USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 65
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The three regiments of volunteers were ordered to recruit at Dayton and they remained there until May 25, 1812, when General Hull reached there and took command. It had previously been decided to make Urbana, then a town of some two or three hundred inhabitants, the rendezvous of the army which was to march to Detroit and thence into Canada. Supplies of all kinds, food, clothing and munitions of war, were forwarded to Urbana and there repacked and made ready to make the long overland trip of two hundred miles to Detroit.
ARMY REACHES URBANA.
On June 1, 1812, General Hull marched out of Dayton with the three regiments of volunteers, not yet filled, for Urbana. They arrived at Urbana a few days later, with orders to remain there until the arrival of the Fourth Regiment of United States Regulars. This regiment was under the com- mand of Lieut .- Col. James Miller and had been present at the battle of Tip- pecanoe, on November 7, 1811, where they had performed gallantly. When the regiment arrived at Urbana it was given a royal reception by the towns- people. An account of the spectacular reception given Colonel Miller's regiment is given by the late Judge William Patrick, who arrived in the vil- lage on August 9, 1811, and heard numerous first-hand accounts of the affair. His version of this reception follows (written in 1870) :
As a testimonial of the high appreciation of their valor on that occasion, the citi- zens of the town united with the troops in making the necessary preparations to receive the gallant Col. Miller and his veteran regiment, with both civic and military demon- strations, in honor of their chivalrous deeds. Two posts, one each side of the road, about twenty feet high, were planted at what would now be known as the foot of the Baldwin hill, a little southwest of the present residence of Mr. Marshall, on Seloto street (now the Frank Chance residence), and an arch made of boards was secured at the top ends of the posts with this Inscription in large capital letters: "TIPPECANOE GLORY," on its western facade; with the national flag floating from a staff fastened to ench post that supported it.
These preliminaries being all completed and the time of arrival being at hand, General Hull with his staff accompanied by a body guard, headed by martial music, moved from the camp to the public square and halted to await the approach of the veterans who were advancing under flags and banners with appropriate music at quick- steps ou South Main street. At this juncture Colonel Miller called a balt, with the addi-
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tional orders to deploy into line and present arms, as a salute to General Hull, under the star spangled banner which had been by the citizens unfurled upon a fifty-foot pole in the center of the public square. Whereupon the General and his staff with suwarrow's doffed, rode slowly in review along the whole line. Then after the necessary movement to reform into a line of march, the general, staff and guards formed themselves at the head of the regiment as an escort, and at the command "To right wheel ! Forward, march !" they moved slowly with martial music and colors flying, between lines of citizens and soldiers, the latter resting right and left respectively at the posts of the triumphal arch, and the former resting on the public square and extending eastward to the military lines, all being under complete civil and military regulations, agree- ably to an arranged program.
As these veteran United States troops began to move with precise measured tread upon Scioto street, the civic ovation began to unfold itself in the strewing of wild June flowers by young misses and maidens, with which they had been provided, the waving of handkerchiefs of matrons and the swinging of hats and caps of the sterner sex, with continued shouts and huzzas. These exciting demonstrations continued with- out abatement until they renched the lines of the troops as already indiented when the scene changed into a sublime military display, such as the din of muskets, the rattle of drums and the shrill notes of the bugle, clarionet and fife. When they reached the arch, and while passing through it, a park of artillery belched forth its thunders in the camp as the signal of welcome to the brave boys who had distinguished themselves upon the fields of Tippecanoe. After arriving in the camp they, at the word "Left wheel," deployed to the northwest and halted upon the high grounds now occupied by Griffith Ellis, Mr. Boal and others, in front of the right wing of the troops already encamped, and there pitched tents. Taken as a whole. this civle and military demonstration presented a pageant never before or since equaled in the new city of l'rbann.
THE LONG JOURNEY TO DETROIT.
It was but a short time after the arrival of the Regular troops before General Hull started with the regulars and volunteers on the long journey through the forests to Detroit. War had not been declared yet and Hull had no way of knowing that he would be in the forests of northern Ohio on the day Congress passed the resolution requiring that the state of war existed. that is, June 18, 1812.
There was no road between Urbana and Detroit. The two hundred miles which had to be traversed was an unbroken forest, but fortunately the trip was made at the time of the year when it would be the easiest for an army to make its way through the forests and swamps. Three experienced guides were obtained, one of them being Isaac Zane, who lived at the head of the Mad river on the site of the present village of Zanesfield. The regiment of Colonel McArthur cut the road from Urbana to the crossing of the Scioto at Kenton and at Kenton built a fort which was called Fort McArthur. The second regiment took the burden of cutting the road at Kenton and cut on through to Findlay, where a second blockhouse was erected and named in
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· honor of Colonel Findlay. The third regiment completed the cutting of the road to the lake. The whole road, thereafter known as Hull's Trace, was cut through in about two weeks, the main body of the army of General Hull arriving at Detroit in July, 1812.
HULL'S ROUTE THROUGH CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
It seems that in after years considerable difference of opinion arose as to the exact route taken by Hull when he left Urbana for Detroit. In 1872 a volume was issued by Joshua Antrim, entitled "The History of Champaign and Logan Counties," in which Antrim attempted to fix definitely the route of Hull leading north from Urbana. His account follows :
The following facts in regard to Hull's Trace 1 obtained from several pioneers that were here and saw Hull when he passed through with his army. I will give the names of some of my informants: Judge Vance, of Urbann, John Enoch, William Henry and Heury McPherson. It was in the year 1812 he took up his line of march from Urbana. Their route was very near the present road from Urbana to West Liberty, a few rods east until they reached King's Creek. About two miles beyond this they crossed the present road and continued on the west until they arrived at Mac-a- cheek, crossing that stream at Captain Black's old farm. Coming to Mad River, they crossed it about five rods west of the present bridge at West Liberty. Passing through Main street, they continued on the road lending from the latter place to Zanesfield until they reached the farm now owned by Charles Hildebrand. Here they turned a little to the left, taking up a valley near his farm.
Arriving at McKee's Creek, they crossed it very near where the present railroad bridge is; thence to Blue Jacket, crossing it about one mile west of Bellefontaine on the farm now owned by Henry Good. They continued their line of march on or near the present road from Bellefontaine to Huntsville. They halted some time at Judge McPherson's farm, now the county infirmary, passing through what is now Cherokee, on Main street, to an Indian village called Solomon's Town, where they encamped on the farm now owned by David Wallace. The trace is yet plain to be seen in many places. Judge Vance informs me there is no timber growing in the track In many places in Champaign county.
I forgot to say they encamped at West Liberty. James Black informs me he saw General Hull's son fall into Mad River near where Mr. Glover's mill now stands, he being so drunk he could not sit on his horse.
THE SURRENDER OF HULL.
It is not the purpose of this discussion to follow in detail the story of the War of 1812, but only to indicate such parts of it as are concerned with troops which were stationed for a time at Urbana. It should be stated that Hull remained in Detroit until he surrendered to the British, without firing
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a shot, on August 16, 1812. Whether any of the volunteers from Cham- paign county had enlisted in the regular army and were therefore transported to Montreal with the other prisoners is not known, but the great majority of the men from Champaign were only volunteers and they were permitted by the British commander to return to their homes.
The surrender of Hull threw a panic of fear over the Northwest Terri- tory and Governor Meigs at once sent out instructions to the people of Ohio to build blockhouses. Muskets and ammunition furnished by the state were given out from the military stores at Urbana. In the fall of the same year the governor called out additional volunteers and he soon had twelve hun- dred men in camp at Urbana under Brigadier-General Tupper. These troops were camped on the high ground at the north edge of the village, along the ridge from the present Dugan bridge to the old Niles Sanitarium.
As soon as the news reached Kentucky that General Hull had surrendered Goernor Shelby, of that state, began to prepare an army to send to the Cana- dian frontier. He took command in person of the five thousand troops which he raised, most of them mounted, and started with them across Ohio to the front. He passed through Urbana and camped at the south edge of town, with his right wing resting near the old woolen factory and stretched around over the site of the present fair ground. He was here for several days, get- ting his provisions and munitions of war in shape to advance. The governor of the state had designated Urbana as the rendezvous of all the troops of the state immediately after the fall of Detroit.
The Federal government started into the war without any idea of what it was going to cost, and before the close of 1813 it had used up all its avail- able funds. Practically all the men who enlisted from Champaign county furnished all their own equipment. The states took it upon themselves to help put men in the field, especially the states west of the Alleghenies.
LACK OF FUNDS DURING WAR OF 1812.
Such was the want of preparation on our part for the war which was declared by the United States against Great Britain in 1812, that by the time it had been waged a twelvemonth, the government found itself destitute alike of funds and credit. The public chest was empty, the treasury notes issued for the exigencies of the times were obliged to be sold at a ruinous discount, and many of our military and naval operations were carried into effect by pledges of individuals who obtained on their own credit the necessary sup- plies of provisions and money when that of the government was unavailable.
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The following documents dealing with the situation in Ohio provide some interesting illumination on the subject. It will be noticed that Urbana is mentioned in some of them.
MAJ. GEN. GANO,
Chillicothe, Aug. 5th, 1812.
Sir-You will Immediately march 300 men from your division, under the com- mand of a Major-furnish them with a blanket nud knapsack, arms and ammuni- tion. Capt. Sutton will march them to Urbana, at which place I hope to see them. Volunteers under the law of Ohio will be preferred. I trust you will use every exer- tion to enuse a compliance with the requisition.
Your ob't. serv't,
R. J. MEIGS.
Cinelunati, Aug. 20th, 1812.
R. J. MEIGS.
Sir-Since I received your letter of the 5th Inst., I have exerted every nerve, night and day. to send the arms out to U'rbana, and get the detachment from this place on the march. 1 have had innumerable obstacles to contend with and surmount, we knew nothing of before. There was no paymaster agent here that is Taylor's agent, and objections to everything; I then had to set all my wits to work, and friends, a few assisted. I bad to get Maj. Barr to join me to put in our note in Bank for $3500, payable In 10 days, which is all we could raise, and bills on Government will not command the cash here, there are so many drawn they cannot be accommodated-1 have sent to T'rhona to Judge Reynolds (you did not direct me who) 500 stands of . arms and 400 cartridge boxes, and belts as I could get. I have also sent ammunition. which you did not direct, and have sent camp kettles, etc., etc. The bills sent to Judge Reynolds to be delivered on your order. I have six as good companies as I have seen in the State -- four have marched from here yesterday to join two others at Lebanon, where they will elect their Major. I found It Impossible to attend to your request In meeting you and organize this detachment. I have appointed a Reg't. Quartermaster-be is very capable and very attentive, and the I'nited States Assistant Deputy Quartermaster approves-and he is the principal assistant I have had, for I . have done all without an Ald de camp, you may therefore judge of my situation-since the rendezvous here my house has been almost like a barracks,-having no particular order on the Aissistant Deputy Quastermaster, Lt. Bryson, or the contractor for sup- plies for this detachment, I have taken the responsibility of myself, but have not drawn (for it could not be had) what was actually necessary. You will please, If it meets your approbation, to sanction what I have done for those troops, and give an authority for the Deputy paymaster or his agent to pay the troops the advance the law allows, and refund the money I have advanced the troops, that it may be returned to the Bank. The detachment is as follows: Capt. Jenkinson with his company of artillery, fitted completely with. muskets, etc., etc. Lebanon light infantry, in exactly the same uniform as Mansfeld's company-four companies of riffemen completely equipt. one company one hundred strong. all can instantly fix bayonets to their rifles. the others, every man a tomahawk and knife-the whole are volunteers, except the light Infantry of Lebanon. They have not yet received any advance for I could not draw sufficient : I bave had complete muster pay and receipt rolls made out and signed as far as we have gone. We advanced one month's pay to the officers; and ten dollars to each man which has taken a larger sum than we received from Bank,
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to wit: 83500-Captain Torrence and Carr drew the money and paid the men under the direction and assistance of Captain Adams of the fourth regiment, whom I got to assist, that it should be regular and pass. The Kentucky troops begin to arrive at Newport-I think it will be several days before they leave this; I wish our detach- ment to be ahend of them, therefore marched them for Lebanon yesterday. If it was not for the obstacle of the pay being wanting, they might proceed on in advance as fast as possible; I am very anxious to push them on, and have been from the first, for I am convinced they are wanting, and a better set of militia, and a more orderly, I never saw collected, and I believe will fight. I sent more ammunition to Urbana than I contemplated for that number of muskets. The rifle powder sent by mistake, which can be rectified when they get to Urbana-I expect to be there by the middle of next week, and if you have not left Piqua, I shall endeavor to see you before my return. The bearer will receive your answer, and any communica- ton you may think proper to make. From accounts, McArthur is gathering laurels. God send them success.
Yours with sentiments of respect and esteem,
JOHN S. GANO.
Sent this by Capt. Cox, express of Clinton Co., to whom I paid cash $3, and he is to meet me at Lebanon.
Cincinnati, Aug. 14th, 1812.
The Governor of the State of Ohio has given orders to Gen. Gano to have 300 men. properly officered, from his division, to convene in the shortest time possible, and have them march to Detroit to join Gen. Hull's army and escort provisions, etc., for . the army. And the paymaster's agent being absent, and the men being very anxious to receive their pay to provide themselves necessaries, the paymaster and receipt rolls are ready and will be sufficient vouchers for the payment. If the Miami Exporting Company or any persons will advance the pay we will jointly and severally hold our- selves bound for the amount. There will be 350 men from the 1st division in this detachment, the advance pay as to the amount per month is stated in our advertise- ment in the papers.
JOHN S. GANO. Commander 1st Div'n. O. Militia. WM. BARR.
To the President and Directors of the Miami Exporting Company Bank, Cincinnati. $3,500.
Ten days after date. we or either of us promise to deliver to the President and Directors of the Miami Exporting Company, James Taylor's check on the Cashier of the said company. for three thousand five hundred dollars, or on failure of delivering the said check as stipulated therein, we or either.of us promise to pay, at the expira- tion of the term aforesnid. to the President and Directors aforesaid at their office in Cincinnati three thousand five hundred dollars, value received.
URBANA IN 1812.
It is difficult to recast a picture of Urbana as it must have appeared from the spring of 1812 to the fall of 1814. While it was a village of not more than three hundred in 1812, at the opening of the war, yet it was soon to become the military center of the Army of the Northwest and the scene of
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intense activity. The reconstruction of a picture of the village during these two or three years in order to show its military importance is made possible by the existence of an article published several years ago by Judge Patrick. The judge had come to the village in the fall of 1811, as a lad of eleven, and, being of a historical turn of mind and possessed of a retentive memory, he was able to set forth with wonderful vividness a clear picture of the years 1812-14 in an article which he prepared for publication in later years. His account of the village and the military activities during the War of 1812, supplemented by official records and other accounts by eye witnesses, fur- nishes the basis for this picture presented in the following paragraphs of the Urbana of 1812-14.
Picture, if you can, a little straggling village, with mud streets, and with Scioto street a regular quagmire every spring; imagine the village of Urbana in the spring of 1812 to be about the size of Cable and not nearly as prosperous looking; nearly all the houses in town are log-the jail was log and the court house likewise. On the corner where Hatton's drug store now stands, the northwestern corner of Monument Square and Main street, stood the tavern of Doolittle. In this tavern Governor Meigs had his head- quarters, where General Hull remained a couple of weeks, where Brigadier- General Tupper stayed, and where orders went forth which brought hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of military supplies to the little village.
NUMBER OF TROOPS IN URBANA.
For, be it understood, in the summer of 1812. Urbana was a military camp and saw more military preparedness than it did in the summer of 1917. Few people in the latter year know that Urbana was the most important mil- itary center west of the Alleghenies during the War of 1812. Here were established commissary and quartermaster departments, a military hospital, all kinds of blacksmith and wagon shops, harness and saddlery shops, and every conceivable sort of an artificer shop which was demanded by the mili- tary system of one hundred years ago. Scores of buildings arose in the summer of 1812 and the hum of industry was heard on every hand. Hull had about fifteen hundred recruits in his three regiments of militia and about six hundred and fifty regulars, a total of two thousand one hundred and fifty troops. These troops received supplies here and were drilled for at least two weeks at the edge of town. In the fall of the same year Tupper had twelve hundred troops here at the north edge of town and a little later Gov- ernor Shelby of Kentucky had five thousand mounted men camped in the
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southern part of town in the vicinity of the fair ground. These three sepa- rate detachments represented a total of eight thousand three hundred and fifty men, which, with the artificers and hangers-on, brought the total up to prob- ably ten thousand, all of whom had to be fed and taken care of by the little village of three hundred. It must have been an exciting time in Urbana in the summer and fall of 1812.
URBANA AS MILITARY HEADQUARTERS.
In order to handle all of these troops it was necessary to provide a num- ber of departments to take charge of affairs. Since it became necessary to handle so many troops and distribute such heavy supplies, the secretary of war divided the military camp into seven different departments, to-wit: William Jordan, quartermaster department; Alexander Doke, in charge of artificer yard and shops; Zephaniah Luce, commissary department; Doctor Gould, physician and surgeon, in charge of the hospital; Jacob Fowler, gen- eral agent and government contractor, with authority to purchase food sup- plies; Major David Gwynne, paymaster; Josiah G. Talbott, in charge of recruiting station.
As has been stated, the headquarters of the officers in charge were in Doolittle's tavern. Just across the street, on the corner now occupied by the Citizens National Bank, stood a two-story brick house built in the sun- mer of 1811. This building was the storeroom for many years of D. & T. M. Gwynne. This two-story brick house was the headquarters for the com- missary department, and it was in this same building that Richard M. John- son was brought wounded after his personal and deadly encounter with Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames. The shops of the artificers were scat- tered over the village; the fort which stood on lot 104 was used as an arti- ficer's shop. Alexander Doke owned this lot and being a blacksmith with a well-equipped shop, was placed in charge of all of the repair work concerned with metals. His lot embraced all of the ground south of the present Hitt & Fuller store to Market street. The whole lot was used as an artificer yard. Zephaniah Luce owned in-lots 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54, and had a tanyard on the first two, and also what he called a "finishing-shop." It was this shop which was used as the issuing commissary office. Luce having charge of that department. The jail stood on lot 107, and it was frequently used to house the wounded, although the court house which stood on lot 174 on East Court street, was the regular army hospital. In fact, there were so many wounded
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and sick in the hospital that the jail had to be utilized for a court room, leav- ing all of the upper part of the old log court house to be used for hospital purposes.
LOCAL MILITIA COMPANIES.
During the progress of the war a number of separate militia companies were enrolled in Champaign county, the best known probably being the com- pany of Joseph Vance, later governor of Ohio. He was a young man of about twenty-five at the time and was elected captain of a volunteer com- pany of riflemen which was composed of the best marksmen selected from the surrounding country for several miles. So skillful were these old sharp- shooters that they could drive a nail at a distance of seventy-five yards, and it has even been asserted that if a group of these hunters were to shoot at a running deer that the hand would cover the space where their several bullets hit.
The members of the company captained by Joseph Vance were known as Minute-men or Rangers and were called out several times during the progress of the war. William Ward, Jr., was lieutenant and Isaac Myers ensign of Captain Vance's company. Other companies of Champaign county minute-men were captained by John McCord, Alexander Black, Abner Bar- ret and Captain Kizer. The company of Captain McCord was ordered to Ft. McArthur (on the present site of the city of Kenton) and was stationed there for a month in order to guard against any possible Indian depredations. These four local companies patrolled the whole county, then extending from a mile south of Springfield to the northern boundary of the state, and were always ready to respond to the call of the authorities. It has not been pos- sible to obtain the names of the members of these companies.
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