Ohio History Journal

526      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

and accoutrements.  Wayne could not safely go di-

rectly down and thereupon he dug an oblique shelf-road

in the breast of the declivity downward -- eastward a

distance of about one hundred feet, and thereby the

army descended to the floor of the valley and crossed

the stream.

The shelf-road is not the "pitch."  It is the ex-

pedient made in breast of the pitch or declivity. It is

a very interesting, well-preserved remnant of Wayne's

Preble Trail.  It is historically and sentimentally

worthy a permanent designation by an attractive

monumental stone with a bronze tablet insert inscribed

"WAYNE'S FORTY-FOOT PITCH"

 

 

THE BATTLE OF FORTY FOOT PITCH*

BY ESTHER E. NICHOLS

Today we are met to honor some of the brave heroes

of our own state. Though inconspicuous in the history

of our country, still they played a most important part

in gaining for us a great Nation and homes of safety.

Many of them were the close friends and relatives of

our ancestors and they justly deserve the gratitude and

respect which we, each one, can give. Among those

who are most intimately connected with the history of

our own country, are the brave heroes who fell in the

Battle of Forty Foot Pitch, or Ludlow Springs, a few

miles north of Eaton.

A month previous to this battle a great confedera-

tion of Indians had been threatening attacks, putting

* Read at the St. Clair celebration, November 6, 1922, Eaton, Preble

County, Ohio.

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Fort St. Clair            527

our infant Nation in a most perilous position. General

Wayne, appointed by President Washington, was in

command of an army of two thousand five hundred

men at Fort Greenville, where the present Greenville is

now situated. General Wayne was a man of stern will

and we may rightly say had a heart full of love for his

country. At that time it had become very difficult to

furnish sufficient protection for the many convoys of

supplies as the soldiers were all needed to repel the

sudden, treacherous attacks of the enemy at each fort.

The Battle of Forty Foot Pitch did not occur at

what is now called Forty Foot Pitch but really took

place at Ludlow Springs, Preble County, Ohio, which

was probably located on the Montgomery farm. This

site was supposed to be in a picturesque little hollow

near the Zion Church, about seven miles from Fort St.

Clair.

On the morning of the 17th of October, 1793, or

one hundred twenty-nine years ago, the seventeenth of

last month, began the skirmish which has meant so

much to us and in which we are interested at present.

Lieutenant Lowery of the second Legion, and En-

sign Boyd of the first, in charge of one of those precious

convoys of provisions and in command of about ninety

non-commissioned soldiers, were our leaders in this

skirmish.  At the head of the Indians was Little

Turtle, the chief of the Miamis, ready to do his part in

maintaining the honor of his tribes.  This Indian

leader was a real gentleman and a most sagacious

statesman. Even many of his enemies at his death paid

him the highest of honors.

It has been said by old residents that, as the soldiers

were looking for a place to camp, they sent a few men

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528     Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

ahead as usual to blaze the trail. When the soldiers

came along a short time after, they found a deer where

the battle later took place, so they naturally supposed it

had been left there by the other men who had blazed the

trail. Accordingly they camped in that place, believing

the deer a sign that they should do so. However it had

not been left by the blazers but by the Indians, and the

Indians had in that way used strategy in getting the

soldiers to camp at an advantageous spot for an attack.

This is only a tradition, but at any rate Lieutenant

Lowry and his men had camped at Ludlow Springs al-

ways on the lookout for attacks and yet not realizing any

immediate danger. Suddenly early on the morning of

October 17th they found a band of fierce Indians upon

them, led by the wary and able Little Turtle. Upon the

very first discharge the unfortunate little company of

white men were heartlessly abandoned by the greater

part of their escort, but even in the face of all this and

superior numbers they fought bravely and obstinately.

Gradually their ranks were thinning. It was then in the

crucial moment that Lieutenant Lowry proved his

bravery. Heedless of his own suffering and safety, his

supreme thought was the welfare of the many helpless

ones at home. His last and inspiring words were, "My

brave boys, all you that can fight, now display your

activity and let your balls fly."

In addition to Lieutenant Lowry, there was Ensign

Boyd, both promising young officers, with about thirteen

officers and privates who were killed. About seventy

horses were either killed or carried off by the savages,

although the stores remained undisturbed.

Those who fell in this encounter were buried at Fort

St. Clair. Later, on July 4, 1846, the bodies were taken

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Fort St. Clair            529 up and re-interred, with impressive funeral services and all the honors of war. The bodies of Lieutenant Lowry and his men were afterwards removed to the mound in the cemetery at Eaton. A stately shaft marks their resting place which is now and will be throughout the centuries a monument of glory and honor for those who knew the true meaning of patriotism. The monument is one of the finest, made of elegant Rutland marble, twelve feet in height, erected on an artificial mound and constructed by La Do??n and Hamilton of Dayton at a cost of $300. This was gladly contributed by public- spirited persons who truly cherished the memory of ??ese beloved patriots. May we, as staunch citizens of our great United States and our own Ohio, remember this example of genuine patriotism and by doing our utmost at this present day save our country from many lurking perils and thus contribute our part in making it a land to be loved and cherished by the citizens of the near future.

Vol. XXXII -- 34.

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