USA > Ohio > The history of the state of Ohio; from the discovery of the great valley, to the present time > Part 29
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The Indians had carefully watched the proceedings of the troops in erecting Fort Recovery, on the ground rendered mem- orable by the defeat of St. Clair. They resolved to make a des- perate effort to destroy the small garrison left in guard there, and to gain the fort for themselves. On the 30th of June, 1794, a large force, consisting of fifteen hundred Indians, with several companies of Canadians, with blackened faces and in Indian costume, led by British officers, in full dress, made a furious attack upon the fort. Major McMahon was encamped just out- side of the works, with about one hundred and fifty troops. Mr. Burnet, in his Notes, gives the following account of this import- ant conflict.
"On the 30th of June a very severe and bloody battle was fought, under the walls of Fort Recovery, between a detach- ment of American troops, consisting of ninety riflemen and fifty dragoons, commanded by Major McMahon, and a very numerous body of Indians and British, who at the same instant rushed on
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the detachment and assailed the fort on every side with fury. They were repulsed with a heavy loss, but again rallied and re- newed the attack, keeping up a heavy and constant fire during the whole day, which was returned with spirit and effect by the garrison.
"The preceding night was foggy and dark, and gave the Indi- ans an opportunity of carrying off their dead by torch-light, which occasionally drew a fire from the garrison. They, however, suc- ceeded so well that there were but eight or ten bodies left on the ground, which were too near the garrison to be approached. On the next morning McMahon's detachment having entered the fort the enemy renewed the attack, and continued it with great desperation during the day, but were ultimately compelled to . retreat from the same field on which they had been proudly vic- torious on the 4th of November, 1791.
"The expectation of the assailants must have been to surprise the post and carry it by storm, for they could not possibly have received intelligence of the movements of the escort under Major McMahon, which only marched from Greenville on the morning preceding, and on the same evening deposited in Fort Recovery the supplies it had conveyed. That occurrence, therefore, could not have led to the movement of the savages.
" Judging from the extent of their encampment and their line of march in seventeen columns, forming a wide and extended front, and from other circumstances, it was believed that their numbers could not have been less than from fifteen hundred to two thousand warriors. It was also believed that they were in want of provisions, as they had killed and eaten a number of pack horses in their encampment the evening after the assault, and also at their encampment on their return, seven miles from Fort Recovery, where they remained two nights, having been much encumbered with their dead and wounded.
" From the official report of Major Mills, adjutant general of the army, it appears that twenty-two officers and non-commis- sioned officers were killed, and thirty wounded. Among the former was Major McMahon, and among the latter, Lieutenant Drake. Captain Gibson, who commanded the fort, behaved with great gallantry, and received the thanks of the commander-in- chief, as did every officer and soldier of the garrison, and the
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escort, who were engaged in that most gallant and successful defense.
" Immediately after the enemy had retreated, it was ascertained that their loss had been very heavy; but the full extent of it was not known, till it was disclosed at the treaty of Greenville. Ref- erences were made to that battle, by several of the chiefs in council, from which it was manifest that they had not, even then, ceased to mourn the distressing losses sustained on that occasion. Having made the attack with a determination to carry the fort or perish in the attempt, they exposed their persons in an unusual degree, and, of course, a large number of the bravest of the chiefs and warriors perished before they abandoned the enterprise.
"From the facts afterwards communicated, it was satisfactorily ascertained that there were a considerable number of British sol- diers and Detroit militia engaged with the savages on that occa- sion. A few days previous to that affair, the general had sent out three small parties of friendly Indians, Chickasaws and Choctaws, to take prisoners, for the purpose of obtaining information. One of these parties returned to Greenville, and reported that they had fallen in with a large body of Indians, at Girtystown, near the crossing of the St. Mary's River, on the evening of the twen- ty-seventh of June. They were apparently bending their course towards Chillicothe, on the Miami. There were a great many white men with them. The other two parties followed the trail of the hostile Indians, and were in sight when the assault on the post commenced. They affirm, one and all, that there were a large number of armed white men with painted faces, whom they frequently heard conversing in English, and encouraging the Indians to persevere; and that there were also three British offi- cers, dressed in scarlet, who appeared to be men of distinction, from the great attention and respect which were paid to them. These persons kept at a distance in the rear of the assailants.
" Another strong corroborating proof that there were British soldiers and militia in the assault is, that a number of ounce balls and buck-shot were found, lodged in the block-houses and stock- ades of the fort, and that others were picked up on the ground, fired at such a distance as not to have momentum sufficient to enter the logs. It was supposed that the British who were enga- ged in the attack, expected to find the artillery that was lost on the fatal fourth of November, which had been hid in the ground,
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and covered with logs by the Indians, in the vicinity of the battle field. This inference was supported by the fact that, during the conflict, they were seen turning over logs and examining different places in the neighborhood, as if searching for something. There were many reasons for believing that they depended on that artil- lery to aid in the reduction of the fort. But, fortunately, most of it had previously been found by its legitimate owners, and was then employed in its defense."
It will be remembered that St. Clair, after his awful defeat, was compelled to abandon his artillery. General Wayne succeeded in recovering all these pieces, except one, which could not be found. Nearly twenty years after his day this piece was acci- dentally discovered, buried deep in the mud. It passed into the possession of an artillery company in Cincinnati, who may, prob- ably, still retain it.
The Indians were very adroit in their stratagems, and the utmost caution was requisite in a conflict with them. Captain Shaylor was in command of the little garrison at Fort Jefferson. Immediately after the retreat of the savages from their signal defeat at Fort Recovery, as no Indians were around, and it would take sometime to re-organize new war parties, all the garrisons felt much at. their ease. Captain Shaylor, as the Indians well knew, was very fond of hunting. One pleasant summer morning the captain heard the gobble of a flock of turkeys in the woods at a little distance from the fort. Calling his son, they eagerly sal- lied forth to shoot some game for dinner. They fell into an ambuscade, the son fell, mortally wounded. The gobble of the turkeys was but a decoy of the Indians. The captain turned and fled to the garrison, the Indians, with loud yells, pursued, hoping either to capture him, or to enter the gates at his heels. They were, however, disappointed. He rushed in, though with an arrow quivering in his back, and the gates were immediately closed after him.
General Wayne, in all his movements, followed very closely the instructions given him by President Washington. In his marches the army generally halted about the middle of the afternoon. The quar- termasters, with the quartermaster-general, surveyor and engineers, selected the ground, and laid off the encampment of each com- pany. They went a little in advance, so that the troops, as soon as they arrived, proceeded to pitch their tents. Each company
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fortified twenty feet in front of its position. This was done either by throwing up the earth, or by cutting down trees, and piling up the logs. The whole breastwork, around the encampment, was usually completed before dark.
Fort Defiance, at the mouth of the Auglaise, was one hundred and three miles from Greenville. During the construction of the fort the cavalry scoured the whole of the highly cultivated region for miles around, destroying the crops and burning the deserted villages. Having finished and strongly garrisoned the fort, Wayne pressed forward down the banks of the Maumee, a distance of forty-five miles, where, at what is called the Rapids, and within seven miles of the old English Fort Miami, he constructed Fort Deposit. It is said that the army which he assembled here amounted to two thousand regulars, besides eleven hundred rifle- men, commanded by General Scott. General Wayne was very careful to guard his camp by scouts, who ranged the forest in all directions. One of the scouts, who obtained great distinction, was William Wells.
He was captured by the Indians when a mere child, and was adopted into the family of Little Turtle. Here he was treated with the utmost kindness, and he became strongly attached to all the inmates of the lodge. Indeed he became an Indian, in all his sympathies, character and manners. He was one of the most valiant in their war parties, and in his paint and plumes could not be distinguished from other Indians. He commanded three hundred warriors in the attack upon St. Clair, and so directed their fire as to annihilate the artillerists.
Notwithstanding this great victory, he felt assurred that, in the end, the whites would triumph. He therefore decided to abandon the Indians, and return to his countrymen. One morning he said to Little Turtle, his adopted father, pointing to the heavens :
"When that sun reaches the meridian, I shall leave you for the whites. And whenever you meet me in battle, you must kill me, as I shall endeavor to do by you."
It is very remarkable, that after this abrupt departure, the ties of friendship continued unbroken between these highly gifted men. Wells soon joined Wayne's army. His knowledge of Indian haunts and modes of warfare, rendered him an invaluable acqui- sition to the troops. After peace was restored he returned to his
-
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foster father, Little Turtle, and their friendship remained uninter- rupted until his death.
In one of his excursions, Captain Wells, upon approaching the banks of St. Mary's River, discovered a group of Indians ascend- the stream in a canoe. He was himself in Indian costume, and spoke their language like a native. The Indians, perceiving him, and not suspecting any danger, turned their canoe towards the shore. As they approached, Captain Wells recognized, among the rest, his Indian father and mother. At the same moment he heard his companions, who were lying in ambush cocking their rifles, to pour a deadly fire into the canoe.
Captain Wells, alarmed at the danger to which his friends were exposed, turned to his men and ordered them to desist, declaring that he would shoot down the first man who should fire into the boat.
" That family," said he, " has fed me when hungry, clothed me when naked, and nursed me when sick, and has treated me with as much affection as one of their own children."
This speech touched the hearts of his comrades, who knew of his previous history. They dropped their rifles, and shook hands cordially with the trembling Indians. Such are the joys of peace and friendship. Captain Wells assured the family that they had nothing to fear. He, however, told Little Turtle that General Wayne was approaching with a force which the Indians could not resist, and that the best thing they could do was immediately to make peace. Urging his father to keep, for the future, out of danger, they took an affectionate leave of each other. The Indi- ans seemed very grateful for this manifestation of kindness, and paddled rapidly from the shore.
Another of the scouts, under the command of Captain Wells, was a man of remarkable history, by the name of Henry Miller. He, and a younger brother, Christopher, had been captured by the Indians when children, and had been kindly adopted into an In- dian family. He lived with the Indians until he was twenty-four years of age. Though he had fully adopted the Indian's mode of life, and had entirely identified himself with the tribe, he began to yearn for a return to civilized life. He could not, however, persuade his brother to accompany him in his contemplated flight. Many years passed away, during which the brothers heard nothing of each other. Henry escaped through the woods, and safely
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reached his friends in Kentucky. Henry and Wells had known each other when residing with the Indians.
There were four other men, united with these two, who usually went out together, as scouts, making a party of six. In June, 1794, while the head-quarters of the army were at Greenville. General Wayne dispatched Wells and his corps on one of their excursions. They were particularly requested to bring some In- dian into the camp, as a prisoner, from whom the movements of the savages could be ascertained. They crossed the St. Mary's River, and, as they were proceeding along the banks of the Auglaise, they discovered a slight smoke curling up through the tree-tops, at a distance.
With great caution three of them crept along with the stealthy tread of an animal, seeking to plunge upon its prey, till they reached a spot screened by the dense boughs of a fallen tree, from which they saw three Indians, within half gun-shot distance, making themselves very merry around a camp-fire. They had just killed a deer, and were feasting upon the savory cuts. The plan of the scouts was immediately formed. Wells and Miller were to shoot two of the Indians, one on the right and the other on the left. Immediately, upon the report of the guns, McClellan, who was fleet of foot as a deer, was to spring forward and seize the center Indian, while instantly supported by his comrades.
The guns were fired, and the two Indians dropped dead, shot through the heart. McClellan, with uplifted tomahawk, rushed upon his victim. The Indian, without even grasping his rifle, bounded down towards the river. At that place there was a bluff bank, nearly twenty feet high. Giving a tremendous leap, he landed in the stream but a short distance from the shore, and sank in the soft oozy bottom of mud, up to his waist. He was effectually imprisoned. McClellan sprang after him, and found himself in about the same predicament. As they were both floundering in the mire, the Indian drew his knife. McClel- lan, brandishing his tomahawk, ordered the Indian to throw his knife into the water, or he would instantly cleave his brain.
He did so, and surrendered without further opposition. By this time Wells and his companion came to the bank and discovered the two struggling in the mire. Their prisoner being secure, they selected a place where the bank was less precipitous, went down, dragged the captive out and tied him. He was sulky, and refused
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to speak either English or Indian. Some of the party went back for their horses. The captive was painted, as was usual with the Indians, and was covered with mud. Upon washing off the mud and paint, they found, much to their surprise, that he was a white: man.
He however seemed very sullen, and refused to answer any questions. He was manifestly, in all his character, thoroughly an Indian, though the blood of the white man flowed in his veins. Henry Miller, for some cause, began to suspect that this might be his long lost brother, Christopher. After looking at him very closely, he came up and called him by his Indian name. The man started in great surprise, seemed bewildered, and asked him how he could possibly know his name. The mystery was soon solved. The captive was indeed Christopher Miller. His escape from death seemed to have been providential. Had he chanced to have stood either upon the right or left of the little group of three, he would certainly have been shot.
Christopher was still not at all disposed to make friends of his captors. They took him to Greenville and placed him in the guard-house. General Wayne questioned him very closely, res- pecting the intentions of the Indians, but could get nothing from him. His brother and Captain Wells exhausted all their powers of persuasion in the endeavor to induce him to abandon the Indi- ans, and return to civilized life. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that while it is easy, so to speak, to make an Indian of a white man, it is very difficult to lead one from the savage to the civilized . state. The descent is easy, the ascent laborious and painful.
Gradually Christopher became more reconciled and genial. At length he promised that, if they would release him from confine- ment, he would join them. To this arrangement General Wayne consented, though he had but little faith that his captive would keep his word. They equipped him in a new uniform, and mounted him upon a very fine horse. He joined the company of Captain Wells, and continued through the war a faithful and intrepid soldier.
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CHAPTER XIX.
THE BATTLE AND ITS RESULTS.
CAPTURE OF A CHIEF - DARING ADVENTURE, AND RESULTS -- MESSAGE OF GENERAL WAYNE - SPEECH OF LITTLE TURTLE - MOVEMENTS OF THE INDIANS - OFFICIAL REPORT OF GENERAL WAYNE-CONFERENCE BETWEEN GENERAL WAYNE AND MAJOR CAMPBELL - BUCKONGAHELAS AND HIS DEFIANT SPEECH - NARRATIVE BY JONATHAN ALDER -LETTER OF GENERAL HARRISON - VIEWS OF GOVERNOR SIMCOE -COUNCIL OF CHIEFS AT FORT GREENVILLE - BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED - LORAMIE'S STORE - ANECDOTE.
AN OPPORTUNITY soon presented itself to test the fidelity of Christopher Miller. Captain Wells and his party set out on another scouting excursion. They took Christopher with them. They were all dressed as Indian warriors, painted in the highest style, and mounted on very fleet horses. Their tour again led them to the valley of the Auglaise. Here they met a single Indian, and called upon him to surrender. Though there were six against him, the valiant fellow refused. Hastily discharging his rifle at his foes and missing his mark, he turned and ran. It was in the midst of a dense forest, and the thick underbrush so retarded the speed of the horses, that the savage was fast gaining upon his pursuers. They did not fire upon him, for they were anxious to take him as a prisoner. Christopher Miller and McClelland dis- mounted and pursued. The latter, who had no equal as a runner, soon overtook him. The savage turned and fought like a tiger at bay. But Christopher soon came up, and they closed in upon him and made him their prisoner without inflicting any injury upon him. He turned out to be a Pottawatamie chief of great renown. He was considered by his tribe as unequaled in courage and prowess. They carried their captive back to Greenville. The part which Miller performed on this occasion established his reputation, and entire confidence was thenceforth reposed in him.
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Another adventure of these scouts is worthy of record. When General Wayne with his army was at the confluence of the Au- glaise and the Maumee, building Fort Defiance, Captain Wells set out on another tour of reconnoisance. The party consisted of six-Captain Wells, the two Millers, McClellan, May and Mahaffy. They could all speak the Indian language, were familiar with In- dian customs, and, when plumed, painted and dressed in Indian costume, no eye could detect any difference between them and ordinary Indian bands.
They proceeded up the Maumee River, in a northerly direction, on the western banks, until they reached a small Indian village, directly opposite an important British post, called Fort Meigs. The station occupied nearly ten acres. It was well known that the British officers here were doing everything in their power to aid the Indians, supply them with arms and ammunition, and were instructing them in the art of war. This was on the 11th of August, only nine days before the great battle, for which each party was preparing.
The little band rode boldly into the Indian village, assuming that they had just come from the English fort on the other side of the river. They chatted freely with the Indians as they trotted slowly along through the narrow street. It was supposed that they were warriors from some distant tribe, who had come to take part in the expected battle. After passing through the town, when at a short distance from it, they met an Indian man and woman, on horseback, returning from hunting. They took them both prisoners, and set out on their return to Fort Defiance.
As they were pressing rapidly along, just after dark, they saw the gleam of camp-fires in the distance. Cautiously approaching, they came in sight of a large encampment of warriors, who were feasting and having a very merry time. It was a picturesque and exciting scene. The dark night, the glooms of the majestic forest, the crackle and blaze of the fires illuminating the region far around, the stalwart figures of the warriors in gorgeous barbaric adornment, the horses tethered at a distance - all these combined to present a spectacle which no one could look upon without emotion.
These bold rangers, instead of stealing away from the peril, in the darkness, gagged and bound their prisoners at the distance of nearly half a mile from the warriors, and then deliberately rode
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361 . .
into their camp, with their rifles lying across the pommels of their saddles. Assuming that they were Indian allies from another tribe, they made minute inquiries about the expected movements of General Wayne, and the measures which the Indians were about to adopt to meet him.
The unsuspecting warriors were very cordial and communica- tive. At length one of the Indians, more sagacious than the rest, began to think that all was not right. In a low tone of voice he said to one near him, " These men are spies; they are brooding mischief." The quick ear of Captain Wells overheard the alarm- ing words. Surrounded as the rangers were, by many to one, the repetition of these words in a loud voice would have insured the immediate capture of every one of them, and their death by torture.
Captain Wells gave a preconcerted signal. . At that instant every ranger discharged his rifle, and six of the warriors dropped dead. But the bullets had not pierced their hearts ere every horse was spurred to his utmost speed, the riders bowing down, with their breasts on the horses' necks, that they might lessen the mark for the balls of the warriors. But the savages, accustomed to all sur- prises, were not bewildered. Seizing their rifles, with cool aim they fired.
A bullet struck McClellan, and passed through beneath the shoulder-blade. Another ball broke Captain Wells' arm, and his rifle dropped to the ground. May's horse slipping upon a smooth rock, fell, and he was taken prisoner. The two Millers and Mahaffy escaped unharmed. These three, with the two wounded men, rode at full speed to the spot where their prisoners were bound, mounted them on horses, and continued their flight to Fort Defiance; a long ride of thirty miles. One of them was sent ahead to obtain surgical aid for Wells and McClellan, who were suffering great pain. General Wayne immediately dispatched a surgeon, with a company of dragoons, to escort them in. They reached the fort in safety, and in due time the wounded recovered.
May had formerly lived among the Indians. They recognized him. One of the chiefs said to him in broken English :
" We know you. You speak Indian language. You not content to live with us. To-morrow we take you to that tree. We will tie you up and make a mark upon your breast, and we will try what Indian can shoot nearest to it."
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The next day they bound him to a large burr oak at the edge of the clearing, near the British fort. Fifty bullets passed through his body, near the heart. Thus perished poor May. Fortunate indeed was he in escaping the horrors of Indian torture.
On the 13th of August General Wayne, in accordance with the conciliatory and peaceful spirit urged upon him by Washington, sent the following message to the Indians. It was addressed to the Delawares, Shawanese, Miamis, Wyandots, and all other In- dian nations north of the Ohio.
"I, Anthony Wayne, Major General and Commander-in-chief of the Federal army, now at Grand Glaize, and Commissioner Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, for settling the terms on which a permanent and lasting peace shall be made with each and every of the hostile tribes or nations of Indians north- west of the Ohio, actuated by the purest principles of humanity, and urged by pity for the errors into which bad and designing men have led you, from the head of my army, now in possession of your abandoned villages, once more extend to you the friendly hand of peace.
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