USA > Ohio > A history of the state of Ohio, natural and civil > Part 11
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St. Clair by his proclamation, ordered the 25th of Decem- ber 1788 to be kept as a day of thanksgiving.
On the 2d day of January 1790, St. Clair, at Fort Wash- ington, now Cincinnati, organized the county of Hamilton, con- taining within its limits, the western half of this state.
He created the same offices at Cincinnati, that he had at Marietta; and he filled them as follows, viz.
William Goforth, William Wells, William McMillian, Judges of the common pleas and Quarter Sessions; Jacob Topping, Benjamin Stites, John S. Gano, justices of the peace; John Brown, sheriff; Israel Ludlow, clerk of the court of common pleas. Israel Ludlow, James Flinn, John S. Gano, Gershom Gard, captains of the militia. Francis Kennedy, John Ferris, Luke Foster, Brice Virgin, lieutenants. Scott Traverse, Ephraim Kibby, Elijah Stites, John Dunlap, ensigns.
On the 5th January 1790, a law was enacted ordaining, that the courts should be held four times in the year; on the first Tuesdays in February, May, August and November.
From Fort Washington St. Clair and Winthrop Sargeant, his secetary, descended the Ohio, and on the 8th day of Jan- uary they were at the falls of that river, commissioning offi- cers there, and proceeding as they had done, in the two coun- ties of Washington and Hamilton. From Clarksville, they proceeded westward, and at Cahokia, erected the county of St. Clair, and created and filled all the necessary military and civil offices, in that county. The dangers of those times may be learned from an ordinance of the territorial government en-
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acted at the period, which we have under consideration; which strictly prohibited all the citizens from entertaining any Indi- an or negro, without informing the military commandant in the vicinity, of the fact of the stranger being in the citizen's house. All the males capable of bearing arms, were ordered to con- stantly carry them, or keep them near by, even while attend- ing public worship. By neglecting, sometimes, to obey this order, not a few men lost their lives.
We return to the feeble settlement at the mouth of the Mus- kingum.
As we have already stated, the Ohiocompany, began their set- tlement, at the mouth of the Muskingum, on the 7th day of April 1788, and named their town Marietta, in honor of the then queen of France, Maria Antoinette. The settlement was commenced under the superintendence of General Rufus Putnam, a son of the Revolutionary General Putnam. The first settlers were forty seven in number, emigrants from the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. That season, they planted fifty acres of corn, and erected a milita- ry work of sufficient strength to protect them from the Indi- ans. During the summer and autumn of that year, they were joined by about twenty more families. The first settlers were mostly military officers and soldiers of the revolution, in- nured to fatigues and hardships, and habituated to dangers and difficulties of all sorts. They always went to their work, with their guns near them, and had sentinels posted also near them, on some high stump of a tree. Such were their watch towers. On the 11th April 1789, settlements were begun at Belpre, and Newbury; the first was fifteen miles below Marietta, and the latter, twenty-five miles below, on the Ohio river. Strong garrison-houses were erected, in each settlement, to which, the settlers fled for safety, when attacked by Indians. Con- siderable numbers lived in these houses. There were three such houses in Belpre, the largest one was called the Farmers' castle. Other settlements were made on the Muskingum river also. Here these first settlers of this state were, fifty years since, few in number, far distant from any other settlers and
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shut out, almost, from the civilized world, without a mill, a road, a bridge or any thing beyond their own immediate resources.
No steam boat, then navigated the Ohio river; they had no nearer neighbors than a few settlers, on the Upper Ohio, far above them; none lower on the river, until they descended to Limestone, now Maysville, and these far distant neighbors had enough to do, to defend themselves against the savages. The means of traveling were not then as they are now, and they were surrounded by warlike and savage nations. To one who now sees the growth of any new town, favorably situated, in Indiana or Illinois, the true situation of the new settlers on the Ohio Company's Purchase in 1788-9 can hardly be conceived. But we leave them, and descend the Ohio to the mouths of the two Miamis. On the 16th day of November 1789, Major Stites, from Brownsville, Pennsylvania, at the head of twenty- five others, settled near the mouth of the Little Miami river, and erected a blockhouse. They afterwards laid out a town, six miles above Cincinnati, and called it Columbia.
Symmes and Stites had become acquainted, in New Jersey, und united their interests so far that Stites had purchased a part of Symmes, tract, and settled on it, at this early day. Symmes preferred the North Bend near the Great Miami's mouth, and settled there.
But, leaving these weak settlements just begun, we are call- ed off to treat of the Indian war which followed these settle- ments.
At the very time, that Stites and his twenty-five brave men, were erecting their blockhouse, Major Doughty was at Fort Washington, nine miles below the mouth of the Little Miami river, and six below the town of Columbia.
Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, a brigadier general, by brevet, who commanded the first United States regiment of infantry, had been ordered to this frontier, by the old congress, and he was here at a very early day. He seems to have been the highest military officer, originally, on this frontier, about that time, but his force of regulars, could not have been, scarcely
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one thousand men. Major Doughty was a very efficient officer under Harmar. It was soon discovered, that the site where Cincinnati stands, was a very important point, suitable for a fort. This place was opposite the mouth of Licking river, in Kentucky, where the Indians crossed the Ohio river, and as- cended the Licking river, in order, to penetrate into the heart of Kentucky. And there was a road, which the Indians call- ed " the old war path," extending from the British garrison, at Detroit, to the Maumee, up that river, and over on to the Miam- ies of the Ohio. All the Indian paths from lake Erie, led into this path, near Springfield, in Clark county, and then extended to the Ohio river, opposite Licking, so that the place where all this Indian travel struck the Ohio river, was a very important point. At such an important place, it was correctly judged best, to erect a fort, and station a military force to protect Ken- tucky.
HARMAR'S CAMPAIGN IN 1790.
THE INDIAN WAR IN THE NORTH WESTERN TERRITORY, ENTIRE, COMMENCING IN 1790, AND ENDING AUGUST 3D, 1795, BY THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE, MADE BY GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE.
Thus we see that Major Doughty erected a fort opposite the mouth of Licking river, where Mrs. Trollope's bazaar now stands, and called it Fort Washington. The fort was erect- ed by the Major, who commanded one hundred and forty men. In December, 1789, General Harmar joined him with three hundred men, the whole making four hundred and forty men, in Fort Washington, in the month of December 1789.
Next summer, General Josiah Harmar encamped on the south side of the Ohio river where Covington now is. Gen- eral Washington, the then President, used all the means in his power to increase the force under Harmar, but enlistments were slowly made, and, it was as late as the 30th of Septem- ber, 1790, before General Harmar was prepared to cross the river. He had been joined by Colonel John Hardin of Ken- L
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tucky, with his volunteers. Major James Paul, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, who commanded a battalion of volunteer mili- tia, from western Pennsylvania, and Virginia, also joined this army. General Harmar having completed all his prepara- tions, crossed the Ohio river, and following the old Indian war path, visited the Indian villages on the head waters of the Little Miami. From those towns, he struck across the woods, on to the Great Miami, where Piqua now is, and marching forward when he came to where Loramies's station has since been, three Indians were discovered early in the morning view- ing his encampment. These were followed by some mounted men, one Indian was taken prisoner, but the other two escaped. Next morning, the army crossed the St. Mary's river, and Colo- nel Hardin and Major Paul, beat up for volunteers, to go to the Indian town, ahead, supposed to be about forty miles distant. Six hundred volunteers marched forward under these officers, in advance of the main army, and arrived at the Indian village on the second day afterwards. The Indians had mostly fled, on the approach of Hardin and Paul, but some savages remain- ed, and exchanged a few shots with our men. The Indians had burnt their wigwams. This detachment remained in the Indian town four days before Harmar came up with his bag .. gage, having had to cut a road along which his teams and wag- gons could travel. After Harmar arrived, he tarried one week in the deserted town. In the meantime, the Indians were collecting from all quarters, around him. Every party sent out from our army, was waylaid and defeated. A par- ty under Colonel Hardin, fell into an ambuscade and many of his men were killed. Twenty three out of thirty fell in that skirmish. General Harmar finally concluded to return to Fort Washington, and actually marched eight miles on his return, when he received information that the enemy had taken possession of their town as soon as he had left it. Harmar ordered Hardin to return and attack the enemy. This officer beat up again for volunteers, and a considerable number of men volunteered their services. Hardin, and his Kentucky and Pennsylvania volunteers, returned, attacked and drove be-
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fore him, the enemy, until they had crossed the Maumee, in their front, and the St. Mary's on their left. Hardin had march- ed down the St. Mary's on its northern bank, to its junction with the St. Joseph's. Here Captain William Crawford who com- manded the Pennsylvania volunteers, crossed the Maumee, and attacked the Indians who lay on the north bank of the St. Joseph's, and drove the enemy up that river, several miles, and returned triumphantly, over to Fort Wayne, or rather where that town now is.
Colonel Hardin, with his men crossed over the St. Mary's and followed the Indians up the St. Joseph's on the south side of that river, but marching carelessly along, on the low lands adjoining the river, he permitted the Indians to take posses- sion of the high grounds, south of him, by which means, he got defeated with great loss, considering his small command.
In these different engagements, Harmar lost one hundred and eighty men, from the time of his leaving Covington, until his return to Fort Washington. Some accounts place the loss even higher than that number. On the whole, though Harmar boasted of a victory, yet in common parlance it is called Harmar's defeat. Major Wyllis and Lieutenant Far- thingham, of the regulars, fell, fighting bravely; and fifty of their men, were left dead on the field. Of the militia under Hardin, nine officers were killed, and one hundred private sol- diers, whereas Captain William Crawford lost very few men. Why Colonel Hardin left the heights south of him, unoccu- pied, we never could learn. After this severe action, Hardin and Crawford joined the main army, and it returned to Fort Washington.
The effects of this unfortunate expedition, were very soon severely felt, along the whole line of the Kentucky and Ohio frontier. All the counties in Kentucky, and Western Virgi- nia, immediately petitioned General Washington to commit the entire defence of the frontier to their militia, unmixed with regulars; so that these troops might be forthwith drawn out to punish the exulting foe. Though General Washington return- ed a conciliating answer to these petitions, presented to him,
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by their representatives in congress, yet he did not yield to them. But he had the good fortune to persuade congress to authorize him to raise a regiment of regulars, and two thousand volunteers for six months; to appoint, also, a Major General, and a Brigadier General, to be continued in command so long as necessary. This was in the session of 1791, which ended 3d of March in that year.
Under this act of congress, General Scott of Kentucky, was sent out in May, with a body of troops against the Indian towns on the Wabash. And another expedition was sent to the same towns in September, of that year, under the com- mand of General Wilkinson. Some Indian villages were burnt, their corn destroyed, and some few warriors were kill- ed; some old men, women and children were captivated, but all this rather exasperated, than conquered the hostile spirit of the enemy.
ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGN AND DEFEAT.
Under the authority of the act of congress of 1791, Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the North Western Territory, had been appointed Major General and Commander-in-chief. He was empowered to treat with the Indian tribes; to be in fact a military, as well as civil Governor of the Territory. Presi- dent Washington did his duty faithfully; he appointed all the officers, for the campaign, but the nation was poor and weak, especially in the west. Every exertion was made to raise an army and provide provisions and arms for it, and to concentrate it as early as possible in the season, but it was September before it was ready to march; nor was it even then completed in any respect as it deserved to be. It assem- bled at Fort Washington. On the 17th day of September, 1791, the army left Fort Washington, and cut a road through the wilderness, to where Hamilton now stands. Here a fort was erected, and called Fort Hamilton. It was on the east bank of the Great Miami river, about twenty miles with- in the present limits of this state. Having completed this fort.
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and garrisoned it, St. Clair marched some twenty miles north- ward and erected Fort St. Clair, and marching twenty miles or more, farther, due north, he established another military post, and called it Fort Jefferson. It is some six miles south of the present town of Greenville in Darke county. Having garrisoned this post, on the 24th day of October 1791, St. Clair's force, was reduced to less than two thousand men with whom he marched, in the direction of the Indian villages on the Maumee, which Indian towns it was his object to destroy. This march was slow, over a wet country, covered with a dense forest, which had to be cleared, for his baggage wag- gons and artillery trains. The Indians began to hover about his army, and skirmishes became more and more frequent. To increase his difficulties, desertions took place daily, and finally, sixty men deserted in a body, and returned on their way to Cincinnati. To bring back those deserters, and pro- tect the provisions, which were behind the army moving for- ward slowly, St. Clair despatched Major Hamtramack, with a sufficient force. By this time, the main army was only four- teen hundred strong, which moved forward to where, after- wards Fort Recovery was erected, within the limits of Mer- cer county, or on the line, between it and Darke county.
Here, on the head waters of the Wabash river, among a number of small creeks, thirty feet in width, on the third day of November 1791, Governor St. Clair, who was sick at the time, encamped with the remaining troops. The right wing of the army, under the command of General Butler lay in front of a creek, twelve yards wide, and this force formed the first line. The second line, seventy yards behind the first, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Darke. There were two rows of fires between these lines, and there was snow on the ground. The right flank was supposed to be protected by a small creek, with high steep banks, and a small body of troops. The left flank, was covered by a body of cavalry, and by piquets. The militia crossed the creek, and advanced about cighty rods, in front of the main army,
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and encamped in two lines, and they had two rows of logs on fire. When the militia crossed the creek in front of the regu- lars a few Indians appeared, but they precipitately fled, on the approach of the militia. At this place, St. Clair intended to have thrown up a breast work, as soon as Hamtramack returned, with the baggage, while the main body of the army pressed forward to the Indian towns on the Maumee, leaving the baggage here, under Hamtramack's care. This he said, afterwards, was his then intention. About half an hour after daylight, immediately after the militia were dismissed from parade and roll call, they were attacked by the enemy, with the utmost fury. The militia fled, in an instant, and came running into the regulars' camp, and spread terror and confu- sion where they ran. These flying militia, rushed quite through Butler's line, and were hardly stopped by the second line of regulars. The officers exerted themselves, to the ut- most, to restore order, which though, was not entirely done. The Indians pressed close upon the very heels of the flying militia, and instantly engaged Butler's command, with great intrepidity and fury. The action forthwith became warm, and the enemy passing round the first line within fifteen minutes after the first attack, the whole army was surrounded by the Indians. The artillery was posted in the centre of each wing which the enemy attacked with the greatest violence, mow- ing down the artillerists, in great numbers. The enemy fired from the ground, and from every tree around, and were only seen when flying from covert to covert. At length, the ene- my boldly marched up to the very mouths of the cannon, and fought with the daring courage of men, whose trade is war, and who are impelled to vigorous exertions by all the motives which operate on the savage mind. It was soon perceived that while our soldiers were falling every moment before the bullets of the enemy, yet, hidden, as that enemy was, little impression was made on the Indians. It was then resolved, that Lieutenant Colonel Darke, should charge the enemy with the bayonet, at the head of the second line, which he com- manded. This charge was made, by nearly all that line,
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with the utmost fury, and with so much effect, that the Indi- ans were driven about thirty rods; but no sooner had Darke returned to his position than the Indians were there also; this was owing to a want of riflemen to press the advantage, which Darke had obtained by driving off the enemy.
Instantly after this charge, General Butler was mortally wounded, the right wing was broken, the artillerists were nearly all killed, the guns were taken by the enemy, and the . camp was everywhere penetrated by his ferocious warriors. Major Butler, though his leg was broken by a ball, mounted his horse, and bravely led his battalion to the charge. Majors Darke and Clark led theirs also to the charge. They charged the enemy with the bayonet, drove the Indians out of the camp, and restored the guns. But while the Indians were pressed with the bayonet at one point, they kept up their con- tinual fire from every other point, with fatal effect. Every charge, when made, drove the enemy back, at the point where it was made, but, no general effect was produced, on the ene- my. Instead of keeping their ranks and fighting, the troops huddled together in crowds, about the fires, and were shot down, without resistance. The officers did their duty bravely, and were shot down in great numbers, by the enemy, who took a sure and fatal aim at them. The Indians always shoot at the officers.
All this time, St. Clair was so worn down by fatigue and disease, gout and rheumatism, that he was not able to mount or dismount his horse, without assistance.
All that now remained to be done, was to bring off the remains of the army. General St. Clair ordered Lieutenant Colonel William Darke, with the second regiment to clear away the enemy from the path in which the army had march- ed to the spot where they were fighting; and, he ordered Major Clarke to cover the rear of the army. These orders were obeyed, and a most disorderly flight commenced, and con- tinued for about four miles. It was now ten o'clock in the forenoon. All this time, the carnage was dreadful. Our soldiers finally threw away their arms, and fled for their lives.
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Many were killed in the fight, tomahawked and scalped; many were captivated and afterwards roasted alive, at the stake. The elder Caray Maunee, of the Winnebagoes, was there, and informed us of all the particulars, when we were at Prairie du Chien, in July, 1829.
After glutting their savage vengeance, by killing many of our men; and, having taken as many prisoners as they could well manage, the Indians left off their pursuit, and returned to the battle ground. There lay the dying and the dead; there stood the artillery and trains; and there also stood the baggage wagons. Here, the enemy now glutted his vengeance to the very utmost, on the dying, the dead, and the living. But, we leave the horrid picture for some other to fill up, not we.
Our troops, who remained of the fourteen hundred men, that morning, at early dawn, fled to fort Jefferson, a distance of thirty miles or more.
In this most unfortunate battle, we lost thirty-eight commis- sioned officers, who were killed on the battle ground. Six hundred non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, were either killed, or missing. Twenty-one commissioned officers were wounded, not a few of whom died of their wounds. Two hundred and forty-two non-commissioned officers and privates were wounded, many of whom died also of their wounds. Among the dead, were General Butler, and Major Ferguson, two brave officers, who had served with great distinction, through the whole of the revolutionary war. General Butler's death, was justly and severely lamented by the whole nation, as an irreparable loss. In the list of those who shared his fate, were many who had participated largely, in the toils, dangers and glory of the war of the revolution. They fell nobly doing their duty to their country; they rest in honor, and deserve our gratitude.
At the head of a list of the wounded, stood the names of lieutenant Colonels Thomas Gibson and William Darke, Major Butler and Adjutant General Sargent, all of whom were veteran officers, of great merit, and who had behaved with distinguished gallantry in this disastrous battle. General St.
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Clair, thought that he had been overwhelmed by numbers, be- cause he was attacked, on all sides, by the enemy, though from all the sources of information in our power, we presume the numbers of the two armies were about equal. The Indi- an loss it is presumed, bore a small proportion to ours.
We close our account of this disastrous defeat, by saying, that, the first line of the second regiment, as encamped, was commanded by General Richard Butler, by Patterson and Clarke. The second line was commmanded by Gaither, Bed- inger and Darke. Of the first line, all the officers were either killed or wounded, except three, and of the artillerists, all were killed except four privates!
Of the regulars, the following officers were killed, viz: General RICHARD BUTLER, Ferguson, Bradford, Spear, Ford, Morgan, Bines, Butts, Hart, Kirkwood, McCrea, Thompson, Phelon, Warren, Balsh, Newman, Kelso, McMickle, Purdy, Anderson, Lukens, Burgess, Crawford, Moorehead, Cribbs, Smith, Piatt, Van Swaringen, Tipton, McMath, Reeves, Doyle, Brooks, Greyton, Cummings, Beatty, Doctors Chase and Beatty.
Wounded officers of the regulars, viz: Lieutenant Colonel George Gibson, Major Thomas Butler, Captain Price, Colonel Sargent, Captain Darke, Buchanan, Lysle, Boyd, Trueman, Malartie, Cobb, Wilson, Ensign Purdy, Lieutenant Colonel Darke, and others.
Of the militia, killed, viz: Oldham, Lemon, Briggs and Montgomery. Wounded: Captain Thomas, Captain Madison, Lieutenant Stagner, Lieutenant Owens, Lieutenant Walters, and Lieutenant Gano.
The fugitives arrived at Fort Jefferson, about sunset, and continued their march, that night, at ten o'clock. The ground was covered with snow, two or three inches deep. They marched to Fort Washington, by the way of Fort Hamilton. Before the troops began their march, a large number of the sentinels of Fort Jefferson deserted and fled, such was their terror at what they had heard of this dreadful disaster. The march was a very disorderly one, from Fort Jefferson to Fort Washington.
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There were in the army, at the commencement of the action, about two hundred and fifty women, of whom, fifty-six were killed in the battle, and the remainder were made pri- soners by the enemy, except a small number who reached Fort Washington. One of the survivors, lived until recently in Cincinnati, a Mrs. CATHARINE MILLER. This woman ran ahead of the whole army, in their flight from the field of battle. Her large quantity of long red hair, floated in the breeze, which the soldiers followed through the woods, as their fore-runner that moved rapidly onward, to the place of their ultimate destination.
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