USA > Pennsylvania > Early history of western Pennsylvania, and of the West, and of western expeditions and campaigns, from MDCCLIV to MDCCCXXXIII > Part 29
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(1) Marshall's Hist. of Ken'y, Vol. I. pp. 355-360. (2) Appendix, 226.
* Fort Loramie was erected in November, 1794, 70 miles S. E. of Fort Wayne.
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and Paul, had mostly fled ; having " evacuated their towns, with ap- pearances of precipitation, and burnt the principal village, called Omee, together with all the traders' houses."(1) Only a few savages remained, and exchanged several shots with his men.(2) This detachment re- mained in the Indian town four days before General Harmar came up with the main army and baggage, having had to cut a road for his teams and wagons. After Harmar arrived, he tarried one week in the deserted town. While here he discovered that " many valuables of the traders were destroyed in the confusion caused by the approach of Hardin and Paul, and that vast quantities of corn and other grain and vegetables, were secreted in holes dug in the earth, and other hiding places."(3) As it was apparent that the Indians had but recently left, Colonel Hardin was detached with two hundred and ten men, sixty of whom were regu- lar soldiers, to overtake them. At the distance of six miles, the Indians had laid themselves in ambush on each side of their own trail, by dividing their numbers, and retiring at a distance from it, and then ap- proaching it, so as to give no indication of pursuers, until they had first fallen into the snare, and were quietly waiting the event of their artifice, concealed by the grass and bushes, in a prairie. When Colonel Hardin and his detachment, with what precaution is not stated, had passed well into the defile, the enemy fired on them, as by signal, from both sides, which immediately dispersed the volunteers, to the great mortification of their Colonel, who, not being able to stop them, was compelled to fol- low, while the regular soldiers in front stood their ground, and made battle. But the enemy being superior to the whole of the detachment in numbers, rushed upon them, and such as did not fly, were instantly overpowered, and put to death. 'The Indians remained on the field, and the ensuing night held the dance of victory over the dead and dying bodies of their enemies, exulting with frantic gestures and savage yells during the ceremony, to which Captain Armstrong was a constrained and wretched witness. He was among those who were so fortunate as to escape after the shameful flight of the militia. He reached a point of water about two hundred yards from the field of action, and plunging himself in up to the neck, remained there all night, a spectator of this horrid scene.(4)
Twenty-three out of thirty of the regular troops, commanded by Lieutenant Armstrong, fell in that skirmish. " The volunteers lost but
(1) Appendix, p. 229.
(2) History of Ohio, p. 134.
(3) General Harmar's Letter in the Appendix, p. 228.
(4) Marshall's History of Kentucky, Vol. I., p. 363.
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few men ; among these few, lamented by his acquaintances, Captain Scott, son of General Scott, of Kentucky."(1)
General Harmar finally concluded to return to Fort Washington, and actually marched eight miles on his return, when he received information that the Indians had again taken possession of the town. The General ordered a halt, and detached Colonel Hardin and Major Wyllys, with three hundred and sixty men, with orders to find out and fight the ene- my. They returned to the main site of the town, " expecting, probably, that the enemy were collected, and would give battle, without, it would seem, making any calculation of their force, or stratagem-the two great instruments of war-but expecting the detachment quite sufficient to conquer either, or both. In a short time, a small body of Indians made their appearance. The volunteers being the most alert, and nearest the enemy, were put into motion, and fired on the Indians, who immediately broke into several smaller bodies, and retreated in squads, in different directions. They were pursued by the volunteers, who also broke into parties, in order to overtake and destroy the flying enemy, who merely seemed to avoid them. The grand object of the preconcerted strata- gem, was now effected. A large part of the volunteers was decoyed into a vain pursuit-the regulars were left alone. This was the moment for the display of Indian generalship, and it was seized with avidity. The Indians had concealed their main force in a convenient position, and waited only for the crisis which had been thus produced, to avail them- selves of their superior address. They rose from their hiding place, rushed upon the devoted band, and fought with their tomahawks ! Nothing could have exceeded the courage, the ardor, and the fury of the savages, unless it was the cool, determined, and energetic firmness of Major Wyllys " and his chosen band of sixty." The Indian yell was received with unperturbed and inflexible silence : the tomahawk was repelled by the bayonet. In vain was Indian after Indian killed : their numbers still increased ; and while one was transfixed on the bayonet, one, two, or more would run up, and sink his tomahawk in the soldier's scull. Never was intrepidity more conspicuous, and never was de- struction more complete. Scarcely an individual escaped, but bravely fell with their commander, Major Wyllys, an officer whose long and meritorious services claim the grateful remembrance of his country.(2) And could Indian blood atone for this, their death was honorably ex- piated by their hands."(3)
(1) Appendix, p. 229. (2) Appendix, p. 231.
(3) Marshall's History of Kentucky, Vol. I., p. 363.
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The loss of our men was considerable. The killed, wounded and ' missing, amounted to one hundred and eighty, including officers. Up- wards of twenty of the wounded were brought off. The enemy lost upwards of one hundred of their best warriors-men who appeared to' fear no danger. Among the officers, says Harmar, who survived the slaughter, and distinguished themselves more particularly on the occa- sion, were Major M'Millen, Major Hall, Major Ormsby, and Captain - Gaines.
The army, without farther incident, now marched to Fort Washington. In these different engagements, General Harmar lost nearly two hundred men, from the thirtieth of September to the third of November, the day when he arrived at the camp. On his arrival there, the pack horses of the line did not exceed one-half of their original number, and the army was greaty dispirited. Much discontent manifested itself in the camp, and it was even extended to Kentucky, and was there general. Both Gen- eral Harmar and Colonel Hardin were censured, for the disasters of this expedition; so that it has ever since been popularly known as " Har- mar's defeat of 1790."
The more impartial verdict of history, given on a calm review of all the evidence, will do justice to the names of Harmar and Hardin, and rank these brave soldiers among the defenders of their country, who are entitled to its gratitude. Their successes, and the important objects which they accomplished, have been obscured by their misfortunes. The country mourned the lives that were lost, without reflecting upon the advantages that were gained. The object of the expedition was to de- stroy the Indian towns, at and near the confluene of St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers. This was completely accomplished, and the Indian power effectually crippled, by the destruction of their whole stock of provisions for the winter. Their villages were burned, and their corn- fields devastated. The duty imposed upon this army was performed ; and its disasters, though deeply to be deplored, should not be allowed to throw a shade over the services or reputation of the patriotic individuals who composed it. Besides the destruction of their property and means of subsistence, the loss of life was greater on the part of the Indians than on the side of the whites ; and that the victory which they claimed, and to which the retreat of our troops entitled them, was dearly bought, is sufficiently evident from the fact, that they neither repeated the attack, nor made any attempt to annoy the army on its return. An army, which had so far secured the respect of a victorious enemy, as to be permitted to march unmolested from a disastrous battle field, was cer-
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tainly not dishonored, though it might have been vanquished. 'The error of Harmar consisted in dividing his force, by sending out detach- ments, giving to the enemy the opportunities for practising to advantage the stratagems peculiar to their system of warfare, and exposing our army to the hazard of being beaten in detail. It was thus beaten ; but the error in judgment, which produced the result, was not greater than has often been committed by able commanders ; and should at least find an excuse in the recollection that it was preceded by a successful cam- paign, and followed by an able retreat. Harmar was a brave and ac- complished officer, whose character was adorned by many amiable and brilliant qualities. Both he and Hardin, demanded the investigation into their military conduct in this expedition, by courts of inquiry, and both were honorably acquired. (1)
The effects of Harmar's expedition were severely felt on the frontiers along the Ohio river, both in Virginia and Kentucky. The frontier inhabitants petitioned General Washington to commit the entire defence of the exposed frontier to their militia, unaided by regular troops .- Such a body of troops were then raised, and an expedition sent on foot under General Scott, against the Indian towns on the Wabash, in the spring of 1791 ; and another to the same towns, under the command of General Wilkinson, in the autumn of the same year.
In May, 1791, Gen. Charles Scott, of some military notoriety, was desirous of conducting a campaign into the Indian country. Finding public sentiment favoring his views, he made a call for volunteers and was soon enabled to assemble an army of one thousand men at Frank- fort; then the residence of Col. Wilkinson. Holding no commission in Kentucky ; but volunteering for the expedition, Col. Wilkinson was chosen second in command. The march was directed to the mouth of Kentucky river, where the men were mustered on horseback. Between eight and nine hundred appeared, and all ardent for the enterprise.(2) On the twenty-third of May, they commenced their march and pene- trated the wilderness one hundred and fifty miles, without molestation, and without making any important discovery. On the first of June, they saw several Indian huts and an Indian village, a few miles distant ; when, immediately, Col. John Hardin was detached to attack the first hut ; Capt. Price to take the second, and Col. Wilkinson, the second in command, pushed forward to the main village. Col. Hardin killed six men, and took fifty women and children prisoners. Capt. Price killed
(1) Hall's Sketches of the West, Vol. II. p. 137-138.
(2) Marshall's History of Kentucky, Vol. I, p. 373.
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two men, but took no prisoners. Col. Wilkinson arriving opposite a Kickapoo village on the bank of the Wabash, found several canoes full of Indians, which he forthwith emptied ; whether by killing or other- wise, has not been reported. 'The next morning five hundred men were ยท to be placed under the command of Col. Wilkinson, to move on to Kethepecannank, at the mouth of Eel river, eighteen miles distant .- However, owing to the fatigue of the preceding day, only three hundred and fifty men could be mustered for the service. Nevertheless, they marched on rapidly, assailed the town and conquered it. In twelve hours the party returned to the camp, with a few prisoners, and these principally women. The warriors had fled at the approach of Wilkin- son's force. The few Indian prisoners were delivered to the charge of the regular troops at Fort Washington, where they were kept until the peace made by Gen. Putnam with the Wabash tribes in 1793. Having destroyed a few. villages, the army returned to Kentucky.
Col. Wilkinson having rendered himself conspicuous by his activity, his attention and address, in the late expedition, and conciliated public opinion, he determined to establish his military fame, by a movement of his own. He, therefore, soon after the return of the army under Gen. Scott, caused it to be announced that he wanted five hundred volunteer horsemen, to accompany him, on an expedition against the Indians northwest of the Ohio. It was also proclaimed that Col. John Hardin and Col. James McDowell, both very popular men, would act as Majors. In a very short time, the competent number of mounted riflemen, with their Captains and subordinate officers, were collected and proceeded at once from the neighborhood of Fort Washington, into the Indian coun- try. This was in the month of August. The Indian village L'Anguille, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe, on the Wabash, was the devoted town, against which he marched-which received the blow and was destroyed. In the hurry and confusion of the charge, six warriors, two-squaws and a child were killed ; thirty-four prisoners taken, and an unfortunate cap- tive released from captivity. This was done with the loss of two men killed and one wounded.(1) Having scoured the country ; destroyed a few villages and corn fields of the enemy, he returned without having succeeded in bringing the Indians into a engagement. The detachment returned proud of their success. This expedition, however, produced no important results, except to show the facility with which troops may be moved by an active officer. The Indians still continued their dep-
(1) Appendix, p. 235.
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redations .* The frontier settlers, especially those wholly unprotected, were left exposed to fall a helpless prey to the merciless savages, who exercised the most cruel tortures upon a large number of their victims. The heavy disasters that befel Harmar's army, seemed to inspire the Indians with the hope, of ultimately extirpating the infant settlements on the Ohio. Victory seemed to have perched upon their blood-stained banner, under which they rallied to spread destruction over the unpro- tected portions of Kentucky and Virginia.(1)
In order to exhibit to the reader the sufferings, hardships and cruelty, which were endured by those who fell into the hands of the Indians, the following narrative is introduced of Jackson Johonnet, who attended Gen. Harmar in his expedition. This is but a specimen of the many instances of suffering endured by the unhappy victims of Indian bar- barity.
" Jackson Johonnet, was born at Falmouth, in Connecticut, in May, 1774. His father was a farmer, and managed, upon a very small and by no means fertile farm, to bring up a large family with credit and de- cency. Jackson, the eldest son, at the age of sixteen, became desirous of engaging in some business upon his own account, and as his father could well spare his labor upon the farm, he took leave of his family in the spring of 1790, and embarked on board of a coasting Schooner for Boston. Having arrived in this large city, and for the first time in his life finding himself without friends, money, or employment of any kind, he began to entertain some uncomfortable apprehensions of want. After wandering through the streets for several days, with a very disconsolate air, he was at length accosted by a dexterous recruiting officer, wlio seeing him to be a perfect green horn, determined to enlist him if he could.
Accosting him with great frankness, he soon became acquainted with his real condition ; and after preliminary observations upon the gaiety, recklessness, and happiness of a soldier's life, he proposed that he should enlist in his company, and march out to the west, assuring him that if he was active and diligent, he would make an immense fortune in one year. Johonnet at first shrunk from the idea of " enlisting," but his imagination became gradually heated at the glowing description of the fertility of the western country, and the facility with which land could be acquired to any extent by a successful soldier. He finally pro- mised him a sergeant's commission on the spot, and held out to him the
* See Border Warfare, p. 295. Marshall's History, Vol. 1, pp. 375-6.
(1) Border Warfare, pp. 295, 297.
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prospect of a lieutenancy in case of good behavior. Johonnet at length yielded to the eloquence of the officer, and in a few days found him- self on the road to Pittsburgh, and highly charmed with his martial appearance, when arrayed in the uniform of his corps.
Embarking on board of a flat boat at Pittsburgh, he descended the Ohio as far as Fort Washington, when he found his regiment preparing to accompany Harmar. A few days after his arrival, the march com- menced. Here he, for the first time, awoke from the pleasant dream in which he had indulged. He had thought that war was a succession of battles and triumphs, leading naturally to wealth and glory ! Splendid uniforms, gay music, waving plumes, and showy parades, had floated in splendid confusion before his fancy, until the march commenced .- He now found that war was made up of dreadful fatigue, constant ex- posure to all weather, hard words, and harder blows from his superiors, and the whole crowned by the constant gnawings of hunger, without the means of satisfying it.
On the tenth day of their march, having been promoted to the rank of sergeant, he was detached upon an exploring expedition, at the head of ten regular soldiers. Being all equally ignorant of Indian warfare, they were quickly decoyed into an ambuscade, and made prisoners by a party of Kickapoo Indians. Having been bound and secured in the usual manner, they were driven before their captors like a herd of bullocks, and with scarcely a morsel of food, were forced to make the most ex- hausting marches in the direction of the Kickapoo village. On the second, day, George Aikins, one of his companions, a native of Ireland, was unable to endure his sufferings any longer, and sunk under his pack in the middle of the path. They instantly scalped him as he lay, and stripped him naked, pricked him with their knives in the most sensitive parts of the body, until they had aroused him to a conscious- ness of his situation, when they tortured him to death in their usual manner.
The march then recommenced, and the wretched prisoners, faint and famished as they were, were so shocked at the fate of their companion, that they bore up for eight days under all their sufferings. On the ninth, however, they reached a small village, where crowds of both sexes came out to meet them, with shrieks and yells, which filled them with terror. There they were compelled, as usual, to run the gauntlet; and as they were much worn down by hunger and fatigue, four of the party : Durgee, Forsyth, Deloy and Benton, all of New England, were unable to reach the council house, but fainted in the midst of the
to th
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course. The boys and squaws instantly fell upon them, and put them to death by torture.
At this place the remainder were kept in close confinement, and upon very scanty diet for several days, in the course of which the news of Harmar's defeat arrived. Piles of scalps, together with canteens, sashes, military hats, and a variety of other articles, were brought into the vil- lage ; and several white women and children were taken through the town, on their way to the villages farther west. At the same time, four more of his companions were led off to the western villages, and never heard of afterwards. Himself and a corporal, named Sackville, were now the only survivors. They remained in close confinement two weeks longer. Their rations were barely sufficient to sustain life, and upon the receipt of any unpleasant intelligence, they were taken out, whipped severely, and compelled to run the gauntlet.
At length, on the fourteenth night of their confinement, they deter- mined to make an effort to escape. Sackville had concealed a sharp pen-knife in a secret pocket, which the Indians had been unable to dis .. cover. They were guarded by four warriors and one old hag of sev- enty, whose temper was as crooked as her person. The prisoners having been securely bound, the warriors lay down during the rest of the night. Their guus stood in the corner of the hut, and their toma- hawks, as usual, were attached to their sides.
Their hopes of escape were founded upon the probability of eluding the vigilance of the hag, cutting their cords, and either avoiding or de- stroying their guard. The snoring of the warriors quickly announced them asleep, and the old squaw hung in a drowsy attitude over the fire. Sackville cautiously cut his own cords, and after a few minutes delay, succeeded in performing the same office for Johonnet.
But their work was scarcely yet begun. It was absolutely necessary that the old squaw should fall asleep, or be silenced in some other way! before they could either leave the hut, or attack the sleeping warriors. They waited impatiently for half an hour, but perceiving that although occasionally dozing, she would rouse herself at short intervals, and re- gard them suspiciously, they exchanged looks of intelligence, (being afraid even to whisper) and prepared for the decisive effort. Johonnet suddenly sprung up as silently as possible, and grasping the old woman by the throat, drew her head back with violence, when Sackville, who had watched his movements attentively, instantly cut her throat from ear to ear. A short gurgling moan was the only sound which escaped her throat, and effectually prevented her speaking.
el
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'The sleepers were not awakened, although they appeared somewhat disturbed at the noise, and the two adventurers, seizing each a rifle, struck at the same moment with such fury as to disable two of their enemies. The other two instantly sprang to their feet, but before they could draw their tomahawks or give the alarm, they were prostrated by the blows of the white men, who attacked them at the moment that they had gained their feet. Their enemies, although stunned, were not yet dead. They drew their tomahawks from their sides, therefore, and striking each Indian repeatedly upon the head, completed the work by piercing the heart of each with his own scalping-knife. Selecting two rifles from the corner, together with their usual appendages, and taking ' such provisions as the hut afforded, they left the village as rapidly as possible, and fervently invoking the protection of Heaven, committed themselves to the wilderness.
Neither of them were good woodsmen, nor were either of them expert hunters. They attempted a south-eastern course, however, as nearly as they could ascertain it, but were much embarrassed by the frequent re- currence of impassable bogs, which compelled them to change their course, and greatly retarded their progress. Knowing that the pursuit would be keen and persevering, they resorted to every method of baffling their enemies. They waded down many streams, and occasionally sur- mounted rocky precipices, which, under other circumstances, nothing could have induced them to attempt. Their sufferings from hunger were excessive, as they were so indifferently skilled in hunting, as to be - unable to kill a sufficient quantity of game, although the woods abounded with deer, beaver and buffalo.
On the fourth day, about ten o'clock A. M., they came to a fine spring, where they halted and determined to prepare their breakfast. Before kindling a fire, however, Sackville, either upon some vague sus- picion of the proximity of an enemy, or from some other cause, thought proper to ascend an adjoining hillock, and reconnoitre the ground around the spring. No measure was ever more providential. Johonnet pre- sently beheld him returning cautiously and silently to the spring, and being satisfied from his manner that danger was at hand, he held his rifle in readiness for action at a moment's warning. Sackville presently rejoined him, with a countenance in which anxiety and resolution were strikingly blended. Johonnet eagerly enquired the cause of his alarm. His companion, in a low voice, replied that they were within one hun- dred yards of four Indian warriors, who were reposing upon the bank of the little rivulet, on the other side of the hillock. That they were
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about kindling a fire in order to prepare their breakfast, and that two white men lay bound hand and foot within twenty feet of them. He added that they were evidently prisoners, exposed to the same dreadful fate which they had just escaped, and concluded by declaring, that if Johonnet would stand by him faithfully, he was determined to rescue them or perish in the attempt. Johonnet gave him his hand, and ex- pressed his readiness to accompany him. Sackville then looked care- fully to the priming of his gun, loosened his knife in the sheath, and desired Johonnet to follow him, without making the slightest noise .. They proceeded, accordingly, in a stooping posture, up a small and bushy ravine, which conducted them to the top of the gentle hill. When near the summit, they threw themselves flat upon the ground, and crawled into a thick cluster of whortleberry bushes, from which they had a fair view of the enemy. The Indians had not changed their posi- tion, but one of the white men was sitting up, and displayed the counte- nance of a young man, apparently about twenty-five, pale, haggard, and exhausted. Two Indians, with uplifted tomahawks, sat within three feet of him. One lay at full length upon the ground, while the remain- ing one was in the act of lighting a fire.
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