everything as soon as the American army made its appearance.
The fleet was now used to bring over the troops from the main land. It was impossible to transport the horses, and these were all left in Ohio with a guard, while the soldiers acted as infantry. They at first encamped on Middle Sister Island, and on the 27th of September crossed over the narrow space to the Canada shore about four miles below Malden. They at once marched into Malden and found it deserted by all
24
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370
DETROIT REGAINED.
[CHAP. XII.
its defenders. Harrison at once prepared to set out after Proctor, but without any expectation of . overtaking him until he should reach the Thames, where he had told Tecumseh he meant to make a stand. It was necessary to obtain a few horses, and on the 27th, Harrison wrote to Governor Meigs that " a miserable French pony, upon which the venerable and patriotic Governor of Kentucky was mounted, is the only one in the army." On the eve of landing, Harrison issued a brief but spirited order, closing with this significant pass- age : "KENTUCKIANS - remember the River Rais- in ; but remember it only while the victory is sus- pended. The revenge of a soldier cannot be gratified upon a fallen enemy." The sons of that noble State that in this war had sent out more than 17,000 volunteers, had come at last to their opportunity, and they did not abuse it.
Proctor was at Sandwich when Harrison landed, and he at once moved eastward with the Detroit garrison and all his auxiliaries. On the 28th, the American Army reached Sandwich, and General Duncan McArthur crossed over and took posses- sion of the fort, which he had left before under such different circumstances. The overjoyed in- habitants were released from what had become a reign of terror. The fort had been fired, but the flames were extinguished, and General McArthur drove off a horde of hostile Indians, who were prowling round the neighborhood. The fleet arrived the same day. On the 29th, General Harrison issued his proclamation, restoring the
371
BATTLE OF THE THAMES.
CHAP. XII.I
civil authority as it had been before the surrender. and entrusting its administration to the old in- cumbents when present, and to their next pre- decessors, if absent. Colonel Johnson's Riflemen came up on the 30th, and crossed into Canada the day after.
The American flag is said to have been raised by the inhabitants before McArthur's entrance. But it never floated again from the old flag-staff. That was left bare and uncared for as a memorial and warning, until a few years afterwards, in June, 1820, it was blown over by a severe wind and ceased to be visible over the walls. What igno- minious uses its ruins may have served it is not recorded. It was not in demand for relics.
McArthur's command was left to hold Detroit. Cass's brigade was left at Sandwich, and Harrison, with a force of about 3,500, on the 2nd of Oc- tober, pushed on by land after Proctor,-the smaller vessels of the fleet sailing up the Thames. Proctor was at last overtaken at the Moravian towns, and compelled to give battle on the 5th. The mounted riflemen dashed through the British line and turned it, and in less than ten minutes the whole force was captured, except General Proctor and 17 officers and 239 men. The official reports of his own government show that he was regarded as having been guilty of grossly dis- graceful conduct. 1 His brave ally, Tecumseh, met
1 Sir George Prevost, in his general orders, uses this severe language : "On this disgraceful day, upwards of 600 officers and soldiers were taken
372
TECUMSEH KILLED.
| CHAP. XII.
a soldier's death' by the hands of a very brave enemy, having been shot by Colonel Richard M. Johnson, while the latter was wounded and held down by his own horse, which had fallen on him, and Tecumseh was approaching to kill him. James Knaggs, who aided in carrying Colonel Johnson off the field, was intimately acquainted with Te- cumseh, and recognized him when pointed out by Colonel Johnson as an Indian whom he had shot in self-defence. Probably no one in the army had as good a knowledge of Tecumseh as Captain Knaggs, who had been for years an interpreter, and familiar with all the chiefs. The identity of the slayer and of the slain is as well established as testimony can establish anything.
General Cass and Commodore Perry acted as volunteer aids to General Harrison, and he gave great credit to both for their efficient help in making his arrangements and preparat:ons.
On the 7th, which was the anniversary of the Battle of King's Mountain, Governor Shelby was put in command of the army, and Harrison left for Detroit. On the 14th he appointed General Cass Provisional Governor of Michigan Terri- tory.
The Indians began to desert Proctor before the battle. Walk-in-the-Water left him some days
prisoners almost without a struggle, of whom but very few appeared to have been rescued by an honorable death from the ignominy of passing under the American yoke, nor are there many whose wounds plead in mitigation of this reproach."-Brock's Life, 366.
373
FAILURE AT MACKINAW.
CHAP. XII.]
before, and begged permission after the battle to follow him up, and thus atone for his own de- linquency. The tribes were left by the result of the campaign on the verge of starvation. Harri- son treated them kindly, and the hostile forces, consisting chiefly of Potawatamies, Ottawas, Chip- pewas, several bands of Miamis and Weas, and some Wyandots, came in and gave hostages, and were supplied with food. The victories on Lake Erie and the Thames ended the Indian troubles, except an occasional outrage from small bands, not approved by the tribes.
Several expeditions were sent out from time to time into Canada before the war closed. General McArthur, in 1814, penetrated nearly to Lake Ontario, and swept back along Lake Erie, doing much mischief to the enemy. Fort Gratiot was built in that year by the officer whose name it bears.
An attempt was also made in 1814 to retake Mackinaw, which failed, and Major Holmes, a very brave officer, from whom the old fort was after- wards named, was killed. The British were aided in this instance by whites from the Sault, and by detachments in force from Green Bay, composed chiefly of Frenchmen owing allegiance to the United States, and Menominie Indians, under their great chief Thomas, (usually called in imitation of its French sound Tomaw,) who was as remarkable in his gifts as Tecumseh, but less capable of self- control.
374
NEGLECT OF BENEFACTORS.
[CHAP. XII.
The Territory now began anew its career as an American community. Henceforth, the evil influences of British jealousy and cupidity ceased to operate to its ruin. Though for many years there were occasional encroachments, the region was no longer debatable ground, and the Indians generally acknowledged the American supremacy.
It is time that the men who rescued Michigan from its thraldom were remembered with less perishable memorials than the annals of the War Department. Even General Cass received his only public memorial by having a county named after him, in company with the members of General Jackson's Cabinet, and not for his civil or military services. Harrison, and McArthur, and Miller, and Johnson, and Perry, and all their brave coad- jutors, have been passed over in silence. The name of Shelby, first given to the fort at Detroit, was dropped for that of Wayne, and the gallant old governor has no memorial.
As soon as careful search had discovered and identified the body of Captain Hart, he was ex- humed and buried in Detroit with every honor which could be paid to his lifeless remains. It can never be too late to perform our duty to the rest -now passed beyond the reach of earthly glory, by doing something whereby they may be worthily commemorated.
A few years ago, on the 4th of July, 1872, the survivors of the massacre of the Raisin, and of
375
HONORED MEMORIES.
CHAP. XII.1
the battles that succeeded it, met at Monroe, to review the scenes of that time of trial; and the brave men who had all passed far beyond their three score and ten were gratified by the homage of the younger generations, for whose heritage they and their dead comrades had faced the perils of savage warfare, and redeemed Michigan for American liberty. To those for whom they saved it, the fame of the honored dead of Kentucky and Ohio should be as dear as that of Washington and his companions in arms, and the memory of that heroic struggle should bind these States together with the warmest love of kindred.
Among the other benefits of the Centennial celebration, we ought to number the renewal and perpetuation of all those honorable remembrances ; and the evidences of our gratitude should be gracious and lasting.
CHAPTER XIII.
ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR CASS.
GENERAL CASS was made permanent Governor of Michigan Territory, and William Woodbridge, of Marietta, Ohio, was appointed Secretary. Mr. Atwater, who had left Detroit immediately after the surrender, never came back. The Judges retained their offices until the change in their tenure, created in 1823, by the act re-organizing the Territory.
The war had scattered the people, and the population had fallen away considerably. It was not until peace was finally declared that the country was entirely relieved from the ravages of the hostile Indians. While most of them had made peace, and behaved reasonably well, the Saginaw band of Kishkaukon was very trouble- some. Murders and outrages were committed in the immediate neighborhood of Detroit, and within its corporate limits. The people, when they had a chance to reach the aggressors, followed them vigorously. General Cass acted in these emergencies with great energy, and went out in person with the volunteers to chastise the marau-
377
PEACE WITH INDIANS.
CHAP. XIII.]
ders. After the failure of the Mackinaw expedi- tion, no further attempt was made in that quarter till the treaty of peace. Fort Gratiot, built at the place once occupied by Fort St. Joseph in the 17th century, was intended, like that, to control the passage to and from Lake Huron, as the northern Indians generally travelled in their canoes through the River St. Clair.
On the 22nd of July, 1814, Generals Harrison and Cass made a treaty at Greenville, between the United States and the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanoes and Senecas on the one side, and the Miamis, (known as the Miami Eel River and Weea tribes) and a portion of the Potawatamies, Ottawas, and Kickapoos, whereby it was agreed they should all make peace, and enter into alliance with the United States, acknowledging their supremacy. On the 8th of September, 1815, Harrison, McArthur, and John Graham, made peace with all of those tribes, as well as with the Chippe- was, residing in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. This was not signed by very many of the Chip- pewa or Ottawa chiefs. Okemos signed it as a chief of the Ottawas.
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