USA > Pennsylvania > Early history of western Pennsylvania, and of the West, and of western expeditions and campaigns, from MDCCLIV to MDCCCXXXIII > Part 31
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At length the enemy was gaining upou him so fast, that Kennan saw their death certain, unless he relinquished his burden. He accordingly told his friend, that he had used every possible exertion to save his life, but in vain ; that he must relax his hold around his neck, or they would both perish. The unhappy wretch, heedless of every remonstrance, still clung convulsively to his back, and impeded his exertions until the foremost of the enemy, armed with tomahawks alone, were within twenty yards of them. Kennan then drew his knife from its sheath
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and cut the fingers of his companion, thus compelling him to relinquish his hold. The unhappy man rolled upon the ground in utter helpless- ness, and Kennan beheld him tomahawked before he had gone thirty yards. Relieved from his burden, he darted forward with an activity which once more brought him to the van. Here again he was compel- led to neglect his own safety in order to attend to that of others.
The late Governor Madison, of Kentucky, who afterwards com- manded the corps which defended themselves so honorably at the river Raisin,-a man who united the most amiable temper to the highest courage,-was at that time a subaltern in St. Clair's army, and being a man of infirm constitution, was totally exhausted by the exertions of the morning, and was now sitting down calmly upon a log, awaiting the approach of his enemies. Kennan hastily accosted him, and inquired the cause of his delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which had bled profusely, replied that he was unable to walk farther, and had no horse. Kennan instantly ran back to a spot where he had seen an exhausted horse grazing, caught him without difficulty, and having assisted Madi- son to mount, walked by his side until they were out of danger. For- tunately, the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of the camp presented irresistible attractions to the enemy.
Lieutenant Colonel Darke's escape was almost miraculous. Pos- sessed of a tall, striking figure, in full uniform, and superbly mounted, he led three desperate charges against the enemy, in each of which he was a conspicuous mark. His clothes were cut in many places, but he escaped only with a slight flesh wound. In the last charge, Ensign Wilson, a young officer of only seventeen years of age, was shot through the heart, and fell a few paces in the rear of the regiment, which was then rapidly returning to their original position. An Indian, attracted by his rich uniform, sprung up from the grass and scalped him. Col. Darke, who was at that time in the rear of the regiment, suddenly faced about, dashed at the Indian on horse back, and cleft his skull with his broad sword, drawing upon himself by the daring act, a rapid discharge of more than a dozen rifles. He, however, regained his regiment in safety, being compelled to leave young Wilson to the enemy.
A party of Chickasaws, were on their march to join St. Clair, but did not arrive in time to share in the action. One warrior, alone, of that nation was present, and displayed the most admirable address and bravery. He positively refused to stand in the ranks with the soldiers, declaring that the "Shawanese would shoot him down like a pigeon." But he took refuge behind a log, a few yards in front of Butler's battal-
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ion, and discharged his rifle eleven times at the enemy, with unerring accuracy. He could not be persuaded, however, to forego the pleasure of scalping each Indian as he fell, and on the eleventh time, he was him- self shot by the enemy and scalped in turn.
The leader of this Indian army, in this bloody engagement was a chief of the Missassago tribe, whose name was the " LITTLE TUR- TLE."(1) Notwithstanding his name, he was at least six feet high, strong, muscular, and remarkably dignified in his appearance. He was forty years of age, had seen much service, and had accompanied Gen. Burgoyne, in his disastrous invasion. His aspect was harsh, sour and forbidding, and his person during the action, was arrayed in the very extremity of Indian foppery. The plan of attack was concerted by him alone, in opposition to the opinion of almost every other chief.
On the evening of the eighth of November, the broken remains of the army arrived at Fort Washington, worn out, dejected and mortified, at the terrible disaster of their defeat.(2)
The unfortunate general was, as usual, assailed from one end of the country to the other, but particularly in Kentucky, with one loud and merciless cry of abuse, and even detestation !
All the misfortunes of his life, and these were many and bitter, were brought up in array against him. He was reproached with cowardice, treason, imbecility, and a disposition to prolong the war, in order to pre- serve that authority which it gave him. He was charged with sacri- ficing the lives of his men and the interests of his country, to his own private ambition. Men, who had never fired a rifle, and never beheld an Indian, criticised severely the plan of his encampment and the order of his battle ; and in short, all the bitter ingredients, which compose the cup of the unsuccessful General, were drained to the dregs.
It seems to be a universal, and probably a correct rule, that, as the general reaps all the glory of success, so, in like manner, he should sustain all the disgrace of defeat. A victorious general, whether by a lucky blunder or otherwise, is distinguished for life ; and, an unfortunate one degraded. No charge in the one case, or excuse in the other, is listened to for a moment- Victory hides every blemish, and misfortune
(1) Missasago, or Mishikinakwa, a name by no means settled in orthogra- phy, which, when interpreted, means Little Turtle. To the different treaties bearing his name, it is found variously spelled. In the treaty of Greenville of August 3rd, 1795, it is written Mer-she-kun-nogh-quoh .- Appendix, 253. In the treaty of Vincennes, August 21st, 1805; Mashekonaghquah, and at Fort Wayne, September 30th, 1809 ; Meshekenoghqua. And were we, says Drake, disposed to look into the various authors who have used the name, we might finish out a page with its variations.
(2) Incidents of Border Life, pp. 444, 447.
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obscures every virtue. This is the popular rule for estimating the merits of a leader, which, for a time, might elevate a noisy Cleon to the level of Alexander ! But the historian decides otherwise. Let us look at the unfortunate St. Clair's conduct, and see whether it deserves the furious and unbounded censure that has been heaped upon it. It is acknowledged that although attacked suddenly-all Indian attacks are sudden-he was not surprised. His troops were encamped in order of battle, and formed in a moment.
He cannot be charged with remissness, for he had arrayed them in order(1) of battle three hours before daylight, and they had just been dismissed, when the attack commenced. He cannot be charged with incompetency during the action, for all his measures, if allowance be made for the circumstances attending it, were bold, judicious and mili- tary. He did not suffer his men to be shot down in their ranks, as in Braddock's case ; but made repeated, desperate, and successful charges against the enemy, numbering in force equal to his own.(2) The troops, in general, behaved with firmness, the officers were the flower of the revolutionary army, and not a man deserted his colors, until order was given to retreat. "'Though the army was composed of so many dif- ferent troops, the utmost harmony prevailed during the campaign.(3)
The charge of cowardice is unworthy of an answer. It could only be brought by a blind and ignorant populace, stung with rage, as they ever are with defeat, and pouring upon their unhappy victim, every re- proach which rage, ignorance and the malice of interested demagogues may suggest. It may be observed, that Gen. St. Clair, always stood high in the opinion of Washington, notwithstanding his repeated mis- fortunes, and that in his last battle, although worn down by a cruel disease, he exposed his person in every part of the action, delivered his orders with coolness and judgment, and was one of the last who arrived at Fort Jefferson in the retreat."(4)
Gen. Arthur St. Clair, was a native of Edinburg, Scotland. In 1758, he accompanied the fleet under Admiral Boscawen, to America. He was a Lieutenant in the British army under Gen. Wolfe. When the French war was closed, he had the command of Fort Ligonier as- signed him ; and also received a grant of one thousand acres of land in that vicinity, which he fancifully chose to lay out in the form of a circle. Here he settled, and was appointed to several civil offices under the
(1) Appendix, pp. 242, 243.
(2) Marshall's Washington, and Marshall's Kentucky.
(3) Appendix, p. 244.
(4) McClung's Sketches of Western Adventure, pp. 351, 357.
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government of Pennsylvania. In 1771, when Bedford was organized, he was appointed Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, Register and Dep- uty Register for the Probate of Wills.
When the revolution commenced he embraced the American cause ; and in January, 1776, was appointed to command a battalion of Penn- sylvania militia. He was engaged in the expedition to Canada, and was second in command, in the proposed attack on the British post at Trois Rivieres. He was afterwards in the battle of Trenton, and had the credit of suggesting the attack on the British at Princeton, which proved so fortunate.
In August 1776, he was appointed a brigadier, and in February 1777, Major-General. He was commanding officer at Ticonderoga, N. Y., when that post was invested by the British, and evacuated it, July 6, 1777, with such secrecy that a considerable part of the public stores was safely conveyed away. Charges of cowardice, treachery, and in- capacity, were brought against him in consequence ; but a court of in- quiry honorably acquitted him.
He afterwards joined the army under Gen. Greene, in the south, and at the close of the war returned to his former residence. In 1783, he was a member of the Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and the same year was elected president of the Cincinnati Society of Pennsylvania. In 1785, he was elected to Congress ; and in February, 1787, he was appointed president of that body. The same year an act was passed by Congress, under which he was appointed Governor of the territory of the United States, northwest of the Ohio; au office which he retained until November, 1803, when he was removed by Jefferson, President of the United States, in consequence of the too free expression of his po- litical opinions. He had previously, in 1790, been the unsuccessful candidate of the Federal party, against Gen. Mifflin, for the office of Governor of Pennsylvania. In 1791, he commanded the expedition against the Indians. It is said, that in this campaign he was worn down by a fever ; but nevertheless, exerted himself with a courage and pres- ence of mind worthy a better fate than it was his misfortune to share. " He was borne on a litter to the different points of the battle ground, and in this condition directed the movements of the troops," Consid- erable clamor having been raised against him, but after being honorably acquitted of all censure or blame, by a committee of inquiry of the House of Representatives of the United States, he resigned his commission as Major General in 1792.
With the profuse liberality of a soldier, he became reduced, in his old
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age, to poverty, and resided in a dreary part of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on Chesnut ridge. He applied to Congress for relief -- his claims on the sympathy of his country were listened to with indif- ference, and admitted with reluctance-after a long suspense he obtained a pension of $60 per month ! He died August 31st, 1818, in his 84th year. He was buried in the Presbyterian church yard at Greensburg ; where, " the spot of his ashes," had been marked for fourteen years, by thorns and thistles .. In 1832, the Masonic Fraternity erected an " humble monument over the grave of Gen. St. Clair."(1)
Not long after the disastrous defeat of General St. Clair, an army of one thousand volunteers were raised in Kentucky. and placed under the command of General Scott, for another expedition against the Indians. At the head of this force he proceeded from Fort Washington, on the route of the unfortunate St. Clair, to the head waters of the Maumee and the Wabash. Approaching the fatal battle-field with all possible secrecy, he sent a party to reconnoitre, who reported that it was occupied by several hundred of the enemy in all the excesses of savage triumph. Many of them were drunk, and incapable of either flight or resistance; others were riding bullocks with their faces turned to the tail, and all were in high glee. General Scott immediately gave orders to prepare for an attack. Arranging his men in three divisions, he commenced a brisk movement at the head of his mounted men, and by a sudden and unexpected charge upon the enemy, routed them with great slaughter. More than two hundred savages were left dead on the field, and a large number of the fugitives were wounded. All the artillery and baggage which remained upon the battle-field of St. Clair, were recovered, toge- ther with more than six hundred muskets, many of which had been scattered through the woods by their pursued and panic-stricken owners. This was indeed a brilliant victory, and does great honor to the courage and military abilities of General Scott, and is highly creditable to the men under his command. Only six of his men were killed during the action, and about the same number wounded.
The plain on which this battle was fought, presented a most melan- choly appearance. In the space of three hundred and fifty yards, three hundred skull bones were scattered upon the ground, which were gathered and buried by the troops. From thence, for miles, the road was strewed with skeletons, muskets, and other remains of the army, that survived the desolation of the wild beasts of the desert, and the plunder of the savage conquerors on the bloody fourth of November.(2)
(1) Day's Historical collections of Pennsylvania, p. 686.
(2) Withers' Chronicle, p. 301 .- Incidents of Border Warfare, p. 447.
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CHAPTER XVI.
ANOTHER CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS DETERMINED UPON-AN ARMY RAISED AND PLACED UNDER THE COMMAND OF GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE- A NOTICE OF HIS SERVICES AND QUALIFICATIONS-HE REPAIRS TO PITTS- BURGH, AND TAKES THE COMMAND-THE GREAT EXERTIONS OF THE GENERAL IN DRILLING HIS MEN, TEACHING THEM MILITARY TACTICS, AND INSPIRING THEM WITH SELF-CONFIDENCE-HIS ENCAMPMENT AT LEGIONVILLE, TWENTY- TWO MILES BELOW PITTSBURGH, IN THE FALL OF 1792-HIS ARRIVAL AT FORT WASHINGTON IN THE SPRING OF 1793-EFFORTS MADE TO INDUCE THE INDIANS TO MAKE PEACE-GENERAL LINCOLN, COLONEL PICKERING, AND BEVERLY RANDOLPH APPOINTED COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT WITH THE INDIANS AT SAN- DUSKY-FAILURE OF THE COMMISSION-PRESIDENT WASHINGTON, IN PERSON, VISITS THE INDIANS IN WESTERN NEW YORK-COLONEL HARDIN AND MAJOR TRUEMAN SENT BY GENERAL WILKINSON ON MISSIONS TO THE INDIAN TRIBES, AND BOTH MURDERED-THE KENTUCKY VOLUNTEERS JOIN GENERAL WAYNE, BUT TOO LATE FOR OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS, ARE DISCHARGED, AND THE ARMY GO INTO WINTER QUARTERS AT FORT GREENVILLE, IN THE FALL OF 1793-FIF. TEEN HUNDRED MOUNTED) VOLUNTEERS JOIN GENERAL WAYNE IN 1794- THE INDIANS ATTACK FORT RECOVERY, AND ARE DEFEATED. BY MAJOR M'MAHAN- ERECTION OF FORT DEFIANCE-GENERAL WAYNE MARCHES ACAINST THE IN- DIANS -- SENDS A MESSENGER TO OFFER PEACE-LITTLE TURTLE ADVISES TO ACCEPT THE PROPOSALS-OFFER REJECTED-GENERAL WAYNE ADVANCES- THE BATTLE AT THE RAPIDS, AND TOTAL OVERTHROW OF THE WHOLE INDIAN ARMY-CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENERAL WAYNE AND THE COMMAND- ANT OF THE BRITISH FORT-THE INDIANS SUE FOR PEACE, AND A TREATY EN- TERED INTO WITH THEM AT GREENVILLE-CESSION TO THE UNITED STATES OF FOUR-FIFTHS OF OHIO-THE EFFECTS OF WAYNE'S TREATY-GENERAL WAYNE'S DEATH-HIS TREATMENT BY CONGRESS-REMARKS.
The disastrous defeat of the arms of the United States, in the battle of the unfortunate St. Clair, with the Indians on the fourth of Novem- ber, 1791, made it necessary, not only for the defence of the frontiers, but for the purpose of retrieving the honor of the nation, to send another army, under an able, energetic and experienced commander, into the In- dian country, to chastise the savages, and awe them into submission. Gen. Washington, then President of the United States, had been highly censured in every section of the Union, for the appointment of General St. Clair, an old, infirm, and at the same time an unlucky General, to a command, that required activity, promptitude, and the power of endu- ring great privation and fatigue. Another campaign, was determined upon,-an army was to be raised-and public opinion imperiously de- manded the selection of a vigorous commander. A large number of the distinguished officers of the revolution, had been warmly recommended to the President, by their friends, for this difficult and important post. Among these the most prominent were Gen. Henry Lee, of Virginia, the celebrated commandant of the Partizan legion during the war of Independence, and Gen. Anthony Wayne, of Pennsylvania.
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The peculiar fitness of Gen. Lee, for a command of this kind, seems to have strongly impressed itself upon the mind of Washington, and a. letter of his written at the time shows that nothing but the discontent which the appointment of so young an officer, would have excited in the minds of those who had held rank above him in the war with Great Britain, could have prevented him from being the successor of Gen. St. Clair. But the rank and services of Gen. Wayne, would render his appointment acceptable to the officers of the army. and at the same time satisfactory to the country. He had proved himself a bold, active and energetic commander, and enjoyed the confidence of those under his command.
General Anthony Wayne was born in Easttown, near the Paoli, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the first day of January, 1745, and was then forty-eight years old. General Wayne not only had courage, but he was competent to command an army. He had received a tho- rough education, and was particularly skilled in mathematics. He had paid considerable attention to astronomy and engineering, by which he had attracted the attention of the celebrated Benjamin Franklin, who remained through life his patron and friend.
At the commencement of the war of the revolution, he was a promi- nent member of the Provincial Legislature of Pennsylvania. In 1775, he entered the army, in defence of the rights of the colonies, as Colonel of a regiment of volunteers, in the Pennsylvania line, and first attracted notice on the northern frontier at Ticonderoga. Here his courage, almost unheard of daring, and furious impetuosity in the hour of battle, soon obtained for him among the soldiery the appellation of " MAD ANTHONY." In February, 1777, he was raised to the rank of Brigadier General. In the battle of Brandywine he commanded the division at Chadsford, and resisted the passage of the Brandywine of the column under General Knyphausen, with the utmost gallantry, until sunset; when, overpowered by superior numbers, he was compelled to retreat. He commanded at the Paoli, when the whole American army would have been cut to pieces by the furious attack of General Gray, with his vastly superior force, had it not been for the coolness and bravery of General Wayne, who rallied a few regiments, withstood the shock of the enemy, and covered the retreat of the others. At the battle of German- town, he evinced his wonted valor, leading his division into the thickest of the fight.
In all councils of war, he was distinguished for supporting the most energetic measures ; and at the battle of Monmouth, he and General
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Cadwallader are said to have been the only two general officers in favor of attacking the enemy. His unexampled bravery on that occasion, elicited the especial applause of General Washington. His attack upon the fort at Stony Point, in July 1779, an almost inaccessible height, de- fended by a garrison of six hundred men, and a strong battery of artil- lery, was the most brilliant exploit of the war of the Revolution. At midnight he led his troops with unloaded muskets, flints out, and fixed bayonets, and without firing a single gun, completely carried the fort by storm, and took five hundred and forty-three prisoners. In the attack he received a wound from a musket ball in the head, which, in the heat of the conflict, supposing it to be mortal, he called to his aids to carry him forward and let him die in the fort. In 1781, he once narrowly escaped in pressing eagerly upon Lord Cornwallis ; and in the siege of Yorktown, he bore a gallant and conspicuous part. After the peace of 1783, with Great Britain, he retired to private life ; and was in 1789, a member of the Convention in Pennsylvania, that adopted on the part of that Commonwealth, the Constitution of the United States, being himself a strenuous advocate of its adoption. (1)
Such was General Wayne,-and such were his qualifications and services, that Washington appointed him to command the army destined against the Indians, in the place of General St. Clair. That the trust was not misplaced, the history of his gallant deeds fully testify.
On the twenty-fifth of May, 1792, having been furnished by the Sec- retary of War with the instructions of President Washington, in which it was emphatically stated, " that another defeat would be irredeemably ruinous to the reputation of the government," GENERAL WAYNE took leave of his family and friends, and repaired to Pittsburgh, the place appointed for the rendezvous of the troops, and arrived there in June. By the new organization, the army was to consist of one Major Gene- ral, four Brigadier Generals, and their Aids, the commissioned officers and five thousand one hundred rank and file, and the whole to be denominated " The Legion of the United States." "The legion was to be divided into four divisions, each to consist of the commissioned officers and one thousand two hundred and eighty non-commissioned officers and pri- vates. The army having been nearly annihilated in the defeats of Har- mar and St. Clair, a new one was to be raised : and as most of the ex- perienced officers had either been slain or resigned their commissions, the labors of the commanding general were augmented to such an extent,
(1) Day's Historical Collections of Pennsylvania, pp. 215-216.
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that their performance required the most unwearied patience and ardent zeal. Many of the officers, as well as most of the soldiers, had yet to learn the rudiments of military science. The proper organization of the troops, the discipline and the military tactics, without which no army can be relied upon in the hour of battle, and the want of which had been fatally shown in St. Clair's defeat, devolved upon General Wayne, and engrossed his attention. His time was so fully employed in this duty, that, with infinitely hard labor only, was he able to keep up the correspondence incident to his station. His efforts were indefatigable; and it is impossible, at the present day, to form an adequate idea of the difficulties he had to encounter, the labors he had to perform, and the obstacles to surmount. So panic stricken was the whole country, at the repeated reverses of the American army, and the bloody successes of the Indians, that an engagement with them was looked upon as certain defeat and another slaughter. A perfect horror seemed to seize the soldiers, when marched from the places of enlistment, and their faces turned towards the Indian country.
General Wayne, writing from Pittsburgh to the Secretary of War, under date of July the twentieth, 1792, says :- " The detachment under Major Ashton arrived at this place on Monday, Lieutenant Campbell, with Stoke's dragoons, and Captain Faulkner's riflemen on Tuesday .- I am, however, sorry to inform you of the alarming desertion that pre- vails-not less than fifty of Major Ashton's detachment, and seven of Stoke's dragoons having deserted on their march between Carlisle and Pittsburgh." In another letter dated the tenth of August, the same year, he says :- " Desertions have been frequent and alarming. Two nights since, upon a report that a large body of Indians were close in our front, I ordered the troops to form for action, rode along the line to inspire them with confidence. I then gave a charge to those in the re- doubts, which I had recently thrown up in our front, and on the right flank, to maintain their posts at any expense of blood, until I could gain the enemy's rear with the dragoons." But such was the degree of ter- ror that the name of Indian had inspired, that one-third deserted from their stations so as to leave the most accessible places unguarded. But by the energetic measures adopted by General Wayne, order and disci- pline were introduced, and the army began to assume a degree of confi- dence. 'The troops were daily exercised in all the evolutions necessary to render them efficient soldiers, and more especially in those manœu- vres, proper in a campaign against savages. Firing at a mark was con- stantly practised, and rewards given to the best marksmen. To inspire
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