USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 1 > Part 10
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The site chosen for the fort, on the south bank of the Maumee, has a commanding view of the surrounding country and of the river above and below, and is a point of great natural strength for defensive warfare. It was named Fort Meigs, in honor of Return J. Meigs, whose zeal and pa- triotic efforts were in the highest degree com- mendable. The military situation there at the tune will be best given by an extract from a let- ter written by Gen. Harrison himself, from the Rapids, to John Armstrong, Secretary of War, dated February 11, 1813:
SIR: Having been joined by Gen. Leftrauch, with his brigade, and a regiment of the Pennsylvania quota, at Port- "_" river, on the Both ultimo., I marched from thence on the I .: instant, and reached this place on the morning of the 3L. with an effective force of about sixteen hundred men. 1 in . been since joined by a Kentucky regiment, and Gen.
Tupper's Ohio brigade, which has increased our numbers to two thousand non-commissioned officers and privates. Fac- cordingly ordered the whole of the troops of the left wing. excepting one company for each of the six forts in that quar- ter-the balance of the Pennsylvania brigade, and the Ohio brigade, under Gen. Tupper, and a detachment of regular troops and twelve-months' volunteers, under the command of Lieut .- Col. Campbell, to march to this place as soon as possible, believing 1 should be able to advance from hence by this day or to-morrow; and if it were not in my power to take heavy artillery for the siege of Maiden, I should be en- abled to scour the whole country -- disperse the Indians -- de- stroy all the shipping of the enemy and the greater part of their provisions, and leave a portion at, or near, Brownstown until a further supply of cannon and stores could be brought up. Such was my plan when I marched from Portage river on the Ist instant, and my situation was such as to authorize the strongest hopes of success. Although the aggregate amount of all the effective men, in all the corps above men- tioned, was only a number that will greatly surprise you to be furnished with so many nominal brigades, and the period of service of the Kentucky and Ohio troops was rapidly ter- minating-some of them expiring about the middle of the month, and all before the last of it-I had established with them the principle that I had a right to march them to any point before the day which would complete their fourteen- months' tour; and I know them too well to believe that they would abandon me in the country of the enemy. Provisions and ammunition were also on the road from the Sanduskys and McArthur's block-house, in considerable quantities, and measures taken to supply the means of transportation for the advance from this place. These fair prospects have been entirely destroyed by circumstances which no human being could control. The present is precisely the season, in com- mon years, when the most intense frosts prevail in this coun- try, giving the most perfect security and facility in passing the lakes, rivers and swamps with which it abounds. For the last twelve or fifteen days, however, it has been so warm that the roads have become entirely broken up, and for a considerable distance in our rear absolutely impassable for wagons or sleds, and can with great difficulty be traversed with single horses. A number of wagons and sleds. loaded with ammunition and other munitions of war. have been eight- een days coming from Upper Sandusky, and are yet twenty- five miles off. Eight days they were stopped by an uncom- mon freshet in the Tymocta, and have been two more in get- ting twenty-five miles. The weather has even affected the ice of the lake. On the evening before last, I went with a detachment in pursuit of a body of Indians, who were driv- ing off the cattle from a small French settlement about four- teen miles from this place. We pursued them for about twenty-six miles upon the ice, which was so weak in many places that a 6-pounder, which was taken with us, broke through, and was nearly lost, as did several of the officers who were mounted. I have waited with an anxiety which 1 cannot describe for a change in the weather: and until this day I never abandoned the hope of being able to execute the plan which I had formed. 1 can no longer indulge such hopes. Indeed, I fear I shall be censured for having cher- ished them too long, and that I have sacrificed the public in- terests in a vain pursuit. I have no hesitation, however, in asserting that I have it in my power to satisfy the govern- ment that their wishes would have been accomplished but for the unfortunate event of the River Raisin, and others over which I coukl have no control; and that, until a few days since, my calculations of succeeding were supported by the opinion of every general and field officer in the army.
It remains for me to inform you of the disposition I shall make of the troops for the remaining part of the winter. . \ battalion of the militia, lately called out from this State. with the company of regular troops now at Fort Winchester, will garrison the posts upon the waters of the Auglaize and St. Mary's. The small block-houses upon Hull's trace, will have a subaltern's command in each. A company whi be placed at Upper Sandusky, and another at Lower Sandusky. All the rest of the troops will be brought to this place. amounting to from fifteen to eighteen hundred men. Fam
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erecting here a pretty strong fort-capable of resisting field artillery at least. The troops will be placed in a fortified camp, covered on one flank by the fort. This position is the best that can be taken to cover the frontiers, and the small posts in the rear of it, and those above it on the Miami and its waters. The force placed here ought, however, to be strong enough to encounter any that the enemy may detach against the forts above. Twenty-five hundred would not be too many. But, anxious to reduce the expenses during the winter within as narrow bounds as possible, I have desired the governor of Kentucky not to call out, but to hold in read- iness to march, the fifteen hundred men lately required of hun. All the teams which have been hired for the public service will be immediately discharged, and those belonging to the public, which are principally oxen, disposed of in the settlements, where forage is cheaper, and every other ar- rangement made which can lessen the expenses during the winter. Attention will still, however, be paid to the deposit of supplies for the ensuing campaign. Little remains to complete these. Immense supplies of provisions have been accumulating upon the Auglaize river, and boats and pi- rogues prepared to bring them down as soon as the river opens. I shall have the honor to give you a more particular account of these in a few days.
It was Gen. Harrison's design to make this advance post not only a central depot of army supplies, but to concentrate force enough here to hold the enemy at bay until a fleet might be con- structed on the lakes to operate with the land forces for the recapture of Detroit and the in- vasion of Canada. They had scarcely got to work on the fort when the spies brought word. of a large encampment of Indians down the bay about twenty miles. Harrison at once took 600 men, and made a night march down the river on the ice. Lieut. Joseph H. Larwill, who had charge of the only cannon with the command, had the misfortune to break through the ice with both horses and gun, which, in the darkness and cold weather, were saved with much difficulty. The troops arrived at their destination only to find deserted camp fires, the Indians having left for Malden the day before. The command re- turned to the fort, which they reached about sun- set, making a march of over forty miles on the ice in less than twenty-four hours.
On the 26th of February, Capt. Langham, of the regulars, led a force of 250 men, who volun- teered for the occasion, on a desperate expedi- tion, the purpose of which was to be disclosed when they got a sufficient distance from the fort. It was nothing less than to march to the lake, by way of Lower Sandusky and Sandusky river, from the mouth of which they were to cross on the ice to Malden, where under cover of darkness they were, with combustibles, to destroy the Brit- ish fleet and public stores at the river bank. This done, they were to make a rapid retreat on twenty-four sleds sent along for the purpose, to the point of Maumee Bay, where Harrison was to meet them with a strong force, and cover their retreat. It was a hazardous enterprise, for be-
sides the British garrison, there was a large body of the Indians camped at Malden.
Capt. Langham's force, after leaving the lake shore, marched to Middle Bass island on the ice in a storm of wind and snow. Here the weather began to moderate, and the ice north of them seemed to be broken up. The weather was soft- ening all the time, and the guides believed it un- safe to venture across, lest the ice should break up and imprison them on the Canada shore, or on one of the islands. So, after a council of offi- cers and guides, the expedition was abandoned, and the corps returned by way of the Bay point, where they met Gen. Harrison with a body of troops, and all returned to Fort Meigs.
One of those singular illusions which arise from natural causes, but which, unexplained, sometimes create consternation among soldiers and sailors, as well as other people, is related as an incident of that expedition. When the sol- diers struck the lake at Sandusky, some of them soon came into camp, in great alarm, at what ap- peared to be a considerable body of men in the distance, advancing on the ice. More careful investigation proved it to be the sun's rays re- flecting on the ridges of ice thrown up in places.
These bold, enterprising dashes of the Amer- icans, while accomplishing no direct results, were a useful school to the raw volunteers, and put a restraint upon the marauding expeditions of the enemy. The work of constructing the fort went on steadily meantime. Early in March Gen. Harrison left for the interior of the State to arouse the au- thorities to the needs of his army, and to hurry forward reinforcements. He especially appealed to the governors of Ohio and Kentucky. Both States responded, Kentucky more than gener- ously. Under the lead of the old veteran Shelby, she voted three thousand men, though only fif- teen hundred were asked for by Harrison. This latter quota, organized into four light regiments under Cols. Dudley, Caldwell, Cox and Boswell, which formed a brigade under Gen. Green Clay. was on the march, early in April, fully equipped for war. Harrison already had information that Proctor was planning an expedition against the fort at Maumee Rapids, and, gathering up what few troops could be spared at the outposts and on detached duty, hurried to Defiance where, with about four hundred men, he embarked in boats and descended the Maumee to Fort Meigs. April 12th. All energies were now bent to put- ting the fortifications in a good state of defence.
On the morning of April 28, sure enough, one of Harrison's spies, Peter Navarre, brought word that Proctor, with an army of two thousand men.
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was sailing up Maumee Bay, convoyed by two gun-boats. Soon this mongrel crowd of British and savages landed at old Fort Miami, about a mile below and across the river from Fort Meigs, went into camp and began to plant batteries. Their heavier guns consisted of 24-pounders. In the night a battery of twelve guns also was planted across the river nearly opposite Fort Meigs. Rain fell incessantly, but for all this Proctor pushed on his preparations for the siege. Meantime, Harrison had not been idle; his men were busy throwing up a traverse, or earthen wall, twelve feet high, across the fort, for their better protection. This performance had been screened from the British by the tents of the Americans. Couriers had previously been dispatched to the posts in the rear to apprise them of what was going on. Harrison knew, however, that his little force was insufficient, and that his antagonist was daily augmenting his numbers by recruits arriving, especially of savages. He knew that Gen. Clay, with his Kentuckians, was on the march, and he was anxious to get word to him of the peril the fort was in. To dispatch a courier to him now was difficult, for the woods about the fort was swarming with Indians. At this critical time, however, a gal- lant young Virginian, connected with the com- missary departinent, Capt. William Oliver, vol- unteered to carry a message to Gen. Clay. Oliver, who was of slender form and but little over twenty-one years of age, was one of the most courageous men in the army, and few have equalled hini in successfully carrying out dare-devil enterprises in war. He had, the year before, saved the little garrison at Fort Wayne by breaking through a cordon of 600 savages, who, under the old chief, Winnemac, were be- sieging the post, and delivering a dispatch to the commandant. Speaking of this incident at Fort Meigs, Gen. John E. Hunt says:
Oliver asked the commander to let two men go with him, and the three left the Fort about two o'clock at night. While they were crossing a ravine near the fort, the Indians heard them and gave the alarm. Soon swarms of red skins were on the move. Oliver's party reined up their horses; their safety now depended on keeping perfectly still. The dumb animals. as if realizing the danger, stood as mute as stones until the savages had passed, when the horsemen dashed on, but soon after found out they were pursued by half a score of mounted warriors. The pursuit was kept up until Oli- ver was within one mile of the stockade at Portage, eighteen miles from the fort, where the weary riders rested, after which they resumed their journey, and reached Gen. Clay at Defiance. Just before Oliver arrived at Defiance, a gallant young Kentuckian, Capt. Leslie Combs, had volun- teered to carry a dispatch to Harrison telling him that help was coming.
Combs, in his make-up for dangerous enter-
prises, was a good counterpart of Capt. Oliver, and his adventure down the Maumee is best told in his own story delivered before the Wood County Pioneers at Bowling Green, July 4, 1877:
It was decided that some one should be sent at once to Gen. Harrison that we were on the road to relieve him. I was captain of the spies, and I thought it my duty to go. I asked for a good canoe, and took four of my men, two broth- ers named Walker, Paxton and Johnson and a young Shaw- nee, named Blackfish. After getting down the river about fifty miles all right, our progress over the rapids was more difficult. It was like catching a man by the heels and pull- ing him down stairs. Blackfish was in the stern with a steer- ing oar, while I was at the bow, looking out our course and watching for surprises, and the other four men took turns at the oars. When we got to Rush-de-boo Joe Paxton said. "Captain, let us land and take it afoot. I would rather be scalped by Indians than be drowned in this d-d river;" we went on, however, in the boat, but it was morning before we reached the last bend in the river and, as we turned the point and saw the old flag at the fort, we gave a great cheer. At first we saw only a solitary Indian, and our Shawnee thought it was one of his own tribe or, possibly, at least. a friendly Indian, but a moment later the woods swarmed with them, when he suddenly exclaimed, "Pottawatamie, by - They opened fire on us at once, and we fired back. Johnson was soon shot through the body and mortally wounded, and Paxton was wounded. At last when we saw all hope of our getting to the fort cut off, we landed on the British side and took to our heels, those who could, each for himself. When I got back to Gen. Clay, I was pretty badly used up; I started May 1, and got back May 3. Capt. Oliver was there, and ready to start out on the same errand from which I had just returned.
At Fort Meigs there was anxiety and suspense: many a searching glance swept up the river to catch some signal, or sound, of the expected aid. Not only were men needed, but the fort was short of ammunition, of which Gen. Clay was bringing a supply. On the first of May the Eng- lish batteries opened, in a dismal rainstorm. The cannonade was severe and almost continuous for five days, but not nearly so destructive and deadly as the English had hoped; though, at the start, it was trying to the nerves of the raw vol- unteers. On the second night, under cover of darkness, the British artillerists crossed to the south side of the river, with cannon and mortars. and planted two batteries on a knoll in the thicket less than three hundred steps east of the fort. Harrison's engineers had anticipated this danger by throwing up short cross traverses, which prevented the iron hail from doing the deadly work its projectors had planned. This move by Proctor indicated that he knew the weak condition of the fort, or else it showed poor generalship on his part, in exposing a detachment so that the main force could not protect them in case of assault from the garrison.
On the fourth day, Gen. Proctor sent Maj. Chambers with a pompous demand for the imme- diate surrender of the fort. "Tell your general." said Harrison, " that when he gets this fort, it
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will be under circumstances that will do him more honor than a thousand surrenders."
Gen. Harrison had learned that day, from two deserters, that Proctor was discussing the feasibility of a night assault on the fort, and that very night, about midnight, the sentries fired on some approaching men, and the camp was aroused. It was a happy surprise, and nobody hurt. The disturber was the gallant Oliver, accompanied by Maj. Trimble and fifteen men, in a boat, with the glad tidings that Gen. Clay, with his 1, 200 Kentuckians, was a few miles above, and desired orders. This was inspiring news to the anxious, . mud-bespattered garrison, and none realized the importance of the arrival more than Gen. Harri- son. Clay had heard the roar of the can- non at Defiance, and had been hurrying forward as fast as possible, with eighteen large scows, carrying supplies and ammunition. Harrison lost no time, but sent Capt. Hamilton and a guide, in a canoe, to meet Gen. Clay, with orders that he should land Soo men at a designated point on the north bank of the river, march down, capture the batteries opposite the fort, spike the guns and throw them down the river bank; after which they were directed to immediately return to their boats and cross to Fort Meigs. The re- mainder of the force was to land on the south bank and fight their way into the fort with such help as the garrison could give them. For this purpose Gen. Harrison planned two sorties: one on the upper side of the fort to cover the entrance of Clay's forces; the other on the British battery on the east, near the present Hayes dwelling. These operations were intended to be simulta- neous, or so nearly so as to prevent the British from concentrating their fire on any one point. It was a well-conceived plan for the destruction of the two batteries nearest the fort, and the safe . landing of the boats with the supplies and ammu- nition; but it is difficult with inexperienced troops to carry out, under fire, all the details necessary to complete success, and this case was not an exception.
We may, however, picture in our minds one of the most exciting and thrilling scenes of war, in the arena at the Maumee Rapids, that May morn- ing in 1813. The present beautiful panorama- with its time-worn scars, the smooth, grassy slopes, the ruins of the old garrison well, the sunken graves, the well-rounded ridges marking the old line of intrenchments, and the quiet, pretty cities on the opposite sides of the river- is a very striking contrast to the fearful scene of battle on that spring morning.
It was a death struggle disclosing some of the
ugliest features of the war, and the river and both shores were the scene of combat. The lines of blue and scarlet, scarcely discernible in the canopy of smoke and the rattle of musketry. told where the battle raged, and the startling shouts of the savages were heard, blended with the almost continuous and deafening roar of can- non. The Kentuckians were exasperated and desperate because of the butchery of their breth- ren the previous year, at the River Raisin. The Indians were crazed and blood-thirsty with the promise of Proctor, that the garrison should be turned over to them, including Harrison, who was especially hated by Tecumseh, for a carnival of blood and feast of vengeance.
Col. Dudley, who had command of the de- tachment on the north bank of the river, charged and captured the batteries as directed, spiked eleven of the guns, and dispersed the enemy. Here a fatal error was committed. Capt. Combs with his scouts pursued the fleeing Indians into the woods, and was soon drawn into a serious fight in which the savages, behind logs and trees, had all the advantage. Col. Dudley naturally felt it his duty to hurry to the relief of his scouts. It was in vain that Gen. Harrison signaled him from the fort, to return. When the victori- ous Kentuckians followed in hot pursuit, Harrison exclaimed in anguish, "They are lost! They are lost!" Proctor, seeing his opportunity, rallied his forces and placed himself between the Amer- icans and the river, and when Dudley's men turned from a fruitless pursuit of the Indians, the plain, where Maumee now stands, became the scene of a bloody contest, in which the Kentuck- ians were soon overwhelmed, and all killed or captured. The prisoners were forced to run the gauntlet, aud many were butchered after the bat- tle was over. Harrison, at Fort Meigs, was powerless to aid Dudley. He had two separate battles raging on the south side, and the safety of the boats and supplies depended on his success there. Even his artillery was useless to protect Dudley's men, so intermingled were the combat- ants. This unfortunate affair is known in the war records as the "Capture of Clay's detach- ment." The gallant Dudley was killed and scalped, and five of his captains and one lieutenant met a similar fate.
On the south side the Americans met with better success. Gen. Clay kept down the south shore, but not finding an officer there, as ar- ranged, to show him where to land, he attempte ! to cross over and join Dudley, but was prevented by the swift current, and finally made a landing on the south bank, and got into the fort, under
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pretty hot fire, with only fifty men. Col. Bos- well, with the remainder of the force, drifted down and attempted to join Dudley; but before he became involved in the fight he was ordered to return to the south side and go into the fort, which he did after a hard contest, in which he was aided by the garrison. The Kentuckians were zealous, and brave to fatal rashness, in their anxiety to visit punishment on the Indians and British. But the severe lesson in discipline here taught was not lost on them in later service.
In the meantime the garrison troops were busy in another direction. Col. John Miller, of the 19th Regulars, with about 400 men, of which two companies were volunteers, led an assault, under a galling fire from the Indians secreted in the woods, on the battery east of the fort, and captured it. This battery was protected by two companies of British grenadiers and infantry, and as many Canadian militia, and a swarın of In- dians. As a part of the British were in retreat toward the river, Maj. Todd, with a company of men, sallied out of the fort and captured about fifty prisoners.
There yet remained a very important part of the programme to be completed; that of getting the boat supplies into the fort. This was accomp- lished, according to a British account of the siege, afterward published, by a bit of strategy, or shrewd diplomacy, on the part of Gen. Harrison. From the English account. it seems that while hostilities had ceased temporarily, under a flag of truce, sent out by Gen. Harrison, to effect an exchange of some prisoners, the Americans were busy in the peaceful occupation of unloading the boats.
This day of exciting war, stirring episodes, deeds of heroism, bloodshed and savage cruelty, practically closed the siege. There was desultory cannonading until the 9th, when Proctor having been deserted by many of his savage allies, who had tired of the siege, embarked that day on his boats and went down the bay. Before they left they gave Fort Meigs a parting volley, which killed and wounded about thirty Americans. "However," says one of the garrison, " we were glad to see them off on any terms. The next morning we could leave the ditches, and walk about with something more of an air of freedom than we had done for the last fourteen days; and here I wish I could present to the reader a pic- ture of the condition we found ourselves in when the withdrawal of the enemy gave us time to look at each other's outward appearance. The scarcity of water had put the washing of hands and faces, much less our clothing, out of the
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