ADDENDA
TO THE PATHFINDERS OF JEFFERSON
COUNTY.
The time allotted the compiler by the
Society in which to
prepare the matter foregoing precluded
the possibility of exami-
nation of original papers to the extent
necessary for an absolutely
correct historical statement, and the
demand for delivery of copy
into the hands of the printer forced
completion of manuscript
before the compiler could receive
information for which he had
applied to authorities, and consequently
the addenda following
appears essential to a clearer
understanding of the previous
pages.
THE LOCHRY (CLARK'S) EXPEDITION.
The reference to the difficulty of
procuring a fuller account
of the Defeat of Archibald Lochry and
his men at the mouth of
the Big Miami, resulting in the massacre
of many of his soldiers,
which, many consider, one of the
exciting causes of the massacre
of the so-called Moravian Indians at
Gnadenhutten, had only
reference to the Archives of
Pennsylvania. There are other
accounts of the defeat, among them, that
given by Roosevelt in
"Winning of the West," in
which according to Consul W. But-
terfield, the most painstaking of all
the historians of the West -
the most noted, the most conscientious,
so careful in statement
that if at all possible to obtain, he
accepts nothing as true with-
out the testimony of the original paper,
many errors were made,
Roosevelt even spelling Lochry
"Loughrie." George and not
Simon Girty was with the Indians in this
battle. He was not
commander of the British forces (the
Indians), but was under
Capt. Brant, who, in a quarrel after the
battle, struck Simon
Girty on his face with his sword,
inflicting a serious wound which
disfigured Girty for life. The quarrel
was the result of the boast
made by Brant that he had captured Col.
Lochry and his men,
Simon Girty at the time of the battle
being at Louisville watching
(384)
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 385
for the appearance of George Rogers
Clark, with whom Lochry
was to have gone to Detroit on a very
important expedition,
the object being the capture of the
British garrison at that point.
Brant was so elated over his success
that he boasted to Simon
Girty, whose contingent had failed in
the expected capture of
Clark, which so angered Simon that he
denounced Brant as a liar,
whereupon Brant inflicted the wound that
augmented the re-
pulsiveness of his countenance. Girty
often boasted of the scar
as having been received in many
conflicts with the Americans.
The local interest in Lochry's Defeat
comes of the fact that
descendants of the Westmoreland county
rangers are residents
of Ohio and Jefferson county.
The accompanying account of the Defeat
of Lochry is the
fullest consecutive report of the battle
the compiler has been
able to obtain, and for it he is
indebted to the editor of The Aurora
(Ind.) Bulletin.
LOCHRY'S DISASTROUS DEFEAT.
The surprise and defeat of Archibald
Lochry and the mas-
sacre of his men is the first conflict
on record between the Indians
and the whites on the soil of Indiana.
It took place in the last
year of the Revolutionary war and was
really one of the battles
of the Revolution, as the Indians
engaged in it were allies of
the British. The winding stream which
forms the boundary
between Dearborn and Ohio counties, at
the mouth of which
the bloody battle was fought, bears the
name of the unfortunate
colonel who there lost his life. It is
the purpose of this chapter
to give all the facts now known
concerning Col. Lochry's expe-
dition and its disastrous termination.
We have accounts of the expedition by
two men who par-
ticipated in it - Capt. Robt. Orr and
Lieut. Isaac Anderson.
Capt. Orr, whose account is published in
Western Annals, was
wounded by having his arm broken in the
engagement; he was
carried off a prisoner to Sandusky,
where he remained several
months; at length, finding that they
could not cure his wound,
the Indians took him to the hospital at
Detroit, whence he was
transferred to Montreal in the winter,
and exchanged with other
prisoners at the end of the war;
afterward he was appointed a
Vol. VI-25
386 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
judge of Armstrong county, Penn., which
position he held at
his death, in 1833, in his eighty-ninth
year. Lieut. Anderson's
account is published in McBride's
pioneer Biographies of Butler
county, Ohio. The date of the
engagement, as given by Capt.
Orr, is August 25, 1781, by Lieut.
Anderson, August 24. The
latter is probably the correct date, as
Anderson kept a journal
during the expedition.
Early in the summer of 1781 Col.
Archibald Lochry, who
was county lieutenant of Westmoreland
county, Penn., was re-
quested by Col. George Rogers Clark to
raise a military force
and join him in a contemplated military
movement against the
Indian tribes of the Northwest. Capt.
Orr, by his own exertions,
raised a company of volunteer riflemen.
Capts. Stokely and
Shannon commanded each a company of
rangers, and Capt.
Campbell a company of horse. The party
amounted to 107 men.
Col. Lochry was the only field officer
in command. It was Col.
Clark's original intention to rendezvous
at the mouth of the
Great Miami, and to proceed up that
river with his expedition,
but he subsequently changed his plan and
ordered Col. Lochry
to follow him to the falls of the Ohio.
The force was rendezvoused at Carnahan's
block-house,
eleven miles west of Hannastown, July
24, and on the next day
they set out for Fort Henry (Wheeling)
by way of Pittsburgh,
where it was arranged that they should
join the army under
Clark. On arriving there they found that
Clark had gone twelve
miles down the river, leaving for them
some provisions and a
traveling boat, with directions to
follow him. After preparing
some temporary boats for the
transportation of the men and
horses, which occupied ten days, they
proceeded to join Clark.
Arriving at the place where he had
halted, they found he had
gone down the river the day before,
leaving Maj. Creacroft with
a few men and a boat for transportation
of the horses, but without
either provisions or ammunition, of
which they had an inadequate
supply. Clark had, however, promised to
await their arrival at
the mouth of the Kanawha River, but on
reaching that point,
they found that he had been obliged, in
order to prevent deser-
tion among his men, to proceed down the
river, leaving only a
letter fixed to a pole directing them to
follow.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 387
Their provisions and forage were nearly
exhausted; there
was no source of supply but the stores
conveyed by Clark; the
river was low and they were unacquainted
with the channel, and
could not therefore hope to overtake
him. Under these embar-
rassing circumstances Col. Lochry
dispatched Capt. Shannon with
four men in a small boat with the hope
of overtaking the main
army and securing supplies, leaving
Capt. Shannon's company
under the command of Lieut. Isaac
Anderson. Before Capt.
Shannon and his men had proceeded far
they were taken pris-
oners by the Indians, and with them was
taken a letter to Clark,
detailing the situation of Lochry's
party. About the same time
Col. Lochry arrested a party of nineteen
deserters from Clark's
army, whom he afterwards released, and
they immediately joined
the Indians.
The savages had been apprised of the
expedition, but had
previously supposed that Clark and
Lochry were traveling to-
gether, and through fear of the cannon
which Clark carried,
refrained from making an attack.
Apprised now by the capture
of Shannon and his men and by the
reports of the deserters, of
the weakness of Lochry's party, they
collected in force below the
mouth of the Great Miami with the
determination to destroy
them. They placed these prisoners in a
conspicuous position
on the north shore of the Ohio, near, it
was said, the head of an
island, and promised to spare their
lives on condition that they
would hail their companions as they
passed and induce them
to surrender. This island is about three
miles below the mouth
of the creek named after the commander.
Col. Lochry and his
men made slow progress in descending the
Ohio, and despairing
of overtaking Clark's army, they landed,
August 24, about 10
o'clock in the morning, at a very
attractive spot on the north side
of the Ohio at the mouth of a creek,
about ten miles below the
mouth of the Great Miami. Here they
removed their horses
ashore and turned them loose to graze.
One of the party had
killed a buffalo, and all, except a few
set to guard the horses,
were engaged around the fires which they
had kindled in prepar-
ing a meal from it. Suddenly they were
assailed by a volley of
rifle balls from an overhanging bluff,
covered with large trees,
on which the Indians immediately
appeared in great force. The
388 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
men thus surprised, seized their arms
and defended themselves
as long as their ammunition lasted, and
then attempted to escape
by means of their boats. But the boats
were unwieldy, the water
was low, and the force too much weakened
to make them avail-
able, and the whole party, unable to
escape or defend themselves,
were compelled to surrender.
Immediately the Indians fell upon and
massacred Col. Lochry
and several other prisoners, but were restrained
by the arrival of
the chief who commanded them, the
celebrated Brant, who after-
ward apologized for the massacre. He did
not approve, he de-
clared, of such conduct, but it was
impossible entirely to control
his Indians. The murder of the prisoners
was perpetrated in
revenge for the massacre of the Indian
prisoners taken by Broad-
head's army on the Muskingum a few
months before. The
Indians engaged numbered 300 or more,
and consisted of various
tribes, among whom the prisoners and
plunder were divided in
proportion to the number of warriors of
each tribe engaged.
The next day they set out on their
return to the Delaware
towns. There they were met by a party of
British and Indians,
commanded by Col. Caldwell and
accompanied by the two Girtys
and McKee, who professed to be on their
way to the falls to
attack George Rogers Clark. They
remained there two days.
Brant, with the greater part of the
Indians, returned with Cald-
well toward the Ohio. A few only
remained to take charge of
the prisoners and spoils. These they
separated and took to the
towns to which they were assigned. The
prisoners remained in
captivity until the next year which
brought the Revolutionary
war to a close. More than one-half of
the number who left
Pennsylvania under Col. Lochry never
returned.
The foregoing account is substantially
that given by Capt.
Orr. Some doubt has been expressed
whether Brant was the
leader of the Indians. James McBride, in
his sketch of Isaac
Anderson, says that the Indians who were
waiting opposite the
island below to intercept the party,
were informed of the landing
of the whites by runners. According both
to McBride and An-
derson there were two attacking parties
of Indians, one in the
woods and the other in canoes on the
river.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 389
Lieut. Isaac Anderson kept a daily
journal from the time
he set out on the expedition until his
return. Without abridgment
we insert the first part of the journal
covering the month of
August, preserving the original spelling
of proper names.
JOURNAL OF LIEUT. ISAAC ANDERSON.
"August 1, 1781. We met at Col.
Carnahan's in order to
form a body of men to join Gen. Clark on
the expedition against
the Indians.
"Aug. 2d. Rendezvoused at said
place.
"Aug. 3d. Marched under command of
Col. Lochry to
Maracle's mill, about 83 in number.
"Aug. 4. Crossed Youghagania river.
"Aug. 5. Marched to Dover's ferry.
"Aug. 6. To Raccoon settlement.
"Aug. 7. To Capt. Mason's.
"Aug. 8. To Wheeling Fort, and
found Clark had started
down the river about twelve hours.
"Aug. 9. Col. Lochry sent a
quartermaster and officer of
the horse after him, which overtook him
at Middle Island and
returned; then started all our foot
troops on seven boats and our
horses by land to Grave Creek.
"Aug. 13. Moved down to Fishing
Creek; we took up
Lieut. Baker and 16 men, deserting from
Gen. Clark, and went
that day to middle of Long Reach, where
we stayed that night.
"Aug. 15. To the Three Islands,
where we found Maj.
Creacroft waiting on us with a
horse-boat. He with his guard,
six men, started that night after Gen.
Clark.
"Aug. 16. Col. Lochry detailed
Capt. Shannon with 7 men
and letter after Gen. Clark, and we moved
that day to the Little
Connaway (Kanawha) with all our horses
on board the boats.
"Aug. 17. Two men went out to hunt
who never returned to
us. We moved that day to Buffalo Island.
"Aug. 18. To Catfish Island.
"Aug. 19. To Bare Banks.
"Aug. 20. We met with two of
Shannon's men, who told
us they had put to shore to cook, below the mouth of the Siotha
390 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
(Scioto) where Shannon sent them and a
sergeant out to hunt.
When they got about half a mile in the
woods they heard a num-
ber of shots which they supposed to be
Indians firing on the
rest of the party, and they immediately
took up the river to meet
us; but, unfortunately, the sergeant's
knife dropped on the ground
and it ran directly through his foot and
he died of the wound in
a few minutes. We sailed all night.
"Aug. 21. We moved to the Two
Islands.
"Aug. 22. To the Sassafras Bottom.
"Aug. 23. Went all day and all
night.
"Aug. 24. Col. Lochry ordered the
boats to land on the
Indian shore, about 10 miles below the
mouth of the great Mey-
amee (Miami) river to cook provisions
and cut grass for the
horses, when we were fired on by a party
of Indians from the
bank. We took to our boats, expecting to
cross the river, and was
fired on by another party in a number of
canoes, and soon we
became a prey to them. They killed the
Col. and a number
more after they were prisoners. The
number of our killed was
about forty. They marched us that night
about eight miles up
the river and encamped.
"Aug. 25. We marched eight miles up
the Meyamee river
and encamped.
"Aug. 26. Lay in camp.
"Aug. 27. The party that took us
was joined by one hun-
dred white men under the command of
Capt. Thompson and
three hundred Indians under the command
of Capt. McKee.
"Aug. 28. The whole of the Indians
and whites went down
against the settlements of Kentucky,
excepting a sergeant and
eighteen men, which were left to take
care of sixteen prisoners
and stores that were left there. We lay
there until the fifteenth
of Sept.
"Sept. 15, 1781. We started toward
the Shawna towns on
our way to Detroit."
Return of the men killed and taken
August 24, 1781, upon
the Ohio river under the command of Col.
Lochry.
Killed: Col. Lochry, Capt. Campbell,
Ensigns Ralph Max-
well and Cabel.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 391
Prisoners: Maj. Creacroft, Adj't
Guthree, Quartermaster
Wallace, Capts. Thomas Stokely, Samuel
Shannon and Robert
Orr; Lieuts. Isaac Anderson, Joseph
Robinson, Samuel Craig,
John Scott, Milr Baker; Ensign Hunter.
Privates killed and taken prisoners in
Capt. Stokely's com-
pany:
Killed: Hugh Gallagher, Isaac Patton,
Douglass, Pheasant,
Young, Gibson, Smith, Stratton, Baily
and John Burns.
Prisoners: John Trimble, William Mars, John
Seace, Michael
Miller, Robert Watson, John Allenton,
Richard Fleman, James
Cain, Patrick Murphy, Abraham Anderson,
Michael Haire.
Capt. Campbell's company:
Killed: William Allison, James McRight,
Jonathan Mc-
Kinley.
Prisoners: William Husk, Robert Wilson,
James Dunseth,
William Weatherington, Keany Quigley,
Ezekiel Lewis.
Capt. Orr's company:
Killed: John Forsyth, William Cain, Adam
Erwin, Peter
Maclin, Archibald Erskin, John Black,
John Stewart, Joseph
Crawford.
Prisoners: Adam Owry, Samuel Lefaver,
John Hunter,
Joseph Erwin, Mans Kite, Hugh Steer,
Hugh Moore.
Capt. Shannon's company:
Killed: Ebenezer Burns, killed by
accident.
Prisoners: Solomon Aikens, John Lever,
Jonas Fisher,
George Hill, John Porter, John Smith.
Lieut. Baker's company:
Killed: D'Allinger, George Butcher, John
Rowe, Peter
Brickman, Jonas Peters, Jonas Brooks.
Prisoners: John Catt, Vol Lawrence,
Jacob Lawrence,
Christopher Tait, Charles Martlin,
William Rourk, Wnd. Franks,
Abraham Righley, George Mason.
Lieut. Anderson's company:
Killed: Samuel Evans, Sergt. Zeanz
Harden, Matthew Lamb,
John Milegan, John Corn.
Prisoners: Norman McLeod, Sergt. James
McFerson, Wil-
liam Marshall, Denis McCarty, Peter
Conely, John Ferrel.
392 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Taken prisoners in Maj. Creacroft's
company:
Thomas James, Thomas Adkson, John
Stakehouse, William
Clark, Elihu Risely, Alexander Burns.
Forty-eight privates and twelve officers
taken; five officers
and thirty-six privates killed. - (From
History of Dearborn and
Ohio Counties, Ind. 1885.)
SIEGE OF FORT LAURENS AND ITS RELIEF.
The fact that the relief of Fort Laurens
of which siege Hil-
dreth's account is given on page 186,
rendezvoused at Mingo gives
additional interest to Jefferson county
in the first fortification
built by the Federal Government in the
territory northwest of
the Ohio. The accompanying account of
Fort Laurens was
kindly prepared for the compiler by
Consul W. Butterfield from
his work "Washington-Irvine
Correspondence," an authority
accepted and quoted by all writers of
Trans-Allegheny History.
In the "History of the
Girtys," one of the most valuable of
his contributions to Western history in
that he corrects many
of the errors of statement made by early
writers and perpetuated
by others, Butterfield makes many
references to Fort Laurens.
On page 95 he says: "The siege
(although a failure), considering
that the fort was a regularly built
fortification, planned by an
engineer of the regular army of the
United States, and garrisoned
by regular troops, and considering,
also, the persistency of the
besiegers, nearly all of whom were
savages, and who closely
invested the post for twenty-five days,
was the most notable
of any in the West during the
Revolution." Aside from its gen-
eral importance there is peculiar local
interest in Fort Laurens
on account of the fact that it was at
this fort that White Eyes
was killed by an American soldier,
either through treachery
or by accident. White Eyes was one of
the Indian chiefs loyal
to the Americans in the Revolutionary
conflict, and was the
father of Capt. White Eyes, the Indian
killed in Jefferson county
after peace was declared after Wayne's
victory, by Carpenter,
who was indicted for the crime, this
being the first murder case
in the county.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 393
HISTORY OF FORT LAURENS.1
BY CONSUL WILLSHIRE BUTTERFIELD.
[ Extracts from the Washington-Irvine
Correspondence.]
Alarming intelligence now reached
McIntosh from the wilder-
ness west. He was reproached for his
tardiness by friendly In-
dians, who threatened that all their
nations would unite in the
Tuscarawas valley to give him battle,
and oppose his progress to
Detroit. Orders were, therefore,
immediately issued for twelve
hundred men to get ready to march. On
the fifth of November,
the movement of the army westward
commenced, including the
whole force, except one company, which
was left under command
of Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Campbell,
of the Thirteenth Vir-
ginia regiment, to bring on the
"long-looked for supplies."2 For
fourteen days, the march continued
before the Tuscarawas was
reached,3 a distance of only about
seventy miles from Fort Mc-
Intosh. This slow progress was caused by
the "horses and cattle
tiring every four or five miles."
It was upon this river, where
the army had now encamped, that the
commander anticipated
meeting the enemy; but only a few
Delawares from Coshocton,
and some Moravian Indians4 were
found, and they were friendly.
1 Written in 1881. In the History of
the Girtys, (pp. 88, 89, 90, 91, 92,
93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 109, 113, 114)
written nearly ten years after, may be
found much additional information
concerning the fort, also a few correc-
tions.-C. W. B.
2McIntosh to Washington, 27 Apr., 1779, in Sparks' Corr.
Amer. Rev.,
vol. II, p. 284. Jacob White's pension
statement, 1833, MS. copy. Dunlavy's
pension statement, MS. copy, previously
cited. McIntosh's orderly book,
1778, MS.
3 That is to say there were fourteen
marching days. The army did not
make its camp on the Tuscarawas until
November 21st: McIntosh's orderly
book, 1778, MS. McIntosh in his letter
to Washington, of 27 Apr., 1779, just
cited, says: "We were fourteen days
upon our march." The route was
the same as the one followed by Colonel
Henry Bouquet, on his march
against western Indians in 1764. For a
description of the course taken by
that officer, consult Bouquet's
Expedition against the Ohio Indians, Phila-
delphia printed, London reprinted, 1766,
pp. 11-13; or, Robert Clarke & Co.'s
reprint, Cincinnati, 1868, pp. 46-51.
4The Moravian Indians (themselves mostly
Delawares) were of those
gathered in the valley of the Tuscarawas, by
Moravian missionaries.
394 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
The gathering of the savages to impede
his march, he was told,
had been abandoned.5
At this juncture, McIntosh was informed
that the necessary
supplies for the winter had not reached
Fort McIntosh, and that
very little could be expected. He was
thus disappointed in all
his "flattering prospects and
schemes" against Detroit. There
was now no other alternative but to
return as he came, without
effecting any valuable purpose, thereby
confirming the savages
in the opinion already formed of the
weakness of the Americans,
and combining them all more completely
with the British,-or,
to build a strong stockade fort upon the
Tuscarawas, and leave
as many men as provisions would justify,
to secure it until the
next season, to serve as a bridle upon
the Indians in their own
country.6 The commander, with
the unanimous approbation of
his principal officers, chose the latter
alternative; and a post was
commenced where there had been one
formerly,7 on the west bank
of the river, below the mouth of Sandy
creek,--the whole army
being employed upon it while provisions
lasted; not, however,
without some trouble, as the militia
whose homes were west of the
mountains, were in a mutinous condition.
The fortification was
a regularly laid out work, inclosing
less than an acre of ground,
and was named Fort Laurens, in honor of
the president of con-
gress. It was the first military post of
the government erected
upon any portion of the territory now
constituting the State of
Ohio. Leaving a garrison of one hundred
and fifty men, with
5 That the enemy seriously contemplated meeting McIntosh
in the val-
ley of the Tuscarawas, there is no
evidence.
6 Such were the reasons given by
McIntosh to Washington, sometime
afterward, for building Fort Laurens, as
-, -, and their dependents,
for want of other matter, have cried it
down, as a designed slaughter-pen,
impossible to maintain; and endeavored
to prejudice the whole country
against it, although the former laid the
plan that was afterwards adopted
for taking and keeping
Detroit."-McIntosh to Washington 27 April, 1779,
previously cited.
7Compare Bouquet's Expedition, London reprint, p. 13, or
Cincinnati
reprint, pp. 51, 52, as to the erection
of a fort upon the right bank of the
Tuscarawas, in 1764, by Col. Bouquet.
The fortification commenced by
McIntosh was close by the site of
Bouquet's.
8A short distance south of the present
village of Bolivar, Tuscarawas
county, Ohio.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 395
scanty supplies, under command of
Colonel John Gibson, to finish
and protect the work, McIntosh, with the
rest of his army, returned,
very short of provisions,9 to
Fort McIntosh, where the militia under
his command were discharged
"precipitately.'10
Washington soon after, in ignorance of
McIntosh's move-
ments beyond the mountains, declared
that the latter ought to
decide finally, if he had not already
done so, whether he could,
with the force, provisions, stores,
prospect of supplies, and means
of transportation, which he then had,
advance to Detroit; and
whether the advantages or disadvantages
of a winter expedition
preponderated. The return of the Fort
Pitt commander to the
Ohio river was an emphatic decision,
already given, in opposition
to a winter campaign against that post.
McIntosh now made such disposition of
his continental troops
and independent companies for the winter
as, in his judgment,
would protect the border, and facilitate
future operations. The
Eighth Pennsylvania regiment was
assigned to Fort Pitt. The
men left in Fort Laurens were a part of
the Thirteenth Virginia.
The residue, with the independent
companies, were divided be-
tween Fort McIntosh, Fort Henry, Fort
Randolph, and Fort
Hand; with a few at inferior stations.
There was not one of the
militia retained under pay at either of
these posts.
After the main army left Fort Laurens,
the work upon that
post was continued. "I have already
finished setting up the
pickets," wrote the officer in
charge, toward the latter part of De-
cember, "and, in a few days, I
think I can bid defiance to the
enemy." "The distressed
situation of the men," he continued,
"prevents the work from going on as
briskly as it otherwise
would." In the meantime, he had
opened negotiations with the
friendly Delawares at Coshocton for the
purchase of some cattle.
"With these," he added,
"I am in hopes we shall have beef enough,
9"On our march in, we were obliged
to eat beef-hides, which had been
left to dry; they were first roasted:
" Statement of Stephen Burkham, 1845.
"Thirty-six dry hides were cut up
and roasted in one night:" Ellis' Recol-
lections, 1845.
10McIntosh to Washington, 11 Jan., 1779, MS. Mem.
of Francis Dun-
lavy, MS. The army left Fort Laurens on
the morning of the 9th Dec., ar-
riving at Fort McIntosh the 13th.
396 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
and that we shall have a sufficient
quantity of flour until a farther
supply can be sent us."11
While McIntosh was at Fort Laurens, he
ordered one hun-
dred and fifty militia from Westmoreland
county, to march as
secretly as possible to "the forks
of the Alleghany river," and
endeavor to destroy some Indians settled
on French creek, who
were the perpetrators of much of the
mischief done in the northern
settlements. The men reached a point
within "ten miles of the
savages, when they returned,"
declared McIntosh, "without see-
ing the face of a single Indian."12
"We proceeded on to French
creek," is the subsequent language
of the officer having chief
command of the expedition, "where
we found the Indian town
evacuated." "I then went on
further than my orders called for,"
he adds, "in quest of Indians; but
our provisions being nearly
exhausted, we were obliged to
return."13
More than half of the month of January,
1779, wore away
without anything of importance occurring
to the westward of
Pittsburg, when Samuel Sample, an
assistant quartermaster, sent
by Colonel Gibson from Fort Laurens to
Coshocton, for corn and
other articles, had one man killed,14
and another desperately
wounded,15 by treacherous
Delawares.16 Toward the close of the
month, Captain John Clark, of the Eighth
Pennsylvania regiment,
who had commanded an escort of
provisions to Gibson, was, on
his return, with a sergeant and fourteen
men, when only about
three miles distant from the fort,
attacked by seventeen Indians,
chiefly Mingoes, led by Simon Girty, the
renegade from Pittsburg,
who, immediately after his arrival at
Detroit, was employed in the
11 Col. John Gibson to McIntosh, from
Fort Laurens, 21 Dec., 1778, MS.
12McIntosh to Washington, 11 Jan., 1779,
MS. previously cited.
13 This was the first expedition in
force to the northward from the
vicinity of Fort Pitt during the war. It
was commanded by Col. James
Smith. For this officer's account of the
march see his Narr. (Lexington,
Ky., 1799), p. 75, or Robert Clarke
& Co's reprint (Cincinnati, 1870), p.
135-137. Mention of the "French
creek expedition," as it was called, is to
be found in Col. Rec. of Pa., XIV, 662.
14John Nash, of the thirteenth Virginia
regiment; killed Jan. 22d.
15 Peter Parchment, of the same regiment
as Nash; wounded on the 27th
of the same month; he finally recovered.
16 Gibson to McIntosh, from Fort
Laurens, 13 Feb., 1779, MS.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 397
Indian department as interpreter, and
sent back to the savages.
The Americans suffered a loss of two
killed, four wounded, and
one taken prisoner. The remainder,
including the captain, fought
their way back to the fort. Letters written by the commander
of the post, and containing valuable
information, were captured
by Girty.17 McIntosh, upon receipt of this
intelligence, endeav-
ored to send supplies to the garrison by
way of the Ohio and Mus-
kingum rivers, but the attempt proved
abortive.18 By the middle
of February, provisions began to grow
scarce. The commander
sent word to McIntosh at Fort Pitt,
informing him of the state
of affairs, concluding with these brave
words: "You may depend
on my defending the fort to the last
extremity."
On the twenty-third, a wagoner was sent
out of Fort Laurens
for the horses belonging to the post, to
draw wood. With him
went a guard of eighteen men. The party
were fired upon by
lurking savages and all killed and
scalped in sight of the fort,
except two, who were made
prisoners.19 The post was immedi-
ately thereafter invested by the
Indians-mostly Wyandots and
Mingoes-in force.20 They continued the siege until the
garrison
was reduced to the verge of starvation;
a quarter of a pound of
17 Capt.
John Killbuck to Gibson, 30 Jan., 1779, original letter. Hecke-
welder to same, 8 Feb., 1779,
original letter. McIntosh to Lochry, 29 Jan.,
1779, in Penn. Arch., First Series, VII,
173.
18 "I am now happily relieved by
the arrival of Maj. Taylor here, who
returned with one hundred men and two
hundred kegs of flour. He was
six days going up the Muskingum river
about twenty miles, the waters
were so high and stream so rapid; and as
he had about one hundred and
thirty miles more to go, he judged it
impossible to relieve Col. Gibson in
time, and therefore returned, having
lost two of his men sent to flank him
upon the shore, who were killed and scalped
by some warriors coming
down the Muskingum river:" McIntosh
to Washington, from Fort Pitt, 12
March, 1779, MS.
19McIntosh to Washington, 12 March, 1779, MS., just
cited. Brodhead
to same, 21 March, 1779, MS.
20 "The attacking party consisted of one hundred and eighty:"
Hil-
dreth's Pion. Hist., p. 138. " Near
three hundred :" Heckewelder to McIn-
tosh, 12 March, 1779, MS. Hildreth is
the better authority in this matter.
He cites Geo. Morgan, who got his
information from the Delaware chiefs.
The cunning foe, it seems, by stratagem,
made their number so appear,
that eight hundred and forty-seven were
counted from one of the bastions
of the fort.
398 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
sour flour and an equal weight of
spoiled meat constituting a
daily ration. The assailants, however,
were finally compelled to
return home, as their supplies had also
become exhausted.
Before the enemy left, a soldier managed
to steal through
their lines, reaching McIntosh on the
third of March, with a
message from Colonel Gibson informing
him of his critical situa-
tion.21 The Fort Pitt commander immediately made exertions
to set on foot an expedition for his
relief. In the event of not
meeting the foe upon the Tuscarawas,
McIntosh planned, in his
own mind, to march before his return,
against Sandusky and
destroy the Wyandot towns; "and if
we could not get any supplies
there," are his words,
"proceed farther."22 On the nineteenth of
March, with about two hundred militia
quickly raised from the
counties west of the mountains, and over
three hundred conti-
nental troops from Fort McIntosh and
Fort Pitt, he left the
former post upon his second march to the
Tuscarawas;23 arriving
there in four days,24 to find
the siege of Fort Laurens abandoned
and the savages gone. A salute, fired by
the garrison upon the
arrival of the relief in sight of the
post, frightened the packhorses,
causing them to break loose, scattering
the supplies in the woods
and resulting in the loss of a number of
the horses and some of
the provisions.
The men in the fort were found in a most
deplorable con-
dition. For nearly a week, they had
subsisted on raw hides and
such roots as they could find in the
vicinity after the Indians had
gone. Mcintosh called a council of war
and laid before the
officers assembled his plan for marching
against the Wyandots and
striking a blow at their towns on the
Sandusky. But the project
was unanimously opposed, as the ground
so early in the season
was very wet and there was a scanty
supply of forage for their
21"A messenger came to me the third of March, instant, who
slipped
out of Fort Laurens on the night of
Sunday, the twenty-eighth of Febru-
ary, by whom Col. Gibson would not
venture to write:" McIntosh to
Washington, 12 Mar., 1779, previously
cited.
22McIntosh to Washington, 3 Apr., 1779, MS.
23McIntosh to Washington, 19 March, 1779, MS. Orderly
book of McIn-
tosh, 1779, MS. Col. Brodhead was left
in command of Fort McIntosh.
24McIntosh to Washington, 3 Apr., 1779, MS., previously
cited. McIn-
tosh's orderly book, MS.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 399
horses, and less than two weeks'
provisions for the whole army.
So the matter was dropped.25 Leaving
one hundred and six men,
rank and file, of the Eighth
Pennsylvania regiment, under com-
mand of Major Frederick Vernon, to
garrison the post, and a
supply of food for less than two months,
he returned with the
residue of his force to Fort McIntosh,
reaching there after a march
of six days.
The erection of Forts McIntosh and
Laurens as a precau-
tionary measure was approved by
[Washington] the commander-
in-chief. "The establishing of
posts of communication," he wrote,
"which McIntosh has done for the
security of his convoys and
the army, is a proceeding grounded on
military practice and ex-
perience."
The condition of Fort Laurens early
engaged the attention of
[Col. Daniel] Brodhead [who, in March,
1779, was appointed
McIntosh's successor in command of the
Western Department.]
Major Vernon, at that post, experienced,
from the commence-
ment of his charge, many hardships.
Scarcely had the command
been turned over to him when small
parties of savages began to
make their appearance in the vicinity.
He soon had two men
killed out of a party of forty who were
outside the fort gathering
fire-wood.26 The throwing of
supplies into the post was at-
tended with much difficulty and expense,
and its evacuation seemed
desirable. But "it is to be
preserved," wrote Washington, "if,
under a full consideration of
circumstances, it is judged a post of
importance, and can be maintained
without running too great a
risk." The commander-in-chief was
apprehensive its abandon-
ment would give great encouragement to
the savages about De-
troit,-which was his reason for holding
it; not on account of any
opinion of its usefulness as a
protection to the border. Brodhead
found "that the state of provisions
there," was by no means what
he had supposed it to be.27 The
language of Vernon, in a letter
25McIntosh to Washington, 3 Apr., (just cited) and 3
May, 1779, MS.
letters.
26Vernon to McIntosh from Fort Laurens, 28 March, 1779,
MS. Same
to Brodhead, same date, MS. The attack
was made on the day on which
these letters were written. Ensign John
Clark was one of the killed.
27Brodhead to Lochry, 23 Apr., 1779, MS.
400 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
from the fort, dated the twenty-ninth of
April, was expressive and
startling: "Should you not send us provisions in a very short
time, necessity will oblige us to begin
on some cow-hides the In-
dians left."
"I am just now fitting out one
hundred and fifty men," wrote
Brodhead, on the fourth of May, "to
escort a small quantity of
supplies to Fort Laurens."
"Indeed," was his earnest declara-
tion, in addition, "I cannot send a
larger party, as the Indians are
at present very troublesome on the
northern frontiers of West-
moreland and a large party would consume
all the salt provisions
on the march; as for fresh ones, I have
none."28 But the greatest
part of the garrison, by the middle of
the month, had to be sent
in, or they would have perished by
starvation, as no relief had ar-
rived. Major Vernon held the post ten
days longer with only
twenty-five men, living on herbs, salt
and cow-hides, when sup-
plies from Fort Pitt, escorted by a
party of regulars, who marched
by a new route,29 reached the
fort.
At this time, the garrison was so much
reduced for want of
provisions that they were scarcely able
to stand on their feet. "I
dare say," are the words of
Brodhead to the Fort Laurens com-
mander, on the thirtieth, "you took
good care not to suffer your
starved men to eat much at a time, after
the supplies arrived, and
that the whisky added to their
relief." Past the middle of June,
the post was relieved by seventy-five
men, well supplied with
28Brodhead to Washington, MS. letter.
29 The relief was commanded by Capt. Robert Beall* of
the 13th [9th]
Va. Reg't. They dropped down the Ohio to
an old, deserted Mingo town,
at the mouth of Cross creek, just below
the present Steubenville, Ohio;
marching thence to Fort
Laurens.-Brodhead to Beall: MS. Instructions.
Same to Major Vernon, at Port Laurens 14
May, 1779, MS. Same to Lieut.
John Hardin, of the 8th Pa. Reg't., same
date, MS. The detachment was
detained for some time at Fort McIntosh,
"while the garrison at Fort
Laurens were starving:" Brodhead to
Capt. John Clark, June 6th, 1779, MS.
The new route to Fort Laurens was not
again used,-" the old Tuscarawas
path" being takan in subsequent
marches to and from that post.
*In making up the Index to the Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, this officer is
confounded wiih Capt. Robert Beall of
the Westmoreland County Militia, mentioned on
pp. 124, 328, 379.-Washington-Irvine
Letters. They were not one and the same person.
-C. W. B.
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 401
provisions, under command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell.30
Vernon returned to Fort Pitt, but his
detachment was left at Fort
McIntosh.31 After being once more
seriosuly threatened by the
Indians in force, Fort Laurens, early in
August was evacuated;
orders to that effect having been
previously sent by Col. Brod-
head,32 that the garrison stationed
there might be added to troops
already collected at Pittsburg for a
contemplated expedition
against the northern Indians. Before the
soldiers left, two of their
number were killed by lurking savages
within sight of the post.
As the fort might again be occupied,
Colonel Campbell was en-
joined not to destroy it. It was never
after garrisoned. It re-
mained intact during the war, but was
subsequently demolished.
THE MASSACRE OF THE MORAVIAN INDIANS.
There is much evidence to show that it
was the belief of
Williamson and his men from Western
Pennsylvania, that some at
least of the Christian Indians were in
the expedition that resulted
in the killing of Mrs. Wallace and her
child. Many articles of
clothing recognized as having been worn
by persons murdered
by Indians, were found in possession of
the Moravians. Butter-
field quotes (History of the Girtys) H.
H. Brackenbridge, a man
of prominence, a noted lawyer and
writer, as saying on the 3d of
August of the year of the massacre:
"I am disposed to believe
that the greater part of the men put to
death at Gnadenhutten
were warriors; this appears to be the
testimony of one against an-
other, from the confession of many, from
their singing the war
song when ordered out to be tomahawked,
from the cut and paint-
ing of their hair, and from other circumstances." Butterfield
prints much other evidence of like
strength of character to show
30Brodhead to Campbell, MS.
Instructions, 14 June, 1779. Same to
Vernon, same date, MS. Instructions.
Same to Campbell, 16 June, 1779,
MS. letter.
31 Brodhead's orderly book, 1779, MS.
Zeisberger to Campbell at Fort
Laurens (no date) MS.
32 The first order to leave was issued
by Brodhead on the 16th of July:
Brodhead to Campbell, MS. Instructions.
This informed the commander
that the post was to be evacuated as
soon as horses could be sent to bring
in the stores; subsequent orders were
more pressing and imperative.
Vol. VI-26
402 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
that the good Indians were not always so
very good. That the
people of Western Pennsylvania approved
of Col. Williamson's
work is shown in the fact that he was
afterwards repeatedly elected
sheriff of his county.
The story of the escape of "Sweet
Corn" given on page 144,
came to the compiler from a most
reliable source, the relator
claiming to be a descendant, but as only
two boys escaped, having
eluded the soldiers, the Story of Sweet
Corn is likely fiction, al-
though it is possible that at the time
Sweet Corn may have been
mistaken for a boy.
Butterfield, in whose statements all
must place the fullest con-
fidence, insists (History of the Girtys)
that the Gnadenhutten mas-
sacre was not planned by the British at
Detroit, although to the
compiler it requires very little, even
circumstantial, evidence to
convict the British of the crime, and
certainly circumstantial evi-
dence is strong in this case.
ANDREW AND ADAM POE AND THE BIG FOOT
INDIAN.
The story of the Poes and their fight
with the "Big Foot"
Indian is so closely associated with the
history of this region,
that it seems like sacrilege to take
from this story the embellish-
ments that have made it so deeply
interesting to those who enjoy
narrative of border warfare, but in his
account Butterfield (His-
tory of the Girtys) reduces the story to
the plain statement of
fact: "While the savages were on
their way back to Sandusky
[from the Moravian missions] seven of
the Wyandots, of whom
three were sons of the Half King, left
the main party and again
marched for the border, raiding into a
small settlement on Har-
mon's creek, in Washington county,
taking one prisoner - a
man about seventy years of age. The
savages immediately started
on their return, but were soon pursued
by a number of settlers,
to the Ohio river, where they were
overtaken and all killed
except one; and he, their leader,
Scotosh by name, one of the
three brothers before alluded to,
escaped wounded. The white
prisoner was released. Andrew Poe, one
of the pursuers, his
gun missing fire, boldly sprang upon and
grappled two of the
Indians - sons of the Half King. During
a most violent
Addenda to the Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 403
struggle, which was continued, first on
the shore and then in
the river, Andrew killed one of the
Indians, but was himself
badly wounded. Adam Poe, a brother,
coming to his relief,
shot the other savage. Meanwhile, Andrew
Poe, then in the
water, by mistake, received a second
wound from one of his own
men. The settlers lost one of their
number. Neither of the
Indians killed by the Poes was named Big
Foot, nor was either
of them of unusual size, as has been so
long and persistently claimed
by Western writers." In a foot note
Butterfield adds: The story
of the Poe fight was first written for,
and printed in, a magazine,
with a number of fanciful
embellishments, about "Big Foot," etc.
The whole article was copied by
Doddridge as veritable history
in his notes.
THE PURITANS DESTROY A PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH.
The reference to the destruction by the
Puritan Fathers of the
first Presbyterian church in
Massachusetts on page 97 seems
such an unusual performance that it is
deemed prudent to give
fuller authority for the statement. In
the "History of Worcester"
by William Lincoln, published in
Worcester, Mass., in 1837,
page 47, is found an account of the
first Scotch-Irish immigrants
to arrive in New England, the date being
1718. They settled at
Worcester * * * "and here suffered
illiberal opposition, and
even active hostility. Having formed a
religious society, they
commenced the erection of a meeting
house on the west side
of the Boston road. The timbers had been
raised and the build-
ing was in the progress of construction,
when the inhabitants
gathered tumultuously by night, and
demolished the structure.
Persons of consideration and
respectability aided in the riotous
work of violence, and the defenceless
foreigners were compelled
to submit to the wrong. Many, unable to
endure the insults and
bitter prejudices they encountered,
joined their brethren of the
same (Presbyterian) denomination, who,
under the charge of the
Rev. Mr. Abercrumbie, commenced the
settlement of the town
of Pelham, in the county of
Hampshire."
Judge Temple (Puritan, Cavalier and
Covenanter) quotes
Bryant as recording that this Scotch
settlement at Worcester
404 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
held the first public meeting (in 1773)
in the Colonies, which set
forth the precise essential principles
of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. From this settlement came
Matthew Thornton and
Asa Gray.
RELIGIOUS STATUS OF THE PATHFINDERS OF
THE WESTERN
RESERVE.
The statement as to the religious status
of the pathfinders
of the Northern portion of the original
Jefferson county having
been previously made by the compiler and
questioned, on the
ground that the settlers of the Western
Reserve were from New
England and therefore Puritans, it is
proper that full authority
be given for the declaration that these
people were lacking in
the spirituality characteristic of the
portions of the county settled
by Pennsylvanians and Virginians.
The belief has long obtained that the
influence of the path-
finders of the Reserve was along
religious more than material
lines, but this is not true. In the
element of character on which
the descendants base the greatness of
the fathers, the fathers
were very deficient. They were ungodly
to an alarming degree.
As to the truth of the statement we have
the testimony of
Rev. Thomas Robbins, an early
missionary, and of Rev. Joseph
Badger, who labored also in the Reserve
vineyard when the
sturdy pathfinder was felling the forest
and cutting the way for
the advance of civilization. These
ministers recorded the events
of their journeying to and fro and their
journals tell the story
to which only reference has been made in
the foregoing pages.
In 1804 Mr. Robbins visited Cleveland
and spoke of the
people as "loose in principles and
conduct; few had heard a
sermon or a hymn for eighteen
months."
In Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Rev.
Robbins found the
people "much inclined to
infidelity." In Mentor, Lake county,
they were not only inclined to
"infidelity, but immorality." In
Willoughby, Lake county, they were
irritated at the presence
of missionaries. In Newburg
"profaning the Sabbath" was a
favorite pastime. At Warren the citizens
were openly hostile
to the cause of religion. At Canfield,
Mahoning county, they were
"much inclined to infidelity."
At Burton, Geauga county, there
Addenda to the Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 405
were two or three Christians, but at
Middlefield, in the same
county, there was scarcely anyone with
serious thoughts upon
religious subjects. "The greater
part of the New England people
in the country are pretty loose
characters," said Rev. Mr. Robbins
in summing up his opinion of the
pioneers in a sentence.
Rev. Mr. Badger, another minister, in
telling of a visit he
paid Painesville, says that "not
one seemed to have the least
regard for the Sabbath." He
attended a Fourth of July celebration
at Hudson - at that time the religious
center of the Reserve.
Hon. Benjamin Tappan made the oration of
the day, which, Mr.
Badger says, was "interlarded with
grossly illiberal remarks
against Christians and
Christianity."
Whites settled Cleveland in 1796, but it
was not until 1816
that a church organization was effected,
and it was not until
1829, thirty-three years after Moses
Cleveland landed, that the
first meeting house was erected. Newburg
was as large as Cleve-
land in that early day, but the first
church building was not erected
there until as late as 1841.
"On one occasion," says a
historical writer in the Cleveland
Plain Dealer, "it is a fact so well
attested as to be beyond ques-
tion, that citizens of Cleveland formed
a procession and marched
in mockery through the streets bearing
an effigy which they
called Jesus."
JAMES AND NOT SIMON GIRTY AT SIEGE OF
FORT HENRY.
In accounts of the siege of Fort Henry
in 1777, Butterfield
(History of the Girtys) presents a large
amount of evidence to
show that neither Simon, George, Thomas
nor James Girty
assisted in the investment, for at that
time none of the Girtys
had deserted the Americans. They were
then all in the employ
of the United States as interpreters,
but after all but Thomas
deserted, or rather renounced allegiance
to America and took
the oath in the British service. James,
and not Simon, Girty
was with the besiegers of Fort Henry in
1782. Says Butterfield
(History of the Girtys, p. 289):
"In going with the enemy to assail
Fort Henry at Wheeling, in September,
1782, James Girty, for
the last time, so far as it is known,
marched to attack his own
406
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
countrymen." In a note on page 132,
Butterfield says that neither
James nor Simon Girty were of the
plotters of the scheme which
resulted in breaking up the missionary
establishments upon the
Tuscarawas [Moravian], neither having
anything to do with it
directly or indirectly.
In this connection it is proper to note
that the last census
shows that there were 121,324 natives of
Pennsylvania, 60,429
natives of the two Virginias, and only
25,093 natives of all the
New England states in Ohio at the time
the census was taken.
The name of the "witch"
mentioned on page 288 should be
McCauley and not Dougherty.
According to a history of the M. E.
Church in Ohio, printed
in the Columbus Press-Post, the first
Methodist preaching in the
territory northwest of the Ohio, was by
Rev. Geo. Callahan, a
rider of the circuit lying in Virginia
between Wheeling and Pitts-
burg. This was at Carpenter's fort, at
the mouth of Short creek,
in September, 1787. [See Gen. Butler's
journal note in chapter
on churches.] His congregation was
guarded by a score of hardy
backwoodsmen armed with rifles, who
stood at the edge of the
assembly.
A daughter of Obediah Jennings, the
second receiver of the
Steubenville Land office, and a noted
Presbyterian minister after-
wards, became the wife of Gov. Wise of
Virginia and the mother
of Obediah Jennings Wise, the
Confederate general who was
killed during the war between the
States.
According to an account published by
Rev. R. M. Coulter, in
the Cadiz Republican, Oct. 31, 1895,
Jesse Delong was born on
Short Creek in 1776, and died at the age
of 106 years. He was
possibly a son of Solomon Delong
mentioned on p. 137.
Wm. Howells, father of Wm. Dean Howells,
in " Life in
Ohio: 1813-1840," mentions the fact
that his father settled on
Wills creek, five miles above
Steubenville in 1819. The chimney
place of the old log house is yet in
evidence, together with the
spring, apple trees and the thyme of which
he speaks. The ruins
of the old mill dam are still to be seen
as evidence of the enter-
prise of the Pathfinders.
ADDENDA
TO THE PATHFINDERS OF JEFFERSON
COUNTY.
The time allotted the compiler by the
Society in which to
prepare the matter foregoing precluded
the possibility of exami-
nation of original papers to the extent
necessary for an absolutely
correct historical statement, and the
demand for delivery of copy
into the hands of the printer forced
completion of manuscript
before the compiler could receive
information for which he had
applied to authorities, and consequently
the addenda following
appears essential to a clearer
understanding of the previous
pages.
THE LOCHRY (CLARK'S) EXPEDITION.
The reference to the difficulty of
procuring a fuller account
of the Defeat of Archibald Lochry and
his men at the mouth of
the Big Miami, resulting in the massacre
of many of his soldiers,
which, many consider, one of the
exciting causes of the massacre
of the so-called Moravian Indians at
Gnadenhutten, had only
reference to the Archives of
Pennsylvania. There are other
accounts of the defeat, among them, that
given by Roosevelt in
"Winning of the West," in
which according to Consul W. But-
terfield, the most painstaking of all
the historians of the West -
the most noted, the most conscientious,
so careful in statement
that if at all possible to obtain, he
accepts nothing as true with-
out the testimony of the original paper,
many errors were made,
Roosevelt even spelling Lochry
"Loughrie." George and not
Simon Girty was with the Indians in this
battle. He was not
commander of the British forces (the
Indians), but was under
Capt. Brant, who, in a quarrel after the
battle, struck Simon
Girty on his face with his sword,
inflicting a serious wound which
disfigured Girty for life. The quarrel
was the result of the boast
made by Brant that he had captured Col.
Lochry and his men,
Simon Girty at the time of the battle
being at Louisville watching
(384)