Ohio History Journal

OHIO

OHIO

Archaeological and Historical

PUBLICATIONS.

THE CROGHAN CELEBRATION.

LUCY ELLIOT KEELER.

It was not bad usage of the old Romans to bring down from

its niche the waxen image of an eminent ancestor on the anni-

versary of his natal day, to recall his

features and achievements to their

own minds and impress them upon

the younger generation. A like

tribute the patriotic citizens of Fre-

mont, Ohio, pay from time to time

to their local hero, Major George

Croghan, on the anniversary of that

notable second of August, 1813, when

with his little band of soldiers he

defeated a foe overwhelming in

numbers under the British General

Proctor and the Indian Chief Tecum-

seh. It was not only a feat of incom-

parable bravery, but it marked the

turning of the tide in the War of 1812, which up to that time

had been a series of disasters to the American arms.

The first formal observance of the anniversary of Croghan's

Victory occurred in 1839, at which time messages from Croghan

himself were received. Since that date every decade has wit-

nessed one or more celebrations, notable among which were those

of 1852, when "Old Betsy" was brought back to the scene of

Vol. XVI-1. (1)