Ohio History Journal

THE SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.

 

 

EARL A. SALIERS,

Ohio State University.

The War of 1812 furnishes perhaps a fewer number of

notable achievements accomplished on land than any other of our

wars. The lack of a regular army, and the consequent de-

pendence upon militia would have made it difficult for an effi-

cient general to execute a prolonged campaign, while the posi-

tion which a section of the country took against the war ren-

dered success still more difficult.

Despite ill preparation and sectional opposition, there were

a few events signally successful in result, if not unusually bril-

liant in execution. The conquest of the Northwest was only

accomplished with the assistance of Perry's squadron on Lake

Erie, yet the protection of the frontier and the supply posts

was equally important and essential to final victory.

General Hull had marched from Dayton to Detroit, where

he issued a proclamation promising protection to the Canadians;

shortly after he surrendered Detroit and the Michigan territory

-an episode familiar to all readers of history. Several months

later, General Winchester encamped in the snow at French-

town, hoping soon to win a brilliant victory. Instead, he met

with a crushing defeat, a large part of his men were massacred,

and he made a prisoner. This made further offensive opera-

tions impossible and caused General Harrison to take a course

almost entirely defensive.

When General Winchester's defeat became known to Har-

rison, he determined to succor the American prisoners at Mal-

den, many of whom were wounded. Hither he dispatched a phy-

sician named Samuel McKeehan, attended by a Frenchman and

a militiaman. Holding a letter of explanation from General

Harrison to any British officer whom he might meet, McKeehan

sallied forth in his cariole on his errand of mercy. Starting from

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.            521

 

the Portage river he traversed the desolate country for a day,

uninterrupted by Englishman or Indian. He and his two com-

panions halted at the rapids of the Maumee to spend the night,

and as a temporary dormitory, they appropriated an old cabin,

standing upon the northern bank of the river. They drew up

their carriage before the cabin door and attached to it a flag of

truce, thinking thus to secure their safety. But in the darkness

they were set upon by a party of Indians under British instruc-

tions; one was killed, and the remaining two were hurried to

Maiden. Philanthropic Doctor McKeehan was cast into a dun-

geon and secured with chains.

It was now the first of February, 1813. Harrison chose

the rapids of the Maumee as his advance post, and ordered E. D.

Wood, of the engineering corps, to erect fortifications; then he

commanded all troops in the rear to join him. He desired to

retrieve some of the whilom losses of the American standard,

and thought to do so by investing Malden about the middle

of the month.

On the ninth, word came to camp that six hundred Indians

were encamped near the bay shore, twenty miles down the river.

Leaving fourteen hundred men at Fort Meigs, Harrison made a

night sortie down the river on the ice, and found fires blazing

upon the northern bank. But the Indians had fled. Here the

detachment hesitated a few minutes in the intense cold and were

joined by a party of five hundred men from the fort; their com-

bined numbers now amounted to eleven hundred. Then they

went in quest of the vanished enemy. Fatigue had disabled

some and they were ordered to follow next day. The advancing

body soon met with an interruption, however; for their only

cannon went through the ice, with horses attached, after going

but two miles. It was but two hours until morning and the

moon was sinking behind the western horizon; so the main

body continued the march, leaving Lieutenant Larwill with suffi-

cient men to extricate the cannon. This was finally accomplished

at daybreak, after Larwill and two of his men narrowly escaped

drowning. Leaving the men who had succumbed to the cold,

the wet, and the discouragements of the situation, Larwill over-

took the advancing army about sunrise, near the mouth of the

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bay. Information had been brought by spies, that the Indians

had gone to Malden; so the force returned to Fort Meigs. They

arrived just as the evening gun sent its salute echoing through

the coming darkness. They had marched forty-five miles in

fewer than twenty-four hours.

For a fortnight nothing of importance occurred at Fort

Meigs. But one day, near the close of February, General Har-

rison addressed the volunteer corps, informing them that they

had been chosen to perform a hazardous undertaking, the char-

ter of which would not be unveiled to them until they had gone

a certain distance from the fort. Then, said he, all who desired,

might abandon the project, but not afterwards. He apprised

them that the expedition would be full of peril, danger, and suf-

fering; he also assured them that for their gallantry they would

be duly honored; for their labor, duly rewarded.

So they marched from Fort Meigs uninitiated into the pur-

pose of their departure. They first came to Lower Sandusky,

the site of Fort Stephenson, where there was a blockhouse gar-

risoned by two companies of militiamen. They soon left, pro-

visioned for six days. A half mile from the fort Captain Lang-

ham, the commander of the expedition, addressed his men, who

numbered in all two hundred and forty-two. Having gone down

the Sandusky to Lake Erie, and crossed over on the ice to

Malden, in darkness they were to set on fire the British fleet

and British stores upon shore. Retreating to Maumee bay on

sleds, they would there receive the protection of a large force

under Harrison himself. Then the men weighed for themselves

the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages, the pros-

pects of glory and the probabilities of defeat, of this under-

taking. Twenty militiamen and six or seven Indians voted nay,

turned tail and forsook the party.

Disencumbered of its unwilling members, the party went

down the Sandusky in sleighs, cut short across the peninsula

west of Sandusky bay, and ere long spied before them the

beautiful islands that lie like gems upon the lake's bosom, in

summer with forests clad in deepest green, but now browned by

autumn frosts and winter's blasts, and bound around with a great

ice sheet. What some of the men thought to be a column of

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             523   marching men far away upon the glassy surface proved to be the reflection of the sunlight from a ridge of ice thrown up by nature's hand. Without tents, the party encamped beside the lake and re- ceived a drenching from the snow and rain. In the night a careless soldier discharged his gun and came near paying for his folly with his life; but Langham decided to let him go unpunished.

Next morning they set out for Middle Bass Island, seven- teen miles distant. Before starting they were deserted by thirteen militiamen, an ensign, several Indians, and an Indian chief. Despite snow and wind they came to the northwest side of the island before noon. The weather now became fairer, but a dis- couraging discovery was made after noon. Sled tracks going in the direction of Malden were noticed; and it was suspicioned that they had been made by two Frenchmen who had left San- dusky the day previous to the departure of Langham's party, although they had maintained that they were going to Huron

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river. Had they not gone to Malden to apprise the British of

the approach of Langham? Such the officers thought to be a

likelihood. Moreover, northward from the island the ice ap-

peared weak and badly broken. The guides now gave it as

their opinion that to reach Malden was impossible:- The De-

troit river as well as the lake beyond was, they maintained,

broken up; and although there was some chance of reaching

Middle Sister Island, yet eighteen miles spanned the distance

from that place to Detroit river, to be traversed by night; and

as the weather was warm, should a south wind come up, they

would find themselves entrapped in the lake or upon one of its

small islands. Captain Langham had been ordered to advance

no farther than was deemed safe by the guides. In two suc-

cessive councils the officers maintained the folly of continuing;

although the soldiers promised to do anything deemed proper

by their superiors. So, having accomplished nothing, they re-

turned to Fort Meigs. As they passed up the Maumee they

met Harrison at Presque Isle with a body of troops.

Harrison's desire to regain Detroit was great: but the

failure of Langham's undertaking, the inclemency of the weather

destroying the facility of the motion of the troops, and the

withdrawal of some of his men whose time of service had ex-

pired, all aided in making his operations defensive in character.

He even felt grave apprehension of a descent of the British and

Indians from Malden as soon as the spring sunshine should

break up the ice in the lake. March the ninth, a party of his

men were fired upon by a party of Indians; one man was struck

by a bullet which lodged in a hymn book carried in his pocket;

less fortunate, Lieutenant Walker,¹ while hunting wild fowl,

had been killed. Word had come that Proctor had ordered a

general massing of troops at Sandwich for the purpose of lay-

ing siege to Fort Meigs.² Aroused for the safety of his strong-

hold, Harrison left for the interior in March to obtain troops.

April eighth Colonel Ball arrived with two hundred dragoons.

On the twelfth Harrison arrived with an additional reinforce-

Lieutenant Walker's grave may still be seen within the limits of

Fort Meigs.

2 Benjamin Drake's Life of Tecumseh.

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.                 525

 

ment of three hundred men, and the task of completing the de-

fenses began immediately.³

It will be to advantage, at this point in our narrative, to

attempt a description of Fort Meigs and its environment. The

Maumee⁴ flows in a northeasterly direction from    the western

boundary of the State of Ohio and empties into Maumee bay at

the western extremity of Lake Erie. About twenty miles in-

tervene between Maumee bay and the rapids of that river at

the foot of which the fort was situated for strategic purposes.

It consisted of an inclosure octagonal in form, with eight block-

houses at convenient intervals. This outer defense was well

picketed with timber and strengthened with fosses. There were

five batteries, namely, one large battery commanding the river

and opposite bank, one mortar battery in the wall opposite the

river, and three minor batteries, one within the inclosure and

two forming a portion of the outer wall.⁵ About two thousand

men were required to garrison this fort. Although octagonal,

it was irregularly so, its length being double its width.   Its

longest dimension extended parallel with the Maumee. Two

large traverses or earthen walls were erected within the fort

likewise running parallel with the river and at nearly right

angles to an imaginary line connecting the American stronghold

with the British batteries. This wall was twenty feet wide at

its base, twelve feet high, and nine hundred feet long, the last

figure expressing the length of the fort.⁶    Behind this was,

another traverse about seven hundred feet long, extending from

3MSS. of Joseph H. Larwill.

4Formerly known as the Miamis of the Lakes.

5There was yet another battery in action during the second siege

of the fort, but I am unable to say whether or not it existed at this

time.

6"The garrison was (upon seeing Proctor and Tecumseh appear

one day upon the shore opposite) immediately employed in cutting deep

traverses through the fort taking down the tents and preparing for a

siege. The work accomplished in a few hours, under the excitement

of the occasion was prodigious. The grand traverse being completed,

each mess was ordered to excavate under the embankment, suitable

lodgings as substitutes for tents. These rooms were shot proof and

bomb proof, except in the event of a shell falling in the traverse and

at the mouth of a cave." - Henry Howe.

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526       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

the western end of the fort to within two hundred feet of the

eastern end. Shorter traverses lay at right angles to these longer

ones for protection against the batteries erected east of the fort

and in such a position as to rake it from end to end.7

Winter was slowly surrendering its sway and the "garniture

of spring" was tinting the landscape with green, when, on the

twenty-sixth of April, the British and their painted allies ranged

themselves on the bank opposite and entered upon the construc-

tion of their primary batteries.⁸ These were so situated that a

line extending due north from Fort Meigs would pass through

them; the same line would intersect the line of the Maumee's

flow at an angle of about forty-five degrees.9

Three hundred yards of low treeless ground lay between the

river and these batteries which were situated on higher ground.10

They were four in number, the two in front being known as

the queen's battery and the mortar battery, and the two in the

rear the sailor's battery and the king's battery.

The first day of May ushered in the beginning of the long

struggle. About ten o'clock the British appeared to be adjusting

their cannon upon the weak points of the fort. Until this time

the large traverses, although completed, had been hidden from

the enemy by the tents of the soldiers. A few minutes of activity

sufficed to rearrange these tents behind the huge wall so that

neither man nor tent was visible to the enemy. The cannonade

of the English continued until eleven o'clock at night, having

7I have made this explanation from the map of a survey made by

Lieutenant Larwill between the two sieges of Fort Meigs, and with the

description found in Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio.

8 Drake says: "Two of them were gun batteries, with four in-

closures; the third was a bomb battery placed a short distance below."

My description follows Larwill's survey.

9According to Drake, the British and Indians did not arrive until

the twenty-eighth, and their batteries, three in number, were erected

during the night. "On the morning of the thirteenth," he says, "the

enemy under a heavy and somewhat fatal fire from the guns of the

fort, raised and adjusted the guns of the fort, while at the same time,

a number of boats filled with Indians were seen crossing to the north-

eastern side of the river."

19Their artillerymen were posted; but the principal part of their

army occupied the old English fort below. Henry Howe.

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             527

 

done little damage to the fort, killed one or two men, and

wounded three or four, including Major Amos Stoddard, a

revolutionary soldier and an excellent officer. Ten days later he

died of lockjaw. The return fire was rather weakened by lack

of balls, economy being necessary. For the one eighteen-pounder

there were but three hundred and sixty shot in the fort and

about an equal number for the twelve pounders.

Nothing of consequence befell the combatants during the

second day's bombardment, little injury resulting to either side;

although the firing was lively. Presuming that the enemy would

transfer some of their forces to his side of the river, Harrison

ordered works erected to neutralize the action of any flank bat-

teries the enemy might place. His preparations were valuable;

for in the coming night the British began putting up a gun and

mortar battery¹¹ on the left bank at a distance of two hundred and

fifty yards from the American lines, and partially hidden by inter-

vening bushes. Cautious redskins, climbing neighboring trees,

whence they could peer over the ramparts of the Americans, let

loose a destructive fire. But the Americans returned it effectively,

and once Proctor found it necessary to shift the position of his

battery.

Thinking Harrison might now be apprehensive of a failure,

Proctor sent to him Major Chambers to demand the surrender

of the fort, and with a magnified account of his own forces, and

a statement that he wished to "avoid the effusion of blood."

"The demand under the present circumstances is a most

extraordinary one," replied Harrison. "As General Proctor did

not send me a summons to surrender on his first arrival, I had

supposed that he believed me determined to do my duty. His

present message indicates an opinion of me I am at a loss to

account for."

"General Proctor could never think of saying anything to

wound your feelings, sir," replied Chambers. "The character of

General Harrison as an officer is well known. General Proctor's

force is a very respectable one, and there is with him a larger

body of Indians than has ever before been embodied."

"I believe I have a very correct idea of General Proctor's

Composed of three field pieces and a howitzer. Drake.

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528      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   force", responded General Harrison; "it is not such as to create the least apprehension for the result of the contest, whatever shape he may be pleased hereafter to give to it. Assure the gen- eral, however, that he will never have this post surrendered to him under any terms. Should it fall into his hands, it will be in a manner calculated to do him more honor, and to give him larger claim to the gratitude of his government, than capitulation could possibly do."

Harrison had informed the governors of both Ohio and Kentucky of his situation, and, urged by his wants, a force of twelve hundred Kentuckians was at this moment marching down the Maumee under General Clay's command. Captain Oliver, in the night of the fourth of April, with Majors Trumble and Taylor, and fifteen militiamen, left Clay above the rapids and

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             529

 

started in a boat to try to reach the fort and inform Harrison

of Clay's approach. The night was intensely dark and he suc-

ceeded in finding the fort by the aid of the spreading limbs of

a large oak tree standing within the fortifications. After being

fired at by the sentinels, Oliver hailed them, and having waded

a water-filled ravine, was admitted to the fort. He told Harrison

that Clay was just above the rapids and could reach the fort in

two hours. He also requested orders.

Upon learning of the situation, Harrison sent back Captain

Hamilton with an assistant, in a pirogue, to Clay, with the fol-

lowing orders:

"You must detach about eight hundred men from your

brigade, and land them at a point I will show you about a mile

or a mile and a half above Camp Meigs. I will then conduct the

detachment to the British batteries on the left bank of the river.

The batteries must be taken, the cannon spiked, the carriages

cut down; and the troops must then return to their boats and

cross over to the fort. The balance of your men must land on

the fort side of the river, opposite the first landing, and fight their

way into the fort through the Indians. The route they must take

will be pointed out by a subaltern officer now with me, who will

land the canoe on the right bank of the river to point out the

landing for the boats."¹²

No sooner had Clay received orders, than he allowed Cap-

tain Hamilton to lead Dudley and his eight hundred men in the

twelve leading boats to their landing on the hostile side. Clay,

who commanded the remaining six boats, ordered them to fall

in line, his own taking the lead. In so doing, they were driven

ashore, and left a half hour behind Dudley's flotilla. He then

proceeded to land opposite to Dudley's landing place and where

the subaltern who had accompanied Hamilton from the fort,

should have been found. But he had disappeared or at any rate

failed to appear, and the Indians had raised a lively fusillade

upon his boat; so he attempted to join Dudley, opposite. But the

swift current carried him too far down stream, and he landed

on the south side of the river, but nearer the fort than he had

12 McAffee.

Vol. XVIII-34.

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530       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

intended. Amidst a rain of grape from the batteries and the

zipping of Indian bullets, upwards of fifty men, including General

Clay and Captain Peter Dudley, who were in the leading boat,

marched safely into the fort. Four sick soldiers and their bag-

gage were left in the boat, Clay supposing that the two men

who had met him at the landing, would float it down beneath the

fort's guns. However, it soon fell into the hands of the In-

dians. Colonel Boswell, in command of the boats in the rear,

seeing Clay attempt a landing on the opposite bank, now did

likewise, but Hamilton discovered his maneuver and ordered him

to turn back and fight his way to camp.

Once upon the south side of the river he met with the

usual annoyance from invisible Indians, whose fire he returned.

Captain Shaw, sent by Harrison, commanded him to proceed

in open order over the plain to the fort. Moreover, Harrison

sent him a reinforcement, consisting of Alexander's brigade, a

part of Johnson's battalion and the companies of Captains Near-

ing and Dudley. Having formed in order near the gates of the

fort, Boswell being on the right, with their bayonets they drove

the Indians half a mile into the forest.¹³

While Boswell and his Kentuckians were trouncing the sav-

ages in the woods, another sortie was made against the British

battery on the south side of the river. It was lead by Colonel

John Miller, of the nineteenth United States regiment, and con-

sisted of about two hundred and fifty of the seventeenth and nine-

teenth regiments, one hundred one-year volunteers, and a com-

pany of Kentucky militia under Captain Seebre. A ravine ex-

tended under the eastern curtain of the fort, and here, safe from

the enemy's guns, they were drawn up. But after leaving the

13 General Harrison had now taken a position on one of the batteries

of the fort, that he might see the various movements which at this

moment claimed his attention. He soon perceived a detachment of Bri-

tish and Indians passing along the edge of the woods with a view to reach

the left and rear of the corps under Boswell; he forthwith dispatched

his volunteer aid, John T. Johnson, to recall the troops under Boswell

from the pursuit. Johnson's horse having been killed before he delivered

this order, it was repeated through Major Graham, and a retreat was

commenced: the Indians promptly rallied and pursued them for some

distance, killing and wounding a number of our troops."-Drake.

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.                531

 

ravine, they were compelled to pass a plain two hundred yards

wide, beyond which lay a wood, hiding the British grenadiers

and light infantry, over two hundred strong, the defenders of

the battery. On their right, lay a body of Canadian militia; on

their left a large number of Indians under Tecumseh. Upon

the angle of the fort next to this plain, Harrison stationed him-

self to watch the contest. The troops marched on, with loaded

arms trailing. Upon reaching the summit of the hill they were

met by the British infantry fire, which did them little harm. Not

so the fire of the Indians, which played fearful havoc. Fifty

yards of the plain were covered, they halted, closed ranks and

charged. The British fled; many were killed, but none were

taken prisoners. Noticing the route of some of the flying British,

Harrison ordered Major Todd after them with fifty reserve reg-

ulars. Todd soon returned, with two officers and forty-three

non-commissioned officers and privates as prisoners.¹⁴

We left Colonel Dudley and his little army of eight hun-

dred men clambering out of their boats and drawing into line

on the   British side of the Maumee. Having marched through

the open plain bordering the river, they found a wooded hill,

where they formed into three columns. Colonel Dudley, Ma-

jor Shelby, and Captain Morrison commanded the right, left,

and center columns respectively. They now marched against

the batteries, busy shelling Fort Meigs. Major Shelby's column,

a few hundred yards in advance, rushed full tilt upon them,¹⁵

spiking the cannon, and cutting down the British flag, without

the loss of a man. Instead of retreating to their boats and then

to the fort, as Harrison had commanded, the over-confident

Kentuckians stood around upon the bank and shouted loudly

over their victory. Harrison and his officers were now stationed

14 Larwill.

15 Drake says: "The great object of the enterprise having been

achieved, the general, who was watching the movements . . . made signs

to them to retreat to their beats; but to his great surprise, and in ex-

press disobedience of the orders transmitted through Colonel Hamilton,

our troops remained at the batteries, quietly looking around, without

spiking the cannon, cutting down the carriages and destroying the maga-

zines." A part of this seems improbable, when we consider the circum-

stances.

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at the main battery of the fort. They saw the peril of the men

and shouted and beckoned to them to retreat. But the Ken-

tuckians thought that they, too, were hurrahing over the vic-

tory, so they returned lusty cheers. "They are lost! They are

lost!" ejaculated Harrison. "Can I never get men to obey my

orders ?"

Harrison offered a reward of one thousand dollars to the

man who would attempt a passage of the river and carry a warn-

ing to Colonel Dudley. Lieutenant Campbell made the attempt.

The larger part of the right and center columns now rushed

into the forest, a party of Indians in ambush having ordered him

to be reinforced. Before Lieutenant Campbell had arrived at

the middle of the stream, the left column, remaining in posses-

sion of the batteries, was set upon by the British artillerymen,

who now returned reinforced from the British camp. Those of

the left column who were neither taken prisoners, nor had fled

to the boats, went to assist Dudley, confused and belabored in

the woods. Contrary to the commands of Dudley, his men had

continued in the pursuit of the Indians; but when two miles from

the batteries, they found themselves in a defile and surrounded

by twice their number of Indians under the brave Tecumseh.

With this change of circumstances the case was altered, and the

savages pounced down upon the Americans, huddled together,

and no longer resisting. Of the eight hundred Americans, who

but lately had split the welkin with victory shouts, but one hun-

dred and fifty escaped capture or death.

Among the men who accompanied Dudley upon his attack

was a Kentuckian named Joseph Underwood. He acted as

lieutenant under Captain John Morrison, was captured by the

Indians, and witnessed the outrages committed upon his com-

panions and himself. To the essentials of his narrative we shall

now revert. "In effectuating the plan of attack," says Under-

wood, "Captain J. C. Morrison's company was thrown upon the

river, above the battery. While passing through a thicket of

hazel toward the river in forming the line of battle, I saw

Colonel Dudley for the last time. He was greatly excited; he

railed at me for not keeping my men better dressed. I replied,

that he must perceive from the situation of the ground, and

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             533

 

the obstacles that we had to encounter, that it was impossible.

When we came within a small distance of the river, we halted.

The enemy at this place had gotten in the rear of our line,

formed parallel with the river, and were firing upon our troops.

Captain J. C. Morrison's company did not long remain in this

situation. Having nothing to do and being without order, we

determined to march our company out and joined the combatants

We did so accordingly. In passing out, we fell on the left of

the whole regiment, and were soon engaged in a severe con-

flict."

"The Indians endeavored to flank and surround us. We

drove them between one and two miles, directly back from the

river. They hid behind trees and logs, and poured upon us

as we advanced, a most destructive fire. We were from time to

time ordered to charge. The orders were passed along the lines,

our field officers being on foot. . . . Having made the best

arrangement for the safety of my much esteemed captain that

circumstances allowed, I took charge of the company and con-

tinued the battle. We made several charges afterwards, and

drove the enemy a considerable distance .   .  At length

orders were passed along the line directing us to fall back and

keep up a retreating fire. As soon as this movement was made,

the Indians were greatly encouraged, and advanced upon us

with the most horrid yells. Once or twice the officers succeeded

in producing a temporary halt and a fire on the Indians, but the

soldiers of the different companies soon became mixed-con-

fusion ensued-and a general rout took place."

Underwood was wounded shortly after this and led captive

to the British garrison. He had read in Smith's narrative of

his residence among the Indians, that Indians treated prisoners

best who appeared least fearful. Upon coming near an Indian

warrior painted red, who gazed upon him with great sternness

he returned the look with one equally severe; whereupon the

savage gave him a terrific whack in the face with his wiping

stick. Underwood discontinued employing Smith's advice.

"On our approach to the garrison." he continues, "the

Indians formed a line to the left of the road, there being a per-

pendicular bank to the right, on the margin of which the road

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534      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   passed. I perceived that the prisoners were running the gauntlet, and that the Indians were whipping, shooting and tomahawking the men as they ran by the line. When I reached the starting place I dashed off as fast as I was able, and ran near the muz- zles of their guns, knowing that they would have to shoot me while I was immediately in front, or let me pass, for to have turned their guns up or down the lines to shoot me would have

endangered themselves as there was a curve in their line. In this way I passed without injury, except some strokes over the shoulders with their gun-sticks. As I entered the ditch around the garrison the man before me was shot and fell, and I fell over him. The passage was stopped for a while by those who fell over the dead man and myself. How many lives were lost at this place I cannot tell-probably between twenty and forty. Brave Captain Lewis was among the number.

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             535

 

"When we got within the walls we were ordered to sit

down. I lay in the lap of Mr. Gilpin, a soldier of Captain

Henry's company, from Woodford. A new scene commenced.

An Indian, painted black, mounted the dilapidated wall, and

shot one of the prisoners next to him. He reloaded and shot

a second, the ball passing through him into the hip of another,

who afterwards died, I was informed, at Cleveland, of the wound.

The savage then laid down his gun and drew his tomahawk,

with which he killed two others. When he drew his tomahawk

and jumped down among the men, they endeavored to escape

by leaping over the heads of each other, and thereby to place

others between themselves and danger. Thus they were heaped

upon one another, and as I did not rise they tramped upon me

so that I could see nothing that was going on.

"The confusion and uproar of this moment cannot be ade-

quately described. There was an excitement among the Indians,

and a fierceness in their conversation, which betokened on the

part of some a strong disposition to massacre the whole of us.

The British officers and soldiers seemed to interpose to prevent

the further effusion of blood. Their expression was, 'Oh, nichee

wah!' meaning, 'Oh, brother, quit!' After the Indian who

had occasioned this horrible scene had scalped and stripped his

victim he left us, and a comparative calm ensued. The prisoners

resumed their seats on the ground. While thus situated, a tall,

stout Indian walked into the midst of us, drew a long butcher

knife from his belt, and commenced whetting it. As he did so

he looked around among the prisoners, apparently selecting one

for the gratification of his vengeance. I viewed his conduct,

and thought it probable that he was to give the signal for a

general massacre; but, after exciting our fears sufficiently for

his satisfaction, he gave a contemptuous grunt and went out

from among us."

As the Kentuckians lay miserably about upon the ground

within the garrison, Tecumseh and Colonel Elliot came riding

in. Thomas Moore addressed Elliot:

"Is it compatible with the honor of a civilized nation, such

as the British claim to be, to suffer defenseless prisoners to be

murdered by savages?"

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536      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Elliot then desired of Moore to know who he was; and

finding Moore to be a private the conversation ended.

"Elliot," said Underwood, "was an old man; his hair might

have been termed with more propriety, white than gray, and

to my view he had more of the savage in his countenance than

Tecumseh. This celebrated chief was a noble, dignified per-

sonage. He wore an elegant broadsword, and was dressed in

Indian costume. His face was finely proportioned, his nose

inclined to be aquiline, and his eye displayed none of that

savage and ferocious triumph common to the other Indians on

that occasion. He seemed to regard us with unmoved com-

posure, and I thought a beam of mercy shone in his countenance,

tempering the spirit of vengeance inherent in his race against

the American people. I saw him only on horseback.'

Amidst the general excitement an incident occurred which

for a moment must have given a humorous turn to a situation

decidedly otherwise. "Upon the arrival of Elliot and Tecumseh,"

he says. "we were directed to stand up and form in line, I think

four deep, in order to be counted. After we were thus arranged,

a scene transpired scarcely less affecting than that which I have

before attempted to describe. The Indians began to select the

young men whom they intended to take with them to their

towns. Numbers were carried off. I saw Corporal Smith of

our company, bidding farewell to his friends, and pointing to

the Indian with whom he was to go. I never heard of his

return. The young men learning their danger, endeavored to

avoid it by crowding into the center, where they could not be

so readily reached. I was told that a quizzical youth, of dimin-

utive size, near the outside, seeing what was going on, threw

himself upon his hands and knees, and rushed between the

legs of his comrades, exclaiming, 'Root, little hog, or die!'"

A little later Underwood was taken with his comrades to

the British shipping nine miles down the Maumee. Here the

Indians paid them a visit and made a display of scalps. These

they had strung upon poles about eight feet long and two in-

ches in diameter, which were standing erect in the bows of

their canoes, the scalps being fastened near the top, and each

pole having as many as four or five scalps. The scalps had been

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.              537

 

drawn over hoops about four inches in diameter. "Thus," says

our observer, "their canoes were decorated with a flagstaff of

a most appropriate character, bearing human scalps, the horrid

ensigns of savage warfare."  Underwood and his sick and

wounded companions remained aboard a British ship six days,

when they were all discharged on parole. The officers pledged

themselves in writing not to war against the king or his allies,

unless properly exchanged; and when the British were asked

whether or not the Indians were the king's allies, they replied,

"His majesty's allies are known." The sick and wounded were

disembarked at the mouth of Vermillion river. The commander

of the vessel bearing these invalids to their destination was

Captain Stewart, whom Underwood afterwards had the satis-

faction of seeing a prisoner of war at Frankfort, Kentucky; he

having been captured by Perry at his victory on Lake Erie.

"I visited Captain Stewart," says Underwood, "to requite his

kindness to me when, like him, I was a prisoner." "Such," he

remarks, "is the fortune of war."

The British officers and soldiers, about fifty in number, who

escorted the Americans to the British encampment, deserve the

most rigid condemnation, in deserting these men to Indian butch-

ery,¹⁶ already described by Underwood. Had Proctor possessed

half the manliness of Tecumseh he would either have prevented

this massacre or have punished the perpetrators. He did neither.

He should also be scored for permitting the Indians to take

such Americans as they desired to their towns. The Indians

were his allies and under his command. The act had no excuse.

The encampment of the Indians, distant a few hundred yards

from the British, presented a grewsome sight on the second day

following the defeat of Dudley. The Indians had ransacked the

American boats and now the booty, consisting of trunks and

boxes was strewn upon the ground, while the dusky savages

walked hither and thither dressed in officers uniforms, em-

barrassed by big military boots, and wearing clean white shirts.

All were decorated; even the tents displayed rifles, swords,

16Narrative of the siege of Fort Meigs in the London New Monthy

Magazine, December, 1821, as told by a British officer who was in the

fight.

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538      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

bridles, daggers and pistols of handsome and peculiar workman-

ship. Here and there the precious scalps, the fleshy side stained

vermillion, hung dangling from poles where they were placed to

dry. Hoops of different dimensions were to be seen over which

had been stretched the skin taken from the hands and feet of the

slain. To these the nails were still attached. In the midst of

these more valuable parts, were scattered about the worthless

limbs of dead men offering nourishment to the Indian dogs.

In the middle of the encampment the scene became more

horrid and revolting. The British officers stopped before the

entrance of a Minoumini tent and peered in. In the middle of

the tent blazed a large fire over which a kettle hung suspended.

It was surrounded by a circle of warriors, each holding in his

hand a string which passed over the kettle's edge, while to the

end within the kettle was attached a piece of an American.

These ghouls proffered a share to the officers but the Englishmen

excused themselves and hastened away.

After the fifth of May the bombardment of the fort, al-

though carried on with vigor, had no appreciable effect. The

British learned from officers captured from the American army

of the peculiar protective works of the Americans-dugouts, sub-

terranean passages, and the like. To add to their discourage-

ment, many of the shells thrown into the American works sunk

into the soft mud and failed to explode. Their militia became

discouraged and anxious concerning their families and work,

and began deserting by night in small squads. Likewise the

Indians, now sated with blood and plunder, and tired of the

siege, forsook the British; with the exception of about four

hundred, mostly Shawnees, under Tecumseh. The troops that

remained were worn out with constant labor; moreover, they

possessed no good protection from the elements. The skeleton

of a hut might be made serviceable; but even then only a few

dead leaves and an army blanket or cloak separated them from

the damp ground hardly rid of the frost. Ague, dysentery, and

all the kindred diseases became allies of the Americans. So

when the siege had been protracted until the middle of May, the

British gunboats came and anchored beneath the batteries, the

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The Siege of Fort Meigs.             539

 

British guns were hauled aboard under a lively fire from Fort

Meigs, and the whole expedition set sail for Amherstburg.

The British forces met with a material defeat at this time,

and their repulse helped greatly to retrieve the losses which the

Americans had sustained in matter and spirit. On the whole, it

was a well executed piece of warfare, with the exception of

Dudley's defeat, which was occasioned by the recklessness and

disobedience of the Kentucky militia. General Harrison after-

wards warned his men against such action, saying that this "if

persisted in, is as fatal in its results as cowardice." Dudley was

a gallant officer and there is no reason for inculpating him. He

made repeated attempts to execute the orders of Harrison but

failed.

The defenders of Fort Meigs met with many experiences pe-

culiar to warfare. Before the commencement of the siege and

while some of the soldiers were out on parade, two well-mounted

strangers appeared on the opposite bank of the stream and care-

fully surveyed the fortifications. Not showing themselves friends

they were supposed to be enemies; so a battery was cleared for

action and a shot fired which tore up the ground in the vicinity of

the horsemen who thereupon beat a sudden retreat. It was after-

wards learned that they were Tecumseh and Proctor.

After the engagement had begun, one of the American mili-

tiamen stationed himself upon an embankment, whence he could

spy the British guns, and forewarned his comrades of the destina-

tion of each shot. Judging by the appearance of the smoke he

would cry out, "shot," or "bomb," as was the case, and then

add, "blockhouse number one," "look out, main battery," or

"now for the meathouse;" thus making known the locality liable

to receive shot so and so. At last a shot was fired which he was

unable to place. "He stood motionless-silent-perplexed. In

the same instant he was swept into eternity. Poor man, he

should have considered, that when there was no obliquity of

the smoke, either to the right or left, above or below, the fatal

messenger would travel in the direct line of his vision. He re-

minded me of the peasant in the siege of Jerusalem who cried

out, 'Woe to the city! Woe to the temple! Woe to myself!'"

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540      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

The most vital point within the fort was, as usual, the

magazine. The powder had been kept in wagons behind the

traverse. Being too exposed here, it was then placed in a small

blockhouse to be covered with earth. This undertaking was dis-

covered by the enemy and many of their shot, heated red-hot,

were directed towards it. Sometimes they fell in the mud,

making a cloud of steam and a great hissing. A number of men

volunteered to cover the magazine, and no sooner had they

arrived upon the spot than a cannon ball took off a man's head.

"The spades and dirt flew faster than any one had before wit-

nessed," says a participant. "In the midst of our job a bomb shell

fell on the roof, and lodging on one of the braces it spun round

for a moment. Every soldier fell prostrate on his face, and with

breathless horror waited the vast explosion which we expected

would crown all our earthly sufferings.

"One of the gang," he continues, "presumed to reason on the

case. He silently argued that, as the shell had not burst as

quick as usual, there might be something wrong in its arrange-

ment. If it bursted where it was, and the magazine exploded,

there could be no escape; it was death anyhow; so he sprang to

his feet, seized a boothook, and pulling the hissing missile to the

ground, and jerking the smoking match from its socket, dis-

covered that the shell was filled with inflammable material,

which, if once ignited, would have wrapped the whole building

in a sheet of flame. This circumstance added wings to our

shovels; and we were right glad when the officer said, 'That will

do; go to your lines.' "

General Harrison found a unique way to replenish his supply

of cannon balls, by offering a gill of whisky for every cannon

ball delivered to the magazine keeper. In this manner over one

thousand pints of "fire water" were disposed of.

For security against shells, each man had dug for himself

a hole behind the large traverse. When he had placed a plank

over this and put dirt upon the plank, he was fully protected.

Although bombs are most dangerous when they explode in the

air, they rarely do so; but usually enter the ground, so that the

force of the charge goes upwards. Thus, when some one cried

"bomb," the soldiers either ran to their dugouts or threw them-

• 21
 

The Siege of Fort Meigs.             541

 

selves flat upon the ground, the latter being a comparatively safe

method of escape.

When, however, a heavy rain filled their places of retreat

with water, they were compelled to return to their tents to

sleep. Now when the cry of "bomb" startled them from slumber,

they rushed out, glanced at the bright shell as it came sweeping

across the starless sky, and if it fell near, threw themselves upon

the ground; but it if fell far away they returned to their tents.

Some became so fatigued that they failed to awaken when the

alarm sounded, and were not disturbed if "ten thousand bombs

burst all around them," as one exclaimed.

The value of this defense of Fort Meigs cannot be easily

overestimated. Had Harrison been defeated and his army cap-

tured, the road to Upper Sandusky would have been open to

Proctor and his Indian allies. Here large stores of provisions

would have fallen into his hands. The final invasion and recap-

ture of Michigan would have been materially delayed, if not en-

tirely prevented; and the frontiers would have been ravaged

again by the savages.

So little notice has been taken formerly of this event, that it

was an extremely welcome act of the General Assembly of Ohio

that authorized the purchase of the site of Fort Meigs and con-

verted it into a public park; and a splendid monument has been

erected to the memory of the general and men who once de-

fended it.

• 22