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50 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY rounded and in the midst of the Indians, put his bayonet through six Indians, knocked down the seventh, and the soldier himself made the eighth dead man in the heap." The numbers of the savages were so great, however, that "while the poor soldier had his bayonet in one Indian, two more would sink their tomahawks in his head." The Indians were led by Chief Little Turtle, of whom much will be heard now. It was indeed a sad march for General Harmar back to Fort Washington. So severe was the adverse criticism of the conduct of this expedition by its commander that President Washington appointed a board of officers to act as a Court of Inquiry. Although the verdict of this court was an acquittal, the incident proved to be General Harmar's undoing. The real causes of the disaster probably were the incompetence of some of the officers and bickerings among others which caused distrust and disorder, and the general lack of discipline among the militia. As a result of this disaster General Harmar resigned his commission, but afterwards rendered good service as Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania in furnishing troops for General Wayne's campaign. Another natural result of this defeat was an increase of anxiety and dread among the frontier settlers. They feared the over pacific policy of sending embassies to placate the savages, instead of strong military expeditions to crush them if they would not yield. The savages greatly rejoiced that they had been able to administer such a decisive defeat upon trained troops. They became bolder in their operations in the Maumee as well as in other parts of the Northwestern Territory. The year 1791 was ushered in with a sanguinary beginning. A horrible massacre was perpetrated by the Indians along the Muskingum at Big Bottom settlement. The frontiersmen again appealed for protection. The headwaters of the Maumee (Fort Wayne) had for several years HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 51 appealed to Washington as the site for a fort to protect the surrounding country. This splendid location had been the chief seat of the Miami nation almost from time immemorial. It now became the paramount purpose to build a fort here and a chain of fortified posts between there and Fort Washington. In pursuance of this object St. Clair appointed a major general and received some general instructions as to what was expected from the new expedition of which he was placed in charge. From the government standpoint the expedition was not necessarily hostile, so that the pipe of peace was carried along in the same wagon as the grape and canister. And yet it was intended to be irresistible. In taking leave of his old military comrade, President Washington wished him success and honor and added this solemn warning : "You have your instructions from the secretary of war, I had a strict eye to them and will add but one word,—Beware of a surprise! You know how the Indians fight. I repeat it Beware of a surprise." Many delays happened to St. Clair before his army and supplies were assembled for the advance. He had planned to advance on the 17th of September, 1791. The army, as finally assembled, was about equal to that under General Harmar. This army of 2,300 "effectives," as they were called, was fairly well provisioned, and had some courageous officers; but it was sadly deficient in arms and the necessary accoutrements. In its personnel it was almost as poor as that of Harmar. Fort Hamilton was established near the site of the present city of that name. Fort Jefferson was created in Darke County, about six miles south of Greenville. Cutting its way through the forests and building bridges over streams, the army advanced slowly, making not more than five or six miles a day. Although signs of Indians were frequently encountered, the army was not properly safeguarded against surprise in a country of such dense forests. St. Clair did not seem to realize the extreme danger of his position so far in the enemy country. By the time the footsore and bedraggled army reached the eastern fork of the Wabash about a mile and a half east of the Ohio-Indiana line, in Mercer County, it had dwindled to about 1,400 men. Here the army camped on the night before the battle, while "all around the wintry woods lay a frozen silence". Signs of Indians were now unmistakable. During the night there was picket firing at intervals, and the sentinels reported considerable bodies of the aborigines skulking about the front and both flanks. To the offrcers this was a matter of great concern, and scouting parties were sent out in the early morning. A light fall of snow lay upon the ground. The army lay in two lines, seventy yards apart, with four pieces of cannon in the center of each, Across the small stream, probably twenty yards wide, a band of 300 or 400 militia were encamped. These men met the first brunt of the battle. There was no time for the terror-stricken soldiers to properly form to meet the impending onslaught of the savages, who quickly encircled the entire camp of the Americans. Protected by logs and trees, they crowded closer and closer. The heavy firing and the blood-curdling whoops and yells of the painted enemy threw the militia into hopeless disorder. They broke and fled in panic to the body of regulars, thus spreading confusion and dismay everywhere. The drum beat the call to arms at the first shots, and the volleys brought many casualties among the Indians, but their onward rush soon surrounded the entire camp and the outlying guards and pickets were driven in. Only now and then could fearful figures, painted in red and black, with feathers braided in their long scalp-locks, be distinguished through the smoke. "They HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 53 shot the troops down as hunters slaughter a herd of standing buffalo." Instead of being frightened by the thunder of the artillery, the Indians made the gunmen special objects of their attacks. Man after man was picked off until the artillery was silenced. The Indians then rushed forward and seized the guns. It is doubtful if there ever was a wilder rout. As soon as the men realized that there was some hope of safety in flight, they broke into a wild stampede. -Intermixed with the soldiers were the few camp followers, and the women who had accompanied the expedition. Neither the commands of the officers nor their brave example seemed to have the slightest effect. From a report made by Ebenezer Denny, who was adjutant to General St. Clair, I quote as follows : "The troops paraded this morning (4 November, 1791) at the usual time, and had been dismissed from the lines but a few minutes, the sun not yet up, when the woods in front rung with the yells and fire of the savages. The poor militia, who were but three hundred yards in front, had scarcely time to return a shot—they fled into our camp. The troops were under arms in an instant, and a smart fire from the front line met the enemy. It was but a few minutes, however, until the men were engaged in every quarter. The enemy from the front filed off to the right and left, and completely surrounded the camp, killed and cut off nearly all the guards and approached close to the lines. They advanced from one tree, log, or stump to another, under cover of the smoke of our fire. The artillery and musketry made a tremendous noise, but did little execution. The Aborigines seemed to brave everything. "As our lines were deserted the Aborigines contracted theirs until their shot centered from all points and now meeting with little opposition, took more deliberate aim and did great execution. Exposed to a cross fire, men and officers were seen falling in every direction ; the distress, too, of the wounded made the scene such as can scarcely be conceived—a few minutes longer, and a retreat would have been impossible—the only hope left was, that perhaps the savages would be so taken up with the camp as not to follow. Delay was death ; no preparation could be made ; numbers of brave men must be left a sacrifice, there was no alternative. It was past nine o'clock when repeated orders were given to charge toward the road. The action had continued between two and three hours. Both officers and men seemed confounded, incapable of doing anything; they could not move until it was told that a retreat was intended." "During the last charge of Colonel Darke," says Major Fowler, "the bodies of the freshly scalped heads were reeking with smoke, and in the heavy morning frost looked hke so many pumpkins through a cornfield in December." It is no wonder that green troops, unused to scenes of carnage, became panicky before such horrible sights. General St. Clair behaved gallantly through the dreadful scene. He was so tortured with gout that he could not mount a horse without assistance. From beneath a three-cornered cocked hat, his long white locks were seen streaming in the air as he rode up and down the line during the battle. He had three horses shot from under him, and it is said that eight balls passed through his clothes, and one clipped his gray hair. He finally mounted a pack horse and upon this slow animal, which could hardly be urged into a trot, joined the army in the retreat which became almost a rout. Guns and accoutrement were thrown away by hundreds in their frantic haste. For miles the march was strewed with fire-locks, cartridge-boxes, and regimentals. The retreat proved to be a disgraceful 54 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY flight. Fortunate indeed was it that the victorious savage followed them only a few miles and then returned to enjoy the spoils of the battlefield. This was rich, indeed, for they secured great quantities of tents, guns, axes, clothing, blankets, and powder, and a large number of horses—the very thing that the savages prized highest. "A single aborigine," wrote Denny, "might have followed with safety on either flank. Such a panic had seized the men that I believe it would not have been possible to have brought any of them to engage again." The number of savages actually engaged and their losses has never been learned. Simon Girty is said to have told a prisoner that there were 1,200 in the attack. Good authorities place the number at 2,000. Little Turtle was again the acknowledged leader and Blue Jacket was next in authority. It is quite likely that Tecumseh was also an active participant. The principal tribes engaged were Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, Miamis and Ottawas, with a few Chippewas and Pottawatomies. "Oh !" said an old squaw many years afterwards, "my arm that night was weary scalping white men." There were many individual instances of heroism and marvelous escapes. None were more thrilling than those of William Kennan, a young man of eighteen. Becoming separated from his party, he saw a band of Indians near him. McClung, in his "Sketches of Western Adventures," says : "Not a moment to be lost. He darted off with every muscle strained to its utmost, and was pursued by a dozen of the enemy with loud yells. He .at first pressed straight forward to the usual fording-place in the creek, which ran between the rangers and the main army ; but several Indians who had passed him before he rose from the grass threw themselves in the way and completely cut him off f rom the rest. By the most powerful exertions he had thrown the whole body of pursuers behind him, with the exception of one chief who displayed a swiftness and perseverance equal to his own. In the circuit which Kennan was obliged to take the race continued for more than 400 yards. The distance between them was about eighteen feet, which Kennan could not increase nor his adversary diminish. Each for the time put his whole soul into the race. "Kennan, as far as he was able, kept his eye upon the motions of his pursuer, lest he should throw the tomahawk, which he held aloft in a menacing attitude. * * * As he slackened his pace for a moment the Indian was almost in reach of him when he recommenced the race ; but the idea of being without arms lent wings to his feet, and for the first time he saw himself gaining ground. He had watched the motions of his pursuer too intensely, however, to pay proper attention to the nature of the ground before him, and he suddenly found himself in front of a large tree which had been blown down, and upon which brush and other impediments lay to the height of eight or nine feet. "The Indian (who heretofore had not uttered the slightest sound) now gave a short, quick yell, as if secure of his victim. Kennan had not a moment to deliberate. He must clear the impediment at a leap or perish. Putting his whole soul into the effort he bounded into the air with a power which astonished himself, and clearing limbs, brush and everything else, alighted in perfect safety upon the other side. A loud yell of astonishment burst from the band of pursuers, not one of whom had the hardihood to attempt the same feat. Kennan, as may be readily imagined, had no leisure to enjoy his triumph, but dashing into the bed of the creek (upon the banks of which his feat had been performed), where the high banks would shield him from the fire of an HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 55 enemy, he ran up the stream until a convenient place offered for crossing, and rejoined the rangers in the rear of the encampment, panting from the fatigue of exertions, which have seldom been surpassed. No breathing time was allowed him, however. The attack instantly commenced, and, as we have already observed, was maintained for three hours with unabated fury." The prediction of General Harmar before the army set out on the campaign that defeat would follow was founded upon his own experience and particular knowledge. He saw the poor material that the bulk of the army Was composed of. They were men collected from the streets and prisons of the cities, who were hurried out into the enemy's country. The officers commanding them were totally unacquainted with the business in which they were engaged, so that it was utterly impossible that they could win against a wily foe. Besides, not any one department was sufficiently prepared ; both the quartermaster and the contractors were extremely deficient. It was a matter of astonishment to General Harmar that the commanding general St. Clair, who was acknowledged to be a perfectly competent military officer, should think of hazarding with such people and under such circumstances his reputation and life, and the lives of so many others, knowing as he did the enemy with whom he was going to contest. In this overwhelming defeat General St. Clair's army lost 593 privates killed and missing; thirty-nine officers were killed, and the artillery and supplies, consisting of clothing, tents, several hundred horses, beef cattle, etc., together with muskets and other equipment, were thrown away and gathered up by the savages. It was a greater loss than that incurred by Washington in any battle of the Revolution, even if the numbers do seem insignificant when compared with the terrible sacrifices during some of the prolonged battles of the Great war. The casualties exceeded half of the forces actually engaged. Many women were along, which would look as though no serious opposition had been expected. The cause of the disaster is variously stated, but its completeness is the one overwhelming and undisputed fact that stands out clearly on the page of history. The war department had been negligent in sending supplies, and it had become necessary to detach one regiment, the real flower of the army, to bring up provisions and military stores. It was during its absence that the conflict occurred. Mistakes had also been made in the labeling of boxes. A box marked "flints" was found to contain gun-locks. A keg of powder, marked "for the infantry" was cannon powder so damaged that it could be scarcely ignited. The army was on practically half rations during the entire campaign. The undisciplined character of the soldiers and the inexperience of the officers in border warfare undoubtedly had a great deal to do with it. The one glaring fault that might be charged to the commanding general was that he failed to keep scouting parties ahead in order to prevent the ambush against which he had been warned by his commander-in-chief. It was toward the close of a winter's day in December that an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in front of the President's house, in Philadelphia. Handing the bridle to his servant, he knocked at the door of the mansion. Learning from the porter that the President was dining he said that he was on public business, having dispatches which he could deliver only to the commander-in-chief. A servant was sent into the dining-room to give the information to Tobias Lear, the President's private secretary, who left the table and went into the hall where the officer repeated what he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, as the President's secretary, he would take charge of the dispatches and deliver them 56 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY at the proper time. The officer made answer that he had just arrived from the western army, and his orders were explicit to deliver them with all promptitude, and to the President in person ; but that he would await his directions. Mr. Lear returned, and in a whisper imparted to the President what had passed. General Washington rose from the table and went to the officer. He was back in a short time, made a word of apology for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it. General Washington's hours were early, and by 10 o'clock all the company had gone. Mrs. Washington left the room, soon afterwards, the President and his secretary remaining. The nation's chief now paced the room in hurried strides and without speaking for several minutes. Then he sat down on the sofa by the fire, telling his secretary to sit down. He rose again, and, as he walked backward and forward, Mr. Lear saw that a storm was gathering. In the agony of his emotion, he struck his clenched hands with fearful force against his forehead, and, in a paroxysm of anguish, exclaimed : "It's all over ! St. Clair's defeated-routed ; the officers nearly all killed—the men by wholesale—that brave army cut to pieces—the rout complete ! too shocking to think of-and a surprise in the bargain !" Washington's agitation was indeed intense. After uttering some more expressions of his disappointment, he became calmer. Then he said in a tone quite low : "General St. Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily through the dispatches—saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars. I will hear him without prejudice, he shall have fully justice ; yet, long, faithful, and meritorious services have their claims." And absolute justice was accorded him. One of the strongest records in St. Clair's favor is the fact that he retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of President Washington. The popular clamor was tremendous and General St. Clair demanded a court of inquiry. This request was complied with, and the court exonerated him of all blame. He followed the example set by General Harmar and resigned his commission. About a year later General Wilkinson visited this battlefield, with his command. They found scattered along the way the remains of many Americans, who had been pursued and killed by the savages, or who had perished of their wounds while endeavoring to escape. The field was thickly strewn with remains showing the horrible mutilations by the bloodthirsty savages. Limbs were separated from bodies and the flesh had been stripped from many bones, but it was impossible to tell whether this had been the work of wolves or the Indians. It was at this time that Fort Recovery was erected upon the site of the disaster. The defeat was indeed a staggering blow to the new government at the head of which was the "Father of his Country." CHAPTER VI THE CAMPAIGN OF "MAD ANTHONY" WAYNE The Maumee Valley is justly entitled to the appellation of "The Bloody Ground." It has possibly been the theater of a greater number of sanguinary battles and has caused the expenditure of more treasure than any equal extent of territory in the United States. It was in this region that the Iroquois won their most complete victories over the Miamis and other Ohio tribes which caused them to claim sovereignty over the Ohio country. The Indian conspiracy of Pontiac, with its bloody accompaniments together with the decisive defeats of Generals Harmar and St. Clair have heretofore been described. Other decisive engagements will follow in the course of the history. As a matter of fact the Revolutionary war had never ceased in this western country. There had not been a single year of absolute peace. The Indians continued their hostilities against. the Americans, aided and abetted by the British authorities. Detroit had been retained. The Maumee basin had remained under their control through the influence exerted with the powerful Indian tribes residing along its banks and those of its affluents. It remained for "Mad Anthony" with his army of impetuous soldiers to break the power of the Indian confederacy at Fallen Timbers. The Revolutionary war which began in New England had its ending along the Maumee River. Hence it is that this epochal campaign deserves extended mention. By it peace was secured from savage raids which lasted for seventeen years, or until the outbreak of the conspiracy formed by Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. Me-au-me was the way the French explorers understood the Indians of the Maumee basin to pronounce the name of their tribe. Hence it was that the French recorded the name as Miami. On account of this tribe having a village by the upper waters of this river, the French referred to it as the River of the Miamis. As the same name had been bestowed upon a river emptying into the Ohio River, this northern Miami became familiarly known as the Miami of the Lake. The peculiar and rapid pronunciation of the three syllables as Me-au-me led the English settlers who located in this basin to pronounce it in two syllables, and so it was that the name finally fixed as Maumee. It is also occasionally referred to or written as Omi or Omee, which was evidently another misspelling of the French designation. No definite Indian name of the - 57 - 58 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY great river has descended to us, although the Shawnees sometimes referred to it as Ottawa Sepe, and the Wyandots ref erred to it as Was-o-hah-con-die. That the civil authorities of the newly-organized Northwestern Territory had no intention of yielding this splendid region to the red men is shown by the establishment of Hamilton County in February, 1792, by Governor St. Clair. It included the greater part of Northwestern Ohio and its boundaries extended northward to Lake Huron. Its authority was only nominal, however, for the red men were in actual possession. Closely following the rout of St. Clair, the Maumee Valley was the theater of many tragic occurrences. Previous to the defeat of General Harmar's army, the savages did not court peace ; much less were they mclined to welcome the overtures made to them for peace after that disaster and the equally serious repulse of St. Clair. They rallied all the available warriors of the neighboring tribes—the Miamis under Little Turtle, the Delawares under Buckongehelas, the Shawnees under Blue Jacket, and bands of Wyandots, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, Kickapoos, and other small and insignificant tribes. The great numbers of scalps and other rich booty secured filled their savage breasts with the greatest joy, and everything seemed ominous of final victory in driving the hated Americans from this bountiful country. As a local poet expressed it : "Mustered strong the Kas-kas-kies, Wyandots and the Miamis, Also the Pottawatomies, The Delawares and Chippewas, The Kickapoos and Ottawas, The Shawnees and many strays, From almost every Indian nation, Had joined the fearless congregation, Who after St. Clair's dread defeat, Returned to this secure retreat." As almost daily reports of savage outrages reached the national capital, General Washington and his advisors decided that another campaign must be undertaken against the Maumee region. Unusual care was taken in the selection of a commander and the choice finally fell upon Gen. Anthony Wayne, the hero of Stony Point. It was this daredevil exploit which had fixed upon him the sobriquet of "Mad Anthony." He had a reputation for hard fighting, dogged courage and daring energy hard to equal. His head was always cool in an emergency. It was also decided that the men under his command should receive a training and discipline according to the difficulty and peculiarity of the service which they were called upon to undertake. The wisdom shown in the choice of commanders quickly became apparent. General Wayne started to organize his legion in Pittsburg in the summer of 1792. Here he gathered together a motley crowd, mostly adventurers from the larger eastern towns and cities. He was compelled to take whatever human material he could secure. As Pittsburg was but a frontier post, infested with the usual evils attendant on such places, and as he did not have the power of creating a prohibition zone, he soon found that whisky and military discipline did not mix. Hence it was that he removed his troops down the river on flat boats about twenty miles, and here in the open country he established a camp which afterwards became known as Legionville. This was the first training camp ever undertaken by our Federal Government, and it became the precursor of the many training camps established by the United States during the HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 59 Great war. Here the men were put through a thorough school of military training such as might be adapted to frontier fighting. On this spot also Wayne raised the first flag of the United States with its thirteen stars and stripes. At Legionville they encamped until the following spring, when they floated down the Ohio River and landed at Hobson's Choice, a point not far from Cincinnati. This was so named "because it was the only ground which was in any degree calculated for the purpose." Here they remained several months before permission was granted to proceed farther north. During all these months Wayne drilled both officers and men with unceasing patience. It is interesting to read the log of this army in its march through the rich Miami Valley, now studded with thriving cities and prosperous villages. There were no roads, not even paths, and the only landmarks to indicate their journey were such places as "Five-mile Spring," "Seventeen-mile Tree," "Twenty-nine Mile Tree," etc. At length they reached Fort Jefferson. In April of this year (1793) General Wilkinson sent two messengers with a peace message to the Miamis of the Maumee, and two other messengers were dispatched on a like mission to points farther north. Not one of these four, all of whom were men of note, returned to civilization, and all of them suffered violent deaths. Councils were held with the Indians in 1792 and 1793, at Sandusky, Miami of the Lake, and the Auglaize. Lengthy debates were indulged in, as well as elaborate ceremonies. British, Americans, and Indians all took part. The raidings of the savages upon the unprotected settlements continued unabated. The Shawnees were especially implacable toward the Americans. Finally William May started out from Fort Hamilton to treat with the Miamis of the Maumee. As was expected, he was captured by the Indians, but, instead of being killed, he was sold as a slave to the British. After serving them for several months in the transportation service between Detroit and the lower Maumee rapids, where Alexander McKee maintained a large supply house for firearms and ammunition, he finally succeeded in escaping and made a report to General Wayne at Pittsburg. From the sworn testimony of Mr. May, it was learned that there had gathered in the summer of 1792 by the Maumee River, at the mouth of the Auglaize, which was then the headquarters of neighboring tribes, more than 3,000 warriors of many nations, all of whom were fed with rations supphed by the British from Detroit. These had been seen by May himself, and he reported that others were arriving daily. This is said to have been the largest council of the aborigines ever held in America. "Up and down the great Maumee, The Miami of the Lake, . O'er the prairie, through the forest, Came the warriors of the nations, Came the Delawares and the Miamis, Came the Ottawas and the Hurons, Came the Senecas and Shawnees, Came the Iroquois and Chippewas, Came the savage Pottawatomies, All the warriors drawn together By the wampum for a council At the meeting of the waters, Of the Maumee and the Auglaize, With their weapons and their war-gear Painted hke the leaves of autumn, Painted like the sky of morning." 60 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY To the British who looked upon the scene with anxious eyes from their post at Detroit, it seemed as though the fruition of their hopes and schemes was about to come. The only friends of the American were Corn Planter and forty-eight other chiefs of the Six Nations. All of the Ohio tribes were present in numbers and there were representatives assembled from nations so distant that "it took them a whole season to come ; and twenty-seven nations from beyond Canada." This is according to the reports of Corn Planter to General Wayne. A like council was called for the following year-1793—at the foot of the Maumee Rapids. Runners had been sent to the most remote tribes summoning them to this council, President Washington decided to have representatives present and appointed Gen. Benjamin Lincoln of Massachusetts, Beverly Randolph of Virginia and Timothy Pickering of Pennsylvania as his representatives. They proceeded to Fort Niagara and from there embarked on a British sloop and were taken to Detroit, where they remained for several weeks. At this time the great council was in progress at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, but these commissioners were not allowed to attend it. In its place, a deputation of some twenty Indians, with the notorious Simon Girty as interpreter, proceeded to Detroit to see them. They presented a brief written communication from the council, of which the most important part was this : "If you seriously design to make a firm and lasting peace, you will immediately remove all your people from our side of the river" (the Ohio). This was undoubtedly directly instigated by the British agents. The commis- HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 61 sioners had received reliable information that all of the tribes represented at this council, with the exception of the Shawnees, Wyandots, Miamis, and Delawares, were favorable to peace, and that many others were chafing at the long delays. Owing to these commissioners not being able to visit the council, and probably to unfaithful translations by the interpreter, which was not an uncommon occurrence, they were unable to make any progress. They, therefore, presented a long statement in defense of the American settlements on the ground that they were absolutely justified by previous treaties with the aborigines. As the British still refused to allow the commissioners to proceed to the Maumee, they announced that negotiations were at an end and returned to Fort Erie. They then reported to General Wayne. It became the firm conviction of General Wayne that it was useless to make any further delay in his proposed expedition. Although his forces were not so numerous as he expected, he decided to advance, and so left Fort Jefferson. The first blood was shed near Fort St. Clair, south of Hamilton, where a detachment was attacked and a number of men killed. The savages also carried off about seventy horses. This demonstrated to Wayne that his advance was likely to be contested step by step. A little later he established Fort Greenville, on the present site of the town of that name, which he named in honor of his friend of the Revolutionary war, Gen. Nathaniel Green. This encampment was about fifty acres in extent, was fortified, and a part of the army passed the winter at the stockade. The fixed determination of this man, known as "Mad Anthony," is shown by a report in which he says : "The safety of the Western frontiers, the reputation of the legion, the dignity and interest of the nation, all forbid a retrograde manoeuvre, or giving up one inch of ground we now possess, until the enemy are compelled to sue for peace." Regular drill and teaching of the devices known to backwoods warfare were continued during the entire winter. A detachment under Maj. Henry Burbeck was dispatched to the battlefield of General St. Clair's defeat and instructed to erect a fortification there. They reached the site of this tragedy on Christmas Day, 1793. The stockade enclosure with blockhouse erected by them was given the name of Fort Recovery. A reward was offered for every human skull discovered, and several hundred were thus gathered together and interred, The Indians watched with apprehension the steady advance of the troops of General Wayne toward their retreat hitherto so secure. The building of the various stockades were reported to them promptly by their watchful observers. The chiefs kept in close communication with the British officials at Detroit and with McKee, who was in charge of a trading post and supply station at the rapids near the present village of Maumee. The British were gradually changing from passive to active hostility. They told the Indians that the peace with the United States was only a temporary truce, and at its expiration "their great fathers would unite with them in the war, and drive the long knives (as they called the Americans) from the lands they had so unjustly usurped from his red children." On April 17th we read as follows in a communication from Detroit : "We have lately had a visit from Governor Simcoe ; he came from Niagara through the woods. * * * He has gone to the foot of the (Maumee) rapids and three companies of Colonel England's regiment have followed him to assist in building a fort there." This fort was a vertible stronghold, and it was named Fort Miami. One official wrote that this fort "put all the Indians here in great spirits" to resist the Americans. It was situated on the left bank of the Maumee River, within the HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 63 limits of the present village of Maumee, which was a long advance into United States territory. He reported with the greatest pleasure the rapid growth of the warlike spirit among the redskins. "This step," referring to Fort Miami, said he, "has given great spirit to the Indians and impressed them with a hope of our ultimately acting with them and affording a security for their families, should the enemy penetrate to their villages." Guns, gun-locks, flints, and other necessities for warfare of the best design were freely supplied through this post. McKee's agency house was one mile and a half above this fort and near the foot of the lowest rapids. Fort Miami received regular reports of the advance of General Wayne's command, and the fort was strengthened and further garrisoned to meet the anticipated conflict. The Indians reported that the army marched twice as far in a day as St. Clair's, that his troops marched in open order ready for battle, and that the greatest precaution was exercised at night by breastwork of fallen trees, etc., to guard against ambush and surprise. On July 7, 1794, General Wayne reported that a few days previously one of his escorts had been attacked by a numerous body of the aborigines under the walls of Fort Recovery, which was followed by a general assault upon that fort and garrison. The enemy was soon repulsed with great slaughter, but immediately rallied and continued the siege for several days, keeping up a very heavy and constant fire at a respectable distance. They were ultimately compelled to retreat, however, at a considerable loss, and the Upper Lake Indians were so disheartened that they began to return home. The American loss was twenty-two killed, thirty wounded, and three missing. The loss of horses was very large, for the savages were very anxious to gain mounts. It was apparent that the Indians were reinforced by a considerable number of the British ; likewise they were armed and equipped with the very latest style of firearms, and seemed to be provided with an abundance of ammunition. "There was a considerable number of armed white men in the rear," said General Wayne in his dispatch, "whom they frequently heard talk in our language, and encouraging the savages to persevere in the assault ; their faces generally blacked." It seems as though the attack upon Fort Recovery was not a part of the British and Indian program. The trader McKee wrote to Detroit as follows: ("Maumee) Rapids, July 5, 1794. "Sir :—I send this by a party of Saganas (Saginaws) who returned yesterday from Fort Recovery where the whole body of Aborigines, except the Delawares who had gone another route, imprudently attacked the fort on Monday, ,,the 30th of last month, and lost 16 or 17 men besides a good many wounded. "Everything had been settled prior to their leaving the fallen timber, and it had been agreed upon to confine themselves to take convoys and attacking at a distance from the forts, if they should have the address to entice the enemy out ; but the impetuosity of the Mackinac Aborigines and their eagerness to begin with the nearest, prevailed with the others to alter their system, the consequences of which from the present appearance of things may most materially injure the interests of these people. * * * "The immediate object of the attack was three hundred pack horses going from this fort to Fort Greenville, in which the Aborigines conpletely succeeded, taking and killing all of them. Captain Elliott writes that they are immediately to hold a council at the Glaize in order to try 64 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY if they can prevail upon the Lake Aborigines to remain ; but without provisions, am munitions, &c, being sent to that place, I conceive it will be extremely difficult to keep them together. "With great respesct, I have the honor to be "Your obedient and humble servant, "A. McKEE." On August 13th, McKee again wrote : "A scouting party from the Americans carried off a ma and a woman yesterday morning between this place and Roche de Bout. * * * They killed a Delaware woman. Scouts were sent up to view the situation of the army ; and we now muster 1,000 Indians." In the spring General Wayne's forces were increased by about 1,600 Kentucky cavalrymen, until the total number of troops under his immediate command exceeded 3,000. General Wayne and every man under him keenly realized that this was to be a momentous campaign. If this third army was defeated, the entire country within the boundaries of the Alleghenies, the Ohio, and the Mississippi would be completely dominated by the British, and absolutely lost to the Americans. These men were not knights in burnished steel on prancing steeds, they were not even regularly trained troops, but they were determined men who were sturdy and weather-beaten. Most of them wore the individual costume of the border. They may not have been drilled in the art of scientific warfare, as practiced in Europe, but in physical power and patient endurance they were absolutely unsurpassed in any country. The army broke camp at Fort Greenville, on July 28, 1794, and proceeded by the way of Fort Recovery. The route led through what was long known as the Black Swamp country. It was indeed a tedious progress, for roads had to be cut, swampy places made passable by throwing in brush and timber, and streams bridged with logs. He halted at Girty's Town long enough to build Fort Adams. Lieutenant Boyer has left us a detailed account of this expedition, which is most interesting reading. While marching through this country, so inhospitable for an army, we find the following entry : "The weather still warm-no water except in ponds, which nothing but excessive thirst would induce us to drink. The mosquitoes are very troublesome, and larger than I ever saw. We are informed there is no water for twelve miles." "Camp St. Mary River, August 2nd, 1794. An accident took place this day by a tree falling on the Commander-in-Chief and nearly putting an end to his existence ; we expected to be detained here for some time in consequence of it, but fortunately he is not so much hurt as to prevent him from riding at a slow pace. No appearance of the enemy today, and think they are preparing for a warm attack. The weather very hot and dry, without any appearance of rain." "Camp Grand Oglaize, 8th August, 1794. Proceeded in our march to this place at five o'clock this morning, and arrived here at the confluence of the Miami and Oglaize Rivers at half past ten, being seventy- seven miles from Fort Recovery. This place far excels in beauty any in the western country, and believe equalled by none in the Atlantic States. Here are vegetables of every kind in abundance, and we have marched four or five miles in corn fields down the Oglaize and there are not less than one thousand acres of corn round the town. The land is generally of the fir nature. "This country appears well adapted for the enjoyment of industrious people, who cannot avoid living in as great luxury as in any other place HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 65 throughout the states. Nature having lent a most bountiful hand in the arrangement of the position, that a man can send the produce to market in his own boat. The land level and river navigable, no more than sixty miles from the lake." Wayne had planned to surprise the enemy at the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee. He found the headquarters of the red men absolutely deserted. The vegetables and fruits growing there furnished much needed food for the weary soldiers, for the corn was in just the stage of the roasting ear. He sent detachments up and down the river to destroy the crops and burn the Indian villages. A smoking ruin scene of desolation quickly supplanted what had before been a picture of plenty and peace. On a prominence overlooking the confluence of the Auglaize and the Maumee, General Wayne erected a fortress where he could defy the hostile aborigines and the British. This was the strongest fortification constructed by him on this expedition, and he styled it "an important and formidable fort." He said this location was "the grand emporium of the hostile Indians of the West." Here began a string of Indian towns that extended along the banks of "the beautiful Miami of the Lake." This fort was begun on August 9th and completed on the 17th of the same month. Thus only eight days were occupied in its building. "I defy the English, Indians, and all the devils in h 1 to take it," said General Wayne after surveying its blockhouses, pickets, ditches and fascines. "Then call it Fort Defiance," suggested General Scott, who chanced at that very instant to be standing at his side. Hence the name of Fort Defiance affixed itself to this advance outpost in this wilderness. "Thus, Sir," wrote General Wayne to the Secretary of War, "we have gained possession of the grand emporium of the hostile Indians of the West, without loss of blood. The margin of those beautiful rivers in the Miamis of the Lake and Auglaize—appear like one continued village for a number of miles, both above and below this place nor have I ever before beheld such fields of corn in any part of America from Canada to Florida." There was not a great delay at Fort Defiance, for we read in Lieutenant Boyer's diary, "Camp Forty-one miles from Grand Oglaize (Roche de Bout) 18th August, 1794. The legion arrived on this ground, noth- ing particular taking place. Five of our spies were sent out at three o'clock—they fell in with an advanced body of the enemy, and obliged tc retreat ; but May, one of our spies, fell under the enemy's hold. Whai his fate may be must be left to future success." We learn of his fate through a published account of John Brickell who was then a captive among the Indians. He says : "Two or three days after we arrived at the Rapids, Wayne's spies came right into cam among us. I afterwards saw the survivors. Their names were Wells Miller, McClelland, May, Mahaffy and one other whose name I forgot They came into camp boldly and fired upon the Indians and Miller was wounded in the shoulder. May was chased by the Indians to the smooth rock in the bed of the river, where his horse fell, and he was taken pris oner. The others escaped. They took May to camp where they rec ognized him as having been a captive among them, and having escapee (mentioned earlier), they said : 'We know you ; you speak Indian lan guage; you not content to live with us ; tomorrow we take you to that tree (pointing to a large oak) we will tie you fast, and make a mad on your breast, and we will see which one of us can shoot nearest to it. It so turned out. The next day, the day before the battle, they riddle( his body with bullets, shooting at least fifty into him." Vol. 1-5 HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 67 Upon his return to this place, after his successful battle with the enemy, Wayne reinforced Fort Defiance, as a study of the British Fort Miami had suggested some improvements. At each of the four angles there was a blockhouse. Outside of the palisades and the blockhouse there was a wall of earth eight feet thick, which sloped outwards and upwards, and was supported on its outer side by a log wall. A ditch encircled the entire works excepting the east side, which was near the precipitous bank of the Auglaize River. The ditch was some fifteen feet wide and eight feet deep and was protected by diagonal pickets eleven feet long, secured to the log walls at intervals of a foot and projected over the ditch. At one place there was a falling gate, or drawbridge, which was raised and lowered by pulleys. There was also a protected ditch leading to the river so that water could be procured from the river without exposing the carrier to the enemy. How different is the scene today about the confluence of the Maumee and the Auglaize, Wayne thoroughly understood border warfare and guarded his marching forces carefully against any savage surprise. To the Indians he became known as the "chief who never sleeps." He constantly maintained a body of trained scouts whose duty it was to apprise him of every move of the Indians. These men became known as his "eyes," and they were indeed tireless in their vigilance. They were men who had been cradled in frontier cabins. Some of them had been captives from childhood in the wigwams. They thoroughly knew the language, customs, and habits of these children of the forests. They were husky athletes, fleet- footed and keen-eyed. They were skilled marksmen and destitute of fear. To them the yell of the savage had no terror. They were skilled in the arts of woodcraft, in which the savages were so proficient, and frequently excelled their preceptors. On their excursions the scouts were generally mounted on elegant horses, for they had the pick of the stables and they usually attired themselves in Indian style with their faces painted. They proved themselves of inestimable service to General Wayne. The chief of Wayne's scouts, and the one on whom he depended most, was William Wells. He was a man of unwavering courage and was endowed with unusual intelligence. Of his birth we have no record. He had been captured by the Indians when only twelve years of age, while an inmate of the family of Nathaniel Pope, in Kentucky. He had spent his early manhood among the Miamis, was formally adopted into the tribe, and had espoused a sister of the great chief, Little Turtle. (Some accounts say his daughter.) He was the father of three daughters and one son, whose descendants live in and around Toledo and Fort Wayne. One became the wife of Judge Wolcott of Maumee. The Indian name of Wells was Black Snake. He fought against Harmar and St. Clair, with the Indians, and he now found himself opposed to his former friends. For a long time Wells was worried for fear he may have killed some of his friends or kindred. He recalled the dim memories of his childhood home, of his brothers and his playmates, and sorrow seemed to fill his soul. The approach of Wayne's army, in 1794, stirred anew conflicting emotions, based upon indistinct recollections of early ties, of country and kindred on the one hand, and existing attachments of wife and children on the other. He resolved to make his history known. With true Indian characteristics, the secret purpose of leaving his adopted nation was, according to reliable tradition, made known in a dramatic manner. Taking with him the war chief, Little Turtle, to a favorite spot on the banks of the Maumee, Wells said: "I leave now your nation for my own peo- 68 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY ple. We have long been friends. We are friends yet, until the sun reaches a certain height (which he indicated). From that time we are enemies. Then, if you wish to kill me, you may. If I want to kill you, I may." At the appointed hour, crossing the river, Captain Wells disappeared in the forest, taking an easterly direction to strike the trail of Wayne's army. The bonds of affection and respect which had bound these two singular and highly-gifted men, Wells and Little Turtle, together were not severed or weakened by this abrupt declaration. They embraced "and the large tears coursed down the sun-bronzed cheeks of the chieftain, who was unused to manifesting emotion." Captain Wells soon after joined Wayne's army, and his perfect knowledge of the Indian haunts, habits, and modes of Indian warfare, became an invaluable auxiliary to the Americans. On one of Captain Wells' peregrinations through the Indian territory, as he came to the bank of the River St. Mary, he discovered a family of Indians coming up the river in a canoe. He dismounted and concealed his men near the bank of the river, whilst he went himself to the bank, in open view, and called to the Indians to come over. As he was dressed in Indian style, and spoke to them in their own language, the Indians, not expecting danger, went across the river. The moment the canoe struck the shore, Wells heard the cocks of his comrades' rifles cry "nick, nick," as they prepared to shoot the Indians ; but who should be in the canoe but his Indian father and mother, with their children ! As his comrades were coming forward with their rifles cocked, ready to pour in the deadly storm upon the devoted Indians, Wells called to them to hold their hands and desist. He then informed them who those Indians were, and solemnly declared that the man who would attempt to injure one of them would receive a ball in his head. He said to his men that "that family had fed him when he was hungry, clothed him when he was naked, and kindly nursed him when he was sick ; and in every respect was as kind and affectionate to him as they were to their own children." "Those hardy soldiers approved of the motives of Captain Wells, in showing leniency to the enemy. They drew down their rifles and tomahawks, went to the canoe, and shook hands with the trembling Indians in the most friendly manner. Captain Wells assured them they had nothing to fear from him ; and after talking with them to dispel their fears, he said 'that General Wayne was approaching with an overwhelming force; that the best thing the Indians could do was to make peace ; that the white men did not wish to continue the war.' He urged his Indian father for the future to keep out of the reach of danger. He then bade them farewell ; they appeared grateful for his clemency. They then pushed off their canoe and went down the river as fast as they could propel her." On one occasion Wells and his party rode boldly into an Indian village near Maumee. Dressed in Indian style, as they were, and speaking the Indian tongue perfectly, their true character was not suspicioned. Passing through the village the scouts made captive an Indian man and woman on horseback. With the prisoners they then set off for Fort Defiance. Passing by a camp of Indians they decided to attack it. Tying and gagging their captives, the scouts boldly rode into the Indian encampment with their rifles lying across the pommels of their saddles. They inquired about General Wayne's movements and the Indians freely answered. One Indian was suspicious, however, and Wells overheard him speaking to another. Wells gave the preconcerted signal, and each HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 69 man fired his rifle into the body of an Indian. They then put spurs to their horses and dashed away. McClellan was shot through the shoulder and Wells through the arm. Nevertheless they succeeded in reaching Fort Defiance with their prisoners, and the wounded all recovered. During Wayne's campaign alone his spies brought in a score of prisoners and killed an equal or greater number of the enemy. After the campaign ended Wells settled near the confluence of the St. Mary and St. Joseph Rivers, on a stream since called "Spy River," where he was subsequently granted a half section of land by the Government. He enlisted again during the War of 1812 and was slain at Fort Dearborn in August, 1812. The Indians are said to have eaten his heart and drunk his blood, from the superstitious belief that in this way they should imbibe his warlike endowments, CHAPTER VII FALLEN TIMBERS AND THE GREENVILLE TREATY Although General Wayne was convinced that a conflict was inevitable, he omitted no effort to conciliate the savages and effect a peace without bloodshed. In reporting the situation to the Secretary of War, he wrote : "Should war be their choice, that blood is upon their heads. America shall no longer be insulted with impunity. To an all powerful and just God I therefore commit myself and gallant army." Wayne decided to send one final and formal offer of peace to the Indians who were assembled near and around Fort Miami, about forty miles below Fort Defiance. Here the military commander and trade agents were freely distributing weapons, ammunition and food to their dusky allies. He warned them not to be misled "by the false promises and language of the bad white men at the foot of the rapids." The bearer of this message was Christopher Miller, one of his "eyes." Miller was a naturalized Shawnee and had been captured only a few months earlier under most dramatic circumstances, near Greenville. A body of scouts had been dispatched to bring in a prisoner from whom it was hoped valuable information might be obtained. Along the Auglaize they discovered three Indians around a camp fire. Two of the trio were shot and a dash was made for the third. The Indian was captured and was sulky, ref using to converse either in English or Indian. When thoroughly washed he proved to be a white man, but still he refused to answer any questions. One of the captors was Henry Miller, who had also been an Indian prisoner, and he began to have suspicions that this might be his brother. He spurred his horse alongside and called him by his Indian name. At the unexpected sound the captive was startled and finally admitted his identity. It was several weeks, however, before he consented to abandon the savage life and rejoin the whites. His decision once made, he proved an invaluable acquisition. As security for Miller's safe return word was sent that several Indians were being held as hostages. With characteristic impatience Wayne refused to delay until his messenger returned but began his march down the river. When Miller met the advancing command he reported that the Indians asked ten days' delay, within which time they would decide for peace or war. It was at the rock known as Roche d'Bouef that the scout encountered his commander, on the 15th of August, and delivered his message. This massive rock still rises above the western edge of the river, about a mile above the village of Waterville, where an electric railroad now crosses the stream. Here some light works were thrown up as a place of deposit for the heavy baggage, which was named Fort Deposit. Wayne recognized this request for delay as only a savage ruse to secure delay so that more warriors might be assembled. Hence it was that he decided to press on with his troops, who now numbered about 3,000 men. One thousand of these men were mounted Kentucky riflemen, while the others were regulars, both infantry and cavalry. Through his spies and captives, Wayne learned that at least 2,000 braves, Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas, Miamis, Pottawattomies, Chippewas and Iroquois, were gathered near Fort Miami. Associated with them were the infamous trio of renegades, McKee, Girty, and Elliot, together with some seventy white rangers from Detroit, who were dressed  - 70 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 71 in Indian costume and could scarcely be distinguished from the savages themselves. The Indians were in command of Blue Jacket, a Shawnee chieftain, and Little Turtle, the head chief of the Miamis. As a warrior Little Turtle was fearless, but not rash ; shrewd to plan, bold and energetic to execute. No peril could daunt him, and no emergency could surprise him. Like Pontiac, he indulged in gloomy apprehension of the future of his people, and had been one of the leaders in the defeat of both Generals Harmar and St. Clair. It is said that Little Turtle was averse to battle, and in council said : "We have beaten the enemy twice under separate commanders. We cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him. During all the time that he has been marching upon our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would be well to listen to his offers of peace." Blue Jacket leaped up in the council, however, and silenced Little Turtle by accusing him of cowardice. Little Turtle then replied : "Follow me to battle." The Indians swept up through the woods in long columns and established themselves in what seemed to them an impregnable position, on and around Presque Isle Hill, about two miles above Maumee. Only a year or two previously a tornado had torn down the forest trees, interlacing them in such a manner as to form a secure covert for the savages, and rendering it very difficult for cavalry to operate. It was also a rainy morning. The drums could not communicate the concerted signals with sufficient clearness, so that some contemplated maneuvers were not executed. The Indians formed in three long lines, their left resting on the river and their right extending some two miles into the forest at right angles to the Maumee. About 8 o'clock in the morning of the 20th Wayne marched down the river farther, realizing that the Indians were near and that a battle could not be delayed much longer. As 'a precaution he sent forward a battalion of the mounted Kentuckians, with instructions to retreat in feigned confusion as soon as they were fired upon, in order to draw the Indians out of their covert and increase their confidence. The order of the advance as stated by Wayne in his subsequent official report was : "The legion on the right, its right flank covered by the Miamis (Maumee), one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left, under Brigadier-General Todd, the other in the rear, under Brigadier-General Barbie. .A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price, who was directed to keep sufficiently advanced, so as to give timely notice for the troops in case of action, it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war." The Kentuckians kept far enough in advance to give Wayne time to form his troops in perfect order after the shooting should begin. After about an hour's march, they received such a hot fire from the Indians concealed in the woods and high grass as to compel them to retreat. Wayne immediately drew up his forces in two lines, placing one troop of cavalry near the Maumee and the other farther inland near the right flank. He then gave orders to his front line to advance and charge with trailed arms. They were to rouse the savages from their covert at the point of the bayonet, to deliver a close and well-directed fire at their backs, and then to charge before the Indians had a chance to reload. "General Wayne," said Lieut. William Henry Harrison, then an aide on that officer's staff, just as the attack was ordered, "I am afraid you'll get into the fight yourself and forget to give me the necessary field HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 73 orders." He knew that in the heat of the battle Wayne was apt to forget that he was the general and not a soldier. "Perhaps I may," replied Wayne, "and if I do, recollect the standing order for the day is charges the d—d rascals with the bayonets." In the face of a deadly fire the American troops dashed upon tbe savages among the fallen trees, and prodded them from their hiding with cold steel. What a sight it was ! A host of painted and plumed warriors, the very pick of the western tribes, with their athletic and agile bodies decked in their gay strappings, with their coarse raven hair hanging over their shoulders like netted manes, met their white foes face to face. Each carried his flint, ready for instant use, while hung over his shoulders were the straps of the powder horn and shot-pouch. The frontiersmen among Wayne's troops also carried the deadly tomahawk and scalping knife, as well as their dusky opponents. It was truly a tragic tableau here among the fallen timbers that nature had prepared for this historic event. All the orders of General Wayne were obeyed with promptness and alacrity. It was not long until the savages and their white allies were fleeing precipitously from their enemy "who never sleeps." Wayne heaped encomiums upon all his officers in his official reports, saying that the bravery and conduct of every officer merited his highest approbation. They followed up the fleeing and painted savages with such swiftness and fury, and poured such a destructive fire upon their backs, that but few of the second line of Wayne's forces arrived in time to participate in the action. "Such was the impetuosity of the first-line of infantry," reported Wayne, "that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were drove from all their coverts in so short a time that, although every possible exertion was used by the officers of the second line of legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd, and Barbie, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, but part of each could get up in season to participate in the action, the enemy being drove, in the course of one hour, more than two miles, through the thick woods already mentioned, by less than one-half of their numbers." Many of the Indians endeavored to escape by swimming the river, but they were cut down in the midst of the stream by the cavalry. The woods were strewn for miles with dead and wounded savages and the Canadian rangers. In the course of one hour the whole force of the enemy was driven back more than two miles through the thick woods. The shrewd scheme of Wayne had proved most successful. The sudden and systematic attack from all points stampeded the savage warriors, forcing them into a promiscuous flight which their chiefs tried in vain to check. It is certain that the enemy numbered at least 2,000 combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were less than half that number. The battle was too brief to be sanguinary in its results. The Americans lost 33 killed and about 100 wounded. The death loss occurred almost entirely at the first fire of the savages, who took deadly aim as the Americans swept down upon them. The cavalry galloped boldly among the Indians, leaping their horses over the fallen logs and dodging in and out among the trees. They swung their long sabres with telling effect among the dismayed and yelling Indians. The loss of the Indians was far more serious than that of the Americans, but the number has never been definitely reported. At least a hundred bodies were found upon the field, but many of the killed and wounded were dragged away by their friends. The Indian tribes were represented about as follows : Wyandots 300, Shawnees 350, Delawares 500, Miamis 200, Tawas 250. There were also small bands of other tribes. The garrison numbered 74 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY probably 400 and a couple of hundred other mixed troops under Girty and his associates who remained at a respectful distance. A number of instances have been preserved to us showing the desperate character of the fighting which took place at Fallen Timbers. Much individual heroism was displayed on both sides. A soldier who had become detached a short distance from the army met a single Indian in the woods. The two foes immediately attacked each other, the soldier with his bayonet, the Indian with his tomahawk. Two days after they were found dead. The soldier had his bayonet imbedded in the body of the Indian, the Indian had his tomahawk in the head of the soldier. The victorious Americans pursued the flying savages to the very palisades of Fort Miami. The Indians evidently expected the British to throw open the gates of the fortress and admit them to its protection. To their surprise and indignation, however, the British basely abandoned them in the hour of their sore defeat, and they were obliged to scatter in the forest for safety from, the American bayonets: The British looked on with apparent unconcern at this humiliation and defeat of their late allies. The Indians were astonished at the lukewarmness of their white allies ; that they had regarded the fort as a place of refuge in case of disaster was evident from circumstances. General Wayne had definite instructions from General Washington to attack and demolish Fort Miami. Seriously contemplating storming Fort Miami, he rode up with his aids to within a few hundred feet of it, from which vantage point he surveyed it with his glasses from all sides. The extreme danger and narrow escape of the general was revealed by a British deserter on the following day. A captain of the marines who happened to be in the garrison resented the approach so strongly that he seized a gun and trained it upon Wayne. Just as he was about to apply the fire Major Campbell hove in sight and threatened to cut him down with his sword if he did not immediately desist. The major might have been led to such action by fear for his own safety, knowing that the American commander had a large force with him. HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 75 Independent of its results in bringing on a possible war with Great Britain, Wayne knew that Fort Miami was garrisoned by a force of several hundred men and mounted ten pieces of artillery. Against this he had no suitable artillery. Hence he wisely concluded to sacrifice his troops and precipitate war between the two countries by making the attack. The Americans contented themselves with proceeding immediately to burn and destroy all the supplies and buildings without the walls of the fort, including the residence of the trader. Alex McKee. While this ravaging and burning was going on, it is said that the British stood sullenly by their guns and lighted torches, but not daring to fire, well knowing what the result would be. Wayne sent out his cavalry and they destroyed the Indian villages for miles up and down the river. A little war of blustering words upon the part of the British commander and tart rejoinders upon the part of the American commander followed. No blood was spilled and not a single shot was fired. "MIAM1 (MAUMEE) RIVER, August 21st, 1794. Sir :-An army of the United States of America, said to be under your command, having taken post on the banks of the Miami (Maumee) for upwards of the last twenty-four hours, almost within the reach of the guns of this fort, being a post belonging to His Majesty the King of Great Britain, occupied by His Majesty's troops, and which I have the honor to command, it becomes my duty to inform myself, as speedily as possible, in what light I am to view your making such near approaches to this garrison. I have no hesitation, on my part, to say that I know of no war existing between Great Britain and America. I have the honor to .be, sir, with great respect, Your most obedient and very humble servant, WILLIAM CAMPBELL, Major 24th Reg't Comd'n a British Post on the banks of the Miami. To Major-General Wayne, etc." "CAMP ON THE BANKS OF THE MIAMI, August 21st, 1794. "Sir :—I have received your letter of this date, requiring from me the motives which have moved the army under my command to the position they at present occupy, far within the acknowledged jurisdiction of the United States of America. Without questioning the Authority or the propriety, sir, of your interrogatory, I think I may without breach of decorum, observe to you, that were you entitled to an answer, the most full and satisfactory one was announced to you from the muzzles of my small arms, yesterday morning, in the action against the horde of savages in the vicinity of your post, which terminated gloriously to the American arms ; but, had it continued until the Indians, etc., were driven under the influence of the post and guns you mention, they would not have much impeded the progress of the victorious army under my command, as no such post was established at the commencement of the present war, between the Indians and the United States. "I have the honor to be,, sir, with great respect, "Your most obedient and very humble servant, "ANTHONY WAYNE, Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Army. To Major William Campbell, etc." On the following day there came a second letter from Major Campbell saying: "I have forborne for these two days past, to resent those 76 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY insults you have offered to the British flag flying at this fort, by approaching it within pistol shot of my works * * * should you, after this, continue to approach my post, * * * the honor of my profession will oblige me to have recourse to those measures, which thousands of either nation may have cause hereafter to regret." General Wayne retorts by requesting him to withdraw his "troops, artillery, and stores * * * to the nearest post occupied by his Britannic Majesty's troops at the peace of 1783." To this Major Campbell replied that his position was purely military, that he acted only under orders and could not discuss the propriety or justness of the British claims or occupation. Thus the matter ended. Jonathan Adler, who was at that time living with the Indians, has given in a manuscript left by him the Indian account of the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It is as follows : "Now the Indians are very curious about fighting ; for when they know they are going into battle, they will not eat anything just previous. They say that if a man is shot in the body when he is entirely empty, there is not half as much danger of the ball passing through the bowels as when they are full. So they started the first morning without eating anything, and moving up to the end of the prairie, ranged themselves in order of battle at the edge of the timber. There they waited all day without any food, and at night returned and partook of their suppers. The second morning they again placed themselves in the same position, and again returned at night and supped. By this time they had begun to get weak from eating only once a day, and concluded they would eat breakfast. Some were eating, and others, who had finished, had moved forward to their stations, when Wayne's army was seen approaching. Soon as they were within gunshot the Indians began firing upon them ; but Wayne, making no halt, rushed on upon them. "Only a small part of the Indians being on the ground, they were obliged to give back, and finding Wayne too strong for them, attempted to retreat. Those who were on the way heard the noise and sprang to their assistance. So some were running from and others to the battle, which created great confusion. In the meantime, the light horse had gone entirely around and came upon their rear, blowing their horns and closing in upon them. The Indians now found that they were completely surrounded, and all that could made their escape, and the balance were all killed, which was no small number. Among these last, with one or two exceptions were all the Wyandots that lived at Sandusky at the time I went to inform them of the expected battle. The main body of the Indians were back nearly two miles from the battleground and Wayne had taken them by surprise, and made such a slaughter among them that they were entirely discouraged, and made the best of their way to their respective homes." Not long after this defeat a trader met a Miami warrior, who had fled before the terrible onslaught of Wayne's soldiers. "Why did you run away ?" the trader asked the Indian. With gestures corresponding to his words, and endeavoring to represent the effect of the cannon, the Indian replied : "Pop ! pop ! pop-boo ! woo ! woo !-whish ! whish ! boo ! woo ! kill twenty Indians one time—no good by dam !" Immediately following the battle of Fallen Timbers, many of the savages fled to Detroit, the British headquarters. The following winter was a time of great suffering in the Maumee Valley. Their crops had been destroyed by General Wayne's army, so that they were rendered more than ever dependent upon the British, and they were not prepared HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 77 for so great a task. They remained huddled together along the Maumee River near the mouth of Swan Creek, where much sickness prevailed on account of exposure, scant supplies, and the want of sanitary regulations. An entry in Lieutenant Boyer's diary reads as follows : "Camp Deposit 23rd August, 1794. Having burned everything contiguous to the fort without any position, the legion took up the line of march, and in the evening encamped on this ground, being the same they marched from the 20th. It may be proper to remark that we have heard nothing from the savages or their allies the Canadians, since the action. The honors of war were paid to those brave fellows who fell on the 20th, by a discharge of three rounds from sixteen pieces of ordnance charged with shells. The ceremony was performed with the greatest solemnity. "General Wayne remained in the scene of the decisive battle only three days, after which he started on his return journey to Fort Defiance, where he arrived on the 27th. Here was a safe camping place and the cultivated fields afforded plentiful food for both man and beast. So intent were the soldiers on foraging that several were killed or captured by skulking savages. This led to very stringent regulations. Any soldier caught half a mile outside the lines of sentinels without a proper pass was to be treated as a deserter, and the sentry permitting a soldier to go by without this pass was subject to a punishment of fifty lashes. The soldiers were much troubled with fever and ague and these ailments caused much distress. "Fort Defiance 4th September, 1794. The number of our sick increase daily ; provision is nearly exhausted ; the whisky has been out for some time, which makes the hours pass heavily to the tune of Roslin Castle, when in our present situation they ought to go to the quick step of the Merry Alan Down to His Grave. Hard duty and scant allowance will cause an army to be low spirited, particularly the want of a little wet. * * * If it was not for the forage we get from the enemy's fields, the rations could not be sufficient to keep soul and body together." These statements appear in the diary of Lieutenant Boyer. He was evidently not one of the "dry" persuasion, for a week later he writes : "The escort arrived this day about 3 o'clock, and brought with them two hundred kegs of flour and nearly two hundred head of cattle. Captain Preston and Ensigns Strother, Bowyer, and Lewis, joined us this day with the escort. We received no liquor by this command, and I fancy we shall not receive any until we get into winter quarters, which will make the fatigues of the campaign appear double, as I am persuaded the troops would much rather have half rations of beef and bread, provided they could obtain their full rations of whisky. The vegetables are as yet in the greatest abundance." That the Tiffin River which flows through Williams and Fulton counties was also much frequented by the Indians is shown by the testimony of Antoine Lasselle, a Canadian trader captured on the day of the great battle. He testified that he had lived along the Maumee twenty-one years ; that he had at first lived at the Miami villages and "that he has since lived chiefly at Bean Creek or Little Glaize (now Tiffin River) at the Little Turtle's town. * * * That the Delawares have about 500 men including those who live on both rivers—the White River and Bean Creek." From Fort Defiance the major portion of General Wayne's Legion marched to the head of the Maumee. This place was reached without any encounter with the savages. Here Colonel Hamtramck was placed in charge and he erected a fort which he called Fort Wayne, after the 78 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY hero of Fallen Timbers. Some of his Kentucky volunteers were very troublesome, for we read : "The volunteers are soon tired of work and have refused to labor any longer ; they have stolen and killed seventeen beeves in the course of these two days past." This act compelled half rations for the entire force for several days. A few weeks later Wayne conducted his troops to Greenville, where they arrived on the 2d of November. In the three months since his previous visit a vast transformation m the frontier situation had taken place. A feeling of security now pervaded the settlements. An interesting light upon army discipline at this time is shown in the following communication from Colonel Hamtramck : "Fort Wayne, December 5, 1794. "Sir :—It is with a great degree of mortification that I am obliged to inform your excellency of the great propensity many of the soldiers have for larceny. I have flogged them until I am tired. The economic allowance of one hundred lashes, allowed by government, does not appear a sufficient inducement for a rascal to act the part of an honest man. I have now a number in confinement and in irons for having stolen four quarters of beef. * * * I shall keep them confined until the pleasure Df your excellency is known." The disastrous results of Wayne's victory had convinced the savages :hat they could not successfully wage war with the Americans when led by a competent commander. They also recognized the hollowness of the British promises of assistance when the British crept into Fort Miami ike whipped curs and closed its protecting gates to their red brethren. Hollow promises did not allay the pangs of hunger as winter crept on. Under these circumstances the Indians began to turn toward the Amerians who welcomed their advances. Some of their chiefs visited Fort Wayne and Fort Defiance as well as the general himself at Greenville. The Wyandots showed the greatest solicitude. One of the chiefs called upon General Wayne and said : "I live in Sandusky. We Wyandots are determined to bury the hatchet and scalping knife deep in the ground. We pray you have pity on us and leave us a small piece of land to build town upon. The Great Spirit has given land enough for all to live and hunt upon. We have looked all around for a piece to move and cannot find any. We want to know your mind. We intend to build a stockade (on Sandusky River) and blockhouse to defend ourselves till 'e hear from you. We don't know whether we are right or wrong in doing it, but have pity on us." The diplomatic warfare waged by these untutored aborigine chiefs would have reflected credit upon the statesmanship of an enlightened people. They clung to every vital principle affecting their interests with he same desperate tenancity with which they had fought their last )attle at Fallen Timbers. Colonel Hamtramck's correspondence shows that there were almost daily calls from the Indians at Fort Wayne. On March 5th we read : `A number of Pottawattomie Indians arrived here from Huron River, Michigan. * * * I informed them that I was not the first chief, and invited them to go to Greenville ; to which they replied that it was a Tery long journey, but from the great desire they had to see The Wind for they called you so) they would go. I asked them for an explanaion of your name. They told me that on the 20th August last you were xactly like a whirlwind which drives and tears everything before it." General Wayne was most diplomatic m all his intercourse with the chiefs who called upon him. Almost worshipping bravery the Indians lad a wholesome respect for him. On the 1st of January, 1795, he HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 79 sent a message to the petitioning Wyandots at Sandusky that the chief s of various other tribes would soon visit him at Greenville in the interests of peace, and inviting them to join the others. The Delawares visited Fort Defiance and exchanged a number of prisoners. As word reached General Wayne of the great number of Indian chiefs who were on their way to visit him, a large council house was constructed at Greenville for the deliberations. A great quantity of clothing and other useful articles were obtained for presents, and bountiful supplies were accumulated for the feeding and entertainment of large numbers. The chiefs began to arrive the first of June. Each day brought new additions and the general council was opened on June 16th with a goodly attendance. In all more than 1,000 chiefs and sachems gathered together. The tribes represented were the Delawares, Wyandots, Pottawattomies, Shawnees, Chippewas, Miami, Eel River, Weas, Piankeshaws, Kickapoos, and Kaskaskias. Half a dozen interpreters were kept busy during the fifty days that the council lasted. The chiefs complained much of the had faith of the citizens of the "fifteen fires"—so-called because fifteen guns were always fired as a salute, one for each state of the Union. After smoking the Calumet of Peace, an oath of accuracy and fidelity was administered to the interpreters. The flow of oratory was interminable. A large number of belts and strings of wampum were passed by the various tribes during the deliberations. Some of these contained a thousand or more beads of wampum. As many of these beads represent a day's work each, their value to the aborigines was very great. The Indians continued to arrive during all the month of June and even later. Little Turtle was one of the slowest to enter into the spirit of the meeting, but he gradually became one of its warmest participators, making many addresses. On the 7th of August, 1795, the famous Treaty of Greenville was entered into between General Anthony Wayne and the sachems and war chiefs of the participating nations. The boundary lines established by the treaty were as follows : The general boundary line "between the lands of the United States and the lands of the said Indian tribes, shall begin at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and run thence up the same, to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum ; thence down that branch to the crossing place, above Fort Lawrence (Laurens) ; thence westerly, to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River running into the Ohio, at or near which fork stood Loramie's store and where commences the portage between the Miami of the Ohio, and St. Mary's River, which is a branch of the Miami, which runs mto Lake Erie ; thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery, which stands on a branch of the Wabash ; thence, southwesterly in a direct line of the Ohio, so as to intersect that river, opposite the mouth of the Kentucke, or Cuttawa river." In order to facilitate intercourse between the whites and Indians, the tribes ceded to the United States several tracts of land, one tract "twelve miles square, at the British fort on the Miami of the Lake, at the foot of the Rapids." This reached down into the heart of the present city of Toledo. Among the tracts reserved was "one piece six miles square at the confduence of the Auglaize and Miami rivers." This is now included within the present city of Defiance. And the said Indian tribes will allow to the people of the United States a free passage, by land and by water, as one and the other shall be found to be convenient, through their county, along the chain of posts hereinbef ore mentioned ; that is to say, from commencement of the portage aforesaid, at or near Loramie's store, thence along said portage to the St. Mary's, and down the same to Fort Wayne, and thence down the HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 81 Miami to Lake Erie ; again, from the commencement of the portage, at or near Loramie's store along the portage, from thence to the river Auglaize, and down the same to its junction with the Miami, at Fort Defiance; again, from the commencement of the portage aforesaid, to Sandusky river, and down the same to Sandusky bay and Lake Erie, and from Sandusky to the post which shall be taken at or near the foot of the rapids of the Miami of the Lake ; and from thence to Detroit. And the said Indian tribes will also show to the people of the United States the free use of the harbors and mouths of the rivers, along the lake adjoining the Indian lands, for sheltering vessels and boats, and liberty to land their cargoes where necessary for their safety." So pleased were the Indians with their treatment by General Wayne that each of the more prominent chiefs desired to have the last word with him. Budk-on-ge-he-las, the great war chief of the Delawares, seemed to voice the sentiments of all when he said: "Your children all well understand the sense of the Treaty which is now concluded. We experience daily proofs of your increasing kindness. I hope we may all have sense enough to enjoy our dawning happiness. Many of your people are yet among us. I trust tbey will be immediately restored. Last winter our king (Te-ta-boksh-he) came forward to you with two (captives) and when he returned with your speech to us, we immediately prepared to come forward with the remainder, which we delivered at Fort Defiance. All who know me, know me to be a man and a warrior, and I now declare that I will for the future be as true and steady a friend to the United States as I have heretofore been an active enemy. We have one bad man among us who, a few days ago, stole three of your horses ; two of them shall this day be returned to you, and I hope I shall be able to prevent that young man from doing any more mischief to our Father of the Fifteen Fires." General Wayne did not long survive to enjoy the great reputation earned by him during his famous campaign and equally famous treaty. One of his last acts was to receive, as representing the United States authority, Fort Miami early in 1796, when the British authorities surrendered their northern posts in pursuance of a treaty negotiated by Chief Justice Jay. On his passage down Lake Erie he was seized with a violent attack of the gout and died at Fort Presque Isle on the 15th of December, 1796, in the fifty-first year of his age. The numbers of the Indians present at the Greenville Treaty are given as follows : Wyandots, 180 ; Delawares, 381 ; Shawnees, 143 ; Ottawas, 45; Chippewas, 46 ; Pottawattomies, 240 ; Miamis and Eel Rivers, 73; Weas and Piankeshaws, 12; Kickapoos and Kaskaskies, 10. The sworn interpreters were Isaac Zane, Abraham Williams, Cabot Wilson, Jacques Lasselle, Christopher Miller, M. Morans, Bt Sans Crainte and William Wells. The most noted chiefs of this western country participated in the council at Greenville. At the head of the list of Indian signatures, and directly under that of General Wayne, appears that of Tarhe or The Crane, head chief of the Wyandots, the guardians of the Calumet. He was the greatest chief of the Wyandots within historic times. His wisdom in council, as well as his bravery m war, gave him great influence among all the neighboring tribes. He seems to have reached the position of head chief of this nation after the death of Half King, who disappears from history not long after the disastrous Crawford expedition. His humanity was ever marked. In 1790 he saved Peggy Fleming from a band of Cherokee Indians at Lower Sandusky and he is credited with saving a white boy from burning at the same place. He was wounded Vol. 1-6 82 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY in the Battle of Fallen Timbers and shortly afterwards General Wayne addressed a letter to "Tarhe, and all other Sachems and Chiefs of Sandusky" in which he promises to erect a fortification "at the foot of the rapids at Sandusky" for their protection against the Indian allies of the British. Of Tarhe, General Harrison wrote : "I knew Tarhe well. My acquaintance with him commenced at the treaty of Greenville, in 1795. His tribe was under my supervision in 1810. All the business I transacted with it was through him. I have often said I never knew a better man. * * * Tarhe was not only the Grand Sachem of his tribe, but the acknowledged head of all the tribes who were engaged in the war with the United States, which was terminated by the treaty of Greenville ; and in that character the duplicate of the original treaty, engrossed on parchment, was committed to his custody, as had been the Grand Calumet, which was the symbol of peace. Tarhe bad accompanied him throughout his entire Canadian campaign, for he was a bitter opponent of Tecumseh's war policy. He was far in advance of most of his fellows. He was cool. deliberate and firm. He was tall and well proportioned, and made a fine appearance. He was affable and courteous as well as kind and affectionate. It is said that all who knew him, whether white or red, deeply venerated the character of the old chief. His attainments seem to have been as a great counselor and wise sachem rather than as a warrior. This surrounded him with a peculiar dignity. Chief Crane died at the Indian village of Crane Town, near Upper Sandusky, in November, 1818, being at that time seventy-six years of age." The Indian figure which stands out most prominently on the canvas of Northwestern Ohio is Little Turtle, chief of the Miamis, We have seen that his home for a time was along the old Bean Creek, now Tiffin River. This name was not given the chief because of his stature, for he was nearly six feet in height. As a warrior the Little Turtle was HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 83 bold, sagacious and resourceful, and he was not only respected by his people, but their feeling almost approached veneration, When fully convinced that all resistance to the encroaching whites was in vain, Littde Turtle brought his nation to consent to peace and to adopt agricultural pursuits. Few indeed are the Indian leaders who accomplished so much abolishing the rite of human sacrifice among their people. He became very popular and highly esteemed by the whites, among whom he was known as a man whose word could be depended upon. Furthermore, he was endowed with unusual wit, enjoyed good company, and was still fonder of good eating. During the presidency of Washington he visited that great man at the capitol, and during his whole life thereafter spoke of the pleasure which that visit afforded him. Col. John Johnson speaks of the Little Turtle in the highest terms. He was, says he, "A companionable Indian—Little Turtle was a man of great wit, humor and vivacity, fond of the company of gentlemen, and delighted in good eating. When I knew him he had two wives living with him under the same roof in the greatest harmony ; one, an old woman about his own age-fifty—the choice of his youth, who performed the drudgery of the house ; the other a young and beautiful creature of eighteen who was his favorite ; yet it was never discovered by anyone that the least feeling existed between them. The Little Turtle used to entertain us with many of his war adventures." Thirty years after the Treaty of Greenville he died at Fort Wayne, of the gout ( !) which would seem a marvelous fact, did we not remember that the Turtle was a high liver, and a gentleman ; equally remarkable was it that his body was borne to the grave with military honors by enlisted troops of his great enemy-the white man. The muffded drum, the funeral salute, announced that a great soldier had fallen, and even enemies paid their mournful tribute to his memory." CHAPTER VIII OHIO BECOMES A STATE The tide of immigration into the territory northwest of the Ohio began with the settlement of Marietta in 1788. After the effects of the Treaty of Greenville began to be felt the stream of immigration increased each year. Prior to this the only white men in the country were straggling groups of traders, trappers and hunters-men who were a law unto themselves and set about driving out the Indians. Their dress differed but little from that of the Indian. Boone and Kenton were men of this type as was Gen. Duncan McArthur, who afterwards became governor of Ohio. The later immigrants were people of a different type. They were men and women who had been used to civilization. They were attracted by the opportunity to secure cheap lands and better their fortunes. New Englanders settled at Marietta and vicinity. Virginians fdocked to the Scioto region. New Jerseyites betook themselves to the Miami country, while people from Connecticut and New York sought the Western Reserve. Northwestern Ohio was still considered Indian country and so avoided by these earlier immigrants, except in isolated instances. Although there was dross among these settlers, the great majority were sturdy men and brave women well worthy to become the founders of a great state. By the close of 1796, the year following the famous Wayne treaty, it was estimated that the number of white people dwelling within the present limits of the State of Ohio was about five thousand. Most of these were located along the Ohio River and its tributaries, and within fifty miles of that stream. When the Maumee country was first organized in that year, it was made a part of Wayne County, which included all of Michigan, as well as a part of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. It also extended east to the Cuyahoga River. Detroit was the place for holding court. The original Wayne County—for it must be remembered that the outlines of this division were changed several times—was divided into four townships, of which this basin was in the one named Hamtramck. Under the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787, a population of "five thousand free male inhabitants of full age" entitled the territory to representative government. Accordingly Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation calling for an election in December, 1798, for representatives to the Territorial Legislature, as it was estimated that the population of the entire territory then fulfilled that requirement. It was necessary for a voter to be a freeholder of fifty acres. The man who could not meet this requirement in that day did not deserve the ballot and could not complain of this requirement. The first election in Wayne County was held at Detroit and one or two other places on the first Monday of December, according to the proclamation. The three men elected were Solomon Sibley, Jacob Visgar, and Charles F. Chabert de Joncaire, all from Detroit and vicinity. The first Territorial Legislature convened at Cincinnati on September 16, 1799, and at once selected ten names of citizens who were sent to the President of the United States from whom he was to nominate a legislative council, or senate, for the territory, to be composed of five members. This was the inauguration of representative government in   - 84 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 85 the Northwest Territory, and it made Cincinnati the capital of an empire reaching from the Ohio to the Mississippi, and as large as modern Texas. Cincinnati was then but a straggling and unprepossessing village. It was surrounded by the dense, forests of the Miami country. In 1805 it only numbered 960 inhabitants. There were then 53 log cabins, 109 frame, 6 brick and 4 stone houses. Fort Washington was the most substantial building and was still occupied by troops. The moral and social condition was not of the highest type when the assembly convened there. The armies of St. Clair and Wayne had left a military flotsam and jetsam which was neither helpful to the community nor elevating to the morals of the village. "The average soldier was wedded more to the bottle, dicebox and cards than to his arms, drills or discipline." The men elected to the assembly, however, were generally men of high character and acknowledged ability. The lower house consisted of twenty-two members of whom seven MAP OF WAYNE COUNTY ORGANIZED 1796 came from the old French settlements of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. Northwestern Ohio had a single delegate. The Senate, as finally chosen, consisted of Jacob Burnett and James Findlay of Hamilton, Robert Oliver of Washington, David Vance of Jefferson, and Henry Vanderbery of Knox counties. The members of the Legislature were compelled to carry their provisions and blankets, camp at night, swim their horses across streams, and penetrate the gloomy forests guided only by blazed trees and compass. The only roads were bridle paths or Indian trails. Prior to this time Governor St. Clair and three associate judges had exercised all the executive, legislative and judicial powers under the Ordinance of 1787. The Governor not only was commander-in-chief of the military forces, but he appointed all the magistrates and civil officers, and he was the chief executive in the enforcement of law. William Henry Harrison was selected by the Legislature as the first delegate to Congress from the vast territory northwest of the Ohio River. He received twelve votes in joint ballot of the two houses, on October 3, 1799, while Arthur St. Clair, Jr., son of the Governor, received ten votes. He at once proceeded to Philadelphia and took his seat in Congress, which was in session in that city. No single event of this period of western 86 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY history had so far reaching and so beneficial an infduence in the future welfare of Ohio as this choice. Harrison at this time was only twenty- six years of age, but he had already established an enviable name for himself in the army. He instituted measures for the benefit of this territory without delay, and succeeded in opening up lands in small tracts of sections and half sections, which quickly brought thousands of hardy and industrious farmers across the Alleghenies. This far-seeing policy gives him claim to rank among our great statesmen. The difficulties attending the organization and administration of government for so vast a territory were immediately recognized. A committee in Congress reported that there had been but one setting of a court having jurisdiction over crimes, in five years ; and the immunity which offenders experienced had attracted to it the vilest and most abandoned criminals, and likewise had deterred useful citizens from making settlements therein. Lawyers from Cincinnati were compelled to attend court in Detroit. Five or six of them usually traveled together on horseback and took along a pack horse to carry their provisions and personal effects. There were no bridges so that each horse was a tried swimmer. The journey took from eight to ten days through the wilderness. Judge Burnett of Cincinnati in describing a journey wrote as follows: "On the outward journey they took the route by Dayton, Piqua, Loramie, St. Marys, and the Ottawa town on the Auglaize, and thence down this river to Defiance, thence down the Maumee to the foot of the rapids, and thence to and across the River Raisin to Detroit. On their return they crossed the Maumee at Roche de Boeuf by the advice of Black Beard who lived in that neighborhood and with whom the party breakfasted. As a matter of precaution they hired his son to accompany them in the capacity of guide. He led them through a succession of wet prairies over some of which it was impossible to ride, and it was with great difficulty they were able to lead or drive their horses through the deep mud which surrounded them on all sides." HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 87 In an effort to better the situation all that part of the Northwest Territory lying to the westward of a line beginning at the Ohio River, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River and then running north to Fort Recovery and then to Lake Huron was eliminated from this territory and created into the Territory of Indiana. By this ordinance Wayne County was reduced to about one-half of its original size. The first post road between Cincinnati and Detroit was established in 1801, For a couple of years, however, on the north end of this route there was not a single postoffice, so that the mail was carried as a military or semi- military express as formerly. It was in 1801 that the first capital building for Ohio was built at Chillicothe, which city had been designated by Congress as the seat of government. This first capitol was of hewn logs, two stories in height and 24 by 36 feet m dimensions. Its grand feature was fifteen glass windows, each containing a dozen small panes of glass, which was indeed a degree of splendor for that day. At the first session of the second general assembly held there, Wayne County was again represented wholly by delegates from Detroit. From the very beginning almost the Governor and Legislature clashed. St. Clair held that he alone had the authority to create new counties and locate county seats, and in this attitude he ran counter to the pet projects of some of the members. So many persons both in and without the assembly, were engaged in laying out county seats that a great rankling ensued. It was the clash of autocracy and democracy. By the time of the second session of the Legislature the contest had reached a white heat. To the arbitrary methods of Governor St. Clair was due the inauguration of proceedings to have Ohio admitted as a state. Failing in their efforts to prevent the appointment of the governor, Edward Tiffin, Thomas Worthington, and several others set on foot the movement which finally displaced the disliked governor. These men were adherents of the party of Jefferson, who came into office at this opportune time. Edward Tiffin, a physician by profession, stood head and shoulders above all the others. Each party used every possible means to further its interests, but Tiffin took the lead in the assaults upon the Governor, and the latter found him a f oeman worthy his steel. President 88 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY Jefferson was anxious for more republican states, and welcomed the opportunity to create another. Congress approved the proposition and, although there had never been a vote of the people to be affected, that body passed an enabling act in April, 1802, thus ending a five years struggle for statehood. There were at that time seven counties in the entire state. The census of 1800 gave the territory a population of 45,028, of whom 3,206 lived in Wayne County, but Wayne lay mostly in what is now Michigan. The majority of these lived in the several French settlements within this county. On the fourth of March, 1802, a convention of representatives 'was called to frame a constitution for the proposed State of Ohio. No assembly in any commonwealth ever approached and performed its work with a greater realization of its responsibilities than did this one. In its ranks were men who afterwards rose to the highest distinction. An exceedingly democratic constitution was finally agreed upon and signed with commendable promptness, the entire session continuing but twenty- five days. Ohio was admitted into the galaxy of states on the 19th of February, 1803, being the seventeenth state in numerical order. In reality it was the first actual addition to the original colonies. Vermont (1791) had been cut off from New York, while Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796) had been carved from territory claimed by Virginia. Ohio was admitted by virtue of her rights under the Ordinance of 1787. The first election was held on January 11th, and the premier Legislature under the constitution convened at Chillicothe, on the first Tuesday of March, 1805. Edward Tiffin was elected the first governor without opposition. The public career of Governor St. Clair ended most ignominiously. The rest of his life was embittered by unrelenting persecution. He was reduced to direst poverty by the failure of Congress to return to him money advanced during times of need while he was in the nation's service. He undoubtedly erred grievously in the administration of his great office, his judgment was frequently erroneous, perhaps he was not equal to the demands made upon him, but he was undoubtedly conscientious in what he did. His fidelity and devotion to Washington were most praiseworthy. At the beginning of statehood the number of white settlers resident in the Maumee region was very small. A few traders and settlers had established themselves near the watercourses, but Northwestern Ohio had no representation in the government until after the organization of counties in April, 1820. Previous to this it was included in two or three counties at different times. Wayne County disappeared with the territory. Immediately following statehood it became a part of Hamilton County, but that unit exercised little jurisdiction, if any, over the settlers because it was still Indian territory. Following statehood the population of the state, and the southern half in particular, increased very rapidly. In 1810 the enumeration approached a quarter of a million. In the northern part even Cleveland, the most important settlement, was a very small place. Following the decisive defeat of the Indians at Fallen Timbers, and the Treaty of Greenville closely following, the Indians remained in comparative quiet for several years, seemingly being satisfied with the annuities paid to them by the United States Government. For several years a number of forts were maintained in the Maumee Valley. There were Fort Defiance, Fort Adams, Fort Recovery, Fort Loramie, and Fort Head of the Auglaize, each of which were garrisoned by small bodies of troops, in order to hold the aborigines in check. Fort Miami was evacuated by the British, in 1796, and turned over to Colonel Ham- HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 89 tramck, but a garrison was not maintained there for long. The report of Hamtramck is as follows : "Sir :—On the 7th instant two small vessels arrived from Detroit in which I sent a detachment of artillery and infantry consisting of sixty-five men, together with a number of cannon with ammunition, &c., the whole command of Captain (Moses) Porter. On the 9th a sloop arrived from Detroit at Swan Creek, purchased by Captain Henry De Butts, which carries fifty tons, and which is now loaded with flour, quarter-master's stores and troops. That, together with eleven batteaux which I have, will be sufficient to take all the troops I have with me, leaving the remainder of our stores deposited at this place, which was evacuated (by the British) on this day, and where I have left Captain Marschalk and Lieutenant Shauklin with fifty-two men, infantry, and a corporal and six of artillery, that is, including the garrison at the head of the Rapids (Roche de Bout ?). I have endowed Fort Miami with one month's provision for both the troops and the Shawnees. The latter, you recollect, you promised subsistence until the crops were ripe. The number of Shawnees is about one hundred and eighty, besides twenty-six or thirty Ottawas. I shall embark in two hours, with all the troops for Detroit." Almost at the beginning of the nineteenth century a stockade fort was built at the confidence of Swan Creek and the Maumee River. The exact year is not known, but it was not later than 1804. Fort Industry was placed in charge of Capt. J. Rhea. The remains of this fortification were not entirely obliterated as late as 1836. Many early settlers had distinct recollections of this fort, which, in the natural features of the country, occupied a prominent position on the bduff, on the site near the south side of Summit between Jefferson and Monroe streets in Toledo. In 1805, a treaty was held with the Indians at Fort Industry. At this conference, there were present chiefs and warriors of the Wyandots, Ottawa, Chippewa, Delaware, Shawnee, Pottawatomie and Seneca tribes. By the treaty made here another adjustment of the land question was made with the natives upon the payment of certain sums of money to them. None of the territory of Northwestern Ohio was included, but the Indians ceded all of their claims to the Western Reserve and the Firelands. The next most important treaty with the Indians was effected at Detroit on the 17th of November, 1807. The Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies and Wyandots here quit claimed to the United States all their claims to the country north of the middle of the Maumee River, from its mouth to the mouth of the Auglaize, and thence extending north as far as Lake Huron. For this territory they received ten thousand dollars in money and goods, and an annuity of twenty-four hundred dollars. Certain tracts of land were also reserved for the exclusive use of the Indians. These reservations within this territory were six miles square on the north bank of the Maumee, above Roche de Boeuf, "to include the village where Tondagame, or the Dog, now lives." Another reservation of three miles square included what is known as Presque Isle, and still another of "four miles' square on the Miami (Maumee) Bay including the villages where Meskemau and Waugau now dive." It was furthermore provided that in the event the reservations could not be conveniently laid out in squares, they should be surveyed in parallelograms or other figures found most practicable to obtain that are specified in miles. By a treaty with the Indians at Brownstown, Michigan, in 1808, a road one hundred and twenty feet in width was reserved to connect the fort at the Maumee Rapids with the line of the Connecticut Reserve, which is the old and much traveled road now running from Perrysburg 90 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY to Fremont, then called Lower Sandusky. It also provided for a tract of land, for a road only, of one hundred and twenty feet in width to run southwardly from what is called Lower Sandusky to the boundary line established by the Treaty of Greenville, with the privilege of taking, at all times, such timber and other materials from the adjacent lands as may be necessary for making and keeping in repair the said road, with the bridges that may be required along the same." * * * No compensation was given the aborigines in money or merchandise .f or these roadways, as they were both desirable and beneficial to the Indians as well as to the United States, reads a clause on the cession. Congress failed to construct the east and west road, but eventually ceded its right to the State. The contract was finally let in 1824, and the road was completed in 1826. For years it was the main thoroughfare over which thousands passed in their search for a western paradise. Many of the early settlers of Allen and Fulton counties reached their destinations by this thoroughfare. In his search for a land fdowing with milk and honey, the pioneer certainly was obliged to undergo torture in crossing this "black swamp" country. On the desert a traveler can stop almost anywhere and pitch his tent, but here, in certain seasons, the travelers were wading all day in mud and water, and could with difficulty find a dry place where they might rest their weary limbs. On this route, however, there was a tavern for about each mile of road between Perrysburg and Lower Sandusky. The right to mud holes was recognized. A young man started with a wagon and a team of mules for Michigan, with one hundred dollars in his pocket. He became mired so often, and was obliged to pay one dollar so frequently to people living near the mud holes to extricate him from his difficulties, that his money was exhausted long before his journey had ended. Not discouraged m the least, this traveler decided that the place to find what you have lost is right where you have lost it. He accordingly located near a mud hole and remained there until he had earned his hundred dollars back. Such a good financier must certainly have accumulated a fortune in his later years. He certainly exhibited signs of financial genius. General Harrison, writing to the War Department, says : "An idea can scarcely be formed of the difficulties with which land transportation is effected north of the 40th degree of latitude (including our section), m this country. The country beyond that is almost a continual swamp to the Lake. Where streams run favorable to your course a small strip of better ground is generally found, but in crossing from one river to another the greater part of the way at this season is covered with water. Such is actually the situation of that space between the Sandusky and the Miami Rapids, and from the best information that I could acquire the road over it must be causewayed at least one-half of the way." Shortly after the opening of the nineteenth century, reports of many kinds concerning the activities of Tecumseh commenced to reach the officials in the Northwestern Territory. This chief aimed to repeat the history of Pontiac, excepting that his conspiracy was directed against the Americans instead of the British. His reputed brother, Elkswatawa, generally known as the Prophet, had gained something of notoriety as a sorcerer. He began to relate stories of his dreams and vusions, which he claimed were inspired by the Great Spirit, and these greatly aroused the aborigines. Tecumseh aimed to unite his followers with the British, in an effort to drive the Americans from this territory. All efforts to pacify him failed. Tecumseh was a son of a Shawnee chieftain. He was born in the Shawnee village of Piqua, on the banks of the Mad River, in 1768. The HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 91 name signifies "one who passes across intervening space from one point to another," and this well expressed his extraordinary career. He ever evinced a burning hostility to the Americans.. He refused to attend the council at Greenville. He likewise declined to attach his name to that treaty and never ceased to denounce it. It was about that time that he and his followers removed to the White River, m Indiana, but he continued in close relation with all the tribes of Northwest Ohio. At several councils with the Americans, Tecumseh exhibited the remarkable power of oratory for which he became noted. His brother likewise began to come into prominence among the Indians, among whom he was known as the "Loud Voice." During the course of his revelations he said that the Great Spirit directed the Indians to cast off the debasing influence of the whites and return to the customs of their fathers. His audience numbered thousands, and many were recalled to the neglected and almost forgotten practices of their fathers. The Prophet's Town, as it was called, on the bank of the Tinpecanoe, was visited by thousands of savages, who were roused to the highest pitch of fanaticism. The two brothers wandered from the everglades of Florida to the headwaters of the Mississippi and in words of greatest eloquence impressed upon the natives the necessity of united action against the pale faced intruders. In 1810 General Harrison summoned Tecumseh and his followers to Vincennes. Tecumseh rose to the highest pitch of eloquence, as he set forth the wrongs of the red men. In the War of 1812 which followed a short time afterwards, Tecumseh allied himself with the British. With 92 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY his death vanished the hopes of the aborigines ever to regain their lost hunting grounds in Northwestern Ohio. Bodies of savages were continually passing to and from Malden, the British headquarters after the evacuation of Detroit, and they always returned liberally provided with rifdes, powder, and lead. One savage was found to have been given an elegant rifde, twenty-five pounds of powder, fifty pounds of lead, three blankets and ten shirts, besides quantities of clothing and other articles. The British agent addressed a Miami chief to whom he had made a present of goods, as follows : "My son, keep your eyes fixed on me ; my tomahawk is now up ; be you ready, but do not strike until I give the signal." Capt. John Johnson, agent of the Fort Wayne Trading Post, wrote that "since writing you on the 25th ultimo, about one hundred Sawkeys (Sacs) have returned from the British agent who supplied them liberally with everything they stood in want of. The party received forty-seven rifdes and a number of fusils (flintlock muskets) with plenty of powder and lead. This is sending firebrands into the Mississippi country inasmuch as it will draw numbers of our Aborigines to the British side in the hope of being treated with the same liberality." William Henry Harrison, then governor of Indiana Territory, was not idle during this time. He instituted preparations for defense, and was visited by many of the leaders of the hostiles. Tecumseh himself came on a visit to Harrison at Fort Wayne, accompanied by several hundred followers. He intended some treachery, but the Americans were too alert. Meetings of citizens were held at many places in 1811, and petitions for protection were forwarded to the national government. Governor Harrison was allowed additional troops, after which he advanced against the savages and won his great victory at the battle of Tippecanoe, during the absence of Tecumseh himself among the southern tribes. This defeat did not stop the depredations and isolated murders, so that the whole country was kept under the gravest apprehension. We do not have absolute record of many murders in Northwestern Ohio, although John Johnson reported that three Americans had been killed at Defiance. A committee of Congress reported to that body that the British had been working among the savages with the intention of securing them as allies against the Americans. Of the movements of Tecumseh, William Wells wrote from Fort Wayne on the 1st of March, 1812 : "In my letter of the 10th ultimo I informed you that the Indian chief Tecumseh had arrived on the Wabash. I have now to state to you that it appears he has determined to raise all the Indians he can, immediately, with the intention no doubt to attack our frontiers. He has sent runners to raise the Indians on the Illinois and the upper Mississippi ; and I am told has gone himself to hurry on the aid he was promised by the Cherokees and Creeks. The Prophet's orator, who is considered the third man in this hostile band, passed within twelve miles of this place on the 23rd ultimo with eight Shawanese, eight Winnebagoes and seven Kickapoos, in all twenty-four, on their way as they say to Sandusky, where they expected to receive a quantity of powder and lead from their father the British." It is possible that if a more vigorous policy had been undertaken, the succeeding war might have been less bloody in this section. Had more and stronger forts been erected and larger garrisons been installed, the marauding bands could have been arrested and imprisoned and many American lives saved. The trouble was that the authorities at Washington could not be fully impressed with the threatening dangers, and when once convinced they were very slow to act. CHAPTER IX A YEAR OF DISASTERS It was in the year 1812 that Ohio was first called upon to participate in war. Although disastrous in the beginning and bloody throughout its continuance, it eventually brought distinguished honor to the commonwealth. The state now boasted a population of a quarter of a million. Forty counties had been created by the Legislature. The lands in the Western Reserve and the Firelands were being rapidly sold by the land commissioners appointed by Connecticut. But the greater part of the population were living in Southern Ohio along the Ohio River or its larger tributaries. That some settlers had established themselves along the Maumee is proved by the following from the "History of the Late War in the Western Country" by Robert B. McAfee : "Colonel Cass was sent with his regiment ( June, 1812) to cut the remainder of the road to the Rapids * * * and in a few days encamped on the banks of the Miami of the Lake, opposite the battle ground of General Wayne, and in view of a small village at the foot of the rapids. Here the army was cheered with a view of civilized habitations, after a tedious march through a dreary wilderness (from Urbana). Having delayed a day, they marched down through the village in regular order, and encamped just below the ruins of the old British Fort Miami." With the exception of some people living at Fort Wayne, this was probably the only settlement of Americans along the Maumee, although there may have been a few traders near the small stockades called forts. The war clouds in the new republic, and especially in this western country, had been growing heavier year after year. Although a formal declaration of war was not issued until the 18th of June, 1812, Ohio's governor had issued a call for 1,200 volunteers in April. More volunteers responded than could be accepted. "Citizens of the first respectability enrolled themselves, and prepared for the dangers of the field, contending with each other who should first go mto the service of their country." Thus wrote a contemporary. Duncan McArthur, James Findley and Lewis Cass were elected colonels by their respective regiments. The ostensible reason given for the war was the interference with American trade and the impressing of American seamen into the British service. But one of the strongest moving causes was the encouragement given the savages in their attacks upon the Americans, and the maintenance of fortified posts upon American soil. This has been called the real war for independence to distinguish it from the first war which was the Revolution. In the three, decades succeeding Yorktown overt and hostile actions had at no time wholly ceased. The necessity of such operations as should wrest from the enemy the command of the upper lakes and the northwest frontier at once became apparent and was promptly acted upon. From every American living within that territory came urgent appeals for protection. It was not fear of the British enemies that actuated them, but dread of the outrages of their savage allies. By reason of her location on the exposed frontier the young state of Ohio was placed in a most trying situation. The war was destined to be fought largely within or adjacent to her boundaries, and especially in Northwesten Ohio. Circumstances demanded of her the very best - 93 - 94 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY both in men and money. In no respect did she fail, and Ohio did more than her full share in this second conflict with Great Britain, generally known as the War of 1812. It was indeed fortunate that such a vigorous and able man as Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., occupied the gubernatorial chair at this period. He was one of the type of men who did so much to lay the foundations of the state. He had had some military experience, and was a man of unusually strong executive power. In his promptness and effectiveness in enrolling troops he was not equaled by the governor of any other state. It so happened that William Hull, a superannuated relic of revolutionary days, was territorial governor of the Northwest, with headquarters in Detroit. He found favor with the Secretary of War in the cabinet of . President Madison and was appointed brigadier-general and commander of the western department. Protests were without avail. It was said that he was too old, too broken down in body and mind to conduct such a rigorous campaign. Furthermore, the people resident there had no confidence in him, and the Indians were said to despise him. "On the very same day it passed the Senate," says a report, "the poor, weak, vain old man was seen in full dress uniform, parading the streets of Washington, making calls." A little later, Generad Hull arrived at Dayton, the place of rendezvous, and assumed command of the volunteer army assembled there. Governor Meigs congratulated the men on the fact that they were to serve under a distinguished officer of the Revolutionary war, and one who was especially fitted both by training and experience to conduct successfully just such a campaign as they were about to enter upon. It was a fact that General Hull had won honors at Stony Point. He addressed his troops as follows : "In marching through a wilderness memorable for savage barbarity, you will remember the causes by which that barbarity have been heretofore excited, In viewing the ground stained by the blood of your fellow-citizens, it will be impossible to suppress the feelings of indignation. Passing by the ruins of a fortress, erected in our territory by a foreign nation in times of peace, and for the express purpose of exciting the savages to hostility, and supplying them with the means of conducting a barbarous war, must remind you of that system of oppression and injustice which that nation has continually practiced, and which the spirit of an indignant people can no longer endure." The army of General Hull moved northward on June 1st, to Urbana, where it was joined by another regiment of regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Miller, a veteran of Tippecanoe. The army now numbered about nineteen hundred men. A council was, held with a number of Shawnee, Dedaware and Wyandot chiefs to secure their permission to march through their country. This was readily granted and they were promised every possible assistance. It was the intention and desire of General Hull to proceed to Detroit as directly as practicable. He seemed to doubt that war between the United States and Great Britain would follow. The course of the army led through an almost trackless forest and impassable swamp until it reached the Maumee River. Ague chills shook the sturdy frames of the pioneer soldiers. Danger lurked by the river bank and on the trail everywhere. Progress was extremely slow. One regiment was detailed to cut a road through the woods and to build blockhouses which should be used as deposit stations and to protect the line of communications. In obedience to orders a road was carved out of the primeval wilderness from Urbana to the Scioto River, and there were built two block- houses connected by padisades, which later received the name of Fort HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 95 McArthur after the colonel. The site was about three miles southwest of Kenton. The fort enclosed about half an acre. One of the blockhouses was in the northwest and the other at the southeast angle. A part of the pickets were of split timber and lapped at the edges ; others were of round logs set up end ways and touching each other. The rows of huts for the garrison were placed a few feet from the walls. It was a post of danger, and must have been an exceedingly dreary spot. Not a vestige of the fort now remains, but the graves of sixteen of the garrison are adjoining. The road cut by this army, and generally known as Hull's Trail, was for many years the principal highway from Bellefontaine to Detroit. When the main army arrived at Fort McArthur, "Colonel Findlay was ordered to proceed with his regiment' and cut the road as far as Blanchard's fork of the Auglaize * * * the whole army followed, except a part of Captain Dill's company, which was left to keep the fort and take care of the sick. It now rained for several days excessively, so as to render the road almost impassable for wagons. After marching only 16 miles, the army halted again, in the midst of a swampy country, in which the water courses, both of the Ohio and the lakes, have their sources. A blockhouse was erected here, which was honored with the name of Fort Necessity. The mud was deep, and from every appearance the whole army was likely to stick in the swamps." Thus writes McAfee. This fort was situated near the south line of Hancock County. Here word was brought by Robert Lucas (afterwards governor) and William Denny of increased activity among the British and Indians and that their alliance had a threatening attitude. General Lucas had been present at a number of councils with the Indians and was well informed upon their attitude. Although war had been declared at this time, it was several days afterwards before the news reached the army. After a few days' delay the army advanced, and in a three days' march arrived at the Blanchard River. Here an advance detachment had already nearly completed another palisade enclosure, 150 feet square, with a blockhouse at each corner. General Hull bestowed the name of Fort Findlay upon this fort. The site was within the present city of Findlay, and only a few squares north of the courthouse. Its service was that of a resting place and temporary storage of supplies. It was abandoned late in 1814. Col. Lewis Cass was directed to take his troops and prepare the road north to the Maumee. In order to move rapidly much of the heavy luggage was stored at Fort Findlay. After a few days' march the army arrived at the Maumee, opposite to the field where was fought the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Fording the rapids the next encampment was near Fort Miami. So absolutely imbecillic was General Hull that when he arrived at the Maumee, in the latter part of June, he decided to send his baggage, stores, and sick by vessel to Detroit. He was warned against this, but stubbornly refused to heed the advice. He seemed to treat the probability of war as a joke. Hence it was that on the 1st of July, he embarked his disabled men and most of his impedimenta on board a packet which proceeded down the Maumee bound for Detroit. Thirty soldiers were detailed to guard the vessed. Another open boat was sent along in which were placed the sick. Complete muster rolls of every company in the brigade were deposited in a trunk which was put aboard the larger boat. It is almost needless to say that it was captured by a British gunboat when opposite Malden. Leaving a few men to erect a blockhouse the army advanced on the 1st of July. When they reached the River Raisin, "on which there 96 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY is a handsome village of French inhabitants," information was received of the capture of the schooner. Definite news of the declaration of war also arrived. On the fifth the army reached Detroit. Says McAfee : "The town of Detroit contains 160 houses and 700 inhabitants. It is handsomely situated on the west side of the River Detroit, about nine miles below Lake St. Clair, the opening of which can be seen from the town. Fort Detroit stands on an elevated spot of ground." A high- sounding proclamation was at once issued to the "Inhabitants of Canada," by the American commander. The wavering of Hull now began. It was not long until both officers and men had lost all confidence m their commander. "At one moment he seemed determined to make an obstinate defense, and save his army from disgrace and his Territory from invasion ; then again he would discover symptoms of the greatest fear and pusillanimity." An advance was made into Canada towards Malden, but the men were quickly recalled. It would not be within the scope of this writing to detail the waverings and cowardice of General Hull, which has been elaborated upon so frequently. With scarcely a show of resistance Detroit was surrendered to the British with nearly two thousand American soldiers on the 16th of August. The white fdag of surrender was raised without consulting his officers. As most of the troops were from Ohio, this state felt the disgrace and humiliation more keenly than any of the other commonwealths. It was a terrible loss and gave the British wonderful prestige with the natives. As a result of this action, Hull was accused of both treason and cowardice, and was found guilty of the latter. Capt. Henry Brush and a company of 230 volunteers, with a hundred beef cattle and other supplies, had been sent by Governor Meigs to reinforce the army at Detroit. They were restrained by the British from advancing beyond the River Raisin from the first days of August, without relief from Detroit. General Hull included this force in his surrender ; but when Captain Elliot, son of the notorious Capt. Matthew Elliot, came to claim this prize, Captain Brush placed him under arrest and immediately started his command and supplies southward, deftly conducting them back to Governor Meigs. The surrender of General Hull exposed all Northwestern Ohio to incursions of the enemy. All eyes turned toward William Henry Harrison as the man of the hour. Governor Scott of Kentucky swept aside technicalities and appointed Harrison to the command of the state troops being raised to wipe out the disgrace of Hull's surrender. At the head of these troops Harrison proceeded northward. When just north of Dayton he received word from Washington that General Winchester had been appointed to the chief 'command, but that he himself had been raised to the rank of brigadier-general. He was naturally disappointed, and his men were even more chagrined. As immediate action seemed necessary, and without awaiting either the arrival or orders of General Winchester, Harrison dispatched relief to Fort Wayne, then being besieged by the Indians. He accompanied these troops and every precaution was taken against a surprise by the savages. The siege was raised and the Indian villages in the vicinity destroyed. By this prompt action another bloody massacre was doubtless averted. General Harrison, under orders from his superiors, turned over his command to Winchester without a murmur, although it was known that he had much more experience in Indian fighting than had his successor. Few men understood the dusky native of the forests as did Harrison. Gen. James Winchester was a Tennesseean and a revolutionary officer, but he was little known HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 97 among the frontier men of this section. In charge of several thousand troops, most of whom were from Kentucky, he entered upon an extensive campaign in Northwestern Ohio. He was authorized to call upon Governor Meigs for reinforcements. He soon afterwards asked for two regiments of infantry to join him at the "Rapids of the Miami of the Lake about the 10th or the 15th of October next, well clothed for a fall campaign." A volunteer company of spies was organized under Captain Ballard, Lieutenant Munday and Ensign Liggett. Liggett and four other men obtained permission to advance as far as the old Fort Defiance. Being surprised by a Frenchman and eight Indians they surrendered but all were traitorously murdered. Other spies brought back information of considerable bodies of hostiles along the Maumee. Many British regulars were also with the savages. Captain Elliot commanded the Indians while Major Muir was in chief command. General Winchester advanced cautiously in order to provide against surprise. He found evidence of the recent retreat of British troops at one or two places along the Maumee, not far from Defiance. In their haste, the British threw one cannon into the river which was afterwards recovered and used in the campaign. The march along the Auglaize was made under the most distressing conditions. The rain fell in torrents. The fdat beech woods were covered with water, and the horses sank up to their knees in the mud at almost every step. "From Loraine on the south to the River St. Mary, and then to Defiance at the north, was one continuous swamp knee deep to the pack horses, and up to the hubs of the wagons." At times it was impossible to move a wagon without a ford. Happy indeed were they who could find a dry log at night in which a fire could be kindled. Many passed the night sitting in the saddles at the root of trees against which they deaned, and thus obtained a little sleep. Late in September, the position of the two officers was reversed, and General Harrison was given the supreme command of the Northwestern Army. The letter of notification, which reached him at Piqua, read : "The President is pleased to assign to you the command of the Northwestern Army, which in addition to the regular troops and rangers in that quarter, will consist of the volunteers and militia of Kentucky, Ohio, and three thousand from Virginia and Pennsylvania, making your whole force ten thousand men. * * * Exercise your own discretion, and act in all cases according to your own judgment." When General Harrison received the notification of his appointment there were about 3,000 troops at Fort Barbee (St. Marys), a considerable number of which were cavalry. The cavalry were under the command of Gen. Edward W. Tupper. This army was at once set in motion for Defiance with three days' ration. Receiving word that the enemy had retreated, a part of the troops were sent back. General Harrison continued down the Auglaize with his cavalry. When he reached the camp of General Winchester, he found a sad state of affairs, as one of the Kentucky regiments was on the point of mutiny. He ordered a parade of the troops and addressed them in his characteristic way. He said that any troops that wanted to retire could do so as he already had soldiers to spare. But he likewise spoke of the scoring that would await them at home. Their fathers would order their degenerate sons back to the field of battle to recover their wounded honor, while their mothers and sisters would hiss them from their presence. The mutinous Kentuckians soon subsided and gave three hearty cheers for the popular commander. Vol. 1-7 98 - HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY General Winchester immediately issued the following order : "Camp at Defiance, October 3, 1812. "I have the honor of announcing to this army the arrival of General Harrison who is duly authorized by the executive of the Federal Government to take command of the Northwestern Army. This officer is enjoying the implicit confidence of the States from whose citizens this army is and will be collected and, possessing himself great military skill and reputation, the General is confident in the belief that his presence in the army, in the character of its chief, will be hailed with unusual approbation. J. Winchester, Brig.-Gen. U. S. Army." General Harrison planned a three column march into the enemy's country. The right wing of his army was to be composed of three brigades from Virginia and Pennsylvania, together with some Ohio troops, and was to proceed down the Sandusky River. General Tupper's command was styled the center, and was to move along Hull's trail. The main command devolved upon General Winchester, and was known as the left wing. It included the United States troops, six regiments of Ohio and the Kentucky militia. They were "to proceed down the Auglaize and Miami from St. Marys and Defiance to the Rapids." St. Marys was intended to be the main supply depot for provisions. They were also to superintend the transportation of supplies in readiness for the advance movement. General Harrison had suggested that General Tupper with all the cavalry, almost one thousand in number, should be sent down the Maumee and beyond the Rapids to disperse any of the enemy found there. They were to return to Fort Barbee by way of the Tawa towns, on the Blanchard River. These orders were never executed. At first General Tupper alleged he was waiting until his Indian spies should return with desired information. He then stated that he would prefer to reverse the route HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY - 99 to the Rapids. Some of the cavalry became so disgusted that they deserted. Tupper followed his own course without regard to orders. He went as far as Urbana where some of his troops were discharged. He then proceeded towards the Rapids .by Hull's Trail. He finally reached the Rapids where he reported that there were 300 to 400 Indians and about seventy-five British. His men attempted to cross the river and attack the enemy but "when nearly two hundred had gone over, the greater part of one section were washed off their feet and lost their guns. The water was waist deep, and ran very swift." The attempt was then abandoned and Tupper withdrew because of a shortage of provisions. His arrest was ordered by the military authorities. McAfee says : "A court of inquiry was afterwards demanded by General Tupper at Fort Meigs, when no person acquainted with these transactions was there—he was, of course, honorably acquitted. The failure, however, appears to have been caused chiefly by his want of energy and decision, and in some measures by the insubordination of the troops, proceeding from a want of confidence in their general." When the troops under General Winchester reached the confidence of the Auglaize and the Maumee rivers, they found Fort Defiance in ruins. Even had it remained in good condition, that stockade would have been inadequate for the larger army which it was now called upon to shelter. The entire area embraced within the palisades of the fort built by General Wayne almost a score of years earlier, would not exceed one-quarter of an acre. General Harrison, who had by this time joined the army, drew a plan for a new fort a dozen times as extensive as Fort Defiance. A force of men were detailed with axes to cut timber for the buildings and the palisades. This new fort was named Fort Winchester by General Harrison, in deference to the superseded commander. For a considerable length of time, this fortress was the only obstruction against the incursions of the British and the aborigines in Northwestern Ohio. Fort Winchester was located along the high and precipitous west bank of the Auglaize River, about eighty rods south of Fort Defiance. It was in the form of a parallelogram, and enclosed three acres or more of land. There was a strong two-story blockhouse at each corner, and a large gate midway on each side with a sentinel house above. The whole enclosure was surrounded by a strong palisade of logs set on end, deep in the ground, snugly matched together, pointed at the upper ends, and rising twelve or fifteen feet above ground. A cellar was excavated under the blockhouse at the northeast corner, from which an underground passageway was made to the river, where there was also a barrier of logs in order to protect the water supply of the garrison. It fulfilled its mission during the war as an important stronghold as a rendezvous for troops and for the storing of supplies to be boated down the Maumee River as wanted by the advancing troops. Shortly after the Tupper expedition to the Rapids, a tragical incident happened in the army of General Winchester. As a result the name of an Indian, faithful to the whites, deserves to be recorded high in the annals of Northwestern Ohio. John Logan was a Shawnee warrior whose mother is said to have been a sister of Tecumseh. When a boy this Shawnee lad had been taken prisoner by some Kentuckians, and had lived for several years with the family of General Logan. Hence the name Logan, to which the title of "Captain" was eventually attached. Although he returned to his people, he ever remained a true friend of the whites who had treated him so kindly. He subsequently rose to the rank of a civil chief in his tribe. His personal appearance was commanding, being six feet in height, and weighing near two hundred pounds.