USA > Ohio > Defiance County > History of Defiance County, Ohio. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, etc.; military record; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; farm views, personal reminiscences, etc > Part 8
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one, and when the army got ready to move I went along. Gen. Wayne had been gradually moving down upon us, but very slowly and cautiously. There was not a. night, after he got within one hundred miles of us, that an Indian spy was not within his picket lines. They said, when he was on the march, he fortified every evening so securely that it was next to impossible to get a horse out of his camp. Our runners and spies reported every day; they said that at night Wayne would cut down great trees, and fence in a tract of land large enough to hold his en- tire army and baggage, and that these fences were built so high, with these great trees and tops, that none could get at them, and but few could get out. But when they got into Fort Recovery, which they thought a safe place, they relaxed some of the cau- tion used in traveling. Blue Jacket was chief and commander of the Shawnee forces. He moved upon Gen. Wayne's position, when he got within two or three miles of us, and the first thing I heard of any battle was the whites calling out ' Indians! Indians!' We had come suddenly upon about two hundred of Wayne's Light Horse. The Indians, on horseback, made a rush for them, and they, on foot, ran as fast as they could. The Indians pressed the whites so closely, that over fifty jumped off their horses and got into the fort as fast as they could, leaving their horses to run around outside. These horses were fine- ly equipped, with saddles, bridles and a brace of pis- tols. The fort was soon surrounded, and a regular fire kept up on both sides for an hour or so. As soon as the fine horses were seen running around loose, I thought it was my chance to get one already equipped, if I could only catch it. I got within two hun- dred yards of the fort, behind a tree. The horses were running in every direction, very much fright- ened. Several times they passed close to me, almost near enough for me to reach their bridles; but when- ever I moved toward them they would be off as fast as they could run. I saw Indians running, half bent, within fifty yards of the fort, after the horses; then they would take a circle around and back. An Indian that stood behind a tree close to me asked why I did not shoot, he loading and shooting as fast as he could. I told him I saw nothing to shoot at. He said, 'Shoot at them holes in the front, and perhaps you will kill a man.' I told him I did not want to shoot, and he replied that 'I had better get out of there, then, for if I did not I would be killed. 'Did you see the bark fly above your head a few minutes ago?' said he. I replied that I did. 'Well,' said he, 'just fall back out of reach, if you will not shoot, or you will get killed.' All at once, as he passed his head around the tree to shoot, I saw him drop his gun and clap his hand to his chin, and then stoop and
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pick up the gun with his other hand, and start and run, half bent, back as far as I could see him. They had shot him in the chin, and made a flesh wound. I stood where I was a short time, looking about to see if any one was near me. Just then I heard what I supposed to be a cannon fire behind me, but, as I afterward learned, it was only a shell which burst. I now began to feel very badly frightened, and sup- posed we were surrounded! While I was thinking what to do a cannon (mortar) fired in the fort, and a shell burst right over my head. The horses fell all around me, and then it was that I understood the cause of the report behind me. I started and ran back to the crowd; they held a council and concluded to give it up, as they were unable to take the fort by storm, but would try and take it by surprise. After night, we moved off down the river about a mile, and encamped. In meandering about to find some of my companions, I found one of Wayne's pack-horses. I haltered it, and concluded I had a horse, anyway. We built our fires and laid down. There were about five hundred Indians at the time, all lying in a circle. About midnight, I was awakened by the firing of guns. The firing was so rapid that I could not tell one report from another. I arose and looked around, but could see but tive or six Indians in the circle where I had lain. They had all gone to try to take the fort by surprise, as they hoped. In about one hour, the firing began slacking up a little, so that I could tell one gun from another, and in about an hour more the Indians began to come in. The firing final- ly stopped altogether, and I listened to their talk as they came in. I learned that they had accomplished nothing, but a good many had been killed and a large number wounded.
"The next morning, the old chief (Blue Jacket) who was lying in the same circle with me, got up early and called for our attention. He said that ' they were out last night to try to take the fort by surprise, but were not successful, and that they had left one of the men of our circle lying close to the fort unattended, and that he must be brought away.' He said 'It would be an everlasting shame to the na- tion to let the man lie there and be murdered, as he surely would be, by the whites. As they had abau- doned the idea of whipping Wayne in the fort, all we could do was to wait, and let Wayne come out and make an attack on us on the open ground.' He then said 'that some one who knew where our wounded brother lies would have to go, with others, and bring him off the field.' Big Turtle said he would go, for one. as he knew exactly where the wounded man fell, so that there would be no need of wasting time hunt- ing for him. 'Who will be next?' said the chief.
No one spoke, and the chief looked right at me, and said 'Young man, you will go, for another-and you- and you, for another,' said he, pointing to two more. He then said, 'None of you were out last night, in the fight, so, men, go and bring your comrade away.' The brush and small trees were cut off for two hundred yards around. As soon as we got inside of the fort, the whites commenced firing at us. We ran along in single file, one behind the other, stopping at every tree that was in our line large enough to shelter us. Here we would stop but a moment, and then run again. The bullets were flying like hail around us all the time. We had stopped behind a large tree near the open ground, when Big Turtle said, 'We were doing very wrong in stopping, as it gave them time to re-load. 'Now,' said he, 'when we start again, I shall not stop until I have gotten to the man; and, in order that there may be no confn- sion in taking hold of him, we will go out in the same way we came in; that is, I will lead going out. The one that is before going in, and the one behind going out, is in the most danger. We will arrange it in this manner, and thus escape some of the bullets.' When we started, there was a perfect shower of bul- lets flying around us; but we ran for the man, dodg- ing from side to side. In this manner we ran, and it seemed to me, right up to the fort; for the man did not lay more than sixty yards from it. As soon as we came to him, we took hold according to instruc- tions, and in no very tender manner either, but just - seized him as best we could, and started to run, dodg- ing about, just as we had come in. When we picked him up his shirt was a little up, and I saw that he was shot in the bowels, and it had turned green around the bullet-hole. I thought how foolish it was for four live men to risk their lives for one dead one. But we had little time to think of such mat- ters, for as we picked him up it appeared to me as if the air was full of whistling balls, on either side and above us! How four men could pass through such a storm and come out safe, has always been a mystery to me; and now, after many years, I almost shudder to think of this terrible ordeal. Big Turtle was the only one touched by a bullet; one had grazed him in the thigh, and there were four or five bullet- holes in his hunting-shirt, which was swinging loose- ly about him. The wounded man groaned mournful- ly as we ran with him, but we had no time to spare for his comfort. When we got to the woods the fir- ing ceased, and we laid the wounded man down, to rest ourselves. Thauks, devout and sincere, went up to the Great Spirit for our safe deliverance from the great danger through which we had passed. We car- ried the half-dead man to the Indian army, which was
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HISTORY OF DEFIANCE COUNTY.
already on the move. When we got back, a litter was prepared and the poor fellow hoisted on the shoulders of four men.
" Before I started on this perilous trip, I lashed my blanket and kettle on my horse, and they had let him stray off. There being no time to hunt him, I lost blanket, kettle and horse! We moved down the river, and about noon the wounded man died. He was taken to a fallen tree, the leaves were scratched away, and he was buried scarcely deep enough to cover his body. We then went down to Fort Defi- ance, where we remained about two weeks, until we heard of the approach of Gen. Wayne, for he was closely watched. We now picked up everything and started for the old English fort, near the Maumee Rapids. Here we prepared for battle, at the lower end of the long prairie."
We think it due to the memory of Mr. Alder to state, that his account supplies many things that have heretofore been omitted, in the affair at Fort Re- covery and the strategy of the Shawnees. His notes have never appeared in print, and the only copy in existence is in the possession of the writer.
Maj. Gen. Scott, with some sixteen hundred mounted volunteers, having arrived at Fort Greenville on the 26th of July 1794, and joined the regulars under Wayne, the army began its march on the Indian towns along the Maumee. After the army had passed Fort Recovery, about twenty-four miles to the north, Gen. Wayne caused to be built and garrisoned a small post, which was called Fort Adams. From this point, the army moved toward the confluence of the Au- glaize and Maumee Rivers, where he arrived on the 8th of August. At this point a strong stockade work, with bastions, was erected, and called Fort Defiance. His arrival at that point was unanticipated by the Indians, who deserted their settlements, towns and villages with a good deal of precipitation, thus giv- ing evidence of apparent surprise. Wayne had made feints to the right and left of his present position, striking the Auglaize some forty miles further up some days before, and the chiefs were really deceived at the actual route he intended to advance, and had given attention only to those points, while Wayne finally advanced by a central route, and thus gained the grand emporium of the Indians without loss of blood. While at Defiance, he sent Christopher Mil- ler, a former Indian captive, with a speech, under a special flag, to the Indians, proposing to treat, and thus spare the effusion of human blood. The speech was directed to the Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Wyandots, and all other nations of Indians north- west of the Ohio. He proposed that the Indians should appoint deputies, to assemble, without delay, at the junction of the Auglaize and the foot of the
rapids, to settle the preliminaries of a lasting peace. Miller's answer proposed to Wayne a delay of ten days where he was, and then they would treat with him. In the meantime, an old captive, by the name of Wells, withdrew from the Miamis by their con- sent, and came into the camp of Wayne. This cir- cumstance greatly mortified Little Turtle, who deemed it ominous of the defeat of the confederated tribes. The slow movement of Wayne toward the Miami village had caused many Indians to feel no little distrust as to their ability to defeat the great chief of the Americans, who was creeping like a huge anaconda upon their strongholds.
On the 15th of August, Gen. Wayne moved his forces toward the rapids, and came to a halt a few miles above that point on the 18th, and the next day began the erection of a temporary garrison for the reception of stores and baggage, the better to recon- noiter the enemy's ground, which lay behind a thick, bushy woods, and the British fort which was at the foot of the rapids, called " Fort Miami," and seven miles in advance of the new work, which he called " Fort Deposit." The Miamis became more unde- cided as to the policy of attacking Wayne, notwith- standing the British had promised aid. At the general council of the tribes, held on the 19th of August, Little Turtle was earnest in his efforts to per- suade the Indians to make peace with Wayne. He said, " We have beaten the enemy twice, under separ- ate commanders. We cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him. During all the time that he has been marching upon our villages, notwithstand- ing the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace." One of the chiefs derided Little Turtle for his advice, and intimated that it originated from cowardice. The council broke up, and the Turtle, at the head of his braves, took his stand to meet and give battle to the invader, and the desires of Blue Jacket, head chief of the Shaw- nees, were assented to by a majority of the chiefs of the various tribes. Wayne could not assent to a fur- ther delay.
On the morning of the 20th of August, the army again advanced in columns, agreeably to the stand- ing order of march; the legion on the right with flank covered by the Maumee; one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left, under Brig. Gen. Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brig. Gen. Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Maj. Price, who was directed to keep sufficiently advanced.
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so as to give timely notice to the troops to form in case of action, it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. In this manner the army of Wayne advanced about five miles, when the corps of Maj. Price received a severe fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass. The legion immediately formed in two lines, in the close, thick woods, which extended for miles to the left and front, the ground being covered with fallen timber, the result of a tornado which made it impassable to cavalry, and afforded a fine covert for the Indian warrior. The Indians had formed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extending for nearly two miles at right angles with the river. The weight of the fire soon revealed the extent of their lines, and showed that they were in full force in front and in possession of their favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn the left flank of Wayne. Wayne's second line advanced to support the first, and Maj. Gen. Scott was directed to gain and turn the right flank of the Indian army, with the whole of the mounted volunteers, by a cir- cuitous route. At the same time, Wayne ordered the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms, rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and, when up, to deliver a close and well-directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again. At the same time, the legionary cavalry moved to the left flank of the Indians, next to the river, and there was a general advance. All orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude, and the impetuosity of the charge by the first line was such, that the Indians, Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from their concealment in so short a time, that the second line of the legion of the mounted volunteers was un- able to participate in the action, the enemy having been routed and driven more than two miles through the woods by less than half their own number (?). The Indians are supposed, by the officers of Wayne's army, to have numbered about two thousand, while the troops engaged against them were short of nine hundred. The Indians, with their allies, aban . doned themselves to flight, and dispersed in terror and dismay, leaving the gallant forces of Wayne in quiet possession of the field of battle, which extended to the British fort. Wayne remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn-fields of the enemy were consumed and destroyed to a considerable distance above and below the British fort. Among the houses destroyed was the store of Col. McKee, the British agent -- the principal stimulator of the war between the United States and Indians.
On the 27th, the army returned to Fort Defiance, laying waste, as it moved, villages and corn-fields, for a distance of fifty miles along the Maumee. The fort was repaired and made substantial, and the army remained there until the 14th of September, 1794, when the legion began its march for the Miami village, where it arrived on the 17th, when the army rested in a fortified camp until the country was reconnoitered and a proper site selected to build a garrison. The work was completed by the 22d of October, and the garrison placed under the command of Lieut. Col. Hamtramck, when a salute of fifteen rounds of can- non was fired and the garrison named " Fort Wayne," the present site of the city of that name.
Gen. Wayne, with the main body of the regulars, took np his line of march for Fort Greenville, where he arrived on the 2d of November. After the close of the battle on the 20th of August, he invited the Indians to "a friendly meeting, but they, for some time refrained from entertaining a proposition to treat, in the hope that the British would render them assistance. Gen. Simcoe, Alexander McKee, Simon Girty and other British officers, taking advantage of this uncertainty, invited Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, Bock-ong-a-helas, Blackhoof and Tecumseh, then a young Shawnee warrior of great promise, to an In- dian council to be held at the mouth of the Detroit River. In the meantime, a treaty of amity, com- merce and navigation was, through the efforts of John Jay, the American Envoy, established between the United States and Great Britain. The news of this treaty destroyed all hope of British aid for the Indians, and their chiefs began to assemble at Green- ville, with a view of arranging the preliminaries for a final treaty.
Before giving the result of the campaign, it will be interesting to hear what Mr. Alder says concerning the great battle of "Fallen Timbers." He continues: "Our camping place was about two miles below the prairie. The women and children were sent down about three miles below the fort, and, as I did not wish to fight, I was sent to Upper Sandusky, to in- form some warriors there of the great battle that was about to be fought. I remained at Sandusky until the fight was over. Although the camp was below the lower point of the prairie, the fighting ground was to be just at the lower point of it, hoping to fight Wayne in the open ground, while the Indians would be in the timber. The Indians estimated their number at 3,500 (?), but perhaps it was not so large. It was, however, a large army, and much larger than the whites supposed. There were 400 friendly In- dians from New York, under Brant, that the whites knew nothing of. They happened not to get in the fight, and as soon as it was over they made their way
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back to their homes, and it was kept a secret by all the various tribes.
Wayne came on down the river, and halted at the upper end of the prairie, expecting the Indians would attack him; but in that he was mistaken. If an In- dian expects to go into battle he eats nothing that morning, for the reason, that if a man is shot in the bowels, the internals are not so apt to be severed as if they are full; so, when Wayne made his appear- ance, the Indians were ordered not to eat any break- fast, as they expected to fight that day. According- ly, they were all on the ground in good order and in good spirits, for they confidently expected another St. Clair defeat. They stayed all day, but Wayne did not attack them. They fell back at night and ate their suppers and lay on their arms all night, expect- ing a night attack, but all remained quiet. The next morning they came out as before, eating no breakfast, and the result was the same-Wayne did not attack. Again they fell back, and then called a council of the chiefs. They said that this thing of eating one meal a day would weaken the men, so that they would not be fit for action, and there was no knowing how long Wayne would hold off; and if this thing continued eight or ten days the men would be almost worthless. They thought that Wayne had learned from prisoners of their peculiarity in this re- spect, and no doubt that it was strategy on his part not to fight until the men were weakened. Hence, they concluded they would not be in such a hurry again, and so the order was given for the men to eat as usual the next morning, before starting out. The next morning they went to cooking and eating, and as soon as they were through they started for the ground. Some were on the ground by daylight while others were in their beds. This was the third morn- ing that they had been on the ground, waiting for an attack. Just as the sun was rising, Wayne's army came down the prairie, in the direction expected, but sooner than the Indians anticipated, and they were not prepared for him. There was not, at this time, more than one-third of the army on the ground. Some were cooking, some eating and some on their way to the grounds. The firing began before Wayne got in reach, in order to hold his men in check until the Indian forces could come up; but it had no effect. The old General just moved right on, as though nothing was the matter. He had sent his light horse around to the right of the Indians, so as to surround them. At the same time that he opened fire, the cavalry commenced blowing their bugles in the rear, and cut off the balance of the Indians from reaching the ground. The Indians who were on the way, and those who were eating when the firing com- menced, started on the run to join the army. Those
who were on the way, when they came to the cavalry, finding that they were cut off, ran back, hunting those who were behind, so that there were persons running both ways in great confusion. Some broke through the lines of the cavalry, and of those that were surrounded a great many broke for the timber, while others plunged into the river. Those of the In- dians who did not get shot or drowned in the river, made their escape. Such an awful rout was scarcely ever seen. Some stood their ground, and were either killed or taken prisoners. The slaughter was very great, and the Indians were so terror- stricken that they never attempted to rally them- selves. As all the principal chiefs were either killed or taken prisoners, the battle was very short and decisive. The Indians fled down the river to the British fort, but, when they got there, the soldiers stood, with bayonets charged, in the doorway and would not let them in. Wayne followed the fugi- tives but a short distance, and then fell back. The British commander at the fort told the Indians to push on, for if he let them in, Wayne would attack the fort and destroy all of them. This conduct of the British commander did more to make peace be- tween the Indians and Americans than any one thing during the war: for, before the war, the Indians had been promised aid and protection, and now, when they were in the worst possible condition, they had thus been rudely pushed from the doors of the fort and refused shelter! It was an act they never forgot; and, rather than apply again for British protection, they made application to their victorious enemies, and obtained security upon a more solid foundation." This inhuman act of Maj. Campbell was thrown into the teeth of Gen. Proctor by Tecumseh, in the war of 1812, just before the battle of the Thames.
The statement of Mr. Alder overturns the whole theory of the battle. Wayne, and all those who have attempted to give an account of that wonderful vic- tory, go upon the presumption that he was contend- ing against the united forces of the confederated tribes, and that about one-half of his men had actu- ally met and routed the entire Indian army! If Mr. Alder be correct, the fact really was, that a part of Wayne's forces met a fraction of the army, under the command of Little Turtle, and took it by surprise, and, before the chief could be re-enforced, put the Indians into inextricable confusion, and a great rout and flight necessarily followed.
About the 1st of June, 1795, Indian deputations from the different tribes began to assemble at Green- ville, with a view to the consummation of a treaty. Having failed to obtain assistance and active co operation from the British Government, the Indians- became disheartened, and gradually yielded to a prop-
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