USA > Ohio > The biographical cyclopaedia and portrait gallery with an historical sketch of the state of Ohio. Volume I > Part 4
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SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF OHIO.
this charge they and all their Indian converts in the Tuscarawas Valley were arrested by Captain Matthew Elliott, a British officer, who had under his command about three hundred hostile Indians. They made no resistance, and were taken prisoners about the middle of September, 1781, and compelled to proceed to the Sandusky River, which they reached on the first day of October, after a journey of twenty days, meanwhile suffering many hardships and privations.
The missionaries who were thus removed were David Zeisberger, Gottlob Senseman, and John George Jungman, of Schönbrunn ; John Heckewelder and Michael Jung, of Salem ; and William Edwards, of Lichtenau. The point at which they were left to take care of themselves, their wives and children and Indian captives, was on the banks of the Sandusky River, about ten miles from Upper Sandusky. The village of small huts, which they here built to protect themselves from the inclemencies of the weather, received the name of "Captives' Town," and was near the mouth of Broken Sword Creek. On the 14th of October the missionaries were summoned to Detroit, to appear before the British command- ant for examination. Accordingly, Messrs. Zeisberger, Senseman, Edwards, and Heckewelder proceeded across the Black Swamp to the Maumee River, and from thence to Detroit, consuming several days on the journey. Their fellow-laborers, Jungman and Jung, they left behind. Immediately on their arrival they were taken before Major Arent Schuyler De Peyster, the commandant, who questioned them con- cerning the charges that had been made against them. They were treated well, and on a final hearing on the 9th of November they were discharged by the commandant, who pronounced them not guilty, and suffered them to return to their families and friends on the Sandusky. Many were the acts of kind- ness which the missionaries received while in Detroit. One merchant, shortly after their arrival, returned some new clothes belonging to one of them, which he had purchased from one of the Indian warriors. Another trader, who had bought of the same Indians four silver watches taken from the missionaries, was ordered to deliver them up to the commandant, who satisfied him for them, and then restored them to their owners. The commandant also sent a barrel of pork, with some flour, to Sandusky. He assured the missionaries that he felt great satisfaction and pleasure in seeing their endeavors to civilize and Chris- tianize the Indians, and gave them a passport which permitted them to labor among the Christian In- dians without molestation. He parted from them with the most marked expressions of esteem. On the 14th of November they left Detroit to return home, well supplied with warm clothes and blankets, both for themselves and their two companions in labor. The weather was cold and the ground frozen hard. When within one day's journey of Sandusky a deep snow fell, and made the traveling difficult. They, however, arrived on the 22d.
After the return of the missionaries to Captives' Town, the Christian Indians, under the guidance of their teachers and with their assistance, erected a temporary meeting-house of logs for worship. The crevices were filled with moss gathered from the trees, and here they celebrated with cheerfulness and thanksgiving their Christmas holidays. The Winter came on with severe cold weather. Most of their huts being small, with only the ground for a floor, whenever a thaw occurred they could scarcely keep their feet dry. There was, too, little opportunity to keep up large fires to expel the cold. Firewood was scarce, their cattle suffered from hunger and began to perish, and their provisions ran low. The daily allowance of corn at that time to each person was only a pint. Occasionally they could add to this store a leg of venison purchased from the hunters; but this supply was precarious. Under these circumstances it was determined to send a company of Indians to procure some corn from the Tusca- rawas Valley, thousands of bushels of which, of their own raising, still remained on the stalks when they were driven away by the British agent. In pursuance of this determination about one hundred and fifty of their number, consisting of men, women, and children, left Captives' Town late in February to go to their corn-fields and get the corn which they had raised. On their arrival they divided their number into three divisions among the three villages they had occupied, and proceeded at once to secure their corn. They made fine progress in gathering and husking, and securing it in the woods. They were beginning to bundle up their sacks in order to take a final leave of the ill-fated place, when suddenly a force of white people from the Ohio settlements made their appearance at Gnadenhutten. About a mile from the village they met a lad named Joseph Schebosh, whom they cruelly murdered, though he told them he was the son of a white man, and piteously begged them to spare his life.
This company of white men consisted of about ninety persons, under the command of Colonel
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David Williamson. They met at Mingo Bottom early in March, 1782, three miles below the present site of Steubenville. On reaching the village they killed two other persons, a man and a woman. By treacherously promising them protection, they disarmed the Indians at Gnadenhutten, and likewise those * at Salem, and placed them in confinement-men, women, and children, in the same house. Here they met together for the last time. The charges which the white men alleged against them were, that their horses, as also their axes, pewter basins, spoons, and indeed all that they possessed, had been taken from the white people ; and, besides, that they were warriors, and not Christian non-combatants. Colonel Williamson submitted the fate of these helpless captives to his men for decision, -to take them to Fort Pitt or to put them to death. The latter alternative was adopted by a large majority-only eighteen men out of the whole company voting to preserve them alive. And thereupon they were then and there murdered in cold blood, March 8, 1782. Of the whole number slain, amounting to ninety-six, there were sixty-two grown persons, one-third of them being women. The remaining thirty-four were chil- dren. Those who were gathering corn in the vicinity of the other settlement providentially escaped. A messenger who had been sent to them from the Sandusky village, to recall them home, reached Schön- brunn on the 6th of March. Exhausted with fatigue, he stayed to rest at this village, while two other Indians were sent to convey his message to the workmen at Gnadenhutten and Salem. As they were going they discovered the tracks of horses' shoes along the path, and cautiously followed them. When within one or two miles of Gnadenhutten they found the dead body of Schebosh, with his scalp taken off. Shocked at the ghastly spectacle, and apprehending danger near, they yet, with cool composure and courage, buried the body, and returned to Schonbrunn. Giving the alarm, they all prepared to flee at once from so dangerous a spot. In their haste they forgot their canoe. At night the fugitives slept about two and a half miles from the village, on the opposite side of the river. Very early the next morning, before it was light, several of the Indian brethren returned to Schönbrunn for the canoe. They had scarcely proceeded with it three hundred yards from the town, and were yet in sight of it, when they heard the trampling of horses' feet. Secreting themselves, they watched the movements of the horsemen, and saw the village surrounded by them. After examining and finding no trace of the Indians, they soon rode off. As soon as they were out of sight, the Indians who were hiding shot forth in their canoe, and speedily rejoined the rest of their party. Without provisions, and oppressed with fear, they sorrowfully retraced their steps to Sandusky. On their journey they suffered many hardships. Hunger pinched them, and one infant perished for lack of nourishment. At length they reached home in a more deplorable condition than when they set out for the Muskingum.
"One can hardly help reflecting with regret," says Rev. Joseph Doddridge, in his "Notes on the . Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Part of Virginia and Pennsylvania," " that these Moravians did not for the moment lay aside their pacific principles, and do themselves justice. With a mere show of defense, or at most a few shots, they might have captured and disarmed these few men, and held them as hostages for the safety of their people and property, until they could have removed them out of their way. This they might have done on the easiest terms, as the remainder of the army could not have crossed the river without their permission, as there was but one canoe at the place, and the river was too high to be forded. But, alas! these truly Christian people suffered themselves to be betrayed by hypocritical professions of friendship, until 'they were led as sheep to the slaughter.' Over this horrid deed humanity must shed tears of commiseration as long as the record of it shall remain."
The Revolutionary struggle having required every patriot who could shoulder a gun to oppose the British troops, none could be spared to protect from Indians the settlers of the Northwest; and conse- quently those who had remained in the territory had to protect themselves, and, in doing so, make in turn such offensive forays on the Indian settlements as they could. Thus it was that in 1779 Colonel John Bowman had with a small force marchied against the Shawanese, the most powerful tribe in the territory, and was badly defeated. In 1780 General Brodhead conducted what was subsequently known as the Coshocton campaign against the Shawanese villages situated in the forks of the Muskingum.
On the 2d day of August, 1780, General George R. Clark undertook an expedition against the Miami villages, for the purpose of destroying them. With the troops which he had collected he took up his line of march from the place where Cincinnati now stands, for the Indian towns. The army marched in two divisions, and consisted of nine hundred and seventy men. The force was arranged
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according to the most rigid precepts of war, and proceeded without interruption to old Chillicothe, or the Indian towns on the Miami and Mad River bottoms. They arrived on the 6th of the month, and found the first town abandoned. Many of the houses were burning, having been fired the preceding morning. They destroyed at this place several hundred acres of corn, near which they encamped. This was in the vicinity of Oldtown, near the Little Miami River, in Greene County. About four o'clock in the afternoon of the next day the army resumed its march for the Piqua towns on Mad River, distant from old Chillicothe about twelve miles. They had not proceeded more than a mile before they en- countered a very heavy rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning and a considerable amount of wind. Without tents, or any protection against the rain, the men soon became drenched, and it was impossible to keep their guns dry. It was nearly dark when the storm ceased, and they were ordered to encamp in a hollow square, with their baggage and horses in the center. They were then directed, with proper precautions, to discharge their guns and to reload them. Thus they remained on the alert, and were ready for action in case of emergency. By sunrise on the 8th the army was again in motion, and by two o'clock P. M. arrived within sight of Piqua. As they advanced upon the town they were attacked by the Indians, who concealed themselves in a prairie of high weeds. The ground upon which the attack was made, and the manner in which it was done, left no doubt that a general engagement was intended. Accordingly, Colonel Benjamin Logan, with four hundred men, was ordered to file off and march up the river to the east, and so to post himself as to prevent the escape of the Indians in that direction. And the division of the army under Colonels Lynn, Floyd, and Harrod were detached to cross the river and encompass the town on the west side; while General Clark, with the troops of Colonel Slaughter and those attached to the artillery, advanced upon the town in front. The prairie in which the attacking Indians were concealed was only a short distance from the timbered land, and the division who were ordered to encompass the town on the west side found it necessary to cross the prairie in order to avoid the fire of the concealed enemy. The Indians perceived the purpose of the intended attack, and used their skill to prevent it. To escape being surrounded by the advance of the detach- ment from the west, they made a powerful effort to turn the left wing. This was discovered by Colonels Floyd and Lynn, and to prevent it they extended their force a mile west of town. The ground was warmly contested on both sides until five o'clock, when the Indians disappeared, unperceived, and only a few remained in the town. The field-piece was now brought to bear on the houses, and soon dislodged the Indians that were in them. A nephew of General Clark, who had been several years among the Indians, and attempted to make his way to the whites at this period of the engagement, was supposed by them to be an Indian, and was shot. He was mortally wounded, but lived several hours. He had adopted the Indian customs, and it is said that he was to have led the Indians in the next morning's attack. Recognizing his uncle, he begged his forgiveness, as well as that of his countrymen, and soon afterwards expired.
On searching the houses a Frenchman was found concealed in one of the cabins. He informed the troops that the Indians had learned all about their movements, and had more than once determined to attack them silently in the night with the knife and tomahawk. They had intended this attack on the evening after the shower, knowing that the guns were wet; but they were prevented by the vigilance of General Clark, who had directed that they should be discharged. Hearing the noise of the firing, the Indians were convinced that the rain had not rendered them entirely useless. The loss on both sides was nearly equal, amounting to twenty killed.
The notorious renegade, Simon Girty, was in this battle. He had risen to the dignity of a chief among the Mingoes, and had at this time three hundred warriors of that tribe under his command. Remarking the vigor of the attack and the desperation with which General Clark's men exposed them- selves to the hottest of the fire, he drew off the Indians, observing that it was useless to fight with fools and madmen. It was estimated that, at old Chillicothe and at Piqua, more than five hundred acres of standing corn were cut down, and every thing that related to subsistence, upon which the troops could lay their hands, was destroyed. The Indians by this means were compelled to resort to hunting for their supply of food ; and thus, dividing them into small parties and scattering them through the forests in search of game, hostilities would necessarily be suspended for a season. Having completed their work of destruction, the troops commenced their homeward march. On reaching the mouth of the
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SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF OHIO.
Licking, where Covington now stands, the army dispersed, and each individual selected his own mode and route of return. They had cheerfully encountered toil, danger, and privation. Their total allow- ance of food was six quarts of Indian corn, and a small quantity daily of salt, besides what green corn and vegetables they found in the Indian villages, and the chance game they were able to shoot on the way. But they knew the emergency of the case, and that if they failed, the savages would pour in upon the defenseless settlements, and murder their wives and children. Their intention was to conquer, or perish in the attempt.
In the year 1782 another expedition was made against the Indians in Ohio, with the intention of destroying the villages of the Wyandots on the Sandusky. It was set on foot immediately after the return of Williamson's party from the Muskingum. The volunteers to the number of four hundred and eighty men rendezvoused on the Mingo bottoms on the 25th of May. Here an election was held for commander. Colonel Williamson, who commanded at the massacre of the Moravians, and Colonel William Crawford were the candidates. The latter was elected, and accepted the position, it is said, with reluctance. The army then marched along Williamson's trail, and arrived at the ruins of the Mo- ravian towns on the fourth day after their departure. Here some Indians were discovered; but they escaped. They had been watching the motions of the troops ever since they crossed the river; they had learned the object of the expedition, and the intention of the invaders to give "no quarter to any Indian, whether man, woman, or child !" On the 4th of June the army arrived at the Moravian village on the Sandusky River, but it was abandoned. Here many of the men were anxious to abandon the enterprise and return home; but a council of the officers was held, and it was determined to proceed. They were then forty miles distant from Sandusky. They advanced cautiously, but had not proceeded far when they were suddenly attacked by a large force of Indians concealed in the grass. The battle lasted without cessation until dark, and the army rested in position all night, so as to be ready for any emergency. The next day a council of the officers was held. The Indians were apparently increasing every hour, and it was resolved that when night should come they would retreat. Meanwhile they buried their dead and prepared means for carrying off their wounded. After dark the army began its return march, when several shots were fired by the enemy. Many of the men, thinking that the move- ment of the troops was discovered, left the main body in disorder, and attempted to escape in the darkness. The Indians followed the main body only a short distance, and then turned to pursue the stragglers. Of these more than a hundred were killed or captured.
Colonel Crawford would probably have made good his retreat but that he lingered behind in anxiety for his son, who was supposed to be in the rear. After wandering two days in the woods, with Dr. John Knight and some others, all were taken by a party of Delawares and conducted to the old Wyandot town. Here Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, with his own hands, painted the faces of the two principal captives black-a sure premonition of their coming fate. On the next day they were marched to the new Wyandot town, and preparation was immediately made for the execution by torture of the colonel, Dr. Knight being reserved for a similar fate at a town about forty miles distant from Sandusky. The story of Colonel Crawford's sufferings has often been told, and it is not necessary to repeat it here. He fell a sacrifice, not for his own crimes, but for the crimes of others. On him the Indians endeavored to wreak vengeance for the unprovoked slaughter of their Moravian kinsmen and friends on the Muskingum. And fearfully was that slaughter repaid. Many of the captives taken by the Indians were tortured, tomahawked, scalped, and burned. Dr. Knight and one or two others providentially managed to escape ; but the number of those killed in battle and along the entire route of their retreat was very great. The exact amount of the loss suffered by the whites was never fairly ascertained. Thus ended this disastrous expedition.
This was the last of the campaigns undertaken by the borderers, during the Revolutionary War, against the Indians. It was conducted without sufficient means to encounter the large force of savages on the Sandusky plains. The commander was incapable of enforcing that subordination and discipline so requisite for success in any undertaking, and especially in one of hazard. The army was too confident. The ease with which the Moravian Indians were exterminated on the Muskingum inspired false hopes ; and so, with high resolves and expectations of easy victory, they advanced to their own destruction.
At the time when the definitive treaty of peace between his majesty George III and the revolted
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American colonies-henceforth to be denominated States-was signed, the whole territory north of the Ohio River and west of the State of Pennsylvania, extending northwardly to the northern boundary of the United States, and westwardly to the Mississippi, was claimed by Virginia; and that State was in possession of the French settlements of Vincennes and Illinois, which she had occupied and defended during the war. The States of Massachusetts and Connecticut claimed all that part which was within the breadth of their respective charters; and the State of New York had also an indeterminate claim to the country. The United States obtained cessions from all these four States, and thus acquired an indis- putable title to the whole. The State of Virginia, amongst other conditions of her act of cession, made provision for securing the old French settlers, who professed themselves citizens of Virginia, in their possessions, and reserved two tracts of land-one of 150,000 acres near the rapids of the Ohio, opposite Louisville, for that portion of her State troops under George Rogers Clark that had reduced the country ; and the other, all the land between the Scioto and the Little Miami Rivers, being about three and a half millions of acres, to satisfy the bounties which she had promised to her troops in the Continental line. The State of Connecticut reserved a tract of 3, 800,000 acres on Lake Erie, bounded on the south by the forty-first degree of north latitude, and extending westwardly one hundred and twenty miles from the western boundary of Pennsylvania. This has since been known as the " Western Reserve." By the terms of the compromise made between Connecticut and the United States Government, in the matter of the claims of the former under her King Charles Charter, the latter reserved the right of juris- diction over, and subsequently included, this tract in the territory of the State of Ohio. The cessions of New York and Massachusetts included an insulated tract called "the triangle," lying on Lake Erie, west of the State of New York and north of Pennsylvania. This tract was afterwards sold to the State of Pennsylvania, thus giving her a lake front, where the city of Erie, formerly Presque Isle, now stands. It appears small on the maps; but it contains over two hundred thousand acres.
Out of the territory thus ceded to the United States an ordinance of Congress, passed July 13th, 1787, provided that there should be formed not less than three nor more than five States. The western State in the said territory, if only three States were formed, was to be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Wabash Rivers, a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Port Vincents [Vincennes] due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada, and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and the Mississippi. The middle State was to be bounded by the said direct line and the Wabash from Port Vincents to the Ohio; by the Ohio; by a line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line ; and by the said territorial line. The eastern State was to be bounded by the last-mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line. But it was provided that Congress might form one or two States north of a line drawn due east and west through the most southerly bend of Lake Michigan. When Ohio was organized as a State, this, then, with Lake Erie, became its northern boundary. The same ordinance which determined the number of States to be formed in this territory north-west of the Ohio also provided that within its limits there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party accused should first have been duly convicted.
In 1776, Congress appropriated, as bounties for the officers and soldiers who should serve through the war, the lands of the western territory, grading the area according to rank from five hundred acres for a colonel to one hundred acres for a private. In 1780 this act was amended to include general officers-a major-general to receive eleven hundred acres, and a brigadier-general eight hundred and fifty. In June, 1783, General Rufus Putnam united with officers of the Continental army, belonging in major part to the Northern States, in a petition to Congress for a grant of the land ceded by Virginia, to which they might remove and found a State or States. Being selected by his associates to present this petition, General Putnam forwarded it to General Washington, with a long and well-written letter, in which he detailed the advantages the foundation of such a colony would secure to the whole country. This letter had much influence in the subsequent settlement of the territory, as it expressed the opinion that upon intelligent men the product of a system of education, the duties of public citizenship would rest ; and that such educational system should be fostered by liberal grants of land, set apart in perpetuity by the constitution of the State exclusively for this purpose. This letter contained the first suggestion of this wise provision, and it was forwarded to Congress by General Washington, with the petition supported
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