AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 225 them, there being only three-hundred-weight of flour and no meat with the garrison ; and, in fact, upon this information, the militia and levies would not be halted, but had pushed forward towards Fort Hamilton. The probability at this time was that Fort Jefferson would very soon be invested by the Indians, and the great object with the General was to throw in a quantity of provisions as soon as possible. A convoy of flour was known to be upon the way, and we had every reason to suppose that by forced marches it might be deposited with the garrison by next morning. We marched seven miles that night in bad roads without success and were compelled to halt, for the men could not possibly be pushed further. At reveille, upon the 5th, we were again in motion, and in three or four miles met the pack-horses with flour and a small drove of cattle. All the last, with fifty loads of the flour, were immediately pushed towards Fort Jefferson, escorted by a captain and fifty men of the First Regiment, which it was presumed would be competent to get in if the enemy were not in force, and that if they were in force the whole army could not effect it. Indeed, the First Regiment, worn down as it was by constant marching, was the only corps fit for any kind of duty, the residue of the troops being almost all destitute of arms and clothing and very much dispirited by their late defeat. The convoy, however, happily succeeded, and very few Indians had been observed about the fort upon the 5th. On the evening of this day, and having marched an hour or two in the night, we were within thirteen miles of Fort Hamilton, and sixty from the field of action ; with the advance only, for the troops at this time were very much dispersed and some stragglers had stolen forward to seek refreshments. A couple of pounds of flour per man was all that we could afford them, and all, indeed, that we could promise ourselves, short of the fort. Upon the morning of the 6th of November we moved early and crossed the Miami about ten o'clock. All this day and forenoon of the 7th the troops were coming in to Fort Hamilton, of the wounded and others, in small parties, and so continued for a number of days. Many of the poor fellows, incapable of keeping pace with the foremost of the retreat, fancied themselves quite in the rear and the savages at their heels, and being without any means of defense whatever (having, as has been observed, too generally thrown away their arms), they quit the road and dared not again attempt it till they had struck the Miami river. Some of them, and even of the wounded, were out six, seven and eight days, without the smallest refreshment. At twelve o'clock, upon the 7th of November, we marched from Fort Hamilton with the First Regiment and some shattered remains of artillery and cavalry. Second United States Regiment, levy corps and militia (leaving Captain Armstrong, with fifty men of the First United States Regiment as a garrison), and arrived at Fort Washington upon the noon of the 8th. Every exertion was immediately made to place the wounded in an eligible situation and afford them all the comforts that the circumstances of the country would admit. The troops were encamped, and no endeavors were spared to impress them with the idea that they were still soldiers ; but officers and men seemed to have lost all consideration for military propriety and service. The First and Second Regiments and the artillery, however, soon recollected themselves in some measure, but, the levies were lost forever ; their time of service was near expiring ; all relation between officers and men forgot, and not even the semblance of duty acknowledged for the public. Great excesses were committed in the town, and nothing was more devoutly to be wished for than that we were fairly rid of them. In justice, however, it must be observed that there were officers whose exertions were not wanting to correct abuses, and others only prevented from evincing them by wounds and inability ; that they and 226 - HISTORY OF OHIO the whole army were distressed for the want of clothing, blankets, camp equipage (except tents), and this at a season when they were most essentially necessary. Their situation indeed was truly distressing, and could only be justly conceived of by experiencing it. LIST OF KILLED AND WOUNDED OFFICERS Artillery Major Ferguson, Captain Bradford and Lieutenant Spear, killed. Captain Ford, wounded. Cavalry Captain Truman, Lieutenant Debutts and Cornet Bhines, wounded. First United States Regiment Captain Doyle, wounded. Only a baggage-guard of this corps was with the army. Second United States Regiment Major Heart, Captains Phelon, Newman and Kirkwood, Lieutenant Warren, Ensigns Balch and Cobb, killed. Lieutenant Greaton, wounded. First Regiment of Levies Captains Vanswearingen, Tipton and Price, Lieutenants McMath and Boyde, Ensigns Wilson, Reaves, Brooks, Chase and Turner, Adjutant Burges and Doctor Grasson, killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Darke, Captains Darke and Buchannon, Lieutenants Morgan, Lyle, McRhae, Price and Davidson, and Adjutant Whistler, wounded. Second Regiment of Levies Captains Cribbs, Platt, Smith and Purdy, Lieutenants Kelso and Lukins, Ensigns McMichael, Beatty and Purdy, and Adjutant Anderson, killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Gibson, Major Butler, Captain Slough, Lieutenants Thomson, Cummins and Reed, Ensign Morehead and Adjutant Crawford, wounded. Second Regiment of Levies Lieutenant-Colonel Oldham, Captain Lemon, Lieutenants Briggs and Montgomery, killed. Captains Thomas and Madison, Lieutenants Owens and Stagher, Ensign Walters and Doctor Ganoe, wounded. Major-General Butler, killed.  Colonel Sargent, Adjutant General, and the Viscount Malartie acting as aide-de-camp to the General, wounded. We lost in this action three six-pounders and three threes, brass, and two pieces of iron ordnance. Two traveling forges and four f ouroxteams, complete ; two baggage wagons with horses ; three hundred and sixteen pack-horses full-harnessed, besides those of the contractor's department ; thirty-nine artillery, and a considerable number of dragoon and private riding horses ; with the horseman's swords, pistols, etc. ; three hundred and eighty-f our common and eleven horseman's tents and marquees ; twelve hundred muskets and bayonets, with cartridge-boxes, belts and all the other accoutrements complete, and all the drums of the army ; one hundred and sixty-three felling axes ; eighty-nine spades ; eighty-eight mattocks ; armourer's, carpenter's, blacksmith's and tinman's tools in whole sets ; with a variety of valuable et cetera requisite for establishing works upon the great scale, at the Miami towns, also two medicine chests, and a quantity of quartermaster's stores ; which, together with the provisions of bread and beef in camp, have been estimated by a tolerably accurate calculation, at the sum of thirty-two thousand, eight hundred and ten dollars. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 227 In the before-going detail of our unsuccessful essay with the savages, I have cautiously avoided marking the conduct of individual character, and where so laudable exertion prevails for the display of military abilities and prowess, as was evident upon this unfortunate day among all ranks of officers, in a full proportion to their genius and opportunities, though to discriminate for the public eye might be deemed invidious, yet private memorandums upon those occasions are useful, in which names may be introduced and particular merit of "all ranks" (from the commanding general to the youngest subaltern officer) be recorded without injury to individual feelings. And to commence in the highest grade. It may with justice be observed of our General, that his conduct was cool and brave, and though very much debilitated by a long and severe fit of the gout, yet, had the army been respectable in numbers and as equal to the receiving disposition as he was of making it, there can be but little doubt that the fortunes of the day might have worn a better aspect. Major-General Butler fought on foot until the moment before he fell, and with his own command (which was the front line), encouraging the men to duty by precept and example. He was 'shot from his horse about half an hour before the action was over, and, from the nature of his wound, must have expired within a few moments of the troops quitting the field. Lieutenant-Colonels G____ and D___ were both wounded, the former dangerously ; Colonel G— had not, that I know of, an opportunity given him to display much military ability. Colonel D— was more fortunate. The General ordered him to charge the enemy with the Second United States Regiment ; some consequent and simple movements were obvious—field enough, perhaps, for very subaltern genius, but beyond his capacity. The true character of this gentleman is brave, without the most distant semblance of a general. In action, he is most passionately intent upon Indian-killing himself, but inadequate to performing it by battalion, or even by platoons. And in the execution of the command to the Second Regiment, which was performed with great ardor and spirit, the whole merit is due to Heart and his own officers, for the Colonel only went along with them, after the exertion for their formation under a heavy and galling fire from the enemy was over, and in which arduous service I observed the adjutant, Mr. Warren, to be particularly active. The Major's conduct through the day was soldierly beyond my expectations. Major Butler, of the levies, received a wound in the leg early in the action that might have excused a modest soldier from duty ; but after retiring from the field to dress his wounds, he returned to the charge with spirit, and fought on horseback during the residue of service. Almost all the officers of Beddinger's battalion were cut up at an early period of the action, without rendering those important services which a judicious and enterprising field-officer might have made them competent to. They were conspicuously brave in some instances, and the lives of Captain Vanswearingen and Lieutenant McMath seemed to have been thrown away by themselves with a degree of hardy temerity. Adjutant Burges fell, exerting himself to rally broken troops and reduce them to order, and a Lieutenant Stevenson was remarkably conspicuous from his tact and activity in forming detachments from the scattered soldiers of the battalion and leading them to duty with great animation. It appeared to me very unfortunate that the major was absent upon this occasion. The situation of his corps in the line early exposed them to a galling fire, and demanded the abilities and command of a field-officer. His indisposition had compelled him to quit the army immediately after its advance from Fort Jefferson. The conduct of Major Clarke was cool and brave. Although his abilities are too moderate and his attentions too smaall to constitute the perfect officer, yet he had his battalion in good order upon this day and to 228 - HISTORY OF OHIO the moment of our quitting the field, the command for which he seemed to receive with reluctance and executed with propriety. Major G _____ ( though not deficient, I presume, in spirit, has too much the vis-inertiae for a soldier. I can not, from my own observation or the intelligence I have been able to acquire, say that he attempted any extraordinary exertion upon this trying occasion. Major P _____ is, beyond a doubt, a damned bad soldier for peace or war, and a very scoundrelly character at all times. To rank him among the military is extremely disgraceful to the profession of arms. Major Ferguson (whose department, though in all services the most arduous and attended with as many perils as any in the army, does not afford a very ample field for the brilliant display of military merit) was a most cool, determined, indefatigable and gallant man, and united all those requisites which are so seldom to be met with, but which are absolutely essential in the artillery officer who aspires to the head of that scientific profession. Lieutenant-Colonel Oldham of the militia, and who deserved a better command, received a mortal wound in the camp of the regular troops, about half an hour before we quitted the field, and was left, not quite dead. As his own men were early dispersed, he had not an opportunity of exhibiting more than personal coolness and bravery upon this occasion. Amongst the captains and subalterns who fell in this action and those who survived, it would be difficult even from collective observations of the most judicious officer to make a just discrimination and render a proper tribute to their memories. They appeared, almost all of them, to put the best possible complexion upon the business to the very latest moment. Captain Butler, of Clarke's battalion, being called to the duties of a brigade-major, was, from that consideration perhaps, more immediately an object of my notice and applause. His attentions in the staff department, and the coolness and spirit of his behavior as a company officer in action and in his own particular command during the whole campaign, together with a zeal for enterprise which on many occasions was observable, point him out as a man of more than ordinary merit, and would induce my commendations to the notice of government. His situation in life is, I believe, a very dependent one. He resides upon the frontiers with a hardy set of men perfectly versed in Indian warfare, and could embody and command them with reputation. In case of another active campaign, an independent rifle corps of a couple of hundred men bestowed upon Captain Butler for the most daring service would, I am persuaded, meet the most sanguine expectations that could reasonably be formed. Adjutant Crawford, of the same battalion (a man of fifty years of age, with all the vigor and activity of forty) is a brave and attentive officer, and would serve with honor in the corps above mentioned. It deserves to be remembered that very early in the action he received a brace of balls in his body, but that notwithstanding he continued with cheerfulness and spirit to discharge his duty during the service, and marched with the army ninety-seven miles to Fort Washington, on foot, in bad roads, without a murmur or complaint, and scarcely ever betraying the symptoms of fatigue or that he was wounded. Captain Price, of Gaither's battalion, a soldier of the last war, fell very gallantly in attempting to lead his own company to charge. He was advanced some paces of his men when he was shot down. Ensign Shambourgh, of the First Regiment, who was left in our camp with their baggage as quartermaster, behaved with a very becoming spirit, and is endowed with much more military knowledge than falls to the share of most of the officers in that corps. He was very useful and attentive at the artillery (after all the officers there and AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 229 almost all the men were killed or wounded) by serving the pieces as a volunteer and annoying the enemy. Captain Bradford, Lieutenant Spear and Captain Ford fought bravely with their pieces, and evinced a coolness and determination that might have insured a happier issue. The two former fell. Captain Truman and a Mr. Gihon, of the Horse, caught my particular attention, as the most enterprising officers of the corps, but the situation of the cavalry, very debilitated at the commencement of the campaign, and worn down at this time, incapacitated them from any exertion of consequence. Captain Faulkner, of the rifle corps, discovered coolness, spirit and judgment in this action and a zeal and attention to service at all times. A Lieutenant Huston, of his company, exerted himself with very becoming gallantry through the day. Doctor Allison, of the First United States Regiment, and who had been appointed the surgeon-general to the army, displayed a great share of military zeal in action by encouraging the broken ranks and assisting the officers to rally them to the charge. Although there might have been full employ in the line of his profession, yet circumstances would not admit that attention in the confusion of the battle. Even the women exerted themselves upon this day, and drove out the skulking militia and fugitives of other corps from under wagons and hiding places by firebrands and the usual weapons of their sex. We lost about thirty of them, many of whom were inhumanly butchered, with every indecent and aggravated circumstance of cruelty that can be imagined, three only making their escape. * * * Sunday, the 20th of November.—Cloudy weather, with light southwest wind all day. The Chickasaw Indians have departed this evening to their own country with some presents from the governor, and though not quite equal perhaps to their expectations, yet they seem tolerably well contented with them. A boat has returned this day, after an unsuccessful essay to ascend the Miami to Fort Hamilton. The navigation of that river has been found by the troops at almost all times extremely difficult, and should never be attempted but when the Ohio has a great superiority of height. * * * Tuesday, November 22d.—Cloudy, calm weather all day. Major Zeigler has returned with his command from Fort Jefferson after a very fatiguing march, the flat part of the country being under water, and the whole road extremely deep and miry. The Miami river is not now fordable and 'tis probable it will not again be until the next summer. Some wounded officers returned with Major Zeigler ; and the garrison consisted of one hundred and sixteen men, and there were there forty wounded, of officers and private, when he left. No Indians have been seen upon his march, but a great many of their tracks observed, and two men, missing from his detachment, are supposed to be taken by them. Three men of the Second United States Regiment deserted last night, with a boat, down the river. * * * Thursday, November the 24th.—Strong wind from the west, with rain nearly all day. General Scott and about two hundred Kentucky militia have arrived at Cincinnati, upon a projected expedition to the Indian country, but there can be no doubt it must fail. It was proposed to assemble fifteen hundred men, and they were generally turning out, I am informed, with great spirit on the report that Fort Jefferson was invested, but, upon its being contradicted, they have dispersed to their homes. The present opportunity would certainly be a very favorable one for an incursion to the Indian country, and productive of very happy effects. And unless some stroke shall be made in this winter to 230 - HISTORY OF OHIO damp the spirits of the enemy, they will probably give us much trouble in the spring. Friday, November 25th.—Very strong wind from the west, with a small flight of snow last night ; moderate wind from the same quarter during the day, and cold, cloudy weather. We have information of small parties of Indians in the neighborhood of Forts Hamilton and Jefferson. Saturday, November 26th.—Moderate westerly wind, and fair cold weather all day. General Scott and the militia have returned to Kentucky, upon certain information that the expedition can not now be carried forward. Sunday, November 27th.—Light easterly wind, and snow, till four P. M., with moderate weather all day. Two inches have fallen, upon a level. About forty men of the Second Regiment, under a subaltern officer, have been detached for the Muskingum this day. * * * Wednesday, November 30th.—Calm all day and fair weather. The waters of the Ohio have been rising for some time and are now high, with a probability of their remaining up, as there are, at present, strong indications of rain. Major Hamtranck departed this evening for Vincennes, with Captain Beattie's company. He took along with him two Indians, who came from the Aubashe last summer, to visit their wives in captivity at this garrison. * * * Thursday, December 8th.—Weather fair, and light wind from the west. The Governor has departed from the territory for Philadelphia, by the way of Louisville, Lexington and through the wilderness ; and by his absence, my duty as adjutant-general ceases. APPENDIX Wednesday, February the 1st (1792).—Strong northwest wind all last night, and moderate, from the same quarter, during the day ; some small flights of snow in the morning and the residue fair. In motion at seven o'clock, and arrived upon the field of action at half past ten ; distance, eight miles. To conceive of the various conflicts and emotions of my mind, upon a view of this melancholy theater of our recent misfortunes, 'tis essential to become an actor in a similar scene of tragedy ; to view brave companions falling around you in every quarter, without a possibility of avenging themselves ; and to be exposed for more than two hours and a half to a most galling and heavy fire, without a single ray of hope or consolation, but that the enemy, deriving courage and confidence from the reduced numbers and thinness of our ranks, would rush on to closer quarters and suffer us to sell our lives in the charge of the bayonet. Despair then, I know, would have steeled our nerves, and engaged, man to man, every soldier acting more than hero, would have glutted his own and country's vengeance in the blood of our infernal foe. Although the whole field was covered with twenty inches of snow, yet, at every tread of the horse's feet, dead bodies were exposed to view, mutilated, mangled and butchered with the most savage barbarity ; and, indeed, there seems to have been left no act of indecent cruelty or torture which was not practiced on this occasion, to the women. as well as men. Upon a review of this ground, I find that the sketch I have made of it is a tolerably correct one. The immediate spot of the encampment appears very strong, and is certainly so defensible against regular troops that I believe any military man who has not had the fatal experience of the late misfortune would have unhesitatingly have pitched upon it. It is, however, (I must confess) surrounded by close woods, thick bushes and old logs, which afford the best cover for an Indian attack ; AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 231 but these appear now to be very much increased since I observed them before the action. In riding around our lines, I was astonished to see the amazing effect of the enemy's fire ; particularly from the artillery of the front line, on, to and around the left flank, and beyond the artillery of the rear. Every twig and bush seems to be cut down, and the saplings and larger trees marked with the utmost profusion of their shot. Our own fire seems very loose, and, even the artillery, to have been directed with very little judgment. The ground of the militia encampment is confirmed in my mind to have been the proper position for the army. It is the same high flat which has been heretofore described, and capacious enough to have admitted of any extent of lines. It has been reconnoitered this day, on, forward two miles and a half, upon a course northwesterly, where the path again crosses the stream that was in front of our encampment, and where it runs to the northeast, a circumstance that serves to evince pretty clearly that it is the Saint Mary's. In the meandering of this water from the left of the battle ground on to the west, north, and so toward the east, two branches of nearly equal width with the main stream, one at half a mile, and the other at a mile's distance, empty themselves into it ; and at the confluence of those, as well as at the place of crossing, before mentioned, are some considerable encampments which, beyond a doubt, were occupied by the Indians on the night preceding our defeat ; so that had Colonel Oldham sent forward the parties which he was directed to do we might have acquired such information of the enemy as would have enabled us at least to have fought them upon our own terms, and, perhaps, given a very different complexion to the fortunes of that day. We have all been very busily engaged since our arrival upon this ground in rendering the last solemn rites to the victims of war searching for the artillery (but without effect), and burning the wagons and such of the gun cartridges as have been materially injured, in order to take off the iron-work. We have collected about three tons, and buried many of our dead ; but this task has been so arduous (the bodies being frozen down to the ground, quite covered with snow, and breaking to pieces in tearing them up) that it has not been fully completed. Indeed, it seemed to be the labor of days ; and the provisions of the men and provender for the cavalry (very much worn down by their severe marches) is too nearly exhausted to render it in any degree proper to bestow this time more particularly, as we must almost immediately expect thawing weather, and that the country will in consequence be long rendered impassable. * * * Monday, April 23d, 1792.— * * * Ensign Turner, of the levies, supposed to have been killed in the action of the 4th of November, we are informed has arrived in Philadelphia. Being close pursued by some Indians in the retreat, and finding resistance vain, he submitted himself and was carried to Detroit, where a private gentleman ransomed him for an inconsiderable sum of money. He learned while a prisoner that the enemy in action amounted to fifteen hundred men under the command of Blue Jacket, and that they had nine hundred more at no great distance. They acknowledge only thirty killed. * * * Thursday, November 22d, 1792.— * * * A man by the name of Rennels who deserted from Fort Jefferson last summer and has been with the Indians, arrived here this day. He reports that he had been almost starved after leaving the fort before he could fall in with any of their towns or camps ; that his first discovery was of a very large war party, two or three hundred strong, who had just halted for the night ; that he rushed suddenly into the midst of them and was immediately surrounded by them with guns, bows and arrows, clubs toma- 232 - HISTORY OF OHIO hawks, but, throwing away a rifle that he had with him, they seized upon him, declaring after he had informed them who he was, whence he came, etc., that he should be burned to death when the sun went down. He, however, by assuming a cheerful countenance and endeavoring to be very useful in helping them to form their camp, make their fires, and other services, averted this fate, and, in a couple of hours, became adopted amongst them, his head shaved, painted, etc., as is their custom upon such occasions, and has since, by his own account, been much in favor with them. He relates that he has been with them to the British posts, Michilmackinac particularly. That they are there equipped with all the necessaries to come to war against the United States—march out upon these occasions under English colors, and are received when they return with scalps with military parade and every mark of approbation and encouragement. This man has brought to me from Michilmackinac a couple of small memorandum books in manuscript which I left in the field upon the 4th of November at General St. Clair's defeat. They were sewed up under a blank cover to my address, but without any information of the person sending them to me. The losses in this battle have been variously estimated. In his report to the secretary of war General St. Clair says : "In this engagement thirty-nine officers were killed and twenty-one wounded, and the entire loss was estimated at six hundred and seventy-seven killed, including thirty women, 11 and two hundred and seventy-one wounded." The number lost by the Indians has also been variously estimated, sometimes as high as 150, while the Indians themselves claimed a loss of less than fifty. According to the figures of St. Clair there was a total of over 900 killed and wounded, a larger loss than had been sustained by General Washington in any battle of the Revolution. The number of wounded is comparatively small and includes, of course, only those who were able to make good their escape. Those who fell into the hands of the savages were put to death with extreme torture and their bodies in many instances were horribly mutilated. The number of Indians engaged in this battle is not known definitely. Simon Girty is said to have reported to a prisoner that 1,200 participated in the attack. Little Turtle, the famous Indian chief, commanded the warriors. He was ably supported by Blue Jacket. The biographer of Joseph Brandt is authority for the statement that he had a prominent part in planning the surprise and leading the Indians to victory. Tecumseh, who served as a scout and kept the chieftains informed of the movements of St. Clair's army, was probably in the thick of the fight. The news of the disaster was carried to Philadelphia by Maj. Ebenezer Denny. In his Journal he states that after his arrival in the city General Knox, the secretary of war, called at his quarters and took him to the President's residence where they were entertained at breakfast, following which there was an extended conversation "on the subject of the campaign and defeat." He does not say how the information was received by Washington but there is a report that after the guests were gone, when the President was alone with his secretary, Tobias Lear, he walked to and fro in much evident agony of spirit and said : "It is all over—St. Clair's defeated—routed—the officers nearly all killed ; the men by hundreds—the rout complete—too shocking to think of—and a surprise into the bargain." He declared that his special warning to St. Clair had been against a surprise and concluded his arraignment of St. Clair with the words, "Oh God, he's worse than a murderer. How can he answer to the country ? The blood of the slain is upon him—the curse of widows and orphans—the curse of 11 - The number of women with the army is variously stated at from less than one hundred to two hundred and fifty. Atwater states that they numbered about two hundred and fifty. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 233 heaven." According to this story Washington gave way completely to his feelings in an ungovernable burst of passion. William Henry Smith, however, has pronounced the story as "apocryphal," but he does not sustain his conclusion with historic testimony. 12 This disastrous encounter has been celebrated in song and legend. Thirteen stanzas of doleful verse, entitled "Sinclair's Defeat," 13 is said to have attained a degree of popularity among the early settlers. It is bad poetry but was frequently sung at the firesides of the pioneers. Fiction and legend have beclouded historic truth, and the narratives of participants and eye-witnesses sometimes bear evidence of improbability. For instance, it is difficult to believe the story reported in the American Pioneer 14 to the effect that on December 25, 1793, a little more than two years after the battle, and after the dead had been buried, "600 skulls were gathered on the battleground and buried" and that those who participated in these sad rites, when they retired for the night, "had to scrape the bones together and carry them out" to make room for their beds. The language of the official reports and the reliable testimony of participants in this expedition is sufficiently gruesome and terrible. Imagination can add nothing to the horror of this tragedy of the frontier. As the news of the disaster gradually spread throughout the United States, the feeling against St. Clair was very bitter. He desired a court martial to pass upon his conduct of the campaign. This was found impracticable.. A committee of Congress later conducted an investigation and acquitted him of responsibility for the disaster. 15 He resigned his office as major general and was succeeded by Gen. Anthony Wayne. The frontier was now open to the incursions of the Indians. Encouraged by their victory and by the presence of the British, who still held Detroit and other defensive posts, they were eager to continue the war until their white foes were forced to cross the Ohio River and the entire Northwest Territory was restored to the possession of the red man. In alarm many settlers abandoned their homes for safety. The United States was burdened with debt, threatened with foreign complications, disturbed by the revolutionary movement in France and apprehensive of serious trouble with Great Britain. In this crisis it was difficult to provide the means of adequate defense of the western border. But the crisis had to be met and successfully passed. Westward still must be "the course of empire." Winthrop Sargent in the appendix to his diary relating to St. Clair's defeat describes the melancholy aspect of the battlefield on February 1, 1792, on the occasion of his visit to the scene. On Christmas day, 1793, Capt. Alexander Gibson took possession of the battlefield and completed the interment of the remains of those who were slain. Upon this site was erected Fort Recovery which was garrisoned and placed under the command of Captain Gibson. An imposing monument over 100 feet high now rises near the site 12 - Smith, "The St. Clair Papers," Vol. I, pp. 180-181. 13 - For full text see Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio," Vol. II, pp. 231-232. 14 -Vol. I, pp. 293-294. 15 - "The judgment of the congressional committee is expressed in the following; extract from its report: The committee conceives it but justice to the commander-in-chief to say that, in their opinion, the failure of the late expedition can in no respect be imputed to his conduct, either at any time before or during the action; but that, as his conduct in all the preparatory arrangements was marked with peculiar ability and zeal, so his conduct during the action furnished strong testimonies of his coolness and intrepidity. Smith, "The St. Clair Papers," Vol. I, p. 178. 234 - HISTORY OF OHIO of St. Clair's defeat. 16 A heroic figure in granite, with powder horn and gun representing a scout of the time when the battle was fought, stands at the base of the shaft with eye turned to the West, as of divining the predestined course of civilization in America. 16 - The height of the monument is 101 1/2 feet, including the base and a granite shaft 90 feet high. It is located in the village park of Fort Recovery, about a mile and a half from the old fort by that name, erected by General Wayne. It commemorates not only the men who fell in the disastrous battle of November 4, 1791, but the heroic defense of the fort by the soldiers of Wayne on June 30, and July 1, 1794. The monument cost $25,000, appropriated by Congress largely through the active interest of Hon. W. E. Touvelle, representing the district in which it stands. It was unveiled July 1, 1913. For full account of the interesting ceremonies, see "Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society Publications, Vol. XXII, pp. 419-454. CHAPTER IV WAYNE'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE INDIANS Wayne ! Anthony Wayne ! Mad Anthony Wayne ! A name to conjure with ; a name suggestive of patriotic spirit, soldierly bearing, reckless courage and heroic achievement ; the name of a chivalrous champion of freedom, whom fortune seemed ever to reserve for a more illustrious service. If his name still appeals to the lovers of romance and adventure, much greater must have been his fame in the afterglow of the Revolution when the achievements of its heroes were fresh in the memories of compatriots still living and the theme of song and legend at every fireside of the land. Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, January 1, 1745, and educated in Philadelphia, he was successively land agent in Nova Scotia, surveyor, farmer and member of the Legislature of his native state. At the breaking out of the Revolution he raised a regiment of the Pennsylvania line, which he led in the expedition against Canada. Early in 1779 he was made brigadier general. He served with distinction at Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. His capture of Stony Point on the Hudson was one of the most daring and brilliant achievements of the Revolution, which won for him the plaudits of his countrymen and a vote of thanks and a gold medal from Congress. He continued his successful career at Yorktown and in the South until the British evacuation of Savannah, July 11, 1782, when he led his victorious army into that city. This was a remarkable career for a man of thirty-eight years. He afterwards served his native state in the Legislature and in the convention that ratified the national constitution. In seeking for a general to succeed St. Clair and restore order on the Western frontier, it seems perfectly natural that President Washington should choose this military chieftain in the forty-eighth year of his age, the maturity of his powers and the full tide of his popularity, to inspire confidence and reestablish the authority of the young Republic on its Western border. What higher qualifications could be asked ? Here was a man certainly ideally fitted to lead. But the place was not to be filled without a struggle. There were other applicants. In this post-revolutionary period there were many military gentlemen out of employment and a smaller number in civil positions who were willing to seek "the bubble, reputation even in the cannon's mouth." Among the latter was Henry Lee, governor of Virginia, who had himself won enviable fame by honorable service in the Revolution. He appears to have been frankly an applicant for the place made vacant by the resignation of St. Clair. He was on terms of intimate and confidential friendship with Washington and was evidently much chagrined when he was not promoted to the coveted position. Before he had recovered from his keen disappointment he wrote Washington a rather ungenerous letter in which he declared that the people were disgusted with the choice of Wayne. Among other things he said: "You cannot be a stranger to the extreme disgust, which the late appointment to the command of the army excited among all orders in this state. Whether the same be just or not, is immaterial at present ; or whether taking into view all the circumstances of the case a better - 235 - 236 - HISTORY OF OHIO appointment could. have been made, is by no means the object of my inquiry."1 To this letter Washington made a dignified reply. "I have no hesitation in declaring to you," he wrote, "that the bias of my inclination was strongly in your favor." He then proceeded to tell Lee that the reason he could not appoint him was because he had learned that many of the officers of the army would not willingly serve under him. Continuing, he wrote as follows in regard to the considerations that had moved him to appoint General Wayne : "How far the appointment of G. W. is a popular or an unpopular measure, is not for me to decide. It was not the determination of a moment, nor was it the effect of partiality or of influence ; for no application (if that in any instance could have warped my judgment) was ever made in his behalf from any one, who could have thrown the weight of a feather into his scale, but because, under a full view of all circumstances, he appeared most eligible. To a person of your observation and intelligence it is unnecessary to remark, that an appointment, which may be unpopular in one place, and with one set of men, may not be so in another place, or with another set of men, and vice versa ; and that to attempt to please everybody is the sure way to please nobody ; because the attempt would be as idle, as the exertion would be impracticable. G. W. has many good points as an officer, and it is to be hoped, that time, reflection, good advice, and, above all, a due sense of the importance of the trust, which is committed to him, will correct his foibles, or cast a shade over them." 2 1 - Jared Sparks, "The Writings of George Washington," Vol. X. 2 - Sparks, "The Writings of George Washington," Vol. X, p. 248. 238 - HISTORY OF OHIO It appears that Washington had prepared for his own reference use a statement not only of the qualifications of the different officers under consideration but also of their limitations— inexperience, habits or temperamental qualities that tended to unfit them for the place. The following somewhat undesirable traits he had noted in connection with the name of Gen. Anthony Wayne : "More active and enterprising than judicious and cautious, no economist, it is feared ; open to flattery—vain—easily imposed upon and liable to be drawn into scrapes ; too indulgent (the effect perhaps of some of the causes just mentioned) to his officers ; whether sober or a little addicted to the bottle, I know not." 3 It appears from Washington's memorandum that the following officers were under consideration for appointment to lead the expedition against the Indians : Lincoln, Baron Steuben, Moultrie, McIntosh, Weedon, Hand, Scott, Huntington, Wilkinson, Gist, Morgan, Williams, Rufus Putnam and Pinckney. Notes relating to the fitness of each are found on pages 172-174 of Hulbert's "Historic Highways," Vol. 8. Because of his intimate relation to Ohio history we here quote the following : "Putnam (Rufus), strong-minded, discreet, nothing conspicuous in character * * * known little out of his own state and a narrow circle." Because of his relation to this campaign and his attitude toward Wayne, Washington's estimate of Gen. James Wilkinson is here reproduced : "Lively, sensible, pompous and ambitious, whether sober or not I do not know." Flushed with their victory of November 6, 1791, the Indians became insistent that all lands north and west of the Ohio should be released to them and that that river should forever be recognized as the boundary between the red men and the whites. The United States could not consistently do this, but the hope of a peaceful adjustment of difficulties was not wholly abandoned. Other perplexing problems were pressing for settlement. The Government was struggling to reach a stable financial condition and could ill afford another expensive campaign. While, therefore, the initial preparations for war were in progress, the Government continued sincerely and industriously to exert its influence in favor of peace without further effusion of blood. On January 9, 1792, Col. Timothy Pickering, in behalf of the Gov, ernment of the United States, invited the principal chiefs of the Six Nations to visit President Washington at Philadelphia. Rev. Samuel Kirtland, an influential missionary, was asked to use his influence to have the invitation accepted. It was especially desired that Joseph Brant should accompany the delegation. The invitation was accepted and Indian chiefs to the number of fifty, on March 13, came to Philadelphia to meet the President. The meeting was considered a success. Though Brant was not present, he shortly afterward visited Philadelphia and called on a number of Government officials. The Six Nations through their representatives were pledged to use every effort to arrest war and unitedly to send a delegation to the Northwest to use their good offices to secure an armistice between the United States and the Western tribes with whom the Government had been at war. In the meantime Secretary of War Knox sent Capt. Peter Pond and William Steedman on a rather remarkable mission. They were to go in the guise of traders. In a letter of instructions, Knox wrote : "No doubt can exist that our strength and our resources are abundant to conquer and even extirpate the Indians. * * * But this is not our object. We wish to be at peace with those Indians—to be their friends and protectors—to perpetuate them on the land. The desire, therefore, that we have for peace must not be inconsistent with the national reputation. We cannot ask the Indians to make peace with us, 3 - Archer Butler Hulbert, "Historic Highways of America," Vol. VIII, p. 172, AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 239 considering them as the aggressors ; but they must ask a peace of us. To persuade them to this effect is the object of this mission.” 4 Pond and Steedman got no farther than Niagara. In line with the pacific policy of the Government, two men by the names of Freeman and Gerrard early in April went northward from Fort Washington to the hostile Indians. Shortly afterward William May followed, pretending to desert to the enemy, and on May 12, Sergeant Reuben Reynolds left on a similar mission. Eight days later Capt. Alexander Trueman and Col. John Hardin were sent to convey guaranties of protection and messages of assurance that the United States had no intention to dispossess the Indians of the lands already secured to them by treaty. Freeman, Gerrard, Trueman and Hardin were murdered. Reynolds and May returned after interesting experiences to which reference will be made later. Gen. Rufus Putnam was commissioned brigadier general and directed to proceed to the Northwestern Indians on a special mission, though his instructions were similar to those of the agents who had preceded him. 5 He left Marietta May 22, reached Pittsburgh June 2 and "sent a speech to the hostile tribes" by two Indian prisoners who were "released for that purpose." In this message Putnam had requested the Indians to whom it was addressed to open a path from Fort Jefferson, where he expected to arrive in about twenty days, and to send some of their young men and Captain Hendrick to conduct him and a few friends to the place appointed for the meeting. When Putnam arrived at Fort Washington, July 2, he learned that on the day he had sent word to the Indians, to the number of about 100, they suddenly appeared in the vicinity of Fort Jefferson, attacked some men who were harvesting hay and killed and carried off sixteen of them. Soon afterward he heard that Colonel Hardin, Major Trueman and other representatives on missions of peace had been murdered under flags of truce. From this and other information, General Putnam concluded that the Indians on the Maumee were determined upon war and that it would be useless for him to meet with them in the "great council" that had been arranged. Learning, however, from Major Hamtramck, that "the Wabash and other more Western Indians" were favorably disposed toward peace, he proceeded to Post Vincent (Vincennes) with sixty prisoners whom he restored to their relatives and friends, as an evidence of good will. His mission to Vincennes was successful so far as the attitude of the Indians there was concerned. After a friendly conference, a treaty of peace was signed by Putnam and thirty-one Wabash chiefs on September 27. This treaty, however, later failed of confirmation by the United States Senate because the fourth article "was not compatible with the law of eminent domain."6 It pledged the United States to protect the Indians in the possession of "all the lands to which they have a just claim" and declared that no part of it should "ever be taken from them but by fair purchase and to their satisfaction." It was further asserted that "the land originally belonged to the Indians ; it is theirs and theirs only." These stipulations and others of similar import in the treaty seemed to prevent the United States from appropriating land for its own use and hence could not be accepted as it recognized in the Indians a right not vouchsafed to the citizens of the United States. The Indians of the Northwest were continually demanding that the boundaries established by the treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 should be recognized as the dividing line between them and the whites. This treaty was made between the Indians and the representatives of the King of Great Britain. In order that their contention may be clearly 4 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 227. 5 - General Putnam first went to Pittsburgh, then returned to Marietta for a few days and proceeded down the river to Fort Washingon. See "The Memoirs of Rufus Putnam," compiled by Rowena Buell, pp. 267-278. 6 - Hulbert, "Historic Highways," v. 8, p. 179. 240 - HISTORY OF OHIO understood we must keep in mind the location of that portion of the dividing line bordering on the Northwestern Territory. It is described as follows : "Beginning at the mouth of Cherokee or Hogohege River (now the Tennessee River) where it empties into the River Ohio and running from thence upwards along the south side of said river to Kittaning, which is above Fort Pitt. * * *" All south of this line, except the Province of Pennsylvania, was ceded to the King of Great Britain in this treaty. The Indians understood, of course, that to them was reserved all north of the line. After the Revolution the United States made a treaty with the Six Nations of New York establishing the following boundary line : "A line shall be drawn beginning at the mouth of a creek about four miles east of Niagara, called Oyonwayea, or Johnson's Landing Place, upon the lake, named by the Indians Oswego, and by us Ontario ; from thence southerly, in a direction always four miles east of the carrying path, between Lake Erie and Ontario, to the mouth of Tehoseroron, or Buffalo Creek, on Lake Erie ; thence south to the north boundary of the State of Pennsylvania ; thence west to the end of said north boundary ; thence south along the west boundary of said state to the River Ohio ; the said line, from the mouth of the Oyonwayea to the Ohio, shall be the western boundary of the lands of the Six Nations ; so that the Six Nations shall and do yield to the United States all claims to the country west of said boundary ; and they shall be secured in the peaceful possession of the lands they inhabit, east and north of the same, reserving only six miles square, round the Fort Oswego, to the United States, for the support of the same." 7 This treaty was also concluded at Fort Stanwix. It bears date of October 22, 1784. The fact that these two important treaties were concluded at the same place sometimes has led to confusion and it is difficult to tell to which reference is made when simply the designation "treaty at Fort Stanwix" is used. 8 On January 21, 1785, a treaty was concluded at Fort McIntosh between the United States and certain Indian tribes establishing lines between the contracting parties as follows : "The boundary line between the United States and the Wyandot and Delaware Nations shall begin at the mouth of the River Cuyahoga, and run thence up the said river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum ; then down the said branch to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence, 9 then westerly to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood which was taken by the French in 1752 ; then along said portage to the Great Miami or Omie River, and down the southeast side of the same to its mouth; thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of Cuyahoga, where it began." The lands within these boundaries were to be allotted to the Wyandot and Delaware Nations to live and hunt on. The Indians of the Ottawa Nation residing within these limits were to be accorded similar privileges. This provision appears as article 5 in the treaty : "If any citizen of the United States, or other person not being an Indian, shall attempt to settle on any of the lands allotted to the Wyandot and Delaware Nations in this treaty, except on the lands reserved to the United States in the preceding article, such person shall forfeit the protection of the United States, and the Indians may punish him as they please." 10 The treaty also provided that all lands east, south and west of the 7 -American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 10. 8 - Ibid. 9 - Should read Fort Laurens. 10 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 11. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 241 lines above described should belong to the United States and none of the Indian tribes were to "presume to settle upon the same." On January 31, 1786, the United States concluded a treaty with the Shawnee Indians at the mouth of the Great Miami River on the northwestern bank of the Ohio. By this treaty the United States allotted lands to the Shawnees "to live and hunt upon" as follows : "Beginning at the south line of the lands allotted to the Wyandots and Delaware Nations, at the place where the main branch of the Great Miami, which falls into the Ohio, intersects said line ; then down the River Miami, to the fork of that river next below the old fort which was taken by the French in 1752. Thence due west to the River De la Panse ; then down that river to the River Wabash ; beyond which lines none of the citizens of the United States shall settle, nor disturb the Shawnees in their settlement and possessions. And the Shawnees do relinquish to the United States, all title, or pretense of title, they ever had to the lands east, west and south of the east, west and south lines before described." 11 The United States on January 9, 1789, at Fort Harmer, concluded another treaty with the Six Nations which simply confirmed the boundary already established between the two contracting parties. On the same date and at the same place the United States also concluded a treaty with the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, "Pottawottomies" and Sacs which reestablished and confirmed the boundary line of the treaty concluded January 21, 1785. In October, 1792, on the site where Defiance now stands, a great Indian council was held. Cornplanter, at the head of forty-eight chiefs of the Six Nations, was present. The Shawnees and their allies from the Northwest were numerously represented. Red Jacket, the famous Seneca chieftain, on behalf of the Six Nations and the United States, strongly favored peace. He was answered by a Shawnee chief whose voice was for war. He boldly declared that the Six Nations were more deeply interested in carrying into effect the wishes of the United States than in supporting the interests of the Northwestern tribes whom they saluted as their "younger brothers." He referred to St. Clair's disastrous defeat and claimed that the Indians had just title to some lands east of the Ohio and all lands west of that river. This was the favorite claim of the hostile Indians. The alternative that they presented was "the Ohio River or war." They insisted on the boundary established at Fort Stanwix before the Revolution. In this same year a number of chiefs visited the camp of General Wayne at Legionville. According to General Posey, one of them, pointing to the Ohio River, said : "My heart and mind is fixed on that river, and may that water continue to run and remain the boundary of everlasting peace, between the white and red people on its opposite shores." While the Shawnee chief, in his answer to Red Jacket before the council, was defiant and uncompromising, he yet signified a willingness to suspend hostilities till the coming spring. Among other things he said : "We desire you, our elder brothers, to inform General Washington we will treat with him, at the rapids of Miami, next spring, at the time when the leaves are fully out. We consider ourselves still the proper owners of some land on the east side of the Ohio but we will deliver up that, for money that has been paid to some individuals, for land on the west side of the River Ohio." 12 In conclusion he said: "We will lay the bloody tomahawk aside until we hear from the President of the United States, and when this message comes to us, we will send it to all the different nations."13 11 - Ibid. 12 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 324. 13 - Ibid. 242 - HISTORY OF OHIO Cornplanter and his chiefs of the Six Nations hastened to Philadelphia with the discouraging news that the hostile Indians were unwilling to consider any terms of peace that failed to recognize the Ohio River as the southern limit of lands belonging exclusively to them. In conveying the message of the Northwestern Indians to the President, the representatives of the Six Nations advised that the whites on the Ohio lay down their arms and cease their warlike preparations, otherwise they felt their efforts would be in vain. Among other things, he said to the President : "We now desire you, brothers, to send forward agents, who are men of honesty, not proud land jobbers but men who love and desire peace. Also desire they may be accompanied by some Friend or Quaker, to attend the council." 14 While the report of the Six Nations had little in it that was encouraging, the suspension of hostilities through the coming winter was regarded as still holding open the opportunity for further peace parleys and the possibility of a treaty that would avoid another tragic encounter in the Western wilderness. The promise of the Indians temporarily to "lay the bloody tomahawk aside" until the following spring "when the leaves are fully out" and they should receive word from the President, was not strictly kept. This promise was made early in October. On November 6 they made an attack on the whites near Fort St. Clair, but their promise was generally observed through the following winter. Early in the spring of 1793 the President appointed Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Randolph and Timothy Pickering as commissioners to treat with the hostile Indians "when the leaves are fully out." Their commissions bore the date of April 26, 1793. They proceeded to Fort Niagara, where, on July 5, Colonel Brant and fifty Indians met them and stated that the advance of General Wayne's army had prevented the meeting at the falls of the Maumee. 15 The hostile Indians desired to know whether the commissioners had authority to establish a new boundary line between them and the whites. The commissioners had been ordered to insist upon the boundaries fixed at the treaty of Fort Harmer. On the 21st of July they reached the mouth of the Detroit River from which point they were kept in communication with the Indians who assembled in council near the falls of the Maumee. The deliberations, which are detailed at length in "The American State Papers," Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, show that there was still a misunderstanding in regard to the treaty concluded at Fort Stanwix. In their communication to the commissioners of the United States the Northwestern Indians stated among other things : "Brothers : You know very well that the boundary line, which was run between the white people and us, at the treaty of Fort Stanwix, was the River Ohio. "Brothers : If you seriously design to make a firm and lasting peace, you will immediately remove all your people from our side of that river. "Brothers : We therefore ask you, are you fully authorized by the United States to continue, and firmly fix on the Ohio River, as the boundary line, between your people and ours ?"16 To these statements the commissioners replied in part as follows, under date of July 31: "Brothers : We do know very well, that, at the treaty of Fort Stanwix, twenty-five years ago, the River Ohio was agreed on, as the boundary line between you and the white people of the British colonies and we all know, that about seven years after that boundary was fixed, a quarrel broke out between your father, the King of Great Britain, and the people of those colonies, which are now the United States. This 14 - Ibid. 15 - Or Miami of the Lakes as it was formerly called. 16 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 352. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 243 quarrel was ended by the treaty of peace made with the King about ten years ago, by which the Great Lakes and the waters which unite them, were, by him declared to be the boundaries of the United States. "Brothers : Peace having been thus made, between the King of Great Britain and the United States, it remained to make peace between them and the Indian Nations, who had taken part with the King ; for this purpose, commissioners were appointed, who sent messages to all those Indian Nations, inviting them to come and make peace. The first treaty was held about nine years ago, at Fort Stanwix, with the Six Nations, which has stood firm and unviolated to this day. * * *"17 The commissioners proceeded to explain that treaties establishing boundaries north of the Ohio River were afterward concluded with the various other tribes and that these had all been sacredly kept by the United States. Specific mention was made o f the treaties at Fort McIntosh, at the mouth of the Great Miami River, and at Fort Harmer. This explanation, however, did not satisfy the hostile Indians. The meeting near the rapids of the Maumee ended in failure, and preparations were made for war. Anticipating continued trouble with the Indians, the United States Government took steps soon after the defeat of St. Clair to defend the Western frontier. On December 26, 1791, the secretary of war submitted a statement of conditions in the Northwest and recommended a prompt increase of the military forces to stay the hostile troops in that section. As a result of this recommendation provision was made for a military establishment to consist of 5,168 non-commissioned officers, privates and musicians to be organized as follows : One squadron of cavalry, of four troops, each of seventy-six non-commissioned officers and privates ; one battalion of artillery, organized on the same plan ; five regiments of infantry, one to be composed entirely of riflemen, each of three battalions. Provision was also made for volunteer mounted militiamen and scouts. 18 After the appointment of General Wayne to the chief command of the legion, Brevet Brigadier-Generals James Wilkinson and Thomas Posey were appointed second in command. Maj. Gen. Charles Scott was to lead 1,500 mounted Kentucky militia. Wayne's army was to be known as the "Legion of the United States." FORT ST. CLAIR In the winter of 1791-1792, following St. Clair's defeat, Fort St. Clair was erected by order of General Wilkinson, who had succeeded St. Clair as commander at Fort Washington. It was an intermediate post between Fort Hamilton and Fort Jefferson. It was built under the supervision of Major Gano of the state militia. He was assisted by Ensign William Henry Harrison, who almost half a century afterwards became President of the United States. In the autumn of 1792, Major John Adair 19 with 100 Kentucky mounted riflemen was acting as an escort to a train of pack horses on their way to Fort Jefferson. After having completed the journey, they were on the 'return trip and had pitched their camp just outside of Fort St. Clair, when they were attacked at break of day, November 6, by 250 warriors under the famous chief, Little Turtle. The purpose of the attack seemed to be to capture the horses. The fight that ensued lasted for some time, but finally the Indians disappeared, taking with them most of the horses and the warriors who fell, with the exception of two who were left dead on the field. Six of the Kentucky militiamen were killed. They were Lieut. Job Hale, Orderly-Sergeant Matthew English and Privates John Williams, Isaac Jett, Joseph Clinton and Robert 17 - Ibid., p. 353. 18 - Frazer E. Wilson, "The Treaty of Greenville," p. 59. 19 - Afterward governor of Kentucky. 244 - HISTORY OF OHIO Bolling. A granite monument with bronze tablet now marks the site of the battle. Near it are the graves of the men who fell. The monument was erected by Maj. William H. Ortt. The State of Ohio has recently purchased and improved a tract of land, including the site of the fort and the battle, about one mile from Eaton, Ohio. This property is now in the custody of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. In June, 1792, Wayne left for the West. He spent the summer in organizing the army at Pittsburgh. On November 28, the troops moved down the Ohio to a point about twenty-two miles below Pittsburgh, which was named Legionville. One of the chief purposes in transferring the little army to this point was to keep the troops "out of the reach of whiskey, which baneful poison is prohibited from entering this camp," as Wayne stated in a letter to the secretary of war under date of March 30, 1793. Here commenced the intensive military training which Wayne kept up without intermission until he was within striking distance of the enemy a score of months later. Wayne was determined to avoid the mistakes made in the fateful expedition o f 1791 and he industriously bent every energy to that end. He knew that to win ultimately he must have a disciplined, sober army. This would take time, patience and unremitting activity. The rude troops must not only be subject to discipline, but among them there must be inspired a confidence in their commander and his subordinates. In April, 1793, the Legion descended the Ohio and the infantry and artillery encamped about one mile below Fort Washington on the only convenient site, which was appropriately called "Hobson's Choice." The cavalry took up a position south of the river. Here Wayne had difficulty in keeping "ardent spirits out of the camp." By rigid discipline he succeeded measurably well. From Fort Washington a road was constructed to Fort Jefferson and six miles beyond. Forts Hamilton and St. Clair were provisioned and herds of horses and cattle were gathered at "the advanced posts under the protection of troops." On August 23 the commissioners who had been attempting to make a treaty with the Indians addressed a letter to General Wayne stating AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 245 the results of the council at the falls of the Maumee. On the 5th of October Wayne wrote to the secretary of war stating that he would advance the day following to a strong position six miles north of Fort Jefferson. Two days afterward he took up the line of march, went into camp and constructed the strong defenses of what he called Fort Greenville. Archer Butler Hulbert's "Historic Highways of America," Vol. 8, pp. 195-196, gives in detail the course of Wayne's military road, beginning with Mad Anthony Street, Cincinnati, extending northward up Millcreek Valley, thence northwest to Fort Hamilton, thence to what is now Campbell Island and thence to Five Mile Spring near the Village of Five Mile in Butler County, where Wayne pitched his first camp. Continuing, the Legion moved forward on the eastern bank of Seven Mile Creek to Fort St. Clair near the present site of Eaton, Preble County. The road passed through Washington Township east of Eaton, crossed Banta's Fork near the "Forty Foot Pitch," thence northward through what is now Darke County to Fort Jefferson ; from Fort Jefferson the road continued to the site on which Wayne and his Legion erected Fort Greenville, now included within the corporate limits of the City of Greenville. This fort was named in honor of Gen. Nathaniel Green. Wayne's road was evidently well cleared and prepared, for over it the Legion passed in six days. The entire distance of this march was about seventy-five miles. Fort Greenville was completed by November 16 and here the Legion went into winter quarters. Wayne and his officers doubtless rejoiced to leave far in their rear "Hobson's Choice" near Cincinnati, where they found, according to General Posey, entirely too large a stock "of ardent spirit and the caitiff wretches to dispose of it." It will be noted that in his choice of winter quarters at Legionville and Fort Greenville, Wayne sought to separate his little army as far as possible from access to intoxicating liquors. The winter of 1793-1794 was devoted to intensive drill and preparation to meet effectively the peculiar methods of Indian warfare. But camp life here was not all training and drudgery. General Wayne provided for the comfort and social enjoyment of his men. There was time for good cheer and merry-making. There were occasional scouting expeditions that added variety to the routine of duty. 20 It was in December of this winter that a detachment was sent forward to the battleground on which St. Clair met his tragic defeat in November, 1791. On this site Fort Recovery was built. Here were found the remains of many of St. Clair's soldiers that had not been buried. Four pieces of artillery which had been abandoned by St. Clair and concealed by the Indians were found and recovered. When Fort Recovery was completed it was garrisoned and Capt. Alexander Gibson was placed in command. Occasionally Indian chiefs from some of the hostile tribes came to Fort Greenville to talk terms of peace with General Wayne. Their proposals were not taken seriously. It was believed that they were simply seeking delay. With the approach of spring there was a practical end to peace conferences. The mounted militiamen under General Scott, who had been relieved of duty through the winter, in July joined the regiment. They numbered 1,500. 20 - Wayne showed his capacity as commander by the use he made of his spies and scouts. A few of these were Chickasaw or Choctaw Indians; the rest, twenty or thirty in number, were drawn from the ranks of wild white Indian-fighters. * * * As skillful and hardy as red warriors, better marksmen and even more daring, they * * * captured and brought in Indian after Indian, from whom Wayne got valuable information. The use of scouts and the consequent knowledge gained by the examination of Indian prisoners emphasized the difference between St. Clair and Wayne.—Roosevelt, "The Winning of the West." 246 - HISTORY OF OHIO Fort Recovery was appropriately named. Its erection signalized the recovery of the field lost by St. Clair. The enemy decided if possible to destroy it and regain the ground upon which they had won their most signal triumph. On June 30, 1794, a body of Indians and, it is believed, a number of British allies, made a furious assault upon the garrison. The American forces consisted of ninety riflemen and fifty dragoons. They were not surprised and answered the charge of the enemy with a well directed fire that drove them back in confusion. The battle continued at intervals through the entire day. Under the shadow of night the Indians succeeded in carrying their wounded and most of the dead from the scene of action. In this engagement the defenders of Fort Recovery lost twenty-two killed and thirty wounded. Among the latter was Captain Gibson, the commander of the fort. The loss of the enemy could not be determined. It is variously estimated and was much larger than that of the Americans. The number of Indians attacking the fort is supposed to have been between 1,000 and 1,500. On the morning of July 28, General Wayne with his Legion, consisting of 2,000 regulars and 1,500 mounted volunteers, moved northward from Fort Greenville. They followed the road made by St. Clair and pitched their first camp in the afternoon of the same day at Stillwater Creek. The day following they reached Fort Recovery and in the afternoon camped about one mile beyond it. Following a tributary of the Wabash they reached a point that they named Camp Beaver Swamp, eleven miles from Fort Recovery. Here a bridge was constructed, the stream was crossed and the road builders hewed their way through to St. Mary's River. The little army continued forced marches and later erected Fort Adams, the seventh post in the chain of defenses from the Ohio River. On the 4th of August the army reached a branch of the Auglaize River. On the 6th the Auglaize River was reached and a strong encamp- ment was built, named Fort Loramie. General Wayne now began to open up roads that he did not intend to follow. This was clone to deceive the Indian spies who were constantly on the watch. General Wayne now entered a fertile cultivated valley in which hundreds of acres of waving cornfields were seen. On August 8 the little army reached the Maumee River or, as it was then called, the Miami of the Lakes. The spot chosen for the next fortified encampment was on the present site of Defiance, Ohio. Here the historic Fort Defiance was erected. A final appeal was here made by General Wayne for a conference in the interest of a peaceful settlement of issues. The assembled Indians notified him that they would reach a decision at the end of ten days. Feeling assured that their only purpose was to gain further delay until reinforcements should arrive, Wayne advanced. On the night of August 19 the Indians held a council to make a final decision before giving battle to the Americans. Blue Jacket, the chief of the Shawnees, urged immediate and vigorous action. Little Turtle diplomatically suggested that it would be better to treat for peace. In part he spoke as follows : "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, and 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 to me it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace."21 The Indians assembled in council accused him of cowardice. He was deposed from the leadership which was conferred upon Blue Jacket, but he fought with the other chiefs in the battle of the following day. On August 20 Wayne arrived in sight of Fort Miami, the British 21 - Griswold, "The Pictorial History of Fort Wayne, Indiana," pp. 129-130. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 247 post that had been garrisoned near the falls of the Maumee. The American army had divested itself of its heavy baggage, which was left strongly guarded in the rear, and advanced toward the concealed enemy. Shortly before noon the Indians fired upon the advancing mounted volunteers and threw them into confusion. They retreated through the front rank of the regulars who held their ground until they were joined by a battalion of riflemen. The Americans formed in two lines and engaged the enemy who fought from the dense undergrowth and fallen timber, which had been blown down by a hurricane and made an ideal defense from which to wage their peculiar warfare. The front rank of Wayne's soldiers charged with trailed arms and roused their enemy from their coverts with the bayonet. As they ran they were shot down by the riflemen. They were soon in full retreat. The second line supported the first and the cavalry turned the enemy's right flank. The spirit of Wayne's soldiers arose with their initial success and the three columns of the Indians were soon completely routed. With their British allies they scattered in dismay, leaving the Americans in possession of the field. In this engagement about 900 of Wayne's soldiers actively participated. The force of the enemy was estimated at from 1,500 to 2,000. The loss of the Americans was 33 killed and 104 wounded. The exact loss of the enemy was not known, but was believed to be not less than twice the loss of the Americans. The loss of life, however, was not the most serious disaster to the Indians. Here in this fertile region were their great grain fields. In a letter, General Wayne describes them as follows : "The margins of these beautiful rivers, the Miamis of the Lake (Maumee), and the Au Glaize (a southern tributary), appear like one continued village of a number of miles, both above and below this place, Grand Glaize, nor have I ever before beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of America from Canada to Florida."22 There is other testimony to the effect that the valleys of the Wabash and the Maumee were under extensive cultivation. Indian cornfields, four or five miles in length, were waving in front of Wayne's army after the battle of Fallen Timbers. The whole valley of the Maumee was a succession of cornfields with large patches of vegetables and many fruits. Here were apple trees that had been bearing for a quarter of a century. 22 - Bureau of American Ethnology, "Handbook of American Indians," part I, p. 791, 248 - HISTORY OF OHIO Around Fort Defiance were found not only heavy crops of corn but abundant potatoes and other vegetables for the support of the army. Wayne's victorious Legion now applied themselves industriously to the destruction of everything that could support the Indian population. The vast cornfields were devastated. The torch was applied to everything that would burn. Indian villages and the habitations of the British Indian agents and their accomplices went up in flame. The country was devastated up to the very walls of Fort Miami which the British had erected near the rapids of the Maumee. It should be remembered that this occurred in the latter part of August before the corn had ripened and that the destruction of the fields and gardens along the Maumee was wrought so late in the year that no crop could be cultivated to supply the needs of the returning tribes. This was a more terrible disaster to them than the loss of the battle. It meant hunger and famine and reduction to dependence upon the charity of their foes or death in the dark recesses of the forest amid the drifting snows of the coming winter. 23 The Indians were greatly disappointed at the comparative inactivity of their British friends. They had been supplied with arms and the means to carry on their warfare against the Americans by British agents and they had been led to believe that they would have the active support of the garrison at Fort Miami and other soldiers that were supposed to be on their way from Detroit. They were also expecting reinforcements from the tribes of their brethren: They were now left practically unaided by their former friends to make terms with their victorious enemy. The defeat inflicted upon them in the battle of Fallen Timbers and the destruction of their fields and gardens that followed inevitably prepared the way for the treaty at Greenville the following year. A number of interesting incidents of Wayne's campaign have been related by various writers. Only a few of them are included here. WILLIAM MAY —SERVICES AND DEATH In the narrative of John Brickell, who at the age of ten years had been captured by the Indians and adopted into their tribe, we find the following statement of an exciting incident near the rapids of the Maumee : "Two or three days after we arrived at the rapids Wayne's spies came right into camp among us. I afterwards saw the survivors. Their names were Miller, McClellan, May, Wells, Mahaffy and one other whose name I forgot. They came into the camp boldly and fired on the Indians. Miller got wounded in the shoulder ; May was chased by the Indians to the smooth rock in the bed of the river, where his horse fell. He was taken prisoner and the rest escaped. They then took May to camp. They knew him ; he had formerly been a prisoner among them and ran away from them. They told him, 'We know you—you speak Indian language—you not content to live with us : tomorrow we take you to that tree, (pointing to a very large burr-oak at the edge of the clearing which was near the British fort), we will tie you up and make a mark on your breast, and we will try what Indian can shoot nearest it.' It so turned out. The next day, the very day before the battle, they 23 - The condition of the Indians following the destruction of their crops is set forth in communications from Colonel Hamtramck to Generals Wayne and Wilkinson following the battle of Fallen Timbers. In one of these letters he declared that the Indians had been begging food of him but that he finally told them he could not supply rations because of their scarcity. "If other supplies could be got by land," he said, "I consider it politic to feed these poor creatures, who will suffer very much for want of subsistence." On the 10th of February, 1795, the conditions had grown so bad, he declared, that he was "compelled to give them or see them die; it was impossible to refuse."—Griswold, "Pictorial History of Fort Wayne, Indiana," pp. 154-155. AS PART OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY - 249 tied him up, made a mark on his breast, and riddled his body with bullets, shooting at least fifty into him. Thus ended poor May." 24 May's experiences from the time he was sent out as a spy until he escaped and returned to Wayne's army are detailed in a sworn statement made at Pittsburgh, October 11, 1792. 25 He had been captured by Chippewa Indians and sold to Mathew Elliot "for service in the transport service on the lakes. When some Indians came on board the vessel where he was employed he recognized the scalps that they brought as having been taken from William Lynch, Major Trueman's waiter, and was told that another scalp was Major Trueman's. The death of these two was declared by one of the Indians to have occurred in this way : "This Indian and an Indian boy having met with Trueman, his waiter, Lynch and the interpreter, William Smalley, Major Trueman gave the Indian a belt ; after being together three or four hours, the Indians were going to leave them. Trueman inquired the reason from the interpreter, who answered, that the Indians were alarmed lest, there being three to two, they (the three) might injure * them in the night. * * Trueman told them they might tie both his servant and himself. * * * Lynch was first tied and then Trueman. The moment Trueman was tied, the Indian tomahawked and scalped him and then the boy (Lynch)." The papers belonging to Trueman were given to McKee, the Tory and British Indian agent, who sent them to Detroit. On May's return from Detroit he saw the scalp of Captain Hardin, who had been killed by the Indians. May continued in the service of Wayne until he met his tragic death in the manner described by Brickell. SERGEANT REUBEN REYNOLDS—EXPERIENCES' AS SPY Sergeant Reuben Reynolds of Connecticut reported his experiences as a spy among the Northwestern Indians to Mr. Lear, secretary to President Washington, on October 19, 1792. He stated that he was sent out by General Wilkinson as a spy and was to present that he had deserted from the Americans. He set out from Fort St. Clair on the 12th of May, 1791. Three days afterward he reached the Miami towns, a distance of about eighty miles from the fort—assuredly rather rapid traveling in this difficult region. Here he remained for a time and then in three days proceeded a distance of about fifty miles and fell in with the hunting party of Indians consisting of fourteen families ; these at first 'threatened to kill him, but afterwards laid aside that intention and treated him well. 'He was afterwards sold to a family of Wyandots and then again to the Miamis. He descended the St. Joseph's River and was taken to "a town of the Pottawottomies." He finally reached Fort Michilimackinac, where he lived for a time as kitchen servant in the family of a Mr. Champion. From this point he went on one of Mr. Champion's boats to Montreal and finally proceeded through Vermont to the City of Philadelphia. Here he made the report of his observations. 26 CAPTAIN WILLIAM WELLS, SON-IN-LAW OF LITTLE TURTLE This noted frontiersman deserves more than passing notice. His parents were pioneers in Kentucky. At the age of twelve years he was stolen by Miami Indians, brought to the Maumee region and adopted into the tribe. Later he married the daughter of the famous chieftain, Little Turtle, and f ought with the Indians in the wars with the white men. In 1792 he learned where his people were living, visited them 24 - American Pioneer, v. i, p. 52. 25 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, pp. 243-244. 26 - American State Papers, v. iv; Indian Affairs, v. i, p. 244.