Ohio History Journal

OLD FORT SANDUSKY AND THE DE LERY PORTAGE.

 

 

BY LUCY ELLIOT KEELER,

Local history has its renascence in tradition, which passes

along from generation to generation hints of names and adven-

tures, which appeal at last to some student of the past and send

him forth in quest of sources. Such traditions have long lingered

about the little peninsula at Port Clinton, in Ottawa County,

Ohio: traditions of venturesome French monks and traders; of

an ancient fort, destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed again; of

British redcoats and Rangers, Pontiac's savages and Dalyell the

avenger; of Bradstreet; and finally of William Henry Harrison

building a brush fence to corral several thousand war horses,

while their riders sailed away on the ships of Commodore Per-

ry to finish, on the banks of the Canadian Thames, the one vic-

torious military campaign of the second American war with Great

Britain. The wealth of recent discoveries bestirred by such tra-

ditions materialized in the recent erection of two simple but

handsome monuments bearing six historical tablets which were

unveiled with interesting ceremonies at Port Clinton, on Memor-

ial Day, May 30, 1912.

Two pyramidal monuments of boulders stand two miles

apart, at either end of what is known as the "de Lery Portage

of 1754," formerly Fulton Street and Road; the one marking the

site of Old Fort Sandoski of 1745, faces Sandusky Bay, oppo-

site the mouth of the Sandusky River; the other the Harrison-

Perry Embarkation monument, overlooks Lake Erie near the

old mouth of the Portage River. These termini, together with

the short land portage connecting them, teem with history as

absorbing as any in this country; and it is most appropriate and

gratifying that they are finally worthily marked, and their story

narrated in enduring bronze for every passer-by to read.

The location of Old Fort Sandoski of 1745, the first fort

built by white men in Ohio, long a subject of earnest research,

(345)

• 1
 

346       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   was definitely settled by Col. Webb C. Hayes of Fremont, and Mr. Chas. W. Burrows of Cleveland, by the discovery in 1906 of the de Lery Journals. Mr. Burrows' work in publishing the "Jesuit Relations" had familiarized him with the richness of the Canadian archives, and at Colonel Hayes' request he communi- cated with the archivist of Laval University, Quebec.  Some clue being found, Colonel Hayes and Mr. Burrows at once visit- ed the Rev. Father A. E. Jones, of St. Mary's College, Montreal,

and Abbe Gosselin, archivist of Laval University, Quebec, at which latter place the eight de Lery Journals, covering his ex- pedition from Quebec from 1749 to 1754, were discovered. One of these journals, 1754, with its numerous maps and accompany- ing descriptions of the daily journeyings and solar observations, settles definitely the exact location of old Fort Sandoski, the first fort built by white men in Ohio, the location of which has until now been in doubt even among our foremost historians.

• 2
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.     347

 

The site of Old Fort Sandoski having been definitely fixed,

a monument of split boulders from the Marblehead peninsula,

ten feet in height by five feet square at base was erected by the

Business Men's Association of Port Clinton, and on its face were

affixed four tablets, presented by the Colonial Dames and the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, narrating the

Indian, British, French and American occupations of this ancient

site. Two miles north, at the Lake Erie terminus of the portage

across the peninsula is the almost equally interesting point where

the Indians and French hunters, explorers and war parties habit-

ually landed, and later where Harrison embarked for the con-

quest of Canada in 1813. The monument at this point bears

bronze tablets presented by the Ohio Society and Daughters of

the American Revolution, and the National Society of the

Daughters of 1812 (State of Ohio).

The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society having

decided to mark these interesting points, communicated with the

Patriotic societies whose field of activity covers the interesting

period marked by the tablets. In June, 1909, Mrs. J. Kent Ham-

ilton, of Toledo, representing the Colonial Dames resident in

northern Ohio, on behalf of the Dames; Mrs. C. R. Truesdall

of Fremont on behalf of the Daughters of the American Revolu-

tion; and Mrs. C. B. Tozier on behalf of the Daughters of 1812,

each subscribed the necessary fifty dollars to secure the manu-

facture of the bronze tablets; the Archaeological Society providing

funds for the remaining three tablets, the French Expedition of

1754, the British Expedition of 1760 and the American Expedi-

tion of 1813. The inscriptions were prepared by Colonel Hayes,

and by special permission of the War Department the tablets

were manufactured at Rock Island (Ill.) Arsenal. While the

citizens of Port Clinton were generous in their subscriptions, the

matter dragged for nearly three years when the men gallantly

turned the entire management over to a committee of ladies

members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. J.

E. Brodhead, wife of the Rector, and Mrs. Geo. A. True, who

by their indefatigable efforts secured the erection of the two split

boulder monuments, and announced the desire of the Business

Men's Association of Port Clinton to hold the dedicatory exer-

• 3
 

348       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

cise on Memorial Day, May 30, 1912. When the de Lery Jour-

nals furnished the necessary information as to the exact location

of Old Fort Sandoski on what is now the beautiful fruit farm of

Mr. Rhode, that gentleman and his wife patriotically tendered

the site free to the Archeological Society for the proposed

monument. Owing to the brief notice and to the long-time

previous engagements to speak on Memorial Day, Col. Henry

Watterson, dean of American journalism, who had enthus-

iastically agreed to deliver the address was unable to be present;

and as it turned out, through an accident, Mr. Chas. W. Bur-

rows to whom the public is greatly indebted for the publication

of the "Jesuit Relations" and of Avery's "History of the United

States and its People," was also unable to be present.

Memorial Day having been chosen for the dedication of

these monuments and the unveiling of the tablets, visitors be-

gan arriving early in the morning. Delegations from many patri-

otic chapters of Cleveland, Toledo and Sandusky, with Mrs.

Thomas Kite, State Regent of the D. A. R. of Ohio were pres-

ent; Mrs. C. B. Tozier, Past State President of the Daughters

of 1812, and the newly elected Regent of Western Reserve Chap-

ter, D. A. R.; Mrs. Chas. H. Smith, chairman of the Memorial

Committee of the Daughters of 1812 for Ohio and Mrs. John T.

Mack, President Daughters of 1812, State of Ohio. There

came also a large delegation from Ursula Wolcott chapter, D. A.

R., of Toledo, and Mrs. J. K. Hamilton of the Colonial Dames

of America and Vice State Regent, D. A. R.; Mrs. C. R. Trues-

dall of Fremont, State Vice President General, D A. R.; and a

large delegation from George Croghan Chapter of Fremont and

Martha Pitkin Chapter, Sandusky.

The visiting delegations were met on their arrival by hos-

pitable people of the town and conveyed to the Court House,

from which the procession was formed, headed by the Wideman

Band, and in scores of automobiles and carriages were taken to

the site of the old fort where a stand and seats had been ar-

ranged, facing the beautiful waters of Sandusky Bay and River.

The assembly was called to order by Col. W. C. Hayes, of the

Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society who asked Mr.

and Mrs. Rhode, donors of the site of the Ft. Sandoski monu-

• 4
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.            349

 

ment to occupy seats on the stand with the speakers; and called

on Mr. R. S. Gallagher, president of the Port Clinton Business

Men's Association to act as chairman of the meeting.

The program was carried out as follows:

 

THE COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA IN THE STATE OF OHIO

THE OHIO DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

THE NATIONAL SOCIETY UNITED STATES DAUGHTERS OF 1812,

STATE OF OHIO

THE OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND

THE CITIZENS OF PORT CLINTON, OHIO

 

invite you to be present at the Unveiling of the Commemorative

Tablets and the Dedication of the Monuments erected to mark

the site of old Fort Sandoski of 1745--the first fort built by

white men within the present limits of Ohio--and of the north-

ern terminus of the Sandusky-Scioto Trail--from Lake Erie

to the Ohio River-where Major-General Harrison embarked

for his Canadian Campaign of 1813.

 

PORT CLINTON, OHIO, MEMORIAL DAY

Thursday, May 30, 1912

INVITATION COMMITTEE

Mrs. J. E. Brodhead, Port Clinton, Chairman

Mrs. J. Kent Hamilton, for the Colonial Dames of America

Mrs. Clayton R. Truesdall, for the Daughters of the American Revolution

Mrs. John T. Mack, for the Daughters of 1812; of Ohio

Col. Webb C. Hayes, for the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical

Society

PROGRAM

EXERCISES AT OLD FORT SANDOSKI OF 1745

AT 10:30 A. M.

Chairman .........R. S. Gallagher, President Port Clinton Business

Men's Association

Prayer..............................................Rev.  S.  K.  Straus

Music during unveiling of Tablets ..................Port Clinton Band

Presentation of Tablet from the Colonial Dames..Mrs. J. Kent Hamilton

Unveiled by Master Allen Hamilton

Presentation of Tablets from the Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Society ........Col. Webb C. Hayes, one of the Trustees

Unveiled by Master Richard Brodhead

• 5
 

350           Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

Acceptance    of  Tablets ................................R.  S.  Gallagher

Music

Address, "Old Fort Sandoski of 1745, and the De Lery Journals"

Charles William Burrows

EXERCISES AT HARRISON-PERRY EMBARKATION MONUMENT

AT 1:30 P. M.

Chairman  ...................................... Hon.                                   George   A.  True

Prayer ........................................... Rev.                                    J.  E.      Brodhead

Music during unveiling of Tablets ................. Port Clinton Band

Presentation of Tablet from the Daughters of the American Revo-

lution. Unveiled by Mary Elizabeth Truesdall................

................................. Mrs.  Thomas  Kite,  State  Regent

Presentation of Tablet from the Daughters of 1812, Unveiled by

Alice Davenport Snyder ...... Mrs. John T. Mack, State President

Acceptance  of  Tablets............................Hon.                          George   A. True

Music............................................Port                                       Clinton  Schools

Address ......................Hon. Judson Harmon, Governor of Ohio

Address ........Hon. George E. Pomeroy, Past Governor Society

Colonial Wars

Address.........Prof. G. Frederick Wright, President Ohio State

.. Archaeological and Historical Society

Music..............................................Port  Clinton   Band

Address .............Hon. James M. Richardson, President-General

Sons American Revolution

M usic. .............................................Port  Clinton   Band

Benediction

Mr. Gallagher made an excellent presiding officer and de-

livered a most appropriate and patriotic address in accepting the

tablets and monument on behalf of the citizens of Ottawa

County, and pledged the perpetual maintenance and care of the

monuments.

MRS. J. KENT HAMILTON,

of Toledo, in presenting the tablet of the Colonial Dames, spoke

as follows:

"The Colonial Dames in Ohio feel it a privilege to be per-

mitted to speak a few words on this interesting and memorable

occasion. 'In the good old Colony Days, when we all lived under

the King,' it was the King of France who thought he ruled this

country here and held it by a chain of forts reaching from

Quebec to New Orleans, and expected this barrier to check the

sweep of English emigration as the heavy iron chains stretched

• 6
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.     351

 

across the river by the mediaeval Italians prevented the approach

of the ships of the enemy. But the ancestors whom we honor

by our membership in the society I represent were warriors who

were not to be checked in this way. The colonists were most of

them so recently transplanted from old England as to be British

by birth in many instances as well as by the allegiance that did

not waver before the French troops, however it might regard the

King's tax gatherer. The Colonies were not the same as the

Thirteen States. They were Royal or proprietary or charter

colonies and even when bearing the same names as the States

which succeeded them often covered a very different extent of

territory. But now a hundred and fifty years after the fall of

Quebec and the death of George the Second, in territory

originally granted to Connecticut by its charter, is gathered an

association of one hundred and sixty-eight women, whose ances-

tors served in nine of the original colonies, and who rejoice in

being permitted to assist in commemorating the achievements

of the men whose blood still runs in their veins."

 

COL. WEBB C. HAYES

represented the Archaeological Society in presenting the three

tablets descriptive of the French, British and American military

occupations of the fort, and spoke in part as follows:

"The functions of the Ohio State Archaeological and Histor-

ical Society are manifold and embrace a great variety of subjects

for research, so that every member has an opportunity to ride his

hobby. While on trips around the world, serving as a soldier

in Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines and China, I noticed how

carefully the older countries marked their battlefields and his-

toric places, and on returning home became interested in locating

the site of the first military post in the Sandusky Valley. With

Mr. Burrows I visited Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec, and at the

latter place found the very interesting series of eight journals

kept by de Lery during his expedition from 1749 to 1758, from

Quebec to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. Portions of

these journals were copied and translated through the permission

of the Jesuit authorities, and published by Miss Lucy Elliot

Keeler in the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical publication

• 7
 

352       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   in October, 1908, under the title of 'Old Fort Sandoski, of 1745 and the Sandusky Country.' From an examination of these journals, verified by the researches of Colonel Whittlesey, Judge Baldwin and Mr. Goodman of the Western Reserve Historical Society, we learn that the French as one of their routes to the Mississippi, ascended the St. Lawrence from Quebec, portaged around Niagara Falls, and hugging the southern shore of Lake Erie entered Sandusky lake or bay, and landed near this spot, from which place, if they wished to proceed further up the

Great Lakes they portaged across the peninsula two miles back to Lake Erie and then on to Detroit and Mackinac. Or they con- tinued up the Sandusky River to its headwaters and then after a portage of four miles across to the headwaters of the Scioto, they entered that stream and followed it down to the Ohio and then to the Mississippi and its mouth at New Orleans. This watercourse through the present State of Ohio from Lake Erie to the Ohio River was called the Sandusky-Scioto Route, and

• 8
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.     353

 

the Sandusky-Scioto Trail followed the high banks contiguous

to the river usually found on all streams in this section, and was

generally located on the westerly banks of the Sandusky and

Scioto rivers. The tablet on the south face of this monument,

'French Expedition of 1754,' contains the roster of officers with

the number of men, 285 in all, which formed the French expedi-

tion of which de Lery, the author of the Journals was the senior

lieutenant in 1754. The British soldiers and the colonial hunters

and trappers pushed out from the colonies of Virginia and Penn-

sylvania, and eventually captured Ft. Duquesne at the junction

of the two rivers forming the Ohio, which they rechristened Fort

Pitt; and Ft. Pitt became the seat of the British power in the

west as Detroit had long been the seat of power for the French.

Owing to the rivalries of the Indian chiefs in their dealing with

the French at Detroit, one of them, a Huron chief called Nicolas,

withdrew from Detroit and settled on the Sandusky and soon got

in communication with British traders, finally in 1745 granting

them permission to erect what has since been known as Old Fort

Sandoski of 1745.

"It is to mark the site of this fort and its two successors,

built and destroyed within a period of eighteen years, from 1745

to 1763, that we have erected this monument. It is almost unique

in this country as marking the site of a fort occupied during

periods of war, first by the native Indians, then by the French,

then by the British, and finally by the Americans fifty years

after its final destruction, during General Harrison's invasion of

Canada and the relief of Detroit in the second war with Great

Britain, September and October, 1813.

"The long standing rivalry between the French and the

British for the possession of the American continent terminated

in what is known as the old French War of 1755-1760. Montcalm

and Wolfe, the commanding officers respectively were killed

in the battles on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec in 1759

which was followed on the 10th of September, 1760, by the

surrender of Montreal and French sovereignty in America, al-

though the formal treaty of peace was not made until 1763 in

the Treaty of Paris. Major Robert Rogers, of New Hampshire,

Vol. XXI - 23.

• 9
 

354       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

with his company of Colonial Rangers, was despatched from

Quebec to proceed to Niagara and the Great Lakes to take over

the French forts. This famous Ranger had among other captains

in his command, the famous Capt. John Stark, husband of

the gallant Molly, and we hope to find affirmative proof that

John Stark accompanied him to this spot, as later did that

famous hunter, soldier of fortune and grand Revolutionary

soldier, Israel Putnam, who came here in command of Connecti-

cut troops in Bradstreet's expedition of 1764. Rogers from his

camp here on Sept. 18, 1760, sent his formal written demand to

the officer at Detroit for the surrender of that city and the

other French forts as narrated on the bronze tablet on the

north face: 'British Expedition 1760.' Rogers returning with

the French officers came again to this fort and then proceeded

overland to Ft. Pitt and Philadelphia.  The Indians, however,

always loyal to the French, resented the intrusion of the British

Redcoats and Pontiac, the great Ottawa chief, carefully or-

ganized his famous Conspiracy which was so perfect in all its

details. Early in May, 1763, the storm burst. 'Nine British

forts yielded instantly, Detroit and Ft. Pitt alone escaping cap-

ture; and the savages drank, scooped up in the hollow of joined

hands, the blood of many a Briton; Sandusky was the first to

fall.' Ensign Pauli, the commandant, was the sole survivor

here. Without going into detail as to the horrible atrocities

committed on the prisoners, it has been said by a cynical bache-

lor with more courage than discretion in the presence of the

warlike Daughters of the American Revolution, that Pauli was

reserved for the most frightful of all punishments to which man

could be subjected. He was taken to Pontiac's camp and con-

demned to be married to an Indian squaw. The British relief

expeditions were hurried forward on receipt of news of the In-

dian uprising. They came to Fort Sandoski only to find the

fort destroyed and the garrison massacred. Captain Dalyell

was so incensed at the sight of the horribly disfigured

bodies that he delayed here long enough to make an in-

cursion into the Indian country, destroying the Huron camp

at the Lower Falls of the Sandusky, (now Fremont), be-

fore proceeding to Detroit where he was soon killed in

• 10
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.    355

 

leading a sortie against Pontiac's Indians. Detroit was finally

relieved by the British Expedition commanded by Col. John

Bradstreet which was organized in the Hudson Valley to operate

from Lake Erie and form a conjunction with Colonel Bouquet's

expedition, which was organized at Fort Pitt. Colonel Brad-

street's British army on large boats entered Lake Erie, skirted

along the southern shore to Sandusky Bay and then up to the

mouth of the Sandusky River, resting awhile here at the ruins of

Old Fort Sandoski. After relieving Detroit, Bradstreet returned

to Sandusky Bay and River and proceeded up the river to the

Lower Falls, (now Fremont), camping along the rim of that

beautiful amphitheatre which extends from old Ft. Stephenson,

around the curve to the present Sandusky County Fair Ground

on the high bank of the Sandusky River, near the ruins of one

of the Free Cities described by General Lewis Cass. Brad-

street's expedition which had now reached the heart of the

Indian Confederacy was unable to proceed further owing to

his inability to get his large water craft over the Lower Falls

of the Sandusky; but the object of the expedition had been ac-

complished, the Indians had become terrified by this attack in

their rear, although prepared to meet Colonel Bouquet in his

advance from Fort Pitt, and sued for peace, agreeing to release

all the white and half-breed captives in their possession.  The

captive whites were faithfully delivered to Colonel Bouquet

who reaped the glory of the expedition, although the honor

really belonged to Col. John Bradstreet.

"During the Revolutionary War, Detroit was the head-

quarters of the British in the west, under the scalp-hunting

Lieut.-Governor Hamilton, who had for his assistants the

renegades Elliott and Girty. It has been computed that, includ-

ing the Moravians and other white prisoners captured by the

Indians in western Pennsylvania and along the Ohio River, that

during the Revolutionary War there were held in the aggregate

over two thousands white prisoners at Lower Sandusky, (Fre-

mont). .To aid the Indians in the repulse of the Crawford Ex-

pedition of 1782, the British commandant sent Butler's Rangers,

with cannon, by boat from Detroit, up the Sandusky River to

Lower Sandusky, where they met their horses; but their services

• 11
 

356       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

were not required, as the American expedition ended disastrous-

ly with the death of Crawford, who was burned at the stake, near

Upper Sandusky.

"Although the treaty of peace of 1783 gave the United States

its present northern boundary along the waterways north of Ohio

and Michigan, yet the territory contiguous to Detroit was not

actually evacuated by the British until 1796, after the defeat of

the allied Indian tribes, by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle

of Fallen Timbers, in 1794. In fact the British erected Ft.

Miami in 1786, on the site of the old French Factor's building

within the present city limits of Toledo, and this fort was occu-

pied by them during General Wayne's battles. This Ft. Miami

was again occupied by the British in the siege of Ft. Meigs in

May, 1813. It is often confused with the old Ft. Miami at Ft.

Wayne in Indiana, which is the Ft. Miami of early Colonial

days. During the second war with Great Britain, the British

again ascended the Sandusky river and bombarded Ft. Stephen-

son at Fremont, but were repulsed by the gallant Major George

Croghan, and retreated down the river and over to Detroit where

they remained until the British fleet under Captain Barclay was

captured in the memorable Battle of Lake Erie on September

10, 1813, by Commodore Perry. This ended the British occupa-

tion of Ohio and of the waters of the Maumee and Sandusky

valleys. The American occupation of the site of this fort is

described in the tablet on the east face of the monument, 'Ameri-

can Expedition 1813', which tells how the American forces

marched down over the old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, and how the

stores and supplies were shipped from Ft. Stephenson down the

river, to the site of the old Fort here, and then tells how the

boats were dragged across the two mile portage to the waters

of Lake Erie at the old French and Indian landing place of the

earlier days which we have also marked with a monument known

as the Harrison-Perry Embarkation monument, because at that

point General Harrison's army embarked on Commodore Perry's

fleet some ten days after the battle of Lake Erie and was then

conveyed first to Put-in-Bay or South Bass Island, then to Mid-

dle Sister Island, finally landing in Canada, relieving Detroit

• 12
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.    357

 

and meeting the British in the Battle of the Thames where

Proctor with his British Regulars was defeated and Tecumseh,

with many of his Indians, was killed on the 5th of October,

1813.

"Before leaving Ohio with his regulars and the Kentucky

militiamen under Governor Shelby, General Harrison caused to

be constructed a brush fence extending across this peninsula

at a point where it was about two miles in width, from the mouth

of the Portage river to a point opposite the mouth of the San-

dusky river. Within this enclosure all the horses were turned

loose, and Col. Benjamin Rife, an Ohio militiaman, was left

in command. The returning Kentucky and Ohio volunteers with

the British prisoners captured by General Harrison's army

camped again here, gathered up their horses and proceeded to

their homes over thee old Sandusky-Scioto Trail, the northern

half of which has since been called the Harrison Trail of the

war of 1812.

"Three years ago it gave me great pleasure to present to

the State for the use and benefit of the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Society, the residence of my parents known as

Spiegel Grove, at Fremont, for the purpose of preserving the

remaining half mile of the famous old trail which runs through

it and has not yet been obliterated; with the single condition that

this Trail should be maintained and preserved as a park road.

The entrances to the Trail where it passes in and out of Spiegel

Grove have been appropriately marked with split boulder gate-

ways, and the Harrison gateway with descriptive historical tab-

lets on the cannon forming the upright columns.

"It is a curious fact that in passing from Lake Erie into the

Sandusky river, the Indians, the French and sixty years later

the Americans in their military expeditions, used this de Lery

portage of 1754, and hauled their boats across it, in passing

from Lake Erie to the mouth of the Sandusky; and that the

British alone, both in the old French war and in the war of 1812

entered through the waterway formerly known as Lac Sandoski,

and now called Sandusky Bay. Although the distance around

the peninsula by water was less than fifty miles, nevertheless

• 13
 

358       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

the Indians, the French and the Americans preferred to haul

their watercraft and shipping across the de Lery Portage rather

than risk the dangers of Sandusky Bay.

"It is a matter of pride to the Ohio State Archaeological and

Historical Society that it has been able, with the assistance of the

Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the

Daughters of 1812 and the citizens of Port Clinton, to mark

the landing places at the termini of this famous portage, and

preserve for all time the site of Old Fort Sandoski of 1745,

unique in having been used in war by the Indians, the French,

the British and the Americans."

Chairman Gallagher then accepted the Monument and Tab-

lets in an eloquent address, after which Dr. G. Frederick Wright,

President of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical So-

ciety spoke briefly in place of Mr. Chas. W. Burrows who was

detained by an accident, on "Old Fort Sandoski of 1745."

The ceremonies at the unveiling of the Harrison-Perry Em-

barkation monument on the shore of Lake Erie occupied the

afternoon after the Memorial Day exercises by the G. A. R.

Post. The people again formed in line at the Court House and

preceded by the band and Co. M., 6th Ohio National Guard, of

Oak Harbor, and hundreds of school children carrying flags,

Marshal of the Day, Mr. Wonnell in command, marched to the

site of the monument, where a great audience had assembled.

The band and Company M. formed in line about the monument

followed by school children. As the band played The Star Spang-

led Banner, Misses Mary Elizabeth Truesdall and Alice Daven-

port Snyder loosened the two flags which concealed the tablets,

representing the Daughters of the American Revolution and The

Daughters of 1812 respectively. Seats had been placed on the

lawn in front of Hon. George A. True's home directly opposite

and from the porch the addresses followed.

Mrs. Kite in a fine address presented the Tablets from the

D. A. R. of Ohio and was followed by Mrs. John T. Mack, state

president of the Daughters of 1812, presenting the tablet from

that society. Mr. True accepted the tablets on behalf of Port

Clinton, the school children sang well a patriotic song and ad-

• 14
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.   359

• 15
 

360       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

dresses followed by Hon. Geo. E. Pomeroy of Toledo, Past

Governor of Society Colonial Wars; Prof. G. F. Frederick

Wright, Hon. James M. Richardson of Cleveland, President

General Sons of the American Revolution and Colonel Webb C.

Hayes. To all who attended the exerices were of great interest

and made the day memorable while the hospitality of Port Clin-

ton's patriotic people to all the visiting delegates will long be

gratefully remembered. Prof. Wright in his afternoon address

called attention to an interesting fact. He said that both monu-

ments were of boulders which had come from what was originally

British soil, carried down by ice floes probably about ten thou-

sand years ago from upper Lake Huron and Lake Superior

regions and deposited on Ohio's soil.

 

MRS. KITE'S ADDRESS.

It is a well known saying that "Nations are ungrateful.".

Even Washington Irving said, "The idol of today pushes the

hero of yesterday out of our recollections, and will in turn be

supplanted by his successor of tomorrow."

While all this may have been true in the past, it is hardly

justified now.

The changed condition is largely due to the tremendous in-

fluence of patriotic societies, so ably represented here today, an

influence which is rapidly increasing year by year, and is being

recognized as a power in state and national legislation.

The marking of historic sites, locating important trails, dis-

covering Revolutionary graves has been no easy task.

The success attending such efforts is wonderful, and reflects

great credit upon the local and state committees having such

matters in charge.

It has been up-hill work because of the general utilitarian

and too practical spirit of many Americans, who are prone to

place land values upon a financial, rather than a patriotic or sen-

timental basis; but perseverance and fidelity to a set purpose,

have conquered in many instances over commercialism, and thus

we have our monuments and many old buildings restored and

saved.

Bacon has said, "Industrious persons, by an exact and

• 16
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.    361

scrupulous diligence and observation, out of monuments, names,

words, proverbs, traditions, private records and evidences, frag-

ments of stories, passages of books that concern not story, and

the like, do save and recover somewhat from the deluge of time."

In all such work none have been more enthusiastic and

untiring in their efforts than the Daughters of the American

Revolution.

It needed but the suggestion of Col. Hayes, backed by his

wonderful enthusiasm and zeal, to start the "Ohio Daughters"

on their work of helping to locate the most historic trail in the

state, running from Port Clinton to Columbus, now known as

the "Harrison Trail."

My illustrious precedessor, Mrs. Clayton R. Truesdall then

state regent, received the suggestion with her usual clear headed,

farsighted grasp of the situation, and enthusiastically presented

the subject to the Daughters of the American Revolution at their

next state conferences held in Athens.

With Mrs. Truesdall "to think is to act," and in her usual

convincing manner made the members of our society see the

matter from her view point; and the tablet to mark the end of

the Harrison Trail was assured, also much necessary work

from the Historic Sites committee, of which Mrs. John T.

Mack of Sandusky is the most efficient chairman.

All over Ohio the Daughters of the American Revolution

are doing splendid work along the same lines.

In this connection, the largest undertaking in which we are

concerned is the "Ocean to Ocean Highway," to be formed by

successive old roads and trails.

It seems tremendous in its scope and expense, but if com-

pleted will be the proudest achievement of modern times.

The work is well started in Ohio, and will be pushed as

rapidly as possible.

Much has been accomplished by our society in this work in

Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska and other western states, and with

our rapidly increasing membership formed of the best and truest

women in the land, success must of necessity crown any effort

of ours.

• 17
 

362       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

The short inscription of this tablet we are honoring today,

gives concisely historic facts which all may read.

It does not need a very vivid imagination to see and feel

all the labor, sacrifice, bloodshed, aching hearts and desolate

homes which are summed up in these facts.

We exult over the victories achieved, and thrill with horror

over the martyrdom of Col. Crawford.

His name is on the bead-roll of fame, and we all unite to

honor his memory, (and here it gives me pleasure to state that

our newest chapter, in Bucyrus, is named "Hannah Crawford,"

in memory of the brave wife of the martyr.)

Could he speak we might hear him say: "I have executed a

monument more lasting than brass, and more sublime than the

regal elevation of pyramids which neither the wasting shower,

the unavailing north wind, or an innumerable succession of years

and the flight of seasons shall be able to demolish."-(Smart's

Horace.)

In the name of the Ohio Daughters of the American Revo-

lution, I present this tablet to mark the northern terminal of the

old Indian water way and land trail, later known as the

"Harrison Trail."

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF MRS. JOHN T. MACK.

The Daughters of the War of 1812 esteem it a great honor

to have erected this, their first tablet in the State of Ohio on so

historic a spot, and especially so, because it commemorates so

much history in the war period this organization stands for.

We have gathered here today to commemorate scenes in the

making of our nation which transpired almost one hundred

years ago. Here the red man came from the northland on his

way to the beautiful Ohio country. Again, we read of the trap-

per and a little later, of the history of old Fort Sandoski, and

of the terrible scenes enacted there at the time of Pontiac's con-

spiracy. During the war of 1812, Commodore Perry and Gen-

eral William Henry Harrison met in council not far from this

place. Commodore Perry requested Gen. Harrison to give him

troops to help man his ships. Thirty-six men responded, and 45

• 18
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.  363

• 19
 

364       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

years ofter the battle of Lake Erie, William Blair, of Lexing-

ton, Richland county, one of those 36 men who had volunteered,

visited Put-in-Bay, and attended the 45th anniversary cele-

bration of the battle of Lake Erie. He exhibited a rich and

massive silver medal, bearing the impress of Perry, with approp-

riate inscription, which had been presented to him with the

thanks of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, of which state

he was then a citizen, in testimony of his bravery in that memor-

able battle. After the battle of Lake Erie, General Harrison be-

gan to concentrate his forces at the mouth of the Portage river

here. Governor Shelbey was on his march, and joined him with

4,000 volunteers from Kentucky. General McArthur had ar-

rived at Fort Meigs, General Cass had reached Upper Sandoski,

and Colonel Hill with a regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers

was on the march from Erie. About 7,000 men were advancing

for the invasion of Canada. On September 17, Governor Shel-

bey with his 4,000 mounted troops arrived at the Portage. Gen-

eral Harrison thought it best that they serve as infantry in the

invasion, and in order to secure their horses against escape, it

was necessary to build a brush and log fence across the penin-

sula, from Sandoski Bay to the Portage river. This provided

the horses a luxurious pasture. The number of horses left here

on the peninsula is estimated to have been about 5,000. On the

20th of September, Gen. McArthur's brigade from Fort Meigs,

joined the main body here, after a fatiguing march of 36 miles

clown the Lake Shore by way of Brownstown. Col. Johnson's

regiment had orders to approach Detroit by land, direct from

Fort Meigs, while such of Col. Hill's detached militia, as chose

not to cross into Canada were ordered to guard the British

prisoners taken by Commodore Perry from the Portage to Chil-

licothe. The different posts on the American side were left in

charge of Ohio militia, and about 500 of the Kentucky volun-

teers remained to guard the horses and stores. On the 21st of

September, at the dawn of the day, the embarkation from this

immediate shore commenced. For want of sufficient boats, not

more than one-third could embark at one time, and it was neces-

sary for the boats to return several times before all the troops

could be transported to Put-in-Bay, while Perry's fleet was busi-

• 20
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.   365   ly engaged in conveying the baggage of the army. On the 22d of September, the whole army had reached the island and was encamped on the margin of the bay. The Lawrence and six

prize ships captured from the enemy lay at anchor in the center of the bay, in full view. Here they remained until the 25th of September when they again embarked, some in small boats, and

• 21
 

366       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

some on board the fleet to take their second position nearer

Canada. They arrived a little before sunset that day at East

Sister Island, while General Harrison and Commodore Perry

in the Ariel, made a reconnoissance of the enemy's coast. It

was not until the morning of the 27th, that they began this last

journey across the lake. One account says the day was fine and

a propitious breeze made their passage a pleasing pastime. It

was a sublime and inspiring spectacle to behold sixteen ships

of war and a hundred boats filled with men borne rapidly and

majestically to the long sought shores of the enemy, and thus

they sailed until 4 p. m., when they landed four miles below

Malden. From this point, they marched to Detroit, and then

on to victory at the battle of the Thames. The battle of Lake

Erie was the first encounter of our infant navy, in fleet and

squadron, the Guerriere, the Java, and Macedonia had sur-

rendered in combat with single ships, but it was on the waters

of our fair Lake Erie, that the British nation was taught that

we could conquer them in squadron array. The battle of Lake

Erie opened to Gen. Harrison and his army the gate-way to

Malden, and enabled him to capture the only army that was

taken during the war of 1812. More than this, it restored to us

Detroit, gave our young nation once more, free navigation of the

Great Lakes, and shielded the frontier for 300 miles from the

assaults of the torch of a British and savage foe. Mr. Chairman,

the National Society, the United States Daughters of the War

of 1812, State of Ohio, presents with great pleasure, for safe-

keeping, this tablet with the patriotic hope that those who pass

by in future years, will stop and read of the brave men and their

deeds recorded hereon, and cherish anew love of liberty and

free government which made this a nation, and has always

kept it such. This tablet marks the nothern terminus of Ohio's

famous Harrison trail-a historic spot indeed in the history of

this republic.

 

PROF. G. F. WRIGHT'S ADDRESS.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are standing upon one of the

most interesting spots connected with American history. From

the middle of the eighteenth century to the close of the War of

• 22
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.  367

• 23
 

368       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

1812 this portage leading from the head of Sandusky Bay across

the neck of Marblehead Peninsula to the open waters of Lake

Erie figured largely in the struggle of two great European pow-

ers for the possession of the vast realm lying west of the Alle-

gheny mountains. It was here, also, that the Indian tribes made

their last great effort to maintain their possession of the country,

and that the United States concentrated its last force which

completed Perry's victory and closed the War of 1812. Such

deeds as were here transacted deserve commemoration, and it

is fitting that we should here erect monuments to remind our

children and children's children of the price that has been paid

for the inheritance which they possess in these broad and fertile

fields, in these lines of communication open to them both by land

and water, and in the free political institutions under which they

enjoy without restriction life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is but two miles across this neck of land separating the

upper part of Sandusky Bay from the waters of Lake Erie. To

make the circuit by water one must travel fifty miles. With only

the primitive boats of 150 years ago the navigation of these fifty

miles was beset with many hazards. There had then been no

accurate soundings of the channel, so that unknown shoals where

in storms the breakers were high rendered the rounding of Mar-

blehead a dangerous procedure. So it came about that the In-

dians coming from Detroit and the upper lakes on their way to

the Ohio river preferred to make this portage rather than to

consume the time required in making the entire circuit by water

and at the same time free themselves from the hazards of that

voyage.

Following them, the French and the Americans pursued the

same course in all their military expeditions. The English alone

pursued the other course, as in the expeditions of Proctor to

capture Fort Stephenson, at the lower falls of the Sandusky

river, where Fremont now stands.

In 1745 the first fort built by white men in Ohio, known

as old Fort Sandoski, was erected on this spot by English trad-

ers, who were conspiring with the famous Wyandot chief Nicolas

to drive the French from Detroit and all the upper posts. The

conspiracy, like that of Pontiac a little later, failed through the

• 24
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.    369

Vol. XXI - 24.

• 25
 

370       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

treachery of one of the followers of Nicolas-in this case a

woman. In 1748 old Fort Sandoski was destroyed, and both

the Indians and the English took their departure.

The English traders, however, soon returned, which led the

French to send a formidable force to establish their possessions

along the south shore of Lake Erie and onward to the Ohio

river. In 1754 the French built Fort Junundat, on the opposite

side of Sandusky Bay from old Fort Sandoski. This was the

work of the distinguished engineer de Lery, who, skirting along

the southern shore of Lake Erie, entered Sandusky bay and

reached old Fort Sandoski on Sunday, August 4, 1754. In fur-

ther pursuit of his journey he made a portage of two miles to

"the great lake" at the present site of Port Clinton.

After the capture of Fort Duquesne by the British in 1758,

and Wolfe's victory on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec in

1759, Canada with all its dependencies was surrendered to the

British crown, but it still remained to carry into effect the full

terms of the conquest by taking over the western forts. The

commission for the occupation of old Fort Sandoski and the

opening of the trail to the Ohio river was executed by the notori-

ous Major Robert Rogers, leaving Ensign Pauli and fifteen men

at Fort Sandoski to complete the work in 1761. In 1763 Fort

Sandoski was the first to fall as the result of the conspiracy of

Pontiac. All the garrison was massacred except Ensign Pauli,

who was carried as a prisoner to Detroit, where he made his es-

cape. About the same time a party of ninety-six men under

Lieutenant Cuyler was sent out to relieve Detroit, but was in-

tercepted on the way, and the most of them killed, the Lieutenant,

however, with thirty men, managed to escape and to reach Fort

Sandoski only to find it in ashes. Two months later, on the 26th

of July, a detachment of 260 men under the command of Captain

Dalyell arrived at the ruins of the old fort, and, furious at the

spectacle, came up to the falls of Sandusky-now Fremont-

to avenge the massacre and destroyed the Wyandot village at

that place.

In 1764 Colonel Bradstreet, accompanied by Israel Putnam

and 1,183 men, visited old Fort Sandoski and paused for a little

rest. While there he made an unfortunate agreement with the

• 26
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.     371

 

Indians which eventually led to his dismissal from the service.

His distinguished engineer, Montresor, was left to rebuild the

fort, which, however, was only partially accomplished.

There is not much more recorded concerning the portage

of old Fort Sandoski until the War of 1812, when, after the

victory of Commodore Perry, on September 10, 1813, General

Harrison, with his entire army, moved down from his head-

quarters at Fort Seneca, on the Sandusky river, first to Fort

Stephenson at Fremont, and then to the old portage from Fort

Sandoski, at Port Clinton. Here, following the example of

the French expeditions of earlier times, he hauled his vessels

and his supplies across the famous de Lery portage, where we

now stand, ready to transport his army for a final conflict on the

banks of the Thames. He constructed a fence across this pen-

insula in order to confine the thousands of horses connected

with his command, until he should return from his expedition

across the lake. Within the Marblehead peninsula, thus inclosed,

he turned loose the horses to be guarded by a small force until

his return. After the battle upon the Thames the victorious

army returned to Port Clinton, gathered up their horses and sup-

plies and joyfully started upon their homeward journey.

Thus it will be seen that my opening remarks were amply

justified by the facts. The deeds here recorded deserve to be

imprinted upon the memory of every citizen of Ohio. They

should be reiterated in the presence of our children at home, and

should be incorporated into the text-books prepared for the in-

struction of schools. As a slight effort to perpetuate their

memory, we erect these monuments, and leave to future gen-

erations the record engraved upon these tablets. May no care-

less hand ever deface them, and no ruthless hand ever do them

violence.

 

 

MR. RICHARDSON'S ADDRESS.

This is a day for memory, when our thoughts revert to other

times and scenes. We stand today upon historic ground. In

the breezes there once floated over this spot the milk-white ban-

ner of Navarre, bespangled with the golden lilies of the Bourbon

house. Here, too, floated the meteor flag of England-the cross

• 27
 

372       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

in a field of blood; and later was unfurled the starry banner of

the free-which we love to think will never be supplanted.

We can close our eyes, and see again in imagination the

swarms of bark canoes, touching with their bows the sandy

shores, while files of painted warriors grasp and carry them

across this narrow isthmus, to embark again upon the waters

of the great lake.  We can hear again the laughter and song of

those merry sons of France as they glide in richly laden batteaux

over the surface of lake or bay. We see the files of the soldiers

of the line, the voyagers, the hunters and trappers as they make

their way across this portage. Here, too, we hear the savage

war-whoop, the rattle of musketry and see the smoking ruins

of the old blockhouse, and the stark bodies of the slain.

You have done well to mark these places, for they teach

the lessons of the past to those of the present and the future.

The ceremonies here today give added evidence to the high state

of civilization now attained. That people with no monuments

to build have no history worth remembering. You build monu-

ments to mark the pathway across this narrow neck of land,

for it is the way by which civilization marched, and barbarism

waged its unsuccessful resistance.

This was strategic ground. Here, to and fro, the contending

strength of Britain and France ebbed and flowed in the Colonial

wars. Here, far remote from the armies along the sea-board,

Americans and British sought to serve the cause of king and

country in the Revolutionary struggle; and here embarked those

gallant sons of Virginia and Rhode Island, who saved the north-

west and broke the power of Britain in 1813-William Henry

Harrison and Oliver Hazard Perry.

Erect your stately monuments, unveil your tablets of en-

during bronze that the youth of these more favored generations

may pause and consider the rugged path-the bloody footprints

-the suffering unto death by which our fathers won our price-

less heritage of free institutions. Teach the lessons of the past,

remembering that the triumphs already won are only to be en-

joyed while they are deserved, the lesson, that our free in-

stitutions are ours only while we loyally preserve them under

the salutary restraints of law.

• 28
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.    373

 

We hear much in these latter days of reviving the rule of

the people, as though the people had not always ruled this land.

Who are "the people?" Some would have us believe that "the

people" is some mighty separate entity other than the individual

members of every community, who taken together constitute the

whole people of each community. "The people," my friends,

are simply you and me and all of us, with our individual

needs, individual ambitions and individual rights that each may

indulge and exercise freely so long as we do not try to inter-

fere with every other individual in the indulgence and exercise

of his ambition and his rights. Now, men have been for long

ages engaged in devising something to make human relations

possible, where each shall be free, and yet bound to respect the

freedom of every other individual. That something is called law.

Freedom under law is not a mushroom growth. It is the

product of long ages of evolution through tears and blood, be-

cause it had human greed and avarice coupled with ignorance

and degradation to contend against.

America has been for a century and a quarter the great

exemplar of this highest achievement in the science of free gov-

ernment. Shall we throw it all away at the demand of the

demagogue who, using "the people" as a name to conjure with,

seeks the overthrow of the representative form of government

founded by the fathers? Under it, we have made the most mar-

velous material, intellectual and social progress the world has

ever seen. There are those, who, impatient of restraint, seeking

short cuts to selfish ends loudly proclaim that our constitution

is outgrown and obsolete. They would pluck the fruit and kill

the tree. They do not know its first principles. It has met suc-

cessfully every exigency of our national life, and is no more

obsolete than is the "Sermon on the Mount."

If your reading of history has taught you any one thing

more than another, it is this: That every great crime against

civilization has been committed in the name of "the people."

Every great despotism that has cursed the world, has been set

up by popular acclaim, either purchased or coerced.

Every civilization that has crumbled into ruin has gone to

• 29
 

374       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

its doom because men quenched the fires upon the altars of their

religion and corrupted the people by appeals to their cupidity.

There are some aspects of our national politics which at

this present time would be laughable if they were not so serious

in possible consequences. I doubt not that if Phinius T. Barnum

were alive now, he would recognize a great opportunity, and he

would probably be working his old game of fooling the American

public by running for the presidential nomination, with "Let the

people rule and elect me" inscribed upon his banner.

The serious thing about it is, that matches in the hands of

vicious boys near a straw-stack, with the wind toward the house

and barn-make a combination that needs watching.

Our population, being much more inflammable than when

cool blood of northern latitudes predominated, is more in danger

than ever, for the violent harangue of the oratorical firebrand

who has his own "axe to grind."

These patriotic societies will do their full duty only, as they

strive to educate the mind and awaken the conscience, so that

men may heed the lessons of the past and feel their moral re-

sponsibility to the present.

Thus, may we also place the coming generations in our debt,

because, in these times of class animosities and factional con-

fusion, we will have stood fast by the principles of the fathers,

proven by the test of time and experience.

The voices of the past-the spirit of our fathers-the call

of ancestral ties-speak to us today. We bear a grave responsi-

bility laid upon us by our very blood and lineage. Shall we not

resolve to do our part worthily, that the principle of repre-

sentative self-government, by free men under the restraints of

just and equitable laws, shall not perish from the earth?

 

 

INSCRIPTION ON MONUMENT OLD FORT SANDOSKI, OF 1745.

[West Face]

FORT SANDOSKI,

1745-1748, 1750-1751, 1761-1763

"The first fort built by white men in Ohio, erected by British traders

from Pennsylvania and Virginia in 1745, under the protection of the

Huron Chief, Nicolas, and destroyed by him after his defeat by the

• 30
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.            375

 

French, in 1748, prior to his removal to the Illinois Country. Rebuilt

by the British in 1750, 'usurped by the French in 1751,' again rebuilt

by British soldiers in 1761 after the surrender of Quebec and French

sovereignty in America, and finally destroyed at the outbreak of Pontiac's

conspiracy on May 18, 1763, when the fort was burned and the entire

garrison massacred with the exception of the commandant, Ensign Pauli,

who was carried off a prisoner to Pontiac, then besieging Detroit."

Erected by The Ohio Society, Colonial Dames of America.

[South Face]

FRENCH EXPEDITION, 1754.

Across the de Lery Portage from Quebec to Detroit and Michili-

maquinac (Mackinac)

as noted in the Journal of the Chevalier Chaussegros de Lery, who,

on August 4, 1754, landed near this spot "and discovered the ruins of

the old fort."

FORT SANDOSKI, 1745-1748, 1750-1751

Monsieur Pean, Captain, Regimental Adjutant of Quebec,

Commanding    1

Monsieur St. Martin, Acting Major

Monsieur Lery

Monsieur St. Ours                             Lieutenants  3

Monsieur Riganville

Monsieur Desmeloises

Monsieur Porneouf

Monsieur Cournover                               Ensigns                                     4

Father Bonnecamp, Jesuit                                                                                                                       1

Monsieur Forget Duverger, Jesuit of the Missions etran-

geres                                                  1

Monsieur Mauvilles

Monsieur Vigee

Monsieur Garon                                  Surgeons                                                                                    3

Monsieur Laforge, store keeper                                                                                                            1

Monsieur Constant, an old interpreter                                                                                              1

27 canoes, each carrying 10 men                                                                                                          270

 

285

Tablet presented by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

[North Face]

BRITISH EXPEDITION, 1760.

"Across the De Lery portage from Quebec to Detroit and Michili-

makanac to take over the French forts on the great lakes after the

• 31
 

376         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

surrender of Quebec and French sovereignty in America, as noted in

the journals of Major Robert Rogers, commanding his majesty's inde-

pendent companies of rangers, who on the 18th of November, 1760,

from his camp on Sandusky Lake demanded the surrender of Detroit."

"'To Capt. Beleter or the Officer commanding at Detroit:

"'Sir, I have Gen. Amherst's orders to take possession of Detroit

and such other posts as are in that district, which by capitulation agreed

to between the Marquis de Vandreuil and his excellency Major Gen.

Amherst the 8th of September last, now belong to the King of Great

Britain.'

"Leaving Detroit on the 23d Dec. set out for Pittsburgh and march-

ing along the west end of Lake Erie till the 2d of January, 1761, when

we arrived at Lake Sandusky,' where the British for the third time

built Fort Sandoski, leaving 'Ensign Pauli and fifteen men at San-

dusky,' where he remained until the outbreak of Pontiac's conspiracy,

when on the 18th of May, 1763, the Fort was burned, the entire garri-

son massacred with the exception of the Commandant Ensign Pauli,

who was carried a prisoner to Pontiac, then besieging Detroit.'

 

Tablet presented by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

[East Face]

AMERICAN EXPEDITION, 1813

"Across the de Lery portage from Fort Seneca to Detroit, as noted

in Captain R. B. McAfee's History, 1816.

"Major General Harrison on receiving word of Commodore Perry's

victory, proceeded to Fort Stephenson and 'issued his orders for the

movement of the troops and transportation of the provision, military

stores, etc., to the margin of the lake, preparatory to their embarkation."

The troops were marched down the old Sandusky-Scioto trail to its

northern terminus on Lake Erie.

"'In bringing down the military stores and provisions from the posts

on the Sandusky River to the vessels in the lake, a short land carriage

became necessary to expedite embarkation. It was deemed more safe

and expeditious to transport the stores and drag the boats across the

isthmus, which was accomplished between the 15th and 20th of the

month (September, 1813). Each regiment was ordered to construct a

strong fence of brush and fallen timber in front of its encampment,

which extended from   Portage River to Sandusky River. Within this

inclosure their horses were turned loose to graze on ample pastures of

excellent grass.'"

• 32
 

Old Fort Sandoski and the De Lery Portage.           377

 

Tablet presented by the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.

INSCRIPTION ON HARRISON-PERRY EMBARKATION MONUMENT.

[South Face]

OLD FRENCH WAR-PONTIAC CONSPIRACY-REVOLUTIONARY WAR

"Northern terminus of the old Indian water way and land trail,

Sandusky-Scioto Route from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, used from

the earliest records by Indian and French hunters, explorers, mission-

aries and war parties, in passing from the St. Lawrence and the Great

Lakes to the Ohio and Mississippi, and later known as the Harrison

Trail of the War of 1812. On landing near this spot their light water

craft were portaged fifty-seven arpents from Lake Erie across to Lac

Sandoski, up the Sandusky River, across the Sandusky-Scioto portage

and down the Scioto to the Ohio and Mississippi.

"The Sandusky-Scioto trail along the banks of these rivers was the

common battle ground of the French from Detroit and the British from

Fort Pitt during the old French War, prior to the surrender of French

sovereignty in America to Great Britain in 1760.

"Colonel John Bradstreet's expedition for the recovery of the nine

British posts captured in Pontiac's conspiracy sailed their larger water

craft--sixty long boats, with 1,400 men--into Sandusky Bay, up to

the lower falls of the Sandusky (Fremont), where they encamped Sept.

20, 1764, the westernmost point reached. Returning, camped near where

the old fort stood on the carrying place between Lakes Sandusky and

Erie, where Major Israel Putnam began 'clearing the ground to construct

a fort,' but October 18 whole decamped and embarked for Niagara."

"During the Revolutionary War Major de Peyster, the British

Commandant, sent Butler's rangers with cannon from Detroit up to

the lower falls of the Sandusky, where they supported the Indians in

the repulse of Crawford's expedition in 1782, which culminated in the

burning of Colonel Crawford at the stake.

"Later the British established a post at Lower Sandusky (Fremont).

"Erected by the Ohio Society, Daughters of the American Revolu-

tion."

[West Face.]

WAR OF 1812.

"Captain Barclay's British fleet transporting General Proctor's

British Army sailed up the Sandusky River to make their assault on

Fort Stephenson, Aug. 1 and 2, 1813, of which General Sherman wrote:

"'The defense of Fort Stephenson by Croghan and his gallant

little band was the necessary precursor to Perry's victory on the lakes

and of General Harrison's triumphant victory at the battle of the

Thames. These assured to our immediate ancestors the mastery of the

• 33
 

378         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.   great West, and from that day to this the West has been the bulwark of this nation.' "General Harrison sent expert riflemen from his army to help serve the guns on Commodore Perry's ships in the naval battle with the British fleet off this landing, from which on Sept. 10, 1813, Perry sent the following laconic note: 'We have met the enemy and they are ours, two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop.' "General Harrison immediately marched his troops over the old Sandusky-Scioto trail to this landing, but transported the stores down the Sandusky River and dragged the boats across the de Lery portage from  Sandusky Bay to Lake Erie. The troops constructed a strong fence of brush and fallen timber across from Portage River to Sandusky River. Within this inclosure their horses were turned loose. General Harrison's army embarked on Commodore Perry's ships Sept. 20, stopped at Put-in-Bay and Middle Sister Island and landed in Canada Sept. 27, where Proctor with his British regulars was defeated and Tecumseh with many of his Indians killed in the battle of the Thames, Oct. 5, 1813. "The returning Ohio and Kentucky volunteers with their British prisoners collected their horses here, marched to their home over the old Sandusky-Scioto trail, which has since been known as the Har- rison trail of the war of 1812. "Erected by the National Society of the United States Daughters of 1812, State of Ohio." Monuments of boulders from the Marblehead Peninsula, ten feet in height by 5 feet square at the base, erected by the Business Men's Association of Port Clinton. Inscriptions prepared by Colonel Hayes, and tablets manufactured at the Rock Island (Ill.) Arsenal.

• 34