History of the Upper Ohio Valley, with family history and biographical sketches, a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. I, Part 18

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 842

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Major Butler's battalion received the first shock, and was thrown into disorder by the tumultuous flight of the militia, who, in their eagerness to escape, bore down everything before them. Here Major General Butler had stationed himself, and here St. Clair directed his attention, in order to remedy the confusion which began to spread rapidly through the whole line. The Indians pressed forward with great audacity, and many of them were mingled with the troops be- fore their progress could be checked. Major General Butler was wounded at the first fire, and before he could be dressed an Indian who had penetrated the ranks of the regiment, ran up to the spot where he lay and tomahawked him before his attendants could inter- pose. The desperate savage was instantly killed. By great exertions Butler's battalion was restored to order and the heavy and sustained fire of the first line compelled the enemy to pause and shelter themselves.

This interval, however, endured for a moment. An invisible but tremendous fire quickly opened upon the whole front of the encamp- ment, which rapidly extended to the rear, and encompassed the troops on both sides. St. Clair, who at that time was worn down with a fever, and unable to mount his horse, nevertheless, as is uni-

* The militia, amounting to about 250 men, were thrown across the creek, about 300 yards in front of the first line and a small detachment of regulars, under the orders of Capt. Slough, were pushed still farther in advance, in order to prevent the possibility of surprise.

t Capt. Slough was alarmed in the course of the night by the appearance of an unusual number of the enemy in his front, and upon both flanks. A short time before day they had collected in such numbers as seriously to alarm him, and induced him to fall back upon the militia. He instantly informed Gen. But- ler of the circumstance, but that officer, unfortunately slighted the intelligence, and did not deem it of sufficient importance to inform the commander-in-chief.

In a letter written at Fort Washington, April 20, 1792, it is said " two of our men have lately made their escape from the Miami villages and arrived here, who give account of a mock fight, lately exhibited by the Indians assembled there, to divert the squaws and children. It was in ridicule of Gen. St. Clair's disposition of his troops on the 4th of November last, and of his flight before the Indians, who pursued him and his army, whilst the others plundered the camp. They gave out that they mean to celebrate this event annually by a like sham fight, and a great dance to be called St. Clair's Fight Dance."

IO-A.

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versally admitted, exerted himself with a courage and presence of mind worthy of a better fate. He instantly directed his litter to the right of the rear line, where the great weight of the fire fell, and where the slaughter, particularly of the officers, was terrible. Here Darke commanded, an officer who had been trained to hard service during the Revolutionary war, and who was gallantly exerting him- self to check the consternation which was evidently beginning to pre- vail. St. Clair ordered him to make a rapid charge with the bayonet and rouse the enemy from their covert. The order was instantly obeyed, and at first, apparently with great effect. Swarms of dusky bodies arose from the high grass, and fled before the regiment with every mark of consternation; but as the troops were unable to over- take them, they quickly recovered their courage and kept so fatal a retreating fire that the exhausted regulars were compelled, in their turn to give away. This charge, however, relieved that particular point for some time; but the weight of the fire was transferred to the center of the first line, where it threatened to annihilate everything within its range. There, in turn the unfortunate general was borne by his attendants, and ordered a second appeal to the bayonet. This second charge was made with the same impetuosity as the first, and with the same momentary success. But the attack was instantly shifted to another point, when the same charge was made, and the same result followed. The Indians would retire before them, still keeping up a most fatal fire and the Americans were uniformly com- pelled to retire in turn. St. Clair brought up the artillery in order to sweep the bushes with grape, but the horses and artillerymen were destroyed by the terrible fire of the enemy, before any effect could be produced. They were instantly manned afresh from the infantry, and again the defenders were swept off.

The slaughter had become prodigious. Four-fifths of the officers and one-half of the men were either killed or wounded. The ground was covered with bodies, and the little ravine which led to the river was running with blood. The fire of the enemy had not in the least slackened, and the troops were falling in heaps before it in every part of the camp. To have attempted to maintain his position longer, could only have led to the total destruction of his force, without the possibility of annoying the enemy, who never showed themselves un- less when charged, and whose number was equal to his own, if not greater. The men were evidently much disheartened, but the offi- cers, who were chiefly veterans of the revolution, still maintained a firm countenance, and exerted themselves with unavailing heroism to the last. Under these circumstances St. Clair determined to save the lives of the survivors if possible, and for that purpose collected the remnants of several battalions into one corps, and at the head of which he ordered Lieut .- Col. Darke to make an impetuous charge upon the enemy, in order to open a passage for the remainder of the army. Darke executed his orders with great spirit, and drove the Indians before him to the distance of a quarter of a mile. The remainder of the army instantly rushed through the opening, in order to gain

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the road, Maj. Clarke with the remnant of his battalion, bringing up the rear, and endeavoring to keep the Indians in check .*

The retreat soon degenerated into a total rout. Officers who strived to arrest the panic only sacrificed themselves. Clarke, the leader of the rear guard, soon fell in this dangerous service, and his corps was totally disorganized. Officers and soldiers were now mingled without the slightest regard of discipline, and "Save himself who can," was the order of the day.t The pursuit at first was keen; but the temptation afforded by plunder of the camp, soon brought them back, and the wearied, wounded and disheartened fugitives, were permitted to retire from the field unmolested. The rout con- tiued as far as Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles from the scene of action. The action lasted more than three hours, during the whole of which time, the fire was heavy and incessant. The loss in propor- tion to the number engaged, was enormous, and is unparalleled, ex- cept in Braddock's disastrous defeat. Sixty-eight officers were killed on the spot, and twenty-eight wounded. Out of 900 privates who went into action, 550 were left dead on the field, and many of the survivors were wounded. Gen. St. Clair was untouched, although eight balls passed through his hat and clothes, and several horses were killed under him. The Indian loss was reported by themselves as fifty-eight killed and wounded, which was probably underrated, as they were never visible after the first attack, until charged with the bayonet. At Fort Jefferson the fugitives were joined by the first regiment, who, as noticed above, had been detached in pursuit of the deserters. Here a council of war was called which terminated in the unanimous opinion that the junction with the first regiment did not justify the attempt upon the enemy, in the present condition of af- fairs, and that the army should return to Fort Washington without delay. This was accordingly done, and thus ended St. Clair's cam- paign against the Indians. We notice several private incidents con- nected with this battle:

William Kennon, of Fleming county, Ky., at that time a young man eighteen years of age, was attached to a company of rangers, that accompanied the regular force. He had long been remarkable for strength and activity. On the evening preceding the action his corps had been advanced, as already observed, a few hundred yards in front of the first line of infantry, in order to give seasonable no- tice of the enemy's approach. Just as day was dawning, he observed thirty Indians, within 100 yards of the guard fire, advancing cautiously

* General St. Clair's horses were killed as well as those of his aids. He was placed by a few friends upon an exhausted pack-horse, that could not be pricked out of a walk, and in this condition followed in the rear of the troops.

t There were in the army at the commencement of the action about 150 women, of whom fifty-six were killed in the battle, and the remainder were made prisoners by the enemy, except a small number who reached Fort Washington. One of the survivors lived until recently (1846), in Cincinnati, a Mrs. Catherine Miller. This woman ran ahead of the whole army, in their flight from the field of battle. Her large quantity of long red hair floated in the breeze, which the soldiers followed through the woods, as their forerunner, that moved rapidly forward, to the place of their ultimate destination .- Atwater's History of Ohio, p. 142.

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toward the spot where he stood, together with about twenty rangers, the rest being considerably in the rear. Supposing it to be a mere scouting party, as usual, and not superior in number to the rangers, he sprang forward a few paces in order to shelter himself in a spot of peculiarly rank grass, and firing with a quick aim upon the foremost Indian, he instantly fell flat upon his face, and proceeded with all possible rapidity to reload his gun, not doubting for a moment but that the rangers would hold their position, and support him. The Indians, however, rushed forward in such overwhelming masses, that the rangers were compelled to fly with precipitation, leaving young Kennon in total ignorance of his danger. Fortunately the captain of his company had observed him, when he threw himself in the grass, and suddenly shouted aloud, " Run Kennon, or you are a dead man.' He instantly sprang to his feet, and beheld Indians within ten feet of him, while his company was already more than 100 yards in front.

Not a moment was to be lost. He darted off with every muscle strained to its utmost, and was pursued by a dozen of the enemy, with loud yells. He at first pressed straight forward to the usual fording place in the creek, which ran between the rangers and the main army, but several Indians who had passed him before he arose from the grass, threw themselves in the way, and completely cut him off from the rest. By the most powerful exertions he had thrown the whole body of pursuers behind him, with the exception of one young chief, probably Masshawa, who displayed a swiftness and perseverance equal to his own. In the circuit which Kennon was obliged to take, the race continued for more than 400 yards. The distance between them was about eighteen feet, which Kennon could not in- crease, nor his adversary diminish. Each for the time put his whole soul into the race. Kennon, as far as he was able, kept his eyes upon the motions of his pursuer, lest he should throw the tomahawk which he held aloft in a menacing attitude, and at length finding that no other Indian was at hand, he determined to try the mettle of his pur- suer in a different manner, and felt for his tomahawk in order to turn at bay. It had escaped from his sheath, however, while he lay in the grass, and his hair had almost lifted the cap from his head when he saw himself totally disarmed. As he had slackened his pace for a moment, the Indian was almost in reach of him when he recom- menced the race, but the idea of being without arms, lent wings to his flight, and for the first time he saw himself gaining ground. He had the motions of his pursuer too closely, however, to pay proper at- tention to the nature of the ground before him, and he suddenly found himself in front of a large tree which had been blown down, and upon which brush and other impediments lay to the heighth of nine feet or more.

The Indian, who heretofore had not uttered the slightest sound, now gave a short, quick yell, as if sure of his victim. Kennon had not a moment to deliberate. He must clear the impediment at a leap or perish. Putting his whole soul into the effort, he bounded into the

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air, with a power which astonished himself, and clearing limbs, brush and everything else, alighted in perfect safety upon the other side.

A loud yell of astonishment burst from the pursuer, who had not the hardihood to attempt the same feat. Kennon, as may be imagined, had no leisure to enjoy his triumph, but dashing into the bed of the creek, upon the bank of which his feat had been performed, where the high banks would shield him from the fire of- the enemy, he ran up the stream, until a convenient place afforded for crossing, and rejoined the rangers in the rear of the encampment, panting from the fatigue of exertions which have seldom been sur- passed. No breathing time was allowed him, however. The attack instantly commenced, and as we have already observed, was main- tained for three hours with unabated fury.

When the retreat commenced Kennon was attached to Maj. Clarke's battalion, and had the dangerous service of protecting the rear. This corps quickly lost its commander and was completely dis- organized. Kennon was among the hindmost when the flight com- menced, but exerting those same powers which had saved him in the morning, he quickly gained the front, passing several horsemen in the flight. Here he beheld a private in his own company, an intimate acquaintance, lying upon the ground with his thigh broken, and in tones of the most piercing distress, implored each horseman who hur- ried by him to take him up behind him. As soon as he beheld Ken- non coming up on foot, he stretched out his arms and called loud upon him to save him. Notwithstanding the imminent peril of the moment, his friend could not reject so passionate an appeal, but seiz- ing him in his arms, he placed him upon his back, and ran in that manner for several hundred yards. Horseman after horseman passed them, all of whom refused to relieve him of his burden.

At length the enemy was gaining upon him so fast, that Kennon saw their death certain, unless he relinquished his burden. He ac- cordingly told his friend that he had used every possible exertion to save his life, but in vain; that he must relax his hold around his neck, or they would both perish. The unhappy wretch heedless of every remonstrance, still clung convulsively to his back, and impeded his exertions until the foremost of the enemy, armed with tomahawks alone, were within twenty yards of them. Kennon then drew his knife from its sheath and cut the fingers of his companion, thus com- pelling him to relinquish his hold. The unhappy man rolled upon the ground in utter helplessness, and Kennon beheld him tomahawked before he had gone thirty yards. Relieved of his burden, he darted forward with an activity which once more brought him to the van. Here again he was compelled to neglect his own safety in order to attend to that of others.

Gov. Madison, of Kentucky, who afterward commanded the corps which defended themselves so honorably at the river Raisin-a man who united the most amiable temper to the highest courage- was at that time a subaltern in St. Clair's army, and being a man of infirm constitution, was totally exhausted by the exertions of the morning,

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and was now sitting down calmly upon a log, awaiting the approach of his enemies. Kennon hastily accosted him and enquired the cause of his delay. Madison pointing to a wound which had bled profusely, replied that he was unable to walk farther, and had no horse. Ken- non instantly ran back to a spot where he had seen an exhausted horse grazing, caught him without difficulty, and having assisted Madison to mount, walked by his side until they were out of danger. Fortunately, the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of the camp pre- sented irresistible attractions to the enemy.

Lieut .- Col. Darke's escape was almost miraculous. Possessed of a tall, striking figure, in full uniform, and superbly mounted, he led three desperate charges against the enemy, in each of which he was a con- spicuous mark. His clothes were cut in many places, but he escaped only with a slight flesh wound. In the last charge Ensign Wilson, a young officer, of only seventeen years of age, was shot through the heart, and fell a few paces in the rear of the regiment, which was then rapidly returning to their original position. An Indian attracted by his rich uniform, sprung up from the grass and scalped him. Col. Darke, who was at that time in the rear of the regiment, suddenly faced about, dashed at the Indian on horseback, and cleft his skull with his broad-sword, drawing upon himself by the daring act, a rapid discharge of more than a dozen rifles. He, however, regained his regiment in safety, being compelled to leave young Wilson to the enemy.

A party of Chickasaws were on their march to join St. Clair, but did not arrive in time to share in the action. One warrior, alone, of that na- tion was present, and displayed the most admirable address and bravery. He positively refused to stand in the ranks with the soldiers, declaring that the "Shawnees would shoot him down like a pigeon." But he took refuge behind a log, a few yards in front of Butler's bat- tallion, and discharged his rifle eleven times at the enemy, with unerring accuracy. He could not be persuaded, however, to forego the pleasure of scalping each Indian as he fell, and on the eleventh time, he was himself shot by the enemy, and scalped in turn.

The leader of this Indian army in this bloody engagement, was a chief of the Mississago tribe, whose name was the "Little Turtle." Notwithstanding his name, he was at least six feet high, strong, mus- cular and remarkably dignified in his appearance. He was forty years of age, had seen much service, and had accompanied Gen. Burgoyne in his disastrous invasion. His aspect was harsh, sour and forbid- ding, and his person during the action, was arrayed in the very ex- tremity of Indian foppery. The plan of attack was concerted by him alone, in opposition to the opinion of almost every other chief.

On the evening of the 8th of November, the broken remains of the army arrived at Fort Washington, worn out, dejected, and morti- fied at the terrible disaster of their defeat. The unfortunate general . was, as usual, assailed from one end of the country to the other, but particularly in Kentucky, with one loud and merciless cry of abuse and even detestations. All the misfortunes of his life, and these were

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many and bitter, were brought up in array against him. He was re- proached with cowardice, treason, imbecility and a disposition to pro- long the war, in order to preserve that authority which it gave him. He was charged with sacrificing the lives of his men, and the interests of his country, to his own private ambition. Men who had never fired a rifle, and never beheld an Indian, criticised severely the plan of his encampment and the order of his battle, and in short, all the bitter ingredients, which compose the cup of the unsuccessful general, were drained to the dregs.

It seemed to be a universal and probably a correct rule that, as the general reaps all the glory of success, so in like manner, he should sustain all the disgrace of defeat. A victorious general, whether by a lucky blunder or otherwise, is distinguished for life; and an unfortun- ate one degraded. No charge in the one case, or excuse in the other is listened to for a moment. Victory hides every blemish, and mis- fortune obscures every virtue. This is the popular rule for estimat- ing the merits of a leader which, for a time, might elevate a noisy Cleon to the level of Alexander. But the historian decides otherwise. Let us look at the unfortunate St. Clair's conduct, and see whether it deserves the furious and unbounded censure that has been heaped upon it. It is acknowledged that, although attacked suddenly-all Indian attacks are sudden -, he was not surprised. His troops were encamped in order of battle and formed in a moment.

He cannot be charged with remissness, for he had arrayed them in order of battle three hours before daylight, and they had just been dismissed when the attack commenced. He cannot be charged with incompetency during the action, for all his measures, if allowance be made for the circumstances attending it, were bold, judicious and military. He did not suffer his men to be shot down in their ranks, as in Braddock's case; but made repeated, desperate and successful charges against the enemy, numbering in force equal to his own. The troops, in general behaved with firmness, the officers were the flower of the Revolutionary army, and not a man deserted his colors, until order was given to retreat. Though the army was composed of so many different troops, the utmost harmony prevailed during the campaign.

The charge of cowardice is unworthy of an answer. It could only be brought by a blind and ignorant .populace, stung with rage, as they ever are with defeat, and pouring upon their unhappy victims every reproach which rage, ignorance and the malice of interested dema- gogues may suggest. It may be observed that Gen. St. Clair always stood high in the opinion of Washington, notwithstanding his repeated misfortunes, and that in his last battle, although worn down by a cruel disease, he exposed his person in every part of the action, delivered his orders with coolness and judgment, and was one of the last who arrived at Fort Jefferson in the retreat." *

On the 12th of December, following, the president sent a message

*McClung's Sketches of Western Adventure, pp. 351, 357-

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to congress communicating the defeat of St. Clair, and accompanied the same with the following reports received by Maj .- Gen. Knox, secretary of war, from that unfortunate general. The first of these is dated-

" FORT WASHINGTON, October 6, 1791.

"Sir: I have now the satisfaction to inform you, that the army moved from Fort Hamilton, the name I have given to the fort on the Miami, on the 4th at eight in the morning, under the command of Gen. But- ler. The order of march and encampment I had regulated before, and on the 3d, returned to this place to get up the militia. "They marched yesterday and consist of about 300 men, as you will see by the enclosed abstract of the muster. I have reason to believe, how- ever, that at least an equal number will be up there by the 10th, and I have left orders for their following us. The monthly return should have accompanied this letter, but it was not ready when I left camp, and has not been forwarded since. I have hitherto found it impossi- ble to reduce the officers commanding corps to punctuality in respect to their returns, but they are mending. Our numbers after deducting the garrison of this place, and Fort Hamilton, are about 2,000, exclu- sive of the militia. I trust I shall find them sufficient; and should the rest of the militia come on, it would make the matter pretty cer- tain. But the season is now so far advanced, that I fear the interme- diate posts, which indeed would have been highly necessary, it will be impossible to establish; in that however, I must be governed by cir- cumstances, of which I will take care that you shall be apprized in due time. Should the enemy come to meet us, which seems to be expected, and be discomfited, there will be no difficulties; but if they expect us at the Miami villages, the business will wear another face, and the intermediate posts become more essential.

"Since the quartermaster has been here and got into his gears, which it took him a little time to do, I am very well satisfied with him and do believe he will answer the description which you were pleased to give me of him; his business seems now to be well arranged. In order to communicate with some degree of certainty with your office, I have directed Capt. Buel, when he arrives, to send a sergeant and twelve men to a house that has been newly erected, half way between this place and Lexington, to each of which two men are to be sent off on every Monday morning to carry dispatches. Those for the war office, or any other public letters, to be put into the hands of Mr. Charles Wilkins, merchant, of Lexington, who has engaged to for- ward all I have occasion to send regularly once a week; and should you, sir, see proper to use the same route for any of yours, if they are sent to his care, he will forward them to me. I have been led to pre- fer this channel of communication to that of the river, because it ap- pears to be rather the more certain of the two, though it may be a little more tedious, and because desertion continues to prevail among the troops, and the sending of small parties to such a distance gives great opportunity to effect it. Gen. Butler informs me that no less

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History of the Upper Ohio Valley, with family history and biographical sketches, a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. I, Part 18

Author: Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Madison, Wis. : Brant & Fuller Number of Pages: 842

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : Brant & Fuller
Number of Pages: 842