USA > Ohio > Lucas County > Toledo > Early History of the Maumee Valley > Part 3
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General Proctor, finding his efforts were in vain, and fearing the loss of several tribes of Indians, who were dissatisfied, he again sailed down the river and towards Fort Stephenson. He was seri- ously annoyed by the Americans in the successful use of the artil- lery as he sailed down the bay and out upon the lake.
The Americans lost, in the siege of Fort Meigs, eighty-one were killed in the fort, and one hundred and eighty-nine wounded. Sixty- four were killed in the sorties, and one hundred and twenty-four wounded. Colonel Dudley's detachment is not included in this. estimate.
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THE HARRISON WELL Which supplied the garrison with water, Fort Meigs.
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Photo-C. R. Morgan
WHERE THE BRITISH BATTERIES WERE LOCATED OPPOSITE FORT MEIGS
It was the order of General Harrison that Colonel Dudley, with a detachment of regulars, should go to the rear of these batteries, spike the guns, and fight his way back to the fort. This was done, but so great was the victory Colonel Dudley followed the savages until he was caught in a trap.
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THE ELM TREE, MAUMEE
Made famous on account of Indian Sharp-shooters stationed in the tree tops who annoyed the soldiers at Fort Meigs, by firing at them when near the river bank. When discovered General Harrison ordered the use of the old musket, known as "The Blunderbuss"-it was so heavy it took two men to handle it. After several shots were fired no more Indians in the elm tree. They killed two.
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Photo-C. R. Morgan
THE OLD ELM TREE, AT MAUMEE, AND THE RESIDENCE OF THE LATE MORRISON R. WAITE, WHERE HE LIVED FROM 1839 TO 1849
Chief Justice Waite was born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29th, 1816. He died in Washing- ton, D. C., March 23rd, 1888. In 1874 he was nominated to the high office of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, confirmed by the Senate March 4th, same year, and immediately entered upon his duties.
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THE DEFENSE OF FORT STEPHENSON.
Fort Stephenson (now Fremont, Ohio) was the rendezvous of General Proctor's army and the Indians. The fort was in command of Colonel George Croghan, who was born near Louisville, Ken- tucky, November 15, 1791.
On the evening of July 31, 1813, General Proctor, with his fleet, arrived at the head of navigation of the Sandusky river, a short distance below the fort. The Indians, under Tecumseh, were stationed in the forest on the road leading to Fort Meigs. The combined forces of the British and Indians numbered about 3,700.
On the morning of August 1st, General Proctor demanded the surrender of Fort Stephenson, with threats of a general massacre in case of refusal. The young commander, worthy of the blood that bounded in his veins, answered: "If you take this fort you will find nobody left to surrender it. Rather than yield, the garrison will die to the last man." About four o'clock in the afternoon the enemy fired its first gun from one of the boats. The firing continued at intervals during the night. To induce the belief that Colonel Croghan had more than one gun, he changed the piece from one place to another. During the night the enemy had planted two cannon on a small hill about 250 yards from the fort. By this move- ment Colonel Croghan concluded that General Proctor intended storming the fort. He at once strengthened that point. Under cover the cannon was removed to the block house, in a position from which it could rake the ravine. The embrasure was masked, and the cannon loaded with a double charge of slugs and grape shot. As was anticipated, "a column of 350 British regulars, followed by Indians, attempted the assault."
With shouts of the men, the yells of the Indians, and the dis- charge of the musketry, the enemy, certain of victory, rushed up the narrow enclosure. Suddenly there was a pause. The masked port hole was seen to open, and the six-pounder, at a distance of forty feet, poured such destruction among them that but few who entered the ditch proper were fortunate enough to escape. The Indians quickly retreated to the forest.
The loss of the enemy, killed and wounded, was 156. The loss of the Americans was one killed and seven wounded. The assault lasted but half an hour. The white flag of the mortally wounded leader was seen through the smoke, and his cries for mercy heard above the groans of the wounded-"asking for that mercy which, but a short time before, he had directed his men to deny." The In- dians disappeared through the forest, and General Proctor made a hasty retreat down the river.
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"OLD BETSY CROGHAN"
Cannon used by Colonel George Croghan against the British in the defense of Fort Stephenson, August 1st to 2nd, 1813.
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The cannon used by Colonel Croghan at this famous battle now stands at the fort overlooking a beautiful city. It is familiarly known as "Old Betsy Croghan."
Colonel Croghan died at New Orleans, Louisiana, January 8th, 1849.
It is often asked who was, and what became of General Proc- tor ? Henry A. Proctor was born in Wales, 1765. He was in com- mand of a regiment in Canada in 1812. He defeated the Americans, under General James Winchester, at Frenchtown, in 1813. Was repulsed by General Harrison at Fort Meigs; by Colonel Croghan at Fort Stephenson, and by General Harrison at the battle of the Thames, October 5th, 1813. This battle forever broke up the con- federacy of the English and Indians against the United States. Eight hundred out of 875 British regulars surrendered to General Harrison. The battle was so quickly decided that few were killed on either side. General Proctor made his escape with a squadron of dragoons. He died at Liverpool, England, in 1859.
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PETER NAVARRE
History of his life, as a Scout to General Harrison. Written by Himself.
PETER NAVARRE The famous scout, under General Harrison.
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PETER NAVARRE. By M. P. Murphy.
Some day when the Truth has reclaimed from the tomb This tale, which a century has shrouded in gloom, The tongue of a master shall tell it, and then Men will listen, and clamor to hear it again. And when it is told in the ages to come, Men's eyes will be moist and men's lips will be dumb. And the patriot pilgrim will come from afar, To kneel at the Grave of Peter Navarre.
The frontier blazed and the borderland bled With the tomahawk's stroke, and the midnight was red With the fierce flames which followed the red raider's brand, For the fiends of Tecumseh were abroad in the land It was then, in the moment of danger and dread, The Avenger strode forth with a price on his head. And the legends still tell, how all through that war, Death rode in the saddle with Peter Navarre.
Defrauded by Fate and neglected by Fame, No stone tells the story, no slab bears the name Of the hero whose life was an epic sublime. But a people will know in the fullness of time, When the love of a Nation and voice of a bard Shall give to a hero a hero's reward. Then stain shall not tarnish or blemish shall mar The glory which halos the name of Navarre.
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PETER NAVARRE. Written by Himself. Published for the First Time.
On the 18th day of January, 1813, my brothers, Robert and James, and I took part in an engagement fought on the Raisin river; we were commanded by Colonel Lewis, who defeated the enemy. In this engagement we brothers took an Indian prisoner. On the 22nd day of January the English attacked our forces on the same place and defeated us, being vastly our superior in numbers. They took General Winchester, Colonel Lewis and the whole army prisoners ; two or three hundred that tried to save themselves in the woods were surrounded and unmercifully butchered by the Indians. When we saw that General Winchester and Colonel Lewis were sur- rendering, I escaped in the company of my brothers, James and Robert, being dressed as Indians. This, however, the Indians soon discovered, and they sent a volley after us and also many followed us, but we were too far in advance, and not relishing the idea of being scalped and tomahawked, and being, moreover, good runners, we succeeded in making our escape unhurt.
We arrived at the lake shore near the mouth of the Raisin river and crossed on the ice in the direction of Cedar Point, whence, after having rested a few moments, we made for Presq'ile, where our parents lived, by a circuitous route through the woods. Next day we set out to bring tidings to General Harrison of the defeat of General Winchester and the catastrophe of the massacre. We met him at Portage river, near the foot of the rapids, and came back with him and his force to the place where Fort Meigs since stood, and which fort was then immediately begun. It was there that we entered the army as volunteers and there I received my gun by order of General Harrison.
The first engagement during which I used this gun was be- tween the American General Dudley and the English General Proc- tor. In this battle Dudley was defeated and made prisoner. When the Indians, at the instigation of Proctor, were about to kill him, Tecumseh, the great Indian chief, prevented the massacre of this General and two hundred and fifty or three hundred Americans who had been taken prisoners with him. The remainder of the force, five to six hundred, had been killed in battle. Only two escaped and they were Lesley Comb and I. My brothers, James and Robert, did not take part in this battle. We took refuge in Fort Meigs. The cause of this defeat was this: Gereral Dudley had received orders from General Harrison to take or spike the English cannon on the other side of the river, opposite the fort,
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and to retreat immediately into the fort, but he disobeyed orders, and trying to attack the Indians in the woods, he fell into an am- bush and met with a most disastrous defeat.
In the month of June of the same year (1813), the English attacked Fort Stephenson at Sandusky. General Harrison was then at Seneca Town, now Fremont. Colonel Croghan, a young man, commanded the fort and defeated the English, who left four hundred dead, and retreated to Fort Malden, whence they came. When General Harrison left Fort Meigs he placed General Grinck- ley in command of said fort. I accompanied General Harrison in all of his subsequent movements.
I carried this gun when bringing dispatches to Commodore Perry, relative to the naval engagement on Lake Erie, which soon followed. This was during the first days of September. After Perry's victory we marched to Detroit and arrived there on the 29th day of September in the same year (1813).
I took part in the battle of the Thames, which was fought in the month of October. This battle, which lasted only three or four hours, was fierce in the extreme. Here, as is well known, Tecumseh was killed. Colonel Johnson, under whose command I fought, was wounded and had his horse killed under him, while he was down. Tecumseh sprang from behind a tree to tomahawk and scalp him. I saw an Indian pouncing upon my Colonel and fired with this gun upon him. He fell and the war cry of Tecumseh was heard no more. As soon as the Indians knew that Tecumseh was killed they fled precipitately and were gone in an instant. On the next morning early General Harrison commanded Nedard LeCadie and me to help him look for the remains of Tecumseh. He expressed the opinion that Tecumseh must be killed as the Indians had fled so suddenly. We repaired to the place where Colonel Johnson had been wounded, and found the Indian that had been killed by me. The Indian, dead, had been mutilated and disfigured, especially in the face, by our soldiers after the battle, and it would have been almost impossible to recognize Tecumseh had it not been for his powerful frame and imposing stature; the convincing proof of the identity of the man, however, was a large scar caused by a very severe burn on his right thigh. General Harrison, who knew Tecumseh intimately, thought of this and, having examined the corpse, we at once saw that it was he. General Harrison ordered us to give the remains of Tecumseh a decent burial, and, having fulfilled his orders, he told us, "You have buried a brave man."
After the battle of the Thames, we returned to Detroit and I was there relieved from service and returned to Pdesq'ile on the Maumee river. After having obtained my honorable discharge I
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YING
TECUMSEH
Tecumseh was a member of the Turtle tribe of Indians, of the Shawnee Nation. Born on the banks of the Great Miami River in the year 1768. He had great influence over all Indians, and was engaged in nearly every battle participated in by Indians. "His face was finely pro- portioned ; his nose inclined to the aquiline, and his eye displayed none of that savage and ferocious triumph common to the Indians. When a young man his favorite pastime was canoeing on the Miami. He was killed by Peter Navarre in the battle of The Thames, October 5th, 1813."
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offered to leave my gun, but General Harrison bade me keep it, saying: "Navarre, the gun which you used during the service is yours." I took it along and have used it until a few years ago, when my eyesight becoming too weak, I could not make use of it any longer.
With this identical gun I have killed panthers, bears, wolves, wild cats and innumerable quantity of deer, coons, foxes, wild tur- keys, geese, swans and ducks, prairie chickens and quails, and all other kinds of small game. Although I had never occasion to use this gun to defend myself against Indians, after the war al- luded to above, it has, however, often saved my life, for without it I should have starved. It was originally supplied with a flint lock, but as it wanted repairs, I took it to Detroit in the year 1837 and there it was changed into a percussion lock.
This gun has been in my possession during an uninterrupted period of fifty-six years, and was new when I received it at Fort Meigs. The powderhorn and ammunition bag with this gun are not those I made use of in the war spoken of above, having been worn through by reason of the friction against each other, and having thus become completely useless, they were substituted by new ones, but the leathern strap attached thereto is the original strap which I wore attached to my powderhorn and ammunition bag from the time I received my gun.
Being desirous that this gun and accompanying articles be pre- served as relics of the war of 1812, I have presented them this day to Henry Hall, Esq., of Toledo, who also owns my full length por- trait, painted from life, with great truth to nature, by Wm. H. Machen, of the same place, in the year 1867. Hoping thereby to contribute something towards the further elucidation of the early and interesting history of this country and thus to render in my old age this my last service to my countrymen.
I was born on the 22nd day of January, 1787, in the city of De- troit. It was there that my grandfather, Robert Navarre, settled, coming from France. My father was also born in Detroit; my mother, whose maiden name was Marie Louise Panat V. Campean, was born in Vincennes, Ind. I came to the Maumee river with my father, mother and the whole family, comprising six boys, Francois, Robert, Jacob or James, Peter, Antoine, Alexis, and three girls, Nan, Louise, Geneveva Archange. There was nothing remarkable in the event of our family until the time that General Hull betrayed his army in so cowardly a manner at Detroit. My brothers and I had gone to Monroe to take up arms against the English, but after Hull's surrender we were all paroled by some English officers coming from Detroit for that purpose; this was, if I recollect right, in
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August, 1812; we stayed in Monroe until the next year, when my narrative properly commences.
The powderhorn, pouch and strap mentioned above I give to my friend, F. S. Nichols, whose acquaintance I made in the month of January, 1836, and we have been best friends ever since.
The strap is the identical strap I used in the war of 1812, and which was given to me by General Harrison: I wish you to keep it in remembrance of your old and true friend, Peter Navarre.
THE INDIANS OF THE MAUMEE VALLEY.
The problem of the origin of the North American Indian has never been satisfactorily solved by those who have made a line of study of this interesting subject.
From scattered researches, traditional legends, it is believed the Indians came originally from Asia, via Behring strait.
The names of all the nations and tribes who occupied the terri- tory centering in the Maumee Valley would form an extensive catalogue. It is sufficient to mention the names of tribes and num- ber of people, gathered from the most authentic authority, the government, taken in 1796. The names of the tribes appearing as they came to the Maumee Valley :
Wyandottes 350
Kickapoos 600
Shawnees .
380
Choctaws 700
Pottawatomies
750
Foxes 300
Senecas 650
Sacs 450
Ottawas 950
Hurons 780
Delawares
390
Mohicans 275
Miamis
400
Catawbas 280
Sioux
560
Tonawandas 700
Cherokees 2700
Chipewas 5000
Eries
850
Mingoes 380
Iroquois
980
Tuscarawas 400
Not all these tribes engaged in the wars in the valley, many stopping for months en route to the west of the Mississippi river. Major B. Stickney, long an agent of the government, writes: "Prior to the nineteenth century, all the Indians in the Northwest Territory were at war with the Indians of the east, and it was not until the great chiefs, Tecumseh, Little Turtle and Turkey Foot, be-
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came such powerful leaders, did the wars cease between these now greatly reduced tribes."
So many different tribes were in this valley that when councils were held interpreters were necessary between the tribes, as it was between the Americans and the Indians.
Among the most influential chiefs of the country none equalled the great Tecumseh. He was one of three at a birth. One was a "Prophet," and lived the greater part of his life in the Miami Valley, having his home in the little valley of Shawnee Creek, in Montgomery county. The third never appeared in history.
The "Prophet" gained his reputation from the following: He had obtained the knowledge that there would be an eclipse of the sun in 1805. He told the chiefs and the warriors, ,'There will be darkness over the sun this year." It came true, and he became the "Prophet" for all the tribes in the valley. His dreams and prophe- cies ceased after his terrible defeat in the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7th, 1811.
Tecumseh means "Shooting Star," and the chief received this appellation from the following incident: He was sent to represent his, as well as a number of other tribes, at an Indian council of the Creeks in Illinois, to solicit their aid in fighting the Indians of the east. He was the greatest of Indian orators and had a magnetism which held the savages. While the Creeks were impressed with his eloquence, they refused to follow his advice.
"Very well, my brave men, I will go straight to the lakes; my people will stamp their feet upon the earth and the stars will fall." A month later the Creeks saw a comet, with shooting stars, in the northern skies. The Creeks appeared before Tecumseh, calling him "Shooting Star," and furnished warriors to fight the Indian Nations of the east, but to their sorrow, as they returned to their village a band.
The late D. W. H. Howard, who knew Tecumseh, said: "His eloquence was concise and impressive. His friendship was stead- fast ; his promises were sacredly kept; his anger was dreadful. His revenge was, like all savages, though often cherished in secret, horrible and effective as it was certain. The first battle in which he was engaged was on the site of Dayton, between a party of Ken- tuckians, under Colonel Benjamin Loga, and a band of Shawnees. He was then but seventeen years of age. He was one of the leading chiefs in the various battles along the frontier of the Northwest Territory. When the Indian Nations were reduced to tribes, and later to marauding bands, Tecumseh enlisted as a British subject. He was killed at the Battle of the Thames, in Canada, October 5, 1813. At the time of his death he was 44 years of age, and held the commission of Brigadier General in the British army."
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WHG
INDIAN VILLAGE. (From an old drawing-1793)
"The village of a tribe of Indians at the meeting of the waters of the Au Glaize and Miami-of- the-North (Maumee) Rivers."
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Next to Tecumseh was Little Turtle, the chief of the Miamis. At a council of the Indians, nine tribes being represented, before the battle of Fallen Timbers, he said to the warriors: "Listen to me. The Americans are led by a man who never sleeps. Day and night are alike to him. During his advances into our territory our spies report he was ever watchful, always on the lookout. He knew more about us than we knew about his army. Go slow. He eats our corn in perfect calmness. He sleeps with open eyes. He is a fighter. Go slow." His warriors did not heed his advice and the battle of Fallen Timbers forever discouraged Indians of the valley to fight without the aid of the British. Little Turtle, with Tecum- seh, visited President Washington, at Philadelphia. He died at Fort Wayne, and for many years the Indians visited his grave.
The chief whose home was always in the Maumee Valley was Turkey Foot, of the Ottawas, and claimed all the land in the valley by right of possession. He was killed at the famous battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20th, 1794, and was buried where he fell, "beside the big rock."
D. W. H. Howard wrote this for the author: "The Indians, with all their foibles and vices, there was something fascinating about them. I became so attached to some of the chiefs I knew in my boyhood that I cried when they were sent away from the Mau- mee. I have known many whites, who were stolen from their parents when very young, that when young men nothing could in- duce them to leave the Indian village. There was a woman among the Shawnees who, after I had secured the consent of several noted chiefs to release her, she absolutely refused. I also knew a woman, who was 105 years old, who was stolen from a frontiersman at Day- tion, when a mere child, but nothing could induce her to leave the Indians. With all the great number of Indians who made their homes in the valley, after so many years of war, between their own kind and the whites, there remained but a few hundred to take west. I had charge of the last lot, and on June 24th, 1838, as an agent for the government, I took 800 Indians, representing seven tribes, to the Neosho Valley. A few old chiefs remained."
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Photo-C. R. Morgan
MONUMENT AT FORT MEIGS
"Erected by the State of Ohio, A. D. 1908, in recognition of the services of the gallant men who defended their country on this spot." Showing part of the Grand Traverse-the rampart- as it was in 1813 and is today, 1913. The walls of earth had a base of 20 feet, 12 feet in heighth, and Grand Traverse was about 900 feet in length. "The traverses were made on each side with good artillery great and small." The monument cost $14,000. It is 82 feet high and is located on the most prominent elevation of the fort and from its base can be seen one of the most inspiring and enchanting natural scenes in America. It is not only a monument in honor of the hundreds of buried soldiers but to the memory of the great events of the past.
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T
FORT MEIGS AND MONUMENT IN THE WINTER
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Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, born South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23rd, 1785. Won The Battle of Lake Erie, September 10th, 1813. Died at Port Said, Island of Trinidad, August 23rd, 1819.
"He announced his victory in a note to General Harrison, stationed at Fort Meigs, in these words-'WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND THEY ARE OURS.' "-The Century Diction- ary and Cyclopedia.
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THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE.
During the occupation of Fort Meigs by General Harrison, the government learned that the British were preparing to invade the southern waters of Lake Erie, with a view of assisting General Proctor in his attacks upon the various American forts and stations, and that the British had a number of gunboats, comprising a fleet of half a dozen vessels.
COMMODORE OLIVER H. PERRY was placed in command of an army of veteran soldiers, experienced both on land and water, and ordered to make his stand on the southern shores of the lake, where he could be in constant communication with General Harri- son. After the raising of the siege of Fort Meigs he was ordered to take his force to Fort Erie and superintend the construction of a number of vessels for his use. When he arrived two brigs, the Lawrence and the Niagara, were about completed. Two gunboats and a schooner were well under way. When the vessels were com- pleted the American fleet consisted of the Lawrence, Commodore Perry's flag ship; the brig Niagara; the Caledonia; the Ariel; the Scorpion ; the Somers; the Porcupine; the Tigress, and the Tripp, nine (9) vessels in all, with fifty-four guns, and four hundred and ninety officers and men.
Commodore Perry was born at South Kingston, Rhode Island, on August 23rd, 1785. He received a common school education, was a great reader, and from his youth loved the sea. At the age of 14 he became a midshipman in the United States navy and served in a number of battles. He received his commission as Lieutenant in 1812. He was 28 years of age when placed in command of the Lake Erie fleet. "He was a man of lofty stature, with a broad forehead, regular features, large black eyes, a smiling face, and his whole air was expressive of health, freshness, bearing the testi- mony of temperance and moderation." Peter Navarre, who had carried many messages between General Harrison and Commodore Perry, told the writer: "He was a man loved by everybody. He had great personal magnetism, and he could not only draw men to him, but hold them. His energy and ability to meet surprises were wonderful. The movements of the British fleet were known to General Harrison through scouts sent to Malden (now Amherst- burg, Canada), and were sent to Commodore Perry, so that Fort Meigs was an important station in this naval battle."
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