480 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
a brief description of the service of
each, and a roster
of officers and men. We are told that
"Fairfield County
is credited with a service enrollment
of 1821" in the
World War. There is a complete list of
these, alpha-
betically arranged. This is followed by
a brief account
of "Women in the Service."
The concluding chapter, "After
Armistice Day," de-
tails the return of the soldiers who
survived the perils
of camp and field, the organization of
the American
Legion and other orders of World War
Veterans.
This survey touches only a portion of
the interesting
material in the 192 pages of this
compactly written
book. One lays it aside with the
conviction that the
writer of the "Foreword" has
well and truly said:
Coming generations will appreciate this
volume and preserve
it as a sacred memory from the fact that
it contains so much that
would never find its way into public
records and which would
otherwise be inaccessible. It will stand
as a monument to those,
who at home or abroad, had anything to
do with the greatest of
all wars, and as a memorial more lasting
than the wreaths to
those who have passed over the heights
into the valley of the
shadow.
When every county in the State has made
a similar
contribution, we shall have the basic
materials for a
"History of Ohio in the World
War."
FORT LAURENS
The Story of the Acquisition of its
Site by the State of Ohio
The following is a stenographic report
of an ad-
dress, delivered by C. L. Baatz, to a
community gather-
ing of the people of Bolivar,
Tuscarawas County, Ohio,
June 21, 1927:
Reviews, Notes and Comments 481
I am going to start out by telling you
of my first visit here
when I first became interested in Fort
Laurens. Almost forty
years ago -- in July, 1887 -- I came to
Bolivar and my first thought
was to find and have the pleasure of
walking over the site of this
historic spot, Fort Laurens.
I was acquainted with several of the
young men of the town
at that time and spoke to one of them,
asking him if he knew
where Fort Laurens was. "You bet I
do, and I'll take you right
to it," he replied. We marched down
the road until we got to the
cemetery. Pointing to the hill, or
knoll, he stated that it was the
Fort hill or where the Fort was. I knew
better than this as the
Fort was not on a hill and this I told
him.
That is one trouble -- we are living so
close to these his-
toric places that we do not appreciate
their value. I don't want to
pretend I know more about Fort Laurens
and its location than the
people who live here, but I know, and
historians have proven me
correct in my statements, the location
of Fort Laurens.
In the years following my first visit, I
visited the site as
often as two or three times a year and
finally had two of my
Massillon friends, Mr. Ed. N. Pease and
Mr. Wm. A. Lowe,
accompany me to the site. On our first visit it was decided
that we would be the pioneers in giving
publicity to Fort Laurens,
and I was selected to write an article
for our local paper.
Previous to this time the only thing I
had seen in our His-
torical Society Reports, appeared in
1908, in Volume 17, page 493.
It gave a short account of a visit to
the site by E. O. Randall and
Wm. C. Mills, of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical
Society, who recommended that the State
should acquire the site
and make it into a State Park. This
question was brought before
Mr. Pease and Mr. Lowe. and I suggested
that we wait and see
what the Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Society would
do. After waiting five years more, we
decided that we would go
ahead with our work.
Using all records to which I had access,
I drafted the fol-
lowing story, of which I have with me
here this evening my
first notes in lead pencil, (holding
this up for inspection), also a
typewritten copy of same, (holding this
up for inspection), also
clippings from the newspaper, dated
August 2, 1913, giving a
full account of my first story of Fort
Laurens, which I later read
to The Daughters of the American
Revolution, in Convention as-
sembled, October 14, 15 and 16, 1913, at
Canton, Ohio. I shall
now read you this first story of Fort
Laurens, by quoting a small
part of their program.
"State Regent: -- In the absence of
any report from the
chairman of the Historic Spots
Committee, we are fortunate in
Vol. XXXVI--31
482 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
having present with us two gentlemen who
wish to bring before
us the claims of an adjacent historic
spot for preservation. I
shall first call upon Mr. C. L. Baatz,
of Massillon."
Mr. Baatz said:
Thirteen miles south of Massillon,
one-half mile south of Bolivar,
near the banks of our beautiful
Tuscarawas River, and first mutilated by
the builders of the Ohio Canal, is a
spot of land which was baptized by
the blood of at least thirty heroes of
the Revolutionary War. This spot has
been torn by the plow of industrious
farmers, for, lo, these many years.
Its sacredness is probably unknown and,
no doubt, the iron plow has muti-
lated the graves of those heroes; if
not, it may do so at next season's plow-
ing. Some were buried in the Fort, some
near by on the outside, and some
where they fell at the hands of savage
Indians, led by the white traitor,
Simon Girty.
I am sure an abundance of patriotism
would bring about the rebuild-
ing of Fort Laurens, the erection of a
monument and a flag staff on which
"Old Glory" could wave on
national holidays, in memory of those heroes
who fought in the War of the Revolution.
They were the favorite soldiers
of Washington, as evidenced by the fact
that the fort was named in honor
of Washington's brave adjutant, General
Laurens, who later became presi-
dent of the first Congress.
The site of Fort Laurens is on a level
plane of land, west of the canal,
near the road to the cemetery. It is
owned by the Gibler Brothers, pros-
perous farmers, from whom it should be
bought and preserved as an historic
park. It was first visited by the writer
about 25 years ago, when, after
being newly plowed, its outline could be
readily followed. On a recent
visit, it was only by recollection of
its location that I could find it.
Our State Legislature should be appealed
to for sufficient appropria-
tions to recover the ownership, restore
the fort to its original lines, erect a
monument and flag staff, and provide a
fund for its care and its maintenance.
Let me quote from Howe's Historical
Collections (page 693): "Fort
Laurens was erected in the fall of the
year 1778, by a detachment of 1,000
men from Fort Pitt, under the command of
General McIntosh. After its
completion a garrison of 150 men was
placed in it and left in charge of
Colonel Gibson." Again, on page
778, in speaking of Fort Harmar, built
in 1785, on the Muskingum, near the
present Marietta, the historian says:
"It was the first military post
erected by Americans within the limits of
Ohio, excepting Fort Laurens, built in
1778, near the present Bolivar, Tus-
carawas County."
Quoting from the "Rise and
Progress of an American State," page
226, "This -- the first fort
erected by Americans within the present Ohio
state boundaries--was named Fort Laurens
in honor of the president of
Congress." Quoting further from the
same page, "To the hostile tribes this
placement of Fort Laurens in the enemy's
country by McIntosh who then
retreated to his headquarters on the
Ohio, was 'like poking a bumble bee's
nest and then running away,' for the
savages came swarming out of the
woods from every direction like so many
insects. Here we leave the little
stockade and its brave defenders, who
knew how to endure hardship and
suffering, for they belonged to the 13th
Virginia Continentals and had been
with Washington at Valley Forge."
During the siege of Fort Laurens,
January, 1779, (The Rise and Prog-
ress of an American State, page 225), the Commander (Gibson) pluckily,
by messenger, sent word to McIntosh,
"You may depend on my defending
Reviews, Notes and Comments 483
the fort to the last extremity."
The story of this siege is one of bloody
deeds and brave suffering. Quoting from
The Ohio Archeological and
Historical Society Publications, VI, the
language of Vernon, in a letter
from
the fort, dated April 29, 1779, was expressive and startling:
"Should you not send us provisions
in a very short time, necessity will
oblige us to begin to eat some cow hides
the Indians left." Again on
same page, "At this time the
garrison was so much reduced for want of
provisions that they were scarcely able
to stand on their feet." Again,
"The men in the Fort were found in
a deplorable condition; for nearly a
week they had subsisted on raw hides and
such roots as they could find
in the vicinity after the Indians had
gone."
During the siege, 16 men were sent after
strayed horses -- 14 were
killed, and 2 made prisoners; and of a
party of 17 sent for wood near an
old Indian mound, (a natural formation),
all were surrounded and killed.
Fort Laurens was evacuated early in
August, 1779, by orders of
Colonel Brodhead. Two more soldiers, as
they were leaving the Fort, were
killed by lurking savages.
The site of the Fort was visited several
days ago by the writer, and
be found the present part-owner to be David Gibler, who
is also executor
of his brother Valentine's estate. David
is 78 years old, well preserved,
and very much interested in Fort Laurens.
He told the writer that his
grandfather, Rhinehart, was the first
owner, his father the next, then the
present David, who, with his brother,
Valentine, leveled the Fort and pre-
pared same for farming in 1853. At that
time, remnants of wood, used as
palisades, were still found embedded in
the walls. Relics found, consisted
of bullets, buckles, a broken gun barrel
and other unknown rusted objects
of iron.
At one time the north line of the Zoar
Society ran through the Fort,
and it was not cultivated until 1856.
Before this time, Gibler said it had
been covered with wild strawberry bushes
for years and years.
The fort site is to be plowed late this
fall for next season's corn,
when anyone interested can find evidence
of its exact location.
My understanding is that 38 men lost
their lives in defending this
Fort. These men who fought so valiantly
with Washington, and endured
the hardships of Valley Forge, did not
lay down their arms and return to
homes, wives, sweethearts or mothers,
and there rest on the laurels of their
valor. No; they once more shouldered
their arms and marched through
tbe wilderness over the old Tuscarawas
Indian Trail, and here erected a
Fort, shed their blood, and rest in
unknown and unmarked graves.
I now appeal to all patriotic people, in
particular to the Sons and
Daughters of the American Revolution, to
assist us in restoring this historic
Fort, and surrounding ground, that the
memory of the heroic deeds of
these Revolutionary heroes may be
forever honored and perpetuated, and that
the neglect of 135 years may be erased
from our memories."
That is the true story of Fort Laurens.
A motion was made
that this report should be accepted and
made part of permanent
records. A lady from Cleveland got up
and protested and
said that the report should not be
approved until thoroughly exam-
ined, and that she thought it was
impossible that there was such
a spot so near Canton and Massillon that
had not been recognized
heretofore. The Committee, after
searching the historical records
and looking into the matter, finally
adopted the report and made
484 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
it part of their permanent records. That
was in 1913. Mr. Lowe,
Mr. Pease and myself waited until late
the next year.
Neither the Historical Society, the Sons
nor Daughters of the
American Revolution, nor anybody made
any move to further the
interest in restoring this historic
spot. Then I had a copy of the
above Fort Laurens story printed,
(holding up copy of same),
together with printed petition head,
(holding same up), which
reads as follows:
To the Legislative Bodies of the
State of Ohio:
We, the undersigned Citizens of Ohio,
request your honorable bodies
to make a LIBERAL appropriation for the
purpose of purchasing the site
of Fort Laurens, Tuscarawas County,
Ohio.
For converting same into a State
Reserve, for restoring the outline of
the Fort, erecting a suitable monument
with bronze inscriptions and figures
of Colonial Soldiers and the Delaware
Chief, "White Eyes."
For the erection of a flag staff,
planting shrubbery and flowers,
constructing walks and drives, and
generally beautifying the grounds, in
honor of the Revolutionary Soldiers, who
suffered death and lie buried
there in a cultivated field. (S. A. R.
and D. A. R. please add initials of
Societies after signatures.)
Mr. Lowe, Mr. Pease and myself sent
these petitions out to
every Chapter of both Sons and Daughters
of the American Revo-
lution, in the State. I know of one
Chapter at least that did not
reply with a single name on the
petition. I sent the printed story
of Fort Laurens along with the petition,
so that they knew what
the petition was for and so they could
explain it to anybody who
did not know about Fort Laurens.
After assembling all the signed petitions,
I sent them to Rep-
resentative Hines, of Tuscarawas County,
Ohio, with a letter
requesting him to present this petition
to the Legislative Bodies
of Ohio, and to use his power and
influence to have a bill passed
covering the restoration of Fort
Laurens, as outlined in my story
to the Daughters of the American
Revolution, at Canton.
The next story of Fort Laurens that I
found in the Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Society
Publications, appeared in
1917, in Volume XXVI, page 293. In this
report Mr. Randall,
the Secretary, states that the bill had
passed and was now a law,
and that the State would acquire a deed
for the property within a
short time.
Mr. Randall further said that it was a
pleasure to him to
report that this enactment had finally
been accomplished and
credited the Society and the Sons and
Daughters of the American
Revolution for its enactment.
I was very much surprised that no
recognition was given to
the pioneer service rendered by Mr.
Pease, Mr. Lowe and myself
in bringing out the story of Fort
Laurens, in spending our money
Reviews, Notes and Comments 485
to print petitions and the story of Fort
Laurens, and in sending
them broadcast over Ohio without any
recognition from the Sec-
retary of the Historical Society.
So on my visit to Columbus in February,
1927, I called on
Mr. Galbreath, the present Secretary,
and asked him what mys-
terious force rendered the pioneer
services that brought about the
recovery of the site of Fort Laurens by
the State, and at that time
showed him my manuscript, etc., as I
have shown them to you this
evening. Mr. Galbreath seemed very much
surprised to learn of
the activities of Mr. Pease, Mr. Lowe
and myself in this matter,
and asked me to give him all the data
and information that I had
available on this subject, and for this purpose the
young lady here
is taking notes so that she may
transcribe my talk to you this
evening, verbatim, and that I can submit
my story of Fort Laurens
to the Secretary from my talk this
evening.
On this same visit to Mr. Galbreath, I
also called his atten-
tion to two other historic places near
Massillon -- the first for a
granite boulder monument with a bronze
plate marking the burial
place of Adam Poe, the noted Indian
fighter; and the second for a
marker on the site where the first cabin
was erected in Ohio by a
white man -- Christian Frederick Post --
one and one-half miles
north of here. Mr. Galbreath also wanted
me to give him the
data and information on both of these
places, which I have done
recently and have submitted to him a
report together with a photo-
graph of the Poe Monument and another of
the marker of the
Post cabin-site.
His replies to me, upon receipt of these
reports, have pleased
me very much, and by the tone of his
letters, I believe that the
Society is aiming to place in their
permanent records an accurate
account of all historical events
occurring in the State and I also
believe that you can expect the hearty
cooperation of the State
Society, and that they have a desire to
have a correct account of
historical events as they occur in Ohio.
Mr. Lowe, Mr. Pease or myself were at no
time consulted in
any of the work or plans of the
Legislative Committees, nor in the
appointment of any of the Park Commissions. I believe,
had this
been done, Fort Laurens, in which we are
all so deeply interested,
would be an ornament and a credit to our
heroic soldiers of the
Revolutionary War, who lie buried in
unknown and unmarked
graves in this State Park.
I believe this Park should all be very
deeply plowed and an
effort made to find and explore the
graves for verification of our
historical knowledge and for permanently marking the
resting
places of those who fell. As you know,
the historian tells us that
some were buried in the Fort, some just outside, and
the others
486
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
where they fell at the hands of the
Indians. This, I think, should
be one of the first things to be done by
the Commissioners.
The pioneer history of Ohio is filled
with soul-stirring events
and I know our posterity will read, with
grateful hearts, the story
of the builders of the great foundation
on which now stands, in
high esteem in all lands of the world,
our great State of Ohio.
Good-night.
COLONEL WILLIAM LEONTES CURRY.
Colonel William Leontes Curry was born
in Union
County, Ohio, January 25, 1839. He died
in Grant
Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, April 27,
1927. He was the
son of Stephenson Curry. His
grandfather, Colonel
James Curry, was an officer of the
Continental Line in
the Fourth and Eighth Virginia Regiments
during the
Revolution and was granted, as
part-payment for his
service, one thousand acres of land in
Union County.
On this the family settled in the year
1811.
The subject of this sketch worked on his
father's
farm during his boyhood days and until
he arrived at
the age of twenty-one years. He received
a common-
school education and for a time attended
the Marysville
Academy. In the fall of 1860, he entered
Otterbein
College, at Westerville, Ohio. In
January, 1861, he
commenced to study law.
At the first call for troops in the
Civil War he en-
listed for the three-months service. He
was elected
first lieutenant and his company
promptly commenced
drilling, but the quota for Ohio was
filled before this
company was mustered in. He then
enlisted at the first
call for three-years troops as private
in the First Vol-
unteer Cavalry. At its organization he
was appointed
orderly sergeant, and was promoted
successively to sec-
480 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
a brief description of the service of
each, and a roster
of officers and men. We are told that
"Fairfield County
is credited with a service enrollment
of 1821" in the
World War. There is a complete list of
these, alpha-
betically arranged. This is followed by
a brief account
of "Women in the Service."
The concluding chapter, "After
Armistice Day," de-
tails the return of the soldiers who
survived the perils
of camp and field, the organization of
the American
Legion and other orders of World War
Veterans.
This survey touches only a portion of
the interesting
material in the 192 pages of this
compactly written
book. One lays it aside with the
conviction that the
writer of the "Foreword" has
well and truly said:
Coming generations will appreciate this
volume and preserve
it as a sacred memory from the fact that
it contains so much that
would never find its way into public
records and which would
otherwise be inaccessible. It will stand
as a monument to those,
who at home or abroad, had anything to
do with the greatest of
all wars, and as a memorial more lasting
than the wreaths to
those who have passed over the heights
into the valley of the
shadow.
When every county in the State has made
a similar
contribution, we shall have the basic
materials for a
"History of Ohio in the World
War."
FORT LAURENS
The Story of the Acquisition of its
Site by the State of Ohio
The following is a stenographic report
of an ad-
dress, delivered by C. L. Baatz, to a
community gather-
ing of the people of Bolivar,
Tuscarawas County, Ohio,
June 21, 1927: