USA > Ohio > A history of the state of Ohio, natural and civil > Part 15
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The people of that day were greatly attached to president Jefferson and DeWitt Clinton, because they had favored the admission of Ohio into the Union. The then administration of the general government were almost worshiped by our peo- ple, and were greatly caressed in return, by the objects of their reverence. We were then weak, and not feared; but
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now we have become great and powerful. So we are oppress- ed in all the ways in which littleness seated on high, can reach us. But we will stand our ground on our own legs, on our own soil, relying on our own vast resources. It is, however, honor enough for any common man to be a good and worthy citizen of Ohio, travel where he may, in the Union. We may well contemn all the attempts now made and making to oppress and degrade us. This state of things cannot last long, before Ohio has a voice, and an influence at Washington. No presi- dent or attorney general will dare, then, to treat with con- tempt our citizens, and our members of congress.
During this third period of our history, but two events drew much public attention to them after our state had be- come properly organized. Of these events we shall treat in their order of time.
BURR'S EXPEDITION IN 1806.
The first event, which agitated the public mind, in this state, after its constitution took effect, and was carried into complete operation, was Barr's expedition. Early in the spring of 1806, rumors of all sorts began to spread throughout this and the adjoining states of an expedition of some sort, about to be set on foot, by Colonel Aaron Burr and his associates. These rumors were circulated through the western country by letter writers in the east, at first, but they soon found their way into the newspapers of that period. In the summer, Burr himself appeared among us awhile, then went to Lexington. Frankfort, and we believe to Nashville, Tennessee and to the Hermitage. The papers were filled with conjectures, as to the Colonel's intentions, views, and ultimate objects. JOHN SMITH, one of our senators in congress, was suspected of being in the horrid plot, whatever it might be, as he had been, all along, on friendly terms with Burr, while the latter presided in the United States senate! Affidavits of conversations with Colonel Burr, were gotten up against him. Many of these willing witnesses, we knew, and would not believe them, even
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under oath, then, or at any other time, during their lives. John Smith was beset, on all sides, for his supposed friendship to the late Vice President. He wrote to Burr, then at Frank- fort, Kentucky, inquiring " what his real objects were in vis- iting the western country?" Burr, answered, and as he said in that answer it would be, so it was; the only one that he ever vouchsafed to give any one, relative to his business in the western country. He said, in substance, " that, he had purchased a large tract of land in Louisiana, on the Washita river, and he wished to engage emigrants, to settle on it. That the position would be a good one for mercantile and agri- cultural purposes. That these, and these only, were his objects."
Early in the autumn, perhaps, sooner, Burr's associates, be- gan to build boats, along the navigable waters connected with the Ohio, and Mississippi rivers. Provisions were purchased, such as pork, beef and flour, with which to load these boats. The administration of the general government, sent express after express to the west, in order to save the country, from the ruin, which these boat loads of provisions, and nearly seventy men, without arms, could do by descending the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, possibly, even to New Orleans!
The legislature of Ohio, full of patriotic devotion, to Mr. Jefferson's administration, passed a long and complicated act, to detect and punish the boat builders and all connected with them. This was in their session of 1806-7.
To look back upon this farce, now, is like reading an ac- count of the Massachusetts witchcraft; or of the plots during the reign of Charles II. of England. Sergeant Dunbar is a fine parallel of Titus Oates.
At the session of the United States courts for Ohio, at Chillicothe, in the winter of 1807, a vast concourse of people attended, expecting many indictments would be found against all who belonged to the expedition, especially if they had been in the state! and of all, too, who had built boats or sold provi- sions to load them. MICHAEL BALDWIN, a great wit, then our marshal, seeing a citizen of Ashtabula county, in attendance
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on court, in expectation of an indictment against him, for some connection with Burr, (never known what it was) contrived to convey the idea, to this man, that a bill was actually found against him, and that he, the marshal, was actually on the point of arresting the culprit. The terrified man fled, as he supposed, from justice, with great speed, seventy miles, to Zanesville.
Burr's boats started from Blannerhassett's island, in the Ohio river, early in January, 1807, and Blannerhassett, his family, and Burr's friends descended peaceably down, we believe to Natchez, in the Mississippi Territory. His other boats, along both rivers, descended likewise, towards the same point of destination.
Before this time, the president had called on this state for troops, to repel the threatened - (we know not what to call it) A great many troops had eagerly come forward, and offered their services to the government, and were joyfully accepted and enrolled, and held in readiness for instant action.
In January 1807, Burr himself had descended to Natchez, and there was summoned to appear before the supreme court, of the Mississippi Territory. Having heard that his agents were arrested at New Orleans, and along the river, he did not obey the summons, but fled from Natchez in disguise. He was arrested, we believe on the Tombigbee river, wending his way, on horseback, across the country, to Georgia. The man who arrested him, had never seen him before, but knew him by his brilliant eye, which shone like a diamond, beneath an old, broad-brimmed, flapped hat, under which Colonel Burr sat, warming himself, by the fire, at a small inn.
Colonel Burr was tried before Chief Justice Marshall, at Richmond, Virginia, in the summer of 1807, on two indict- ments, to wit: one for treason against the United States; the other for setting on foot, an expedition against the Spanish provinces. On both indictments Burr was acquitted, but he was recognized, we believe, in the sum of five thousand dollars, to appear at Chillicothe, before the United States court to an- swer to any indictment to be found against him, in Ohio. Not P
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choosing to appear there, he paid the forfeiture, and went off to Europe. There he wandered about from one monarch's court to another, until 1811, when he returned to his native country. During the remainder of his life, almost twenty-five years, he lived in retirement, until he recently died, and was buried, by the students of the college, of Nassau Hall, Prince- ton, New Jersey, in their burying-ground, with every mark of respect. There he was born and educated, and there his mor- tal remains rest.
Whatever his projects were, whether for conquest or settle- ment, they were defeated almost as soon as they were form- ed. Late events on this same theatre do not hold out the same terror to ambitious men, who would conquer adjoining provinces, that Burr's fate did, in 1806-7. But Burr is now in his grave.
"No farther scek his merits to disclose,
"Nor draw his frailties from their dread abode,
"There they alike, in trembling hope repose ;
"In the bosom of his father and his God."
GRAY.
SWEEPING RESOLUTION OF 1810.
The next subject which during three or four years, produ- ced a great excitement, in the minds of our population, was in its day, called, the "Sweeping Resolution." Our legislature had passed an act, giving justices of the peace, jurisdiction with - out the aid of a jury in the first instance, in the collection of debts, in all cases, where the demand did not exceed fifty dol- lars. Inasmuch as the constitution of the United States, gives a jury in all such cases, where the amount claimed, is twen- ty dollars; and inasmuch too, as any thing in our laws or con- stitution, contrary to the provisions of the national constitu- tion is utterly void, and of no effect; the judges of all our courts, declared this act of our legislature void and of no effect. This independence of our judges inflamed the legisla- ture to a high degree. So they proceeded to punish these hon- est and conscientious officers of justice. The house of rep-
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resentatives impeached the judges, and having a majority of two thirds in the senate they proceeded against them in due form and removed them from office. Judges Sprigg, Tod and Pease were successively removed in the years preceding 1809-10 for this cause, and in this way. All things seemed to bend before the arbitrary will of the omnipotent general assembly; but in the autumn of 1809 the people did not elect "sweepers" enough to the senate to enable the house to car- ry an impeachment through the senate. There were fourteen "sweepers" and ten conservatives. Maturing their plan of operations and having determined at all events, "constitution or no constitution," as one of them said, on the floor of the house, to remove not only all who opposed their will, but all other civil officers in the state, they moved forward to the work. They set up a new doctrine, "that in a short time it would be seven years, since the constitution went into opera- tion and certainly all civil officers ought to go out of office every seven years, and so have the field entirely cleared off for new aspirants to office." In accordance with these " repub- lican ideas," (if they could be believed,) on the 27th day of December, 1809, Samuel Dunlap, a representative from Jef- ferson county, presented a resolution to the house in these words, to wit: "Resolved, that all civil officers, of govern- ment, within this state whether elected to office by the legis- lature, or by the people, to fill vacancies, shall hold their offi- ces no longer than their predecessors would have done. Resolved, also, that a committee of three members be appoin- ted to prepare a bill defining the manner of commissioning such officers." These resolutions were made the order of the day, for the next Monday. But on that day, January 1st 1810, they were farther postponed to the next Thursday. On that day they were discussed, and postponed to January the 7th. On that day these resolutions were enlarged greatly and passed. On their passage they read as follows, viz: "Whereas it is pro- vided by the eighth section of the third article of the con- stitution of this state, that the judges of the supreme court, the presidents and associate judges of the court of common
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pleas, shall be appointed by joint ballot of both houses of the general assembly, and shall hold their offices for seven years, if so long they behave well; and whereas the first gen- eral assembly of this state did appoint judges of the supreme court, presidents and associate judges of the court of com- mon pleas, many of whose offices have become vacant at dif- ferent times, and elections have been had to fill vacancies; and whereas the original term of office is about to expire, and it becomes necessary, for the general assembly for to provide for that event:
Therefore, Resolved, by the general assembly of the state of Ohio, That the constitution of the state having limited and defined the term of office, which the judges of the supreme court, the presidents and judges of the court of common pleas, the secretary of state, the auditor and treasurer of state; and also the mode of filling vacancies by the legislature, it can- not of right, be construed to extend beyond the end of the original term for which the first officers were appointed."
In the house, the vote stood twenty-seven to eighteen. Those who voted in the affirmative were, Corwin, G. Clark, Crumbacker, J. Dunlap, S. Dunlap, Dillon, Ellis, Ford, Mur- ray, Gosset, Gardner, Gass, Heaton, Hughs, Humphrey, Ijams, Johnson, Marvin, Pritchard, Pollock, Purviance, Shepard, Sharp, Swearengen, Tatman, Vore and Edward Tiffin, speaker.
In the negative, voted, Blair, Elliot, Harbaugh, Jackson, Looker, Lowry, Ludlow, Marple, McColloch, Mckinney, New- port, Putnam, Pool, Shields, Spafford, Shelby and Wheedon.
When passed, the resolution was sent to the senate, through which it finally passed, on the 18th January 1810.
In that body, the vote stood fourteen for it, and ten against it, as follows, viz: In the affirmative, Abbot, Barrere, Bryan, Burton, Cadwell, Cone, Elliot, Irvin, Kinney, Kirker, McLaugh- lin, Price, Smith and Wood.
In the negative, voted, Bigger, Bureau, Cooper, Curry, Foos, Jewett, Henry Massie, McConnel, Schofield, and McAr- thur.
Thus, by a mere resolution, the general assembly, swept off
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SWEEPING RESOLUTION.
out of office, every civil officer in the state! After a pause un- til the 10th day of February, the legislature proceeded then to fill in part the vacancies, thus made. On that day, they elected Thomas Scott, William W. Irvin and Ethan Allen Brown, judges of the supreme court. They then next elected, Francis Dunlevy, John Thompson and Benjamin Ruggles, president judges of the first, second and third judicial circuits into which the state was then divided. Resting awhile from their labours, on the 15th day of February, they proceeded to elect associate judges for the twenty-six counties, (all indeed) then in the state. During the same session they elected a secretary of state, and auditor and treasurer of state. They made provision for electing, as soon as possible, by the people, all justices of the peace, in all the townships in Ohio. A few remarks on this highhanded, unconstitutional measure seem to be called for, here. As to vacancies in offices, such as judges, the constitution provides that they shall be filled by the general assembly, but when so filled it expressly declares them to be elected for seven years.
The motives which induced this flagrant procceding in the breasts of some of the actors were pure enough, but we fear, quite too many of these men wanted offices, either for them- selves or for some friend, and were quite regardless as to the means which they used to obtain them: Mere demagogues, like the mastiff at his master's door in a cold night, that makes such an ado, that his master finally opens his door to assist his faithful sentinel in driving off the robber who assails ; him, when Caesar slips quickly in at the opened door, and lies down quietly in a warm place, near the fire, where he is per- mitted to sleep until morning.
Many of the counties had not been organized one half seven years, and the judges, in not a few instances, had not served two years. In some such cases, both sets of judges attemp- ted to act officially. The whole state was thrown into utter confusion for a time, but finally, one and all became convin- ced that the "sweeping resolution" was all wrong. All aban-
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doned it, and no man has- since that stormy period, ever advo- cated the proceeding. It will never be reacted in Ohio. Knowing all the actors, personally, with whom we never had any altercation about this or any other matter, we have had no private ill will to gratify, in saying what we have above. Nor was it our own wish to be thus particular in stating all the material facts connected with this matter, but the surviv- ing actors insisted on a full statement, and we have complied with their wishes.
At this same session, the legislature removed the seat of government from Chillicothe to Zanesville.
Congress had granted a township of land for "an academy" in their contract with John Cleves Symmes, for the sale to him of the Lower Miami country. According to that grant, the township was to have been in the centre of the ceded lands. The legislature, at this session, located the Miami University, as they called it, on a township which they selected entirely out of the tract of land, in the centre of which, by the original grant, it was to have been located. All the acts of this ses- sion, were equally violent and unconstitutional-" for madness ruled the hour."
They proceeded to appoint, commissioners to fix on a site for a permanent seat of government of this state.
Next session, these commissioners, James Findlay, Joseph Darlington, Wyllys Silliman, Reason Beall, and William McFarland, reported in favor, we believe of Dublin, a town on the Scioto river, some fourteen miles above Columbus. The year, 1810-11 passed quietly off, but at their next session, the legislature, accepted the proposals of Colonel James John- son, Alexander McLaughlin, John Kerr and Lyne Starling, Esquires, who owned the land where Columbus is. The gene- ral assembly fixed the seat of government where it now is and will there remain. At this session of 1811-12 the legisla ture passed an act, removing the seat of government, back to Chillicothe, until 1816-17, after which time it was to be where it now is, at Columbus. In the meantime the public buildings were to be erected, on land then a dense forest.
WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
PERIOD FOURTH.
THIS PERIOD COMPRISES THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN OF 1812, IN OHIO.
THOUGH peace had been made on parchment between the United States, and England, in 1783, yet that peace, could scarcely be said, to have extended to this North Western Terri- tory. The war with the Indians, continued from the 27th of April 1774, until the peace of Greenville, August 3d 1795. The British, constantly occupied their Indian posts within the limits of our territory until the first of June 1796. The Cana- dian Indian Department, continued to pay regular annuities to their savage allies, who lived within the limits of this Union, up to a very recent period; perhaps, they do, up to the moment, when this is written.
This conduct of our Canadian neighbors, kept up a hard feeling between us, and the English; and besides, that nation was constantly doing some act, which showed their ill will to- wards the United States. They were continually preying on our defenceless commerce, but not content with plundering our property on the high seas, under various pretexts, they impress- ed our sailors, into their naval service. This practice of impressment, kept up, and even increased the angry feelings of our nation, towards England. General Harrison, the gov- ernor of the Indiana Territory, had, in November 1811, fought a severe battle with the Indians, at Tippecanoe, and every thing portended war, between this nation and England, when,
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in June 1812, war was actually declared, by congress, against Great Britain. In order to harass the enemy, wc suppose, on the land, to punish him for plundering us, on the ocean; Mr. Madison's administration took steps to raise an army, dur- ing the session of congress commencing in December 1811 and continued until the summer of 1812. During that protracted session, congress authorised the increase of the regular army to thirty-five thousand troops, and they authorised the raising of a large force of volunteers, for twelve months. Early in the spring of 1812, Governor William Hull, of Michigan, was ordered into Ohio, to raise troops, with whom it would seem, he intended to cross over into Canada, opposite Detroit, and march down- wards towards Quebec.
Canada, Upper and Lower, consists of a vast country, lying northwest of the United States, bounded by either lakes or their outlets, which separate those provinces from us. The settlements along these waters are narrow, and their popula- tion thin. These settlements extend fifteen hundred miles, in length, from the sea to Lake Superior. Had the war, on our part been conducted with the ability, that any common man, in private life, of the requisite geographical knowledge would have conducted it, we should have siezed, at once, on Kings- ton and Montreal. All the country above these points, in that case, would have fallen into our hands, as a matter of course. But so it was, General Hull was sent into Ohio to raise troops wherewith to attack, the weak settlements along lake Erie, on the Canadian side of it, and march, downwards in the direction of Fort Niagara. We propose to be brief indeed, on the war of 1812, for more reasons than we need give.
But little of that war, comparatively speaking, was car- ried on in Ohio, and its events are so recent, and so well known that we must be brief. That it was badly conducted by the then administration, is certain, for two reasons; the men at the helm, in Washington, were ignorant of the geographical situa- tion of the country; and they knew little of the art of war. There were, at that time, two parties east of the mountains, in the nation; one party accused the other, of appointing ineffi-
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cient officers, merely because they happened to belong to their own party; and, the opposition were accused of throwing every impediment which they could, in the way of the, then, admin- istration. " Both these accusations were, but quite too well founded., Governor Hull, had served in the war of the revolu- tion, as an aid, and in some minor appointments, perhaps, but, was never made to command, but, to execute, the commands of others. When young, he could have executed what an able general should have ordered him to do; but at the time of his appointment, on this frontier, he was too old, to belong to an army in any situation. All the little military knowledge, he ever had, was antiquated and useless, and even worse than useless, because he relied on it. The higher appointments, made by Mr. Madison, in the army of 1812, were mostly of the same stamp, such as Hull, Pinckney, Dearborn, Winchester, &c. &c. &c. They were too old, and they had not kept pace, with the age, in which they lived. Hence, all they did, was useless. They were directed by Dr. Eustis another worn-out, revolutionary, subaltern officer. Such disasters attended on all the movements, of these worn-out generals, that millions believed them, traitors. We have never, for a moment, believ- ed them to be such, but, they were utterly incompetent for any of the duties of the field, at the time of their appointments. Ohio at the commencement of the war, had so few opposers of the administration in it, that they could not be, even called a party.
Under the aforesaid act of congress, Return J. Meigs, then governor of Ohio, raised three regiments of volunteers, for twelve months. This was in April and May 1812. After electing their officers, at Dayton perhaps, where three regi- ments had rendezvoused; they were numbered first, second and third. The first, was commanded by Duncan McArthur, its Colonel; the second, by Colonel James Findlay; and the third, by Colonel Lewis Cass. Early in June, these troops marched up the Great Miami, to Staunton, where they were paid off-they then marched over to Urbana, where they were joined by Boyd's, or as it was called, the 4th regiment of regular
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troops, who had been in the battle of Tippecanoe, in the autumn before. The latter regiment was commanded by Colonel Miller.
By about the middle of June, this little army, of about twen- ty-five hundred men, left Urbana, under the command of gov- crnor Hull, and proceeding northward, they encamped a short time, about twenty-four miles north of Urbana, and erected a block house, and called it McArthur's block house. This was done by the first regiment. After resting here a short time, they moved forward again, and got into a swamp, and, from necessity, encamped in it, and erected a block house there, which they called " Necessity." The second regiment, under Findlay, had got ahead of McArthur's regiment, and had encamped, and erected a block house, and called it Fort Find- lay. The town of Findlay the shire town of Hancock county, stands, where this block house was erected. After the army reached McArthur's block house, until they struck the Mau- mee, where Perrysburgh now is, the whole country was covered with a dense forest, which had to be cleared away for the wag- ons and heavy baggage to pass along, in the rear of the army. These block houses were stations erected where the provi- sions could be stored, not wanted for immediate use. Like taverns, on our roads, they served as stations for travelers to stop at, as they were passing and repassing between the army, and the settled parts of the country. And as the army moved forward, the first block house, was erected twenty miles north of Urbana, the next in a swamp, some fifteen miles or more further north; and Fort Findlay was about fifteen or twenty miles north of Necessity. From thence through the " black swamp," it is about thirty-six miles, or less, due north, in a right line, to the Maumee, at Perrysburgh. Through this swamp, the army marched, followed by one hundred and six heavy wagons, thirteen of which, stuck fast in the mud and there remained scattered along in the route of the army, and served as guides, to show, where Hull's army had passed along on its march.
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