USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Centennial history of Cincinnati and representative citizens, Vol. I, Pt. 1 > Part 41
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Dayton in his letter to Symmes, March 12, 1791, after informing him of the adjournment of Congress without any settlement of the mat- ter of his contract, quotes two members of Con- gress as saying "that the President of the United States was specially authorized by Congress, just before they adjourned, to set 011 foot another expedition against the hostile Indians with as little delay as pos- sible, but that it was not yet known whom he would appoint to command it. This was pleasing information to me, and will doubtless be as much, or more so, to you, who are more immediately exposed to the approaches of the savages, who were rather enraged and encour- aged than quieted and subdued by the event of the late expedition. It is not doubted that the one now planning will be an effectual and de-
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cisive one, and so successful in its operation and consequences as to establish the quiet and safety of your settlements and place you out of all danger of any serious interruption or disturb- ance in future."
THE EFFECT ON THE SETTLEMENTS.
The feeling at the settlements on the Ohio as a result of this defeat was shown by Judge Symmes' letters written from "Cincinnata," No- vember 4, 1790. After informing Captain Day- ton of the presence of Governor St. Clair and Judge Turner who with Symmes were discuss- ing the matter of legislation for the Territory, he says :
"Yesterday General Harmar returned with the army to this town. He has caused several Indian towns to be burned, but for this achieve- ment we have paid much too dear. One hun- dred and eighty brave men were left dead and wounded in the hands of the enemy. But I choose to say very little on this business. We were beaten in detail in two actions-in the first, we had not above two hundred men engaged; in the second, about four hundred of our men fought. The main army lay within eight or ten miles of both actions, and to me it is mysterious that' in neither was any attempt made to regain the ground and bury the dead and bring off the wounded. But, perhaps, the whole business may be set right to the public when official letters and accounts are published.
"We have lost about five hundred horses. The army was extremely well supplied. Upward of forty bullocks were brought back to this town, and twelve thousand weight of flour, though the horse of the army had been fed with flour on the retreat. Many persons are much mortified at the issue of the expedition, as the most san- guine expectations were formed of the success of the enterprise."
Judge Symmes' business instincts led him to comment : "It is impossible to describe the lands over which the army passed on their way to the Indian towns. I am told that they are in- viting to a charm. This being the case. I con- ceive the lands in the purchase will sell, even though Congress open a land office, unless they sell at a very low price and suffer their lands · to be gutted of all the most eligible spots and situations. I only ask one favor in this busi- ness, which is, that Congress will not charge me more for lands than they do purchasers, when
they open their land office, either in specie or certificates. This certainly will be but just, and what I hope they never will think of refusing. "Never had been fairer prospects of speedy sales and settlement of lands in the purchase, than were about the time the army marched. Great numbers were arranging their business to emigrate from Kentucky and the Pittsburgh country, but the strokes our army has got seem to fall like a blight upon the prospect, and for the present seem to appal every countenance. I confess that as to myself, I do not apprehend that we shall be.in a worse situation with regard to the Indians than before the repulse. What the Indians could do before, they did; and they have now about one hundred less of their war- riors to annoy us with, than they had before the two actions; besides, it will give them some employment this winter to build up new cabins, and repair by hunting the loss of their corn. *
"I hope, sir, you will do your endeavor to dissipate the fears which some intended emi- grants in Jersey may feel on account of our late losses. I pledge myself to them, that they may be perfectly safe here as to their wives and children. All men, to be sure, are, and must be more or less exposed when abroad. Last week, in attempting to go from North Bend to Capt. Ludlow's station, I got lost, and was two days in the woods alone, and at last found myself near Dunlap's station, on the big Miami. The weather was very dark and rainy all the while. I escaped the Indians, but the wolves had nearly devoured me in the night, as I could make no fire. I expect this incident will give fresh oc- casion to some to report that the Indians have got me, as some people went from this for Lex- ington while I was missing. * * * "
Symmes' policy which was to encourage the founding of new stations was of course retarded by the defeat of the army.
"But for the respulse of our army, I should have had several new stations advanced farther into the purchase by next spring, but I shall now be very happy if we are able to maintain the three advanced stations. The settlers at them are very much alarmed at their situation, though I do not think that the houses will be attacked at those stations, yet I am much con- cerned for the safety of the men while at their work, hunting, and traveling. Unless the Presi- dent follows his blow with the Indians, I be-
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lieve the hundred thousand pounds (if so much) expended in the late expedition may be set down as lost. I hope his excellency will be sensible of this, and have at them again in the spring. I expect that the panic running through this country will reach Jersey and deter many."
Two days later he announces the arrival of the report that at "Cincinnata," Major Ham- tramck (or Hamtramach), who had commanded the detachment up the Wabash River, had been successful. He had destroyed a number of the Indian towns with a loss of but three men who were taken while hunting their pack horses. The Indians flew before them in every quarter and refused to fight as they would not attack the main body and no detachments were made. This success coming so soon after the defeat of Harmar was the more encouraging. "Pretty good prospect of some quiet from the Indians. They certainly must feel sensibly for the loss of so many towns and so much corn in different parts of the country."
One difficulty which seems to have existed at all times in the history of warfare and which played so important a part fot only in Harmar's defeat but in many other defeats, is mentioned by Symmes with dread as tending to work in- jury in future attempts against the Indians: "A most bitter jealousy and reviling has taken place between the regular troops and the militia, and this is not confined to the privates alone. I fear a flame of abuse will ere long break out. As I was not on the expedition, I cannot judge be- tween them, but I much fear the effects thereof."
Lieutenant Denny usually so calm shows in his diary that Judge Symmes knew whereof he spoke. Not only does he attribute the defeat to the ungovernable disposition of the militia but complains of the difficulty of keeping them within bounds on the return trip. All idea of discipline seems to have disappeared and one of the Kentuckians who was a son of a Baptist preacher was punished for violating an order about the discharge of firearms. Denny says that his associates opposed the punishment and he had no doubt that a hue and cry would be raised against Harmar as soon as the militia ar- rived home. "If he is blamable it is only for being too indulgent to the militia."
The feeling of the regular is shown in his statement of the duties imposed upon him but he concludes with special satisfaction and "the
hope never to be employed in a similar situation with such materials." The following day Lieutenant Denny left headquarters for the seat of government. He passed through Lexington, the Crab Orchard and over the Wilderness road and after a most inclement ride he arrived at Philadelphia on December 12th, having been detained by "high water and very bad roads" so that he was 35 days on the way. He carried with him most complimentary letters from Gov- ernor St. Clair and General Harmar.
General Harmar was keenly sensitive to the criticisms showered upon him and demanded a court of inquiry which sat at Fort Washington in September, 1791. It was presided over by Maj .- Gen. Richard Butler and had for its other two members Lieutenant-Colonels Gibson and Darke; the two former of these officers lost their lives in the St. Clair defeat within six weeks and the third lost his only son at that time. The court of inquiry spent several days in ex- amining the testimony and finally made a report to the commander-in-chief highly honorable to General Harmar. After this, Harmar insisted upon resigning from the army which he did on January I, 1792.
The soldiers of the fort were called upon from time to time during this year, 1791, to give assistance to the various stations in the neighborhood. In January occurred the attack on the station at Colerain which at that time consisted of 14 inhabitants under the protection of Lieutenant Kingsbury with a detachment of 18 regulars. On the 8th, John S. Wallace, John Sloane, Abner Hunt and Mr. Cunningham, who were exploring the country to the west of the Great Miami, fell in with a large body of In- dians by whom Cunningham was killed and Hunt taken; the other two escaped.
On the morning of the 10th, the Indians three hundred in number, appeared before the station and demanded its surrender which was refused. An express was sent to Cincinnati for reinforce- ments and Captain Trueman with 30 regulars and 33 volunteers reached the station next morning about ten o'clock but before he arrived the Indians departed. Hunt was found a short distance from the station fastened to the ground with his legs and arms extended. He had been scalped, his body was manglet and blazing fire- brands placed in his bowels. During the attack the women had made bullets by melting their spoons and plates.
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, WILKINSON'S EXPEDITION.
The indecisive character of the campaigns against the Indians and the fear that the latter would combine for a general attack led to a de- termination to carry on another campaign against the savages on a more extensive plan than the last. Up to this time the army of the United States had consisted of but one regiment and an additional force of artillery. A local board of war was appointed by the general gov- ernment to arrange for bodies of volunteers who should make raids into the Indian country. One
of these under Gen. Charles Scott marched to the mouth of the Kentucky River in the month of June, 1791, and attacked the Indian villages on the upper Wabash. The second expedition numbering 525 men, under the command of Brig .- Gen. James Wilkinson, left Fort Wash- ington, August Ist.
Wilkinson first made for the villages on the Wabash and afterwards changed his course to the West and Detroit and a number of towns near the present site of Logansport. A number of Indians were killed and taken prisoners and the growing corn was cut down a second time that season. The laming of his horses necessi- tated an earlier return than had been desired. This expedition returned to Fort Washington on August 21st, after having marched 450 miles in 21 days.
In the instructions given by General St. Clair to General Wilkinson on July 31, 1791, before setting out on his expedition occurs the follow- ing passage:
"I beg you, sir, to oblige the people under your command to refrain from scalping the dead. It is an act which, though it does no in- jury to the dead carcass, debases the persons who commit it."
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CHAPTER XVII.
THE CONQUEST OF THE INDIANS.
ST. CLAIR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF-ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT-CARRYING THE NEWS TO WASHINGTON- BURYING THE DEAD-THE CONSTERNATION OF THE SETTLERS-THE DEATH OF TRUEMAN AND HARDIN -WAYNE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF-CAMP HOBSON'S CHOICE-FORT RECOVERY-WAYNE'S SCOUTS-FORT DEFIANCE-THE BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS-THE TREATY OF GREENVILLE- THE DEATH OF WAYNE.
ST. CLAIR COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
Congress had appointed Governor St. Clair commander of the new main expedition which was planned to take place against the Indian towns. He was made a major-general and .pre- pared to conduct the campaign himself. Gen. Richard Butler was selected as second in com- mand and the commander of the new levies. The militia were to be commanded by General Scott. These appointments as is apparent from the correspondence between Denny and Harmar were very unwelcome to the latter, who not only resented the criticisms made upon his campaign and his displacement by the Governor but par- ticularly the promotion of Butler over his head. This is probably one of the principal reasons for his resignation. Preparations began at once for the campaign. The Governor had stopped three clays at the fort in January of the previous year, in which time he erected the new county and changed the name of the city but was absent until midsummer. After that time he writes usually from the fort. His residence was on Front street about fifty yards west of Lawrence street down the trace running along the ravine which occupied the present site of Ludlow street.
There seems to have been constant complaint with regard to the delays in the preparation. The troops were not ready and supplies were not forthcoming. The recruiting went on in- differently and as late as September the prom-
ised army had not been supplied and the de- ficiency had to be made up from the militia. The Secretary of War writes to General Butler on August 11th, "that it is considered by the Pres- ident of the United States as an unhappy omen that all the troops of the campaign had not de- scended the Ohio." Again the same officer writ- ing to St. Clair on August 25th, says "that tlie President of the United States laments exceed- ingly the unfortunate detention of the troops on the upper part of the Ohio, for which no reasons sufficiently strong have been assigned. This de- tention will undoubtedly retard the commence- ment of the operations, and will require the highest exertion to accomplish the objects of the campaign. The President reiterates his con- fidence in your activity, and that every thing will be put in motion on the arrival of the rear of your troops under Major-General Butler."
On the same day he writes to Butler that he is commanded by the President "to inform you that he is by no means satisfied with the long detention of the troops on the upper part of tlie Ohio, which he considers as unnecessary and improper. And that it is his opinion, unless the highest exertions be made by all parts of the army to repair the loss of the season, that the expenses which have been made for the cani- paign will be altogether lost, and that the meas- ures from which so much has been expected will issue in disgrace."
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The Secretary reports to the President on September 16th St. Clair's complaints at the non-arrival of General Butler and the quarter- master and that he will not be able to move forward with the whole army until the first of September ; he expected to move, however, on the following day with the troops that he had, about six miles in advance and there wait for General Butler. On September 18th, St. Clair reports the arrival of Butler with his troops and that upon the arrival of the militia from Ken- tucky on the 25th he had moved from the camp on the Great Miami. The finding of the com- mittee of the House of Representatives ap- pointed to inquire into the campaigns explained Butler's delay by his being obliged to protect the frontiers and also by the want of supplies and boats. General Harmar in his testimony spoke of the complaints with regard to the ab- sence of the quartermaster and his arrange- ments which were bad. There was a lack of forage, tents were too small and the pack sad- dles and other articles of bad quality ; the cloth- ing of the levies was miserable indeed; the in- creased toil of the General was caused by the absence of the quartermaster. Major Ziegler testified very much to the same effect; the tents were infamous and as a result many hundred dozen of cartridges were destroyed and the troops not being kept dry were sick in great numbers; the clothing for the levies was in- famous and many arrived almost naked; the powder was extremely weak "and would not carry a ball but a small distance"; the axes were soft and would bend up like a dumpling. "General St. Clair was the first up in the morn- ing, going from shop to shop to inspect the preparations."
Major Ferguson who complained bitterly of the supplies was obliged to arrange as best he could. Fort Washington became an armory. The shells were fixed there as well as the wheels of the carriages and the carriages themselves. Ziegler's conclusion was that he had never seen such a degree of trouble thrown on the shoulders of any other general as on the shoulders of Gen- eral St. Clair and "in his opinion it was well for the quartermaster that he served in a republican government."
ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT.
By order of the commander-in-chief, the troops had marched to Ludlow's Station five miles from the fort where they remained until September 17th. On this date the army moved to the Big
Miami River about thirty-five miles from Fort Washington where they erected a fort named Fort Hamilton. On this expedition a road twenty feet wide and ninety miles long was to be made and two forts were constructed suitable for sustaining a siege. Fifteen days were con- sumed in building Fort Hamilton, after which time they proceeded on their march forty-four miles farther to Fort Jefferson in what is now Darke County. The number, after deducting the garrisons at Fort Washington and Fort Hamilton, as given by Governor St. Clair, was about two thousand exclusive of the militia. On the 23rd of October two men were taken in the act of deserting to the enemy and one for shoot- ing another soldier and threatening to kill an officer. All three were hanged upon the grand parade in the presence of the whole army. At this time the congressional finding states that the army consisted of seventeen hundred non- commissioned officers and privates fit for duty and that it was very short of supplies. This deduction of number is accounted for by the fact that the desertions were very heavy by the time Fort Jefferson had been reached. Three hun- dred militia had deserted and returned to their homes and it became necessary to send back soldiers to prevent the deserters from capturing the supplies that were on the road.
Throughout the whole time St. Clair himself was extremely ill, so much so that he was scarce- ly able to accompany the army. On the 30th of October his illness was so severe that Denny speaks of the general feeling that he could not proceed. The march was through wet prairie ground made almost impassable by the continuous heavy rains. On the morning of the 4th of November, the army consisted of about fourteen hnudred effective men. About a half hour before sunrise, "a general attack was commenced, and, in a few minutes thereafter, nearly the whole army was surrounded by the enemy ; the action continued about four hours, during which several charges were made by a part of the army, which caused the enemy to give way, but produced no good effect; the attack was unexpected, the troops having been just dismissed from the morning parade; it commenced upon the militia, who were in advance of the main army, and who fled through the main army without firing a gun ; this circumstance threw the troops into some disorder, from which, it appears, they never com- pletely recovered during the action; the fire of the army was constant, but not well directed. and it appears that a part of the troops behaved
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as well as could be expected, from their state of discipline and the manner and suddenness of the attack; the Commander-in-Chief appears to have been cool and deliberate in the whole action, and the officers in general active and intrepid; the whole order of march, as far as the com- mittee are capable of expressing an opinion, ap- pcars to have been judicious ; and the ground for action well chosen; the retreat was disorderly in the extreme; after it was commenced, no orders were obeyed, if any were given, the men having lost all regard to discipline or control; all the precaution seems to have been taken for the safety and comfort of the wounded which the circumstances of the case would admit of." (Report of a Special Committee of the House of Representatives on the Failure of the Expe- dition against the Indians. (St. Clair Papers, Vol. II, p. 286.)
The diary of Major Denny gives as fair an account of the events of the St. Clair campaign as can be desired. In his entry of September Ist, dated Fort Washington, he speaks of St. Clair's impatience at the delay or detention of some of the corps and remarks that the prepara- tions for the campaign are very backward. Gen- eral Harmar who was still in the fort with his family refused to go in the campaign and was determined to quit the service. On the 7th hc records General Harmar's demand for a court of inquiry and the appointment of such a court with Gen. Richard Butler as its president. After several days spent in cxamining the testimony the court made a report to the commander-in- chief highly honorable to General Harmar. The troops left Fort Washington on September 17th, and moved up to a point about twenty- three miles away on the Great Miami where a stockade fort with four bastions and barracks to accommodate one hundred men were built.
The entry in Denny's journal of the fatal day, November 4th, is as follows: "Camp on a creek twenty yards wide, supposed to be the Pickaway fork of the Omce, nincty-eight miles from Fort Washington. The frequent firing of the sen- tinels through the night had disturbed the camp, and excited some concern among the officers. The guards had reported the Indians to lie skulk- ing about in considerable numbers. About ten o'clock at night General Butler, who commanded the 'right wing, was desired to send out an in- telligent officer and party to make discoveries. Captain Slough, with two subalterns and thirty men, I saw parade at General Butler's tent for this purpose, and heard the General give Captain
Slough very particular verbal orders how to proceed. Myself and two or three officers staid with the General until late, when I returned to the commander-in-chief, whose tent was at some distance on the left, and who was unable to be up.
"The troops paraded this morning 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 savges. The poor militia, who were but three hundred yards in front had scarcely time to re- turn 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 quarter. The cnemy from the front filed off to the right and left, and com- pletely surrounded the camp, killed and cut off ncarly 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 exccution. The Indians scemed to brave everything, and when fairly fixed around us they made no noise other than their firc, which they kept up very con- stant and which seldom failed to tell, although scarcely hcard. Our left flank. probably from the nature of the ground, gave way first; the enemy got possession of that part of the encamp- ment, but it being pretty clear ground, they were too much exposed and were soon repulsed. Was at this time with the General engaged to- ward the right ; he was on foot and led the party himself that drove the enemy and regained our ground on the left. The battalions in the rear charged several times and forced the savages from their shelter, but they always turned with the battalions and fired upon them back; indeed they scemed not to fear anything we could do. They could skip out of reach of the bayonet and return, as they pleased. They were visible only when raised by a charge. The ground was liter- ally covered with the dead. The wounded were taken to the centre, where it was thought most safe, and wlicre a great many, who had quit their posts unhurt, had crowded together. The Gen- cral, with other officers, endeavored to rally these men, and twice they were taken out to the lines. It appeared as if the officers had heen singled out, a very great proportion fell, or were wounded and obliged to retire from the lines early in the action. General Butler was among the latter. as well as several other of the most experienced
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