The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 23

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254

USA > Ohio > Union County > The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record; > Part 23

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).

On the 5th and 6th of August, 1763, a merited punishment was adminis- tered to the hostile tribes of Indians who, under the lead of Pontiac, sought to destroy all the English posts on the border, by Col. Henry Bouquet, at the battle of Bushy Run, in what is now Westmoreland County, Penn. He was at the time marching to the relief of Fort Pitt, which was threatened by the

* C. W. Butterfield, in Washington-Irvine Correspondence, page 2.

228

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

savages. Such a signal victory did he win, and so thoroughly were the In- dians impressed with his power as a great warrior, that they "gave up their designs against Fort Pitt." and "retreating beyond the Ohio, they deserted their former towns and abandoned all the country between Presque Isle and Sandusky, not thinking themselves safe until they arrived at Muskingam."* They formed new settlements and remained quiet during the winter, but in the meantime supplied themselves with powder from the French traders, and in the spring of 1764 began again their murderous work on the frontier. Gen. Gage, the British Commander, resolved to attack them on two sides at once, and drive them back by carrying the war into their own country. He accord- ingly directed Col. Bradstreet to proceed with a body of troops against the Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas living upon or near the lakes, while Col. Bouquet was ordered to attack the Delawares. Shawanese, Mingoes, Mohickons, and other nations between the lakes and the Ohio River. The two armies were to act in concert. As Bradstreet's force could be sooner prepared for the expedition, he started first, and sent Col. Bouquet a dispatch dated August 14, 1764, from Presque Isle, saying he had concluded a peace with the Delawares and Shaw- anese. Bouquet, however, perceived the insincerity of the savages, and went on with the preparations for his own expedition. The Indians endeavored to convince Bouquet of the sincerity of their intentions to carry out the terms of the treaty with Bradstreet, but he was not to be won from his purpose of settling the matter beyond dispute, and, on the 2d of October, 1764, he departed from Fort Pitt with a force of 1,500 men, the destination of which body was the heart of the Indian region of Ohio. On the 17th of the same month, near the mouth of the Tuscarawas, and near the site of the Indian town of that name, a congress was held at which were pres- ent representatives of the Senecas, Delawares and Shawanese, and preliminary terms of peace were agreed upon between them and Bouquet. The latter gave the savages twelve days in which to deliver into his hands at Wakatomake, below the forks of the Muskingum, all the prisoners in their hands, without exception. A small stockade fort had been built on the previous day, in which to deposit provisions for the use of the troops on their return. At the close of the speeches of the Delaware chiefs on the 17th, they delivered eighteen white prisoners and eighty-three small sticks, signifying that they had that number of prisoners yet in their hands, whom they promised to bring in as soon as possible. The promise on the part of the Shawanese was very sullen, and Bouquet determined to march further into the country. The army was con- sequently moved to a camp near the forks of the Muskingum, where four re- doubts were built opposite the four angles of the camp, which was in the midst of the region occupied by the Shawanese towns. Other buildings were erected, and preparations completed for receiving the prisoners. Bradstreet, in the meanwhile, had proceeded up Lake Erie to Sandusky Bay, and up the San- dusky River as far as navigable with Indian canoes, but was enabled to effect nothing, and returned .; On the 9th of November, 206 prisoners were deliv- ered to Col. Bouquet, but about 100 were still in the hands of the Shawanese, and their delivery was promised in the spring (1765). Finally, preliminary ar- ticles of peace were agreed upon with all the tribes, and hostages were re- quired, to be held until the terms had been finally concluded with Sir William

* " Historical Account of Bouquet's Expedition against the Ohio Indians in 1764," by Dr. William Smith, 1766. + Bradstreet went with his army to Detroit, where he arrived on the 28th of August, to the great joy of the little garrison. On the 7th of September, a council was held in presence of the army, at which were present representa- tives of the Ottawas, Ojibwas, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Sacs and Wyandots. The principal speaker was Wasson, the Ojibwa chief, who professed great regret for the war waged against the whites, and made a very humble and concil- iatory speech. The war in the West-or Northwest-was virtually ended by this council, and it doubtless had much influence over the tribes with whom Bouquet had to deal, and whom he succeeded in bringing to terms; so that, although Bradstreet had been easily duped by the Indians, yet some good resulted from his expedition. Ilis doings were not, however, fully sanctioned by the British military authorities, who administered a reprimand for his appar- ent lack of foresight, and for trying to check the operations of Col. Bouquet.

229

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

Johnson. Late in April, 1765, the latter held a conference with the various nations of the West, at the German Flats, and settled a definite peace. On the 9th of May following, his deputy, George Croghan, received at Fort Pitt the remaining prisoners from the hands of the Shawanese. Croghan soon after (May 15, 1765), started down the Ohio on a trip into the West, reaching the mouth of the Wabash on the 6th of June, and proceeded thence by way of Vincennes, Fort Wayne, down the Maumee and up Lake Erie to Detroit. Leaving the latter post on the 26th of September in a birch canoe, he passed along the north shore of Lake Erie and reached Niagara on the Sth of October. About this time the following were the several Indian towns on the routes given, extending in various directions from Fort Pitt:

First route, about N. N. W .- Kushkushkies Town, on Big Beaver Creek. 45 miles from the fort; Shaningo, 15 miles further up the east branch of Beaver Creek; Pematuning, 12 miles further up same stream; Mahoning, on West Branch of Beaver Creek, 104 miles from Fort Pitt; Salt Lick, 10 miles farther; Ottawas Town, on the Cayalioga. 42 miles farther.

Second route, W. N. W .- To mouth of Big Beaver Creek, 25 miles; to Tuscarawas, 116 miles: to Mohickon John's Town, 166 miles; to Junundat, or Wyandot Town, 212 miles; to Sandusky. 216 miles; to Junqueindundeh, 240 miles. The latter town was on the Sandusky River, a few miles above San- dusky Bay.

Third route, about W. S. W .- To forks of Muskingum, 128 miles; to Bul- let's Town, 134 miles; to King Beaver's Town, on the heads of the Hockhock- ing, 171 miles; to the lower Shawanese Town on Scioto River, 211 miles; to the Salt Lick Town on the heads of the Scioto, 236 miles; to the Miamis fort, 429 miles.

Fourth route, down the Ohio, general course about S. W .- To mouth of Big Beaver Creek, 27 miles; to mouth of Little Beaver Creek, 39 miles; to mouth of Yellow Creek. 49 miles; to the Two Creeks, 67 miles: to Wheeling, 73 miles; to Pipe Hill, 85 miles; to the long reach, 115 miles; to the foot of the reach, 133 miles; to the mouth of the Muskingum River, 163 miles; to the Little Kanawha River, 175 miles; to the mouth of Hockhocking River, 188 miles; to the mouth of Letort's Creek, 228 miles; to Kiskeminetas, 261 miles: to the mouth of Big Kanawha, or New River, 269 miles; to the mouth of Big Sandy Creek, 300 miles; to the mouth of the Salt Lick River, 379 miles; to the Island, 399 miles; to the mouth of the "Little Mineamie, or Miammee" River, 454 miles; to Big Miammee, or Rocky River, 484 miles; to the Big Bones (so called from "elephants' bones" said to be found there), 504 miles; to Kentucky River, 559 miles: to the falls of the Ohio, 609 miles; to the Wabash, or " Onabache" River, 740 miles; to Cherokee River, 800 miles; to the Mississippi River, 840 miles.

A town known as Wapatomica, later the principal village of the Shawa- nese, stood just below the present site of Zanesfield, Logan County, Ohio, and it was there the renowned Simon Kenton was doomed to be burned to the stake in September, 1778, but was rescued by his former friend, Simon Girty.

From the peace of 1764 there was quiet for ten years, and settlements along the then western border grew and fairly prospered. Fur traders in the Indian country exerted more or less influence over the tribes with whom they dealt. Fincastle County, Va., was created in 1774, including, south and southwest of Augusta County, the lower portion of the Great Kanawha Valley, and extending westward so as to include all of the present State of Kentucky, but at no point crossing the Ohio. In 1773 and the spring of 1774, land claimants and surveyors had become so numerous along the Ohio, coming from Pennsylvania and Virginia, that the Shawanese and Mingoes, never cordial

230

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

observers of the peace of 1764. especially toward the Virginians. precipitated hostilities upon the adventurers, and Lord Dunmore's war resulted. "Waka- tomica, an Indian town located upon the Muskingum, was destroyed by the Virginians, with outlying villages. The battle of Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kanawha River, on the 10th of October, 1774, when vic. tory over the savages was purchased at a price well nigh commensurate with defeat, compelled the Indians to sue for peace, negotiations for which, near their villages on the banks of the Scioto, were rendered famous by the eloquent speech of Logan, the Mingo chief."* Cornstalk, the wise and brave chief of the Shawanese, whose voice had been heard above the terrible din of the con - fliet, urging his followers to " be strong! be strong!" became satisfied that it was useless to struggle longer, and in November. 1774. arranged with Gov. Dunmore the preliminaries of a treaty of peace. This was in what is now Pickaway County, Ohio. The commencement of the revolt of the colonies in the spring of 1775 prevented the consummation of a definite peace.

With the Revolution, an era of dreadful experience broke upon the scat- tered Western settlements, where aggressive warfare was carried on by the sav- age allies of the British, aided and abetted by the latter. and the most fiend- ish atrocities were perpetrated. Detroit was the depot of supplies and the principle point of power and influence for the British in the Northwest. It is a generally authenticated fact in history that Lieut. Gov. Sir Henry Hamilton, in command of the post at Detroit, offered a standing reward for the scalps of Americans, but gave none for prisoners. This led the Indians to cause their prisoners to carry their baggage into the neighborhood of the fort, and there they put them to death and presented the ghasty scalps to the Gov- ernor for their recompense. Frightful outrages were committed, and defense- less women and children shared alike the fate of death. From Leith's narra- tive, a very rare work, issued in pamphlet form, and only gathered entire by Mr. Butterfield after diligent search in three States, in each of which he found a part. that gentleman makes the following extract:

" When we arrived there (on the bank of the Detroit River), we found Gov Hamilton and several other British officers, who were standing and sitting around. Immediately * the Indians produced a large quantity of scalps; the cannon fired; the Indians raised a shout, and the soldiers waved their hats, with huzzas and tremendous shrieks. which lasted some time. This ceremony being ended, the Indians brought forward a parcel of American pris- oners, as a trophy of their victories, among whom were eighteen women and children-poor creatures, dreadfully mangled and emaciated, with their clothes tattered and torn to pieces in such a manner as not to hide their nakedness; their legs bare and streaming with blood, the effects of being torn with thorns. briers and brush. * If I had had an opportunity I certainly should have killed the Governor, who seemed to take great delight in the exhibition."

And this was warfare in which a civilized nation found enjoyment! Gov. Hamilton was succeeded in 1779 by Maj. A. S. DePeyster, whose government was administered in a manner much more humane." He rescued more than 300 prisoners from the hands of the Indians. The tribes taking most active part in the war were the Wyandots, from the immediate vicinity of Detroit and from the River Sandusky in Ohio; the Shawanese, from the Miami and Scioto Rivers, and others whose thirst for blood was hardly to be restrained

* Butterfield.

+ Lient. Gov. Hamilton led an expedition from Detroit, in 1778, against Vincennes, on the Wabash, in Indiana, and took possession there, as the place had no garrison. In February, 1779, when Col. George Rogers Clark, of the American Army, captured the post, llamilton, and his troops, seventy-nine in unmber, were made prisoners. The men were paroled and allowed to return to Detroit, but their commander was sent to Richmond, Va., as a prisoner of war. When he left Detroit, he placed a certain Maj Lernoult in command, and the latter was succeeded by De Pey- ster, who really became the successor of lIamilton.

231

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

even by DePeyster, and who were allowed to indulge in all the barbarities of a hideous, savage warfare under Hamilton. The latter officer had as early as September, 1776, endeavored to organize small parties of savages to proceed against the settlers on the Ohio and its branches, yet it was not until the next year that a Western border war was fully inaugurated. Mohawk Pluggy had a considerable town on the Olentangy (or Whetstone) River, the principal east- ern tributary of the Scioto, and on the site of the present city of Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio, and from that point the Indians-Mingoes-de- scended upon the Virginia frontier and caused great trouble. The Wyandots were also very troublesome. and had a town at Upper Sandusky, on the upper waters of the Sandusky River, in what is now Wyandot County, Ohio. These tribes caused so much distress that in the spring of 1777 it was determined to send an expedition against Pluggy's Town, but after considerable preparation, the project was abandoned lest it should cause the Delawares and Shawanese to take up the hatchet also.

By the last of July. 1777, fifteen parties of Indians, numbering 289 braves, besides thirty white officers and rangers, had been sent out from Detroit to dev- astate the Western settlements, the frontier line then extending from the Alle- ghany Mountains to Kittanning, on the Allegheny River, forty-five miles above Pittsburgh, thence down that stream and the Ohio to the mouth of the Great Kanawha. " The only posts of importance below Fort Pitt, at this date, were Fort Henry (formerly Fort Fincastle), at Wheeling, and Fort Randolph, at Point Pleasant. The former was built at the commencement of Lord Dun- more's war, in 1774; the latter was erected by Virginia, in 1775. Rude stock- ades and block-houses were multiplied in the intervening distances, and in the most exposed settlements. They were defended by small detachments from a Virginia regiment, also by at least one independent company, and by squads of militia on short tours of duty. Scouts likewise patroled the country where danger seemed most imminent; but the wily savage frequently eluded their vig ilance and fell with remorseless cruelty upon the homes of the bordermen. The suffering from this irregular warfare-legitimate from the standpoint of the In- dian but wanton and murderous in its instigators-was terrible."* Brig. Gen. Edward Hand, of the Continental Army, who had taken the command of Fort Pitt on the 1st day of June, 1777, saw the necessity of taking some step to punish these murderous savages, or the frontier would become depopulated. He therefore demanded that a force of 2,000 men be raised in the western counties of Pennsylvania and Virginia, to proceed against them, but only about 800 were raised, including the regulars at Forts Pitt and Randolph. Gen. Hand had written to a friend in October, 1777: "I have many difficulties to encounter, yet I hope to drink your health in pure element at Sandusky be- fore Christmas," meaning by Sandusky the Wyandot town at Upper Sandusky, Late in the fall of that year, his intended expedition was abandoned, as the strength of the people did not warrant the undertaking. He then wrote to the Governor of Virginia, under date of November 9: "I fully expected to give the Wyandots a specimen of what their perfidy so justly deserves; but to my great mortification, I am obliged to relinquish the design."

September 1, 1777, about 200 Wyandots, Shawanese and Delawares made an unsuccessful attempt to reduce Fort Henry, at Wheeling. They ambushed a portion of the garrison, killing fifteen of the Americans and wounding five, and withdrew across the Ohio. Forty-six men left the fort on the 26th of the same month, for a reconnoitering expedition down the Ohio, but were attacked the next day about eight miles below Wheeling, on the Virginia side of the river, by about forty Wyandots, and lost more than half their number. A gen-

* Butterfield.

232

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

eral alarm now spread among the settlements, and murders somewhere on the frontier were of every day occurrence. The Shawanese, whose villages were upon the Scioto and Miami, and of whom Cornstalk was the principal chief and friendly to the Americans, did not join with the Wyandots and Mingoes until after the cruel murder of Cornstalk, his son and two others of the tribe, at Fort Randolph, whither they had gone to promote peace. One of the gar- rison was slain by savages in the woods on the 10th of November, 1777, and in revenge the militia of the post killed the four harmless men whom they had previously deprived of their liberty. This unprovoked murder made of the Shaw- anese the most bitter and unrelenting enemies.

In January, 1778, Lient. Col. George Rogers Clark began recruiting in the western department for his subsequent famous expedition against the British posts in the Illinois country, which resulted in the reduction of Kas- kaskia, St. Phillips, Cahokia, Prairie du Rocher and Vincennes, and won for the commander the title of " The Heroic." In February, 1778, Gen. Hand gathered about 500 men at Fort Pitt and started on an expedition to capture a large quantity of stores said to have been deposited by the British at an In- dian town on the Cuyahoga River. Heavy rains and melting snows obliged him to give up the attempt, the expedition having proceeded only to a point some distance above the mouth of the Beaver, on the Mahoning River.

Fiercely the war now raged, and in the spring of 1778 an expedition was planned from Fort Pitt against Detroit; but time passed, and, owing to the lack of facilities, it was found that such a campaign would be impracticable, and Congress resolved that it should be deferred. Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, a brave and hardy soldier, then in command of Fort Pitt and the western depart- ment, was anxious to proceed against Detroit, and never lost sight of that proj- ect, even in spite of all hindrances. September 17, 1778, a treaty was made by which the Delaware Indians became active allies of the United States. In the month of November following, the long talked-of march toward Detroit was begun with a force of 1,200 men. Fourteen days of marching brought the army to the Tuscarawas, only seventy miles from Pittsburgh, and here, for the want. of supplies, the force was obliged to turn its face again to the eastward and return, after first building a stockade fort a short distance south of what is now the village of Bolivar. Tuscarawas County, Ohio. on the right bank of the river, below the mouth of Sandy Creek, and close to the spot on which Col. Bouquet had built a similar work when on bis famous expedition against the Western Indians in 1764. The new post was called Fort Laurens. Other ex- peditions were planned by McIntosh, but from the force of circumstances were abandoned, and that General retired from the western department in April, 1779, being succeeded by Col. Daniel Brodhead. The want of supplies for a time prevented offensive operations on the part of the Western troops, and the savages were unrestrained in their fearful work. Fort Laurens, which was seventy miles from Fort McIntosh, and defended by Col. John Gibson with a force of 150 men, was, in August, 1779, abandoned from sheer neces- sity. In the last of July, Gen. Sullivan. under the direction of Washing- ton, led an army from Wyoming, Penn., into the Iroquois region in New York, defeated the Indians disastrously, burned forty of their towns and destroyed more than 160,000 bushels of corn. For this the Senecas gave to Washing- ton, commander-in-chief of the armies, the name "Town Destroyer." Col. Brodhead marched up the Allegheny from Fort Pitt in the summer of 1779, soon after being appointed to the command of the western department. burned the towns of the Indians and destroyed their crops. "The immediate results of this and other equally prompt and severe measures was to bring the Delawares, Shawanese and even Wyandots, to Fort Pitt on a treaty of peace. There Brod-

233

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

head met them, on his return in September, and a long conference was held to the satisfaction of both parties. Farther west, during the summer and au- tumn, the Indians were more successful. In July, the stations being still troubled, Col. Bowman undertook an expedition into the country of the Shaw- anese, acting upon the principle that to defend yourself against Indians you must assail them He marched undiscovered into the immediate vicinity of the towns upon the Little Miami, and so divided and arranged his forces as to insure apparent success, one portion of his troops being commanded by him- self, another by Col. Benjamin Logan; but from some unexpected cause, his division of the whites did not co-operate fully with that led by Logan, and the whole body was forced to retreat, after having taken some booty, including 160 horses, and leaving the town of the savages in cinders, but also leaving the fierce warriors themselves in no degree daunted or crippled."* Soon after this, the Indians, thirsty for blood, made their appearance again on the south side of the Ohio, and won a victory over a party of Americans, which is thus described in the authority just quoted:

"An expedition which had been in the neighborhood of Lexington, where the first permanent improvements were made in April of this year, upon its return came to the Ohio near the Licking, and at the very time that Col. Rog- ers and Capt. Benham reached the same point on their way up the river in boats. A few of the Indians were seen by the commander of the little Ameri- can squadron, near the mouth of the Licking; and supposing himself to be far superior in numbers, caused seventy of his men to land, intending to sur- round the savages. In a few minutes, however, he found he was himself sur- rounded, and, after a hard-fought battle, only twenty or twenty-five, or per- haps even fewer of the party, were left alive. It was in connection with this skirmish that an incident occurred which seems to belong rather to a fanciful story than to sober history, and which yet appears to be well authenticated. In the party of whites was Capt. Robert Benham. He was one of those that fell, being shot through both hips, so as to be powerless in his lower limbs; he dragged himself, however, to a tree-top, and there lay concealed from the savages after the contest was over. On the evening of the second day, seeing a raccoon, he shot it; but no sooner was the crack of his rifle heard than he distinguished a human voice not far distant; supposing it to be some Indian, he reloaded his gun and prepared for defense; but a few moments undeceived him, and he discovered that the person whose voice he had heard was a fellow- sufferer, with this difference, however, that both his arms were broken! Here, then, were the only two survivors of the combat (except those who had entirely escaped), with one pair of legs and one pair of arms between them. It will be easily believed that they formed a copartnership for mutual aid and defense. Benbam shot the game which his friend drove toward him, and the man with sound legs then kicked it where he with sound arms sat ready to cook it. To procure water, the one with legs took a hat by the brim in his teeth, and walked into the Licking up to his neck, while the man with arms was to make signals if any boat appeared in sight. In this way they spent about six weeks, when on the 27th of November, they were rescued. Benham afterward bought and lived upon the land where the battle took place; his companion, Mr. Butler tells us, was, a few years since, still living in Brownsville, Penn."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 23

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1254

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254