History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 12

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Ohio > Crawford County > History of Crawford County and Ohio > Part 12

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).

walls of one of their vast temples. Another fact is given in relation to the erection of Fort Wash- ington at Losantiville, which partakes somewhat of romance. The Major, while waiting to decide at which place the fort should be built, happened to make the acquaintance of a black-eyed beauty, the wife of one of the residents. Her husband, notic- ing the affair, removed her to Losantiville. The Major followed; he told Symmes he wished to see how a fort would do there, but promised to give his city the preference. He found the beauty there, and on his return Symmes could not prevail on him to remain. If the story be true, then the importance of Cincinnati owes its existence to a trivial circum- stance, and the old story of the ten years' war which terminated in the downfall of Troy, which is said to have originated owing to the beauty of a Spartan dame, was re-enacted here. Troy and North Bend fell because of the beauty of a wo- man; Cincinnati was the result of the downfall of the latter place.

About the first of January, 1790, Governor St. Clair, with his officers, descended the Ohio River from Marietta to Fort Washington. There he es- tablished the county of Hamilton, comprising the immense region of country contiguous to the Ohio, from the Hocking River to the Great Miami; appointed a corps of civil and military officers, and established a Court of Quarter Ses- sions. Some state that at this time, he changed the name of the village of Losantiville to Cin- cinnati, in allusion to a society of that name which had recently been formed among the officers of the Revolutionary army, and established it as the seat of justice for Hamilton. This latter fact is certain; but as regards changing the name of the village, there is no good authority for it. With this importance attached to it, Cincinnati began at once an active growth, and from that day Cleves' city declined. The next summer, frame houses began to appear in Cincinnati, while at the same time forty new log cabins appeared about the fort.

On the 8th of January, the Governor arrived at the falls of the Ohio, on his way to establish a government at Vincennes and Kaskaskia. From Clarkesville, he dispatched a messenger to Major Hamtramck, commander at Vincennes, with speeches to the various Indian tribes in this part of the Northwest, who had not fully agreed to the treaties. St. Clair and Sargent followed in a few days, along an Indian trail to Vincennes, where he organized the county of Knox, comprising all the

HISTORY OF OHIO.

country along the Ohio, from the Miami to the Wabash, and made Vincennes the county seat. Then they proceeded across the lower part of Illi- nois to Kaskaskia, where he established the county of St. Clair (so named by Sargent), comprising all the country from the Wabash to the Mississippi. Thus the Northwest was divided into three coun- ties, and courts established therein. St. Clair called upon the French inhabitants at Vincennes and in the Illinois country, to show the titles to their lands, and also to defray the expense of a survey. To this latter demand they replied through their priest, Pierre Gibault, showing their poverty, and inability to comply. They were confirmed in their grants, and, as they had been good friends to the patriot cause, were relieved from the expense of the survey.

While the Governor was managing these affairs, Major Hamtramck was engaged in an effort to con- ciliate the Wabash Indians. For this purpose, he sent Antoine Gamelin, an intelligent French mer- chant, and a true friend of America, among them to carry messages sent by St. Clair and the Govern- ment, and to learn their sentiments and dispositions. Gamelin performed this important mission in the spring of 1790 with much sagacity, and, as the

French were good friends of the natives, he did much to conciliate these half-hostile tribes. He visited the towns of these tribes along the Wabash and as far north and east as the Miami village, Ke-ki-ong-ga-St. Mary's-at the junction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers (Fort Wayne).

Gamelin's report, and the intelligence brought by some traders from the Upper Wabash, were con- veyed to the Governor at Kaskaskia. The reports convinced him that the Indians of that part of the Northwest were preparing for a war on the settle- ments north of the Ohio, intending, if possible, to drive them south of it; that river being still consid- ered by them as the true boundary. St. Clair left the administration of affairs in the Western counties to Sargent, and returned at once to Fort Washing- ton to provide for the defense of the frontier.

The Indians had begun their predatory incur- sions into the country settled by the whites, and had committed some depredations. The Kentuck- ians were enlisted in an attack against the Scioto Indians. April 18, Gen. Harmar, with 100 regulars, and Gen. Scott, with 230 volunteers, marched from Limestone, by a circuitous route, to the Scioto, accomplishing but little. The savages had fled.

CHAPTER VII.

THE INDIAN WAR OF 1795-HARMAR'S CAMPAIGN-ST. CLAIR'S CAMPAIGN-WAYNE'S CAMPAIGN-CLOSE OF THE WAR.

A GREAT deal of the hostility at this period was directly traceable to the British. They yet held Detroit and several posts on the lakes, in violation of the treaty of 1783. They alleged as a reason for not abandoning them, that the Ameri- cans had not fulfilled the conditions of the treaty regarding the collection of debts. Moreover, they did all they could to remain at the frontier and en- joy the emoluments derived from the fur trade. That they aided the Indians in the conflict at this time, is undeniable. Just how, it is difficult to say. But it is well known the savages had all the ammunition and fire-arms they wanted, more than they could have obtained from American and French renegade traders. They were also well supplied with clothing, and were able to prolong the war some time. A great confederation was on the eve of formation. The leading spirits were

Cornplanter, Brant, Little Turtle and other noted chiefs, and had not the British, as Brant said, "encouraged us to the war, and promised us aid, and then, when we were driven away by the Amer- icans, shut the doors of their fortresses against us and refused us food, when they saw us nearly con- quered, we would have effected our object."

McKee, Elliott and Girty were also actively en- gaged in aiding the natives. All of them were in the interest of the British, a fact clearly proven by the Indians themselves, and by other traders.

St. Clair and Gen. Harmar determined to send an expedition against the Maumee towns, and se- cure that part of the country. Letters were sent to the militia officers of Western Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, calling ou them for militia to co-operate with the regular troops in the cam- paign. According to the plan of the campaign,

HISTORY OF OHIO.

300 militia were to rendezvous at Fort Steuben (Jeffersonville), march thence to Fort Knox, at Vincennes, and join Maj. Hamtramck in an expe- dition up the Wabash ; 700 were to rendezvous at Fort Washington to join the regular army against the Maumee towns.

While St. Clair was forming his army and ar- ranging for the campaign, three expeditions were sent out against the Miami towns. One against the Miami villages, not far from the Wabash, was led by Gen. Harmar. He had in his army about fourteen hundred men, regulars and militia. These two parts of the army could not be made to affili- ate, and, as a consequence, the expedition did little beyond burning the villages and destroying corn. The militia would not submit to discipline, and would not serve under regular officers. It will be seen what this spirit led to when St. Clair went on his march soon after.

The Indians, emboldened by the meager success of Harmar's command, continued their depreda- dations against the Ohio settlements, destroying the community at Big Bottom. To hold them in check, and also punish them, an army under Charles Scott went against the Wabash Indians. Little was done here but destroy towns and the standing corn. In July, another army, under Col. Wilkin- son, was sent against the Eel River Indians. Be- coming entangled in extensive morasses on the river, the army became endangered, but was finally extricated, and accomplished no more than either the other armies before it. As it was, however, the three expeditions directed against the Miamis and Shawanees, served only to exasperate them. The burning of their towns, the destruction of their corn, and the captivity of their women and chil- dren, only aroused them to more desperate efforts to defend their country and to harass their in- vaders. To accomplish this, the chiefs of the Miamis, Shawanees and the Delawares, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and Buckongahelas, were en- gaged in forming a confederacy of all the tribes of the Northwest, strong enough to drive the whites beyond the Ohio. Pontiac had tried that before, even when he had open allies among the French. The Indians now had secret allies among the Brit- ish, yet, in the end, they did not succeed. While they were preparing for the contest, St. Clair was gathering his forces, intending to ereet a chain of forts from the Ohio, by way of the Miami and Maumee valleys, to the lakes, and thereby effect- ually hold the savages in check. Washington warmly seconded this plan, and designated the

junction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers as an important post. This had been a fortification almost from the time the English held the valley, and only needed little work to make it a formid- able fortress. Gen. Knox, the Secretary of War, also favored the plan, and gave instructions con- cerning it. Under these instructions, St. Clair organized his forces as rapidly as he could, although the numerous drawbacks almost, at times, threat- ened the defeat of the campaign. Through the summer the arms and accouterments of the army were put in readiness at Fort Washington. Many were found to be of the poorest quality, and to be badly out of repair. The militia came poorly armed, under the impression they were to be pro- vided with arms. While waiting in camp, habits of idleness engendered themselves, and drunken- ness followed. They continued their accustomed freedom, disdaining to drill, and refused to submit to the regular officers. A bitter spirit broke out between the regular troops and the militia, which none could heal. The insubordination of the mi- litia and their officers, caused them a defeat after- ward, which they in vain attempted to fasten on the busy General, and the regular troops.

The army was not ready to move till September 17. It was then 2,300 strong. It then moved to a point upon the Great Miami, where they erected Fort Hamilton, the first in the proposed chain of fortresses. After its completion, they moved on forty-four miles farther, and, on the 12th of October, began the erection of Fort Jefferson, about six miles south of the present town of Green- ville, Darke County. On the 24th, the army again took up its line of march, through a wilderness, marshy and boggy, and full of savage foes. The army rapidly declined under the hot sun; even the commander was suffering from an indisposition. The militia deserted, in companies at a time, leav- ing the bulk of the work to the regular troops. By the 3d of November, the army reached a stream twelve yards wide, which St. Clair sup- posed to be a branch of the St. Mary of the Mau- mee, but which in reality was a tributary of the Wabash. Upon the banks of that stream, the army, now about fourteen hundred strong, en- camped in two lines. A slight protection was thrown up as a safeguard against the Indians, who were known to be in the neighborhood. The Gen- eral intended to attack them next day, but, about half an hour before sunrise, just after the militia had been dismissed from parade, a sudden attack was made upon them. The militia were thrown

HISTORY OF OHIO.

into confusion, and disregarded the command of the officers. They had not been sufficiently drilled, and now was seen, too late and too plainly, the evil effects of their insubordination. Through the morning the battle waged furiously, the men falling by scores. About nine o'clock the retreat began, covered by Maj. Cook and his troops. The re- treat was a disgraceful, precipitate flight, though, after four miles had been passed, the enemy re- turned to the work of scalping the dead and wounded, and of pillaging the camp. Through the day and the night their dreadful work con- tinued, one squaw afterward declaring "her arm was weary scalping the white men." The army reached Fort Jefferson a little after sunset, having thrown away much of its arms and baggage, though the act was entirely unnecessary. After remain- ing here a short time, it was decided by the officers to move on toward Fort Hamilton, and thence to Fort Washington.

The defeat of St. Clair was the most terrible re- verse the Americans ever suffered from the Indi- ans. It was greater than even Braddock's defeat. His army consisted of 1,200 men and 86 officers, of whom 714 men and 63 officers were killed or wounded. St. Clair's army consisted of 1,400 men and 86 officers, of whom 890 men and 16 officers were killed or wounded. The comparative effects of the two engagements very inadequately represent the crushing effect of St. Clair's defeat. An unprotected frontier of more than a thousand miles in extent was now thrown open to a foe made merciless, and anxious to drive the whites from the north side of the Ohio. Now, settlers were scat- tered along all the streams, and in all the forests, ex- posed to the cruel enemy, who stealthily approached the homes of the pioneer, to murder him and his family. Loud calls arose from the people to defend and protect them. St. Clair was covered with abuse for his defeat, when he really was not alone to blame for it. The militia would not be controlled. Had Clarke been at their head, or Wayne, who succeeded St. Clair, the result might have been different. As it was, St. Clair resigned; though ever after he en- joyed the confidence of Washington and Congress.

Four days after the defeat of St. Clair, the army, in its straggling condition, reached Fort Washing- ton, and paused to rest. On the 9th, St. Clair wrote fully to the Secretary of War. On the 12th, Gen. Knox communicated the information to Con- gress, and on the 26th, he laid before the Presi- dent two reports, the second containing sugges- tions regarding future operations. His sugges-

tions urged the establishment of a strong United States Army, as it was plain the States could not control the matter. He also urged a thorough drill of the soldiers. No more insubordination could be tolerated. General Wayne was selected by Washington as the commander, and at once pro- ceeded to the task assigned to him. In June, 1792, he went to Pittsburgh to organize the army now gathering, which was to be the ultimate argu- ment with the Indian confederation. Through the summer he was steadily at work. "Train and dis- cipline them for the work they are meant for," wrote Washington, "and do not spare powder and lead, so the men be made good marksmen." In December, the forces, now recruited and trained, gathered at a point twenty-two miles below Pitts- burgh, on the Ohio, ealled Legionville, the army itself being denominated the Legion of the United States, divided into four sub-legions, and provided with the proper officers. Meantime, Col. Wilkinson succeeded St. Clair as commander at Fort Wash- ington, and sent out a force to examine the field of defeat, and bury the dead. A shocking sight met their view, revealing the deeds of cruelty enacted upon their comrades by the savage enemy.

While Wayne's army was drilling, peace meas- ures were pressed forward by the United States with equal perseverance. The Iroquois were in- duced to visit Philadelphia, and partially secured from the general confederacy. They were wary, however, and, expecting aid from the British, held aloof. Brant did not come, as was hoped, and it was plain there was intrigue somewhere. Five independent embassies were sent among the West- ern tribes, to endeavor to prevent a war, and win over the inimieal tribes. But the victories they had won, and the favorable whispers of the British agents, closed the ears of the red men, and all propositions were rejected in some form or other. All the embassadors, save Putnam, suffered death. He alone was able to reach his goal-the Wabash Indians-and effect any treaty. On the 27th of December, in company with Heckewelder, the Mo- ravian missionary, he reached Vincennes, and met thirty-one chiefs, representing the Weas, Pianke- shaws, Kaskaskias, Peorias, Illinois, Pottawatomies, Mascoutins, Kiekapoos and Eel River Indians, and concluded a treaty of peace with them.

The fourth article of this treaty, however, con- tained a provision guaranteeing to the Indians their lands, and when the treaty was laid before Congress, February 13, 1793, that body, after much discussion, refused on that account to ratify it.

HISTORY OF OHIO.

A great council of the Indians was to be held at Auglaize during the autumn of 1792, when the assembled nations were to discuss fully their means of defense, and determine their future line of action. The council met in October, and was the largest Indian gathering of the time. The chiefs of all the tribes of the Northwest were there. The representatives of the seven nations of Canada, were in attendance. Cornplanter and forty-eight chiefs of the New York (Six Nations) Indians re- paired thither. "Besides these," said Cornplanter, "there were so many nations we cannot tell the names of them. There were three men from the Gora nation; it took them a whole season to come; and," continued he, "twenty-seven nations from beyond Canada were there." The question of peace or war was long and earnestly debated. Their future was solemnly discussed, and around the council fire native eloquence and native zeal shone in all their simple strength. One nation after another, through their chiefs, presented their views. The deputies of the Six Nations, who had been at Philadelphia to consult the "Thirteen Fires," made their report. The Western bound- ary was the principal question. The natives, with one accord, declared it must be the Ohio River. An address was prepared, and sent to the President, wherein their views were stated, and agreeing to. abstain from all hostilities, until they could meet again in the spring at the rapids of the Maumee, and there consult with their white brothers. They desired the President to send agents, "who are men of honesty, not proud land-jobbers, but men who love and desire peace." The good work of Penn was evidenced here, as they desired that the embassadors "be accompanied by some Friend or Quaker."

The armistice they had promised was not, how- ever, faithfully kept. On the 6th of November, a detachment of Kentucky cavalry at Fort St. Clair, about twenty-five miles above Fort Hamil- ton, was attacked. The commander, Maj. Adair, was an excellent officer, well versed in Indian tac- tics, and defeated the savages.

This infraction of their promises did not deter the United States from taking measures to meet the Indians at the rapids of the Maumee " when the leaves were fully out." For that purpose, the President selected as commissioners, Charles Car- roll and Charles Thompson, but, as they declined the nomination, he appointed Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Randolph and Timothy Pickering, the 1st of March, 1793, to attend the convention, which,

it was thought best, should be held at the San- dusky outpost. About the last of April, these commissioners left Philadelphia, and, late in May, reached Niagara, where they remained guests of Lieut. Gov. Simcoe, of the British Government. This officer gave them all the aid he could, yet it was soon made plain to them that he would not object to the confederation, nay, even rather fav- ored it. They speak of his kindness to them, in grateful terms. Gov. Simcoe advised the Indians to make peace, but not to give up any of their lands. That was the pithi of the whole matter. The British rather claimed land in New York, under the treaty of 1783, alleging the Americans had not fully complied with the terms of that treaty, hence they were not as anxious for peace and a peaceful settlement of the difficult boundary question as they sometimes represented.

By July, "the leaves were fully out," the con- ferences among the tribes were over, and, on the 15th of that month, the commissioners met Brant and some fifty natives. In a strong speech, Brant set forth their wishes, and invited them to accom- pany him to the place of holding the council. The Indians were rather jealous of Wayne's continued preparations for war, hence, just before setting out for the Maumee, the commissioners sent a letter to the Secretary of War, asking that all warlike demonstrations cease until the result of their mis- sion be known.

On 21st of July, the embassy reached the head of the Detroit River, where their advance was checked by the British authorities at Detroit. com- pelling them to take up their abode at the house of Andrew Elliott, the famous renegade, then a British agent under Alexander McKee. McKee was attending the council, and the commissioners addressed him a note, borne by Elliott, to inform him of their arrival, and asking when they could be received. Elliott returned on the 29th, bring- ing with him a deputation of twenty chiefs from the council. The next day, a conference was held, and the chief of the Wyandots, Sa-wagh-da-wunk, presented to the commissioners, in writing, their explicit demand in regard to the boundary, and their purposes and powers. "The Ohio must be the boundary," said he, " or blood will flow."

The commissioners returned an answer to the proposition brought by the chiefs, recapitulating the treaties already made, and denying the Ohio as the boundary line. On the 16th of August, the council sent them, by two Wyandot runners, a final answer, in which they recapitulated their

HISTORY OF OHIO.

former assertions, and exhibited great powers of reasoning and clear logie in defense of their po- sition. The commissioners reply that it is impos- ble to accept the Ohio as the boundary, and declare the negotiation at an end.

This closed the efforts of the Government to ne- gotiate with the Indians, and there remained of necessity no other mode of settling the dispute but war. Liberal terms had been offered them, but nothing but the boundary of the Ohio River would suffice. It was the only condition upon which the confederation would lay down its arms. " Among the rude statesmen of the wilderness, there was exhibited as pure patriotism and as lofty devotion to the good of their race, as ever won ap- plause among civilized men. The white man had, ever since he came into the country, been encroach- ing on their lands. He had long occupied the regions beyond the mountains. He had crushed the conspiracy formed by Pontiac, thirty years be- fore. He had taken possession of the common hunting-ground of all the tribes, on the faith of treaties they did not acknowledge. He was now laying out settlements and building forts in the heart of the country to which all the tribes had been driven, and which now was all they could call their own. And now they asked that it should be guaranteed to them, that the boundary which they had so long asked for should be drawn, and a final end be made to the continual aggressions of the whites; or, if not, they solemnly determined to stake their all, against fearful odds, in defense of their homes, their country and the inheritance of their children. Nothing could be more patriotic than the position they occupied, and nothing could be more noble than the declarations of their council."*

They did not know the strength of the whites, and based their success on the victories already gained. They hoped, nay, were promised, aid from the British, and even the Spanish had held out to them assurances of help when the hour of conflict came.

The Americans were not disposed to yield even to the confederacy of the tribes backed by the two rival nations, forming, as Wayne characterized it, a " hydra of British, Spanish and Indian hostility." On the 16th of August, the commissioners re- ceived the final answer of the council. The 17th, they left the mouth of the Detroit River, and the 23d, arrived at Fort Eric, where they immediately

dispatched messengers to Gen. Wayne to inform him of the issue of the negotiation. Wayne had spent the winter of 1792-93, at Legionville, in col- lecting and organizing his army. April 30, 1793, the army moved down the river and encamped at a point, called by the soldiers "Hobson's choice," because from the extreme height of the river they were prevented from landing elsewhere. Here Wayne was engaged, during the negotiations for peace, in drilling his soldiers, in cutting roads, and collecting supplies for the army. He was ready for an immediate campaign in case the council failed in its object.

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.

History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 12

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034