98 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY
CHAPTER VIII (a).
FORT STEPHENSON.
FREMONT, OHIO, August 22, 1877. Hon. Homer Everett:
DEAR SIR: You are hereby requested by the city council of this city to furnish for publication an historical account of the defence of Fort Stephenson, and the purchase and dedication of the site of the fort fora public park. Hoping this request will meet with your approbation, we remain,
Yours, etc..
C. R. McCulloch,
President of the Council.
W. W. STINE, City Clerk.
In compliance with the request in the foregoing resolution, I submit to the Mayor and council of the city of Fremont the following memoranda of events connected with Fort Stephenson (or Fort Sandusky).
THE NAME.
The histories of the War of 1812 use two names to designate this fort. In an account of the battle here, published in March, A. D. 1815, Volume V., of the Port-Folio, a monthly pamphlet published by Oliver Old school, it is called Fort Sandusky. In late publications and histories both names are used to designate the place, as "Fort Stephenson or Lower Sandusky." [Western Annals, by James H. Parker, page 544; Historical Collections of Ohio, by Henry Howe, pages 448 and 449; History of the Maumee Valley, by H. S. Knapp, page 183.]
The name of Fort Sandusky was naturally derived from the river, near which it was situated. The other appellation of Fort Stephenson (or Stevenson, for it is spelled both ways in published histories,) was probably given to the place because Colonel Stevenson at one time commanded the post. The following general order shows that he was in command on and before the 14th of May, 1813 :
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 99
GENERAL ORDERS.
HEADQUARTERS, LOWER SANDUSKY,
14th May, 1813.
The troops which now form the garrison at Lower Sandusky will be relieved today by a detachment furnished by His Excellency, General Meigs, to the senior officer of which Colonel Stevenson will deliver the post and public property in his possession.
The militia belonging to General Wadsworth's division, now at this place, will, as soon as relieved, commence their march for Cleveland, where they will remain for the protection of that town.
Colonel Stevenson will furnish the senior officer of this detachment with a copy of this order, and the quartermaster here will provide the means of a transport for them. By order,
R. GRAHAM, Adjutant.
The following report is the first instance I have found where the name "Fort Stephenson" was authentically used. It seems to be a report on the transportation to be furnished under the preceding order, but the spelling of Stevenson, I notice, is changed:
FORT STEPHENSON,
May 22, 1813.
May it Please Your Excellency:
SIR: Agreeably to your orders, sent by Mr. Bishop, I have forwarded all the articles specified therein. The carriages on which they are to be mounted have not yet arrived, but are daily expected, as teams have been sent from this place under an escort from the garrison. If you deem it necessary that one of the carriages should be forwarded to Cleveland, the same will he done, on your order. Considerable manual labor has been done on the garrison since you left this place, and improvements are daily making.
The troops in general in the garrison are afflicted with bad colds. No epidemic or contagious disorder prevails. One person has been buried since you left this post. He came from Fort Meigs with a part of the baggage of Major Todd.
No news, or any apprehension of danger.
By order of Major Commanding.
R. E. POST, Adjutant.
R. J. MEIGS, Governor State of Ohio.
My memory holds, clearly, events as early as 1825, and events earlier. I have lived here since the year 1815, and ever since my earliest recollection the fort has been known in the locality as "Fort Stevenson:"
WHEN AND BY WHOM CONSTRUCTED.
I am unable to find any data by which to determine the exact time when the construction of the fort was begun. By the treaty of Greenville, between the United States, represented by Anthony Wayne, and the hostile tribes of Indians in the territory northwest of the Ohio River, August 3, 1815, the United States obtained title to a number of tracts of land, called afterwards reservations, in different parts of the territory. Among those was a tract of land two miles square at the lower rapids of the Sandusky River. They also obtained by the same treaty the right of way to and from each of these several tracts. Wayne was an experienced Indian fighter, and had then effectually subdued them; and knowing their character, no doubt anticipated further hostilities. His wise foresight is remarkably displayed in the selection of these parcels of land for advantageous military posts and forts.
The next we know of military operation here was on the 18th of January, A. D. 1813, when General Harrison hastened here from Upper Sandusky, and on that morning sent forward a battalion of troops to the support of Winchester in his march to Detroit.
The next mention of the place in military history is found in a general report to United States Secretary of War John Armstrong, under date of " Headquarters, foot of the Miami Rapids, 11th February, 1813," in which, while giving his intended disposition of his forces, he wrote : "A company will be placed at Upper Sandusky, and another at Lower Sandusky."
He does not in this communication apply the term "fort" in connection with either place. Hence, a fair inference that ' at the date of this report no fort had been constructed
I therefore conclude that the fort was built between the 11ith of February, 1813,
100 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
and the 14th of May following, by Colonel Stevenson, who was relieved at the date last mentioned, by the order first above quoted.
That it was improved by the detachment sent to his relief, as shown by the foregoing report of Adjutant R. E. Post, under date of May 22, 1813, and was completed by Major Croghan (pronounced Croh-an) after he took command of it, which was on or about the 15th of July, 1813. [Portfolio, Vol. V., . page 216, published March, 1815.] The same communication to the Portfolio has the following:
No doubt was entertained that the enemy would visit Sandusky. Accordingly Colonel Croghan labored day and night to place the fort (which had received no advantages from nature or art) in a State of defence. The necessity of cutting a ditch round the fort immediately presented itself to him. This was done; but in order to render the enemy's plans abortive, should they succeed in passing the ditch (which was nine feet wide and six feet deep), he had large logs placed on top of the fort, and so adjusted that an inconsiderable weight would cause them to fall from their position, and crush to death all who might be situated below.
The walls of the fort were made of logs, some round and some flat on one side, being half of larger pieces of timber, averaging about eighteen inches in thickness, set firmly in the earth, perpendicularly, each picket crowded closely against the other and about ten feet high, sharpened at the top. The walls inclosed about one acre of ground on a bluff formed by the hills, bounding the valley of the river on the east of the fort, and a ravine running in a northeasterly direction, cutting through the bluff north of the fort.
After Croghan arrived at the fort he had a ditch six feet deep and nine feet wide, dug around it outside, throwing about half the earth against the foot of the pickets, and grading it sharply down to the bottom of the ditch. The other portion of earth was thrown on the outerbank of the ditch, thus increasing the depth from the top of the outer bank.
Our esteemed citizen, J. P. Moore, informed the writer a few years since that he had a conversation with one James Kirk, then of Michigan, but since deceased. Kirk was then on a visit to Fremont, and guest of Mr. Moore. He informed Mr. Moore that he (Kirk) was here in the spring of 1813, and worked on the fort, and, being a blacksmith by trade, put the hinges on the gate of an addition to the fort; that an additional area was enclosed that spring and fore part of the summer equal to the area of the original fort.
This fact accounts for what might otherwise appear singular, viz: A block-house or bastion near the middle of the north ditch. Kirk also mentioned a store-house then erected, built of peeled logs, which, being higher than the other buildings and not so strong, was battered down by the enemy's cannon during the siege. In this house, Kirk said, was stored a quantity of hard bread intended for the support of the men in Perry's fleet, which was expected up the lake about that time. Kirk was sent to Fort Seneca shortly before the battle, and was, consequently, not present during the engagement. But he returned shortly after, and for many years worked at his trade in this place. He was long known to the writer when a boy, and was a good citizen and an honorable, truthful man.
THE ATTACK AND DEFENCE OF THE FORT.
Having raised the siege of Camp Meigs, the British sailed around into Sandusky Bay, while a competent number of their savage allies marched across through the swamps of Portage River, to cooperate in a combined attack on Lower Sandusky, expecting, no doubt, that General Harrison's attention would be chiefly directed to forts Winchester and Meigs. The Gen-
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 101
eral, however, had calculated on their taking this course, and had been careful to keep patrols down the bay, opposite the mouth of the Portage, where he supposed their forces would debark.
Several days before the British had invested Fort Meigs, General Harrison, with Major Croghan and some other officers, had examined the heights which surrounded Fort Stephenson; and as the hill on the opposite or southeast side of the river was found to be the most commanding eminence, the General had some thoughts of removing the fort to that place, and Major Croghan declared his readiness to undertake the work. But the General did not authorize him to do it, and he believed that if the enemy intended to invade our territory again, they would do it before the removal could be completed. It was then finally concluded that the fort, which was calculated for a garrison of only two hundred men, could not be defended against the heavy artillery of the enemy; and that if the British should approach it by water, which would cause a presumption that they had brought their heavy artillery, the fort must be abandoned and burnt, provided a retreat could be effected with safety. In the orders left with Major Croghan, it was stated: "Should the British troops approach you in force with cannon, and you can discover them in time to effect a retreat, you will do so immediately, destroying all the public stores."
"You must be aware that the attempt to retreat in the face of an Indian force would be vain. Against such an enemy your garrison would be safe, however great the number."
On the evening of the 29th General Harrison received intelligence, by express, from General Clay, that the enemy had abandoned the siege of Fort Meigs; and as the Indians on that day had swarmed in the woods round his camp, heentertained no doubt but that an immediate attack was intended either on Sandusky or Seneca. He therefore immediately called a council of war, consisting of McArthur, Cass, Ball, Paul, Wood, Hukill, Holmes and Graham, who were unanimously of the opinion that Fort Stephen_ son was untenable against heavy artillery, and that as the enemy could bring with facility any quantity of battering cannon against it, by which it must inevitably fall, and as it was an unimportant post, containing nothing the loss of which would be felt by us, that the garrison should therefore not be reinforced, but withdrawn, and the place destroyed. In pursuance of this decision, the General immediately dispatched the order to Major Croghan, directing him immediately to abandon Fort Stephenson, to set it on fire and repair with his command to headquarters—cross the river and come up on the opposite side, and if he should find it impracticable to' reach the General's quarters, to take the road to Huron, and pursue it with the utmost circumspection and dispatch. This order was sent by Mr. Conner and two Indians, who lost their way in the dark, and did not reach Fort Stephenson until 11 o'clock the next day. When Major Croghan received it, he was of the opinion that he could not then retreat with safety, as the Indians were hovering round the fort in considerable force. He called a council of his officers, a majority of whom coincided with him in opinion that a retreat would be unsafe, and that the post could be maintained against the enemy, at least till further instructions could be received from headquarters. The Major, therefore, immediately returned the following answer:
SIR: I have just received yours of yesterday, to P. M. , ordering me to destroy this place and make good my retreat, which was received too late to be carried into execution. We have determined to maintain this place, and, by heavens, we can.
102 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
In writing this brief note Major Croghan had a view to the probability of its falling into the hands of the enemy, and on that account made use of stronger language than would otherwise have been consistent with propriety. It reached the General on the same day, who did not fully understand the circumstances and motives under which it had been dictated. The following order was therefore immediately prepared and sent with Colonel Wells in the morning, escorted by Colonel Ball, with his corps of dragoons:
July 30, 1813.
SIR: The General has just received your letter of this date, informing him that you had thought proper to disobey the order issued from this office, and delivered to you this morning. It appeats that the information which dictated the order was incorrect; and as you did not receive it in the night, as was expected, it might have been proper that you should have reported the circumstance and your situation, before you proceeded to its execution. This might have been passed over; but I am directed to say to you, that an officer who presumes to aver that he has made his resolution, and that he will act in direct opposition to the orders of the General, can no longer be entrusted with a separate command. Colonel Wells is sent to relieve you. You will deliver the command to him, and repair with Colonel Ball's squadron to this place. By command, etc.
A. H. Holmes, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Colonel Wells being left in the command of Fort Stephenson, Major Croghan returned with the squadron to headquarters. He there explained his motive for writing such a note, which was deemed satisfactory; and having remained all night with the General, who treated him politely, he was permitted to return to his command in the morning, with written orders similar to those he had received before.
A reconnoitering party which had been sent from headquarters to the shore of the lake, about twenty miles distant from Fort Stephenson, discovered the approach of the enemy, by water, on the 31st of July. They returned by the fort after 12 o'clock the next day, and had passed it but a few hours when the enemy made their appearance before it. The Indians showed themselves first on the hill over the river, and were saluted by a six-pounder, the only piece of artillery in the fort, which soon caused them to retire. In half an hour the British gun-boats came in sight, and the Indian forces displayed themselves in every direction, with a view to intercept the garrison, should a retreat be attempted. The six-pounder was fired a few times at the gun-boats, which was returned by the artillery of the enemy. A landing of their troops with a five and a half inch howitzer was effected about a mile below the tort, and Major Chambers, accompanied by Dickson, was dispatched towards the fort with a flag, and was met on the part of Major Crogban by Ensign Shipp, of the Seventeenth regiment. After the usual ceremonies, Major Chambers observed to Ensign Shipp that he was instructed by General Proctor to demand the surrender of the fort, as he was anxious to spare the effusion of human blood, which he could not do should he be under the necessity of reducing it by the powerful force of artillery, regulars, and Indians under his command. Shipp replied that the commandant of the fort and its garrison was determined to defend it to the last extremity; that no force, however great, could induce them to surrender, as they were resolved to maintain their post, or to bury themselves, in its ruins. Dickson then said that their immense body of Indians could not be restrained from murdering the whole garrison in case of success; of which we have no doubt, rejoined Chambers, as we are amply prepared. Dickson then proceeded to remark, that it was a great pity so fine a young man should fall into the hands of the savages—Sir, for God's sake, surrender, and prevent the dreadful massacre
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 103
that will be caused by your resistance. Mr. Shipp replied, that when the fort was taken there would be none to massacre. It will not be given up while a man is able to resist. An Indian at this moment came out of the adjoining ravine, and advancing to the ensign, took hold of his sword and attempted to wrest it from him. Dickson interfered, and having retained the Indian, affected great anxiety to get him safe into the fort.
The enemy now opened fire from their six-pounder in the gunboats and the howitzer on shore, which they continued through the night with but little intermission and with very little effect. The forces of the enemy consisted of five hundred regulars, and about eight hundred Indians commanded by Dickson, the whole being commanded by General Proctor in person. Tecumseh was stationed on the road to Fort Meigs with a body of two thousand Indians, expecting to intercept a reinforcement on that route.
Major Croghan, through the evening, occasionally fired his six-pounder, at the same time changing its place, to induce a belief that he had more than one piece. As it produced very little execution on the enemy, and he was desirous of saving his ammunition, he soon discontinued his fire. The enemy had directed their fire against the northwestern angle of the fort, which induced the commander to believe that an attempt would be made to storm his works at that point. In the night Captain Hunter was directed to remove the six-pounder to a block-house, from which it would rake that angle. By great industry and personal exertion, Captain Hunter soon accomplished this object in secrecy. The embrasure was masked and the piece loaded with a half-charge of powder, and double-charge of slugs and grape-shot. Early in the morning of the d the enemy openedtheir fire from their howitzer and three six-pounders, which they had landed in the night, and planted in a point of woods about two hundred and fifty yards from the fort. In the evening, about 4 o'clock, they concentrated the fire of all their guns on the northwest angle, which convinced Major Croghan that they would endeavor to make a breach and storm the works at that point; he therefore immediately had that place strengthened as much as possible with bags of flour and sand, which were so effectual that the picketing in that place sustained no material injury. Sergeant Weaver, with five or six gentlemen of the Petersburg volunteers and Pittsburgh Blues, who happened to be in the fort, was intrusted with the management of the six-pounder.
Late in the evening, when the smoke of the firing had completely enveloped the fort, the enemy proceeded to make the assault. Two feints were made toward the southern angle, where Captain Hunter's lines were formed; and at the same time a column of three hundred and fifty men was discovered advancing through the smoke, within twenty paces of the northwestern angle. A heavy, galling fire of musketry was now opened upon them from the fort, which threw them into some confusion. Colonel Short, who headed the principal column, soon rallied his men, and led them with great bravery to the brink of the ditch. After a momentary pause he leaped into the ditch, calling to his men to follow him, and in a few minutes it was full. The masked porthole was now opened, and the six-pounder, at the distance of thirty feet, poured such destruction among them that but few who had entered the ditch were fortunate enough to escape. ' A precipitate and confused retreat was the immediate consequence, although some of the officers attempted to rally their men. The other
104 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
column, which was led by Colonel Warburton and Major Chambers, was also routed in confusion by a destructive fire from the line commanded by Captain Hunter. The whole of them fled into the adjoining wood, beyond the reach of our firearms. During the assault, which lasted half an hour, the enemy kept up an incessant fire from their howitzer and five six-pounders. They left Colonel Short,* a lieutenant and twenty-five privates dead in the ditch; and the total number of prisoners taken was twenty-six, most of them badly wounded. Major Muir was knocked down in the ditch, and lay among the dead till, the darkness of the night enabled him to escape iii safety. The loss of the garrison was one killed and seven slightly wounded. The total loss of the enemy could not have been less than one hundred and sixty killed and wounded.
When night came on, which was soon after the assault, the wounded in the ditch were in a desperate situation. Complete relief could not be brought to them by either side with any degree of safety. Major Croghan, however, relieved them as much as possible—he contrived to convey them water over the picketing in buckets, and a ditch was opened under the pickets, through which those who were able and willing, were encouraged to crawl into the fort. All who were able preferred, of course, to follow their defeated comrades, and many others were carried from the vicinity of the fort by the Indians, particularly their own killed and wounded; and in the night, about three
*Colonel Short, who commanded the regulars composing the forlorn hope, was ordering his men to leap the ditch, cut down the pickets and give the Americans no quarter, when he fell mortally Wounded into the ditch, hoisted his white handkerchief on the end of his sword, and begged for that mercy which he had a moment before ordered to be denied to his enemy.
o'clock, the whole British and Indian force commenced a disorderly retreat. So great was their precipitation that they left a sailboat containing some clothing and a considerable quantity of military stores; and on the next day, seventy stand of arms and some braces of pistols were picked up about the fort. Their hurry and confusion was caused by the apprehension of an attack from General Harrison, of whose position and force they had probably received an exaggerated account.
It was the intention of General Harrison, should the enemy succeed against Fort Stephenson, or should they endeavor to turn his left and fall on Upper Sandusky, to leave his camp at Seneca and fall back for the protection of that place. But he discovered by the firing on the evening of the 1st, that' the enemy had nothing but light artillery, which could make no impression on the fort; and he knew that an attempt to storm it without making a breach, could be successfully repelled by the garrison; he therefore determined to wait for the arrival of two hundred and fifty mounted volunteers under Colonel Rennick, being the advance of seven hundred who were approaching by the way of Upper Sandusky, and then to march against the enemy and raise the siege, if their force was not still too great for his. On the 2d he sent several scouts to ascertain their situation and force; but the woods were so infested with Indians that none of them could proceed sufficiently near the fort to make the necessary discoveries. In the night the messenger arrived at headquarters with the intelligence that the enemy were preparing to retreat. About nine o'clock Major Croghan had ascertained, from their collecting about their boats, that they were preparing to embark, and had immediately sent an express to the commander-in-chief with this information. The General now
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 105
determined to wait no longer for the reinforcements, and immediately set out with the dragoons, with which he reached the fort early in the morning, having ordered Generals McArthur and Cass, who had arrived at Seneca several days before, to follow him with all the disposable infantry at that place, and which at this time was about seven hundred men, after the numerous sick, and the force necessary to maintain the position, were left behind. Finding that the enemy had fled entirely from the fort, so as not to be reached by him, and learning that Tecumseh was somewhere in the direction of Fort Meigs, with two thousand warriors, he immediately ordered the infantry to fall back to Seneca, lest Tecumseh should make an attack on that place, or intercept the small reinforcements advancing from Ohio.
In his official report of this affair, General Harrison observes that: "It will not be among the least of General Proctor's mortifications, that he has been baffled by a youth, who has just passed his twenty-first year. He is, however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle, General George R. Clarke."
Captain Hunter, of the Seventeenth regiment, the second in command, conducted himself with great propriety; and never was there a set of finer young fellows than the subalterns, viz: Lieutenants Johnson and Baylor of the Seventeenth, Meeks of the Seventh, and Ensigns Shipp and Duncan, of the Seventeenth.
Lieutenant Anderson, of the Twenty-fourth, was also noticed for his good conduct. Being without a command, he solicited Major Croghan for a musket and a post to fight at, which he did with the greatest bravery.
"Too much praise," says Major Croghan, "can not be bestowed on the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privatesunder my command, for their gallantry and good conduct during the siege."
The brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel was immediately conferred on Major Croghan, by the President of the United States, for his gallant conduct on this occasion. The ladies of Chillicothe also presented him an elegant sword, accompanied by a suitable address.
The following sketches of Colonel George Croghan are taken from the Port, folio, published in 1815:
FRANKFORT, July 22, 1814.
To the Editor of the Portfolio:
SIR : Upon receiving the letter which you did me the honor to address to me by Mrs. B., I immediately took such measures as were necessary to procure the information you requested. 1 now transmit to you he result of my inquiries, regretting that it was not. in my power to do it sooner.
At the` time when Colonel Croghan and myself were inmates of the same house, he was in his fourteenth year. No incident occurred during that early period sufficiently interesting to find a place in his history'; yet, even then, his conduct exhibited a happy combination of those talents and principles which have already procured him the admiration and gratitude of his country.
Though ingenuous in his disposition and unassuming and conciliating in his manners, he was remarkable for discretion and steadiness. His opinions, when once formed, were maintained with modest but persevering firmness; and the propriety of his decisions generally justified the spirit with which they were defended. Yet, though rigid to his adherence to principle, and in his estimate of what was right or improper, in cases of minor importance he was all compliance. I never met with a youth who would so cheerfully sacrifice every personal gratification to the wishes or accommodation of his friends. In sickness or disappointment he evinced a degree of patience and fortitude which could not have been exceeded by any veteran in the school of misfortune or philosophy. Were I asked, what were the most prominent features of his character? (or rather, what were the prevailing dispositions of his mind?) at the period of which I am speaking,—I would answer, decision and urbanity ; the former, resulting from the uncommon and estimable qualities of his understanding—the latter, from the concentration of all the sweet "charities of life," in his heart. Thus far from my own observation. I have seldom seen Colonel Croghan for the last eight years ; but subjoin the testimony of those to whose observation he has been exposed during the whole of that period.
106 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
An intelligent young gentleman, who was his associate in study and in alms, has given me a brief sketch of his military career, which I herewith transmit, together with such corroborative and additional circumstances as I have collected from other sources, and which in substance amount to this :
Lieutenant-Colonel George Croghan was born at Locust Grove, near the falls of Ohio, on the 15th of November, 1791. His father, Major William Croghan, left Ireland at an early period of life ; was appointed an officer in our Revolutionary army, and discharged his duties as such, to the satisfaction of the commander-in-chief. His mother is the daughter of John Clarke, esq., of Virginia, a gentleman of worth and respectability, who exerted himself greatly, and contributed largely towards the support of our just and glorious contest. He had five sons, four of whom were officers in the Revolutionary army. General William Clarke, who, together with Captain Lewis, explored, and is at present the Governor of Louisiana, was too young to participate with his brothers in the achievement of our liberties ; but his conduct since is a sufficient demonstration of the part he would have taken, had he been riper in years. The military talents of General George R. Clarke have obtained for him the flattering appellation of " the father of the western country."
Colonel Croghan has always been esteemed generous and humane; and, when a boy, his manly appearance and independence of sentiment and action commanded the attention and admiration of all who knew him.
The selection of his speeches for scholastic exercises tended in some measure to mark his peculiar talent. They were of a nature entirely military. He read with delight whatever appertained to military affairs, and would listen for hours to conversations respecting battles.. His principal amusements were gunning and fox-hunting. He would frequently rise at 12 o'clock at night, and repair to the woods alone (or with no attendant but his little servant), either to give chase to the fox, or battle to the wild cat and raccoon.
Nothing offended him more than for any one, even in jest, to say a word disrespectful of General Washington.
While in the State of Kentucky his time was principally occupied by the study of his native tongue, geography, the elements of geometry, and the Latin and Greek languages. In these different branches of literature he made a respectable progress.
In the year 1808 he left Locust Grove for the purpose of prosecuting his studies in the University of William and Mary. In this institution he graduated as A. B. on the 4th of July, 182o; and delivered, on the day of his graduation, an oration on the subject of expatriation. This oration was deemed by the audience, concise, ingenious. and argumentative, and was pronounced in a manlier which did great creditto his oratorical powers. The ensuing autumn he attended a course of lectures on law, and upon the termination of the course returned to his father's where he prosecuted the study of the same profession, and occasionally indulged himself in miscellaneous reading. Biography and history have always occupied much of his attention. He is an enthusiastic admirer of the writings of Shakespeare, and can recite most of the noted passages of that great poet and philosopher. He admires tragedy but not comedy. He is (as his countenance indicates) rather of a serious cast of mind; yet no one admires more a pleasant anecdote, or an unaffected sally of wit. With his friends he is affable and free from reserve; his manners are prepossessing; he dislikes ostentation, and was never heard to utter a word in praise of himself.
In the autumn of 1811 was fought the battle of Tippecanoe. This was the first opportunity which offered for the display of his military talents. He embraced it with avidity-left his father's house in the character of a volunteer, and was appointed aid to General Harrison. On the 7th of November an attack was made on the-troops under the command of that officer; the enemy were repulsed with valor; and during the engagement young Croghan evinced the greatest courage, activity, and military skill. His services were acknowledged by all; and he exhibited such proofs of a genius for war that many of his companions in arms remarked that "he was born a soldier." A cant saying among the troops at Tippecanoe was " to do a main business; " and during the battle he would ride from post to post, exciting the courage of the men by exclaiming, "Now, my brave fellows, now is the time to do a main business." Upon the return of the troops from Tippecanoe, they were frequently met by persons coming to ascertain the fate of their children or friends. Among the number of these was a Very poor and aged man, whose son was slain in the battle. Colonel Croghan, having ascertained the situation of the old man, and observing his inability to perform much bodily labor, regularly made his fires every morning, and supplied him with provisions, clothes, and money. Many acts of this kind are related of him by the soldiers and officers of Tippecanoe.
After the battle of Tippecanoe, his military ardor greatly increased, and, upon the prospect of a speedy declaration of war, he expressed a desire to join the army. Recommendatory letters of the most flattering kind were written by Generals Harrison and Boyd to the Secretary of War; and upon the commencement of hostilities against Great Britain, he was appointed captain in the Seventeenth regiment of infantry. He was stationed some time at Clark Cantonment, near the Falls of Ohio, but had not been long in command there before he was ordered to march, with what regulars he had, to the headquarters of the Northwestern Army, then at Detroit.
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 107
His countenance beamed with delight upon receiving this order. There were large bodies of militia and volunteers on their march to Detroit, but before they had proceeded far they heard of Hull's surrender.
Shortly after this the command of the Northwestern Army was given to General Harrison. Colonel Croghan commanded a short time at Fort Defiance, on the Miami, but upon the defeat of General Winchester he was ordered to Fort Meigs. His conduct during that memorable siege is handsomely noticed in General Harrison's official report, and he was shortly afterwards promoted to a majority, and stationed with his battalion at Upper Sandusky. While there he received information, by express, of an attack upon Lower Sandusky. It was late in the afternoon when the intelligence reached him—the road between the two places was intolerably bad—the distance thirty-six miles, and the rain descending in torrents; yet he proceeded at the head of his battalion to its relief, and continued his march until 12 o'clock at night, by which time he had advanced twenty miles. It then became so dark that he and his men were obliged to lie down in the road, and wait the return of light rather than run the risk of losing their way.
He arrived at Fort Ball (twelve miles distant) before sunrise the next morning, having waded through mud and mire frequently waist deep, and having been exposed to a heavy rain during the whole night. He was there informed that the report of an attack upon Lower Sandusky was unfounded, but after remaining a few days at Fort Ball ho proceeded thither, having received orders to take the command at that post. He arrived there about the 15th of July. A few days after this Fort Meigs was besieged by a large British and Indian force. No doubt was entertained that the enemy would visit Sandusky. Accordingly, Colonel Croghan labored day and night to place the fort (which had received no advantages from nature or art) in a state of defence. The necessity of cutting a ditch round the fort, immediately presented itself to him. This was done; but in order to render the enemy's plans abortive, should they even succeed in leaping the ditch (which was nine feet wide, and six deep), he had large logs placed on the top of the fort, and so adjusted that an inconsiderable weight would cause them to fall from their position, and crush to death all who might be situated below. This improvement in the art of fortification took place but a few days before the attack. It is novel, and originated with himself.
A short time before the action, he wrote the following 'concise and impressive letter to a friend:
The enemy are not far distant—I expect an attack—I will defend this post till the last extremity—I have just sent away the women and children, withthe sick of the garrison, that I may be able to act without incumbrance. Be satisfied. I shall, I hope, do my duty. The example set me by my Revolutionary kindred is before me—let me die rather than prove unworthy of their name.
The following extract of a letter, written by a fellow-student and fellow-soldier of Lieutenant-Colonel Croghan, is here introduced as throwing additional light on the military character of that distinguished young officer:
Lieutenant-Colonel George Croghan is a native of Kentucky, and the second son of Major William Croghan, near Louisville. He is the nephew of the gallant hero and accomplished general, George Rogers Clarke, the father of the western country, and of General William Clarke, the present enterprising Governor of Missouri. His father is a native of Ireland, and having early embarked his fortunes in America, was a distinguished officer in the war of the Revolution.
Lieutenant-Colonel Croghan was born on the 15th of November, 1791, and received all the advantages of education the best grammar schools in Kentucky could afford, until in his seventeenth year, when he commenced a scientific course in the ancient college of William and Mary, in Virginia. Both at school and at college he was remarked for an open manliness of character, and elevation of sentiment, and a strength of intellect, connected with a high and persevering ambition.
In July, 1810, he graduated at William and Mary college, and soon afterwards commenced the study of law. With this view, he continued to visit that university until the fall of 1811, when he volunteered his services as a private in the campaign up the Wabash. A short time before the action of Tippecanoe, he was appointed aid-de-camp to General Boyd, the second in command : and, although from his situation, he was not enabled to evince that activity which has since so much distinguished him, he exhibited a soul undaunted in one of the most sanguinary conflicts of the present day, and accordingly received the thanks of the commanding general.
In consequence of his services on the Wabash expedition, he was appointed a captain in the provisional army directed to be raised and organized in the spring of 1812. In August he marched with the detachment from Kentucky, under General Winchester, destined to relieve General Hull in Canada; and to those acquainted with the movements of that gallant but unfortunate little army, the caution, zeal, and military capacity of Captain Croghan was conspicuous. Upon visiting the various encampments of the army on its march along the Miami of the Lake, both before and after the attack on Fort Wayne, the ground occupied by Captain Croghan
108 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
was easily designated by the judicious fortifications erected for the night. On the movement of the army towards the Rapids, he was entrusted with the command of Fort Winchester, at the junction of the Auglaize and Miami Rivers, where he manifested his usual military arrangement. After the defeat at the River Raisin he joined General Harrison at the Rapids, previous to the erection of Fort Meigs.
It is creditable to the discernment of General Harrison, that he relied with the utmost confidence on the judicious arrangements of Captain Croghan, in the trying, brilliant, and ever memorable siege of Fort Meigs. In she sortie under that gallant soldier, Colonel Miller, on the 5th of May, to the companies led by Captains Croghan, Langhan, and Bradford was confided the storming of the British batteries, defended by a regular force and a body of Indians, either of them superior in number to the assailants. Here Captain Croghan's gallantry was again noticed in general orders.
At a very critical period of the last campaign (that of 18'3,) young Croghan, now promoted to a majority. was appointed to the command of Fort Sandusky, at Lower Sandusky. On his conduct in the defence of that post, the official documents of the time, and the applause of a grateful country, are the most honorable commentary. The character of the campaign was changed from defensive to offensive operations, and its issue very materially influenced by the achievement. For his valor and good conduct on this occasion, Major Crogan was made, by brevet, a Lieutenant-Colonel.
Colonel Croghan was made Inspector General of the army, with the rank of Colonel, December 21, 1825, and in that capacity served with General Taylor in Mexico.
Congress presented him with a gold medal February 13, 1835, as a recognition of his gallant services in the defence of Fort Stephenson.
I close this sketch with an incident which pithily illustrates the character of President Jackson and the esteem in which Colonel Croghan was held.
Colonel Miller, the gallant "I'll try, sir," of the War of 1812, was the first to make known to President Jackson that George Croghan, the splendid hero of the Fort Stephenson fight in 1813, who, with a handful of men, maintained against a thousand British and Indians a position that involved all the communication anddefences of the Northwest, that George Croghan, with this gallant record, was to be court-martialed on a charge of "intemperance in alcholic drinks." The old General listened impatiently to the information, but heard it through, and then he laid down his paper, rose from his chair, smote the table with his clenched fist, and, with his proverbial energy, declared: "Those proceedings of the courtmartial shall be stopped, sir! George Croghan shall get drunk every day of his life if he wants to, and by the Eternal, the United States shall pay for the whiskey."
PURCHASE OF THE GROUND BY THE CITY.
At an early day after the village of Lower Sandusky was chartered—a few men suggested and desired that the village should purchase and preserve the fort. The purchase was talked of from time to time. While it was owned by Chester Edgerton, esq., he verbally agreed to sell it to the city for four thousand dollars. General R. P. Buckland, then representing this district in the Ohio Senate, about the year 1856 procured the passage of an act empowering the village to purchase at that price, on the majority vote of the inhabitants. The vote was taken and carried in favor of the purchase. But by this time Mr. Edgerton had changed his mind, and declined, for some reason, to sell to the city, but afterwards sold to Mr. Lewis Leppelman.
Among those who were always desirous the city should purchase, was Mr. Sardis Birchard, uncle of President Hayes. Fremont in the meantime became a city of the second class. Mr. Birchard, while alive, determined to found a public library in the city, where he had resided and accumulated considerable wealth. He accordingly donated property valued at fifty thousand dollars for the purpose, and appointed as trustees of the library and the fund: The Mayor of the city of Fre-
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 109
mont, the Superintendent of the city schools, R. B. Hayes, R. P. Buckland, Rev. Ebenezer Bushnell, James W. Wilson, Thomas Stilwell, William E. Haynes, and L. Q. Rawson. On meeting, the Board of Trustees chose the following officers, who still hold their respective positions : President, R. B. Hayes ; Vice-President, R. P. Buckland ; Secretary, W. W. Ross; Treasurer, James W. Wilson.
It was the earnest wish of Mr. Birchard that the library should be located on the site of the fort, and that the city should own that ground for a park. Hence, when the owner, Lewis Leppleman, esq., offered four lots embracing the fort ground property for eighteen thousand dollars, and Mr. Claghan and Dr. W. V. B. Ames, each a lot on the south, which connect the ground from Croghan to Garrison streets, consented to sell for nine thousand, Mr. Birchard authorized the trustees of the library to divert six thousand dollars of the library fund to the purchase. This not being sufficient with the funds appropriated by the city, General Hayes, to complete its purchase of the whole block, guaranteed three thousand dollars more out of the library fund, and the whole was purchased, and deeded to the city with condition that the library building should be erected therein.
THE GUN CALLED BETSEY CROGHAN.
The gun used by Colonel Croghan with such good effect, in defence of the fort, naturally became an object of inquiry with a view to having it placed in the fort as a relic of the past.
Brice J. Bartlett, a citizen and prominent lawyer of the place, father of Colonel J. R. Bartlett, and then mayor of the village, was untiring in his efforts to find and preserve the gun. By correspondence with the War Department and inquiry through members of Congress, he ascertained that the identical gun was stored at Pittsburgh.
Aided by other citizens, he procured the passage of a resolution by Congress, directing that the gun be forwarded to this place and given to the village authorities.
It was forwarded, but by some misdirection was carried to Sandusky City. The authorities of that place desired to keep it, and when it was traced there and claimed by Mayor Bartlett, it was concealed by being buried.
He set a detective on the search, who, after several days, succeeded in finding where it was buried and informed Mayor Bartlett.
The Mayor sent a force of several men with a team, who found the gun and brought it away. There was much rejoicing over the arrival of the gun, and the people still hold it as a sacred relic of the past and a witness of the bravery of Colonel Croghan and his one hundred and sixty brave Kentuckians.
This gun is now placed on the site of Fort Stephenson, to be there kept as a memento and a reminder to future generations, of the heroism and bravery of the fort's defenders.
The following communication was written by Clark Waggoner, who formerly edited the Lower Sandusky Whig, and was published in the Fremont Journal of August, 1879. It seems so pertinent to the history of the fort and the people • of Lower Sandusky, that we give it entire:
FORTY YEARS AGO—FORT STEPHENSON CElEBRA-
TION OF 1839.
The history of Fremont and vicinity is especially rich in events and associations, some of which have been gathered for record, while many others remain unwritten and liable to the oblivion which sooner or later overtakes tradition. Most prominent of all now stands, and must stand, the thrilling story of the heroic and successful defence of Fort Stephenson by Major George Croghan and his gallant little band of one hundred and sixty-nine men, August 2, 1813,
110 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
from the combined attack of five hundred British regulars and eight hundred Indians, under command of General Proctor. After a furious cannonading of twenty-four hours, the assault was made, which resulted in complete repulse, with a loss to the assailants of two hundred men in killed and wounded, and to the brave defenders of one man killed and seven slightly wounded. We need not stop hereto repeat the many features and incidents of that notable event, so highly important in staying the advance into Ohio of the confident leader of that mongrel command, our present object being rather to refer to the notable commemoration of that great victory, which took place here on the twenty-sixth anniversary of the same, August 2, 1839. This is made the more fitting at this time by the occurrence tomorrow of the sixty-sixth anniversary of that event.
Since the celebration of 1839, forty years have passed. Forty years ! Two score of the earth's cycles! How few, of the hundreds who participated in the exercises of that occasion, remain to have its pleasant memories revived by this reference thereto. Not one in a hundred of the present population of Fremont and vicinity have any information of that event, except as received from others. And yet there are some who have all these long years of intervening time kept the matter in mind, and these will take special pleasure in a brief review of some of the incidents of the occasion. It is proper here to state that in 1839 there still remained some who were either here or in the immediate vicinity at the time of the tragic scenes of 1813.
The celebration of 1839 was the first formal recognition made of the anniversary of the battle, and was entered into by all classes of citizens with a spirit and an energy which indicated the deepest interest in the chief local event of the town. Action looking thereto was inaugurated by a preliminary meeting of citizens, held at the court house on the evening of July 6, when Thomas L. Hawkins was called to the chair and Ralph E. Buckland appointed secretary. On the motion of Dr. Frank Williams, it was resolved to take measures for the celebration of the then approaching anniversary, when a committee of arrangements therefor was appointed, to consist of the following named citizens, to-wit: General John Bell, James Justice, N. B. Eddy, John R. Pease, Ralph P. Buckland, Dr. Frank Williams, Isaac Knapp, Andrew Morehouse, James Vallette, Dr. L. Q. Rawson, William Fields, Dr. Daniel Brainard, Rodolphus Dickinson, General Samuel Treat, General John Patterson, Captain Samuel Thompson, Major James A. Scranton, Jesse S. Olmsted, General Robert S. Rice, Thomas L. Hawkins, and Jeremiah Everett. This list will call up many memories among the readers of the Journal. It embraces the names of most of the prominent citizens of old Lower Sandusky then living, nearly all of whom, one by one, have passed from earth. Of thetwenty-one named, but three remain—General Buckland, Dr. Rawson, and William Fields.
The committee at once entered upon its duties, the discharge of which must be judged from results. Suffice it here to say that the undertaking committed to their hands was not then what it would be now. At that time nearly everything of ways and means had to be improvised for the occasion, while the population was small, with resources limited. The design of the committee was of the most liberal kind, and included, besides the usual procession, music, orations, etc., a grand barbecue dinner, something entirely new in this section. The people co-operated zealously and liberally with the committees' plans in the supply of money and other assistance, while business was wholly given up to the festivities of the day. Special invitations were sent to a large number of distinguished men throughout the country, from many of whom letters were received. A splendid ox was neatly and admirably roasted whole, after the best Kentucky style, and was supported by several smaller animals cooked in the same manner. The dinner was served under a capacious arbor especially prepared on the hill, in full sight and within a few rods of the old fort.
A SUGGESTIVE INCIDENT.
In his letter to the committee, Hon. Elisha Whittlesey gives, upon the authority of the person named, for whom he vouches as "a gentleman of respectability and of strict veracity," the following statement, which has not otherwise been made public. Mr. Whittlesey wrote:
Aaron Norton, then a resident of Tallmadge, Portage county, on the 2d of August, 1813, left Huron county to visit Fort Stephenson on business. He had furnished supplies for the Northwestern Army at different times after Hull's surrender, and was very well acquainted with the country east of the Maumee River. He arrived in the vicinity of Fort Stephenson in the afternoon, and without knowing that the British and Indians had effected a landing, he rode about halfway from the high bank to the place for fording the Sandusky River, when he discovered the British on the left bank, and that the Indians were on each side of him and in his front. The road descended from the high bank south of the present turnpike, and followed the river bank to the ford, which, according to my recollection, was south of the present bridge. To gain the fort was impossible, while a safe retreat was doubtful. The parties discovered each other at the same instant, and each were alike astonished. Mr. Norton wheeled his horse and pressed him to the top of his speed. As soon as the Indians recovered from their surprise and regained their rifles, they
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 111
shot at the fugitive, who reached the hill and the woods without injury.
Immediately after this active preparations were made to attack the fort. Mr. Norton supposed the enemy, apprehending that reinforcements were marching to the fort, made the attack sooner and with less caution than they otherwise would. Without detracting in the least from the brilliant merits of Major Croghan and his brave companions-in-arms, he looked upon the incident as having, under the guidance of Providence, contributed to the signal defeat of the enemy. He claimed no merit, and was thankful that he possessed the presence of mind that enabled him to make his escape.
On reading this statement the mind cannot wholly resist the view taken by Mr. Norton, that his timely appearance may have operated to precipitate the attack on the fort, which proved so disastrous to the assailants.
With some readers the memories revived by this reference will be of mingled pleasure and sadness. It is always gratifying to review the past in its pleasant aspects; but in proportion to the lapse of time involved, we associate thoughts of those who contributed to such memories, but who no longer remain to share therein. But it is profitable at times to stop in life's activities, to give special thought to departed sharers in our joys and sorrows, for thereby we are lifted out of, if not above, the engrossing cares of everyday life, which too often shut out thoughts which ennoble and elevate.
After dinner the company adjourned to the old fort, a few relics of which still remain, where Hon. Eleutheros Cooke, of Sandusky, from the steps of the residence of General John Patterson (which was the wooden building lately removed from the centre of Fort Stephenson), delivered an able, eloquent, and appropriate address, which was published at the time. Letters were received from a large number of persons invited, including Colonel Croghan, General W. H. Harrison, Henry Clay, Colonel R. M. Johnson ( then Vice-President), Governor Shannon, Hon. Thomas Ewing, Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, John A. Bryan (Auditor of State), Hon. John W. Allen, General James Allen, and Dr. John G. Miller, of Columbus. Besides the regular, volunteer toasts were offered by General John Patterson, B. J. Bartlett; William B. Craighill, Josiah Roop, Dr. Niles, Henry Spohn, Sidney Smith (subsequently by special legislative act, Sidney Sea), Colonel E. D. Bradley, Dr. A. H. Brown, Clark Waggoner, Captain Samuel Thompson, Pitt Cooke,' and John N. Sloan, of Sandusky. One of the volunteer toasts was this:
By a citizen : Colonel Bradley, Assistant Marshal of the Day, the dauntless hero and friend of liberty. When another victory like the one we celebrate is to be won, his country will know on whom to call to achieve it.
"Another victory," and many of them, have since been "won" for "liberty," and the sentiment of the "citizen's " toast has been met in the heroic part taken therein by Colonel Bradley, the brave commander of the Sixty-eighth Ohio Volunteers in the Union army. That gentleman, still at Stryker, Williams county, Ohio, survives the battles of Point au Pelee and of the Rebellion.
Of those from whom letters were received, only Hon. John W. Allen, of Cleveland, and ex-Governor Shannon" (now of Kansas), are living; while, of the volunteer toasters named, only Colonel Bradley, Pitt Cooke, and Clark Waggoner are known now to survive.
COLONEL CROGHAN'S LETTER.
The letter of Colonel Croghan was as follows :
ST. LOUIS, MO., 26th July, 1839.
GENTLEMEN : I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 8th inst., inviting me, on the part of the citizens of Lower Sandusky, to be present with them in the coming anniversary of the defence of Fort Stephenson.
It is with regret that I am, on account of official duties, unable to comply with your flattering invitation. In communicating this, my reply, I cannot
112 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
forbear to acknowledge with deep gratitude, the honor you confer. To. have been with those gallant men who served with me on the occasion alluded to, permitted by a kind Providence to perform a public duty which has been deemed worthy of a special notice by my fellow-citizens, is a source of high gratification, brightened, too, by the reflection that the scene of conflict is now, by the enterprise and industry of your people, the home of a thriving and intelligent community.
I beg to offer to you, gentlemen, and through you to the citizens of Lower Sandusky, my warmest thanks for the remembrance which you have so flatteringly expressed.
With every feeling of respect and gratitude,
I am yours, G. CROGHAN.
Dr. Frank Williams and others, Committee.
NAMES OF THE DEFENDERS OF FORT STEPHENSON.
Mr. Webb C. Hayes has expended much time and great care in his endeavors to obtain the names of the men who so bravely defended Fort Stephenson. The results of his labors have been a partial, but not a complete success. By his correspondence and inquiry at different departments at Washington and elsewhere, it appears that the American force at Fort Stephenson, August 2, 1813, consisted of detachments from Captain James Hunter's company of the Seventeenth regiment of United States Infantry; from Captain James Duncan's company of same regiment; also a detachment from the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry, and from the Pittsburgh Blues, Petersburgh Volunteers, and Greensburg Riflemen, in all amounting to one hundred and fifty men.
Mr. Hayes' correspondence reveals the fact that there was not found in the Adjutant-General's office in Washington, any rolls of volunteers in the War of 1812, all of them having been sent to the Third Auditor's office many years before he made the inquiry. The Auditor's office failed to show the names of these detached volunteers. But there were records of the regulars, and from these Mr. Hayes ' obtained the following lists, which he hasvery kindly furnished the writer, to be used in this history, and which are as follows:
DEFENDERS OF FORT STEPHENSON.
Major George Croghan, Seventeenth United States Infantry, commanding.
Captain James Hunter, Seventeenth United States Infantry.
First Lieutenant Benjamin Johnson, Seventeenth United States Infantry.
Second Lieutenant Cyrus A. Baylor, Seventeenth United States Infantry.
Ensign Edmund Shipp, Seventeenth United States Infantry.
Ensign Joseph Duncan, Seventeenth United States Infantry.
First Lieutenant Joseph Anthony, Twenty-fourth United States Infantry.
Second Lieutenant John Meek, Seventh United States Infantry.
Petersburg Volunteers.
Pittsburg Blues.
Greensburg Riflemen.
CAPTAIN JAMES HUNTER'S COMPANY, SEVENTEENTH
UNITED STATES INFANTRY.
Captain James Hunter, commanding. Sergeant Wayne Case.
Sergeant James Huston.
Sergeant Obadiah Norton.
Corporal Matthew Burns.
Corporal William Ewing.
Corporal John Maxwell.
PRIVATES.
Pleasant Bailey, Samuel Brown, Elisha Condiff, Thomas Crickman, Ambrose Dean, Leonard George, Nathaniel Gill, John Harley, Jonathan Hartley, William McDonald, Joseph McKey, Frederick Metts, Rice Millender, John Mumman, Samuel Pearsall, Daniel Perry, David Perry, William Ralph, John Rankin, Elisha Rathburn, Aaron Ray, Robert Row, John Salley, John Savage, John Smith, Thomas Striplin, William Sutherland, Martin Tanner, John Zett.
CAPTAIN JAMES DUNCAN'S COMPANY, SEVENTEENTH UNITED STATES INFANTRY. .
First Lieutenant Benjamin Johnson, commanding.
Second Lieutenant Cyrus A. Baylor.
Sergeant Henry Lawell.
Sergeant Thomas McCaul.
Sergeant John M. Stotts.
Sergeant Notley Williams.
PRIVATES.
Henry L. Bethers, Cornelius S. Bevins, Joseph Blamer, Jonathan C. Bowling, Nicholas Bryant, Robert Campbell, Samuel Campbell, Joseph Klinkenbeard, Joseph Childers, Ambrose Dine, Jacob Downs, James Harris, James Heartley, William
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 113
Johnson, Elisha Jones, Thomas Linchard, William McClelland, Joseph McKee, John Martin, Ezekiel Mitchell, William Rogers, David Sudderfield, Thomas Taylor, John Williams.
DETACHMENT TWENTY-FOURTH UNITED STATES
INFANTRY.
First Lieutenant Joseph Anthony, commanding.
PRIVATES.
William Gaines, John Foster, — Jones, Samuel Riggs, Samuel Thurman.
GREENSBURG. RIFLEMEN.
Sergeant Abraham Weaver.
PETERSBURG VOLUNTEERS.
Private Edmund Brown.
PITTSBURG BLUES.
Mr. Hayes has also furnished us, for use, the following correspondence relative to the battle and the proceedings of Congress on the subject, which we place before our readers, with thanks to Mr. Hayes:
LOWER SANDUSKY, 25th July, 1813.
GENERAL HARRISON:
DEAR SIR:—Mr. Connor has just arrived with the Indians which were sent by you to Fort Meigs a few days since. To him I refer you for information from that quarter.
I have unloaded the boats which were brought from Cleveland, and shall sink them in the middle of the river (where it is ten feet deep) about one-half mile above the present landing. My men are engaged in making cartridges, and will have, in a short time, more than sufficient to answer any ordinary call. I have collected all the most valuable stores in one house. Should I be forced to evacuate the place, they will be blown up.
Yours with respect,
G. CROGHAN,
Major Commanding at Lower Sandusky. Major-General Harrison.
GENERAL HARRISON TO MAJOR CROGHAN.
July 29, 1813.
SIR:—Immediately on receiving this letter, you will abandon Fort Stephenson, set fire to it, and repair with your command this night to headquarters. Cross the river and come up on the opposite side. If you should deem and find it impracticable to make good your march to this place, take the road to Huron, and pursue it with the utmost circumspection and dispatch.
MAJOR CROGHAN TO GENERAL HARRISON.
July 30, 1813.
SIR:—I have just received yours of yesterday, to o'clock P. M., ordering me to destroy this place and make good my retreat, which was received too late to be carried into execution. We have determined to maintain this place, and by heavens we can.
July 30, 1813.
SIR:—The General has just received your letter of this date, informing him that you had thought proper to disobey the order issued from this office, and delivered to you this morning. It appears that the information which dictated this order was incorrect; and as you did not receive it in the night, as was expected, it might have been proper that you should have reported the circumstances, and your situation, before you proceeded to its execution. This might have been passed over; but I am directed to say to you, that an officer who presumes to aver that he has made his resolution, and that he will act in direct opposition to the orders of his General, can no longer be entrusted with a separate command. Colonel Wells is sent to relieve you. You will deliver the command to him, and repair with Colonel Ball's squadron to this place.
By command, &c.;
A. H. HOLMES,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
LOWER SANDUSKY, 3d August, 1813.
GENERAL HARRISON.
DEAR SIR :—The enemy made an attempt to storm us last evening, but was repulsed with the lots of at least two hundred killed, wounded, and prisoners.
One lieutenant-colonel,* a major, and a lieutenant, with about forty privates, are dead in our ditch. I have lost but one in killed and but few wounded.
Further statements will be made you by the bearer. GEORGE CROGHAN,
Major Commanding Fort Sandusky.
P. S.—Since writing the above, two soldiers of the Forty-first regiment have gotten in, who state that the enemy have retreated—in fact, one of their gunboats is within three hundred yards of our works, said to be loaded with camp equipage, etc., which they in their hurry have left.
GEORGE CROGHAN. A true copy.
JOHN O'FALLOW, Aid-de-Camp.
HEADQUARTERS, SENECA TOWN, 4th August, 1813.
SIR :—In my letter of the first instant I did myself the honor to inform you that one of my scouting parties had just returned from the Lake Shore and had discovered, the day before, the enemy in force near the mouth of the Sandusky Bay. The party had not passed Lower Sandusky two hours before the advance, consisting of Indians, appeared before the fort, and in half an hour after a large detachment of British troops; and in the course of the night commenced a cannonading against the fort
*(Lieutenant-Colonel Short.)
114 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
with three six-pounders and two howitzers, the latter from gun-boats. The firing was partially answered by Major Croghan, having a six-pounder, the only piece of artillery.
The fire of the enemy was continued at intervals during the second instant, until about half after five P. M., when finding that their cannons made little impression upon the works, and having discovered my position here and apprehending an attack, an attempt was made to carry the place by storm. Then troops were formed in two columns. Lieutenant-Colonel Short headed the principal one, composed of the light and battalion companies of the Forty-first regiment. This gallant officer conducted his men to the brink of the ditch, under the most galling and destructive fire from the garrison, and leaping into it was followed by a considerable part of his own and the light company. At this moment a masked porthole was suddenly opened and a six-pounder, with an half load of powder and a double charge of leaden slugs, at the distance of thirty feet, poured destruction upon them and killed or wounded nearly every man who had entered the ditch. In vain did the British officers exert themselves to lead on the balance of the column; it retired in disorder under a shower of shot from the fort, and sought safety in the adjoining woods. The other column, headed by the grenadiers, had also retired, after having suffered from the muskets of our men, to an adjacent ravine. In the course of the night the enemy, with the aid of their Indians, drew off the greater part of the wounded and dead, and embarking them in boats, descended the river with the utmost precipitation. In the course of the 2d instant, having heard the cannonading, I made several attempts to ascertain the force and situation of the enemy. Our scouts were unable to get near the fort from the Indians which surrounded it. Finding, however, that the enemy had only light artillery, and being well convinced that it could make little impression upon the works, and that any attempt to storm it would be resisted with effect, I waited for the arrival of two hundred and fifty mounted volunteers, which on the evening before had left Upper Sandusky. But as soon as I was informed that the enemy were retreating, I set out with the dragoons to endeavor to overtake them, leaving Generals McArthur and Cass to follow with all the infantry (about seven hundeed) that could be spared from the protection of the stores and sick at this place. I found it impossible to come up with them. Upon my arrival at Sandusky was informed by the prisoners that the enemy's forces consisted of four hundred and ninety regular troops, and five hundred of Dixon's Indians, commanded by General Proctor in person, and that Tecumseh, with about two thousand warriors, was somewhere in the swamps between this and Fort Meigs, expecting my advance or that of a convoy of provisions. As there was no prospect of doing anything front, and being apprehensive that Tecumseh might destroy the stores and small detachments in my rear, I sent orders to General Cass, who commanded the reserve, to fall back to this place, and to General McArthur, with the front line, to follow and support him.
I remained at Sandusky until the parties that were sent out in every direction, returned—not an enemy was to be seen.
I am sorry that I cannot transmit you Major Croghan's official report. He was to have sent it to me this morning, but I have just heard that he was so much exhausted by thirty-six hours of continued exertion as to be unable to make it. It will not be amongst the least of General Proctor's mortifications to find that he has been baffled by a youth who has just passed his twenty-first year. He is, however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle, General G. R. Clarke, and I bless my good fortune in having first introduced this promising shoot of a distingushed family to the notice of the Government.
Captain Hunter, of the Seventeenth regiment, the second in command, conducted himself with great propriety, and never were a set of finer young fellows than the subalterns, viz: Lieutenants Johnson and Baylor, of the Seventeenth, Anthony, of the Twenty-fourth, Meeks, of the Seventh, and Ensigns Shipp and Duncan, of the Seventeenth.
The following account of the unworthy artifice and conduct of the enemy will excite your indignation. Major Chambers was sent by General Proctor, accompanied by Colonel Elliott, to demand the surrender of the fort. They were met by Ensign Shipp. The Major observed that General Proctor had a number of cannon, a large body of regular troops, and so many Indians whom it was impossible to control, and if the fort was taken, as it must be, the whole of the garrison would be massacred. Mr. Shipp answered that it was the determination of Major Croghan, his officers and men, to defend the garrison, or be buried in it, and that they might do their best. Colonel Elliott then addressed Mr. Shipp, and said. "You are a fine young man; I pity your situation; for God sake, surrender and prevent the dreadful slaughter that must follow resistance." Shipp turned from him with indignation, and was immediately taken hold of by an Indian, who attempted to wrest his sword from him. Elliott pretended to exert himself to release him, and expressed great anxiety to get him safe in the fort.
In a former letter I informed you, sir, that the post of Lower Sandusky could not be defended against heavy cannon, and that I had ordered the Commandant, if he could safely retire upon the advance of the enemy, to do so after having destroyed the fort, as there was nothing in it that could justify the risk of defending it, commanded as it is, by a hill on the opposite side of the river, within range of cannon, and having on that side old and illy constructed block-
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 115
houses and dry , friable pickets. The enemy, ascending the bay and river with a fine breeze, gave Major Croghan so little notice of their approach that he could not execute the order for retreating. Luckily they had no artillery but six-pounders and five-and-a-half-inch howitzers.
General Proctor left Malden with the determination of storming Fort Meigs. His immense body of troops were divided into three commands, (and must have amounted to at least five thousand); Dixon commanded the Mackinaw and other Northern tribes; Tecumseh, those of the Wabash, Illinois and St. Joseph; and Round Head, a Wyandot chief, the warriors of his own nation, and those of the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies of the Michigan Territory. Upon seeing the formidable preparations to receive them at Fort Meigs, the idea of storming was abandoned, and the plan adopted of decoying the garrison out, or inducing me to come to its relief with a force inadequate to repel the attack of his immense hordes of savages. Having waited several days for the latter, and practising ineffectually several stratagems to accomplish the former, provisions began to be scarce, and the Indians to be dissatisfied. The attack upon Sandusky was the dernier resort. The greater part of the Indians refused to accompany him, and returned to the River Raisin. Tecumseh, with his command, remained in the neighborhood of Fort Meigs, sending parties to all the posts upon Hull's road, and those upon the Auglaize to search for cattle. Five hundred of the Northern Indians, under Dixon, attended Proctor. I have sent a party to the lake to ascertain the direction that the enemy have taken. The scouts which have returned, saw no signs of Indians later than those made in the night of the and inst., and a party has just arrived from Fort Meigs, who make the same report. I think it probable that they have all gone off. If so, this mighty armament, from which so much was expected by the enemy, will return covered with disgrace and mortification. As Captain Perry was nearly ready to sail from Erie when I last heard from him, I hope that the period will soon arrive when we shall transfer the laboring oar of the enemy, and oblige him to encounter some of the labors and difficulties which we had undergone in waging a defensive warfare and protecting our extensive frontier against a superior force. I have the honor to enclose you a copy of the first note received from Major Croghan. It was written before day. He was mistaken as to the number of the enemy that remained in the ditch; they amounted to one lieutenant-colonel (by brevet), one lieutenant and twenty-five privates; the number of prisoners to one sergeant and twenty-five privates, fourteen of them badly wounded. Every care has been taken of the latter, and the officers buried wIth the honors due to their rank and their bravery. All the dead that were not in the ditch, were taken off in the night by the Indians. It is impossible from the circumstances of the attack that they should have lost less than one hundred; some of the prisoners think that it amounted to two hundred. A young gentleman, a private in the Petersburg volunteers, of the name of Brown, assisted by five or six of that company and the Pittsburgh Blues, who were accidentally in the fort, managed the six-pounder which produced such destruction in the ranks of the enemy.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir,
Your obedient servant,
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
N. R. Of our few wounded men there is but one that will not be well in less than six days.
HEADQUARTERS, SENECA TOWN,
5th August, 1813, 6 o'clock A. M.
SIR: I have the honor to enclose you Major Croghan's report of the attack upon his post, which has this moment come to hand. Fortunately the mail has not closed.
With great respect, I have the honor to be, sir, Your humble servant,
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
P. S.—The new ship was launched at Malden on the 17th ult. I have apprised Commodore Perry of it.
Hon. General Armstrong,
Secretary of War.
LOWER SANDUSKY, August 5, 1813.
DEAR SIR:—I have the honor to inform you that the combined force of the enemy, amounting to at least five hundred regulars and seven or eight hundred Indians, under the immediate command of General Proctor, made its appearance before this place early on Sunday evening last; and so soon as the General had made such disposition of his troops as would cut off my retreat, should I be disposed to make one, he sent Colonel Elliott, accompanied by Major Chambers, with a flag, to demand the surrender of the fort, as he was anxious to spare the effusion of blood, which he should probably not have in his power to do, should he be reduced to the necessity of taking the place by storm. My answer to the summons was, that I was determined to defend the place to the last extremity, and that no force, however large, should induce me to surrender it. So soon as the flag was returned a brisk fire was opened upon us from the gun-boats in the river, and from a five-and-one-half inch howitzer on shore, which was kept up with little intermission throughout the night. At an early hour the next morning, three sixes (which had been placed during the night within two hundred and fifty yards of the pickets,) began to play upon us, but with little effect. About 4 o'clock P. M.. discovering that the fire from all his guns was concentrated against the northwestern angle of the fort, I became confident that his object was to make a breach, and attempt to storm the works at that point. I therefore ordered out as many men as could be employed, for the purpose of strengthening that part, which was so
116 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
effectually secured by means of bags of flour, sand, etc., that the picketing suffered little or no injury, notwithstanding which the enemy, about five hundred, having formed in close column, advanced to assault our works at the expected point, at the same time making two feints on the front of Captain Hunter's lines. The column which advanced against the northwestern angle, consisting of about three hundred and fifty men, was so completely enveloped in smoke as not to be discovered until it had approached within fifteen or twenty paces of the lines, but the men being all at their posts and ready to receive it, commenced so heavy and galling a fire as to throw the columns into a little confusion. Being quickly rallied, it advanced to the centre works and began to leap into the ditch. Just at that moment a fire of grape was opened from our six-pounder (which had been previously arranged so as to rake in that direction,) which, together with the musketry, threw them into such confusion that they were compelled to retire precipitately to the woods. During the assault, which lasted about half an hour. an incessant fire was kept up by the enemy's artillery (which consisted of five sixes and a howitzer), but without effect. My whole loss during the siege was one killed and seven wounded, slightly. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded and prisoners, must exceed one hundred and fifty. One lieutenant-colonel, a lieutenant, and fifty rank and file were found in and about the ditch, dead or wounded. Those of the remainder who were not able to escape, were taken off during the night by the Indians. Seventy stand of arms and several brace of pistols have been collected near the works. About three in the morning the enemy sailed down the river, leaving behind them a boat containing clothing and considerable military stores.
Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates under my command for their gallantry and good conduct during the siege.
Yours with respect,
[Signed.] G. CROGHAN,
Major Seventeenth United States Infantry, Commanding Lower Sandusky.
Major General Harrison, Commanding Northwestern Army.
LOWER SANDUSKY, August 27, 1813.
I have, with much regret, seen in some of the pubic prints such misrepresentations respecting my refusal to evacuate this post, as are calculated not only o injure me in the estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavorable impressions as to the propriety of General Harrison's conduct relative to this affair.
His character as a military man is too well established to need my approbation or support, but his public services entitle him at least to common justice. This affair does not furnish cause of reproach. Ifpublic opinion has been lately misled respecting his late conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate reflection, to convince them of its propriety. The measures recently adopted by him, so far from deserving censure, are the clearest proofs of his keen penetration and able generalship. It is true that I did not proceed immediately to execute his order to evacuate this post, but this disobedience was not, as some would wish to believe, the result of a fixed determination to maintain the post contrary to his most positive orders, as will appear from the following detail, which is given in explanation of my conduct:
About to o'clock on the morning of the 30th ultimo, a letter from the Adjutant-General's office, dated Seneca Town, July 29, 1813, was handed me by Mr. Connor, ordering me to abandon this post, burn it, and retreat that night to headquarters. On the reception of this order of the General I called a council of officers, in which it was determined not to abandon the place, at least until the further pleasure of the General should be known, as it was thought an attempt to retreat in the open day, in the face of a superior force of the enemy, would be more hazardous than to remain in the fort, under all its disadvantages. I therefore wrote a letter to the General Council in such terms as I thought were calculated to deceive the enemy, should it fall into his hands, which I thought more than probable as well as to inform the General, should it be so fortunate as to reach him, that I would wait to hear from him before I should proceed to execute his order. This letter, contrary to my expectations, was received by the General, who, not knowing what reasons urged me to write in a tone so decisive, concluded, very rationally, that the manner of it was demonstrative of the most positive determinanon to disobey his order under any circumstances. I was therefore suspended from the command of the fort, and ordered to headquarters. But on explaining to the General my reason for not executing his orders, and my object in using the style I had done, he was so perfectly satisfied with the explanation that I was immediately reinstated in the command.
It will be recollected that the order above alluded to was written on the night previous to my receiving it. Had it been delivered to me, as was intended, that. night, I should have obeyed it without hesitation. Its not reaching me in time was the only reason which induced me to consult my officers on the propriety of waiting the General's further orders.
It has been stated, also, that "upon my representations of my ability to maintain the post, the General altered his determination to abandon it." This is incorrect. No such representation was ever made. And the Last order I received from the General was precisely the same as that first given, viz: "That if I discovered the approach of a large British force by water (presuming that they would bring heavy
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 117
artillery), time enough to effect a retreat, I was to do so; but if I could not effect a retreat with safety, to defend the post to the last extremity."
A day or two before the enemy appeared before Fort Meigs, the General had reconnoitred the surrounding ground, and being informed that the hill on the opposite side of Sandusky completely commanded the fort, I offered to undertake, with the troops under my command, to remove it to that side. The General, upon reflection, thought it best not to attempt it, as he believed that if the enemy again appeared on this side of the lake it would be before the work could he finished.
It is useless to disguise the fact that this fort is commanded by the points of high ground around it; a single stroke of the eye made this clear to me the first time I had occasion to examine the neighborhood, with a view of discovering the relative strength and weakness of the place.
It would be insincere to say that I am not flattered by the many handsome things which have been said about the defence that was made by the troops under my command; but I desire no plaudits which are bestowed upon me at the expense of General Harrison.
I have at all times enjoyed his confidence so far as my rank in the army entitled me to it, and on proper occasions received his marked attention. I have felt the warmest attachment for him as a man, and my confidence in him as an able commander remains unshaken. I feel every assurance that he will at all times do me ample justice; and nothing could give me more pain than to see his enemies seize upon this occasion to deal out their unfriendly feelings and acrimonious dislikes; and as long as he continues (as in my humble opinion he has hitherto done,) to make the wisest arrangements and most judicious disposition which the forces under his command will justify, I shall not hesitate to unite with the army in bestowing upon him that confidence which he so richly merits, and which has on no occasion been withheld.
Your friend,
GEORGE CROGHAN,
Major 17th Infantry, Commanding Lower Sandusky.
LOWER SENECA TOWN, August 29, 1813. The undersigned, being the general, field and staff officers, with that portion of the Northwestern Army under the immediate command of General Harrison, have observed with regret and surprise that charges, as improper in the form as in the substance, have been made against the conduct of General Harrison during the recent investment of Lower Sandusky. At another time, and under ordinary circumstances, we should deem it improper and unmilitary thus publicly to give an opinion respecting the movements of the army. But public confidence in the commanding general is essential to the success of the campaign, and causelessly to withdraw or to withhold that confidence is more than individual injustice; it becomes a serious injury to the service. A part of the force of which the American Army consists will derive itsgreatest strength and efficiency from a confidence in the commanding general, and from those mora causes which accompany and give energy to public opinion. A very erroneous idea respecting the number of the troops then at the disposal of the General, has doubtless been the primary cause of those unfortunate and unfounded impressions. A sense of duty forbids us from giving a detailed view of our strength at that time. In that respect we have fortunately experienced a very favorable change. But we refer the public to the General's official report to the Secretary of War, of Major Croghan's successful defence of Lower Sandusky. In that will he found a statement of our whole disposable force; and he who believes that, with such a force, and under the circumstances which then occurred, General Harrison ought to have advanced upon the enemy, must be left to correct his opinion in the school of experience.
On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of the opinion that it was such as was dictated by military wisdom, and by a due regard to our own circumstances and to the situation of the enemy. The reasons for this opinion it is evidently improper now to give, but we hold ourselves ready at a future period, and when other circumstances shall have intervened, to satisfy every man of its correctness who is anxious to investigate and willing to receive the truth. And, with ready acquiescence beyond the mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to obey a general whose measures meet our most deliberate approbation and merit that of his country.
LEWIS CASS,
Brigadier General, U. S. A.
SAMUEL WELLS,
Colonel Seventeenth R. U. S. I.
THOMAS D. OWINGS,
Colonel Twenty-eighth R. U. S. I.
GEORGE PAUL,
Colonel Seventeenth R. U. S. I.
J. C. BARTLETT,
Colonel, Quartermaster-General.
JAMES V. BALL,
Lieutenant Colonel.
ROBERT MORRISON,
Lieutenant Colonel.
GEORGE TODD,
Major Nineteenth R. U. S. I.
WILLIAM TRIGG,
Major Twenty-eighth R. U. S. I.
JAMES SMILEY,
Major Twenty-eighth R. U. S. I.
R. GRAHAM,
Major Seventh R. U. S. I.
GEORGE CROGHAN,
Major Seventeenth R. U. S. I.
L. HUKILL,
Major and Assistant Inspector General.
E. D. WOOD,
Major Engineers.
118 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
8th February, 1815.
THE REWARD OF VALOR.
Mr. Troup, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported the following resolutions, the adoption of which is recommended by the said committee, viz:
Resolved,
(2) Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major-General Harrison, and to Governor Shelby, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major-General Proctor, on the Thames, in Upper Canada, the 5th of October, 1813, capturing the entire British army, with their baggage, camp equipage, and artillery, and that the President of the United States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to General Harrison and Governor Shelby.
(3) Resolved,.
(4) Resolved, That Congress entertain a high sense of the merit of Colonel Croghan, and the officers and men under his command, for the gallant defence of Fort Stephenson, on the Lower Sandusky, on the 1st and d of August, 1813, repelling with great slaughter the assault of a British and Indian army much superior in number; and that the President be requested to present an elegant sword to Colonel Croghan.
(5) Resolved,
(6) Resolved,.
(7) Resolved,.
(8) Resolved,.
The resolutions were twice read, and referred to a committee of the whole.
Hon. George M. Troup, of Georgia, reported the above resolutions.
[See Annals of Congress, Thirteenth Congress, Volume III.)
No action was taken on the resolutions.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, January 21, 1835.
GOLD MEDAL TO COLONEL CROGHAN.
The joint resolution to present a gold medal to Colonel Croghan, for his gallantry in the defence of Fort Stephenson, was taken up and considered as in committee of the whole.
Mr. Bibb observed that the brave and noble defence of this fort had been the cause of saving all the Western country from the hostile and destructive incursion of the British and Indians. To Colonel Croghan's valiant defence of Fort Stephenson, this and other advantages equally great and beneficial were owing. As a reward for the gallant and dauntless spirit exhibited by our brave soldiers in time of imminent danger, he hoped this bill would pass. It should be borne in mind that Colonel Croghan might, without any dishonor, have preferred a course safer, indeed, to himself, but disastrous to his country, by not persevering in a defence which appeared so difficult, nay, so impossible; that to have abandoned the fort, to have left the West open to the enemy, would have been deemed a necessary, a prudent, and not a pusilanimous proceeding; yet, in the face of every obstacle, under the weight of every discouragement, he, with a handful of brave men, presented a bold and undaunted front to the enemy, arrested them on the threshold of the West, and saved Ohio and the adjoining States from invasion, from desolation, from plunder, and from bloodshed. For such a noble and deserving exploit, for such an eminent service, this bill provided a just, but a moderate compensation. As far as regarded the value given, the bill was not of any great importance; but, sir, said Mr. B. with great animation, as a tribute to deeds. of noble daring, as a reward of services performed at the peril of life, as an encouragement for soldiers who bared their bosoms in defence of their country, and offered them as a shield to the defenceless homes of their fellow-citizens, in this point of view the provision is of the first importance. He hoped, therefore, that no difficulties would be offered to the bill; it had already undergone the closest examination, and the report of the committee establishing the goodness and propriety of the bill was full and satisfactory.
Mr. Hill wished to know whether all the officers were included in the bill.
Mr. Bibb replied that they were all, with one single exception, in the case of an individual, whose name he should not mention, but who, he regretted to say, had not performed his duty on that memorable occasion.
Mr. Preston suggested the insertion of the words, "heirs and representatives," by which the benefit of the bill might be extended to the children, in case of the decease of the original grantees, which was acceded to; and the bill, as amended, was read a second time.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Tuesday, January 27th, 1835.
GOLD MEDAL, ETC., TO COLONEL CROGHAN.
Mr. Speight, from the Committee oil Military Affairs, reported a joint resolution, which had been referred to that committee, with an amendment, authorizing the President to present a gold medal to Colonel Croghan, and swords to several officers under his command, for their gallant conduct in the defence of Fort Stephenson, during the late war.
Mr. Speight said, as he believed that no opposition would be offered to the resolution, he would move its third reading.
Mr. Parker, of New Jersey, said he had no doubt as to the gallantry of these officers; not the least; but if they conferred these distinctions in the present case, why not in others, it would he asked,
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 119
which occurred during the last war? It was his impression also that some acknowledgment had been already made to these officers.
Mr. Mercer said such was not the case. Mr. Mercer briefly explained the nature and importance of the services rendered by these officers.
The joint resolution, as amended, was read a third time, and passed.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,
February 3, 1835.
The amendments of the House to the bill making an appropriation for presenting a gold medal to Colonel George Croghan, and swords to the officers who served under him at the defence of Fort Sandusky, during the late war, were concurred in; and a further verbal amendment having been made, on motion of Mr. Preston, the bill was sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
This debate was participated in by Senator George M. Bibb, of Kentucky; Senator Isaac Hill, of New Hampshire, and Senator William C. Preston, of South Carolina, in the Senate; and by Honorable Jesse Speight, of North Carolina; Honorable James Parker, of New Jersey, and Honorable Charles F. Mercer, of Virginia, in the House of Representatives.
[See Congressional Debates, Vol. XI. Part I.]
RESOLUTIONS, TWENTY-THIRD CONGRESS,
SECOND SESSION.
No. 2—A RESOLUTION PRESENTING A GOLD MEDAL TO GEORGE CROGHAN, AND A SWORD TO EACH OF THE OFFICERS UNDER HIS COMMAND, FOR THEIR GALLANTRY AND GOOD CONDUCT IN THE DEFENCE OF FORT STEPHENSON, IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN.
Resolved, etc., That the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suitable emblems and devices, and presented to Colonel Croghan, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his gallantry and good conduct in the defence of Fort Stephenson, and that he present a sword to each of the following officers engaged in that affair: to Captain James Hunter, to the eldest male representative of Lieutenant Benjamin Johnson, and to Lieutenant Cyrus A. Baylor, John Meek, Ensign Joseph Duncan, and the nearest male representative of Ensign Edmund Shipp, deceased.
Approved, February 13, 1835.
INDIAN MURDERS IN THE VICINITY OF FORT STEPHENSON PREVIOUS TO THE BATTLE, WHICH ILLUSTRATES THE DANGERS TO THE EARLY SETTLERS ALONG THE SANDUSKY RIVER, AT THE TIME.
Albert Cavalier, esq., who is noticed in the history of Rice township, and who came to Lower Sandusky from the Maumee, in January, 1812, in an interview with Homer Everett on the 6th of September, 1878, amongst other things narrated some events connected with Fort Stephenson, which seem proper in the history of the fort. Mr. Cavalier said : "After arriving here, the families who came lived in the government barracks during the remainder of the winter. In the spring the whole country about the fort was infested with Indians in small bands, who were giving information to the British of the condition of the inhabitants, and also of military preparations, and plundering, murdering, and scalping such inhabitants as they found in a defenceless condition. And it soon became evident that no family or person was safe from the scalping-knife and tomahawk of the savages, except those who were under cover of military protection. When the planting season came, we lived in a log house near the fort, and planted some corn and potatoes on the bottomland, within a short distance from the fort, ready to flee into it on the first alarm. A few other settlers or pioneers were in like manner attempting to raise a living from the soil. 'Although but a boy at the time" said Mr. Cavalier: "I recollect vividly one or two incidents which occurred that summer."
" Mr. George Shannon, a son-in-law of Mrs. Elizabeth Whittaker, with a man named Pomroy, were at work op the flats below the fort, and near where the shops of the Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad now stand. I think they were working in a field, or gathering some vegetables. While they were engaged, a third man, named Isaac Futy, with rifle in hand, was on the lookout for Indians. They were startled by the crack of a rifle in an adjoining cornfield, or of two rifles fired at the same instant. Both Shannon and
120 - HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.
Pomroy were hit and wounded, but not mortally. Futy instantly fired in the direction of the smoke, and then the three men made a hasty run for the river bank, to conceal themselves in the thick bushes which then margined the river. The Indians, losing sight of these men, then proceeded to a log cabin near the place, where a family resided consisting of two elderly people, a son and a daughter. On hearing the firing on Shannon and Pomroy, and the return fire of Futy not far off, the son and daughter left the old people and fled to a cornfield near by to hide, but here they were met and tomahawked and scalped by the savages, who then followed the father and mother, who had Red to the river bank, and murdered and scalped them there as they were in the act of getting into a small boat or canoe to cross the river.
" On hearing the crack of the rifles one Francis Navarre, a Frenchman, and a hunter as well as an Indian fighter, also a dead shot with his rifle, scaled the pickets of the fort, rifle in hand, and ran down the river toward the scene of trouble. Navarre discovered two Indians chasing a soldier, who had ventured from the fort and was now running toward it. Navarre quickly shot the foremost Indian, concealed himself by squatting in the high grass, reloaded his rifle while thus concealed, and then shot the remaining savage.
"Navarre was familiar with the habits of the Indians, and though he knew he had killed them both, on returning to the fort with the rescued soldier told the men that if they would go where he shot they would not find any dead Indians, but they each had a pack on their back, and they would find the packs there with the bullets in them or a bullethole through each pack, for he had shot them in front through the breast right oppositethe packs, and the bullets went through or lodged in the packs. He also said they would find that the family had been murdered and scalped.
"A detachment was at once sent from the fort, and found Navarre's words true. There were the Indians two packs and the bullets in them, but the bodies of their dead owners had been carried away by other Indians lurking near. The detachment also found the bodies of the family of four, and also the bodies of two soldiers, all of whom had been murdered and scalped.
"Shannon, Pomroy and Futy were discovered in their hiding places under the river bank. They and the dead bodies were all brought to the fort."
Mr. Cavalier says:
"I heard these facts from men and women at the time, and I saw the six dead bodies when they were brought into the fort. The alarm and the sight of these six bloody and mutilated bodies made an impression on me, though young at the time, which I can never forget, nor express in words."
CHILLICOTHE'S TESTIMONIAL.
Eleven days after Croghan's splendid victory, the ladies of Chillicothe, then the State capital, presented to the gallant commandant a sword, accompanied by an address, as a public acknowledgment of his bravery and military skill. The names attached to the address show that the wives of the most prominent men of the time anxiously watched affairs, and were ready to reward and praise gallantry.
CHILLICOTHE, August 13, 1813.
SIR :—In consequence of the gallant defence which, under the influence of Divine Providence, was effected by you and the troops under your command, of Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky, on the evening of the second instant, the ladies of the town of Chillicothe, whose names are undersigned, impressed with a high sense of your merit as a soldier and a gentleman, and with great confidence in
HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY - 121
your patriotism and valor, present you with a sword. To Major George Croghan. (Signed by)
MARY FINLEY,
CATHARINE FULLERTON,
MARY STERRET,
REBECCA M. ORR,
ANN CRAIGHTON,
SUSAN WALKE,
ELEANOR LAMB,
ANN M. DUN,
NANCY WADDLE,
MARGARET KEYS,
ELIZA CARLISLE,
CHARLOTTE JAMES,
MARY A. SOUTHARD,
ESTHER DOOLITTLE,
SUSAN D. WHEATON,
ELEANOR BUCHANNON,
RUHAMMA IRWIN,
MARGARET MCFARLAND,
JUDITH DELANO,
DEBORAH FERREE,
MARG'T MCLANBURGH,
JANE M. EVANS,
MARGARET MILLER,
FRANCES BRUSH,
ELIZABETH MARTIN,
MARY CURTES,
NANCY MCARTHUR,
MARY P. BROWN,
JANE MCCOY,
JANE HEYLAN,
LAVINIA FULTON,
NANCY KERR,
MARTHA SCOTT,
CATHARINE HOUGH,
ELEANOR WORTHINGTON,
SALLY MCLANE.
To this letter Major Croghan made the following reply, dared at Lower Sandusky, August 25:
LADIES OF CHILLICOTHE:—I have received the sword which you have been pleased to present to me, as a testimonial of your approbation of my conduct on the second instant. A mark of distinction so flattering and unexpected has excited feelings which I can not express. Yet while I return you thanks for the unmerited gift you have bestowed, I feel well aware that my good fortune, which was bought by the activity of the brave soldiers under my command, has raised in your expectations in my future efforts, which must, sooner or later, I fear, be disappointed. Still, I pledge myself, even though fortune may not be again propitious, that my exertions shall be such as never to cause you in the least to regret the honors you have been pleased to confer upon your "youthful soldier."