USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > Early History of the Maumee Valley > Part 2
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General Wayne sent a note to Major Cambell stating, in effect, that the British government had no right to occupy the territory, and demanded an immediate evacuation of the fort.
To this no reply was received.
Recognizing the strength of the position that he had occupied, General Wayne concluded to withdraw his army, perfectly satisfied with the results of his campaign, having accomplished all the gov- ernment required of him.
On August 27, 1794, he started with his army for Fort Defiance, where he remained for several weeks.
On September 5th he returned to Fort Washington.
During the winter following, General Wayne and his staff spent most of their time in holding councils with Indian chiefs. "Smok- ing the pipe of peace," and the result of these council gatherings was concluded at Fort Greenville, where, on August 3rd, 1795, a treaty was signed which declared permanent peace between the Indians and the United States. The agreement was signed by twelve hostile tribes.
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PRESQUE ISLE HILL AND TURKEY FOOT ROCK. The scene of the battle of Fallen Timbers. The chief Turkey Foot was killed while standing upon this rock commanding his savages. He was buried near the rock.
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IN.
THE RETURN OF TURKEY FOOT ROCK Reception and jollification of the citizens of Maumee and the valley.
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PYHG
THE TOMB OF GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE
General Wayne returned to Erie, Pennsylvania, early in the winter of 1796. He remained but a short time until he was prostrated with what proved a fatal illness. He died December 15th, 1796. At his request, he was buried under the old flag-staff, at the block house, Fort Erie, on the bluff commanding the entrance to the harbor.
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The result of the Battle of Fallen Timbers restored peace and tranquility on the northwest frontier.
Trading posts were established, a more friendly relationship existed between the whites and the Indians.
Marietta was the first settlement in the Northwest Territory, and for many years was the center of "general dealings with the Indians of the interior."
INCIDENTS WHICH LED TO THE WAR OF 1812 AND 1813.
Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1803.
It was a new country, rich in land, timber, and became one of the attractive "Western States."
England saw this rapid advancement of the Americans and "threw a barrier across the northwest, and, through the Indians, warned the Americans they would be driven from the country."
The Indian depredations continued until a requisition was made by President James Madison upon Governor Return Jonathan Meigs, of Ohio, for 1,200 militia.
On June 26th, 1812, the United States declared war against England. Immediately the soldiers of the Ohio militia camped in the Miami Valley at Fort Hamilton and Fort Greenville were ordered to report at Piqua, where General William Henry Harrison was stationed with regulars.
On September 17th, 1812, General Harrison was made com- mander-in-chief of the Northwest Territory. He was familiar with the country, having served as lieutenant under General Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. General Harrison was born at Berk- ley, Virginia, February 9th, 1773, and at the time of his appoint- ment was thirty-nine years old. His army consisted of regular troops, rangers, militia from Ohio, volunteers from Kentucky and detached militia and volunteers from Pennsylvania and Virginia, making an army of two thousand able-bodied men. Stationed at Fort Wayne and Fort Defiance, under General James Winchester, there were twenty-seven hundred men.
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GENERAL WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON Ninth President of the United States. Born at Berkley Virginia, February 9, 1773. Died at Washington, D. C., April 4, 1841.
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When General Harrison arrived at Fort Defiance he found the old fort, built by General Wayne, in ruins, and it was necessary to build a new one. This was done, and completed October 15, 1812, and named Fort Winchester. After leaving sufficient men, pro- visions, ammunition and extra equipment at the forts along the frontier border, General Harrison arrived at the Maumee rapids with twenty-three hundred men.
"The story of General Harrison's march to the Maumee rapids from Fort Greenville is the saddest that the history of the Maumee Valley has recorded, the sufferings of the men were probably the greatest of their kind that American soldiers have ever endured. Cold, rain, snow, mud, almost impenetrable forests, swamps, scarcity of food, sickness; but withal the Military vigilance was maintained as fully as practicable against being surprised by the savages. Re- connoitering parties kept the immediate country under surveillance and spies were often dispatched to more distant points. It took eleven days to march forty miles." General Harrison and his staff of able officers had well in hand the activity of the Indians and were familiar with the movements of the British, throughout the entire Northwest. While General Harrison was not always with the main army in its advancement toward the mouth of the Maumee river, he was well informed of all movements, and held frequent councils with his officers.
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THE BATTLE AND MASSACRE OF THE RIVER RAISIN.
General Winchester had command of the left wing of the army and advanced without orders from General Harrison as far as Fort Deposit. His excuse for this rash act was that the people along the west shore of Lake Erie, and especially on the Raisin river, in Michigan, reported that the British soldiers and the Indians, at Frenchtown, were committing such horrible depredations among the scattered settlers, they implored protection. On January 10, 1813, General Winchester arrived near Presque Isle Hill, on the south side of General Wayne's battlefield of Fallen Timbers. Here a camp was fortified, and a store house for provisions and baggage was built, and on January 19th, with about 900 men, arrived at Frenchtown (now Monroe, Michigan), after a hard march across the ice, which was not solid, on the afternoon of January 20th. General Winchester divided his little army into two divisions, the main under his command, the second under Colonel Lewis, who had the south side of the river. Colonel Lewis defeated the savages in several skirmishes, and Colonels Allen and Wells, with a force of one hundred and fifty, were ordered to join Colonel Lewis. They again engaged the enemy near Frenchtown, and defeated thern, driving them beyond the Raisin river.
General Winchester, on learning of the success of his Colonels, marched, with the remainder of his army, about five hundred men, to the settlement, where, in the home of a friend, he, rejoicing at the success of his men, lived in luxury, which he needed after many weeks in the midst of forest wilds, privation and sufferings, but did not take the necessary precaution to guard against sur- prises. Soothed by the kind hospitality of his host and the false assurances received from a Frenchman in sympathy with the British, "there was no truth in the report that the British and the savages were camped near the settlement with large forces," he settled down to some enjoyment. This was a magic spell of se- curity and peace, like the momentary calm preceding a disastrous storm. No spies were sent out, no special preparations made for the safety of the troops.
At daybreak on the morning of January 22, 1813, his army of about seven hundred were aroused by the discharge of grape- shot from the British battery, erected during the night and within three hundred feet on the north side of the camp, and the yells of the Indians, who had surrounded them on all sides.
The result was inevitable. About three hundred were killed in the fierce combat and later massacreed. Five hundred and forty-
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SOLDIERS MONUMENT MONROE MICH.
MONUMENT-RIVER RAISIN-MONROE
The lettering on the Monument:
"Site of battles, Jan. 18-22, Gen. Winchester in command, and River Raisin Massacre, Jan. 23. 1813."
"Erected 1904 by the Civic Improvement Society of the Women of Monroe."
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seven were taken prisoners. Others were missing. General Win- chester was taken prisoner.
General Henry A. Proctor, who was in command of the British, informed General Winchester that Colonel Lewis, with one hundred and fifty men, were stationed behind pickets, and, "If you desire to save the lives of these men, and the 447 already prisoners, he must command Colonel Lewis to surrender."
General Winchester sent a flag of truce across the river, or- dering the men under command of Colonel Lewis to surrender. They surrendered on condition of being protected from any in- dignities by the Indians. General Proctor agreed to these terms.
How these promises were ignored, and how fully the savages reveled in butchery, is not within the province of this history to describe. Officers and soldiers were tomahawked in cold blood. But thirty-seven men escaped.
The British officers claimed: "We had no control over the In- dians when they began to massacre."
One of the men who escaped told General Harrison: "The scene of massacre was the most hideous sight ever witnessed by man."
General Winchester was sent to Quebec, where he was confined until the spring of 1814, when he was exchanged. He returned to his home in Tennessee, where he died July 26, 1826.
When General Harrison learned of the disastrous defeat of General Winchester he sent relief, but, meeting the few escaped soldiers, they returned to Fort Meigs.
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GATES PHOTO
MEMORIAL PARK.
MONROE MICH.
MONUMENT COMMEMORATING RAISIN RIVER MASSACRE
In 1904 the State of Michigan erected a monument at Memorial Place in the City of Monroe to commemorate the massacre. The lettering on the monument is as follows : "Michigan's Tribute to Kentucky."
"This Monument is Dedicated to the Memory of the Heroes who Lost their Lives in Our Country's Defense in the Battle and Massacre of the River Raisin, Jan. 22 and 23, 1813." "Erected by the State of Michigan, 1904."
Eight Hundred Americans, under Colonels Lewis, Allen and Wells fought desperately against 3,000 British and Indian Allies under General Proctor. Forced to surrender, though promised British protection, the prisoners left unguarded were attacked and killed by the Indians.
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GOVERNOR RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS
United States Senator, from Ohio, 1808-'10. Governor of Ohio, 1810-'14. United States Post- master 1814-'23. Born at Middletown, Conn., December 1740. Died at the Cherokee Agency, January 28, 1823.
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THE SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.
No series of events in the entire history of the United States are more interesting or form a stronger link in the successful struggles for national independence than those connected, directly and indirectly, with the history of Fort Meigs.
It is surprising that so little prominence is given, in the many histories of the United States, to the campaigns, battles, that gave to America the Northwest Territory, which comprised the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Fort Meigs was the headquarters of this territory. It was the gateway through which England expected to pass.
General William Henry Harrison was commander-in-chief of the Army of the Northwest Territory, which not only included the land forces, but he held daily councils with the commanders of the new navy, and kept in touch with every movement both land and water, "along the shores of Lake Erie." The fort was named after Governor Meigs. The peculiarity of his name, Return Jonathan Meigs, often causes one to ask, why "Return?" Gov- ernor Meigs had been a soldier, a Senator and Postmaster General of the United States. He was named after his father, Jonathan Meigs, with the addition of "Return," on account of the following incident: Jonathan Meigs had a sweetheart, a very pretty Quaker girl, who was destined to become the grandmother of the governor. To young Jonathan's plea for grace and favor at her hand, her lips said no, while her heart said yes. The unhappy youth, with shattered hopes and a broken heart, turned from her to face the cold, unsympathizing world. With bowed head he slowly crossed the meadow field, and as he was about to climb the old rail fence, he turned his head to take a farewell look. Their eyes met, she beckoned him to come back with her hand. His face brightened as she called to him in her prim Quaker parlance, "RETURN JONA- THAN." The sweet voice sounding across the meadow was to him the pardon of a queen. His heart was light; he hastened to her side and-the love quarrel ended. That he might always hear the words spoken by that same sweet voice, they named their first- born "RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS."
On February 2nd, 1813, General Harrison began the construc- tion of Fort Meigs, and completed it on February 16, 1813. It was composed of heavy timber, earthworks; two traverses, one had the base of twenty feet, twelve feet in height, about nine hundred feet in length; the other, the smaller of the two, about five hun- dred feet in length and ten feet in height. They were raised as a protection against the batteries of the British on both sides of
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Photo-C. R. Morgan
GENERAL GREEN CLAY'S BATTLE GROUND
General Clay with 490 men, while Colonel Dudley went across the river, was surprised by the great number of Indians in trying to stop his entrance into Fort Meigs. A battle ensued, and not until General Harrison sent Major Alexander, with 200 Pennsylvania volunteers, to assist the Kentuckians, did Clay succeed in arriving at the fort. The Indians were within 150 yards of the fort, behind trees. "For 30 minutes it was a hand to hand fight." Today, after the elapse of 100 years, after every spring freshet, the inhabitants find more bullets, cannon balls and Indian relics on this ground than upon any other in the valley.
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FORT MEIGS
Facing the river and Maumee City. Showing the line of fortification where were stationed the guns and mortar batteries, the block houses and lookouts.
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the river. The fort covered about nine acres of land. A deep ravine ran through a portion of the fort, in which were caves made for the retreat of the men when they saw the flash of the enemies' big guns on the opposite side of the river. These rooms were shot and bomb proof, except when a large shell fell into the tra- verse. The block houses, batteries, magazine and connecting lines of defense were such as to inspire confidence of the little army. Two or three wells were instantly dug. General Harrison, anticipating that the British would make their appearance on the opposite side of the river, as soon as the ice broke up, put all the force at command in making the fort "A grand bulwark of defense." Early in April General Harrison was advised that the British, under General Proctor, and Tecumseh commanding the Indians, were in great force at and around Fort Miami. According to British reports, the "British army consisted of 1,000 regulars and Cana- dians, accompanied by a train of artillery, attended by two gun- boats, and Tecumseh's Indians, numbering about 2,100. One of the battery guns was a twenty-four pounder." General Harrison, to defend the fort, could not muster more than 1,000 men. On April 27th the British established their gun batteries, directly op- posite Fort Meigs, in places to suit conditions. These guns were moved from one place to another where the gunners could throw bombs into the fort. In the rear and on both sides of the river Tecumseh had his Indians. In all, the British and allies numbered about 3,000.
On May 1st over three hundred shots were fired from the shore batteries and one hundred from a gunboat in tow of a small steam vessel, some distance down the river. On May 2nd and 3rd a continuous firing resulted in killing six Americans and wound- ing twenty-eight. The Americans feebly returned the firing, using the balls gathered from the ground, coming from the enemies' guns. At one time four wagon loads of balls were picked up.
On the night of May 3rd General Harrison received word that a British officer, Major Chambers, had landed at the foot of the hill, bearing a flag of truce. Major Hukill, General Harrison's aide, was sent to meet him. The officer told his errand, that he came to demand the surrender of the garrison. Major Hukill replied that such a command was useless. The officer insisted on seeing General Harrison. He was taken, blind-folded, to the general. The following is the conversation :
Major Chambers-"General Proctor has directed me to de- mand the surrender of the post. He wished to spare the effusion of blood."
General Harrison-"The demand, under present circumstances, is a most extraordinary one. As General Proctor did not send me a
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REAR VIEW OF FORT MEIGS
Showing the portion of the Grand Traverse where the soldiers retired in artificial caves, in com- mand of one of the militia men who stood upon the embankment and forewarned them of every shot. "He was so skillful he could predict the destination of every ball. |One day there came a shot that seemed to defy his calculations. He stood silent, motionless, per- plexed. In the same instant he was swept into eternity."
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summons to surrender on his first arrival, I had supposed that he believed me determined to do my duty. His present message indi- cates an opinion of me that I am at a loss to account for."
Major Chambers-"General Proctor could never think of saying anything that would wound your feelings. The character of Gen- eral Harrison, as an officer, is too well known. General Proctor's force is very respectable, and there is with him a large body of Indians, larger than was ever assembled before."
General Harrison-"I believe I have a very correct idea of General Proctor's force; it is not such as to create the least appre- hension for the result, whatever shape he may be pleased to give it hereafter. Assure the general however, that this spot will never be surrendered to him on any terms. Should it fall into his hands, it will be in a manner calculated to do him more honor, and give him higher claims on the gratitude of his government than any capitulation could possibly do."
Major Chambers shook hands with the general and took his departure. Immediately after his return there followed a continu- ous heavy firing.
At twelve o'clock, on the night of May 4th, Captain William Oliver brought the message to General Harrison that General Clay, with about 1,200 Kentuckians, was approaching down the river in flatboats, and was within two hours of the fort. Under orders of General Harrison, 800 of the men, under command of Colonel Dud- ley, landed on the British side of the river, near the battlefield of Fallen Timbers, and by a rapid and secret march, were to come down upon the enemy's batteries, spike their cannon, and then retreat under cover of Fort Meigs. The other division of 400 men came down the river upon the side occupied by the Americans, and when within a short distance from the fort they discovered Indians in great numbers hidden in the forest. After hard fighting they suc- ceeded in reaching the fort with but little loss. The conflict upon the eastern side of the river attracted the attention of the British, and heavy cannonading followed from their guns stationel on the banks oposite Fort Meigs. The firing was so heavy and continuous that the Americans did not hear their artillery or notice the cannon balls plowing the hillsides. While the foe was engaged in this act Colonel Dudley's Kentuckians rushed down upon the rear, took their batteries, spiked their guns, gaining a most glorious victory.
"If Colonel Dudley had retreated to the rear," said General Harrison, "as I had commanded him to, happy would it have been for him and his men ; but unfortunately the Indians raised their war- whoop in the forest, and that was more than any Kentuckian ever could stand, so our victors rushed madly to meet their mortal foe." Colonel Dudley pursued the enemy far into the forest, to such a.
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FORT MEIGS The natural ravine where the soldiers were quartered during the siege in 1813.
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distance that General Proctor was enabled to throw from his camp, at Fort Miami, a sufficient force to intercept, kill and capture all but 150 of those brave and most unfortunate men. The surrender was made to the British, and not to the Indians. The prisoners, 685 men, were taken down to Fort Miami, and there was enacted a tragedy that will never be forgotten by those who claim kinship, either in blood or patriotism, to that devoted band. Approaching the fort, and in the fort, the men were stripped, scourged, shot and tomahawked by the Indians, under the eyes of the British officers, whose weak protest against this appalling cruelty bears conviction that they were worse men at heart than the savages themselves, whom they encouraged. It comes from English authority that the flesh of some of the prisoners was boiled and eaten by the Indians, and in the vicinity of the British officers' headquarters. It was Tecumseh who put an end to this carnage. He upbraided Proctor for not preventing the massacre, and told him he was unfit to com- mand.
So sincere was Tecumseh's protest against the manner of killing the prisoners that he held a council of chiefs and informed Proctor that the Indians would desert him. In fact, so great became their dissatisfaction, and the heavy firing from Fort Meigs continuing, that, on May 5th, the Indians retired to the forest, "away from Proctor's camp." There was no firing from the British guns from May 6th to the 10th. On the 11th Proctor raised the siege and returned down the river, and sailed out upon the lake. He retreated to Amherstburg.
After Proctor's departure a detachment from General Harri- son's army was sent to gather up the dead, and the majority of the bodies found through the woods were brought to Fort Meigs and buried. One of the men, who entered Fort Miami and saw the result of the massacre, wrote the following: "My face turned white as snow when I looked down over the fort and saw more than a hundred of my fellow comrades all lying in one mass of blood, so that it was impossible to recognize my most intimate companion."
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"REPORT OF THE DUDLEY'S DEFEAT." By a Prisoner.
"I, Leslie Combs, of Kentucky, was a soldier engaged in the battle known as The Dudley's Defeat. We had 800 men, and came out with 150. I was a prisoner taken by the Indians. Tecumseh had fallen upon our rear, and we were compelled to surrender. We were marched down to old Fort Miami in squads. The Indians, fully armed, had formed themselves into two lines in front of the gateway, between which all of us were bound to pass. Many were killed or wounded in running the gauntlet. The small British guard around us were utterly unable to afford protection. They called loudly for General Proctor and Colonel Elliott to come to our relief. At this critical moment Tecumseh came rushing in and denounced the murderers of prisoners as cowards. I shall never forget the gallant bearing and sonorous voice of that remarkable man, while addressing his warriors in our behalf. He was brave, human and generous. At Fort Miami he saved the lives of all of us who had survived the running of the gauntlet."
General Proctor, on the morning of the 9th, raised the siege and departed.
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FORT MEIGS-(Harrison Point)
Where General Harrison stood watching the movements of Colonel Dudley's attack upon the opposite side of the river.
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FORT MEIGS The Northerly section of the Grand Traverse.
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THE BURIAL GROUND OF COL. DUDLEY AND HIS MEN "On May 6, 1813, after the massacre of Col. Dudley and his men, we brought to Fort Meigs the remains of Col. Dudley and about one hundred and thirty Kentuckians and buried them there."
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SECOND SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.
Believing the British would again visit the valley, General Harrison enlarged the fort by building a double stockade and "piling logs over the face of the ravine entrance; repairing the block houses, magazine, and making the entrenchments deeper and longer."
On the 20th of July General Proctor returned with a larger force. The Indians, under Tecumseh, had been gathering from all parts of the country, and when General Proctor returned he was assured of their earnest support; and the second siege began by the Indians. Tecumseh planned to draw the garrison from the fort by a ruse. On July 26th the British camped beyond a ravine below the fort, and the Indians were stationed in the forest to the east. "About an hour before dark they began a sham battle among themselves." As the fort proved too strong to be taken by assault, they expected to deceive the Americans into the belief a battle was going on between the Indians and a reinforcement for the fort. "So true was the battle, and so perfect the firing, mingled with the yells of the Indians, that many of the officers believed the enemy were really attacking reinforcements for the garrison, and every man was ordered to arms."
General Clay satisfied the men that no new troops were sent to the fort. A heavy shower of rain ended this sham battle.
Many shots were fired from the British guns, but without. effect. For several days the enemy surrounded the fort, the In- dians keeping well out of the range of the guns.
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