Ohio History Journal

BOWMAN'S CAMPAIGN-1779.

 

 

BY HENRY HALL,

A Survivor, Bourbon Co., Ky.

 

(From the Draper MSS., in the Archives of the Wisconsin His-

torical Society.)

Notes taken in April, 1844.

From Henry Hall, of Bourbon Co., Ky.; born near Phila.

2₄th May, 1760-Apr. 1844.) Mr. Hall was in Wm. Harrod's

company, of about 60 men, from the Falls of Ohio. Edward

Bulger, who was subsequently killed at the Blue Licks, was ensign

of Harrod's company. Mr. Hall does not think James Harrod

nor John Haggin were out-recollects but four companies, com-

manded by Wm. Harrod, Benj. Logan, Levi Todd & John Holder.

Bowman's men numbered altogether about 230 men.

Rendezvoused at the mouth of Licking-Wm. Harrod's

company reached there first, & turned in to killing buffalo, bear

and deer, for provisions-killed some game at Big Bone Lick,

& there got some of the bones of mammoth.

Harrod brought 2 keel boats & 3 canoes--& in these, all

the troops crossed at the mouth of Licking, save 32 who were

left to take care of the boats. No cabin was built; they lived

in the boats, & kept plying up & down until the troops returned-

thus kept moving about, thinking it less dangerous than to re-

main stationary. Left the mouth of Licking on Friday morning,

May 25th, & reached the vicinity of (Little Chillicothe) the

town, on Sunday eve, May 2₇th (Note, by L. C. D. [Lyman C.

Draper]-While copying these memos., I have referred to Gen.

Dan. Smith's Journal of '79 & '80, I find that the last Friday in

May, '79, was the 28th, & that the Monday following was the

31st-I w(oul)d naturally think, that Mr. Hall mistook the

date (28th May of starting for the mouth of Licking, for the

date of the attack-L. C. D.) & halted in the prairie a few hun-

dred yards east, or perhaps south east, of the town, the dogs

(515)

• 1
 

516       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

larking, while the captains went to reconnoitre. Mr. Hall thinks

it was after midnight when they searched there-don't recollect

about the moon; but it was quite foggy. The captains were gone

near an hour. A disposition of the men was now made-Wm.

Harrod's company were to attack the east or upper end of the

town, while the other captains went further around.

One of Cap(t). Wm. Harrod's men, named Hutton, seeing

an Indian coming into town, shot him and he fell; & Hutton ran

up to take his scalp, when one of the others mistaking him for

an Indian, fired & very slightly wounded Hutton in the side. At

this alarm some five or six Indians came running out of the

cabins and shot at the men, & were shot at in turn (& probably

Black Fish was here wounded, as Mr. Jackson says). Then the

Indians retired; & the fog again settling, it was thought best to

remain as they were; & while thus upon their arms, two Indian

drums were beat in the town at a loud rate. Some of the Indians

did throw themselves (as Jackson says) into some cabins near

the council-house, & from there fired, &c.

Laid still for an hour or so; when daylight came, com-

menced fighting & continued some time. In a cabin Mr. Hall

saw an Indian repeatedly remove a shingle from the roof &

shoot out; Hall & some others were posted behind a deserted

cabin; a left-handed gunner was needed to get a good shot at the

opening in the roof. Hall, who could shoot as well left as right

handed, watched, & when the Indian's gun was seen to take its

place in the aperture, Hall took aim a little above & fired; this

hole was closed, and no more firing from that quarter. Win.

Hickman, of Harrod's company, ran from behind the cabin

where Hall was, & took post behind the white oak log, & exposing

himself too much, was shot through the forehead-the sun was

then an hour high. The Indians hollered out, proposing that they

would fight the whites out in the woods-& Bowman seemed to

accept, & ordered the men to fall back into the woods & form;

the men were in confusion & did not obey. Shortly after, how-

ever, they fired some 10 or 12 cabins at the east end of the town;

these were set on fire chiefly with the aid of small bags of powder,

which were found, more or less, in almost every cabin, furnished

doubtless by the British. This was about 9 or 10 o'clock in the

• 2
 

Bowman's Campaign of 1779.       517

 

morning. Then gathered up the horses around the town-got

some five or six hundred. Got strouds, clothes, leggings, shirts

(one of which Hall had, having on it 1100 brooches) & a great

variety of English goods. While retreating out of town Jerry

South was shot between the shoulders, the ball passing through

his body & lodging under the skin of his breast-he was packed

on a horse, with some one behind to hold him on-he died the

2nd day after.

Commenced the return march about eleven o'clock, & went

some distance-2 or 3 miles-towards Detroit (this going to-

wards Detroit must be an error-went perhaps S. E. to Xenia,

then tacked to L. W.-L. C. D.). Then Bowman ordered the

spies to tack, and steer for the mouth of the Little Miami. Bow-

man was advised to ambush the trail, as the Indians were seen

following at a distance; when the whites would leave a small

prairie, the Indians would be seen entering it on the other side.

Got some 6 or 8 miles, & just crossed a creek, when they found

themselves surrounded by the Indians. The ground was a pretty

good piece; the Indians had, in this particular, no advantage;

timber thick on the north east side, & pretty much barren on the

other sides, with scattering trees & shrubbery. It was now about

one o'clock. The men had thus far marched in three lines, with

the horses within the lines. A hollow square or circle was now

formed, & a scattering fire commenced which soon became quite

brisk.

During the fight John Moredock was shot in the head.

Tho(ma)s Guthrie was shot in the mouth, though not danger-

ously. Some one was shot in the thigh, & was lying down in the

hollow square, & seeing the firing slack on one side of the line,

& some Indians attempting to cut him off, mounted a horse &

dashed off, hotly pursued by three Indians-he managed to escape

them, though several times they came in view. At night he lay

down, fastening the bridle to his wrist & fell asleep-awoke,

found the horse gone, & felt that he must perish in his lone &

almost helpless situation, but over-powered with fatigue &

weariness he again fell asleep; awoke by the singing of birds at

daybreak, & was rejoiced to find his horse close by him! Crept

• 3
 

518       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

 

up and got on, & that day fell in upon Bowman's trail and over-

took the troops.

After fighting some time, Hall got a fair shot not over ten

steps off, at an Indian loading his gun-the Indian jumped up

several feet & fell, when Hall had to escape from several Indians

around him.

Edward Bulger proposed, as the only way of extricating

themselves, to mount several of the horses, dash out, rouse up

the Indians from their coverts, fire and return. Accordingly

Bulger, Hall and three others thus made a sally and returned-

& every one of the five horses were shot, some fell dead as they

re-entered the hollow square or circle-it made no great differ-

ence, as the horses were Indian plunder. This new mode of carry-

ing on operation placed the Indians-instead of the whites, as

heretofore--on the defensive. Other horses were mounted-the

number of men increased a little, & again dashed out;-& be-

tween that and dark made some six or seven sallies-the last

one near after dark, when the flashes of the guns on both sides

were distinctly visible. The Indians now drew off; & Bowman

renewed his march-went two or three hours, passed through a

piece of swampy ground, & down a branch or creek; when emerg-

ing from the low ground, a halt of two hours was ordered for

the men to rest, & then resumed the march.

The men were in great confusion & anger-blaming Bowman

for bad management, & for not taking an active and vigilant part

himself; & while thus bandying complaints a great many of the

horses strayed off-men were nearly starved.

It should be remarked, that on Sunday evening, while lying

on the prairie for the officers to reconnoitre, it was quite cold,

& the men mostly took their blankets & threw them around them

-in these, were their small supply of provisions; & when they

were ordered to take their respective positions in surrounding

the town, they left their blankets there-& when they left next

day, they were too much confused to re-possess their blankets,

& thus lost their provisions.

Had Bowman been attacked during this return march, after

the afternoon fight, it must have resulted disastrously.

• 4
 

Bowman's Campaign of 1779.          519 Mr. Hall thinks Bowman's loss was seven or eight killed, & three or four wounded. At the mouth of the Little Miami they found the boats, which had been directed to be there-crossed the Ohio-got but 163 horses over-were slower in getting back to the Ohio than in going out. Had the sale on the South bank of the Ohio, a little above the mouth of the Little Miami.  The property sold, amounted, when apportioned off, to about 11O [pounds] to each man; little, however, was ever collected or distributed-& thus, as it proved in the sequel, each got what he bid off. Capt. Wm. Harrod, with 6 others, went up the Ohio to Red Stone in the two keel boats &c.-and took along several bones & tusks got at the Big Bone Lick.

• 5