Ohio History Journal

The Ohio- Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.    199

 

 

 

THE OHIO-MICHIGAN         BOUNDARY      LINE DISPUTE.

 

TOD B. GALLOWAY.

 

"Sing, 0, Goddess Muse,

From whence arose so fierce a strife."

In the examination of the questions involved in the Ohio-

Michigan boundary dispute, I find myself very much in the

position of the Justice of the Peace, who, after hearing the

plaintiff's side of the case, was ready to decide in his favor; but

upon the defendant having presented his argument, he exclaimed,

"You mix me up so, I don't know which way to decide."

Therefore, I appeal to you to be judge and jury in this case, and

upon hearing the facts and what law there is, which is very

little, I leave you to find the verdict as ye shall deem best.

The case is the State of Ohio vs. the United States. It can

not be the State of Ohio vs. Michigan, for at the time of this

controversy Michigan was but a territory, and therefore only a

ward of the general government.  With this slight preliminary,

I shall plunge at once into the statement of the whole case.

In 1817, Lewis Cass wrote to Edward Tiffin, the United

States Surveyor-General, "A disputed jurisdiction is one of the

greatest evils that can happen to a country." This is eminently

true. All the great wars in history, aside from those involving

religious disputes, have been caused by boundary line contro-

versies or disputed jurisdictions.

In regard to the controvesy between Ohio and Michigan as

to the boundary line, but very little is known by this generation.

Few histories have more than a meagre account of it, generally

dismissing the subject with a few lines about "The Toledo War,"

by relating one or two of the humorous and ludicrous events in-

cident thereto, but failing wholly to give the subject the promi-

nence it deserves.

The contestants were not solely Governor Lucas, of Ohio,

and Governor Mason, of Michigan, nor, as I said before, was it

a question between the two States, or the State and the territory,

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but rather between Ohio and the United States. Under the Con-

stitution of this Republic, had Ohio occupied the disputed terri-

tory, it would have been the imperative duty of the President to

resist such occupation with all the forces of the nation, if neces-

sary, if he regarded the claims of Michigan as valid and correct.

As this question was one which came into being with the

admission of Ohio into the Union, and realizing its important

bearing upon the early history and later development of Ohio

and Michigan, I have selected it as the subject of an address be-

fore our Archaeological and Historical Society.

Mr. Fisk well says, in his "Critical Period of American His-

tory:" "Questions about public lands are often regarded as the

driest of historical deadwood. Discussions about them in news-

papers and magazines belong to the class of articles which the

general reader usually skips. Yet there is a great deal of the

philosophy of history wrapped up in this subject. *  *  *  *

For without studying this creation of a national domain between

the Alleghenies and the Mississippi, we cannot understand how

our Federal Union came to be formed." The problem of divid-

ing the great unknown West among the thirteen new States was

one of the most complex and intricate questions which baffled

the skill of the legislators who had so successfully grappled with

the perplexities of the First Continental Congress. The indi-

vidual members of our first National Congress were, as a matter

of fact, ignorant of the extent of the great West. They knew

almost nothing of its boundless prairies, its mighty rivers and

inland seas; its primeval forests, its wealth of ores and coal.

And it is interesting to remember that it was the plan which

Rufus Putnam sent from the village of Rutland, Massachusetts,

to Congress for the relief of indigent revolutionary soldiers, that

they should be colonized between Lake Erie and the Ohio River,

that was the immediate origin of the Ordinance of 1787.

In the early history of this country of ours, there was one

commodity which was cheap, i. e., land. It was both "dirt

cheap" and "cheap dirt." These were the days when a service

of ofttimes a questionable nature was repaid with three or four

counties in America, from the King of England; or the intro-

duction to Louis XIV of France of a charming mistress meant a

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.   201

 

grant of a province; when one English favorite was endowed

with a tract of land gravely described as having "a sea front

of ten miles and extending westward to the limits of North

America."

The story of the occupation of Canada by the French, and

of all the Atlantic coast by the English, needs no repetition here.

After the treaty of 1760, which ended France's power in America,

all that territory north of Louisiana belonged to England; in

her was the right of eminent domain, subject to the fast fading

claims of France. The colonies had no rights in all this bound-

less stretch of country, and they had no power or right of ac-

quiring any of this land without special grant from the crown.

This point is important as bearing upon the claims which New

York, Connecticut, Virginia and others, made to territory beyond

the Alleghenies after the Revolution. As one author has said,

"English protection preserved the great heart of this continent

for Americans, and English shortsightedness produced a Union

in which was the only possibility of perpetuating the titles of

Americans to the great central valley."

The claims of certain of the States to territorial domain

were questions which occupied the First National Congress, and,

as we know, even threatened to prevent the union of the young

States. Briefly, the question was, did these States have rights

in this vast new territory founded upon incidents of their colonial

status, or did this region belong to the United States? Had Eng-

land's rights not passed to the United States, the colonies, or

the States which had been colonies, would only have had such

claims on the west as England might see fit to acknowledge.

But England's rights had passed by treaty to the United States

as a sovereign government, and the colonies had died without

testament or issue. Had, however, either side pressed its claims

too rigidly on this question, the young republic might never have

lived. Thomas Jefferson and his associates took the broad,

middle course in this threatening question. They held the funda-

mental truth to be that the general government had certain pre-

rogatives necessary to its existence, and, on the other hand, that

certain concessions to some of the new States were wiser than

stringent measures. The guiding hand of Jefferson can there-

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fore be seen in all the efforts to organize the Northwest territory,

and the Ordinance of 1787 was the fruit not only of Jefferson's

labors, but of the best wisdom of the best minds in America.

While it is true that Jefferson was in Paris on a mission when

the Ordinance was adopted, yet the principles of his proposed

Ordinance of 1784 were incorporated in framing it. This ordi-

nance, secured at the cost of a few concessions, that of the

Western Reserve to Connecticut and the Military Reservation in

Ohio to Virginia, was, as has been said, "one of the wisest and

most far-seeing provisions of a time when wisdom and foresight

seem to have been especially granted to public men."

"I doubt," said Daniel Webster, "whether one single law

of any law-giver, ancient or modern, has produced effects of

more distinct, marked and lasting character than the Ordinance

of 1787." In sagacity, wisdom and foresight, it has never been

surpassed. It has stood the test of time for more than one

hundred years; it has been the corner stone of territorial govern-

ments since its adoption.  Our fathers framed laws like the

Patriarchs of old.

However, among the documents in this case, of Ohio vs.

The United States ex rel. Michigan, one article of this remark-

able State paper, viz., No. 5, is the only one involved in the

issues in the case. It reads as follows:

"There shall be formed in the said territory not less than

three nor more than five States; and the boundaries of the

States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and

consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as fol-

lows, to-wit: The western State, in the said territory, shall be

bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash Rivers; a

direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north,

to the territorial line between the United States and Canada; and

by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Missis-

sippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line,

the Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a

direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami

to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. The

eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct line,

the Ohio, Pennsylvania and the said territorial line; provided,

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.     203

 

however, and it is further understood and declared, that the

boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to be

altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they

shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of the

said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn

through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And

whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free

inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted, by its delegates,

into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with

the original States, in all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty

to form a permanent Constitution and State Government; pro-

vided, the Constitution and Government, so to be formed, shall

be Republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in

these articles, and, so far as it can be consistent with the general

interest of the Confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at

an earlier period, and when there may be a less number of free

inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand."

In the consideration of this article of the ordinance, I omit

mention of all the details of the negotiations between Congress

and the Legislature of Virginia relative to the cession by Virginia

of certain territorial rights north of the Ohio River. In brief,

however, Virginia proposed that the northern boundary of the

States to be formed in the future should be an east and west line

running due east of the Mississippi River, touching the southern

point of Lake Michigan; but Congress decided that in fixing the

boundaries, due regard should be paid to the natural conditions

and the variety of circumstances which would grow out of a

more perfect knowledge of the country. Virginia had wished

the boundaries to be blocked out without regard to rivers, moun-

tains, lakes or barren land.

When Congress adopted the Ordinance of 1787, the country

in the vicinity of Lake Michigan was practically unknown. It

was thronged with savages and rarely visited by white men.

Even at a much later period there were few who could boast that

they had penetrated towithin fifty miles of the southern point of

Lake Michigan. The map which was relied upon by the con-

gressional committee in framing the ordinance was Mitchell's,

which had been published in 1755. This same map was also

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used by our commissioners in negotiating the Treaty of Paris in

1783. On it few, very few, of the natural objects in the North-

west territory were correctly delineated. The longitude and

latitude of the various rivers were all wrong, while in regard to

Lake Michigan, a most grave error was present, which was the

whole cause of the boundary difficulty.

I wish that I might show you a copy of this interesting old

map, as it would illustrate to you how easily Congress was led

into its mistake. On it Lake Michigan is represented as not

larger than Lake Huron, and trending from the north decidedly

to the southeast; whereas, we know it is much larger than Lake

Huron, and its trend is to the southwest. By it the southern

boundary of Lake Michigan was laid down as being near the

forty-second degree of north latitude, and by that error an east

and west line from Lake Michigan to Canada intercepted the

present strait between Detroit and the Raisin River. A pencil

line was drawn on this map indicating such a line, and upon that

line the committee and Congress manifestly intended the north-

ern boundary of Ohio to be located. Indeed a number of maps

in the State Department of a later date all follow Mitchell's

location of Lake Michigan.

Things went along smoothly for some time. Our pioneer

fathers, in happy- or unhappy, as the sequels shows-ignorance

of the topography of our western country, continued the uneven

tenor of their ways, making war on the aborigines and obeying

the Biblical injunction to people the land.

In 1802, Ohio had reached the period when she decided she

was ready to assume the maturer robes of statehood. In that

year the convention was held in Chillicothe to frame a consti-

tution for the State, and under the prevailing and natural im-

pression that the old maps were correct, the convention was

about to locate the northern boundary in conformity with this

opinion, believing the line would terminate far above Maumee

Bay. While in the midst of this discussion, there happened in

the convention an old trapper who had hunted for years on Lake

Michigan. He announced to them that he was thoroughly con-

versant with the country, and that they were mistaken, that

Lake Michigan extended much farther south than was generally

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.     205

 

supposed. Can we not picture the old trapper with his squirrel-

skin cap, clad in buckskin, imparting this bit of information to

the astonished and bewildered convention? Consternation, doubt,

indecision and perplexity? Gallileo proclaiming to the Prelates.

that the world was round, or Columbus announcing to the Court

of Ferdinand and Isabella that he discovered a new world, could

not have produced a more profound sensation than this statement

of our trapper friend. Accordingly, the convention arranged

the boundary of the State in conformity with the provision of

Congress with this proviso: " Provided always, and it is hereby

fully understood and declared by this convention, that if the

southern boundary or extremity of Lake Michigan should extend

so far south that a line drawn due east from it should not inter-

sect Lake Erie, or if it should intersect the said Lake Erie east

of the mouth of the Miami River of the lake, then, and in that

case, with the assent of Congress of the United States, the

northern boundary of this State shall be established by and

extended to a direct line running from the southern extremity

of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Miami Bay,

after intersecting the due north line from the mouth of the

Great Miami, thence northeast to the territorial line, and by the

said territorial line to the said Pennsylvania line."

Some of the members of the convention were so anxious to

establish a State government as soon as possible, that they

hesitated lest this proviso might cause delay; but it was however,

adopted by the convention.

When this constitution was submitted to Congress, this

proviso was never directly rejected nor ratified. Ohio always

claimed that the acceptance by Congress of this constitution was

a ratification of this proviso, while Michigan thought from the

fact that Congress did not expressly ratify the proviso, it was

void and without effect. Certain it was, that Ohio herself never

seemed satisfied with her position, and repeatedly attempted to

have Congress ratify the boundary which terminated at the

mouth of Maumee Bay, while Michigan exercised territorial

jurisdiction over the disputed piece of ground, which was about

360 square miles, on the ground that under the Ordinance

of 1787, they had a vested right to all the territory north of an

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east and west line, drawn from the southern end of Lake

Michigan; and these territorial authorities appointed officers,

collected taxes, granted charters to corporations, who continued

without contention to exercise their corporate functions. The

disputed territory running along the north of Ohio was eight

miles wide in the east, diminishing to five miles in the west.

The land included some of the Connecticut Reserve. It was

farming land, and was destined to command much of the com-

merce of Lake Erie. It was particularly important as containing

the valuable harbor of Maumee Bay.

Over nine years after the admission of Ohio as a State, in

January, 1812, we find the then collector of the Port of Miami

addressed a letter to Return Jonathan Meigs, Governor of Ohio,

on behalf of the fifty families comprising the population of that

district, urging him to give an opinion upon the position of the

boundary line, and asking for a speedy settlement of the ques-

tion. At that time the United States was on the verge of a war

with Great Britain, and it so quickly followed that the boundary

line question was wholly lost sight of in the more serious

problem of preserving our national existence; and this was par-

ticularly true in the northern part of Ohio and in the vicinity of

Detroit, on account of their proximity to the territory of the

common enemy. However, after being repeatedly urged by

Ohio, through its representatives, Congress appointed a com-

mittee on January 4, 1812, to examine into the expediency of

approving the northern boundary of Ohio, as set forth in the

proviso to its constitution, which shows conclusively that Ohio

did not feel that the ratification in 1803, by Congress, of her

constitution had been a ratification of her proviso on the boundary

matter. Accordingly, Congress by law directed the Surveyor-

General to have surveyed, marked and designated a line agree-

ably to the line established by Ohio's proviso of her constitution

in 1802, and to have a plan of the same returned to Congress.

On account of the intervention of the war of 1812, this survey

was not made until 1817. At that time William Harris was

directed by the Surveyor-General to make the survey, which he

did, and the line was known as Harris' line. At the same time,

through the influence of General Lewis Cass, Territorial Governor

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.      207

 

of Michigan, who was a close political and personal friend of the

President, another survey was made for the government by John

A. Fulton, which was known as Fulton's line. This line con-

formed to the claims of Michigan.

On the 29th of January, 1818, the General Assembly of

Ohio declared they would consider Harris' line as the boundary.

But as Congress, for some inexplicable reason, did not confirm

either Harris' or Fulton's lines, this declaration on the part of

our legislature did not have much weight.

When this controversy began, the disputed territory was oc-

cupied chiefly by Indians, and naturally the solution of the ques-

tion was not one of much moment; but after the war of 1812,

when the territory began to be occupied by the whites, these in-

habitants of the infant settlement became quite anxious for a

decision. In 1823, Horatio Conant, on behalf of the residents

of the disputed strip, addressed a letter to Hon Ethan A. Brown,

Ohio's Senator, begging for a speedy decision. Nevertheless,

nothing seems to have been done until it became known that

Michigan was about to apply for admission into the Union. On

December 14, 1831, the Legislature of Ohio addressed a memorial

to Congress, praying that measures might be adopted for a speedy

and final establishment of the dividing line. Accordingly, on

July 14, the President by law was directed to have a third survey

made to find the exact longitude and latitude of the southern ex-

tremity of Lake Michigan, the same of the north cape on

Maumee Bay, and also where a direct line from the southern ex-

tremity of Lake Michigan would intersect Lake Erie. This was

done, and that is all that was done. Congress having not yet

ratified either the Harris or Fulton line.

In 1835, matters reached a crisis. Owing to the growth of

the State of Ohio, it was found imperative to build a canal con-

necting the Miami of the South with the Maumee River, or, as it

was then known, the Miami of the North. The citizens of the

rapidly growing village of Toledo, by their urgent demands, in-

duced Governor Lucas to bring the matter before our Legislature

by a special message, and on February 23, 1835, the Legislature

passed an act extending the northern boundaries of the counties

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of Wood, Henry and Williams to the Harris line. This act read

as follows:

"That such part of the territory declared by this act as be-

ing attached to the county of Wood, shall be erected into town-

ships, as follows, to-wit: Such part of ranges five and six as lies

between the line run due east from the southern extremity of

Lake Michigan and the line run from the said southern extremity

to the most northern cape of the Maumee Bay, be and the same

is hereby erected into a separate and distinct township by the

name of Sylvania; and that all such parts of ranges seven and

eight, together with the territory east of the Maumee River, as

lies between the line run from the southerly extremity of Lake

Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Maumee Bay, and

between Lake Erie and the line run due east from the southern

extremity of Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, be and the same is

hereby erected into a separate and distinct township, by the

name of Port Lawrence;" and further authorized and directed

those townships to hold elections for township officers on the

first Monday in April next, and provided for their complete or-

ganization. The Governor appointed three commissioners to run

and re-mark the line, and the date of April 1 was fixed as the

time to commence the survey. I cannot refrain from reading the

following letter, as showing the disposition of the citizens of

Toledo and the attitude of the Michigan authorities at that time:

 

TOLEDO, WOOD COUNTY, OHIO, March 1, 1835.

His Excellency, ROBERT LUCAS, Governor of Ohio:

SIR: At the request of a large number of my fellow citizens, I

hasten to advise you of the aspect of our affairs in this quarter of the

State, that your Excellency may adopt such measures to protect their

rights and maintain the laws of the State, as under existing circumstances

may be deemed necessary.

A notice was last week issued, calling a meeting at Tremainsville of

the citizens of that portion of the State of Ohio lying north of an east and

west line drawn through the southern extreme or bend of Lake Michigan,

and which had heretofore been under the temporary jurisdiction of the

territorial government of Michigan. The object of this meeting was to

spread intelligence among the people, and to prepare them for the exten-

sion of the jurisdiction of the State to its entire constitutional limits, and

to guard against any chance of division by the industrious efforts of cer-

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.          209

 

tain emmissaries, who had been sent out by the acting Governor of Michi-

gan to create an interest in favor of the territory, and to prevent the

operation of the laws of Ohio. The meeting assembled yesterday after-

noon to the number of some three hundred persons. A deputation was

sent out from Michigan consisting of General Brown, of Lenawee county;

General Humphrey, of Monroe; Mr. Bacon, of the Legislative Council, and

a number of the judicial and military officers of Monroe county, ostensi-

bly to confer and consult with our citizens, but whose real object was to

overawe and divide our meeting. As the nature of their visit was under-

stood, a resolution was unanimously passed, at the commencement of the

meeting, inviting all strangers who might feel any interest in its proceed-

ings to attend, but declaring it 'indecorous, improper and out of order' for

any person to take part in its deliberations who was not interested as a

resident of Ohio, or called by the language of the notice under which we

had assembled.

Notwithstanding this decisive and unanimous resolution of our citi-

zens, repeated efforts were made by General Brown, through his associates,

to get a hearing from our audience, and to procure the reading of an order

from the acting Governor of Michigan. It at length came into the hands

of a citizen, who happened to be in the Michigan interest, and who had

just received a commission from Governor Mason, and the order was by

him offered to the meeting, and permission asked to read it aloud; but as

soon as the signature was discovered, it was indignantly rejected by the

meeting, and its reading declared out of order, according to the spirit of

our first resolution. The purport of this order, as I afterwards learned

was certain instructions from acting Governor Mason to General Brown, to

proceed forthwith to this place, and other towns in the northwestern part

of Ohio, and to ascertain what public officers were in the interest of the

State, for the purpose of having them removed, and replaced by others

more loyal to the cause of Michigan. And if, after all his efforts, he could

not create a division, or raise a party among our citizens sufficiently strong

to maintain the laws of Michigan, then to raise a posse and proceed forth-

with with the public authorities of the adjacent counties, and forcibly sup-

port the jurisdiction of Michigan, and, particularly, to put into effect the

late unconstitutional and unprecedented enactment of the Legislative

Council of the territory, subjecting our citizens to a fine of one thousand

dollars and imprisonment at hard labor for a term of five years, if they

should so far assert their rights as to receive or hold a commission under

the State, from whose constitution they had a right to claim protection.

But notwithstanding all this, and in the very presence of these very gentle-

men who had come to promulgate these mandates -to put into execution

these instructions, and to overawe the populace when the special message

of your Excellency, and the resolutions and enactments of the General

Assembly of Ohio, extending to them their rights as citizens of the State,

and the protection of its laws were read, the meeting strongly and firmly

Vol. IV-14

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resolved to support the laws and constitution of Ohio. To this resolution

there were but four or five voices in the negative.

After the meeting had adjourned, General Brown read his order to the

populace, and assured them that the laws of Michigan should be enforced,

and that before the State of Ohio should extend her jurisdiction over this

part of her constitutional limits, she would have to march over the dead

bodies of that portion of her citizens who had heretofore been under the

jurisdiction of Michigan.

Every effort has been made by General Brown and his emissaries to

create divisions and intimidate our citizens. For this purpose threats were

used-the aid of the General Government was freely pledged to those

who would come out on the side of Michigan -and where intimidation

and threats failed to produce the effect, commissions were freely offered

and granted.

I herewith send you the last number of the Michigan Sentinel, from

which your Excellency will be able to gather the feelings and sentiments

of the citizens of that part of the territory upon the subject, which, from

its immediate vicinity and from its former relations to us, has in its power

materially to harass and oppress our citizens.

With sentiments of deepest respect, I am, sir, your Excellency's

obedient servant,                           ANDREW PALMER.

 

Can we not, in our mind's eye, fancy the excitement that

the receipt of this and other such letters produced in this

burough of Columbus during the sitting of the legislature, just

sixty years ago last month? For at that time Columbus had

evoluted from the village moth into the butterfly borough.

When the tri-weekly stage from the North would arrive at Col.

Noble's pretentious National Hotel, the lineal ancestor of the

Neil House, can we not picture the eager gathering of loyal

Buckeyes to ascertain the latest news from the seat of war; and

what arguments among the members of the General Assembly

over their hot toddies in the genial bar-rooms of the Red Lion,

the White Horse Tavern, and particularly at the Swan Tavern,

where the legislators were extremely fond of stopping with mine

host, Mr. Heyl?

The acting Governor and Secretary of the Territory of

Michigan at this time was Stevens T. Mason, a very young

Virginian.

We must remember that this was the period in our National

history when Andrew Jackson had introduced the idea that

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.    211

 

"to the victor belongs the spoils"; and this principle was to and

did actuate and control all appointments. As Hon. Thomas

Cooley says, in his excellent history of Michigan:

"As the people of the territories had no vote, they consti-

tuted no part of the victors who had captured and taken posses-

sion of the general government, and were, therefore, entitled to

no consideration in the distribution of rewards. These must go

to Virginia, Pennsylvania and other States, where many citizens

who had shown their patriotism by their labors in electing the

president were now waiting in expectation of receiving their share

in the division of what had been won at that election. Personal

fitness for office was found in the fact that claims had been

established by labors in securing the election of the presidential

incumbent, and this, if not sufficient for all cases, would seem to

have been thought ample in the case of a merely territorial

position. But circumstances of a more personal nature might

also have some influence, and it therefore caused no surprise

when Mr. John T. Mason, of Virginia, brother-in-law to the late

Postmaster-General Barry, but wholly ignorant of the territory

and its people, was appointed territorial secretary. What fitness

he might have developed for the office, no one can tell, as he

soon elected not to discharge its duties, and went abroad on an

enterprise for private parties. The president thereupon trans-

ferred the appointment to Stevens T. Mason, his son. The

only reason ever advanced for this selection, and the only one

that could have existed, was that the father requested it.

"The appointment of a successor to Governor Cass had not

as yet been made, and by law the new secretary would be acting

governor and also acting superintendent of Indian affairs. A

rumor soon spread that young Mason was under the age of legal

majority; that, in fact, he was but nineteen years of age; and

his personal appearance indicated the truth of the rumor. A

committee of citizens was thereupon appointed to inquire into

the facts; and on calling upon him was frankly told by the

young gentlemen that he was indeed under age, but he added

that the President very well knew the fact when he made the

appointment. Young as the secretary was, he had not failed to

imbibe the spirit which was dictating the distribution of political

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favors; and he justified the appointment to the committee on the

ground that the emoluments of the office were needed for the

support of his father's family while the father was absent from

the country. To a committee, some of whose members had the

old-fashioned notion that offices were to be created and filled on

public, not on private considerations, the reason assigned seemed

only an aggravation of the original wrong. The papers of the

day declared that the people of the territory were outraged by

this attempt to place a boy in authority over gray heads. Even

the Indians, it was said, would know better than this. 'They

know, if we do not, that age and talents are to be treated with

respect, and that boys are not to mingle in the councils of the

elders, much less to assume authority over them.' But the

people wasted breath and the editors their ink. The President

was taking care of his friends, and was making precedents to be

followed and enjoyed by many successors. If it pleased him to

send a boy to sit in the seat of Cass and play governor, com-

plaints of the people concerned would no more move him than

the howling of wild beasts in their forests. The official organ at

Washington, a large part of whose business it was to defend

removals made at the mere will of the President, did indeed take

notice of the complaints, but only to advance, with assumed

gravity in reply to their protests, that as young Mason, whether

properly appointed or not, was now in office, he could not, with

propriety, be removed so long as he was not guilty of official

misconduct; and with this answer the people were forced to con-

tent themselves as best they might."

Accordingly, the warm blood of the young Southerner was

fired, and he promptly proceeded to anticipate the action of the

Ohio Legislature. He sent a special message to the Legislative

Council of Michigan, informing them of the special message of

Governor Lucas, and advising the passage of an act to counteract

the actions of Ohio, which as we learn from the Toledo letter we

read, was done 11 days before Governor Lucas sent his special

message to the General Assembly of Ohio. Ohio evidently had

an enemy in her own camp, as the following letter of Governor

Mason to General Brown, commanding the third division of

Michigan militia, shows:

• 14
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.          213

 

"EXECUTIVE OFFICE, Detroit, March 9, 1835.

"SIR: YOU will herewith receive a copy of a letter just received from

Columbus. You now perceive that a collision between Ohio and Michigan

is inevitable, and will therefore be prepared to meet the crisis. The Gov-

ernor of Ohio has issued a proclamation, but I have neither received it nor

have I ever been able to learn its tendency. You will use every exertion to

obtain the earliest information of the military movements of our adversary,

as I shall assume the responsibility of sending you such arms, etc., as may

be necessary for your successful operation, without waiting for an order

from the Secretary of War, so soon as Ohio is properly in the field. Till

then I am compelled to await the direction of the War Department.

"Very respectfully your obedient servant,

STEVENS T. MASON.

GENERAL Jos. W. BROWN."

 

But we must change our point of observation and move to

the front with the troops. On March 31, Governor Lucas, with

his staff and his recently appointed boundary commissioners,

arrived at Perryville to re-mark the Harris line, in conformity

with the law passed February 3. At the same time arrived there

General John Bell, in command of a volunteer force of about

six hundred men, fully equipped with the sinews of war. These

troops went into camp at old Fort Miami, awaiting the orders of

General Lucas, as Commander-in-Chief of Ohio's militia.

In the meantime, the young Acting Governor of Michigan,

with his chief of staff and a force estimated between eight and

twelve hundred, arrived at Toledo and went into camp, prepared

to resist to the bitter end any attempt of Ohio's force to invade

the disputed territory.

It is quite unnecessary to add that the inhabitats of both

States were wild with excitement. The two governors had, by

special messages to their respective legislatures, so committed

themselves that a trial by battle seemed the only alternative; and

Governor Lucas determined to move upon Toledo with all his

force at once.

Columbus was not without its participants in this cruel war.

This village was stirred to its young foundations with excitement,

and the young men of that time, clerks, lawyers, doctors-every-

body was enthused with the gory intention of wiping out the blot

on the fair escutcheon of Ohio. Among others of that time,

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214       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 4

 

when Governor Lucas was about to set out for the seat of war,

Mr. Frank Work, now of New York City, and the late John G.

Deshler, both then of this city, volunteered as aids to the Gov-

ernor. When arrayed in the full panoply of war, while in camp

at Fort Miami, they undertook to forage for supplies for Ohio's

brave defenders. They set out one afternoon well supplied with

flasks of corn juice as distilled in those days, and after a success-

ful expedition, were returning home to camp, the saddles well

hung with chickens, fruit and other provender, when to their

horror and dismay they were captured by an equally hungry set

of Michiganders.  Appreciating their position, Messrs. Work

and Deshler wisely determined to make the best of the situation

and proposed that they all join in a feast off of the foraged goods,

and saying at the same time that they would furnish the liquid

refreshments. The plan was received with shouts of joy, and

soon the captors and captives were enjoying the toothsome

chicken and succulent roasting ears, to say nothing of the black

bottle. However, the Columbus youths, while liberally sup-

plying the enemy with whisky, took but little themselves. After

awhile, the rich dinner and the liberal potations before the warm

camp fire proved too much for the captors and they were lulled

to sleep under the combined soothing influences, whereupon

Messrs. Work and Deshler sprang to their horses and were soon

within the camp of their friends.

Realizing that serious consequences would result unless

something was speedily done, the President called upon his

Attorney-General, Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, for his

legal opinion, and he responded that until Congress gave express

assent to the Ohio boundary, the disputed territory must be con-

sidered as belonging to Michigan. This reply embarrassed the

President exceedingly.  It was his duty, having asked the

Attorney-General for his opinion, to follow it, and, in the

expression of to-day, "call Governor Lucas down."  But Ohio

was a great State. It was, as it has since been, and certainly

will be in '96, an important factor in the presidential election.

The President realized that at the same time in losing the electo-

ral vote of Ohio in the next election, he would likewise alienate

Illinois and Indiana, who were also interested in the boundary

• 16
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.    215   question adversely to Michigan. Accordingly, to relieve himself from his embarrassment, the President attempted to temporize. He intervened just at this juncture, when excitement was at its highest, before Lucas had completed his plan of attack, and sent Hon. Richard Rush, of Philadelphia, and Colonel Howard, of Baltimore, to act as commissioners from the President of the United States to prevent this fratracidal war.  Hon. Elisha

• 17
 

216       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 4

 

Whittlesey, of Ohio, accompanied the commissioners as a sort

of assistant peacemaker.

These commissioners and the billigerent governors had

several conferences.  Finally, on April 7, Governor Lucas

assented to the following proposition, and then only at the

urgent request of the commissioners:

"First. That the Harris line should be run and re-marked

pursuant to the act of the last session of the Legislature of Ohio

without interruption.

"Second. The civil elections under the laws of Ohio having

taken place throughout the disputed territory, that the people

residing upon should be left to their own government, obeying

the one jurisdiction or the other, as they may prefer, without

molestation from the authorities of Ohio or Michigan until the

close of the next session of Congress."

This, as you can see, left the inhabitants in the delightful

situation of selecting whatever government they chose to obey

until the close of the next session of Congress. Governor Mason

rejected these proposals. Governor Lucas, regarding the com-

missioners direct from the President as of higher authority than

an Acting Governor of a territory, disbanded his armed force.

It can be seen that our present President had something of a

precedent in his appointment of a paramount commissioner.

It never was contended that the Michigan authorities ever

consented to these arrangements; and if the commissioners had

possessed the paramount authority, which the Secretary of State

afterwards expressly denied had been attempted to be bestowed

upon them, the situation resulting from such a decision would

have been simply anarchy.

Believing the matter settled for the present, Governor Lucas

supposed, under the sanction obtained from the commissioners,

he had a right to re- mark the Harris line, and forthwith ordered

it done. A copy of the report of the surveyor commissioners

tells the result of this attempt:

• 18
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.           217

 

PERRYSBURG, May 1, 1835.

 

To ROBERT LUCAS, ESQ., Governor of the State of Ohio.

SIR: In the discharge of the duties which devolve upon us as com-

missioners appointed by your Excellency for re-marking the northern

boundary line of this State, which is known and distinguished as Harris's

line, we met at Perrysburg on Wednesday, April 1, last, and after complet-

ing the necessary arrangements, proceeded to the northwest corner of the

State, and there succeeded in finding the corner as described in the field

notes of the Surveyor Harris, a copy of which we had procured from the

Surveyor-General's office. Thence your commissioners proceeded east-

wardly along said line, which they found with little difficulty, and re-

marked the same as directed by law in a plain and visible manner, to the

distance of thirty-eight miles and a half, being more than half the length

of the whole line.

During our progress we had been constantly threatened by the

authorities of Michigan, and spies from the territory, for the purpose of

watching our movements and ascertaining our actual strength, were almost

daily among us.

On Saturday evening, the 25th ult., after having performed a laborious

day's service, your commissioners, together with their party, retired to the

distance of about one mile south of the line, in Henry county, within the

State of Ohio, where we thought to have rested quietly and peacefully en-

joy the blessings of the Sabbath-and especially not being engaged on

the line, we thought ourselves secure for the day. But contrary to our ex-

pectations, at about twelve o'clock in the day an armed force of about fifty

or sixty men hove in sight, within musket-shot of us, all mounted upon

horses, well armed with muskets and under the command of General

Brown, of Michigan. Your commissioners, observing the great superiority

of force, having but five armed men among us, who had been employed to

keep a lookout and as hunters for the party, thought it prudent to retire,

and so advised our men. Your commissioners, with several of their party,

made good their retreat to this place. But, sir, we are under the painful

necessity of relating that nine of our men, who did not leave the ground

in time after being fired upon by the enemy, from thirty to fifty shots,

were taken prisoners and carried away into the interior of the country.

Those who were taken were as follows, to-wit: Colonels Hawkins, Scott

and Gould, Major Rice, Captain Biggerstaff, and Messrs. Elsworth,

Fletcher, Moale and Rickets.

We are happy to learn that our party did not fire a gun in turn, and

that no one was wounded, although a ball from the enemy passed through

the clothing of one of our men.

We have this day learned by some of the men who were arrested and

have just returned, that they were taken to Tecumseh under the escort of

the armed force, were there brought before a magistrate for examination,

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218        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.   [VOL. 4

 

that they denied the jurisdiction; but that six entered bail for their ap-

pearance; two were released as not guilty, and one, to- wit: Mr. Fletcher,

refused to give bail and is retained in custody.

We are also further informed, by unquestionable authority, that on

the Sabbath day an armed force of several hundred men were stretched

along the line to the east of us, with a view to intercept us on our way.

Under existing circumstances and in the present threatening attitude

of affairs, your commissioners have thought it prudent, for the interest of

the State, as also for the safety of her citizens and to prevent the threat-

ened effusion of blood, to withdraw from the line at present and suspend

the further prosecution of the work, until some efficient preparatory meas-

ures can be taken which will insure the completion of the undertaking.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

[Signed]          JONATHAN TAYLOR,

J. PATTERSON,

URI SEELEY,

Commissioners.

 

This report was forwarded by Governor Lucas to the Presi-

dent, who, in turn, ordered Governor Mason to send him a state-

ment of the outrages which had been committed.

Among other sufferers from these assaults was one of the

most interesting characters in the early history of the Maumee

Valley-Major Stickney. He had long been a ruling spirit at

Swan Creek, afterward Toledo. It was a fad of his to be and do

everything different from everybody else. His very accomplished

wife, who, by the way, was a daughter of the celebrated General

and Molly Stark, of revolutionary fame, could not restrain his

eccentricities.  For example, he named his boys after the

numerals and his girls after the States. The boys were One,

Two, etc., and, with the exception of his oldest daughter, named

for his wife, the girls were Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, etc. It is

related that on one occasion Mrs. Stickney came to the piazza in

front of their house, opposite a vessel which was lying at anchor

in the river, and calling her sons, she said: "Two call One to

breakfast." A sailor aboard the boat looked up and said: " Is

this the Maumee? It must be a terrible hard country, if it takes

two to call one to breakfast."

In 1821, when Wood county attempted to assume jurisdic-

tion over Swan Creek, the brave Major pursuaded his neighbors,

in convention assembled, that they were under the jurisdiction of

• 20
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.           219

 

Michigan and not Ohio at all. Afterwards, when the great ques-

tion arose as to where the Maumee and Miami canal was to

terminate, the Major saw that the future of Swan Creek, or To-

ledo, depended upon having the canal terminate there. Accord-

ingly, he called another public meeting and represented to his

neighbors that they were all wrong in seceding from Ohio to

Michigan; they would have to rebel all over again, and re-secede

once more from Michigan back again to Ohio; that Ohio was,

after all, the only State, and they would be true to her, though

the heavens fell. It was but natural, therefore, especially as

Stickney had been particularly active in stirring up Ohio's Gov-

ernor in the matter, that he should have been an especial object

of ill-treatment.  His own vigorous letter shows the spirit of

the man:

MONROE PRISON, May 6, 1835.

DEAR SIR: Here I am, peeping through the grates of a loathsome

prison, for the monstrous crime of having acted as the Judge of an election

within the State of Ohio.

From what took place the other day at Port Miami, at a conference

between yourself and the Commissioners of the United States, wherein we

had the honor of being present, we were led to believe that a truce at least

would be the result. In this way we were again deceived. I left my resi-

dence in Toledo in company with a lady and gentleman from the interior

of Ohio, to visit my friend, A. E. Wing, of Monroe, and others, conceiving

that respect for the ordinary visits of hospitality would have been sufficient

for my protection under such circumstances. But vindictiveness is carried

to such extremes, that all the better feelings of man are buried in the

common rubbish. The officer who first took me, treated me in a very

uncivil manner; dragging me about as a criminal through the streets of

Monroe, notwithstanding there are a number of exceptions to this virulent

mass.

On board the boat we took passage from Toledo to Monroe, were

Messrs. Rush and Howard on their way to Washington. They will make

favorable mention of the extreme forbearance of Ohio. At eight o'clock

this morning we saw and shook hands with the governor of these move-

ments (Mason), and his general (Brown) in Monroe, just leaving for

Detroit. It is presumable that they directed those outrageous trans-

actions.

Seventh, 7 o'clock A. M.-Have been here fourteen hours and no re-

freshments of any kind yet furnished. It appears probable that it is

intended to soften us by starvation.

Those bands of ruffians of the United States, hanging upon the

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220        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.   [VOL. 4

 

northern border of Ohio, require chastisement. It is to be hoped that the

United States will take speedy measures to reduce them to submission.

They have become very troublesome to the Western States, as you are fully

aware, and the State of Ohio particularly, making inroads by night and by

day in large gangs, and committing depredations upon the peaceable popu-

lation - kidnapping and abducting individuals who have become offensive

to them. Whether the United States undertakes the subduing of these law-

less desperadoes or leave the State individually to defend themselves,

it will require a large force. We cannot but hope that the United States or

the State to which I belong, will not permit our individual sufferings

to urge them to any measures that may not be consistent with an enlarged

view of the rights of the United States or the individual states. I have the

honor to be, sir, your very obedient servant,

B. F. STICKNEY.

His Excellency, ROBERT LUCAS, Governor of the State of Ohio.

As can readily be imagined, the breaking up of the boundary

survey party and the various high-handed outrages committed by

the Michigan troops, roused the people of Ohio to a frenzy of

excitement. The newspapers teemed with the "Desecration of

Ohio's Fair Soil," and other such phrases.

It was not all one-sided, however, as the Whig party, who

were opposed to Governor Lucas, ridiculed his conduct as calcu-

lated to bring disgrace upon the State; but these critics were

few in number.

The Governor finding it impracticable to re-survey the Harris

line, determined upon more vigorous efforts. He called an extra

session of the Legislature to meet June 8, a thing which, I believe,

has only been done twice in the history of the State. The Legis-

lature was ready to assist the Governor. It passed an act

erecting Lucas county in the disputed territory, attaching the

new county to the Second Judicial Disirict.   It made Toledo

the temporary seat of justice and directed "that the Court

of Common Pleas be held at Toledo on the first Monday in

September next at the most convenient house." The Legis-

lature further enacted a law to prevent the forcible abduction of

the citizens of Ohio, and appropriated three hundred thousand

dollars out of the treasury to carry these laws into effect, while

the governor was authorized to borrow three hundred thousand

dollars more on the credit of the State. The division com-

manders of the militia were directed to report the number of

• 22
 

The Ohio - Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.         221

 

men who would volunteer to enforce by arms the Ohio laws in the

disputed territory. Immediately over ten thousand were re-

ported as ready to do or die.

These acts on the part of Ohio only exasperated the Michi-

gan authorities to greater aggressions. A system of desultory

arrests, imprisonments and petty aggravations on the part of the

Michigan authorities continued all during the summer of 1835,

involving much bitter conflict and many humorous incidents.

Finally, on July 15, an attempt was made to arrest Two

Stickney, an ardent Ohio partisan, who had stabbed the deputy

sheriff and made his escape. This was reported by Governor

Mason to President Jackson; and Governor Lucas, perceiving

that something must be done to secure peace, sent Noah H.

Swayne, William Allen and D. T. Disney to confer with the

President, who promised these gentlemen that nothing should

interfere with the establishment of the Harris line as Ohio's

boundary. Jackson was looking after that electoral vote. The

communication between the representatives of Governor Lucas

and the President so fully present the objects to be accomplished

by Ohio, and the points of difficulties, that I quote them.

 

WASHINGTON, July 1, 1835.

SIR: In accordance with the wish intimated by the President, at the

close of our conversation this morning, we proceed to commit to writing

the substance of the suggestions which we then had the honor to submit.

Before we do so, permit us to repeat that, although we have repaired

to Washington at the instance of the Governor of Ohio, as indicated in his

letter of which we were the bearers, we appear in the character of private

citizens, none other.

The purpose of our visit is expressed in the letter referred to; it is to

bring about a more full and satisfactory mutual understanding than is

believed at present to exist, and aid in averting the unpleasant conse-

quences which might otherwise possibly arise from the existing posture of

things.

The arrangements entered into at Perrysburg with Messrs. Rush and

Howard on April 7, ultimo (vide documents, page 30), provide:

First. That Harris' Line should be run and re-marked, pursuant to

the act of the Legislature of Ohio, without interruption.

Second. That both parties should abstain from forcible exercise of

jurisdiction upon the disputed territory, until after the close of the next

session of Congress.

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222         Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.     [VOL. 4

 

The compromise bill of Ohio (as it is termed) contemplates that this

arrangement should be carried out, and that whatever has been done incon-

sistent with its provisions should be undone, or in other words:

First. That the pending recognizances and prosecutions under the

act of Michigan, of February 12,1835, shall be discharged and discontinued.

Second. That no new prosecutions under this act shall be instituted,

Third. That Harris' Line shall be run and re-marked by the author-

ities of Ohio, without interruption from those of Michigan.

Fourth. That no forcible opposition be made by the authorities of

Ohio or Michigan to the exercise of jurisdiction by the other upon the

disputed territory within the time specified, the citizens residing upon the

territory in question resorting to the one jurisdiction or other, as they may

prefer.

What Ohio expects and desires, as indicated by the bills referred to,

is as follows:

First. That the authorities of Michigan shall not interrupt the run-

ning and re-marking of the Harris Line by Ohio.

Second. That the authorities having charge of the prosecutions under

the act of Michigan, above mentioned, shall discontinue those prosecutions,

and discharge the recognizances taken for the appearance of the defendants,

and that they abstain from instituting any new prosecutions under that act

within the time stated.

The President remarked that he believed advice from the proper

source, to the authorities of Michigan upon those points, would prove

effectual.

In this opinion we concur undoubtingly. The steps suggested would,

therefore, remove all practical difficulty, and prevent the possibility of an

armed collision, growing out of the subject.

Under such a state of things, we feel authorized to say, that while the

authorities of Ohio would, as far as possible, consistent with the arrange-

ment of April 7, exercise a peaceable jurisdiction upon the disputed terri-

tory, she would do nothing to prevent the exercise of a like jurisdiction by

the authorities of Michigan; and that hereafter, as heretofore, she would

manifest a spirit of the utmost forbearance, until Congress at its next

session shall have acted upon the subject, and settled authoritatively the

contested question of right.

As respects the appointment of a Commissioner on the part of the

United States to aid in re-marking the line, that proposition was made by

the Legislature of Ohio in courtesy to the General Government.

There is nothing in her legislation which makes the appointment

material. We deem it unnecessary, therefore, to remark further upon this

point.

In order to render this communication as brief as possible, we have

• 24
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.            223

 

abstained from the discussion of all considerations touching the merits of

the controversy.

With great respect, we are, sir,

Your most obedient servants,

N. H. SWAYNE,

D. T. DISNEY,

W. ALLEN.

HON. JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State, U. S.

 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

WASHINGTON, July 3, 1835.

GENTLEMEN: Your letter of the 1st instant, written in your character

of private citizens, was received yesterday.

By the direction of the President, to whom it has been submitted, I

now have the honor to reply.

In everything that has been done or suggested by the President, or by

his authority, in regard to the question of the northern boundary of Ohio,

he has been influenced solely by a desire to prevent, without prejudice to

the rights of any one, collisions between the authorities of the General,

State or Territorial Governments, that would be destructive of the public

peace, and bring dishonor upon the institutions of the country.

If his views and wishes have not been correctly understood in Ohio

he is happy to believe that the free communications which you have had

with him, and with the head of this department, will enable you to correct

the misapprehensions that may exist upon the subject in any quarter.

This department has never been advised by Messrs. Rush and Howard

of the arrangements stated in page 30 of the documents published at Co-

lumbus, by order of the State of Ohio, to which you refer as having been

entered into by them at Perrysburg.

The President is, however, induced to believe from the recent pro-

ceedings of the Legislature of Ohio, as explained by your letter, and the

late resolutions of the Convention of Michigan, that an informal under-

standing may be produced, through the instrumentality of this depart-

ment, which will meet the wishes of all, and effect the great object he has

been most anxious to promote, the mutual suspension, until after the next

session of Congress, of all action that would by possibility produce col-

lision. Supported in this belief by your letter, which he understands to be

conformable to the wishes and instructions of Governor Lucas, the Presi-

dent, without taking upon himself any other character than that in which

he has heretofore acted, will cause an earnest recommendation to be imme-

diately sent to the acting Governor of Michigan, and the other authorities

of the Territory, whom he can rightfully advise in the performance of

their duty, " that no obstruction shall be interposed to the remarking of

'Harris's Line'; that all proceedings already begun under the act of Feb-

ruary, shall be immediately discontinued; that no prosecutions shall be

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224        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 4

 

commenced for any subsequent violations of that act, until after the next

session of Congress, and that all questions about the disputed jurisdiction

shall be carefully avoided, and if occurring inevitably, their discussion shall

be postponed until the same period."

The President confidently trusts this recommendation, which he be-

lieves required by a regard for the public safety and honor, will be effectual

with the authorities of Michigan, and will not fail to exercise all his con-

stitutional power in this, as in every other instance, to preserve and main-

tain the public tranquility. I have the honor to be, gentlemen,

Your obedient servant,

MESSRS. SWAYNE, ALLEN AND DISNEY.       JOHN FORSYTH,

In the meantime, matters in Michigan were becoming much

complicated. The Territory organized for a State government

by adopting a constitution, electing Mason as Governor of that

State, choosing United States senators, etc. All this was done

under the Ordinance of 1787, which provided that when the

population of a territory exceeded sixty thousand (and Michigan

was nearly a hundred thousand by this time) they had a right to

at once form a State government and apply for admission to the

Union. So far, so good; but we know no State has a right to

demand admission. It was therefore not probable that Congress

would grant Michigan's request so long as the boundary line

question was unsolved, particularly as it was known that the

President was displeased with the action of Governor Mason in

regard to the controversy. In August, the President removed

Mason as Acting Governor, and appointed John S. Horner to

supersede him. Horner was so unpopular that his appointment

was in name only, as the inhabitants of Michigan refused to let

him act.   Mason continued in authority until the great and

glorious victory of Ohio in holding court in Toledo, by which

she definitely established her jurisdiction over the newly formed

county of Lucas.

As it approached the time appointed to hold court, the

judges began to quake and tremble. Toledo was held by twelve

hundred bloodthirsty Michiganders. What show would the ju-

diciary have against such an array with its train of artillery?

Governor Lucas had sent one hundred men under Colonel Van

Fleet to protect the court. The judges were a trifle uncertain

about the odds in case of conflict, but the valiant Colonel had

• 26
 

The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.    225

 

his plans perfected. Interrupting the complaints of the judges,

he said: " If you are women, go home; if you are men, do your

duty as judges of the court. I will do mine. Leave the matter

entirely to me; I will be responsible for your safety and insure

the accomplishment of your object. But if otherwise, I can give

you no assurance." The judges, overpowered by this martial

reply, placed their dignity and honor in his keeping. I borrow

a vivid account of this most strategic military movement from a

pamphlet by Hon. W. V. Way, of Perrysburg, Ohio:

"He, Colonel Van Fleet, told the judges that September 7

would commence immediately after midnight, and that there

was no hour specified in the law when the court should be

opened. Governor Lucas wants the court held, so that by its

record he can show to the world that he has executed the laws

of Ohio over the disputed territory, in spite of the vapouring

threats of Governor Mason. If we furnish him that record, we

shall accomplish all that is required. Be prepared to mount your

horses to start for Toledo at precisely one o'clock A. M. I will

be ready with an escort to protect you."

"At the hour named, the judges and officers of court were

promptly in the saddle. Colonel Van Fleet was ready with his

twenty men, mounted and completely armed. Each man had a

rifle in addition to his two cavalry pistols. They proceeded to

Toledo, reaching there about three o'clock A. M., and went to the

school house that stood near where Washington street crosses

the canal, and opened court in due form of law. Junius Flagg

acted as sheriff. The proceedings were hastily written on loose

paper, and deposited in the clerk's hat. When the court ad-

journed, the officers and escort went to the tavern, then kept by

Munson H. Daniels, not far from where the American House

now stands, kept by J. Langderfer, registered their names and

took a drink all round; while filling their glasses for a second

drink, a mischievious wag ran into the tavern and reported that

a strong force of Michigan men were close by, coming to arrest

them. They dropped their glasses, spilling the liquor they in-

tended to have drunk, and sprang for their horses with all possi-

ble haste, leaving bills to be settled at a more leisure time. As

they had accomplished the work intended, speed was of more

Vol. IV-15

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226      Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VoL. 4

 

importance than valor. A backward charge from the enemy was

made at the top of the speed of their horses.

"They took the train that led to Maumee, by way of the

route nearest the river. They went at such furious speed that,

if their charge had been made in the opposite direction towards

the enemy, they would have pierced the most solid columns.

When they arrived at the top of the hill, near where the Oliver

House now stands, not discovering the enemy in pursuit, they

came to a halt and faced about. It was then discovered that the

clerk had lost his hat, and with it the papers containing the

proceedings of the court, from which the record was to be made

up. The clerk wore one of those high bell-crowned hats, fash-

ionable in those days, and which he used for carrying his papers

as well as covering his head. It was then the custom in traveling

to carry everything in the top of hats, from a spare collar and

dickey to court papers. The hat of the clerk, reaching high

above his head, burdened with its load of papers and other in-

cumbrances, was steadied on by the left hand for greater safety,

while the right held the reins. But in spite of this precaution,

it struck against an overhanging limb of a tree with such vio-

lence, that it was knocked off and fell to the ground. Having

succeeded in holding the court without molestation or bloodshed,

and now losing the papers, would leave them in as bad condition,

or worse, than if they had done nothing, in case they should fall

into the hands of the enemy. Notwithstanding, they all believed

they had been discovered and pursued, and might be surrounded

by superior numbers and taken, if they delayed; yet the import-

ance of recovering the papers was such as to nerve them to the

boldest daring. Colonel Van Fleet's courage and tact did not

desert him in this emergency. He had succeeded in accomplish-

ing what had been contemplated; and now their labor would be

lost, and the expedition be an entire failure, without a recovery

of the papers. With him, to will, was to do. He directed the

clerk and two of the guards to dismount, and feel their way back

carefully in search of the papers, while the balance of the posse

kept watch, to cover retreat. He cautioned them to move with

as little noise as possible, and if likely to be discovered by the

enemy, to conceal themselves, and watch their movements so

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.       227

 

that they could use the best possible advantage to accomplish

their object. The orders were that nothing but utter impossi-

bility would excuse a failure to recover them. The search proved

safe and successful; the hat was found and the papers recovered.

The party reported no enemy in sight. The State of Ohio was

now triumphant; a record could be, and was made up, and still

exists, to prove that the State of Ohio, on September 7, 1835,

exercised jurisdiction over the disputed territory, by holding a

Court of Common Pleas in due form of law. Here is the record

made up from the recovered papers:

 

THE STATE OF OHIO, LUCAS COUNTY, ss.:

At a Court of Common Pleas, begun and held at the Court House, in

Toledo, in said county, on Monday, the 7th day of September, Anno Domini

Eighteen Hundred and Thirty-five. Present, the Honorable Jonathan H

Jerome, Senior Associate Judge, of said county; their Honors, Baxter

Bowman and William Wilson, Associate Judges. The court being opened

in due form by the Sheriff of said county. Horatio Conant being appointed

Clerk of said court, exhibited his bond, with sureties accepted by the court

agreeably to the statute in such case made and provided. The court

appointed John Baldwin, Robert Gower and Cyrus Holloway, Commis-

sioners for said county. No further business appearing before said court,

the court adjourned without delay.

J. H. JEROME, Associate Judge.

"The feeling of joy at recovering the papers was so great

that Colonel Van Fleet ordered two salutes to be fired on the

spot. He well knew that the distance to the line of the State,

where there was no dispute about jurisdiction, was but small,

and that if pursued, they could reach there before being over-

hauled. The party proceeded to Maumee at a leisure pace,

reaching there a little after daylight."

This successful effort of the twenty Ohioans to achieve a

victory over twelve hundred men has rarely, if ever, been

equaled. It was extremely mortifying to Governor Mason and

he retreated with his force from the sanguinary field of battle.

From this time on the people of the disputed territory were

left to regulate their own affairs and peace and quiet intervened.

The boundary commissioners resumed their work of re-marking

their line and successfully accomplished it in November.

Michigan was clamoring for admission into the Union. Her

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condition of admission plainly became acquiescence in the claims

of Ohio. A full account of the claims of Ohio and Michigan,

together with the report of the Senate Judiciary Committee,

covering fifty pages, is found in the Senate Documents of 1836.

Thomas Ewing presented the claims of Ohio, and Messrs. Lyon,

Norvell and Crary, those of Michigan. While in the reports of

House Committees, Volume II, 1836, are also found all the

conflicting claims, maps, State papers and correspondence relat-

ing to the controversy, covering 124 pages. If you, in making

your verdict, desire further facts, I most respectfully refer you

to these tomes. I can assure you, however, that if you care to

pursue this subject further you will be deeply interested in these

reports.

Congress, to settle the matter, offered to admit Michigan to

the Union on condition of her resigning the disputed tract and

accepting in lieu thereof, a much larger territory, the Upper

Peninsula, which included valuable iron and copper mines and

immense forests. The belligerant feeling in Michigan, however,

was too strong and the proposition was rejected in convention,

held in September, 1836. Apparently, settlement was as far off

as ever. But the President was strongly in favor of this settle-

ment, and his party was growing in power.  A presidential

election was imminent and the would-be office holders wanted to

take their seats in Congress and elsewhere. They wanted their

share of the federal patronage, and as a public distribution of

land was to take place, they wanted Michigan to have her share.

Finally, a sort of rump convention, purporting to represent

a majority of electors, was held at Ann Arbor, December 6, 1836,

and this convention assumed sovereign power and accepted the

proposition of Congress. People ridiculed the convention, and

it received the appellation of the "frost bitten convention." But

the President's influence with the members of his own party in

Congress was such that they accepted the action of this so-called

convention, and on January 26, 1837, Michigan was solemnly

declared to have accepted the proposition of Congress and was

admitted to the Union.

Campbell, in his "Outlines of the Political History of Mich-

igan," says: "Many of the reminiscences of the campaign par-

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The Ohio-Michigan Boundary Line Dispute.    229

 

take of the ludicrous. It is not desirable nor necessary to regard

the many personal incidents and misadventures. Michigan had

a skeleton in her own closet in the shape of a claim of Lewis E.

Bailey, for a horse lost in the service of the State in defending

the supremacy of its laws. Year after year from 1836 to 1846,

this claim was regularly presented and regularly rejected, until

in the latter year, it dawned upon the minds of the legislators

that it was better to pay fifty dollars and interest from January

1, 1836, than to waste time and printing enough to have cost

more than a regiment of horses, and they surrendered to a siege

that paralleled in duration that of Troy. Time has healed the

other griefs, and if the historian is compelled to discuss them, it

is not with the pathetic lament of Queen Mary over the loss of

Calais, nor the hankering for territory which has made Alsace

and Lorraine a debatable ground so long. However doubtful

the bargain was originally by which Ohio obtained the spoils, it

has been ratified too thoroughly to be disputed, and our only

present emulation is friendly and neighborly."

In February, 1846, eleven years after this gory contest, the

Legislature of Ohio authorized the payment of three hundred

dollars to our old friend, Major Stickney, for damages to his

person and property on account of depredations committed on

him during the war, and further authorized the Auditor of State

to pay all costs and expenses incurred by him on account of his

arrest and imprisonment spoken of before.  In present day

parlance, he must have had a "pull" with the Legislature."

In looking back through the mist of years, it is pleasant to

remember that only two lives were lost in this conflict, those of

horses,-a valiant Ohio steed slain by Major Stickney through

mistake, and one lost in some unknown way, wandering forth in

the world, for which the State of Michigan paid Mr. Bailey. The

Sheriff's officer stabbed by Two Stickney recovered in the due

course of time, and I am quite sure that those who suffered

personal grievances had in the after years sufficient to repay

them in the happy consciousness of having adventures to talk

about around the tavern fire.

I cannot close this paper without making a quotation from

the witty book of our former townsman, Hon. S. S. Cox,-"A

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230       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.  [VOL. 4

 

Search for Winter Sunbeams,"-in which, while at Toledo in

Spain, he musingly draws a comparison between that Toledo

and Toledo, Ohio.

"Old Toledo was the subject of many a fray, bloody and

bitter as your Maumee Valley war, when mad Anthony Wayne

waged his Indian warfare, and as New Toledo was when as

disputed ground in the 'Wolvering War' between Ohio and

Michigan, she witnessed the destruction of watermelons and

corn whisky. The sweat which then flowed, and the feathers

which were then ruined, are known to the old inhabitants of

Ohio. Then I was a youth, but I have the recollection of

hearing valiant colonels, in my own native Muskingum hills,

addressing the militia drawn up around them in hollow squares,

inspiring them to rescue the realm of quinine and hoop-poles

from the grasp of the insatiate Michiganders! The recollection

makes my heart tremble. Ah! That was a war, whose adven-

tures no Cid has dared yet to celebrate! The passions then

engendered even yet vibrate in the cornstalks of the Maumee

Valley! A remarkable War! When soldiers retreated before

a foe not pursuing and ran through almost impassable swamps,

guided by the battle-fires of their own flaming eyes. The dead

and wounded of that war were never counted. Both sides fought

for a boundary line and both ran that line with the same exacti-

tude and compass. Their lines were both straight. I said I was

a boy then; but the tympanum of my ear even now at this

distance and age echoes to the rataplan of that sanguinary war."

Finally, we cannot but feel that the solution of the boundary

question by Congress was a happy one, in view of its later results.

Although when proposed, it most obviously favored Ohio, yet

time in its changes has brought about an equitable distribution

of spoils. Had Michigan's claims been favored, she would have

lost that invaluable territory which has become a great source of

wealth to her, and is destined in the future to yield even an

hundred - fold more.  Whether the beautiful city of Toledo

would have ever risen to her present proud position, it is im-

possible to speculate upon; but looking back over the actual

results of the Boundary War, Ohio and Michigan can clasp

hands and say, "It has resulted wisely for us both."

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