USA > Ohio > The picturesque Ohio : a historical monograph > Part 11
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Pontiac was dead. Little Turtle was as yet an unknown quantity among the chiefs. The government was about to build defensive works, to be commanded and held by regulars, and a fair contingent of armed troops were to be assembled within striking distance of the malcontents, who " were sulking in their villages." This was the situation in the last decade of the eighteenth century.
The gallant but unfortunate, or incapable (a question never settled conclusively) St. Clair, had been appointed by Washing- ton GOVERNOR OF THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. His head- quarters were at Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum- one of the several towns founded the same year in which Lo- santiville (Cincinnati) was laid out. The following extracts, collected and condensed from the "St. Clair Papers," are prob- ably fairer in expression than the almost universal condem- nation of his contemporaries, and for that reason will best tell the story of the defeat, which ended in a disgraceful rout :
"Receiving from Major Hamtramck the information that Antoine Gamelin had failed to persuade the Wabash Indians to enter into a treaty
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Governor St. Clair hastened to complete the work of organization. Before his departure for Philadelphia, he wrote to Major Hamtramck, ad- vising him of his purpose to prepare for a military movement against the Indians on the Wabash, and that Colonel Sargent would proceed to Post Vincennes, to make the civil appointments and organize the militia. The report of Mr. Gamelin is of extraordinary interest. It shows that the machinations of Brant and his British friends had been successful, that the Indians proposed to fight, and expected to force the Americans back across the Ohio.
"General St. Clair, after conferring with General Harmar, determined to send an expedition against the Maumee towns, under the command of that officer. A circular letter was issued to the county lieutenants of Ken- tucky and Western Pennsylvania, informing them that there was no pros- pect of a peace with the tribes on the Wabash, and instructing them to call out the militia allotted to their respective counties, to meet at Fort Washington by the 15th of September.
"When the militia did arrive, General Harmar was much disheartened, as they were 'raw, and unused to the gun or woods.' In addition, a large portion of the arms were unfit for use, inany of the muskets and rifles being without locks. The militia officers quarreled, and the men were insubordinate. Colonel Hardin was the senior officer, yet some of the men declared they would return home unless another officer could lead them, and a compromise became necessary.
" When on the march, October 2d, the force was reviewed, it was found to consist of three hundred and twenty regulars, under the im- mediate command of Majors Wyllys and Doughty, and one thousand one hundred and thirty-three militia, under the command of Colonel Hardin, an old Continental officer. The route was by old Chillicothe, at the head- waters of the LittleMiami; thence to Mad River, and thence to the Miami, which they struck near the ruins of the old trading-post.
"Here they captured a Shawanese Indian, who informed them that the Indians were leaving their village (distant about thirty miles), as fast as possible. Colonel Hardin was detached with six hundred light troops and one company of regulars. He was instructed to push for the Miami village, which was at the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary Rivers, and take every precaution to keep his men under strict discipline. When he reached the village, on the 15th, he found it deserted. On the 17th he
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was joined by the main body, and the order was given for the destruction of the buildings, and the vast fields of corn stretching along the bottoms of tlie streains.
"On the following day Colonel Trotter was ordered out with three hundred militia and thirty regulars, under Captain Armstrong, with in- structions to see if he could find traces of the Indians. He returned at night without having accomplished any thing. The next day Colonel Hardin went out with the same command. Before he had proceeded very far many of the militia deserted. When distant from camp ten miles, he suddenly canie upon about one hundred Indians, and was en- tirely defeated. At the moment of attack by the Indians, the remainder of the militia fled, without firing a shot. The regulars stood firm, and suffered severely.
"On the 21st, the army-having burned the chief town and five of the Indian villages, and destroyed twenty thousand bushels of corn in the ear, the object of the expedition -- took up their line of march back to Fort Wash- ington, and encamped eight miles from the ruins. At nine o'clock, at the solicitation of Colonel Hardin, General Harmar ordered out four hundred men, including sixty regulars, under Major Wyllys, with instructions to go back to the Indian town on the head-waters of the Miami, to surprise any parties that inight have returned there. The militia came upon a few In- dians immediately after crossing the river, put them to flight, and, con- trary to orders, the pursuit was continued up the St. Joseph for several miles. The center, composed of the regular troops, was soon afterwards attacked by the main body of the Indians, under Little Turtle, and al- though they fought with desperation, were obliged to give way. The few survivors fled in the direction taken by the militia, and met them returning from the pursuit of the scattering Indians. They were followed by the Indians, who attempted to pass the streamn, but were repulsed. The troops, after collecting the wounded, returned to camp. The regulars lost two officers, Major Wyllys and Lieutenant Frothingham.
"The result of St. Clair's visit to Philadelphia, and his report on affairs in the territory, was: First, to send a formidable military force into the Miami country to erect a series of forts, as recommended by him the pre- ceding year ; and secondly, to send minor expeditions against the Wabash tribes to punish them for their marauding in the spring of 1790. A new regiment was to be added to the military force, and General St. Clair was
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to conduct the expedition against the Miami towns in person, with General Richard Butler second in command. The equipment was to be complete in all respects, and the most cordial co-operation was promised by the War Department.
"The following entry is found in Major Denny's journal, under the date of September Ist: 'General St. Clair appears exceeding impatient at the de- lay or detention of some of the corps.'
"It was the 7th of September before General Butler and Quarter- master-General Hodgden arrived at Fort Washington. St. Clair had al- ready moved forward his two thousand men-not three thousand effectives, as promised by the Secretary of War-about twenty-four miles. Forts Hamilton and Jefferson were constructed under the greatest difficulties, as the rainy season had set in.
"The 24th of October the little army left Fort Jefferson, and moved through the wilderness towards the Maumee, where another fort was to be erected. The frost had cut off the forage, the men were on half rations, and the militia deserted in such numbers that the general found it neces- sary to dispatch Major Hamtranick with the First Regiment, three hundred strong, to arrest them and bring up the provisions that were supposed to be en route.
"Every precaution was taken on the march and in camp to guard against a surprise. On the 3d of November, 1791, the troops encamped on high ground on a small creek, supposed to be a branch of the Maumee, but which was, in fact, a branch of the Wabash. The high ground was barely sufficient for the regulars in rather contracted lines. The militia, under Colonel Oldham, passed beyond the creek a quarter of a mile, and encamped in parallel lines. Before midnight General Butler dispatched Captain Slough, with thirty-two men, to reconnoiter in front of the lines. He saw enough Indians to confirm the opinion that the troops would be attacked in the morning. He immediately returned to camp and commu- nicated to General Butler what he had learned, and added that, if thought proper, he would make the report to General St. Clair. General Butler re- mained silent for some time, and then remarked that he 'must feel fatigued, and he had better go and lie down.' Captain Slough obeyed.
"General Butler neither communicated to General St. Clair the infor- mation, nor took any further precaution against the enemy. On the morn-
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ing of the 4th, a half hour before sunrise, an attack was made on the militia. The militia fled pell-mell through the first line of regulars, who were attempting to form. However, the enemy was well received by the front line; but almost instantly the entire camp seemed to be surrounded by an unseen foe.
"The men were pressed toward the center, and fell by scores under the unerring aim of the savages, wlio fired from the woody covert sur- rounding them.
"General St. Clair, who had left his sick quarters upon the first fire, repeatedly directed the men to charge against the skulking foe, wlio fled before the bayonet, and then returned to the attack.
"The uniforms of the officers attracted the aim of the savages, and they fell on every hand. Among those wounded early in the engagement was General Butler, but he continued to urge resistance. When, at last, all of the artillery officers had been either killed or wounded, and the fire of the Indians was so near and deadly as to threaten the annihilation of the force, preparation was made for a retreat.
"A last charge was made against the enemy, and a retreat accom- plished. 'At the moment of the retreat,' says Major Denny, 'one of the few horses saved had been procured for the general ; he was on foot until then ; I kept by him, and he delayed to see the rear come up.' The general then commanded Major Denny to 'push to the front and rally a force sufficient to check the panic.' Then he turned his attention to the care of those who were partially disabled by wounds. As he and the officer in command of the rear-guard moved over the route, evidence was seen on every hand that the retreat had been a disgraceful flight, even to the very gates of Fort Jefferson, where, at last, under the assuring presence of Major Hamtramck's regulars, terror gave place to confidence.
"The killed and missing officers numbered thirty-seven, and the privates five hundred and ninety-three; the wounded, thirty-one officers, and two hundred and fifty-two privates. Not an officer exposed himself as much as the general, and yet it was always with a calın courage, seek- ing to reach the enemy effectively. 'I have nothing to lay to the charge of the troops,' said he in his official report, 'but their want of discipline, which from the short time they had been in service, it was impossible they should have acquired, and which rendered it very difficult, when they
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were thrown into confusion, to reduce them again to order, and this is one reason why the loss has fallen so heavy on the officers, who did every thing in their power to re-form the troops.'
"It seems surprising, in reviewing the evidence of so many witnesses, that the commanding general, who was believed to be competent, whose courage had been often proved, who knew the superiority of the Indian forces-warriors trained to war from infancy-should think of hazarding, with such disorderly troops, and under such circumstances, his reputation and life, and the lives of others.
"St. Clair asked to have an inquiry made by military officers, but that being impracticable, the matter came before Congress, and was there thoroughly examined.
"After his return to Fort Washington, on the 9th of November, St. Clair wrote his official dispatch to the Secretary of War, which contained a comprehensive account of the disastrous campaign. There is no fault- finding, no allusion to the shameful mismanagement in the -War Depart- ment, and nothing as to. the neglect of Colonel Oldham and General Butler to advise him of the presence of the enemy on the night of the 3d of November. Major Denny was charged with its prompt delivery, and ar- riving in Philadelphia at a late hour on the 19th, he waited immediately upon the Secretary of War and delivered the dispatches.
" The President declared that General St. Clair should have justice.
. ""'More satisfactory testimony in favor of St. Clair is furnished by the circumstance that he still retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of Washington.' This we read in the work of Chief-Justice Marshall. St. Clair resigned his conmission in the army, and General Anthony Wayne was appointed to succeed him in April, 1792.
"The whole country had been thrown into consternation and mourn- ing by the news of the defeat of St. Clair. A succession of disasters to the American arms had rendered the Indian war, to the last degree, unpop- ular ; and no little of the odium attached itself to the Administration under whose auspices it had been conducted. Parties had already developed themselves in Congress and the nation, and the conduct of the Indian war furnished abundant ground for the ill-disposed to raise charges against, and excite distrust of, the wisdom of the Administration.
"Thus situated, to sustain the honor of the government, to vindicate the superiority of the American arms, to arrest the clamor of party, to
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give protection to the frontier settlements, and, if possible, to restore a safe and lasting peace with the Indian Nations, new measures were to be adopted.
"The highest exercise of the wisdom of Washington, in the selection of a commander-in-chief for the army, was demanded ; for on this selection, more than on any which had been made since the commencement of the Revolutionary War, every thing dear to the country depended. Having acted with Wayne in the most trying scenes of the Revolutionary War, the President had a thorough knowledge of his fitness for the important command.
"On the 25th of May, 1792, Wayne having been furnislied, by the Sec- retary of War, with the instructions of the President, in which it was emphatically expressed ' that another defeat would be inexpressibly ruin- ous to the reputation of the government,' immediately took leave of his family and friends, and repaired to Pittsburgh, the place appointed for the rendezvous of the troops, where he arrived early in June.
"General Wayne did not permit the summer to pass without adopting proper measures to ascertain the strength and disposition of the hostile Indians. Efforts were made to impress on their minds the earnest desire of the American government to make peace on termis that should be mu- tually just and honorable, and yet to leave no doubt that, if war was pre- ferred by them, they would contend with a different force from that which they had previously encountered. Colonel Harding and Major Trueman were sent with flags of truce to the Indians, but they were both wantonly murdered.
"In the meantime the Indians continued their raids upon the frontier, except in the immediate neighborhood of posts occupied by detachments of troops, and many valuable lives were lost.
"Suitable winter quarters having been selected by Wayne, the army left Pittsburgh on the 28th of November, and took up a position on the Ohio, twenty-two miles below that place, and seven above the mouth of the Big Beaver, to which he gave the name of Legionville. Here the troops were hutted, the camp was fortified, and every possible preparation for defense adopted.
"Anxious to conciliate the Six Nations of Indians, Wayne sent an invi- tation to two distinguished chiefs, Cornplanter and New Arrow, to visit him at Legionville, at which place they arrived in March, 1793. A toast was
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given by Cornplanter, at the general's table, which will show the terms on which they wished peace. 'MY MIND AND HEART ARE UPON THAT RIVER,' said Cornplanter, pointing to the Ohio; 'MAY THAT WATER EVER CON- TINUE TO RUN AND REMAIN THE BOUNDARY OF LASTING PEACE BETWEEN THE AMERICANS AND INDIANS ON ITS OPPOSITE SHORES!' Such was the boundary-line fixed upon by friendly Indians.
"The winter was not productive of any striking events; but early in April Wayne announced his readiness to descend the river, having a re- spectable body of well-disciplined troops, in whom he expressed perfect confidence, and the 30th of April, 1793, he left the canıp at Legionville. The immediate destination of the troops was Fort Washington, then near the village, now the city, of Cincinnati. In six days the army arrived at the fort; but Wayne preferred a position a mile below, and named the new camp 'Hobson's Choice.' There the troops were disciplined, and arrange- ments were adopted for bringing into service an auxiliary aid of mounted volunteers from Kentucky.
"Intimations having been given by the Indians of a disposition to treat, a commission was appointed to meet them. As had been foreseen by Wayne, the negotiation failed. The Indians haughtily and peremptorily insisting 'THAT THE OHIO BE ESTABLISHED AS THE BOUNDARY, ON WHICH TERMS ALONE THEY WOULD CONDESCEND TO GRANT PEACE TO THE UNITED STATES.' But one course was left.
" General Wayne now took the most prompt measures to advance into the Indian country. On the 7th of October the army marched from 'Hob- son's Choice,' and on the 13th took up a position six miles in advance of Fort Jefferson, on the south-west branch of the Miami. Wayne gave it the name of Greeneville, as a mark of respect to his Revolutionary friend, Major- General Greene. In a letter to the Secretary of War, dated from this camp, 23d October, 1793, the general gives an account of an attack on the 17th upon one of his convoys of provisions, under Lieutenant Lowrey and Ensign Boyd, consisting of ninety men. These two officers bravely fell after an obstinate resistance against superior numbers.
"In the meantime, General Scott, with a party of mounted men, ar- rived; but the season was too far advanced, and the force assembled was inadequate for decisive, active, operations, and they were permitted to re- turn home.
"On December 23d General Wayne dispatched Major Burbeck, with
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eight companies of foot and a detachment of artillery, with orders to pos- sess themselves of the field of St. Clair's defeat, November 4, 1791, and there to fortify. To this post was given the name of Fort Recovery. For the purpose of encouraging the troops who were ordered on this service, as well as for that of superintending the conteniplated works, Wayne per- sonally advanced to the same point, with a small re-enforcement of mounted infantry, accompanied by the officers mentioned in the following extract from general orders: 'The commander-in-chief returns his most grateful thanks to Major Henry Burbeck, and to every officer and private belonging to the detachment under his command, for their soldierly and exemplary good conduct during their late arduous tour of duty in repossessing Gen- eral St. Clair's field of battle, and erecting thereon Fort Recovery.
" More anxious to produce delay, and, perhaps, by their flags, to re- connoiter his position with safety than sincerely desirous of peace, the Indians, immediately after the erection of Fort Recovery, sent a pacific message to Wayne, and proposed that negotiations for a treaty should be opened, 'for the adjustment of all difficulties that existed.' Wayne, although he had no faith in their honesty of purpose, but regarded the proposal as a stratagem to further their hostile designs, did not feel himself warranted to decline the overture. He met their advance with a declaration of satisfaction ; professed his entire readiness to make peace on terms that should be just ; and only required, on their part, the release of the captives in their possession, as a proof of their sincerity. The flag departed, being allowed thirty days to return with the final answer of their chiefs.
"Upon the approach of spring, affairs assumed an aspect in the high- est degree interesting, and called for the full exercise of the vigilance and wisdom of the commander of the army. Prompt measures were taken to garrison Fort Massac, thirty-eight miles above the mouth of the Ohio. The spoliations upon American commerce, and the hostile spirit of Great Britain, gave strong reasons to fear a war with that nation. Thus sur- rounded with difficulties and dangers, placed in circumstances which were as delicate as they were new and embarrassing, Wayne rose in proportion to the pressure, and showed that his abilities were equal to the emergency.
" In a letter from the Secretary of War, Wayne was authorized, should he deem it proper, to take the British fort on the rapids of the Miami. To the discretion of Wayne was therefore confided, not only the sole conduct
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of the Indian war, but the authority to take a step which must certainly have involved the nation in war with Great Britain. The time for active operations having come, and the Indians having failed to enter into negotiations for peace, Wayne called upon the governor of Kentucky for two thousand mounted volunteers.
"On the inorning of the 30th of June an escort of ninety riflemen and fifty dragoons was attacked by a numerous body of Indians, under the walls of Fort Recovery, followed by a general assault upon that fort. The enemy, driven back by a deadly fire, renewed the attack with great spirit, but were finally repulsed with heavy loss. Circumstances, amounting nearly to positive proof, showed that the Indians were aided by a consider- able auxiliary British force. Thus, on the very ground which was the scene of their proudest victory, the Indians were taught to respect the strength of American arms.
"It was past the middle of July before the mounted volunteers from Kentucky, under Major-General Scott, arrived at Greeneville. Every prep- aration which prudence could devise having been completed, Wayne moved with his main force, and but for the treachery and desertion of a soldier, the enemy would have suffered a complete surprise, when the troops arrived at Grand Glaize, in the very heart of the Indian settlements.
" Wayne entered the part of their settlement lying under the protec- tion of the garrison of a British fort, a bold step, but prudent. 'Thus,' says Wayne in a letter to General Knox, 'we have gained possession of the grand emporium of the hostile Indians in the West without loss of blood.'
"He immediately erected a strong fortification at the confluence of the Auglaize and the Maumee, to which he gave the name 'Fort Defiance.' Though now prepared to strike the blow, the commander of the army, generous as brave, made one last effort to restore tranquillity without the further effusion of blood.
" Stimulated by their British allies, however, the Indians resolved to abide the issue of an engagement, and rejected the proposed offer.
"That engagement almost immediately followed, and a letter from Wayne to the Secretary of War described the engagement. Froni that letter tlie following extracts are taken :
"' It is with infinite pleasure that I now announce to you the brilliant success of the Federal army under my command.
""The enemy advanced from this place on the 15th, and arrived at
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Roche de Bout on the 18th; the 19th we were employed in making a tem- porary post for the reception of our stores and baggage, and in recon- noitering the position of the enemy, who were encamped behind a thick, bushy wood and the British fort.
"'At eight o'clock on the morning of the 20th the army again advanced in columns, agreeably to the standing order of march. After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass, as to compel them to retreat.
"'The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close, thick wood, which extended for miles on our left.
"'I soon discovered, from the weight of the fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their fa- vorite ground, and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance to support the first, and directed Major-General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages, with the whole of the mounted volunteers, by a circuitous route; at the same time I ordered the front line to advance with trailed arms and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and, when up, to deliver a close and well-directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give time to load again.
"'All those orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude; but such was che impetuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry, that the In- dians and Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from all their coverts in so short a time that, although every exertion was used by the officers of the second legion, and by some of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, yet but a part of each could get up in season to partici- pate in the action ; the enemy being driven, in the course of one hour, more than two miles, through the thick woods already mentioned, by less than one-half their numbers.
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