Ohio History Journal

THE ORIGIN, DESCRIPTION AND SERVICE OF FORT

WINCHESTER,

 

WITH MENTION OF SOME OF THE PERSONS AND EVENTS

CONNECTED WITH IT.

 

BY CHARLES E. SLOCUM, M. D., PH. D., DEFIANCE, O.

From the earliest record until the building of the Miami and

Erie and the Wabash and Erie Canals along its course, the Mau-

mee River was known to be a great thoroughfare; and we have

good right to infer that the Aborigines, from their first appear-

ance in this region until the historic times, made its shores

and waters their principal course between the western shores of

Lake Erie and the Ohio river, both by way of the Miami and the

Wabash.

The high point at the junction of the Auglaize River with the

Maumee was recognized by General Anthony Wayne at first

view, in 1794, as the proper place for Fort Defiance,-a point

where he could safely bid defiance to all foes; and the usually

defiant Indians never ventured for its capture.

At the time of the first passing this way of the Ohio and

United States troops, of the Army of the Northwest in the be-

ginning of the War of 1812, this point was again fortified and,

being situate midway in the Maumee Valley, it served as a most

important post for observation and for supplies.

The Indians had long been troublesome to Americans set-

tling in this Northwest country and, after the Battle of Tippe-

canoe, Indiana, November 7, 1811, became still more active

in their aggressiveness under the incitements of the British and

the able Tecumseh whose avowed design was to drive out or

exterminate those settlers. At the time of the declaration of the

second war against Great Britian June 18, 1812, Fort Wayne

was the only fortification on the Maumee River. This Fort had

been seriously threatened by the Indians, but they were loth to

assail it from without. Several ineffectual feints and subterfuges

(253)

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were made by them to peaceably get within its stockades and

thus make its capture easier by surprising the garrison. These

efforts failing, more active measures were adopted, also without

success.

After the humiliating and disastrous surrender of Detroit by

Gen. William Hull, August 16, 1812, Fort Wayne was the only

fortification in and north of its latitude in the Northwest that

was left to the United States. The British were anxious to add

all this territory to their Canadian possessions, and expeditions

against Fort Wayne were despatched from Canada for this pur-

pose. Reports of these plans with details were communicated

to the Fort by a friendly Frenchman, and from there were trans-

mitted to General William H. Harrison who received them at

Piqua September 6, 1812. With his characteristic decision and

energy he at once ordered his command forward to the relief

of that garrison of seventy or eighty men. This relieving army

was reinforced at St. Mary and Shane's Crossing until it num-

bered about three thousand and five hundred troops. They

arrived at Fort Wayne Saturday morning, September 10th, hav-

ing advanced with great caution and with but little advance-line

skirmishing with the enemy, to the great joy of the garrison,

which had lost three men during the siege. The enemy invest-

ing the Fort, principally Indians estimated at about 1,500 in

number, prudently retired on the approach of the army. Troops

were sent in different directions to dislodge the foe from camps

and villages; and lurking places within a long range of the Fort

were cleared away.

September 19th General Winchester arrived at Fort Wayne

to take command of the entire army. James Winchester was

born at White Level (now Westminster), Md., February 6, 1752.

He was appointed Lieutenant in the Third Maryland Regiment

May 27, 1778, and served in the Continental Army until cap-

tured by the British some time later. He was exchanged Decem-

ber 22, 1780. Soon thereafter he removed to Sumner County,

Tennessee, where he was married. He there attained to a good

property, and maintained a liberal establishment on a large

estate. He was commissioned Brigadier General in the United

States Army March 27, 1812. After the surrender of General

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Fort Winchester.                      255

 

Hull General Winchester was directed by the Secretary of War

to take charge of the Army of the Northwest. With commen-

able promptitude he started northward. Upon entering Ohio

he wrote a letter to the Governor, of which the following is a

copy:

CINCINNATI, September 9, 1812.

SIR:-I am thus far on my way to assume the command of the army

on your Northwestern frontier. I shall leave this place to-morrow for

Piqua, where I shall be extremely glad to see you, in order to consult

with you relative to the best possible means of protecting the exposed fron-

tier of the State of Ohio, without losing sight, at the same time, of

Upper Canada. I am authorized by the Secretary of War to call on

your excellency for reinforcements of militia. On this subject, also, a

personal interview is desirable.

Should it, however, be inconvenient to you, sir, to meet me at Piqua,

or at some other place on my route, you will be good enough to com-

municate to me in writing your ideas on the subject of the protection

of your frontier inhabitants, as well as the extent of militia you can fur-

nish upon my requisition.

I have the honor to be, with high consideration,

Your obedient servant,

J. WINCHESTER,

Brigadier General U. S. Army.

To His Excellency, R. J. Meigs, Governor of the State of Ohio.

General Winchester proceeded northward with a small de-

tachment of troops, and followed in the trail of the relief army

to Fort Wayne. He was received by Gen. Harrison with due

deference, and the command of the army was at once given over

to him. This act of General Harrison was a complete exhibition

of the ready obedience of the true soldier to his superior officer

under very trying conditions. He had been an efficient aid to

Gneral Wayne in his successes against the Indians in the North-

west Territory; later, he served as Secretary of the Territory;

and he held the office of the first Governor of Indiana Trritory,

and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, during the last eleven years.

No man knew this frontier region and the Indians better than he

from long personal experience. He had met the different tribes

in thirteen important treaties and they, so far as in them lay, ac-

knowledged his ability and his fairness. He had found it neces-

sary to administer to them a severe chastisement in the Battle of

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Tippecanoe. The soldiers of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky knew

his wisdom and his bravery and they had entire confidence in him

and wanted him as their commander. The Governors of Ohio

and Kentucky were of like mind and had commissioned him ac-

cordingly, Governor Scott's commission being as Major General,

brevet, of Kentucky troops. Notwithstanding all this Gen. Har-

rison at once accepted as his ranking officer a stranger to the sol-

diers, to the wilderness country, to the ways of the Indians and to

the condition of affairs. He did this September 1₉th and imme-

diately, upon issuing such order to the troops, started on his way

to Piqua to take charge of the forces being there collected to rein-

force the desired expedition for the recapture of Detroit. Sep-

tember 5th Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky, addressed a

letter to William Eustis, Secretary of War, suggesting a Board

of War for this western country, recommending Gen. Harrison

as commander in chief, and referring to the evils that would result

from his continuing Gen. Winchester. Mr. Eustis replied under

date of September 17, favoring these suggestions, and stating

that General Harrison would at once be given chief command ac-

cordingly. This was two days before Gen. Harrison gave over

the command to Gen. Winchester and left Fort Wayne, but

neither of them were apprised of the fact for some length of time.

The soldiers were much displeased at the loss of their former

commander, but no serious outbreak was then threatened.

General Winchester encamped the troops at the junction of

the Rivers St. Joseph and St. Mary, outside Fort Wayne, and

despatched the following letter:

 

HEADQUARTERS, FORT WAYNE, September 22, 1812.

SIR:-I had the honor last night of receiving your excellency's de-

spatch of the 16th instant, covering a communication from General Wads-

worth, for which I beg you will accept my sincere thanks. With you,

I rejoice at the prospect of regaining lost territory, and at the deter-

mination of the President on a vigorous course of measures; and I still

hope to winter in Detroit or its vicinity the ensuing season.

To enable me, in part, to effect this purpose, I avail myself of the

authority given me by the Secretary of War, to call upon your excellency

for such reinforcements as I may deem necessary. You will please to

furnish two regiments of infantry to join me at the Rapids of the Miami

of the Lake [Maumee], about the 10th or 15th of October next, well

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Fort Winchester.                       257

 

clothed for a fall campaign. Arms and ammunition can be drawn from

Newport, Kentucky. It is extremely desirous to me that no time may

be lost in supplying this requisition. The cold season is fast approach-

ing, and the stain on the American character at Detroit not yet wiped away.

If you could furnish one regiment to rendezvous at Piqua, and

proceed to open and improve the road, by causeways, etc., to Defiance,

it would greatly facilitate the transportation of supplies to this army,

which is imperatively requisite to its welfare. This latter regiment might

then return, or proceed on after the army, as circumstances should dictate.

I have the honor to be, with high respect,

Your obedient servant,

J. WINCHESTER,

Brigadier General U. S. Army.

To His Excellency, Return J. Meigs, Governor of the State of Ohio.

On this same day, the soldiers to accompany him, about two

thousand in number, having been equipped for the march, he

started down the north bank of the Maumee river along the

route of approach of General Anthony Wayne eighteen years

before, after issuing the following:

 

GENERAL ORDERS.

CAMP FORKS OF THE MAUMEE, September 22, 1812.

Order of March:

The front guard in three lines, two deep in the road, and in Indian

files on the flanks at distances of fifty and one hundred yards, as the

ground will admit. A fatigue party to consist of one captain, one en-

sign, two sergeants, and two corporals, with fifty men, will follow the

front guard for the purpose of opening the road. The remainder of the

infantry to march on the flanks in the following order: Colonel Wells

and Allen's regiments on the right, and Lewis and Scott's on the left.

The general and brigade baggage, commissaries and quartermasters' stores,

immediately in the rear of the fatigue party. The cavalry in the fol-

lowing order: Captain Garrard and twenty of his men to precede the

guard in front, and equally divided at the head of each line; a lieu-

tenant and eighteen men in the rear of the whole army and baggage;

the balance of the cavalry equally divided on the flanks or the flank

lines. The regimental baggage wagons will fall according to the respec-

tive ranks of their commanding officers. The officers commanding corps

previous to their marching will examine carefully the arms and ammuni-

tion of their respective corps, and see that they are in good order. They

will also be particularly careful, that the men do not waste their cart-

ridges. No loaded muskets are to be put in the wagons. One half of

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the fatigue party is to work at a time, and the others will carry their

arms. The wagon master will attend to loading the wagons, and see

that the various articles are put in, in good order, and that each wagon

and team carry a reasonable load. The hour of march will be 9 o'clock

this morning. The officer of the day is charged with this order. The

line of battle will be the same as that of General Harrison in his last

march to Fort Wayne.

J. WINCHESTER,

Brig. Gen., Commanding.

 

These precautions were well taken, as bodies of Indians

were several times encountered and dispersed with loss on both

sides. They were not only those who had been surrounding

Fort Wayne, but, also, the advance guards of an army marching

against Fort Wayne, composed of two hundred British Regular

troops and Canadian militia, with artillery, under Major Muir,

and one thousand or more Indians under the notorious Colonel

Elliott.  A report, received at Piqua, that this army was about

to start from Malden, Canada, decided General Harrison to

hasten to the protection of Fort Wayne. These forces had

brought their artillery and other heavier equipment by boats as

far as the ruins of Fort Defiance, and continued up the south

bank of the Maumee river on foot. They had advanced about

twelve miles above Fort Defiance when their spies captured,

and took before Major Muir, Sergeant M'Coy, one of General

Winchester's spies who exaggerated the strength of the Amer-

ican army, and reported that it was soon to be reinforced by

like numbers under Colonel Jennings, coming down the Au-

glaize river, which would cut off the retreat of the British. This

report being soon corroborated by the British spies and his

defeated advance lines, influenced Major Muir to at once order

a retreat down the Maumee on learning further that many of

his Indian allies had deserted. To facilitate the speed of their

boats they threw into the river one cannon, at least, with part

of their heavy ammunition. This cannon and ammunition were

thrown into deep water of the Maumee nearly opposite the mouth

of Sulphur Glen, about one-half mile below Fort Defiance point;

and they were removed from the water and used by the advancing

Americans. General Winchester advanced carefully, and fear-

ing that the enemy would oppose his crossing Tiffin river, he

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Fort Winchester.                 259

 

crossed to the south side of the Maumee four and a half miles

above the Tiffin, and about six miles above the mouth of the

Auglaize. Here he struck the trail of the retreating enemy,

with tracks of their artillery, but his spies did not learn their

location. Four mounted squads were dispatched in different

directions, one to notify General Harrison of the enemy, and

the others to determine the enemy's location. These parties soon

reported that the opposing force had fled many miles down the

river, leaving some mounted Indians to watch the movements

of the Americans. General Winchester advanced and, Septem-

ber ₃0th, fortified a camp on the high south bank of the Maumee

river about one and a half miles above Fort Defiance, and oppo-

site the mouth of Tiffin river. The brush had grown so thick

and high since General Wayne's clearing here eighteen years

before, that it entailed much labor to clear the desired ground

across to the Auglaize river and to the Fort point.

General Harrison received his commission of appointment

to succeed General Winchester September 2₄th, while at Piqua.

On the 30th General Winchester's despatch regarding the enemy

was received; and within a few minutes a letter was received

from Governor Meigs also informing him of the strong British

forces opposing General Winchester. There were at this time

about three thousand troops at St. Marys, and General Harrison

at once started for that place and upon his arrival there imme-

diately started the army toward Fort Defiance, notwithstanding

the drenching rain. On the morning of October 2nd a messen-

ger met him from General Winchester bearing the news that the

enemy had retreated. Nearly all the troops were, therefore,

ordered to return, and Colonel Poague's regiment was directed

to open a roadway through the forest from Fort Jennings to

Defiance. General Harrison continued forward with a small

force, and with some pack-horse loads of supplies, arriving at

General Winchester's camp in the evening of October 2nd.

Here he found a sad state of affairs. The food supplies had be-

come very short, and the men were suffering from insufficient

clothing. They had become disheartened, had murmured, and

were talking about returning to their homes, which they would

probably have done but for the efforts of Major Hardin and

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Colonel Allen. The supplies brought by General Harrison gave

them a better breakfast, and his presence brought new cheer.

The army was paraded and there was read the following:

 

GENERAL ORDERS.

CAMP AT DEFIANCE, October 3, 1812.

I have the honor of announcing to this army the arrival of General

Harrison, who is duly authorized by the executive of the Federal Gov-

ernment to take command of the Northwestern Army. This officer is

enjoying the implicit confidence of the States from whose citizens this

army is and will be collected, and possessing himself, great military skill

and reputation, the General is confident in the belief that his presence

in the army, in the character of its chief, will be hailed with unusual ap-

probation.                             J. WINCHESTER,

Brigadier General U. S. Army.

Major Hardin and Colonel Allen addressed the army "in

very affecting terms," and General Harrison "spoke to them as

a father would to his children." The arrivals and the addresses

renewed the spirits of the soldiers, and the imparting of the fact

that General Harrison had been appointed chief in command

went still further to change the resolves of the disaffected ones

and bring about a settled state of feeling among all the men to

endure all hardships.

New plans were entered upon. They found General

Wayne's Fort Defiance in ruins; and had it remained in good

condition its small size would have been inadequate for the

demands at this time. Fort Defiance included within its stock-

ades scarcely 10,000 square feet, or less than one-quarter acre

of ground. General Harrison selected a site for a new fort to

embrace over twelve times this area. A fatigue force of two

hundred and fifty men were detailed under Major Joseph Robb

with axes to cut timber for the buildings and stockades, and the

work went forward as fast as the weakened condition of the

men and the weather admitted. The camp was removed from

the Maumee river one mile southeast to the high bank of the

Auglaize about one and a half miles above its mouth. A line of

trees was felled across this neck of land between the new camp

and the former one, to serve as breastworks for the army's out-

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Fort Winchester.                 261

post guarding the entire peninsula between the rivers. General

Harrison, accompanied by Colonel Richard M. Johnson and his

original battalion, returned to St. Marys where these troops were

honorably discharged October 7th.

The feelings of General Winchester upon being succeeded

in command, have not been fully recorded. General Harrison

treated him with great consideration, assigning him to the com-

mand of the left wing of the army, to include the U. S. regular

soldiers and some six regiments of Ohio and Kentucky militia.

As further evidence of respect and honor, the new fort was duly

christened Fort Winchester. This Fort was completed by the

soldiers working with short rations, thinly clad, and with much

suffering from inclement weather; but it was favorably started

on its mission as an important stronghold for the defense of the

territory of the upper rivers, as a rendezvous for troops and,

later, for the storing of supplies to be boated down the Maumee

river as wanted by the advancing troops. For some length of

time it was the only obstruction to the British and the Indians

against their incursions into northwestern Ohio. From the time

of its establishment the Indians made wide detours from the

guns of its garrison, thus being forced to a disadvantage on their

way to Maiden, Detroit, and the siege of Fort Meigs the fol-

lowing year.

Fort Winchester was styled a "beautiful fort" by William

Atherton who was present during its construction. It was built

along the higher and precipitous west bank of the Auglaize River,

a line of apple trees, planted by the early French settlers, alone

intervening. Beginning about eighty rods south of the ruins

of Fort Defiance, near the present First Street of the city of De-

fiance, Ohio, the fort extended southward to, or south of, Third

Street, a distance of something over six hundred feet, and in-

cluding the highest ground. Its east line was about Washing-

ton Street. It was in the form of a parallelogram, and extended

in width to about Jefferson Street. Its walls included three

acres or more of land. There was a strong two-story blockhouse

at each of its four corners, a large gate midway of each side and

end with a sentinel house above each one, and all were connected

by a strong stockade of timbers set on end deep into the ground

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262       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.   snug together, and extending twelve to fifteen feet above ground, all pointed at the upper ends. A cellar was excavated under the blockhouse at the northeast corner, and from it a passage way under ground was made to the rock-bed of the river and was

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Fort Winchester.                 263

 

there protected by timbers so that abundance of water could be

obtained from the river under cover. The only ditching done

was for drainage.

Before the departure of Gen. Harrison he suggested that

Gen. Tupper, with all the mounted men, about eight hundred in

number, be sent down the Maumee to the Grand Rapids. He

also suggested that two regiments of infantry be sent southward

to be near the base of food and clothing supplies. Indian ambus-

cades, and insubordination of Gen. Tupper followed the departure

of the Commander-in-chief. Short rations were still necessary.

Five soldiers who had strayed somewhat from their duty to gather

wild plums were killed and scalped. Indians also fired on the

soldiers on the opposite bank of the river from the camp, killing

one. This caused an alarm call to arms, but the enemy escaped

punishment.  Scouting parties met the Indians and suffered

wounds, and an occasional death. General Tupper was ordered

to proceed down the river with the cavalry, but he refused to obey;

finally he started for Fort M'Arthur, from which place he marched

to the Rapids in November, mention of which unwise movement

will be made later in this article. Charges were preferred against

Gen. Tupper by General Winchester. Gen. Harrison ordered his

arrest, but the trial did not occur until the next year, after the

defeat at the Raisin River when the witnesses were captives with

the British, and he was acquitted. The time of enlistment of two

or three companies of Riflemen having expired, they were dis-

charged and returned to their homes. Comparative quiet now

reigned in the camp, and some carelessness regarding discipline

was noted. On the 8th of October, a young man, was found

asleep at his post as guard. He was sentenced by court-martial

to be shot. A platoon was ordered to take places before the

paraded army and facing the prisoner who, blindfolded, was on

his knees preparing for the order to fire! A great stillness per-

vaded the army. Just as the suspense was at its height a courier

arrived with an order from the General changing the sentence

(Atherton, an eye witness). This sentence of death produced a

profound effect upon the soldiers. It was their first real view of

the sternness of military discipline, and they recognized its neces-

sity and justness while in the country of the stealthy and savage

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enemy. Later, as the Indians became less annoying, hunting

for wild game was permitted, and soon everything was killed, not

even a squirrel could be found in the vicinity of the camp.

Fort Winchester was completed October 15, 1812, as shown

by the following letter:

 

CAMP DEFIANCE, MOUTH OF THE AUGLAIZE, October 15, 1812.

SIR:-Captain Wood, commanding a small party of spies, came into

camp yesterday, and reports that he was detached from Urbana to visit

the Rapids, etc.; that he fell in with other spies who had just returned

from that place, and had obtained all the information that he possibly

could. I therefore have directed him to return and report, deeming it

unnecessary that he should proceed, as the information required had

been obtained, and being desirous, too, to communicate to your excel-

lency that this army could immediately march and take possession of

the Rapids, if supplies of provisions, etc., could certainly reach us in a

few days after our arrival. Many days' provisions could not be car-

ried with us, because it is not here. Neither have we the means of

transportation, and it is important that the corn at that place should

be saved if it could be done.

At this place a picketed post with four blockhouses, two storehouses

and a house for the sick, will be finished this day. Then I shall turn

my attention to building pirogues for the purpose of transporting heavy

baggage and provisions down the river, and anxiously wait your answer

with relation to supplies. I shall remain in readiness to march as soon

as it is received.

If General Harrison is at Urbana, you will communicate the con-

tents of this letter to him. If I knew where he could be found, I should

address a letter to him on the subject.

I have the honor to be, with great respect,

Your Excellency's obedient servant,

J. WINCHESTER,

Brigadier General U. S. Army.

To His Excellency, Return J. Meigs, Governor of the State of Ohio.

 

Soon after the completion of Fort Winchester, and the choos-

ing a garrison for it, the main army established a camp, designated

on the writer's map as Camp H, on the level ground and pro-

tected from west and north winds, on the north bank of the Mau-

mee River one mile and a half below the mouth of the Auglaize.

With continued short rations, delay in receipt of winter clothing

and the increasing severity of the weather, the sufferings and sick-

ness of the soldiers were increasing, and this change of camp was

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Fort Winchester.                   265

made for sanitary reasons and that they might be more conve-

nient to abundance of fuel. The location of Camp H proving too

wet, the army soon took up dryer quarters two miles further

down the river. This new Camp J also showing unfavorable

features, still another site, Camp No. 3, was chosen nearly two

miles below Camp J where the site proved favorable, with abund-

ance of good firewood; and where the army remained about

eight weeks. These five camps including those near Fort Win-

chester, witnessed as much suffering as an army is capable of

enduring. Hunger impelled many breaches of discipline. Sol-

diers wandered from camp, against orders, in search of game and

wild fruit. One man started to desert. He was caught and sen-

tenced "to ride the wooden horse before the whole army." This

consisted in his striding a bent sapling and being subjected to a

series of tossings and joltings, to the great amusement of the sol-

diers. It was found necessary to punish other breaches of disci-

pline; and that we may get glimpses of the life and experiences of

Fort Winchester and its camps, including sentences, there is here

given a copy of

SPECIAL ORDERS.

CAMP WINCHESTER, October 28, 1812.

, private in Captain Croghan's Company, charged

with sitting down near his post, apparently asleep, with his gun out of

his hands, last night, October 25th, 1812, found guilty, and sentenced to

receive ten cobs on his bare posterior, well laid on, with a paddle four

inches wide and one-half an inch thick, bored full of holes.

-----  ----     , charged with altering his uniform without

leave, sentenced to a reprimand on parade.

J. WINCHESTER, Brig. Gen'l.

Sickness increased. The rations were constantly short, and

often for many days consisted solely of beef without salt, and

hickory nuts. The beef was of very poor quality, the cattle be-

ing greatly reduced, like the soldiers, from want of food, and the

cold. To cheer the discouraged army by renewing hope, there

were issued the following

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266        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

 

GENERAL ORDERS.

FORT WINCHESTER, November 1, 1812.

With great pleasure the General announces to the army the prospect

of an early supply of winter clothing, amongst which are the following

articles, shipped from Philadelphia on the 9th September last: 10,000 pairs

of shoes, 5,000 blankets, 5,000 round jackets, 5,000 pairs pantaloons, woolen

cloth to be made up, besides the under clothing for Colonel Wells' reg-

iment, 100 watch coats, 5,000 blankets, and 10,000 yards of flannel, 10,OOO

pairs shoes, 10,000 pairs wool socks, 10,000 of wool hose.

This bountiful supply evinces the constant attention of the govern-

ment to the comforts of its armies, although the immense distance this

wing hath been detached into the wilderness, has prevented its receiv-

ing those comforts in due season, owing to causes not within the control

of human foresight, yet a few days and the General consoles himself

with the idea of seeing those whom he has the honor to command

clad in warm wollen capable of resisting the northern blasts of Can-

ada, either from the bellows of Boreas or the muzzles of British cannon.

J, WINCHESTER, Brig. Gen.,

Commanding Left Wing N. W. Army.

These promised supplies of clothing came not to this Fort,

nor its Camp. Sickness found the weakened and shivering sol-

diers an easy prey. Typhoid fever prevailed. The sick list in-

creased to over three hundred, with often three or four deaths a

day. So many daily funeral rites had most depressing effects.

Everything conspired against proper camp sanitation; and prob-

ably the efforts to maintain a good regiment were not so thor-

ough as in later times; certainly the means were not so ample as

now. Many of the men were still wearing the linen hunting

shirts in which they left their homes on the 12th of August; and

these were in rags from marching through brush, and from

natural wear.   "Many were so entirely destitute of shoes and

other clothing that they must have frozen if they had been obliged

to march any distance" (M'Afee). In fact, the story of Fort Win-

chester and its Camps is altogether the saddest that the history

of the Maumee Valley has recorded; and these sufferings were

probably the greatest of their kind that American soldiers have

endured. The difficulties of transportation through this "Black

Swamp" region accounts in most part for these privations and

sufferings. Much of the time it was impossible to move a wagon

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Fort Winchester.               267

 

through the mud, even without a load; it would mire and be-

come completely blocked. Pack horses were brought into requi-

sition, but many horses and packs were lost from the thoughtless,

careless and sometimes dishonest, drivers; the depth of the mud;

the want of food for the horses; and the wet, cold weather. The

provisions that were brought to camp were often in spoiled con-

dition. The following account by Captain Robert M'Afee, who

was with the army, illustrates the difficulties attending the

efforts to transport supplies to this army by water.

"About the first of December [1812] Major Bodley, an

enterprising officer, who was quartermaster of the Kentucky

troops, made an attempt to send near two hundred barrels of

flour down the St. Mary in pirogues to the left wing below

Defiance. Previous to this time the water had rarely been high

enough to venture on a voyage in those small streams. The

flour was now shipped in fifteen or twenty pirogues and canoes,

and placed under the command of Captain Jordan and Lieu-

tenant Cardwell, with upwards of twenty men. They descended

the river and arrived about a week afterward at Shane's Cross-

ing, upwards of one hundred miles by water, but only twenty

by land from the place where they started. The river was so

narrow, crooked, full of logs, and trees overhanging the banks,

that it was with great difficulty they could make any progress.

And now in one freezing night they were completely ice-bound.

Lieutenant Cardwell waded back through the ice and swamps

to Fort Barbee with intelligence of their situation. Major Bod-

ley returned with him to the flour, and offered the men extra

wages to cut through the ice and push forward; but having

gained only one mile by two days' labor, the project was aban-

doned, and a guard left with the flour. A few days before Christ-

mas a temporary thaw took place which enabled them with much

difficulty and suffering to reach within a few miles of Fort

Wayne, where they were again frozen up. They now abandoned

the voyage and made sleds on which the men hauled the flour

to Fort Wayne and left it there."

General Harrison kept informed of the condition of affairs

and put forth great efforts to prevent, and to remedy, evils. In

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268       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

his letter to the Secretary of War December 12th, he used the

following emphatic language:

"*  *  * Obstacles are almost insuperable; but they are

opposed with unabated firmness and zeal. * * * I fear that

the expenses of this army will greatly exceed the calculations

of the government. The prodigious destruction of horses can

only be conceived by those who have been accustomed to mil-

itary operations in a wilderness during the winter season. * * *

I did not make sufficient allowance for the imbecility and inex-

perience of the public agents, and the villainy of the con-

tractors. * * * If the plan of acquiring the naval super-

iority upon the lakes, before the attempt is made on Malden of

Detroit, should be adopted, I would place fifteen hundred men

in cantonment at the Miami [Maumee] rapids-Defiance would

be better if the troops had not advanced from there-*  * * "

In a letter to James Monroe, then acting Secretary of War,

January 8, 1813, General Harrison writes further, in part as

follows:

"* *    * You do me justice in believing that my exertions

have been unremitted, and I am sensible of the commission of

one error only, that has injuriously affected our interests; and

that is in retaining too large a force at Defiance [Fort Win-

chester]. The disadvantages attending it were however seen

at the period of my committing the management of that wing

to Genertal Winchester. Possessing a superior rank in the line

of the army to that which was tendered to me, I considered him

rather in the light of an associate in command than an inferior.

I therefore recommended to him, instead of ordering it, to

send back two regiments within the bounds of White's contract.

Had this measure been pursued, there would have been at Fort

Winchester 100,000 rations more than there is at present. The

General who possesses the most estimable qualities of the head

and heart, was deceived as I was, with regard to the period when

the army could advance, and he did not think that the reduction

of issues would be so important as it is now ascertained it would

have been. * * * "

It had constantly been the hopes, and the expectations, of

the officers that conditions would soon be favorable for advance

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Fort Winchester.                269

 

movement to the Rapids, and to Detroit. But the non-receipt

of supplies, clothing particularly, and the severe sickness, had

occasioned delays.

General Tupper sent spies to the Maumee Rapids from

Fort M'Arthur, and they soon returned with a prisoner, one

Captain Clark, of the British forces, who was captured a short

distance from his command at the foot of the Rapids where they

had come in boats for corn. General Tupper reported to Gov-

ernor Meigs, November ₉th, that he had decided to capture the

British or drive them from the Rapids and save the corn. He

wrote:

" * * * A moment is not to be lost. We shall be at

the Rapids in three days. I have also sent an express to General

Winchester, advising him of the situation of the enemy, and of

our march; but as we can reach the Rapids one day sooner than

General Winchester, waiting for my express, I could not think

of losing one day, and thereby suffer the enemy to escape with

the forage. * * *"

General Tupper details the condition of the forces and the

operations at Malden, the British headquarters now Amherst-

burg, Canada, and to some extent at Detroit, as obtained from

Captain Clark, and adds:

" * * * They [the British at Malden] are apprised of

General Winchester's force, but understand he is building a fort

at Defiance, and is to remain there during the winter. They

have no knowledge of any other preparations making in the

State of Ohio. * * *"

General Tupper proceeded on his march with six hundred

and fifty men, and November 15th an express arrived at Fort

Winchester from him, then at the foot of the Rapids, desiring

reinforcements there. A detachment of four hundred and fifty

men under Colonel Lewis started that morning. They pro-

ceeded down the river until 9 o'clock that night, when Ensign

C. S. Todd was sent forward with a few of the hardier soldiers

to determine Tupper's location and condition. They returned

with the news that Tupper had retreated, leaving behind a sick

comrade, whom the Indians had killed and scalped. Colonel

Lewis' fatigued command had remained, meantime, ready for

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270       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

immediate advancement, without fire and snugged together to

prevent freezing. They tediously retraced their steps to Camp

No. 3, being constantly on the alert to prevent being surprised

by the enemy, and with much of censure for General Tupper

that he did not notify them of his retreat.

The latter part of November heavy rains were experienced

and, the prospects being no better for the army's advancing, the

soldiers were ordered, about the first of December, to build huts

for their better protection from the elements. Military vig-

ilance was maintained as fully as practicable against being sur-

prised by the Indians. Reconnoitering parties kept the imme-

diate country under surveillance, and spies were often despatched

to more distant points. It was at this time, and on this service

down the river, that the favorite Indian spy, "Captain" Logan,

received a wound from the enemy and returned to camp to die,

lamented by the entire army. It was also during these trying

times that the noted spy Riddle, or A. Ruddle, a man past middle

life, did his greatest service and endeared himself to General

Winchester's command.

December 22nd flour and other supplies were received at

Fort Winchester and its Camp No. 3, with the most welcome

intelligence that a constant supply would follow. Preparations

were at once made for the advance. Guards were assigned to

protect and attend the sick, and on the 30th of December the

march for the Rapids was commenced to the great joy of the

troops who were anxious to leave the scenes of such great and

continued sufferings, and so many deaths from diseases. Report

was made of this movement in good time to General Harrison

who advised rather, that most of the force be sent to Fort Jen-

nings on account of Tecumseh's renewed activity and the ques-

tion of supplies at the Rapids. Had this recommendation to

General Winchester been accepted, the great massacre that re-

sulted from his course would not have occurred. He proceeded

slowly and under great difficulties. In addition to the great

weakness, and insufficient clothing, of the men, a deep snow had

fallen, and through it, which was at first wet, and afterwards

frozen, the soldiers were obliged to haul their food supplies

and the army baggage on sleds, which they had made after the

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Fort Winchester.                  271

 

river closed with ice. In crossing the gullies, ravines and creeks,

their clothing, provisions and equipment became thoroughly wet,

and there was intense suffering before camp grounds could be

cleared and fires lighted by the uncertain and slow process with

flint, iron and wet wood. But the greatest suffering was at

night. About eleven days were occupied in marching forty

miles, when on January 10th, 1813, this army of near one thou-

sand men arrived at Presque Isle Hill on the south side of Gen-

eral Wayne's battle field of Fallen Timber. Here a camp was

fortified to some extent and a store house for provisions and bag-

gage was built within the camp. Some ungathered corn was

found, hastily boiled whole and greatly relished by the still hun-

gry troops. The receipt here of additional supplies, including

some clothing from their homes, rapidly revived the troops.

General Payne, with six hundred and seventy men, had

early been sent forward to rout a gathering of Indians huddled

in an old stockade post on the south bank and near the mouth

of Swan creek. Other bodies of savages were repulsed. The

easy occupation of the Rapids and the lower Maumee was reas-

suring to the officers and the ranks; and this had much influence

in inducing the unadvised and unwise advance to the River

Raisin. In compliance with requests for protection received

from Frenchtown (now Monroe, Michigan), Colonel Lewis was

despatched with five hundred and fifty men January 17th, and

a few hours later Colonel Allen followed with a force of one

hundred and ten under the following

 

GENERAL ORDERS.

CAMP MIAMI RAPIDS,

HULL'S ROAD, January 17, 1812.

As ordered yesterday, the line of march shall be kept well closed,

every officer in his proper place, and no non-commissioned officer or

private suffered to stagger from the lines except from urgent necessity.

and then with leave to return to his place. Perfect silence is enjoined

during the march, being in the immediate neighborhood of the enemy.

J. WINCHESTER, Brig. Gen.,

Commanding Left Wing N. W. Army.

The sending of these small forces near Malden, the head-

quarters of the enemy, without the knowledge and order of

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272       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

General Harrison, was the second of a series of grave errors

on the part of General Winchester which were soon to work the

destruction of his army and to obscure, at least, what little honor

was attached to him. Colonels Lewis and Allen engaged the

enemy near Frenchtown and defeated them, driving them be-

yond the Raisin River. They then despatched for reinforce-

ments and began preparations for defense against oncoming

superior numbers. General Winchester, on learning of the

success of his colonels, left a guard for the store house and

started on January 19th with two hundred and fifty-nine sol-

diers. He arrived at Frenchtown in the afternoon of the next

day. There all his former thoughtfulness and care for his men

seemed to forsake him. He established headquarters in the

comfortable residence of Francis Navarre on the south side of

the river and a long distance from his forces. The following

day he was informed that a large force of British and Indians

would attack him that night. A Frenchman, "Jocko" LaSalle,

in sympathy with the British, persuaded him that there was no

truth in the report. His vigilant and successful colonels also

received and communicated to him evidences of the oncoming

of large forces of Indians and British with artillery. But the

General was under an evil spell! The reports were discredited;

no further spies were sent out by him; no definite precautions

against surprise were taken; nor special preparations made for

the comfort and safety of the troops who accompanied him. To

what subtile, and soothingly disastrous influences had the Gen-

eral been subjected by association with this gracious host and

this voluble and genial Jocko? Habituated to an easy, luxurious

life, the General had been for many weeks in the midst

of forest wilds, privations and sufferings, and now had head-

quarters in a comfortable house; was, in fact, the guest of a good

liver with whom plenty abounded. The successes of his colonels

and his reliance on their vigilance brought a relaxation on the

part of the General, on whom they relied, and he settled down

to some enjoyment, soothed by the kind hospitality of his host

and the false assurance of the enemy's friend! This was a magic

spell of security and peace like the momentary calm preceding a

disastrous burst of the tempest.

• 20
 

Fort Winchester.                 273

 

Very early in the morning of January 22nd the brave Amer-

ican troops were surprised by the stealthy foe and nearly over-

whelmed by superior numbers and ordnance. About three hun-

dred were killed in the fierce combat and later massacred direct

and by the firing of buildings by the Indians! Five hundred

and forty-seven were taken prisoners! Others were missing!

General Winchester, aroused by the guns, strove in the bit-

ing cold to join his army from which he was separated by the

river and nearly a mile (?) of distance. Mounting his host's

horse he rode in what he supposed to be the direction of the

camp of his soldiers (Hosmer), but had not gone far before he

was captured by Jack Brandy, an Indian of Round Head's band,

who divested him of nearly all clothing and conducted him half

frozen to Colonel Proctor, the British commander. He was

there persuaded to order his troops to surrender. The white

flag was started with this order towards the pickets behind which

the Americans were more than holding their position. They

refused to surrender. Thrice did the white flag pass from the

British headquarters to the American line (American State

Papers), once accompanied Winchester (Hosmer), before the cou-

rageous Major Madison would surrender, and which he then

consented to do only after promises of protection to all under

the rules of war. How these promises were ignored regarding

the wounded and those captured by the Indians, and how fully

the savages reveled in butchery, is not within the province of this

article to describe.

General Winchester was sent by his British captors to Que-

bec and some time later to Beauport near that city, where he

was confined until the spring of 1814 when he was exchanged.

He resigned his commission in March, 1815, and returned to

his home in Tennessee, where he died July 27, 1826. The great

disaster at the River Raisin, though most deeply lamented, was

not without good results in its lessons. "Remember the Raisin"

became the slogan that spurred many a man to enlist in the

army and to do valiant service for his country; and it also incited

the officers to greater thoughtfulness and sense of responsibility.

Although General Winchester had unfavorably disappeared

from the scene, the usefulness of the fort bearing his name was

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274      Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

not impaired. The store house that had been erected at the

Rapids was now destroyed with much of its contents to prevent

their being possessed to aid the enemy, and the troops retired

from the lower river. Again Fort Winchester became the first

position of defense in the Maumee Valley, and the principal shield

to the settlers to the south of it who had become greatly

alarmed. On February 1st General Harrison again advanced

to the Rapids with 1,700 troops and chose a new position on the

heights where Fort Meigs was afterwards built, to which point

he ordered additional forces for the purpose of advancing against

Maiden. The 11th of February he reported to Hon. John Arm-

strong, Secretary of War, from "Headquarters, Foot of the

Miami [Maumee] Rapids," writing that the open (muddy) con-

dition of the country, the expiration of the term of enlistment of

many of the troops, and the garrisoning of the several posts

established, would still further delay for the winter the advance

of the army; and that a battalion of the militia lately called out

from Ohio, with the company of regular troops then at Fort

Winchester, would garrison the posts upon the waters of the

Auglaize and the St. Mary. Continuing, he wrote that

"The small blockhouses upon Hull's trace will have a sub-

altern's command in each. A company will be placed at Upper

Sandusky, and another at Lower Sandusky [now Fremont,

Ohio]. All the rest of the troops will be brought to this place,

amounting to from fifteen to eighteen hundred men. I am

erecting here a pretty strong fort-capable of resisting field

artillery at least. The troops will be placed in a fortified camp,

covered on one flank by the fort. This position is the best that

can be taken to cover the frontiers, and the small posts in the

rear of it, and those above it on the Miami [Maumee] and its

waters. The force placed here ought, however, to be strong

enough to encounter any that the enemy may detach against

the forts above. Twenty-five hundred would not be too many.

* * * Immense supplies have been accumulating upon the

Auglaize River, and boats and pirogues prepared to bring them

as soon as the river opens. * * * "

Troops and supplies continued to pass down the Auglaize

and Maumee rivers, stopping under the walls of Fort Winchester

• 22
 

Fort Winchester.                 275

 

for the men to rest before continuing the march, or while await-

ing a rise in the rivers to float their heavily laden boats over

the rocks, down to Fort Meigs soon after its construction, with

reinforcements during its first bloody, and second bloodless, in-

vestment by the enemy; and also to reinforce the victorious

American troops later in 1813 and in 1814, on Lake Erie, and

for their advance up the Detroit river, and into Canada.

A "Report of provisions remaining at different posts on the

centre and left wings of the northwestern army (the purchases

of John H. Piatt, Deputy Purchasing Commissary), on the 24th

day of June, 1813," shows that there were at Fort Winchester

at that date the following named supplies: 1,209 barrels of

flour; 247 barrels of whiskey; 119 barrels salt; 13 barrels pork;

20,000 pounds bacon; 10 boxes soap; and 18 boxes candles.

"Part of the flour damaged, being sunk in the river after leaving

Amanda [on the Auglaize river near the north line of the present

Auglaize county] and St. Marys, and for the want of proper care

after it arrived at Fort Winchester." American State Papers.

Many a weary soldier, worn with campaigning through the

muddy forests, and from disease, and wounds, found at Fort

Winchester welcome and recreative lodgment on his homeward

journey after his term of enlistment had expired; and at the close

of the war following the Treaty of Ghent, December 24, 1814,

when the state quotas were rapidly discharged to return finally

to their homes. Fort Winchester, like most of the other forti-

fications, was soon thereafter dismantled, and the United States

regular soldiers composing its garrison were distributed to

widely scattered points on the receding frontier.

Many of the Ohio volunteers returned to establish homes

in the more naturally favored places admired in their campaign-

ing days. Of this number the vicinity of Fort Winchester

received a goodly share. The blockhouses and officers' quarters

were occupied by these settlers and their families as residences

until houses were built upon their lands. The buildings of the

Fort thus again served an admirable purpose, post bellum aux-

ilium, as homes for successive new comers so long as their tim-

bers remained in fit condition for their occupancy; and then the

better timbers were used to piece out new buildings in the neigh-

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276       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

borhood, while the poorer ones served as ready supplies for the

winter fires. In 1822 the southeast block-house still contained

a hand mill with burrstones, the use of which had been of incal-

culable benefit to the settlers, it being up to this date the only

mill in this region. There was also a large perforated tin

grater which was much used by the public for grating corn not

fully ripe, for mush and griddle cakes. There also remained in

this southeast block-house in 1822 two or three iron-bound

chests full of written documents relating to the soldiers and the

war. These papers, if now in hand, would disclose much of

interesting details which have gone out with them, and would

shed much light on parts of the story of this Fort and on the

conduct of the war in the Northwest, that now appear vague,

disconnected and unsatisfactory. All of the buildings of Fort

Winchester had disappeared previous to the year 1840, and at

that date but few stub remnants of the stockade-timbers could

be seen projecting above ground.

Many years have now elapsed since comfortable residences,

and two church edifices, were built within the former precincts

of Fort Winchester. Other churches, the public buildings of

Defiance county, and the principal business houses of a thriving

small city, are but a short distance removed from the site of its

walls. Even during the active era of Fort Winchester, as the

reader may have noticed in this article, the place was often

referred to as Defiance, and so the name entered upon record.

The earthworks of General Wayne's Fort Defiance, still in exist-

ence, having been for many years the only visual reminder of a

former fortification here, the name and remembrance of the

later and larger fortification has, in later years, become more

and more obscured. In fact, very few of the residents of the

city of Defiance, even, know of its former existence, and scarcely

one of these few know the exact place where it was situated, as

no trace of it has existed since the filling in, many years ago, of

the cellar and underground passage way to the Auglaize river.

The erosions of the river bank have been considerable since

1812 when Fort Winchester was built. The line of apple trees

then standing along the bank have long since been undermined

• 24
 

Fort Winchester.                  277

 

by the high waters and carried down the stream, the last one

disappearing about the year 1872.

It has been the desire of the writer of this sketch to mention

only such persons and events as will give the reader a connected

and intelligent, though rapid, view of the necessity for Fort Win-

chester, of its origin and description, and of the important service

it rendered; also such mention as may extend the reader's

knowledge of the man under whose directions it was built, and

in whose honor it was named.

• 25