USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 10
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GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
shot the troops down as hunters slaughter a herd of standing buffalo." Instead of being frightened by the thunder of the artillery, the Indians made the gunmen special objects of their attacks. Man after man was picked off until the artillery was silenced. The Indians then rushed for- ward and seized the guns. It is doubtful if there ever was a wilder rout. As soon as the men realized that there was some hope of safety in flight, they broke into a wild stampede. Intermixed with the soldiers were the few camp followers, and the women who had accompanied the expedition. Neither the commands of the officers nor their brave exam- ple seemed to have the slightest effect.
From a report made by Ebenezer Denny, who was adjutant to General St. Clair, I quote as follows: "The troops paraded this morn- ing (4 November, 1791) at the usual time, and had been dismissed from the lines but a few minutes, the sun not yet up, when the woods in front rung with the yells and fire of the savages. The poor militia, who were but three hundred yards in front, had scarcely time to return a shot-they fled into our camp. The troops were under arms in an instant, and a smart fire from the front line met the enemy. It was but a few minutes, however, until the men were engaged in every quar- ter. The enemy from the front filed off to the right and left, and com- pletely surrounded the camp, killed and cut off nearly all the guards and approached close to the lines. They advanced from one tree, log, or stump to another, under cover of the smoke of our fire. The artillery and musketry made a tremendous noise, but did little execution. The Aborigines seemed to brave everything.
"As our lines were deserted the Aborigines contracted theirs until their shot centered from all points and now meeting with little opposi- tion, took more deliberate aim and did great execution. Exposed to a cross fire, men and officers were seen falling in every direction; the distress, too, of the wounded made the scene such as can scarcely be conceived-a few minutes longer, and a retreat would have been impos- sible-the only hope left was, that perhaps the savages would be so taken up with the camp as not to follow. Delay was death ; no prepara- tion could be made; numbers of brave men must be left a sacrifice, there was no alternative. It was past nine o'clock when repeated orders were given to charge toward the road. The action had continued between two and three hours. Both officers and men seemed confounded, inca- pable of doing anything; they could not move until it was told that a retreat was intended."
"During the last charge of Colonel Darke," says Major Fowler, "the bodies of the freshly scalped heads were reeking with smoke, and in the heavy morning frost looked like so many pumpkins through a cornfield in December." It is no wonder that green troops, unused to scenes of carnage, became panicky before such horrible sights.
General St. Clair behaved gallantly through the dreadful scene. He was so tortured with gout that he could not mount a horse without assistance. From beneath a three-cornered cocked hat, his long white locks were seen streaming in the air as he rode up and down the line during the battle. He had three horses shot from under him, and it is said that eight balls passed through his clothes, and one clipped his gray hair. He finally mounted a pack horse and upon this slow animal, which could hardly be urged into a trot, joined the army in the retreat which became almost a rout.
Guns and accoutrement were thrown away by hundreds in their frantic haste. For miles the march was strewed with fire-locks, cart- ridge-boxes, and regimentals. The retreat proved to be a disgraceful
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
flight. Fortunate indeed was it that the victorious savage followed them only a few miles and then returned to enjoy the spoils of the battlefield. This was rich, indeed, for they secured great quantities of tents, guns, axes, clothing, blankets, and powder, and a large number of horses-the very thing that the savages prized highest. "A single aborigine," wrote Denny, "might have followed with safety on either flank. Such a panic had seized the men that I believe it would not have been possible to have brought any of them to engage again." The number of savages actually engaged and their losses has never been learned. Simon Girty is said to have told a prisoner that there were 1,200 in the attack. Good authori- ties place the number at 2,000. Little Turtle was again the acknowl- edged leader and Blue Jacket was next in authority. It is quite likely that Tecumseh was also an active participant. The principal tribes engaged were Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, Miamis and Ottawas, with a few Chippewas and Pottawatomies.
"Oh!" said an old squaw many years afterwards, "my arm that night was weary scalping white men."
There were many individual instances of heroism and marvelous escapes. None were more thrilling than those of William Kennan, a young man of eighteen. Becoming separated from his party, he saw a band of Indians near him. McClung, in his "Sketches of Western Adventures," says :
"Not a moment to be lost. He darted off with every muscle strained to its utmost, and was pursued by a dozen of the enemy with loud yells. He at first pressed straight forward to the usual fording-place in the creek, which ran between the rangers and the main army; but several Indians who had passed him before he rose from the grass threw them- selves in the way and completely cut him off from the rest. By the most powerful exertions he had thrown the whole body of pursuers behind him, with the exception of one chief who displayed a swiftness and per- severance equal to his own. In the circuit which Kennan was obliged to take the race continued for more than 400 yards. The distance between them was about eighteen feet, which Kennan could not increase nor his adversary diminish. Each for the time put his whole soul into the race.
"Kennan, as far as he was able, kept his eye upon the motions of his pursuer, lest he should throw the tomahawk, which he held aloft in a menacing attitude. * *
* As he slackened his pace for a moment the Indian was almost in reach of him when he recommenced the race ; but the idea of being without arms lent wings to his feet, and for the first time he saw himself gaining ground. He had watched the motions of his pursuer too intensely, however, to pay proper attention to the nature of the ground before him, and he suddenly found himself in front of a large tree which had been blown down, and upon which brush and other impediments lay to the height of eight or nine feet.
"The Indian (who heretofore had not uttered the slightest sound) now gave a short, quick yell, as if secure of his victim. Kennan had not a moment to deliberate. He must clear the impediment at a leap or perish. Putting his whole soul into the effort he bounded into the air with a power which astonished himself, and clearing limbs, brush and everything else, alighted in perfect safety upon the other side. A loud yell of astonishment burst from the band of pursuers, not one of whom had the hardihood to attempt the same feat. Kennan, as may be readily imagined, had no leisure to enjoy his triumph, but dashing into the bed of the creek (upon the banks of which his feat had been per- formed), where the high banks would shield him from the fire of an
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
enemy, he ran up the stream until a convenient place offered for cross- ing, and rejoined the rangers in the rear of the encampment, panting from the fatigue of exertions, which have seldom been surpassed. No breathing time was allowed him, however. The attack instantly com- menced, and, as we have already observed, was maintained for three hours with unabated fury."
The prediction of General Harmar before the army set out on the campaign that defeat would follow was founded upon his own experi- ence and particular knowledge. He saw the poor material that the bulk of the army was composed of. They were men collected from the streets and prisons of the cities, who were hurried out into the enemy's country. The officers commanding them were totally unacquainted with the business in which they were engaged, so that it was utterly impos- sible that they could win against a wily foe. Besides, not any one department was sufficiently prepared; both the quartermaster and the contractors were extremely deficient. It was a matter of astonishment to General Harmar that the commanding general St. Clair, who was acknowledged to be a perfectly competent military officer, should think of hazarding with such people and under such circumstances his reputa- tion and life, and the lives of so many others, knowing as he did the enemy with whom he was going to contest.
In this overwhelming defeat General St. Clair's army lost 593 pri- vates killed and missing; thirty-nine officers were killed, and the artil- lery and supplies, consisting of clothing, tents, several hundred horses, beef cattle, etc., together with muskets and other equipment, were thrown away and gathered up by the savages. It was a greater loss than that incurred by Washington in any battle of the Revolution, even if the numbers do seem insignificant when compared with the terrible sacri- fices during some of the prolonged battles of the Great war. The cas- ualties exceeded half of the forces actually engaged. Many women were along, which would look as though no serious opposition had been expected. The cause of the disaster is variously stated, but its complete- ness is the one overwhelming and undisputed fact that stands out clearly on the page of history. The war department had been negligent in send- ing supplies, and it had become necessary to detach one regiment, the real flower of the army, to bring up provisions and military stores. It was during its absence that the conflict occurred. Mistakes had also been made in the labeling of boxes. A box marked "flints" was found to contain gun-locks. A keg of powder, marked "for the infantry" was cannon powder so damaged that it could be scarcely ignited. The army was on practically half rations during the entire campaign. The undisciplined character of the soldiers and the inexperience of the offi- cers in border warfare undoubtedly had a great deal to do with it. The one glaring fault that might be charged to the commanding general was that he failed to keep scouting parties ahead in order to prevent the ambush against which he had been warned by his commander-in-chief.
It was toward the close of a winter's day in December that an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in front of the President's house, in Philadelphia. Handing the bridle to his servant, he knocked at the door of the mansion. Learning from the porter that the President was din- ing he said that he was on public business, having dispatches which he could deliver only to the commander-in-chief. A servant was sent into the dining-room to give the information to Tobias Lear, the President's private secretary, who left the table and went into the hall where the officer repeated what he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, as the Presi- dent's secretary, he would take charge of the dispatches and deliver them
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
at the proper time. The officer made answer that he had just arrived from the western army, and his orders were explicit to deliver them with all promptitude, and to the President in person; but that he would await his directions. Mr. Lear returned, and in a whisper imparted to the President what had passed. General Washington rose from the table and went to the officer. He was back in a short time, made a word of apology for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it.
General Washington's hours were early, and by 10 o'clock all the company had gone. Mrs. Washington left the room, soon afterwards, the President and his secretary remaining. The nation's chief now paced the room in hurried strides and without speaking for several minutes. Then he sat down on the sofa by the fire, telling his secretary to sit down. He rose again, and, as he walked backward and forward, Mr. Lear saw that a storm was gathering. In the agony of his emotion, he struck his clenched hands with fearful force against his forehead, and, in a paroxysm of anguish, exclaimed :
"It's all over! St. Clair's defeated-routed; the officers nearly all killed-the men by wholesale-that brave army cut to pieces-the rout complete ! too shocking to think of-and a surprise in the bargain !"
Washington's agitation was indeed intense. After uttering some more expressions of his disappointment, he became calmer. Then he said in a tone quite low :
"General St. Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily through the dispatches-saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars. I will hear him without prejudice, he shall have fully justice; yet, long, faith- ful, and meritorious services have their claims." And absolute justice was accorded him. One of the strongest records in St. Clair's favor is the fact that he retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of President Washington. The popular clamor was tremendous and Gen- eral St. Clair demanded a court of inquiry. This request was complied with, and the court exonerated him of all blame. He followed the example set by General Harmar and resigned his commission.
About a year later General Wilkinson visited this battlefield, with his command. They found scattered along the way the remains of many Americans, who had been pursued and killed by the savages, or who had perished of their wounds while endeavoring to escape. The field was thickly strewn with remains showing the horrible mutilations by the bloodthirsty savages. Limbs were separated from bodies and the flesh had been stripped from many bones, but it was impossible to tell whether this had been the work of wolves or the Indians. It was at this time that Fort Recovery was erected upon the site of the disaster. The defeat was indeed a staggering blow to the new government at the head of which was the "Father of his Country."
.
CHAPTER VI THE CAMPAIGN OF "MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE
The Maumee Valley is justly entitled to the appellation of "The Bloody Ground." It has possibly been the theater of a greater number of san- guinary battles and has caused the expenditure of more treasure than any equal extent of territory in the United States. It was in this region that the Iroquois won their most complete victories over the Miamis and other Ohio tribes which caused them to claim sovereignty over the Ohio country. The Indian conspiracy of Pontiac, with its bloody accompani- ments together with the decisive defeats of Generals Harmar and St. Clair have heretofore been described. Other decisive engagements will follow in the course of the history.
As a matter of fact the Revolutionary war had never ceased in this western country. There had not been a single year of absolute peace. The Indians continued their hostilities against the Americans, aided and abetted by the British authorities. Detroit had been retained. The
MASHING TON
HAMILTON
COUNTY
1792
LAKE
HURON
HAMILTON COUNTY
17 92.
LAKE ERIE
CANADA
Maumee basin had remained under their control through the influence exerted with the powerful Indian tribes residing along its banks and those of its affluents. It remained for "Mad Anthony" with his army of impetuous soldiers to break the power of the Indian confederacy at Fallen Timbers. The Revolutionary war which began in New England had its ending along the Maumee River. Hence it is that this epochal campaign deserves extended mention. By it peace was secured from savage raids which lasted for seventeen years, or until the outbreak of the conspiracy formed by Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet.
Me-au-me was the way the French explorers understood the Indians of the Maumee basin to pronounce the name of their tribe. Hence it was that the French recorded the name as Miami. On account of this tribe having a village by the upper waters of this river, the French referred to it as the River of the Miamis. As the same name had been bestowed upon a river emptying into the Ohio River, this northern Miami became familiarly known as the Miami of the Lake. The peculiar and rapid pronunciation of the three syllables as Me-au-me led the English settlers who located in this basin to pronounce it in two syllables, and so it was that the name finally fixed as Maumee. It is also occasionally referred to or written as Omi or Omee, which was evidently another misspelling of the French designation. No definite Indian name of the
57
OHIO
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
great river has descended to us, although the Shawnees sometimes referred to it as Ottawa Sepe, and the Wyandots referred to it as Was-o-hah-con-die.
That the civil authorities of the newly-organized Northwestern Ter- ritory had no intention of yielding this splendid region to the red men is shown by the establishment of Hamilton County in February, 1792, by Governor St. Clair. It included the greater part of Northwestern Ohio and its boundaries extended northward to Lake Huron. Its authority was only nominal, however, for the red men were in actual possession.
Closely following the rout of St. Clair, the Maumee Valley was the theater of many tragic occurrences. Previous to the defeat of General Harmar's army, the savages did not court peace; much less were they inclined to welcome the overtures made to them for peace after that disaster and the equally serious repulse of St. Clair. They rallied all the available warriors of the neighboring tribes-the Miamis under Little Turtle, the Delawares under Buckongehelas, the Shawnees under Blue Jacket, and bands of Wyandots, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Kickapoos, and other small and insignificant tribes. The great numbers of scalps and other rich booty secured filled their savage breasts with the greatest joy, and everything seemed ominous of final victory in driving the hated Americans from this bountiful country. As a local poet expressed it :
"Mustered strong the Kas-kas-kies, Wyandots and the Miamis, Also the Pottawatomies, The Delawares and Chippewas,
The Kickapoos and Ottawas,
The Shawnees and many strays, From almost every Indian nation, Had joined the fearless congregation, Who after St. Clair's dread defeat, Returned to this secure retreat."
As almost daily reports of savage outrages reached the national capital, General Washington and his advisors decided that another cam- paign must be undertaken against the Maumee region. Unusual care was taken in the selection of a commander and the choice finally fell upon Gen. Anthony Wayne, the hero of Stony Point. It was this dare- devil exploit which had fixed upon him the sobriquet of "Mad Anthony." He had a reputation for hard fighting, dogged courage and daring energy hard to equal. His head was always cool in an emergency. It was also decided that the men under his command should receive a training and discipline according to the difficulty and peculiarity of the service which they were called upon to undertake. The wisdom shown in the choice of commanders quickly became apparent.
General Wayne started to organize his legion in Pittsburg in the summer of 1792. Here he gathered together a motley crowd, mostly adventurers from the larger eastern towns and cities. He was compelled to take whatever human material he could secure. As Pittsburg was but a frontier post, infested with the usual evils attendant on such places, and as he did not have the power of creating a prohibition zone, he soon found that whisky and military discipline did not mix. Hence it was that he removed his troops down the river on flat boats about twenty miles, and here in the open country he established a camp which after- wards became known as Legionville. This was the first training camp ever undertaken by our Federal Government, and it became the precursor of the many training camps established by the United States during the .
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
Great war. Here the men were put through a thorough school of mili- tary training such as might be adapted to frontier fighting. On this spot also Wayne raised the first flag of the United States with its thirteen stars and stripes.
At Legionville they encamped until the following spring, when they floated down the Ohio River and landed at Hobson's Choice, a point not far from Cincinnati. This was so named "because it was the only ground which was in any degree calculated for the purpose." Here they remained several months before permission was granted to proceed far- ther north. During all these months Wayne drilled both officers and men with unceasing patience. It is interesting to read the log of this army in its march through the rich Miami Valley, now studded with thriving cities and prosperous villages. There were no roads, not even paths, and the only landmarks to indicate their journey were such places as "Five-mile Spring," "Seventeen-mile Tree," "Twenty-nine Mile Tree," etc. At length they reached Fort Jefferson.
In April of this year (1793) General .Wilkinson sent two messengers with a peace message to the Miamis of the Maumee, and two other mes- sengers were dispatched on a like mission to points farther north. Not one of these four, all of whom were men of note, returned to civiliza- tion, and all of them suffered violent deaths. Councils were held with the Indians in 1792 and 1793, at Sandusky, Miami of the Lake, and the Auglaize. Lengthy debates were indulged in, as well as elaborate cere- monies. British, Americans, and Indians all took part. The raidings of the savages upon the unprotected settlements continued unabated. The Shawnees were especially implacable toward the Americans. Finally William May started out from Fort Hamilton to treat with the Miamis of the Maumee. As was expected, he was captured by the Indians, but, instead of being killed, he was sold as a slave to the British. After serv- ing them for several months in the transportation service between Detroit and the lower Maumee rapids, where Alexander McKee maintained a large supply house for firearms and ammunition, he finally succeeded in escaping and made a report to General Wayne at Pittsburg.
From the sworn testimony of Mr. May, it was learned that there had gathered in the summer of 1792 by the Maumee River, at the mouth of the Auglaize, which was then the headquarters of neighboring tribes, more than 3,000 warriors of many nations, all of whom were fed with rations supplied by the British from Detroit. These had been seen by May himself, and he reported that others were arriving daily. This is said to have been the largest council of the aborigines ever held in America.
"Up and down the great Maumee, The Miami of the Lake,
O'er the prairie, through the forest,
Came the warriors of the nations, Came the Delawares and the Miamis,
Came the Ottawas and the Hurons,
Came the Senecas and Shawnees, Came the Iroquois and Chippewas, Came the savage Pottawatomies, All the warriors drawn together By the wampum for a council At the meeting of the waters, Of the Maumee and the Auglaize, With their weapons and their war-gear
Painted like the leaves of autumn, Painted like the sky of morning."
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
To the British who looked upon the scene with anxious eyes from their post at Detroit, it seemed as though the fruition of their hopes and schemes was about to come. The only friends of the American were Corn Planter and forty-eight other chiefs of the Six Nations. All of the Ohio tribes were present in numbers and there were representatives assembled from nations so distant that "it took them a whole season to come; and twenty-seven nations from beyond Canada." This is accord- ing to the reports of Corn Planter to General Wayne.
A like council was called for the following year-1793-at the foot of the Maumee Rapids. Runners had been sent to the most remote tribes summoning them to this council. President Washington decided
"MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE
to have representatives present and appointed Gen. Benjamin Lincoln of Massachusetts, Beverly Randolph of Virginia and Timothy Pickering of Pennsylvania as his representatives. They proceeded to Fort Niagara and from there embarked on a British sloop and were taken to Detroit, where they remained for several weeks. At this time the great council was in progress at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, but these commis- sioners were not allowed to attend it. In its place, a deputation of some twenty Indians, with the notorious Simon Girty as interpreter, proceeded to Detroit to see them. They presented a brief written communication from the council, of which the most important part was this: "If you seriously design to make a firm and lasting peace, you will immediately remove all your people from our side of the river" (the Ohio). This was undobutedly directly instigated by the British agents. The commis-
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