History of Mercer County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 4

Author: Scranton, S. S
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 786

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THE FIRST COUNTIES ORGANIZED. 1437097

Washington County, then embracing the eastern half of the present State of Ohio, was the only organized county of the Northwest Territory un- til early in 1790, when the Governor proclaimed Hamilton County, which included all the territory between the Great and Little Miami rivers, and extended north to the "Standing Stone Forks" on the first named stream.

HOSTILITY OF THE INDIAN TRIBES-MILITARY EXPEDITIONS.

From the time of the organization of the government of the Northwest Territory, in 1788, until the ratification of the treaty of Greenville, sometimes called "Wayne's treaty," in 1795, the attitude of many of the Western In- dian tribes toward the white settlers in the Northwest Territory was that of extreme, unrelenting hostility. The military organization which had marched against them, before the establishment of civil government in the great Northwest, had signally failed to subjugate them, or secure a perma- nent cessation of hostilities. The disastrous expeditions of General Braddock in 1755, of Major Wilkins in 1763, of Colonel Bradstreet in 1764, of Colonel Lochry in 1781, and of Colonel Crawford in 1782, and the disgraceful and murderous expedition against the Moravian Indians on the Tuscarawas, in the last named year, only tended to inflame the hostile Indian tribes, and in-

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY

spire them with greater courage in their hostile movements and aggressive measures against the white settlers. The fruitless, if not abortive, campaigns of Colonel McDonald in 1774, of General McIntosh in 1778, and of General Broadhead in 1781, of course led to no salutary results. Even the successful campaigns of Colonel Boquet in 1763-64, of Lord Dunmore and General Lewis in 1774, and of Gen. George Rogers Clark in 1778, failed to secure a permanent peace with the Western Indian tribes. The inhabitants of the Northwest Territory were, therefore, from the 7th day of April, 1788, when the first immigrants arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum, until the treaty of Greenville was concluded in August, 1795, constantly liable to the stealthy but deadly attacks of the perfidious, merciless savage tribes of the Northwest. But they met their dastardly, cruel, relentless foes in the spirit

Scale

60 Rods

bash Rivet

PLAN OF ST. CLAIR'S BATTLE-FIELD.

References : A .- High ground, on which the militia were encamped at the commence- ment of the action. B. C .- Encampment of the main army. D .- Retreat of the militia at the beginning of the battle. E .- St. Clair's trace, on which the defeated army retreated. F .- Place where General Butler and other officers were buried. G .- Trail to Girty's Town, on the river St. Mary's, at what is now the village of St. Marys. H .- Site of Fort Re- covery, built by Wayne. I .- Place where a brass cannon was found buried in 1830; it is on the bottom where the Indians were three times driven to the highland with the bayonet .- From Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio."

of genuine manhood-of true, determined, unflinching heroism! They were men worthy of the heroic age of the West! Bravely did they bear themselves during those seven years of toil and privation, of dread and apprehension, of suffering and sorrow, of blood and carnage.

To secure the speedy termination of those savage atrocities, the national government early organized a number of military expeditions, the first of which being that of Gen. Josiah Harmar, in 1790, who was then commander- in-chief of the military department of the West. He had a few hundred reg-

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ular troops under his command, stationed chiefly at Fort Harmar and Fort Washington, which served as the nucleus of his army, The great body of his troops, however, numbering in all above 1,400, were Pennsylvania and Kentucky volunteers, the former being under the command of Col. John Hardin, and the latter of Colonel Trotter. The expedition left Fort Wash- ington and marched to the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers (now Fort Wayne, Indiana), where detachments of the army, under com- mand of Colonel Hardin, on the 19th and 22nd day of October, encountered the enemy and suffered mortifying defeats. Of course, the campaign failed to give peace or relief from apprehended barbarities.

The next year Gen. Arthur St. Clair, the Governor of the Territory, who had a Revolutionary record of patriotism and ability, organized an expedition, whose strength somewhat exceeded that of General Harmar's. It met with a most disastrous defeat, November 4, 1791, near the head-waters of the Wabash, now in Mercer County, Ohio, the battle-field being known as Fort Recovery. Of 1,500 men in the battle more than half were either killed or wounded. This defeat proved a great calamity to the disheartened and greatly harassed pioneers of the Northwest Territory.

Immediately after the defeat of General St. Clair, the Federal govern- ment took the preliminary steps to raise a large army to operate against the hostile tribes, for the purpose of finally and permanently subjugating them. Military preparations, however, progressed slowly, and the summer of 1794 had nearly passed before the confederated hostile Indian tribes were met in battle array by General Wayne's army. The battle was fought at the Maumee Rapids, near Perrysburg and Fort Meigs, in Wood County, Ohio, and is known as the battle of Fallen Timber, though sometimes called the "Battles of the Maumee." Wayne's army numbered more than 3,000 men, well dis- ciplined and ably officered, 1,600 of whom being mounted volunteer troops

Perrysburg

FORT

MEIGS

Fort

Wateruille

Proctor's

Encampment

Maumee City

Rapers

Roche

de Bœuf

Wayne's Battle Ground

PLAN ILLUSTRATING THE BATTLES OF THE MAUMEE.

Explanations .- The map above shows about eight miles of the country along each side of the Maumee, including the towns of Perrysburg, Maumee City and Waterville. Fort Meigs, memorable from having sustained two sieges in the year 1813, is shown on the east side of the Maumee, with the British batteries on both sides of the river, and above the British fort, the position of Proctor's encampment .- From Knapp's "History of the Maumee Valley."

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY

from Kentucky, commanded by Gen. Charles Scott, of said State, who was the second ranking officer in the army and who, as well as Gen. Henry Lee (the "Light-Horse Harry" of the Revolution) and Gen. William Darke, had been favorably considered by President Washington in connection with the chief command of the expedition. The choice, however, fell upon General Wayne, the old companion-in-arms of the President, and to him is justly ascribed the honor of defeating the Indian tribes commanded by the celebrated Shawnee chief, Blue Jacket, on the Maumee, August 20, 1794, and of permanently breaking the power of a very formidable Indian confederacy. Cessation of hostilities followed this victory, and a peace, which the general government had vainly sought by friendly negotiation, was secured-a peace which con- tinued for many years, even until after the Northwest Territory had "ceased to be," and the important incidents and events connected therewith had passed into history.

EARLY FORTS OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Fort Washington .- A military post was established at Losantiville (now Cincinnati) and named Fort Washington, after Gen. George Washing- ton, being built by General Doughty in the fall of 1789. It was from this point that the first movement, under General Harmar, was made against the Indians, he being the commandant at the fort, and we may also add that the subsequent expeditions of Generals St. Clair and Wayne started from Fort Washington ..

Fort Hamilton .- In the early part of September, 1791, the main body of General St. Clair's army, under General Butler, took up the line of march from Fort Washington, and, moving northward 25 miles, on the eastern bank of the Great Miami erected a fort which they called Fort Hamilton, after Gen. Alexander Hamilton, and which was completed October 4, 1791. It was named by General St. Clair, and was located within the present limits of Butler County, Ohio.

Fort Jefferson .- General St. Clair's army marched from Fort Hamilton a distance of 42 miles, and on October 12, 1791, built Fort Jefferson, six miles south of Greenville, in what is now Darke County, Ohio, being named in honor of Thomas Jefferson. The army remained here until October 24th, then marched nine days, and on November 3rd reached the site of the present town of Fort Recovery, Ohio, and encamped at the head-waters of the Wabash.

Fort Greenville .- General Wayne, having received the appointment to the command of the Western troops against the Indians, was gathering his forces from 1792, to August, 1793. He left Camp Hobson's Choice, near Fort Washington, on October 6, 1793, advanced to the southwest branch of

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the Great Miami, within six miles of Fort Jefferson, and in November, 1793, built Fort Greenville, which stood in the vicinity of what is now the town of Greenville, Darke County.

Fort Recovery .- On December 23, 1793, General Wayne gave orders for the erection of a fort on the site of St. Clair's defeat, in 1791. For that purpose he ordered Maj. Henry Barbee with eight companies of infantry and a detachment of artillery to proceed to the ground and erect a fort, which he named Fort Recovery. This was located on the site of the present town of Fort Recovery, in Mercer County. In connection with the building of this fort, we may state that on the arrival of the soldiers, and before they could pitch their tents, they were required to collect the bones of St. Clair's soldiers and carry them out before they could make their beds. The next day 600 skulls were found; the bones were all buried.

Fort Defiance was commenced by General Wayne August 8, 1794, at the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers, and finished August 30th. It consisted of slight earthworks-a stockade with four block-houses, one at each angle. The earthworks of the fort can to this day be readily traced.

MAUMEE R.

AUGLAIZE R.

PLAN OF FORT DEFIANCE.

Explanations .- At each angle of fort was a block-house. The one next the Maumee is marked A, having port-holes B, on the three exterior sides, and door D, and chimney C, on the side facing to the interior. There was a line of pickets on each side of the fort, connecting the block-houses by their nearest angles. Outside of the pickets and around the block-houses was a glacis, a wall of earth eight feet thick, sloping upwards and outwards from the feet of the pickets, supported by a log wall on the side of the ditch and by fascines, a wall of fagots, on the side next the Auglaize. The ditch, fifteen feet wide and eight feet deep, surrounded the whole work except on the side toward the Auglaize; and diagonal pickets, eleven feet long and one foot apart, were secured to the log wall and projected over the ditch. E and E were gateways. F was a bank of earth, four feet wide, left for a passage across the ditch. G was a falling gate or drawbridge, which was raised and lowered by pulleys, across the ditch, covering it or leaving it un- covered at pleasure. The officers' quarters were at H, and the storehouses at I. At K, two lines of pickets converged towards L. which was a ditch eight feet deep, by which water was procured from the river without exposing the carrier to the enemy. M was a small sand-bar at the point .- From Knapp's "History of the Maumee Valley."

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY

Fort Adams .- General Wayne built this fort August 2, 1794, on the south bank of the St. Mary's River, in section 24, Dublin township, Mercer County, on the land subsequently owned by Joseph Palmer, 12 miles east of the Indiana line. It was named by General Wayne in honor of John Adams, then Vice-President of the United States.

Fort Industry was erected by General Wayne in 1794, near the confluence of Swan Creek with the Maumee River, and placed in charge of Capt. J. Rhea, who held the same until after the British evacuated all the posts in the Northwest Territory.

Fort Deposit was built by General Wayne in August, 1794, being located seven miles from the foot of the Maumee Rapids for the reception of stores and baggage, hence the name of the fort, and to better reconnoitre the enemy's ground, which lay behind a thick wood and the British fort (Fort Miami).

Fort Wayne .- The site of this fort was at the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers. It was commenced September 17, and finished Octo- ber 22, 1794. It occupied a commanding position on the south side of the Maumee River, where the Maumee towns were located. Colonel Ham- tramck, on its completion, assumed command of the post with the following sub-legions : Captain Kingsbury's, Ist; Captain Greaton's, 2nd; Captains Spark and Reed's, 3rd; Captain Preston's, 4th; and Captain Porter's artillery. After firing 15 rounds of cannon, Colonel Hamtramck gave it the name of Fort Wayne, after their gallant and victorious general. This fort was dis- mantled in 1804, when a new and larger one was built in its place. This was also taken down, in 1815, and a more substantial one erected, which con- sisted of a stockade, block-houses and officers' quarters.

Fort Gower was erected by Lord Dunmore in 1774, and named in honor of Earl Gower. It was situated in what is now Athens County.

Fort Junandat was built by the French in 1750, on the east bank of the Sandusky River.

Fort Piqua, erected prior to the settlement of the country, stood at Up- per Piqua, on the west bank of the Miami River. It was used for a place of deposit for stores for the army of Wayne. The portage from here to Fort Loramie, 14 miles, thence to St. Marys, 12 miles, was all the land carriage from the Ohio to Lake Erie. Loaded boats frequently ascended to Fort Loramie, the loading taken out and hauled to St. Marys; the boats also were moved across on wheels, again loaded and launched for Fort Wayne, Fort De- fiance and the lake. The last commander of Fort Piqua was Capt. J. N. Vischer, in 1794. During that year two freighted boats, guarded by an officer and 23 men, were attacked by the Indians near the fort, and all masacred. Cap- tain Vischer heard the firing. but from the weakness of his command could render no assistance. The plan of the Indians doubtless was to make the

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attack in hearing of the fort, and thereby induce them to sally out in aid of their countrymen, defeat all and take the fort. The commander was a dis- creet officer, and, aware of the subtleness of the enemy, had the firmness to save the fort. The track of the pickets, the form of the river bastion, still mark the site of Fort Piqua.

Fort St. Clair-About a mile west of Eaton, the county seat of Preble County, is the site of Fort St. Clair, erected in the severe winter of 1791-92, by Maj. John S. Gano, of the Territorial militia. Gen. William Henry Har- rison, then an ensign, commanded a guard every other night for about three weeks, during the building of the fort. They had neither fire nor covering of any kind, and suffered much from the intense cold.

Fort Seneca was a military post built in the War of 1812, and was located nine miles north of Tiffin, on the west bank of the Sandusky River. It was occupied by General Harrison's troops at the time of the attack on Fort Stephenson, which was only a few miles below, on the river.

Fort Stephenson, or Sandusky, was built at a very early day, and was within the present limits of Sandusky City. This fort was gallantly de- fended by Col. George Croghan on the 2nd of August, 1813, against an overwhelming force of British and Indians.

Fort Steuben was situated where the city of Steubenville now stands, being located on North High street, near the site of the female seminary. It was built in 1786 by Major Hamtramck, and was garrisoned by United States troops under command of Colonel Beatty, but was dismantled at the time of Wayne's victory in 1794, and other buildings erected. It was oc- cupied as a military post until 1819, when the reservation on which it stood was sold. The remains of the building were removed about 1848. In connection with the second structure, we would state it was besieged by the Indians under Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, in August and September, 1812, and was successfully defended until relieved by the troops under General Harrison.

Fort Loramie was built by General Wayne in 1794, on Loramie's Creek, being 16 miles northwest of the present city of Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio. It received its name from a Frenchman named Loramie, who established it as a trading post and gave his name to the stream, which flows along its southern side.

Fort Harmar .- There were two forts by this name, both of which were built upon the same ground by Gen. Josiah Harmar, west of the Muskingum River, opposite where Marietta now stands. The first fort stood on what is called the "second bottom," being elevated above the ordinary flood of the river, while between it and the banks of the river was a lower or first bottom depressed about six feet, to which the descent was a gradual slope.

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY

The first formed a regular hectagon, and the area embraced within its walls contained about three-fourths of an acre. To communicate with Campus Martius from Fort Harmar, a path was cut and cleaned through the forest. The second fort was erected "on the right bank of the Muskingum River opposite to Marietta, and at its junction with the Ohio." It was named in honor of General Harmar, and was commenced in 1785, but not finished until 1786.

Fort Amanda .- Colonel Poague, with his regiment, built the fort at the Ottawa towns, in what is now Allen County, on the Auglaize, 12 miles from St. Marys, and named it Fort Amanda, in honor of his wife. This regi- ment was at the same time employed in constructing boats and canoes, and in escorting provision trains between the posts. These were some of the exertions and movements made in our territory in preparation for the main expedition contemplated against Malden. The fort was situated near the west bank of the Auglaize River with about an acre of land. The pickets were from 10 to 12 feet high, and sunk two or three feet in the ground. There were four block-houses, one at each corner ; the second story projected over the pickets three or four feet and was pierced with port-holes, from which the soldiers could defend the fort in case of attack; the first story was occupied by soldiers and company officers as sleeping rooms. The block- house in the southeast corner was the largest and was used mainly as officers' quarters. There was also a large cabin in the center of the fort, which was used as a storehouse for supplies for the army, as the soldiers wintered all one winter, if not two, at this point. Again, the old fort was used as one of the first postoffices in Allen County, as well as the first place of preaching. Fort Amanda served as an intermediate storehouse and point of concentration between St. Marys, Urbana and Upper Sandusky on the one side, and Forts Wayne and Defiance on the other. Here a cemetery was established for the interment of the nation's dead during the occupation of the fort. This cemetery was continued in use by the whites after the settle- ment, and is still a monument to that army.

Fort Auglaize .- This old fort, east of Wapakoneta, was built by the French in 1748.

Fort McIntosh was built by Gen. L. McIntosh in October, 1778, he having succeeded General Hand in the command. This fort was built for the reception and security of prisoners and slaves upon the Indian side of the Ohio River, with barracks for a regiment. Gen. Arthur Lee, in 1784, thus describes it : "It is built of well hewn logs, with four bastions-its figure is an irregular square-the face to the river being longer than the side to the land. It is almost equal to a square of 50 yards-it is well built and strong against musquetry." General McIntosh, leaving a portion of his

FORT AMANDA (ALLEN COUNTY)

( Built in September. 1812, by the United States Troops of the Northwestern Army, under Colonel Poague )

FORT WASHINGTON (CINCINNATI) ( From a sketch by Maj. Jonathan Heart, U. S. A., drawn in 1791 )

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men to complete the fortification, set out at the head of 1,000 men to build Fort Laurens at the forks of the Muskingum, which he accomplished by December. The object of this was to strike a blow at the Indian town on the Sandusky River-but the season being too far advanced he concluded to defer it until spring, and leaving Col. John Gibson in command, with 150 men to garrison Fort Laurens, he returned in December to Pittsburg. Fort Laurens was attacked in January by about 800 Indians. After frequent parleys and a promise of a barrel of flour, they agreed to send in proposals for peace, but instead of this they retreated. Colonel Gibson relying on their word, and supposing they had left, permitted Captain Clarke, of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, with 15 men, to set out on his return to Fort McIn- tosh, whence they had gone to escort some provisions. About three miles from Fort Laurens, he was attacked by the notorious and infamous Simon Girty at the head of a band of Mingos. Two of his men were killed, four wounded and one taken prisoner; the remainder escaped to the fort. The garrison, after a long, distressing siege of four weeks, was relieved by Gen- eral McIntosh at the head of nearly 800 men, who advanced rapidly to raise the siege by the route of Fort McIntosh. As the army came in sight of Fort Laurens, the garrison fired a salute, which so alarmed the pack-horses that they broke loose, by which means much of the provisions was lost and the horses never recovered. Many of the most famished soldiers were injured by the surfeit occasioned by overeating. They returned to Fort McIntosh, where they were met by their friends from the settlements and abundantly supplied. A new body of troops supplied those worn down by the fatigues of the siege, and the fort was left in command of Major Vernon. General McIntosh endeavored to get up an expedition against the Sandusky towns, but overcome by the great exertions necessary, his health much impaired and his spirits broken down, he was forced to resign. Col. Daniel Broadhead succeeded General McIntosh in command, but his position was judiciously chosen, as it commanded not only the mouth of the Muskingum, but swept the waters of the Ohio from a curve in the river both above and below the fort. It was placed under the command of Maj. John Doughty, and occupied by a detachment of United States troops from 1785 to September, 1790. General Broadhead, in his letter to General Armstrong, says: "It was owing to the General's determination to take Detroit that the very romantic building called Fort McIntosh was built by the hands of hundreds who would rather have fought than wrought."

Fort Laurens was erected in November, 1778, at the forks of the Mus- kingum, on the right bank of the Tuscarawas River, half a mile below the site of Bolivar, Tuscarawas County, by Gen. L. McIntosh, of the Revolution. In December following it was occupied by 1,000 soldiers. Before the troops

HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY

left, he placed Col. John Gibson in command, with 150 men to garrison it, and on July 31, 1779, it was evacuated by order of General Broadhead. Henry Laurens, after whom the fort was named, was a distinguished Revo- lutionary patriot. Upon the resignation of John Hancock he was appointed president of the General Congress in November, 1777. He was captured by the British while on his way to Holland to negotiate a treaty with the United Netherlands in 1780 and was committed to the Tower on the 6th of October. He was eventually discharged and was appointed by Congress one of the min- isters for negotiating peace with Great Britain, in conjunction with Dr. Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. He signed the preliminaries of peace on November 30, 1782, and then returned to Carolina, where he died 10 years later.

Fort Campus Martius was erected by the Ohio Company of Associates at Marietta, its erection being begun under the direction of Gen. Rufus Put- nam, on April 7, 1788. It was not finally completed with palisades and out- works or bastions, until the winter of 1790. The walls, which formed a regular parallelogram, were each 180 feet long. At each corner was a strong block-house surmounted by a tower or sentry box, 26 feet square at the base, and at the top 20 feet, with projection of 6 feet beyond the main walls of the fort. The buildings within the inclosure were constructed of whip-sawed timber about 4 inches thick, dove-tailed at the corners and covered with shingle roofs, each room of which had fire-places and brick chimneys. The towers and bastions were bright with whitewash. The first court ever held in the Northwest Territory was opened in the northwest block-house of Campus Martius (Marietta), August 2, 1788, and was held during the Indian war. At the close of the war and until the old Court House of Washington County was built, the courts were held in the upper story of a block-house at the junction of the Muskingum River with the Ohio. The first Washington County Court House was built in 1798.

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History of Mercer County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 4

Author: Scranton, S. S Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 786

Author: Scranton, S. S
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 786