USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in three volumes ; an encyclopedia of the state : with notes of a tour over it in 1886 contrasting the Ohio of 1846 with 1886-90, Vol. III > Part 80
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
In effectuating the plan of attack, Captain J. C. Morrison's company were thrown upon the river, above the battery. While passing through a thicket of hazel, toward the river, in forming the line of battle, I saw Colonel Dudley for the last time. He was greatly excited ; he railed at me for not keeping my men better dressed. I replied, that he must perceive from the situation of the ground, and the obstacles that we had to encounter, that it was impossible. When we came within a small distance from the river, we halted. The enemy at this place had gotten in the rear of our line, formed parallel with the river, and were firing upon our troops. Captain J. C. Morrison's company did not long remain in this situation. Having nothing to do, and being withont orders, we determined to march our company out and join the combatants. We did so accordingly. In passing out, we fell on the left of the whole regiment, and were soon engaged in a severe conflict. The Indians endeavored to flank and surround us. We drove them between one and two miles, directly back from the river. They hid behind- trees and logs, and poured upon us, as we advanced, a most destructive fire. We were from time to time ordered to charge. The orders were passed along the lines, our field officers being on foot. . . Shortly after this, Captain J. C. Morrison was shot through the temples. The ball passing behind the eyes and cutting the optic nerve, deprived him of his sight. . . . . Having made the best arrangement for the safety of my much esteemed captain that circumstances allowed, I took charge of the company and continued the battle. We made several charges afterwards, and drove the enemy a considerable distance. . . ..
-
6
١٠٠
570
WOOD COUNTY.
At length orders were passed along the line directing us to fall back and keep up a retreating fire. As soon as this movement was made, the Indians were greatly encouraged, and advanced upon us with the most horrid yells. Once or twice the officers succeeded in producing a temporary halt and a fire on the Indians, but the soldiers of the different companies soon became mixed-confusion ensued- and a general rout took place.
The retreating army made its way towards the batteries, where I supposed wo should be able to form and repel the pursuing Indians. They were now so close in the rear as to frequently shoot down those who were before me. About this time I received a ball in my back which yet remains in my body. It struck me with a stunning, deadening force, and I fell on my hands and knees. I rose and threw my waistcoat open to see whether it had passed through me; finding it had not, I ran on, and had not proceeded more than a hundred or two yards be- fore I was made a prisoner. In emerging from the woods into an open piece of ground near the battery we had taken, and before I knew what had happened, a soldier seized my sword and said to me, "Sir, you are my prisoner !" I looked before me and saw, with astonishment, the ground covered with muskets. The soldier, observing my astonishment, said, " Your army has surrendered," and re- ceived my sword. He ordered me to go forward and join the prisoners. I did so. The first man I met whom I recognized was Daniel Smith, of our company. With eyes full of tears he exclaimed, "Good Lord, lieutenant, what does all this mean ?" I told him we were prisoners of war.
On our march to the garrison the Indians began to strip ns of our valuable clothing and other articles. One took my hat, another my hunting-shirt, and a third my waistcoat, so that I was soon left with nothing but my shirt and panta- loons. I saved my watch by concealing the chain, and it proved of great service to me afterwards. Having read, when a boy, Smith's narrative of his residence among the Indians, my idea of their character was that they treated those best who appeared the most fearless. Under this impression, as we marched down to the `old garrison, I looked at those whom we met with all the sternness of coun- tenance I could command. I soon caught the eye of a stout warrior painted red. He gazed at me with as much sternness as I did at him, until I came within striking distance, when he gave me a severe blow over the nose and cheek-bone with his wiping stick. I abandoned the notion acquired from Smith, and went on afterwards with as little display of hauteur and defiance as possible.
On our approach to the old garrison the Indians formed a line to the left of the road, there being a perpendicular bank to the right, on the margin of which the road passed. I perceived that the prisoners were running the gauntlet, and that the Indians were whipping, shooting and tomahawking the men as they ran by their line. When I reached the starting place I dashed off as fast as I was able, and ran near the muzzles of their guns, knowing that they would have to shoot me while I was immediately in front, or let me pass, for to have turned their guns up or down the lines to shoot me would have endangered themselves as there was a curve in their line. In this way I passed without injury, except some strokes over the shoulders with their gun-sticks. As I entered the ditch around the garrison the man before me was shot and fell, and I fell over him. The passage for a while was stopped by those who fell over the dead man and myself. How many lives were lost at this place I cannot tell-probably between. twenty and forty. The bravesCapt. Lewis was among the number.
When we got within the walls we were ordered to sit down. I lay in the lap of Mr. Gilpin, a soldier of Capt. Henry's company, from Woodford. A new scene commenced. An Indian, painted black, mounted the dilapidated wall, and shot one of the prisoners next to him. He reloaded and shot a second, the ball passing through him into the hip of another, who afterwards died, I was in- formed, at Cleveland, of the wound. The savage then laid down his gun and drew his tomahawk, with which he killed two others. When he drew his toma-
1
1
571
WOOD COUNTY.
hawk and jumped down among the men, they endeavored to escape from him by leaping over the heads of each other, and thereby to place others between them- selves and danger. Thus they were heaped upon one another, and as I did not rise they trampled upon me so that I could see nothing that was going on. The confusion and uproar of this moment cannot be adequately described. There was an excitement among the Indians, and a fierceness in their conversation, which betokened on the part of some a strong disposition to massacre the whole of us. The British officers and soldiers seemed to interpose to prevent the further effil- sion of blood. Their expression was, " Oh, nichee wah ! " meaning, " Oh ! brother, quit !" After the Indian who had occasioned this horrible scene had scalped and stripped his victims he left us, and a comparative calm ensued. The prisoners resumed their seats on the ground. While thus situated, a tall, stout Indian walked into the midst of us, drew a long butcher knife from his belt and com- menced whetting it. As he did so he looked around among the prisoners, ap- parently selecting one for the gratification of his vengeance. I viewed his conduct, and thought it probable that he was to give the signal for a general massacre ; but, after exciting our fears sufficiently for his satisfaction, he gave a contemptnons grunt and went out from among us.
Abont this time, but whether before or after I do not distinctly recollect, Col. Elliott and Teenmseh, the celebrated Indian chief, rode into the garrison. When Elliott came to where Thomas Moore, of Clarke county, stood, the latter addressed him, and inquired, " If it was compatible with the honor of a civilized nation, such as the British claimed to be, to suffer defenceless prisoners to be murdered by savages ?" Elliott desired to know who he was. Moore replied that he was nothing but a private in Capt. Morrison's company ; and the conversation ended. . Elliott was an old man ; his hair might have been termed, with more pro- priety, white than gray, and to my view he had more of the savage in his coun- tenance than Tecumseh. This celebrated chief was a noble, dignified personage. He wore an elegant broadsword, and was dressed in the Indian costume. His face was finely proportioned, his nose inclined to be aquiline, and his eye dis- played none of that savage and ferocious triumph common to the other Indians on that occasion. He seemed to regard us with unmoved composure, and I thought a beam of mercy shone in his countenance, tempering the spirit of vengeanee inherent in his race against the American people. I saw him only on horseback.
Shortly after the massacre in the old garrison I was the subject of a generous act. A soldier, with whom I had no acquaintance, feeling compassion for my situation, stripped off my clothes, muddy and bleeding, and offered me his hunt- ing-shirt, which the Indians had not taken from him. At first I declined receiv- ing it, but he pressed it upon me with an earnestness that indicated great magnanimity. I inquired his name and residenee. He said that his name was James Boston, that he lived in Clarke county, and belonged to Capt. Clarke's company. I have never since seen him, and regret that I should never be able to recall his features if I were to see him.
Upon the arrival of Elliott and Tecumseh, we were directed to stand up and"" form in lines, I think four deep, in order to be counted. After we were thus arranged a scene transpired scarcely less affeeting than that which I have before attempted faintly to describe. The Indians began to select the young men whoni " they intended to take with them to their towns. Numbers were carried off. I saw Corporal Smith, of our company, bidding farewell to his friends, and pointing to the Indian with whom he was to go. I never heard of his return. The young men, learning their danger, endeavored to avoid it by crowding into the centre, where they could not be so readily reached. I was told that a quizzical yonth, of diminutive size, near the outside, seeing what was going on, threw himself upon his hands and knees, and rushed through the legs of his comrades, exclaiming, " Root, little hog, or die !"
1
-----
,
572
WOOD COUNTY.
Such is the impulse of self-preservation, and such the levity with which men inured to danger will regard it. Owing to my wound I could not scuffle, and was thrust to the outside. An Indian came up to me and gave me a piece of meat. I took this for proof that he intended carrying me off with him. Think- ing it the best policy to act with confidence, I made a sign to him to give me his butcher knife-which he did. I divided the meat with those who stood near me, reserving a small piece for myself-more as a show of politeness to the savage than to gratify any appetite I had for it. After I had eaten it and returned the knife, he turned and left me. When it was near night we were taken in open . boats about nine miles down the river, to the British shipping. On the day after, we were visited by the Indians in their bark canoes in order to make a dis- play of their scalps. These they strung on a pole, perhaps two inches in diameter, and about eight feet high. The pole was set up perpendicularly in the bow of their canoes, and near the top the scalps were fastened. On some poles I saw four or five. Each scalp was drawn closely over a hoop about four inches in diameter, and the flesh sides, I thought, were painted red.
Thus their canoes were decorated with a flag-staff of a most appropriate character, bearing human scalps, the horrid ensigns of savage warfare. We remained six days on board the vessel-those of us, I mean, who were sick and wounded. The whole of us were discharged on parole. The officers signed an instrument in writing, pledging their honors not to serve against the king of Great Britain and his allies during the war, unless regularly exchanged. It was inquired whether the Indians were included in the term "allies." The only answer was, "that his majesty's allies were known." The wounded and sick were taken in a vessel commanded by Capt. Stewart, at the mouth, I think, of Vermillion river, and there put on shore. I afterwards saw Capt. Stewart a prisoner of war at Frankfort, Kentucky, together with a midshipman who played " Yankee Doodle " on a flute, by way of derision, when we were first taken on board his vessel. Such is the fortune of war. They were captured by Commodore Perry in the battle of lake Erie. I visited Capt. Stewart to requite his kindness to me when, like him, I was a prisoner.
THE BRITISH ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.
The following is a British account of the siege of Fort Meigs, from the London New Monthly Magazine for December, 1826, written by an officer in their army :
Far from being discouraged by the discomfiture of their armies under Generals Hull and Winchester, the Americans despatched a third and more formidable one under one of their most experienced commanders, Gen. Harrison, who, on reach- ing Fort Meigs, shortly subsequent to the affair at Frenchtown, directed his atten- tion to the erection of works, which in some measure rendered his position im- pregnable. Determined, if possible, to thwart the movements of the enemy, and give the finishing stroke to his movements in that quarter, Gen. Proctor (lately promoted) ordered an expedition to be in readiness to move for the Miami. Ac- cordingly towards the close of April a detachment of the 41st, some militia and 1,500 Indians, accompanied by a train of battering artillery, and attended by two gun-boats, proceeded up that river and established themselves on the left bank, at the distance of a mile, and selected the site for our batteries.
The season was mmusually wet, yet in defiance of every obstacle they were erected in the same night, in front of the American fortress, and the guns trans- ported along the road in which the axle-trees of the carriages were frequently buried in mud. Among other battering pieces were two twenty-four pounders, in the transportation of which 200 men, with several oxen, were employed from 9 o'clock at night until daylight in the morning. At length, every precaution having been made, a gun fired from one of the boats was the signal for their opening, and early on the morning of the 1st of May a heavy fire was commenced, and con
1
٠
الـ
573
WOOD COUNTY.
tinued for four days without intermission, during which period every one of the enemies' batteries were sileneed and dismantled. The fire of the twenty-four pound battery was principally directed against the powder magazine, which the besieged were busily occupied in covering and protecting from our hot shot. It was impossible to have artillery better served : every shot that was fired sank into the roof of the magazine, scattering the earth to a considerable distance and burying many of the workmen in its bed, from which we could distinctly see their survivors dragging forth the bodies of their slaughtered companions. Meanwhile the flank companies of the 41st, with a few Indians, had been despatched to the opposite shore, within a few hundred yards of the enemy's works, and had con- structed a battery, from which a galling eross-fire was sustained.
Dismayed at the success of our exertions, Gen. Harrison, before our arrival, already apprised of the approach of a reinforcement of 1,500 men, then descending the Miami, under Gen. Clay, contrived to despatch a courier on the evening of the 4th, with an order to that officer to land immediately and possess himself of our batteries on the left bank, while he (Gen. Harrison) sallied forth to carry those on the right. Accordingly, early on the morning of the 5th, Gen. Clay pushed forward the whole of his force, and meeting with no opposition at the batteries, which were. entirely unsupported, proceeded to spike the guns, in conformity with his instrue- tions ; but elated with his success, and disobeying the positive orders of his chief, which was to retire the instant the objeet was effected, continued to occupy the position. In the meantime, the flying artillerymen had given the alarm, and three companies of the 41st, several of militia, and a body of Indians, the latter under command of their celebrated chieftain, Tecumseh, were ordered to immedi- ately move and repossess themselves of the works. The rain, which had com- menced falling in the morning, continned to fall with violence, and the road, as has already been described, was knee-deep in mud ; yet the men advanced to the assault with the utmost alacrity and determination.
The enemy, on our approach, had sheltered themselves behind the batteries, affording them every facility of defence. Yet they were driven at the point of the bayonet from each in succession, until eventually not a man was left in the plain. Flying to the woods, the murderous fire of the Indians drove them back upon their pursuers, so that they had no possibility of escape. A vast number were killed, and independently of the prisoners taken by the Indians, 450, with their second in command, fell into our hands. Every man of the detachment, on this occasion, acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of his superiors. Among the most conspicnous for gallantry was Major Chambers, of the 41st, acting deputy quarter-general to the division. Supported by merely four or five followers, this meritorions officer advanced under a shower of bullets from the enemy, and ear- ried one of the batteries, sword in hand. A private of the same regiment being op- posed, in an isolated condition, to three Americans, contrived to disarm them and. render them his prisoners. On joining his company at the close of the affair, he excited mueh mirth among his comrades, in consequence of the singular manner in which he appeared, sweating beneath the weight of arms he had seeured as trophies of victory, and driving his captives before him with an indifference and carelessness which contrasted admirably with the occasion. Of the whole of the division under Gen. Clay, scarce 200 men effected their escape. Among the fugitives was that officer himself. The sortie made by Gen. Harrison, at the head 'of the principal part of the garrison, had a different result. The detachment supporting the battery already described were driven from their position, and two officers, Lieutenants M'Intyre and Hailes, and thirty men were made prisoners. Meanwhile it had been discovered that the guns on the left bank, owing to some error on the part of the enemy, had been spiked with the ramrods of the mus- kets, instead of the usual instruments : they were speedily rendered serviceable, and the fire from the batteries renewed. At this moment a white flag was ob- served waving on the ramparts of the fort, and the courage and perseverance of
1
1
.
1
574
IVOOD COUNTY.
the troops appeared abont to be crowned with the surrender of a fortress, the siege of which had cost them so much toil and privation. Such, however, was far from being the intention of Gen. Harrison. Availing himself of the cessation of hostilities which necessarily ensued, he caused the officers and men just captured to be sent across the river for the purpose of being exchanged ; but this was only a feint for the accomplishment of a more important object.
Drawing up his whole force, cavalry and infantry, on the plain beneath the fortress, he cansed such of the boats of General Clay's division as were laden with ammunition, in which the garrison stood in much need, to be dropped under the works, and the stores immediately disembarked. All this took place in the period occupied for the exchange of prisoners. The remaining boats, containing the private baggage and stores of the division, fell into the hands of the Indians still engaged in the pursuit of the fugitives, and the plunder they acquired was immense. General Harrison having secured his stores, and received the officers and men exchanged for his captives, withdrew into the garrison, and the bombard- ment was recommenced.
The victory obtained at the Miami was such as to reflect credit on every branch of the service ; but the satisfaction arising from the conviction was deeply em- bittered by an act of cruelty, which, as the writer of an impartial memoir, it be- comes my painful duty to record. In the heat of the action, a strong corps of the enemy, which had thrown down their arms and surrendered prisoners of war, were immediately despatched under an escort of 50 men, for the purpose of being embarked in the gun-boats, where it was presumed they would be safe from the attacks of the Indians. This measure, although dictated by the purest humanity, and apparently offering the most probable means of security, proved of fatal im- port to several of the prisoners.
On reaching our encampment, then entirely deserted by the troops, they were met by a band of cowardly and treacherous Indians, who had borne no share in the action, yet who now, guided by the savage instinct of their nature, approached the column, and selecting their vietims commenced the work of blood. In vain did the harassed and indignant escort endeavor to save them from the fury of their destroyers. The frenzy of these wretches knew no bounds, and an old and excellent soldier named Russell, of the 41st, was shot through the heart, while en- deavoring to wrest a victim from the grasp of his murderer. Forty of these un- happy men had already fallen beneath the steel of the infuriated party, when Te- cumsch, apprised of what was doing, rode up at full speed, and raising his toma- hawk, threatened to destroy the first man who refused to desist. Even on those lawless people, to whom the language of coercion had hitherto been unknown, the threats and tone of the exasperated chieftain produced an instantaneous effect, and they retired at once humiliated and confounded .*
The survivors of this melancholy catastrophe were immediately conveyed on
* Drake, in his life of Tecumseh, in quoting a letter from Wm. G. Ewing to John H. James, Esq., of Urbana, gives full particulars of Tecumseh's interference on this occasion, which we here copy.
" While this bloodthirsty carnage was raging, a thundering voice was heard in the rear, in the Indian tongue, when, turning round, he saw Tecumseh coming with all the rapidity his horse could carry him, until he drew near to where two Indians had an American, and were in the act of killing him. He sprang from his horse, caught one by the throat and the other by the breast, and threw them to the ground ; drawing his tomahawk and scalping knife, he ran in between the Americans and Indians, brandishing them with the fury of a madman, and daring any one of the hundreds that surrounded him to attempt to murder another American. They all appeared confounded, and immediately desisted. His mind appeared rent with passion, and he exclaimed almost with tears in his eyes, "Oh ! what will become of my Indians ?" He then demanded in an authoritative tone where Proctor was ; but casting his eye upon him at a small distance, sternly inquired why he had not put a stop to the inhuman massacre. "Sir," said Proctor, "your Indians cannot be commanded." "Be- gone," retorted Tecumseh, with the greatest disdain, "you are unfit to command ; go and put on petticoats."
三
,
575
WOOD COUNTY.
board the gun-boats, moored in the river, and every precaution having been taken to prevent a renewal of the scene, the escorting party proceeded to the interment of the victims, to whom the rites of sepulture were afforded, even before those of our own men who had fallen in the action. Col. Dudley, second in command of Gen. Clay's division, was among the number of the slain.
On the evening of the second day after this event I accompanied Maj. Muir, of the 41st, in a ramble throughout the encampment of the Indians, distant some
few hundred yards from our own. The spectacle there offered to our view was .. . at once of the most ludicrous and revolting nature. In various directions were lying the trunks and boxes taken in the boats of the American division, and the plunderers were busily occupied in displaying their riches, carefully examining each article, and attempting to define its use. Several were decked out in the uni- forms of the officers ; and although embarrassed in the last degree in their move- ments, and dragging with difficulty the heavy military boots with which their legs were for the first time covered, strutted forth much to the admiration of their less fortunate comrades. Some were habited in plain clothes ; others had their bodies elad with elean white shirts, contrasting in no ordinary manner with the swarthiness of their skins ; all wore some articles of decoration, and their tents were ornamented with saddles, bridles, rifles, daggers, swords and pistols, many of which were handsomely mounted and of curious workmanship. Such was the ridiculous part of the picture ; but mingled with these, and in various directions, were to be seen the sealps of the slain drying in the sun, stained on the fleshy side with vermilion dyes, and dangling in air, as they hung suspended from the poles to which they were attached, together with hoops of various sizes, on which were stretched portions of human skin, taken from various parts of the human body, principally the hand and foot, and yet covered with the nails of those parts ; while scattered along the ground were visible the members from which they had been separated, and serving as nutriment to the wolf-dogs by which the savages were accompanied.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.