USA > Ohio > Mercer County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 78
USA > Ohio > Van Wert County > History of Van Wert and Mercer counties, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 78
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When Gen. Mereer resided in Cumberland County, we find that Gov. Morris issued a circular on March 26, 1756, on the subject of making an attack upon Kittanning to Capts. Mercer, Hamilton, Burd, and Porter. On April 19th we learn that Capt. Mereer was at Carlisle recruiting for his company for that purpose at Fort Stry; and Capt. James Burd, Esq., writes to Gov. Morris that, as the captain was a stranger in the town, he had procured for him thirty pounds from Francis West. Esq. At Fort Shirley he had thirty men, but he was increasing it to sixty.
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Here we may remark that Fort Shirley was one of the first forts erected in Gov. Morris's time, in 1755, on the west side of the Susquehanna. twenty miles northward of Fort Lyttleton, at a place called Aughwick. It was near the great path used by the Indians and Indian traders from the Ohio, and consequently the easiest way of access for the Indians into the settlement. It stands on an elevated plat of ground within the limits of Shirleysburg. Huntington County, Pa., where the Female Semi- mary now stands, and about one-fourth of a mile from Aughwick Creek (originally spelled AAukwick). Aug. 27, 1756, the Supreme Council ap- proved of an expedition against Kittanning, about twenty miles from Fort Ry Queste, to be under the command of Col. John Armstrong, who was to have under hum Capts. Mercer, Hamilton, Ward, and Porter,
and to engage whatever other volunteers he could. The officers and men were to assemble at Fort Shirley, and thence set out on the expe- dition.
Col. Armstrong marched his three hundred men on August 30th from MeDowell's to Fort Shirley, thence to Sherman's Valley, thence to Fort Lyttleton, and thence to Kittanning, where a battle was fought on September sth. Feb. 27, 1756, Gov. Denny informed the Council that he had concerted an expedition against Kittanning, a town twenty miles above Fort Du Quesne, to be conducted by Col. John Armstrong. For his good conduct at the battle of Kittanning he received a gold medal from the corporation of the city of Philadelphia, which is preserved by his de- scendants as a sacred memorial of his public worth and private virtues. In this battle, however, he was severely wounded in the right arm, which was broken. Upon that occasion he narrowly escaped being taken pris- oner, and, being separated from his party, wandered a fortnight in the wilderness, slaking his thirst in the brook of the forest, until he reached the settled country.
While wandering in the woods, he being a physician, applied tempo- rary relief to his wound, but was quite exhausted from loss of blood and want of proper food and nourishment. Added to all this, he was surrounded by hostile savages, and on one occasion he took refuge in a hollow tree; while there a party of savages came up, seated themselves on the tree, remained some time, and departed without discovering that a brave and wounded sollier was near them. He endeavored to return by the route in which the army had advanced, and in due time, through a trackless wild of more than one hundred miles, he reached Fort Cui- berland.
On account of his wound and suffering he did not take command of his company until Nov. 17, 1756, which took place at Shippensburg.
May 18, 1757. A conference was held at Fort Frederick this day, which was sixteen miles from Fort Lyttleton. Pennsylvania was repre- sented by Col. J. Armstrong, Capt. Hugh Mercer, Lieut. W. Armstrong. and Lieut. Thomas Smallman, and the Cherokee Indians by two of their Governors, with R. Paris'as their interpreter, which resulted in gaining the confidence of the Cherokee Indians, and making them many pre- sents.
Dec. 3, 1758. Capt. Mercer congratulates Gov. Penny on the success attending his majesty's arms on the expedition against Fort Du Quesne, and the peace and safety derived to the inhabitants of Pennsylvania. This fort was reduced by Brig. Gen. John Forbes, who set out from Philadelphia with 5550 men, composed of 350 Royal Americans, 1200 Montgomery Highlanders, 1600 Virginians, and 2760 Pennsylvania Pro- vincials. When Gen. Forbes drew near with his overwhelming army. Monsieur De Ligney, who was in command (and the successor of Mon. sieur De Dumas), after firing the buildings, destroying the stores, and all that he could of the works, secretly retired with the garrison to Erie, and thenee to Illinois, and without a blow abandoned so valuable a prize. On Nov. 25, 1754, the standard of Great Britain was displayed upon the dismantled fortress.
Gen. Forbes marched back to Philadelphia after appointing Capt. Mercer with 250 men to take command of the fort. He reached Padla- delphia, Jan. 17, 1755, and died March 11, 1759, and was buried in the chancel of Christ Church. .
It is proper to state in connection herewith that Captain Mercer made
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HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO. .
immediate provision for the securing of that post which had cost so much blood and treasure. A small fortification was thrown up on the bank of the Monongahela, and named in honor of the English minister Fort Pitt. Col. Hugh Mercer was the first officer in command of the first Fort Pitt.
During 1759 many conferences were held with the Indian nations, over which Col. Mercer presided, while the Indian nations were represented by their chiefs, with the aid of an interpreter.
June, 1775, Col. Hugh Mercer received from Congress his commis- sion as Brigadier-General, and on July 31, 1776, it appears that Con- gress required the Committee of Safety of Pennsylvania to send to Gen. Mercer for the service of the flying camp (which was to consist of 6000 men), ten six-pounders, and an equal number of four-pounders.
Gen. Mercer was a prominent officer throughout the entire Continental service; the battle on Long Island, the retreat to New York. the evacuation of that city, the battle of White Plains, the fall of Fort Wash- ington, the projected attack on Long Island, and the retreat through New Jersey, were the prominent incidents of this eventful period. Through- out all these he was in active service under Gen. Washington to whose affections he was closely endeared. Gen. Mercer's brigade formed a part of the left wing of Washington's army in the capture of the Hes- sians at Trenton, December 26, 1776.
On January 2, 1777. Washington proceeded to Princeton and defeated the British, who lost about. 500 men. Gen. Mercer's horse was killed by the enemy's fire; he was surrounded by the enemy. Disdaining to sur- render, and indignant at the apparent confusion of his men, he encoun- tered, wounded as he was, single-handed a detachment of the enemy, in which action he was bayoneted and left on the field.
For a full understanding of the affair, we may state that the battle of Princeton was commenced on January 3, by Gen. Mercer, with his col- umn consisting of 350 men, composed of the Delaware and Maryland · regiments, near Stony Brook. Upon hearing the fire Gen. Wash- ington in person led on his forces to the support of Gen. Mercer with two pieces of artillery. The force engaged against him was the 17th, 40th, and 55th regiments, commanded by Col. Mawhood. Washington coming up after the battle had commenced, waved his hat and called on the soldiers to maintain their ground. The conflict was short and severe, and the British broke and retreated, and the fate of the day was thus ended.
Major Armstrong, the general's aid, found Gen. Mercer lying bleed- ing and insensible on the field, and removed him to a neighboring farm, . where he lingered until January 12, 1477. While breathing his last prayer for his young and helpless family, and his bleeding and adopted country, he expired in the arms of Major George Lewis, a nephew of General Washington.
Hle was buried at Princeton, but his body was afterwards brought to Philadelphia and buried in Christ Church yard. However, on Novem- ber 26, 1840, his remains were disinterred and removed with appropriate honor to the Laurel Hill Cemetery. A monument is there erected by the St. Andrew Society.
ESTABLISHMENT.
The county was erected by virtue of an act for the erection of coun- ties in Northwestern Obio, and passed February 12, 1-20. This act provides that " all that part of lands lately coded by the Indians to the United States, which lies within the State of Ohio, shall be and the same is hereby erected into fourteen separate and distinct counties, to be bounded and named as follows: Van Wert, Mercer, Putnam, Allen, Hancock, Hardin, Crawford, Richland, Seneca, Sandusky, Wood, Henry, Paulding, and Williams."
Mercer County, according to the provisions of the same act, was to include all of ranges 1, 2, 3, and 4, south of Van Wert County to the northern boundaries of counties heretofore organized. The same act . also provided that Van Wert and Mercer counties be attached to Darke County until otherwise ordered. Mercer County was subsequently de- Larberlin 1924, and Van Wert in October, 1:37.
EARLY OBSERVATIONS.
Lettere of Capt. Riley touching the Future of the Wilderness of the Northwest.
FOREST, HEAD OF WARASH RIVER, NEAR FORT RECOVERY, Omo, Nov. 20, 1819.
B. SANDFORD, Esq.
DEAR SIR: Embracing a leisure moment while my companions are asleep, I will attempt to give you some description of the country which we are employed to survey ; and although you may be acquainted with an outline of the geographical situation, it may not be uninteresting to gain a more particular view than it has been in the power of any one to take before a part of the surveys were completed. This tract of country, commonly called the new purchase in Ohio, lies in the northwest part of the State, and courprises one-fifth part of the whole area, or about 5,000,000 of acres, and was ceded by several tribes of Indians to the United States by the treaty of Fort Meigs in 1817 and St. Marys in 1518. It is bound north by Lake Erie and Michigan territory, west by the line that separates Ohio from Indiana, south and east by the line of former purchases from the Indians, and lies between latitude 40' 20' and 41º 50', and west longitude 823 55' and 81950'. South of latitude 41º in this purchase lies an extensive level country, the most elevated part of Ohio. > The Wabash, Maumee, and Scioto rivers, which discharge their waters into the Ohio, Mississippi, and Gulf of Mexico, and the St. Marys, Aug- laize, and Sandusky rivers, that empty their waters into Lake Erie, take their rise and have their sources in this elevated plain. The branches of these rivers, running different courses and emptying into different oceans, interlock in such a manner as almost to form a junction with each other in the spring of the year, and boats have actually sailed from the Wabash into the St. Marys, and thence through the Maumee. The waters of the Scioto and Maumee also approach each other in a singular manner, and are nearly connected with the Sandusky and the Auglaize rivers, so by a trifling expense they might be made to commingle, and thus afford good agricultural and commercial facilities, The climate is mild for the 40° of latitude. We have as yet had no snow this season and but little frost, and the inhabitants who have squatted in considerable numbers on the public lands in this quarter are now plowing their fields as if in sum- mer, and the corn-blades were not nipped by the frost so as to injure before the 20th of October. The soil is in general excellent, and appears to have been formed by alluvian deposits. In digging a well near the St. Marys River, and on the summit level, they passed through different strata of blue and yellow clay. very fibrous, to the depth of 33 feet without encountering rock or gravel, finding good water, when a heavy shower of rain caused the sides to cave in, and it was abandoned. Along the banks of all the streams and rivers the land is good and dry ; every one-quarter section may afford a good farm. All the country except part of the Sandusky plains is well timbered with oak, hickory, sugar maple, white and blue ash, beech, elm, poplar, and black walnut. The underbrush is paw-paw, hazle, spice-wood, and swamp ash. On receding from the banks of the streams and rivers some wet land is met with, such as swampy and wet prairies. Most of these, however, will drain themselves when the land around becomes cultivated, and the others afford excellent mea- dow land. All the before-mentioned rivers take their rise in swamps or wet prairies, and are not produced by springs, so that in dry seasons they afford but little water; and as few springs are met with on the summit level, that extends in breadth from north to south twenty miles. the inhabitants must depend on wells for the supply of water at all sea- sons of the year. But as we proceed north towards the lake shore the country assumes a gently rolling aspect, springs and branches are more frequent, and the whole surface inclines gradually northward to the margin of Lake Erie. The runs and streams flowing to the north soon become rapid and abound with excellent fish, and mill-sites are very numerous, where machinery to any amount may be kept in constant operation. In travelling inch by inch this interesting section of Oine, the mind is almost bewildered by the contemplation of its importance Its climate, soil, and local situation, and permanent advantages, hete may be discovered future sitex of cities, towns, and hamlets, where agriculture. arts and sciences, and commerce will flourish in a few years; and also
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sites of canals, that will unite at no very remote period the waters of Ohio and Lake Erie. This scetion of country is so caxy of access from New England by the New York Grand Canal and Lake Erie, that no doubt can be entertained of its speedy settlement, while hundreds of citizens already settled in the State are selling or have already sold off their farms with the intention of purchasing and moving into the newly- ceded territory as soon as the lands there shall be offered for sale, and to increase the chances of a good market. Besides this new purchase there are several millions of acres of excellent land yet unsettled in the most fertile parts of the State, the reason of which I will attempt to de- velop. Emigrants removing from the Atlantic States find in crossing the Allegheny ridges much difficulty, and hope on entering Ohio to find a level, smooth country, instead of which, on the Wheeling aud Steuben- ville roads, they encounter hills more steep and difficult than the moun- tains they have passed for near two hundred miles, to the vicinity of Chillicothe. Many curse the road and country, break their wagon -. wear down their horses to the bones, and cither go on to Indiana or Illinois at great expense and in disgust, or return again eastward, never imagin- ing that all or nearly all of the land in Ohio, north of the road along which they pass, is smooth and fertile, or that one day's travel north- ward will bring them into a region according with their views and wishes. Those farmers who wish to emigrate into the Western country from New England or New York may shun entirely the Allegheny Mountains and formidable Ohio bills by proceeding to Buffalo, and thence either by land or water to Erie or Cleveland, and then go southward or west- ward, where they will not fail of suiting themselves either in Ohio or Indiana. Having nearly concluded the survey for which I! ve con- tracted, I intend to set off in a few days for Fort Wayne, in Indiana, on a tour of observation, and thence down the Maumee to Lake Erie, and shall write you from the principal places I visit as I go along. My candle, the wax taken to-day from a bee tree that afforded us ten gallons of good honey, is nearly burnt out. The wolves howl most tremendously around our tent, seeking for food, the great owl and screech owl, mingling their ominous notes, joined in the outery, and I must join my compan- ions in sleep. Please excuse and correct all important errors and my haste, and I am, with much respect, your most humble servant,
.
JAMES RILEY.
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, NOV. 24, 1819.
DEAR SIR: Having concluded my survey for the season, and wishing to view the country between the St. Marys and Maumee rivers, to exam- ine for myself the practicability of so uniting the Wabash with the May- mee, so as to render intercourse by water safe and easy between the Ohio and Lake Erie through that channel, etc., I set out yesterday from Shane's Crossing, on the St. Marys, and travelling through a district of good landon or near the right bank of that river forty miles, reached this place early in the evening. Early this morning I set off to look at the junction of the St. Joseph River, rising in Michigan Territory, runs southwesterly about two hundred miles, receiving in its course several tributary streams; and the St. Marys, rising in Shelby County, Ohio, runs northwesterly more than two hundred miles, including its meander- ings, when, forming a junction nearly from opposite points, they now turn suddenly south and assume the name of Miami of the lake, or, as pronounced by the French, Maumee; then, turning gradually round again, these congr .. 'ed waters flow off in a northeast direction about two hundred miles, following the course of the river to the southwest end of Lake Erie. Fort Wayne stands on a bluff just between the junction and on the right bank of the Maumee. Its situation is admira- bly chosen by a general in whom were united the greatest personal courage and intrepidlity, and a most consummate prudence and skill in conducting and supporting an army amid morasses, separated from the inhabited by a dreary and exclusively wilderness country, surrounded on all sides by innumerable hosty of savage enemies, dashed, too, by a recent and great victory over the unfortunate Gen. St. Clair.
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The gigantic mind of Gen. Wayne created resources with astonishing industry and activity. He cut roads and marched his troops to all the important points, which he seized with an unerring military eye and pro- found judgment. He selected and fortified such part, and such ouly, as would inevitably secure his conquest, and afford the most sure protection
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to his army and an extensive frontier settlement. At every step in this country every unprejudiced mind will more and more admire the move- ments and achievements of the army conducted by this veteran and truly wise and good general. By occupying Fort Wayne the communication between Lake Erie and the Ohio through the channels of the Manmee and Wabash (which is the shortest and most direct route from Buff.do to the Mississippi River) was cut off or completely commanded. The Wabash River, which rises in Ohio, runs north past Fort Recovery, en- ters Indiana about ten miles from that post, and continuing its course northwardly approaches Fort Wayne within eighteen miles, when it tyrus to the southwest, running diagonally across the State of Indiana, and receiving in its course numerous important tributary streams until it reaches the line that separates Indiana from Illinois in latitude 40°, thence meandering Illinois, discharging its waters into the Ohio River. The Little Wabash rises in an elevated swamp prairie, six miles south of Fort Wayne, and joins the Wabash eighteen miles from thence; thus in high stages of the water a portage of only six miles carries mer- chandise from the head of the Maumee into the navigable waters of the Wabash, and vice versa ; from whence, floating with the current, it may either supply the interior wants of the country or proceed to New Or- leans or Lake Erie. Through a part of the above-mentioned swamp (which is very extensive) a canal might very easily be cut six miles long, uniting the Wabash to the St. Marys a little above its junction ; and from what I saw and learned from others, it is my opinion that the swamp might afford water sufficient for purposes of canal navigation. By the treaties of 1817 and 1818 (mentioned in a former letter) lands in the State of Indiana to the amount of from four to live millions of acres (lying principally on the left bank of the Wabash, and south and west to former purchases) were ceded to the United States. These lands are charmingly situated in point of climate. The soil is mostly of the first quality. The country is well watered and well timbered, and lying on or near the Wabash enjoys immense advantages. Emigrants from the Northern and Eastern States to this section of country, as well as the new purchase in Ohio, will find it to be their interest, and their com- fort, too, to go by Buffalo and up the lake. thence up the lake to Fort Meigs, twenty-eight miles within the Maumee Bay, and from thence up that river to the mouth of the Auglaize or Fort Wayne, and so on to their place of destination. Early in the spring of the year is the best time for emigration that way, as the streams are full, and they prove an easy and sure navigation even in the present unimproved state. The country about Fort Wayne is very fertile, the situation is commanding and healthy, and here will arise a town of great importance, which inust become an immense depot. The fort is now only a small stockade. no troops are stationed here, and less than thirty dwelling houses, occupied by French and American families, form the whole settlement. But as soon as the land shall be surveyed and offered for sale, inhabitants will come in from all quarters into this future thoroughfare between New York and the Mississippi, etc. The unlooked-for progress of that stupendous work, the New York Grand Canal-a work of the most momentous consequences to the people of the Western country and the union of the United States, whereby the counties bordering on the lakes are to be bound by the strongest of all ties, interest, to the great emporium of the Western Hemisphere, the city of New York and the Atlantic States- electrifies the citizens of this country, who now behold themselves trans- ported, as it were, with their rich possessions near the ocean, and already bless its projectors and supporters.
To-morrow morning it is my intention to start for Fort Defiance in company with B. F. Stickney, Esq., late an Indian agent at this place- a man of worth, sense, and science, and well acquainted in these parts. wow a resident at Fort Lawrence, near the Maumee Bay. Intending to write you from Defiance, I am, with regards, yours, etc.
JAMES RILEY.
B. SANDFORD, EsQ.
FORT DEFIANCE, AT THE JUNCTION OF THE MAUMEE AND AUGLAIZE RIVERS, OnIo, Nov. 26, 1819.
DEAR SIR : Agreeable to my intentions, we set out from Fort Wayne at daylight on the 25th, and travelled along the old Indian true, neat the left bank of the Maumee, until dark last evening, when we encamped
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HISTORY OF VAN WERT AND MERCER COUNTIES, OHIO.
on a fine and extensive bottom, where wood was plenty and where we formed a shelter from the rain ( which began to pour in torrents) by rais- ing two crotches six feet from the ground, and fifteen feet apart, laying a pole in the crotches, and placing several smaller ones on end on the ground, and the other supported by the pole in the crotches, and, spread- ing our blankets on this frame, made a very comfortable roof that com- pletely shielded as from the storm, so that by keeping up a good fire at our feet we passed the night very agreeably. though surrounded by wild beasts, etc. This is a very simple and effectual mode of securing the wanderer among forests from the inclemency of the weather; he ouly needs to carry fireworks, and provisions.
The country through which we passed appears very level, gradually inclining towards the north, a lake shore, as we perceived by the swift- ness of the current of the river and uniform height of its bank. The Maumee is a beautiful stream of water. clear as crystal in its lowest stages (as is now the case), so that standing on its banks we could plainly discover fishes in great numbers gliding through the fluid even at the depth of ten to fifteen or twenty feet. These fish are caught in great abundance at Fort Wayne and in all the settlements on the river in what the settlers call fish-traps or baskets, and with hook-and-lines. The day I stopped at Fort Wayne more than two hundred of these fish, weighing from three to fifteen pounds each, were taken from the fish- trap belonging to the Indian agent (Dr. Turner) and Capt. Hackley, formerly of Albany, N. Y., who caught that morning besides with hook- and-line two hundred pounds of black bass. The fish that abound in this river are pike, lake salmon, pickerel, white fish, very much resem- bling the sheep's-head of the sea-coast, yellow perch, black bass, and all others usually found in the lakes and their waters. Travelling down the river, we arrived about ten o'clock at the side of the old D.aware town, where a few huts are now standing on both sides of the river ; at, above and below the town, are extensive bottom lands exceeding in richness of soil anything I ever saw. The grass, with which the ground is covered on the extensive prairie, is still green, and so thick as to retard the progress of our horses. It is what is called red-top in the Eastern States, or grass very much resembling it. Here we stopped two hours, and let our horses fill themselves while we examined the adjoining lands, rivers, and banks, and springs of excellent water flow from the bank. The timber in the vicinity is black walnut (the future mahogany of America. although much more beautiful, and destined to become fashionable wood for costly buildings and furniture as the country grows wealthy); sugar- trees are very large and straight and tall. Crossing at this place, which is at the head of the nine-mile rapid and fordable (except at high stages of the water), we reached the post at three P. M., and had time to ex- amine its site and surrounding country. Fort Defiance is now no more than a small stockade picketed in; a few log buildings stand within it. The site is high and commanding, on the right bank of the Maumee, at the point formed by it and the left bank of the Auglaize, and above the junction of the two rivers, which is beautiful beyond description. This site was selected by the unerring judgment of Gen. Wayne, whose name alone still makes the surrounding nations of Indians tremble, and who yet believe most religiously that the spirit of their formidable enemy
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