Ohio History Journal

FORT McARTHUR MEMORIAL TABLET.

 

On July 4, 1913, a memorial tablet, erected by the Daughters

of the American Revolution, was unveiled with fitting and in-

teresting ceremonies, at the site of the old fort McArthur, three

miles southwest of Kenton on the Scioto River.

We publish the addresses delivered on that occasion by

Prof. G. Frederick Wright, President of The Ohio State Arch-

aeological & Historical Society, and Mrs. John T. Mack of

Sandusky.

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT WRIGHT.

It is impossible for us to overestimate the debt we owe to

the pioneers who were in this country a hundred years ago. In

the short space of a single century a vast empire has grown up

westward from the spot on which we now stand. With the ex-

ception of a few forts and blockhouses built for the protection

of the scanty settlers who had ventured upon the border, the

whole northwest was then occupied by hostile Indian tribes who

were being constantly incited to deeds of violence by the emis-

saries of Great Britain. Encouraged by the English, Indian chiefs

like Tecumseh were attempting to organize the tribes from the

Great Lakes to the Gulf in a conspiracy to drive the whites from

the whole region north of Ohio.

More than thirty years had elapsed since the surrender of

Cornwallis at Yorktown. But the recognition of our independ-

ence was scarcely more than nominal. Great Britain did not

treat us with an equality which she granted to other nations.

She attempted to drive our commerce from the seas. She im-

pressed our seamen, and without the privilege of fair trial made

them man her merchantmen and ships of war. For long she

was planning to rob us of our great inheritance in the broad acres

of the northwest. So great were these encroachments that in the

beginning of the year 1812 it was evident that war would soon

(409)

• 1
 

410       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

be declared. As actual hostilities approached the, pioneers of

north-western Ohio were the first and the greatest sufferers, for

they were most exposed to the treacherous attacks of the Indians

who were armed and inspired for the occasion by emissaries

of the English Crown.

To prepare for contingencies an army of several thousand

hardy pioneers, gathered from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and

Kentucky, was assembled at the junction of the Mad river with

the Big Miami just above the present site of Dayton.

Here on the 2₅th of May, 1812, the command of the troops

was turned over to General Hull, an officer who had won dis-

tinction during the Revolutionary War, but who was now well

advanced in years and physically unfit for so responsible a com-

mand as that to which he was now called. The campaign upon

which he entered was one of the most disastrous in all our his-

tory, but he led a loyal and enthusiastic army composed both of

regulars and of volunteers, and these were commanded by able

and resourceful young officers who executed the orders of their

superior with great success.

The failure of the campaign was brought about by a com-

bination of causes, most of them attributable to the incapacity

of the commander-in-chief whose orders the younger officers

were compelled, unwillingly to obey. The army, that after in-

calculable hardships had reached Detroit and established itself

upon the Canadian side of the river, at length retreated to its

fortress and with out any fair show of resistance surrendered

to the enemy and left all this northwestern region in possession

of the British, opening it anew to the assaults of the merciless

savages who so readily co-operated with the British.

But mistakes are inevitable in any war of large dimensions.

It is only by a process of natural selection that the capable lead-

ers can be found and put in command. Our meed of praise to

the under officers and to the common superiors is not dimin-

ished but rather increased by the tragedies connected with their

failure to accomplish the immediate objects of their endeavor.

The bold swimmer who attempts to save a drowning companion

and loses his life in the very effort is more of a hero than if he

had succeeded in the attempt. We are judged not by what we

• 2
 

Fort McArthur Memorial Tablet.           411

 

accomplish, but by what we aim to accomplish. In the sight both

of heaven and earth the will is taken for the deed.

In the Civil War fifty years ago, I was one of a hundred

students who formed Company C of the Seventh Ohio Regi-

ment. Through sickness I was early discharged so that I can

claim but small part in the history of the company and the regi-

ment. Their history was scarcely anything but a succession of

defeats brought about in most cases by incompetent officers high

or low. But that does not dim the glory of their heroism.

Thirty-one of those were killed in battle, and eight died of dis-

ease, while an equal number more suffered through the re-

mainder of their lives from the effects of wounds and hardships.

I mention but one illustration. In General Grant's memoirs, you

will find that after describing the campaign at Chattanooga and

the battle of Missionary Ridge he simply refers to the attack

upon Ringold which followed a few days after, saying that it

was a mistake. But what a mistake! The Seventh Regiment

was ordered by those in superior command to assault an im-

pregnable position that could have been easily taken by a flank

movement. Every commissioned officer of the regiment except

one was killed in the vain attempt. Of the twenty men of

Company C who entered the action, six were killed and eight

wounded. But do we think the less of these men who in obe-

dience to mistaken orders marched boldly into the jaws of death?

An emphatic no comes from everyone who reads the story. In

the words of Tennyson with reference to the charge of the 600

the question arises when the command came

 

"Forward the Light Brigade!

Was there a man dismayed?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Some one had blundered:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die,

Into the valley of Death

Rode the Six Hundred."

Coming now to the scene that interests us at this point

it is recorded that to General McArthur and his regiment was

• 3
 

412      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

committed the task of opening a road over which Hull's army

could pass on its way to Detroit. But this was a task of incred-

ible difficulty involving incredible hardships.

"Heavy timber had to be felled, causeways to be laid across

morasses, and bridges to be constructed over considerable

streams. They also erected blockhouses for the protection of

the sick and of provision trains moving forward with supplies

for the army." But the order given at Dayton the 25th of May

was executed with so much vigor that on the 16th of June the

road was opened to the place near where we now stand.

"Two block houses were built on the south bank of that

stream (the Scioto), stockaded, and the whole work named Fort

McArthur. The fortifications did not inclose more than half an

acre. There were log huts for the garrison, and log corn cribs

for the food. It was a post of great danger. Hostile Indians,

and especially the warlike Wyandots, filled the forest, and were

watching every movement with vigilant eyes and malignant

hearts.

"The army halted at Fort McArthur on the 1₉th, and Col-

onel Findlay was detached with his regiment to continue the road

to Blanchard's Fork of the Auglaize, a tributary of the Maumee.

Three days afterward the whole army followed, excepting a

small garrison for Fort McArthur, under Captain Dill, left to

keep the post and take care of the sick. Heavy rains now fell,

and the little army was placed in a perilous position. They had

reached the broad morasses of the summit, and had marched

only sixteen miles, when deep mud impelled them to halt. They

could go no farther. The black flies and mosquitoes were be-

coming a terrible scourge. The cattle were placed on short

allowance, and preparations were made to transport the baggage

and stores on pack-horses. They built a fort, which, in allusion

to the circumstances, they called 'Fort Necessity.' " (Lossing's

"Pictorial Field Book of The War of 1812," pp. 256, 257.)

But we need not on this occasion follow the army farther

on its slow and painful march through the wilderness to its dis-

graceful surrender at Detroit. It is more fitting on this occasion

that we turn our thoughts for a few moments to the little bands

of brave men who were left to guard the frontier at Fort Mc-

• 4
 

Fort McArthur Memorial Tablet.       413

 

Arthur. As in so many other campaigns, the greatest danger

to be faced was that of the unsanitary conditions of camp life.

So foul were these conditions at Fort McArthur that the graves

of sixteen soldiers continue here to tell us of the great price of

suffering and death by which our country was wrested from

implacable foes a hundred years ago.

Who are these sixteen soldiers that on this spot died in

defence of their country. Their names have been forgotten and

find no place in the country's long roll of honor; but they were

each human like ourselves. Far behind them they had left fath-

ers and mothers, brothers and sisters and wives and children who

waited long for their return, but in vain. One by one in this

far off wilderness their eyes were closed in death by their com-

panions in arms, who were thus left to bear double burdens and

wonder if their turn would come next. With muffled drum and

plaintive music their bodies were consigned to the earth, where,

in the exigencies of war, they were soon abandoned to the slow

decay of time, to be forgotten only by the thoughtless herd who

come in to reap where others have sown and oblivious to every-

thing that does not concern their immediate material prosperity.

God forbid that any of us should belong to this thoughtless

throng. It behooves us ever to keep their memory green, and

year by year, as this anniversary occurs, to plant fresh flowers

over the spot where their bodies long since moldered into dust.

And it shall come to pass that when your children shall ask

their fathers in times to come what mean these mounds of earth?

that they shall answer: Here is a part of that great price of

blood by which our country was redeemed from the oppression of

a foreign power and a vast empire opened for the entrance of

peace loving citizens and all the arts and comforts of Christian

civilization.

As others in great numbers a day or two ago assembled upon

the field of Gettysburg to respond to the immortal words of

Lincoln, so do we that "in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we

cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave

men who struggled here have consecrated it far above our power

to add or detract. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the

great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead

• 5
 

414      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave

the last full measure of their devotion." It remains for us to

take up the full burden of citizenship and to consecrate our lives

to the task of making our country worthy of the sacrifices that

have been made by those who in countless numbers have given

their lives for its establishment and its preservation. With a great

price have our privileges of citizenship been purchased. Woe

be to him who is recreant to this trust, and who in the presence

of those who have laid down their lives for their country shall

use the privileges thus secured for them for selfish gains regard-

less of the public good.

 

 

ADDRESS OF MRS. JOHN T. MACK.

Madam Regent, Daughters of the American Revolution

and Friends:

I bring greeting to you today from the National Society, Uni-

ted States Daughters of the War of 1812, and congratulations

to the members of Fort McArthur Chapter, that the long de-

sired marking of this historic site has been accomplished. Over

one hundred years have past since this nation, then young, was

plunged into war the second time with the mother country.

That war grew out of a long series of aggressions. Our ships

were searched on the high seas and our men impressed into

the English service, and in violation of former treaties, Great

Britain maintained forts and posts on American soil, inciting

the Indians to bloody outbreaks, even paying the savages for

American scalps.

England had so long and so wantonly vexed our commerce

by restrictions and confiscations, that the patience of the young

nation was completely exhausted, and on June 18th, 1812, war

was declared. That war was to completely sever this country for

all time from Great Britain. In this second struggle for inde-

pendence, this nation was not well equipped when war was de-

clared. General Hull was Governor of the Michigan territory,

having been appointed by President Jackson in 1805. He was

a Revolutionary soldier, having fought in the battles of White

Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Stillwater, Saratoga, Fort Stanwix,

Monmouth and Stony Point, and commanded the expedition

• 6
 

Fort   McArthur Memorial Tablet.        415

 

against Morrissania, for which he received the thanks of Wash-

ington and Congress. While Governor of Michigan territory

he had repeatedly urged upon the government, the importance

of building a fleet on Lake Erie, as the only means of maintain-

ing Detroit, which was 300 mi. from any magazine of provisions,

munitions of war or re-enforcements, and also a protection to

Forts Mackinac and Dearborn. He urged also that a large

force be maintained at Niagara to co-operate with any force that

might invade Canada from Detroit.

These communications were made while he was Governor,

and also after he took command of the army of the northwest,

but the government did not comply with any of these requests.

He was made commander of the army of the northwest and on

the 25th of May, 1812, proceeded to Dayton where Governor

Meigs turned over to him the command of the Ohio troops as

directed by the Secretary of War. General Hull addressed the

troops in an eloquent and dignified way, and with his soldier-

like bearing, he inspired confidence. The little army began their

northward journey with every assurance of success. From Day-

ton they marched to Manary's Block House now Bellefontaine,

over a wagon road.

This was the most northernly settlement in Ohio. From

Manary's Block House to Detroit was an unbroken wilderness,

with only a foot-path part of the way. As the government had

made no provision for the army, they were compelled to carry

their subsistence and forage in wagons and to literally cut their

way through the thick woods and swamps. Bridges had to be

constructed over streams and marshes and spongy ground where

none but the solitary red or white hunter, or Indian trader with

his Canadian ponies had ever passed. From this point north, a

road had to be constructed. This work was done by Colonel

McArthur and his regiment. He was Major General of the

state militia, and at the call of the President for volunteers, he

ordered his division to assemble by regiments to see how many

would enroll themselves to defend their country. These men

were organized into companies and McArthur was made Colonel

of the first regiment of Ohio volunteers on the ₇th of May, 1812.

To his men fell the work of building the first 30 miles of road

• 7
 

416      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

for the march. Guides went forward and blazed the trees with

tomahawks, then the soldiers followed with axes, grubbing hoes,

spades and shovels. They went to work with spirit and the road

was built in two days. A fort was constructed on the Scioto

River and named Fort McArthur, after the man of indomitable

spirit, a man who did not hesitate to put his hand to the spade,

and success crowned his efforts. Then Colonel McArthur's reg-

iment was relieved and other regiments took up the work of

road construction for the army until he reached the foot of the

rapids of the Maumee, and from there they marched to Detroit,

arriving on July ₅th, where they found the worst possible con-

ditions. Gun carriages were old and decayed, unfit for action,

and had to be repaired before the cannon could be used. This

made the field officers restless and impatient of delay. General

McArthur and the other officers repeatedly urged Gen. Hull to

cross the river and attack Fort Malden without delay. Several

attempts to do this were made, but no real attack followed. It

is believed had this been done at once, Fort Malden would have

fallen. But General Hull had received intelligence that General

Dearborn, who then commanded the northern frontier from

Niagara down to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence had agreed

to a cessation of arms along the whole length of his command

for forty days, commencing on the first clay of August.

This left the English army free to concentrate their forces

around Detroit. The Indians also were gathering there. Food

and ammunition for our men were getting scarce. Expeditions

sent out by General Hull failed to secure them. Forts Dear-

born and Mackinac had fallen into the hands of the British, so

that when General Brock, the British commander demanded the

surrender of the American army, General Hull without consult-

ing his officers, surrendered. For this act, he was court mar-

tialed and found guilty of cowardice, and sentenced to be shot,

but was told to go home to Newton, Mass., and await his execu-

tion, which never occurred. Lossing, in his history calls Gen.

Hull's trial disgraceful, the sentence unjust, and says the court

was evidently constituted in order to offer Hull as a sacrifice to

save the government from disgrace and contempt.

Thus closed the disastrous expedition under the command

• 8
 

Fort McArthur Memorial Tablet.          417

of General Hull, Colonel McArthur returned to his home at Chil-

licothe, a prisoner on parole, and in the fall of 1812 he was

elected to a seat in the House of Representatives, and during the

session 1812-13 he was oppointed by the President, Colonel

of the 26th Regiment United States Infantry, and the Senate

confirmed the appointment. On the 23rd of March, 1813, he

was appointed Brigadier General in the regular army. After

the fall of Detroit, the whole lake country was exposed to the

enemy, and they were preparing to attack Fort Meigs and Fort

Stephenson. General Harrison having been appointed to com-

mand the army of the northwest had a critical and responsible

task to perform. General McArthur was second in command.

The troops were concentrated at Fort Meigs under McArthur, and

General Harrison marched his division over the now famous

Harrison trail, from Franklinton to Fort Seneca, through Dela-

ware where last February, the Chapter there unveiled a tablet,

marking the old tavern where General Harrison had his head-

quarters and from where they marched to Marion, Upper San-

dusky and Fort Seneca, where on June 1₄th, 1913, Flag Day,

the Dolly Todd Madison Chapter D. A. R. unveiled a tablet to

mark both the Harrison trail and Fort Seneca. Old Glory was

raised to the breeze by two grand children of a woman who was

born in the log house inside of Fort Seneca. On the ₃0th of

May, 1912, last year, Memorial Day, a tablet was unveiled at

Port Clinton where General McArthur, with his troops from

Fort Meigs, joined General Harrison and embarked on board

the boats captured by Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake

Erie, for Put-in-Bay, Malden, Detroit and the battle of the

Thames.

This day, July 4th, 1913, a large concourse of people are

gathered at Put-in-Bay, to lay the corner stone of a monument

which is to stand for all time, as a reminder, not only of a battle

fought and won on the waters of Lake Erie, but as a memo-

rial of one hundred years of peace between the daughter and the

mother country.

It is especially fitting that you have erected here these mem-

orials to mark Hull's trail, and Fort McArthur and in memory

of those brave pioneer patriots of the war of 1812 whose dust

Vol. XXII- 27.

• 9
 

418       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. reposes here. Your patriotic endeavor is in the nature of a com- pletion of the historic markings, to which I have briefly called attention. It is a loyal sacrifice and will contribute to perpetua- ting, not only memory of deeds fought with so much interest to the young Republic we love, but that spirit of patriotism and reverence to the flag so essential to our national life. If we are to continue in the forefront of the great onward march of na- tions, we must inculcate in our children and in our children's children, an abiding love of the flag, and faith in all that it stands for.

• 10