History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio, Part 25

Author: R. S. Dills
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1037

USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio > Part 25

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).

The Indians, in retaliation for this, resolved upon the invasion of Kentucky. In 1780, aided by their English allies, who supplied them with men and artillery, they formed an army at Old Chilli- cothe, and under the command of Colonel Byrd marched for the settlements of Kentucky. Ruddles' Station was attacked, and the garrison murdered. Colonel Byrd, being unable to restrain his savage allies, refused to go further unless all prisoners were de- livered to him; which being promised, he led them along the val- vey of the Licking five miles further, to Martin's Fort, where, despite their solemn promise, the same atrocities were committed,

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and, he, to his credit, refused to go any further. The Indians load- ed their victims with the plunder of their own dwellings, and started for their towns, and as the unfortunate prisoner sunk under the weight the tomahawk was buried in his brains.

After the outrages committed by Colonel Byrd and his Indians, it was determined to punish them by carrying the war into their own stronghold, which was then Old Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, in this county. We can give no better account than from Bradford's notes:

"On the 2d of August, 1780, General Clarke took up the line of march from where Cincinnati now stands for the Indian towns. The line of march was as follows: The first division, commanded by Clarke, took the front position; the center was occupied by artillery, military stores, and baggage; the second, commanded by Colonel Logan, was placed in the rear. The men were ordered to march in four lines, at about forty yards distant from each other, and a line of flankers on each side, about the same distance from the right and left line. There was also a front and rear guard, who kept only in sight of the main army. In order to prevent confusion, in case of an attack of the enemy during the march, a general order was issued, that in the event of an attack in front, the front was to stand fast, and the two right lines wheel to the right, and the two left lines to the left hand, and thus form a complete line, while the artillery was to advance to the center of the line. In case of an attack upon either of the flanks, or side lines, these were to stand fast, and likewise the artillery, while the opposite lines wheeled and formed on the two extremes of those lines. In the event of an attack upon the rear, similar order was to be observed as in an at- tack in front. In this manner the army moved on without encoun- tering anything worthy of notice.

"About 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of August, they arrived at the village. They found the town not only abandoned, but most of the houses burned down, and burning, having been set on fire that morning. The army encamped on the ground that night, and on the following day cut down several hundred (proba- bly two hundred) acres of corn (and every tree which bore any kind . of fruit was destroyed), and about 4 o'clock in the evening took up their line of march for the Piqua towns, which were about twelve miles from Chillicothe (in Clarke County).

" They had not marched more than a mile from Chillicothe, before

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there came on a very heavy rain, with thunder and lightning, accom- panied by considerable wind. Without tents, or any other shelter from the rain, which fell in torrents, the men were as wet as though they had been plunged into the river; nor had they power to keep their guns dry. It was nearly dark before the rain ceased, when they were ordered to encamp in a hollow square, with the baggage and horses in the center, and as soon as fires could be made, dry their clothes, etc. They were ordered to examine their guns, and see that they were in good condition ; to discharge them in the fol- lowing manner: One company was to fire, and time given to re-load, when a company at the most remote part of the camp from that which had fired, was to discharge theirs, and so on, alternately, until all the guns were fired.

"On the morning of the 8th, the army marched by sunrise, and · having a level, open way, arrived in sight of Piqua, on the west side of Mad River, about 2 P. M. The Indian road from Chillicothe to Piqua, which the army followed, crossed Mad River about a quarter of a mile below the town, and as soon as the advanced guard crossed into a prairie of high weeds, they were attacked by the Indians, who had been concealed there, awaiting their approach.

" The ground on which this attack was made, as well as the man- ner in which it was done, left no doubt but that a general engage- ment was intended. Colonel Logan was therefore ordered, with about four hundred men, to file off to the right and march up the river on the east side, and continue to the upper end of the town, so as to prevent the Indians from escaping in that direction, while the remainder of the men, under Colonels Flynn, Lloyed, and Har- rod, were ordered to cross the river and encompass the town on the west side, while General Clarke, with the troops under Colonel Slaughter, and such as were attached to the artillery, marched directly toward the town.

" The prairie in which the Indians who commenced the attack were concealed, was only about two hundred yards across to the timbered land, and the division of the army destined to encompass the town on the west side, found it necessary to cross the prairie to avoid the fire of a concealed enemy. The Indians evinced great military skill and judgment, and to prevent the western division from executing the duties assigned them, they made a powerful effort to turn their left wing. This was discovered by Lloyed and Flynn, who, to prevent being outflanked, extended the line of battle

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west, more than a mile from the town, which continued, warmly contested on both sides, until about 5 o'clock, when the Indians disappeared, everywhere unperceived, except a few in the town.

" The field-piece, which had been entirely useless before, was now brought to bear upon the houses, when a few well-directed shots dislodged the Indians which were in them. From a French pris- oner among them, General Clarke learned that the savages did not expect the army to reach their town so soon ; and that it was their intention, had it not rained, to attack the whites with the knife and tomahawk the previous night. The firing of the guns also deterred them. It seems that the alarm was universal, and every village was deserted. Occasionally, it is said, a solitary Indian would crawl through the grass within shooting distance, deliver his fire, and sink out of sight. The town was stretched along the banks of the river for a long distance, and in order to surround it on the east, Logan was compelled to march over three miles. In the meantime the Indians concentrated their whole force on the troops under General Clarke, and Logan never saw an Indian; hence, the great loss to the whites, and severity of the battle, which led to the re- mark of Girty, who drew off his three hundred Mingo warriors, saying it was folly to fight madmen. And true; the Kentuckians fought with desperation, well knowing that if they were defeated none would escape; and the Indians, elated with success and thirst- ing for blood, would fall upon the defenseless settlements of Ken- tucky, and murder their wives, their daughters, mothers, and children. The next day was spent in cutting down the growing corn, destroying the cabins and food, and collecting horses. On the 10th, the army began their homeward march, remaining in Chillicothe over night, and destroying a field of corn that had been left standing for their horses on their return.

"It is supposed that about five hundred acres of corn were de- stroyed on this expedition, besides every other vegetable, and food of any kind, to afford nourishment to the foe. Killing a few In- dians only served to exasperate them, but destroying their suste- nance struck at their vitals, and compelled them to hunt for support, and thus the settlements were left in repose."

This state of immunity from Indian outrage lasted but two years. In August, 1782, there was a grand council held at Chillicothe (now Oldtown), composed of the Wyandots, Shawanoes, Mingoes, Tawas, Pottowatomies, Delawares, and numerous other tribes. In their

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deliberations they were aided by those two fiends in human shape, Girty and McKee. The Revolutionary War was virtually over, and these disgraceful traitors and renegades feared the avenging arm of Virginia, and had thus sought, for their own safety, to in- stigate the Indians to murder the settlers of the surrounding country.

In pursuance of their plans, two armies, one of six hundred, the other of three hundred and fifty, prepared to march to their assigned stations. Toward the last of August, the army of redskins who were destined for Kentucky, marched toward Bryant's Station, placing themselves in ambush. But in their eagerness for blood, they foiled their own scheme by prematurely firing upon a few stragglers around the fort.

The Indians were repulsed by the garrison; and receiving rein- forcements from Lexington, Harrodsburg, and Boonesborough, pursuit was immediately commenced, and at the Lower Blue Licks they first caught sight of the foe. From the signs on the trail, the practiced eye of Boone detected evidences of a large force of In- dians, and these, he concluded, were in ambush on the opposite bank, and he advised a separation of the forces, and extreme cau- tion. But the impetuous McGary, exclaiming, " Let all who are not cowards follow me," spurred his horse into the river, and was fol- lowed by all into the ambush, and the terrible result of his rashness was the slaughter-pen of the Blue Licks.

As soon as Gen. G. R. Clarke heard of the disaster at Blue Licks, he determined to chastise the Indians, and, if possible, destroy them. To this end, he called for one thousand men, to be raised from Kentucky, making their headquarters at Cincinnati, where he was to meet them, at the head of a part of an Illinois regiment, of which he then had command, bringing with him one brass field- piece.

" The exultant savages had returned to Old Chillicothe, and had divided their spoil and their captives. Colonel Boone was imme- diately sent for to take part in this expedition. Clarke's army crossed the Ohio, and marching very rapidly up the banks of the Little Miami, arrived within two miles of Chillicothe before they were observed. Here they discovered a solitary straggler, who in- stantly fled to the village, yelling like a demon at every jump. The troops pressed on with all possible speed, but upon entering the town found it deserted. So precipitate had been their retreat, however, that the enemy left the fires burning, pots boiling, and

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meat roasting on sticks. This was a treat to the almost famished Kentuckians, who, after full indulgence, proceeded to destroy the town, corn, and everything tending to support the savage foe. It is said that on the approach of the army, men, women, and children fled to the forest, leaving everything behind them. Five towns, during this expedition, were left in ashes, and the work of destruc- tion was complete. This campaign so thoroughly crushed the Indians, that no more organized raids were made against the sur- rounding settlements, and the termination of the Revolutionary War left them to their own resources."

Numerous expeditions took place from this till the general out- break in May, 1790. The militia, under General Harmer, attack the Miami villages. Colonel Hardin is defeated October 19th, and again on the 22d. May 15, 1791, St. Clair organizes his army at Fort Washington, September 17th begins his march, and on Novem- ber 4th is defeated.

From 1780 to 1791, the armies of Clarke, Harmer, and St. Clair had marched through this section of the country. Here was the favorite home of the Indians; their corn-fields, their stronghold, their capital. Here were their councils held, their war dances per- formed. From here they radiated on their missions of murder and rapine. Here was the hot-bed of Indian hostility. The triumphs over Harmer and St. Clair incited the savages to renewed barbari- ties. The frontiers were in continual apprehension of danger. They would retire at night, expecting to awake in flames, by the lurid glare of which the savages would be seen, waving the wreak- ing tomahawk, bathed in the blood of their wives and their children. General Wayne meets and conquers the Indians, after a severe battle, August 20, 1794. This decisive battle virtually ended the Indian trouble in the northwestern frontiers, and prepared the way for settlement.

Eleven years prior to this battle of General Wayne, Washington, seeing the difficulties that would necessarily grow out of individual settlements in the Indian country, on the 7th day of September, 1783, in a letter to James Duane, a member of congress, urged the necessity of making the settlements more compact, and prohibiting individual purchase of the Indians, even punishing all such pur- chases, not made by congress or the state legislatures, as felonies. To this end, congress did, on the 18th day of April, 1783, urge the necessity of a cession of the western lands, and on the 13th day of

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September following, stated the terms upon which it would receive a deed from Virginia, to which she acceded, as we have seen, on the 20th of December of the same year; and on the 1st day of March, 1784, the deed was made, and signed by Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, delegates in con- gress from Virginia.

It was not deemed advisable to await the settlement of all ques- tions of cession before taking steps to conciliate the Indians and extinguish their title. On the 22d of September all purchases of, or settlements upon, Indian lands were forbidden by congress, and on the 15th of October the commissioners to treat with the Indians were instructed-

" To require the delivery of all prisoners; to inform the Indians of the boundaries between the British possessions and the United States; and to negotiate for all the land east of the line proposed by Washington, namely : from the mouth of the Great Miami to Mad River (Dayton); thence to Fort Miami, on the Maumee; and thence down the Maumee to the lake, etc."

It is believed the first treaty with the Indians extinguishing their title to the lands comprising the present territory of our county, was held at Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, at which the United States were represented by George R. Clarke, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, and the chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippe- was, and Ottawa Indians.

The conditions of this treaty were, that three chiefs, one from the Wyandots, and two from the Delaware nations, should be de- livered to the commissioners, to be held until all prisoners then in possession of the nations represented should be given up. The boundary line between the United States and the said Indians, was to begin at the river Cuyahoga, and run up that river to the port- age between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; then down the said branch to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence; thence westwardly to the portage of the Big Miami which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch (Laramie's Creek) the fort stood, (Fort Laramie) which was taken by the French in 1752; then along the said portage to the Great Miami or Ome (Maumee) river; and down the southeast side of the same to its mouth; thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where it began.

At the treaty of Fort Harmer, January 9, 1789, between Arthur

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St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, and the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, and others, the treaty of Fort McIntosh was confirmed; and in consideration of peace then granted, and the presents they then received, as well as a quantity of goods amount- ing to $6,000, which were delivered to them, they released and quit claimed, and ceded to the United States all the land east, south, and west of the lines above described.

Subsequently, by the treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, the boundary lines of the two former treaties were confirmed, so far as from the mouth of the Cuyahoga to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence. "Thence," says this treaty, "westwardly to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River running into the Ohio, at or near which stood Laramie's store." (Laramie's store, or Picka- willany, was at the mouth of Laramie Creek, in Miami County, but Fort Laramie was sixteen miles up the creek, in Shelby County, evidently the spot mentioned.) Instead of running up the Mau- mee,-which was formerly called the Miami of the Lake,-and along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the place of beginning, the Greenville treaty line runs to Fort Recovery, thence south in a direct line to the Ohio, intersecting it opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river. (See preceding pages.)

By this last treaty all other treaties were confirmed and ratified ; and all the territory northwest of the river Ohio, east and south of the above boundary lines, was ceded and relinquished forever by the Indians, " And these lands, or any part of them, shall never hereafter be made a cause or pretense, on the part of the said tribes, or any of them, of war or injury to the United States, or any other people thereof.

" In consideration of the peace now established, and of the ces- sions and relinquishment of lands made in the preceding article by the said tribes of Indians, and to manifest the liberality of the United States, as the great means of rendering this peace strong and perpetual, the United States now deliver to the said Indian tribes a quantity of goods to the value of twenty thousand dollars, the receipt whereof they do hereby acknowledge; and hencefor- ward, every year, forever, the United States will deliver, at some convenient place northward of the river Ohio, like useful goods, suited to the circumstances of the Indians, of the value of nine thousand five hundred dollars; reckoning that value at the first cost of the goods in the city or place in the United States where

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they shall be procured. The tribes to which these goods are to be annually delivered, and the proportions in which they are to be delivered, are the following:

" To the Wyandots, the amount of one thousand dollars.

" To the Delawares, the amount of one thousand dollars.

" To the Shawanoes, the amount of one thousand dollars.

"To the Miamis, the amount of one thousand dollars.

"To the Ottawas, the amount of one thousand dollars.

"To the Chippewas, the amount of one thousand dollars.

" To the Pottawatamies, the amount of one thousand dollars.

" And to the Kickapoo, Wea, Eel River, Piankeshaw, and Kas- kaskia tribes, the amount of five hundred dollars each.

"To prevent any misunderstanding about the Indian lands re- linquished by the United States, in the fourth article, it is now explicitly declared that the meaning of that relinquishment is this : The Indian tribes who have a right to these lands are quietly to enjoy them, hunting, planting and dwelling thereon, so long as they please, without any molestation from the United States. But when those tribes, or any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, or any part of them, they are to be sold only to the United States; and until such sale, the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United States; and against all other white persons who intrude upon the same. And the said Indians again acknowl- edge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and no other power whatever.

" The Indians, or the United States, may remove and punish in- truders on Indian lands.

"Indians may hunt within ceded lands.

"Trade shall be opened in substance, as by provisions in treaty of Fort Harmer.

" All injuries shall be referred to law, not privately avenged ; and all hostile plans known to either, shall be revealed to the other party.

" All previous treaties annulled."

This great and abiding peace document was signed by the various nations named in the fourth article, and dated August 3d, 1795. It was laid before the Senate, December 9th, and ratified December 22d. So closed the old Indian wars of the West.

Thus have we endeavored to trace the history of our county,

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from the original grant of King James I, April 10, 1606, to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Sommers, Richard Hackluit, and Ed- ward Maria Wingfield, "adventurers of and for our city of Lon- don," with various additions, May 23, 1609, and March, 1611, (vide sup.) to its cession to the United States by Virginia, March 1, 1784; and on till its final conveyance by the Indians, under the treaties above mentioned, which freed it from savage depredation, prepared it for individual purchase and settlement, and cleared the way for the advancing tide of immigration, which was rapidly moving along the banks of every stream emptying into that great artery of the northwest, the Ohio River, appropriately called by the French . " La Belle Rivier."

During the consummation of these various treaties, ranging from the year 1785 to 1795, a portion of the country began to be sur- veyed, (vide anti pages,) which was followed by purchase and actual occupation. A company, composed of officers and soldiers of the Revolution, was formed in Boston, March, 1786, with Gen. Rufus Putnam as agent, who, in the spring of 1788, with forty- seven others from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, erected a stockade, and formed a permanent settlement known as Marietta. In the winter of 1786, a Mr. Stites, of Redstone, visited congress, then at New York, with a view to settling a tract of coun- try between the two Miamis. John Cleves Symmes, then a mem- ber from New Jersey, becoming interested in the scheme, and with an eye to speculation, determined to make a personal investigation ; the result of which was the purchase of one million acres between the Miamis, in his name. Soon after, he sold to Mathias Denman, and others, that portion which now forms the site of Cincinnati, and in the fall of 1789 several families from New York, New Jer- sey, and Redstone, descended the Ohio River in flat-boats, as far as the mouth of the Little Miami. As the Indians manifested hostile intentions, forty soldiers, under Lieutenant Kersey, joined them as an escort and guard. They erected at first a single block house; soon adding to it, however, three others. Subsequently a stockade fort was built on a spot now included within the town of Columbia. In June, 1789, Major Doughty, with one hundred and forty regu- , lars, put up four block houses opposite the mouth of the Licking, on the purchase by Denham of Symmes, and about the same time built Fort Washington. Soon after, General Harmer arrived with three hundred more troops, and occupied the fort. Assured now

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of protection, Israel Ludlow, Denham, and Patterson, began the erection of cabins along the river, and within range of the fort. During the following winter Ludlow surveyed and laid out the town of Losantiville. (A quadroon production of the Latin os, Greek anti, and French rille, and L unknown.) When General St. Clair came there to reside as Governor of the Northwest Territory, he changed the name to Cincinnati.

In 1787 the reserved lands of Virginia were examined, and en- tries made. In the following year congress protested the validity of these claims, which, however, was withdrawn in 1790. In this * year Nathanial Massie entered into an agreement with certain per- sons to survey these lands, and lay them open for individual pur- chase; establishing a town above Maysville, called Manchester, from which they made surveying expeditions during the years from 1791 to 1796.

Symmes having originally contracted for two million acres of land, and under this contract having disposed of portions of it to settlers along the Little Miami, and vicinity of the present site of Dayton, his failure to pay for but two hundred and forty-eight thousand five hundred and forty acres threw these purchasers to the mercy of the federal rulers, until preemption rights were secured to them by the act of 1799.

A few days after Wayne's treaty, St. Clair, Wilkinson, Jonathan Dayton, and Israel Ludlow, purchased the seventh and eighth ranges of Symmes, between Mad River and the Little Miami. On the 21st of September, 1795, Daniel C. Cooper undertook to mark out and survey a road on these lands, which was completed by John Dunlap, October 4th, the same year. November 4th, Israel Ludlow laid off Dayton, and the lots were disposed of by raffle.

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History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio, Part 25

Author: R. S. Dills Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1037

Author: R. S. Dills
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1037