OHIO
Archaeological and Historical
PUBLICATIONS.
COLONEL WILLIAM CRAWFORD.1
BY JAMES H. ANDERSON.
UPPER SANDUSKY, OHIO, May 6, 1896.
Hon. J. H. Anderson, Columbus, Ohio,
DEAR JUDGE: I am directed by the
officers of the Wyandot
County Pioneer Association to extend you
an invitation to de-
liver an address at the picnic to be
held at Crawford, Thursday,
June 11, on the occasion of the 114th
anniversary of the burning
of Colonel William Crawford. Hoping to
receive a favorable
answer, so that you can be duly
mentioned in future notices and.
advertisements, I beg to remain,
Most respectfully,
E. N. HALBEDEL, Secretary.
1 This address was delivered before five
or six thousand people, on
the banks of the Tymochtee, near
Crawford's monument, in Crawford
township, Wyandot county, Ohio. Before
the formation of Wyandot
county, Crawford township was in
Crawford county. Crawford was burnt
by the Delaware Indians, June 11, 1782,
where the monument now stands,
which is about seven miles north-west of
Upper Sandusky, near Crawford
Station, and the town of Crawfordsville.
The monument bears this in-
scription: "In memory of Colonel
Crawford, who was burnt by the
Indians, in this valley, June 11, A. D.
1782." On the base are these words:
"Erected by the Pioneer Association
of Wyandot County, August 3, 1877."
Vol. VI-1
2 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
THE ADDRESS.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Wyandot
County Pioneer Association,
and Fellow Citizens:
In the year 1749, when George Washington
was surveying
the immense landed estate of his friend
Lord Fairfax, he made the
acquaintance of William Crawford, whose
home and birthplace
was in Orange county,2 Virginia,
the most northern portion of
the valley.3 This rich and
romantic region had not long been
occupied by white men when William
Crawford came upon the
scene in 1732, and the customs of the
inhabitants were simple and
primitive. When first seen by
Washington, William Crawford
was a youth of fine, manly presence,
above six feet in height, and
in point of strength and activity a very
athlete. While surveying
in the neighborhood of the Crawford
homestead, which became
the headquarters of Washington, a
friendship4 sprang up between
these two noble minded young men that
lasted till the tragic end
came. They were near the same age,
reared in the country, sons
of widows; and in size, strength,
activity, personal qualities and
characteristics were not unlike.
Crawford now accompanied
Washington on his surveying tours, and
thus acquired the art of
surveying which he thenceforth pursued,
along with farming,
till stern war demanded his whole time,
energies and resources.
In 1755 he forsook surveying, and
farming, to face the com-
mon enemy of the settlement-the Indian.
He accepted a com-
mission as ensign, and with Washington
fought under Braddock,
in the bloody and disastrous engagement
with the French and
Indians July 9, 1755, near Fort Du
Quesne. And the gallantry
of Ensign Crawford was such that he was
made a lieutenant the
next year. Lieutenant Crawford became
noted for bravery,
activity, and discretion in the wars
against the Indians, and French
and Indians. From 1755 to 1758 he was
employed on the fron-
tiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia in
garrison duty, leading scout-
2The
county of Frederick, afterwards formed, included Crawford's
birth-place. It is now in the county of
Berkeley.
3 The Shenandoah valley, or Valley of
Virginia.
4 Weems'
Life of Washington, pp. 28, 29.
Colonel William Crawford.
ing parties, and in other ways against
the Indians, where, by dear
experience, he was taught the most
effective way to fight and
subdue savages. It having been decided
in 1758 to make another
attempt to reduce Fort Du Quesne,
Washington, who was now
Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia
troops, secured for Crawford
a commission as captain, who thereupon
recruited a full company
of hardy frontiersmen to serve under
"his friend and benefactor."5
And one of the privates in Crawford's
company afterwards became
famous in the Revolutionary war as Major
General Daniel Mor-
gan.6 Such were the men who
decided to besiege and take Fort
Du Quesne. The army met with many
misadventures and difficul-
ties on the way, which retarded its
progress, but on the 25th of No-
vember, 1758, the French7 having
recently withdrawn from the
fort and sailed down the Ohio, it was
taken possession of by the
troops under Washington. After the
occupancy of the post,
Crawford continued in the service of
Virginia three years longer,
when he withdrew from army life, sought
his old home in the
valley, and again took up the double
occupation of farmer and
surveyor.
Captain Crawford's long military service
having made him
familiar with the rich region of
southwestern Pennsylvania, then
supposed to be a part of Virginia, he
decided to make it his home.
So in 17658 he built a cabin on
Braddock's road, at Stewart's
Crossings, about 40 miles from
Pittsburg, on the Youghiogheny
river, in what is now Fayette county,
Pennsylvania. It was then
in Cumberland, later in Bedford,
afterwards in Westmoreland and
finally in Fayette. In 1765 it was a
"howling wilderness" in
almost every direction. As soon as his
cabin was ready for occu-
pancy9 he commenced trading
with the Indians, and surveying
lands for speculators and settlers, and
in two years a large part
of his farm, probably with the
assistance of his slaves, was cleared.
5 Weems' Life of Washington, p. 29.
6 Hall's Romance of Western History,
Chap. VII, p. 121.
As to the designs of France, see
Bouquet's Expedition. Cincinnati,
1868, p. 11.
8 Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, p. 114.
9 His wife and three children joined him
in the Spring of 1766.
4 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Crawford's place of 376 acres was better
known than any other
west of the mountains, for his
hospitality and big hearted gen-
erosity knew no bounds.10 In
this log cabin, remote from the
refinements of civilization, Crawford
was not forgotten by Wash-
ington, nor did they neglect to write to
each other, as a hand-
some volume entitled The
Washington-Crawford Letters, by C.
W. Butterfield, sufficiently attests.
The first letter by Washing-
ton is dated September 21, 1767; the
last by Crawford is dated
May 23, 1781, a few months before his
awful death. Other letters
no doubt passed between these true
friends and great men, that
were lost or destroyed. Crawford selected and surveyed for
Washington11 on and near the
Youghiogheny, Great Kanawha,
and Ohio rivers, a great deal of land,
forty or fifty thousand acres,
and these lands in the language of
Washington were "the first
choice of," and "the cream of
the country."" He also selected and
surveyed lands for Samuel and John,
brothers of George Wash-
ington, and for their cousin Lund
Washington. Some of the
earliest surveys in Brooke, Ohio, and
Marshall counties, Virginia,
were made by Captain Crawford.13
On the 13th of October, 1770, George Washington,
paid his
friend a visit, and his welcome was most
hearty and cordial.
Crawford's lonely cabin in the wilds of
the forest was hospitality
itself. Both were now in the prime of
life, thirty-eight years old,
10 " He was a man of good judgment,
singular good nature, and great
humanity; and remarkable for his
hospitality--few strangers coming to
the western country and not spending
some days at the crossing of the
Youghiogheny, where he lived."
Brackenridge in the Knight and Slover
pamphlet, 1783, p. 16. Brackenridge was
a brilliant man, a writer of books,
and for fifteen years judge of the
supreme court of Pennsylvania. Wash-
ington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 129.
11 "If you will be at the
trouble of seeking out the lands," wrote
Washington, from Mt. Vernon, September
21, 1767, "I will take upon me
the part of securing them as soon as
there is a possibility of doing it, and
will moreover be at the cost and charges
of surveying and patenting the
same. You shall then have such a reasonable
proportion of the whole as
we may fix upon at our first
meeting." Sparks' Writings of Washington
II. p. 348. See Crawford's answer,
Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 8.
12 Washington to Neville, June 16, 1794.
13 De Hass' His. Ind. Wars, W. Va.,
p. 373.
Colonel William Crawford. 5
of robust health, and as old and intimate friends, greatly enjoyed each others society. They rode over the fertile Washington lands, and inspected the coal mines,14 stone quarries, and mill seats thereon; they looked at the mighty forest trees, at the noble navigable rivers, and then visited budding Pittsburg, which boasted twenty log cabins occupied by Indian traders, and a post called Fort Pitt, garrisoned by two companies of soldiers. On the 20th of October, Washington and Crawford started down the Ohio in a large canoe, scanning the country with a view to locating lands they were entitled to as officers in the French and Indian wars. They often left the boat to get a better view of the land.15 When they reached the mouth of the Great Ka- nawha,16 they soon turned about and started for Pittsburg again.17 In what is now Meigs county, Ohio, they left their canoe, and Washington wrote in his journal: "Walked across the neck on foot with Captain Crawford,-the distance according to our walk- ing about eight miles."18 They entered the canoe again and con- tinued on to Mingo Bottom, now in Jefferson county, Ohio, two miles and a half below Steubenville, where they remained three days. Thus George Washington, the truest and noblest char- acter of whom we have any account, accompanied by his good and faithful friend William Crawford, visited the soil of our own Ohio 126 years ago. On the 25th of November, Washington bade adieu to the Crawfords and started through the forests and over the mountains for his Potomac home-Mt. Vernon-where he arrived December 1, 1770, having been absent nine weeks and a day.19 When these warm friends and brave men parted on the banks of the Youghiogheny, little they suspected the fortune, good or evil, in store for them, that one would rise to the highest distinction, winning unfading laurels, and imperishable glory, and the other, far from friends, at the hands of savages, after a
14 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 16. 15 See daily journal or diary kept by Washington. 16 October 31st. See Washington diary. 17 November 4th. See same. 18 November 5th. See same. 19 Sparks' Writings of Washington, Vol. II, pp. 516, 534. |
6 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
life of usefulness and honor, suffer a most barbarous, and inde- scribably cruel, and awful death. In 1770, Crawford was appointed one of the justices for Cumberland county. It was on the 11th of March, 1771, that William Crawford, Arthur St. Clair, and other men of promi- nence were appointed by Governor Penn, justices of the peace for Bedford county.20 They were ex-officio judges of the county courts. When Westmoreland was formed, Crawford was ap- pointed a justice for that county, and became the president judge of the courts.21 It was the intention of Washington and Lord Dunmore, the Governor of Virginia, together to visit Crawford this year (1773); but the death of Miss Custis, Washington's step- daughter, on June 19, 1773, prevented the journey, and kept him at home. In a letter to the Earl of Dunmore, dated April 13, 1773, Washington, writing from Mt. Vernon, said: "I beg the favor of your lordship to inform me as nearly as you can of the precise time you will do me the honor of calling here, that I may get ready accordingly, and give notice of it to Mr. Crawford, * * * that he may be disengaged when we get to his house."22 While Washington could not go at that time for the reason given, Lord Dunmore made the journey during the summer, spending considerable time at Crawford's place, and at Pitts- burg.23 Thus Crawford was visited in his distant, humble home, by the two most distinguished men then living in America. Washington again wrote to Crawford-this time on the 25th of September, 1773-touching the location of lands, "Down the Ohio, below the mouth of the Scioto," to which both were entitled "Under a proclamation of the year 1763." "By Mr. Leet I in- formed you," continued Washington, "of the unhappy cause 20 Bedford county, as then organized, was taken from Cumberland, March 9, 1771. 21 Westmoreland was taken from Bedford, February 26, 1773. See Washington-Irvine Corr. p. 114. 22 Sparks' Writings of Washington, Vol. II, p. 373. 23 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 29. " In 1773, Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, paid a visit to Crawford at his house upon the Youghiogheny, the occasion being turned to profitable account by both parties." Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 115. |
Colonel William Crawford. 7
which prevented my going out this fall.
But I hope nothing will prevent my seeing you in that
country in the spring. The precise time it is not in my power to
fix; but I should be glad if you would let me know how soon it may be
attended with safety, * *
* after
which I will fix upon a time to be at your house." But Washington never visited Crawford at
his home on the Youghiogheny again, for the mutterings
of the coming Revolu- tion could already be heard. Crawford was by no means idle during
Dunmore's war. In the month of May, 1774, having received
a captain's commission from the Governor of Virginia, he raised
a company without delay and set out for Fort Pitt.24 "You
could not do better," was Lord Dunmore's dispatch of the 20th
of June to the officer in command at Fort Pitt, "than send
Captain William Crawford with what men you can spare to join him,
to co-operate with Colonel Lewis, or to strike a blow
himself, if he thinks he can do it with safety. I know him to be
prudent, active and resolute." Crawford, meantime having received a
major's commission from Lord Dunmore, moved at the head of five
hundred men down the Ohio to attack the Shawanese.25 On September 20, 1774, he wrote
Washington, "I am this day to set out with the first division
for the mouth of Hock- hocking, and there to erect a post on
your Bottom where the whole of the troops are to
rendezvous." Crawford was in com- mand of one division of the Virginia
army, and Dunmore the other, at the place of rendezvous on the
Washington Bottom,26 and later the army crossed the river to
the Indian, or Ohio side, and built Fort Gower.27 A treaty of peace having been signed,
the war against the Indians ended in November, and Crawford
returned home. The people were pleased with the treaty, and
with the results of the 24 "I am now setting out for Fort
Pitt at the head of one hundred men," wrote Crawford to Washington,
May 8, 1774. Washington-Craw- ford Letters, p. 49. Fort Pitt was
changed to Fort Dunmore. 25 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 52. 26Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 53. 27 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. 53. |
8 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
campaign.28Major
Crawford had destroyed two Mingo villages
(within the limits of
the present county of Franklin, Ohio), taken
fourteen prisoners,
rescued several white captives, and the "plun-
der" carried away
had been sold for four hundred pounds ster-
ling, besides what was
returned to a Mohawk Indian who was
present.29 His
services at Wheeling where he built a fort30-and
elsewhere, were highly
commended. On November 14, 1774,
Crawford in a letter
to Washington said: "I yesterday returned
from our late
expedition against the Shawanese, and I think we
may with propriety say
we have had great success, as we made
them sensible of their
villainy and weakness, and I hope made
peace with them on
such a footing as will be lasting."
Crawford's associate
on the bench, Arthur St. Clair, famous
in later years as an
officer of the Revolution, as President of Con-
gress, as Governor of
the Northwest Territory, and for his disas-
trous defeat by the
Indians in 1791, took exception to Craw-
ford's course as in
conflict with the peace policy of Penn, and
thereupon on the 22d
of July wrote Governor Penn as follows:
"Captain
Crawford, the president of our court, seems to be the
most active Virginia
officer in their service. He is now down
the river at the head
of a number of men, which is his second
expedition. How is it
possible," asked St. Clair, "for a man to
serve two colonies in
direct antagonism to each other at the same
time?" This was
Crawford's offence: he accepted a commission
to fight the Indians
from the Governor of Virginia, and thought
his native State was
right respecting the country about the head
waters of the Ohio,
which had been a subject of dispute for years.
As he was an active
supporter early in 1775 of the Virginia con-
tention touching the
boundary line between that State and Penn-
sylvania, he was
removed the same year from office in West-
28 For the terms of
the treaty see Crawford's letter of Nov. 14, 1774, to
Washington. It was
entered into at Camp Charlotte, in what is now
Pickaway Co., 0.,
whither the army under Dunmore had marched from
Fort Gower. Hardby
were the Shawanese villages.
29 Washington-Crawford
Letters, p. 56.
30 Washington-Crawford
Letters, p. 9, of biog. sketch, also p. 96.
It was first called
Fort Fincastle; then Fort Henry.
Colonel William Crawford. 9
moreland county ("superceded,"
was the word used), and lost
popularity among some of his new
neighbors.31
The county of Yohogania, Virginia, was
created in Novem-
ber, 1776. Of this county Crawford was a
justice several years,
and a surveyor by appointment until it
ceased to exist.32 But he
was also otherwise busily employed as
will be seen. It was on
the 16th of May, 1775, that the
Scotch-Irish,33 and other residents
of the western part of Pennsylvania,
assembled at Pittsburg, to
give utterance to their views concerning
the encroachments of
Great Britain. Crawford's presence was
soon felt, and his bold
utterances in behalf of the American
colonies found an echo in
every heart. A committee of defence was
agreed upon of which
Crawford was a conspicuous member.
After the battle of Lexington, Crawford
tendered his services
to the Council of Safety at
Philadelphia, but owing to the peace
policy of Governor Penn, and his
associates, and possibly the
boundary dispute, they were not
accepted. Virginia, his native
State, glad to accept the services of
this veteran warrior, author-
ized him to raise a regiment. His
influence and name on the
frontier were such that he recruited a
full regiment in a short
time. On the 12th of January, 1776, he
was appointed lieutenant-
colonel of the Fifth Virginia.34 By
act of Congress he was ap-
pointed on the 11th of October
following, colonel of the Seventh
Regiment of the Virginia Battalions, his
commission to be dated
August 14th. He took part during the
year in battles and skir-
mishes on Long Island, and the
remarkable retreat through New
Jersey. One of the heroes that crossed
the Delaware with Wash-
ington on Christmas day, he fought at
Trenton the next, and at
Princeton on the 3d of January, 1777. In
August Crawford was
with Washington near Philadelphia, using
all his powers in the
31 Crawford's Expedition against
Sandusky, p. 101.
32 Same
work, p. 102.
33While the Scotch-Irish are
self-reliant, industrious, and generally
honest, it must be confessed that many
of the inhuman monsters who
encouraged, egged on, and led the
savages in their hellish atrocities along
the border, were like the three Girtys,
Elliott, McKee, and Caldwell of that
race.
34
Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 116.
10 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
effort to keep the British out of that
city; and his services later on,
at the head of a detachment of three
hundred light armed men
acting as scouts, were of the highest
value, and so regarded by
Washington. "He rendered efficient
service," and "took an
active and prominent part" in the
battle of Brandywine,35 where
he "came near being captured;"
and afterwards fought with his
usual bravery at Germantown. Washington
received a letter
from General Reed, saying that Crawford,
then with him, was
"a very good officer."36
In November, 1777, the Congress
"Resolved, that General
Washington be requested to send Colonel
William Crawford to
Pittsburg to take command under
Brigadier General Hand, of
the Continental troops and militia in
the Western Department."
Without delay Crawford left for York,
Pennsylvania, where the
Congress was then sitting, probably to
confer with the members,
and receive instructions, but was soon
on his way towards his
Western home, and the scene of his
labors. He had won the
confidence and regard of his regiment;
and even Washington's
in a greater degree than ever as "a
brave and active officer."
The officers of his old regiment, the
Seventh Virginia, sent
Colonel Crawford a most complimentary
and affectionate address,
to which he responded in a well
expressed, patriotic, feeling let-
ter.37 He had proved himself
a most capable soldier in the east,
35 Washington-Crawford Letters, p. X.
36 Same, p. X.
37Address of the Officers of the Seventh Virginia Regiment to Colonel
William Crawford.
We beg leave to take this method of
expressing our sense of the
warmest attachment to you, and at the
same time our sorrow in the loss of
a commander who has always been
influenced by motives that deservedly
gain the unfeigned esteem and respect of
all those who have the honor of
serving under him. Both officers and
soldiers retain the strongest remem-
brance of the regard and affection you
have ever discovered towards them;
but as we are all well assured that you
have the best interests of your
country in view, we should not regret
however sensibly we may feel the
loss, that you have chosen another field
for the display of your military
talents. Permit us therefore to express
our most cordial wish that you
may find a regiment no less attached to
you than the Seventh, and that
your services may ever be productive of
benefit to your country and honor
to yourself.
Colonel William Crawford. 11
fighting the well-disciplined troops of the enemy. but it was in the backwoods that he had risen superior to his surroundings, and his military genius had shown with undimmed luster. The mem- bers of Congress as well as Washington, fully realized that few men possessed Crawford's experience or knowledge of the wiles and strategy of the red men, who were now unusually bold and daring. In the fall of 1777, and in the spring of 1778, these foes were more dangerous and merciless than ever, scalping parties, infesting and terrorizing the entire border. In the spring of 1778, about sixteen miles above Fort Pitt on the Allegheny river, Colo- nel Crawford superintended the erection of a stockade fort, which by direction of General McIntosh was called Fort Crawford. And during this year, and from time to time the two subsequent years, Crawford was in command at this post.38 General George Rogers Clark of Virginia, a true military genius, was in Dunmore's war where he became a warm friend of Crawford. General Clark, recognizing and appreciating Crawford's talents, invited him early in 1778 to join his secret military expedition against the British posts between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, but Crawford, then otherwise engaged, reluctantly declined. But he assisted the general in many ways, particularly in securing recruits along the frontier fit for such
COLONEL CRAWFORD'S ANSWER. GENTLEMEN: Your very affectionate and polite address demands my warmest acknowledgments, which I beg leave to return to you in the strong- est terms of gratitude and affection. Be assured the officers of the Seventh regiment will ever share my tender regard; and I have great hopes that they will continue to merit the highest esteem of their insulted and in- jured country. My kind wishes will ever attend the lowest soldier in the regiment. My own abilities are small, but I have this serious satisfaction, -that they have been and shall continue to be exerted to the utmost in defense of American liberty, justice, and the rights of humanity. I have the honor to be, gentlemen, Your most humble servant, W. CRAWFORD. 38 In May 1778 he took command of the new Virginia regiment just raised under General McIntosh. Crawford's-Campaign against Sandusky, p. 106. |
12 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
dangerous service. The expedition, as
every one knows, was
a great success; the British posts in
the Illinois country were all
taken; and the princely domain between
the Ohio and Mississippi
saved to our nation.39
In contemplation of an early movement
against Detroit,
Colonel Crawford and General McIntosh
erected in the fall of
1778, two forts-McIntosh and Laurens.40
The money, however,
to properly equip an invading force
sufficiently strong to capture
a place and post like Detroit was
wanting, and the project was
for the time abandoned.
In September, 1778, Colonel Crawford's
command included
the troops then at Fort Pitt, from
Yohogania, Monongalia and
Ohio counties, Virginia, and on the 8th
of October he was directed
to form the militia into a brigade. On
the 27th of October, he
was at Fort McIntosh, where he received
orders to unite the Vir-
ginia troops from Berkeley and Augusta
counties, into one corps
and those from Hampshire and Rockingham
into another, to
be known as the Third and Fourth
Regiments of his brigade.
From these he was instructed "to
select a company of officers
and men for light infantry."
Fort Laurens,41 the first
fort built in what is now the State
of Ohio, was often visited by Crawford,
on official business, and
going and returning he made several
narrow escapes. The
vicinity was haunted by Indians who
hardly ever spared the life
of a captive.42 When it was
decided in the month of August, 1779,
to abandon forts McIntosh and Laurens,
Indian depredations
39Clark's Campaign, Cincinnati: Robert Clark & Co.,
1869, p. 1.
40 Washington-Crawford
Letters, p. 71. "Under Brigadier General
McIntosh, who succeeded General Hand, in
August 1778, at Pittsburg,
Crawford took command of the militia of
the western counties of Virginia,
and had in charge the building of Fort
McIntosh, at what is now Beaver,
in Beaver Co., Pa. He marched with that
officer into the Indian country
in November, in command of a brigade,
and was present at the building in
December, of Fort Laurens, upon the west
bank of the Tuscarawas river,
in what is now Tuscarawas Co., Ohio.
Washington-Irvine Correspon-
dence, p. 116.
41 Washington-Crawford Letters p. 71.
42 Crawford's Expedition, p. 110.
Colonel William Crawford. 13
greatly increased; the merciless savages
grew bolder day by day.
Hence on several occasions, at the head
of a small force, Craw-
ford invaded their country, and his
incursions were usually suc-
cessful, for after each the Indians were
less aggressive. We may
well believe his services were highly
valued by the poor exposed
settlers, for there were only a few men
whose public spirit, cour-
age and tact fitted them for such
enterprises, and these were re-
garded by the defenseless borderers, as
the very saviors of the
land.
In the year 1780, Crawford visited the
American Congress,
and implored that august body to give
the frontier better protec-
tion, and to make larger appropriations
for that purpose. His
earnest appeals had a salutary effect,
for the necessary war ma-
terial and supplies were "soon
afterward forwarded to Fort Pitt,
and other Western posts."43 After
returning home, and during
that year, Crawford again on several
occasions led small bands
in pursuit of marauding savages.
His great desire, however, had long been
to equip and lead
an expedition against Detroit, or
Sandusky, for from these points
the Indians came who wrought death and
destruction along the
frontier. Upper Sandusky,44 "the
grand rallying point for the
British Indians before starting for the
border," was on the great
highway between the north and the south.
The Sandusky river
was the water-way, and highway of
travel, between Canada and
the Mississippi. From time out of mind
the Sandusky, Scioto,
and Ohio rivers, had been the
water-route between Detroit and
the south, for warlike Indians, then for
French explorers and
soldiers, and later for the British.
They came in boats from De-
troit across the lake to the head of the
Sandusky Bay, or to Lower
Sandusky, now Fremont. William Walker,
an intelligent Indian
chief, whom many of you knew very well,
wrote as follows:
"Ascending the Sandusky river to
the mouth of the west branch,
known as the Little Sandusky, in a bark
or light wooden canoe,
you could in a good stage of water
ascend that tributary four or
five miles further. Thence east across
to the Little Scioto is a
43 Crawford's
Expedition, p. 111.
44 History of Wyandot county, Ohio, p.
241.
14 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
distance of about four miles. This was
the portage."45 "This
place," writes Col. James Smith, in
his "Life and Travels," who
was here in 1757, "is in the plains
between a creek that empties
into Sandusky, and one that runs into
Scioto; and at the time of
high water, or in the spring season,
there is but about one-half
mile of portage, and that very level,
and clear of rocks, timber
and stones.-"46 As the
portage was short and trifling, Indians and
others as before stated, going south and
returning, made use of
these streams. Hence Crawford felt that
a river town so promi-
nent and obnoxious as Upper Sandusky,
which was a sort of
entrepot, should be wiped out, for here the Indian allies of Great
Britain received annuities47 and
other allowances, and their sup-
plies48 before starting for
the settlements. The Wyandot or Half
King's town, or capital, was really the
most important place in
the Indian country; and in Crawford's
opinion the peace and safety
of the frontier depended on its
destruction, and the crushing de-
feat and conquest of the Sandusky
Indians. This was also the
opinion of General Irvine, commandant at
Fort Pitt.49
At a meeting of the people of
Westmoreland county, held
on the 18th of June, 1781, to devise
ways and means for the de-
fense of the frontier, Crawford's
presence had an inspiring effect,
and his words carried great weight. It
was there decided to
render active and efficient aid to Gen.
Clark's expedition against
Detroit. Thereupon Col. Crawford,
actively co-operated with
Col. Lochry,50 and General
Clark, in trying to raise and equip an
45 Communication
to C. W. Butterfield, 1872.
46 An Account of the Remarkable Occurrences
in the Life and Travels
of Col. James Smith. Lexington, Ky.,
1799, p. 86.
47 History of Wyandot county, Ohio, p.
241.
48 Crawford's Campaign against Sandusky,
p. 165.
49 In
General Irvine's instructions to Col. Crawford, dated Fort Pitt,
May 14, 1782, he says: "The object
of your command is to destroy with
fire and sword, if practicable, the
Indian town and settlements at San-
dusky, by which we hope to give ease and
safety to the inhabitants of
this country." (Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, p. 118.)
50 Col. Lochry and all his brave men,
about one hundred and forty, were
either killed or captured near the mouth
of the Miami, on their way to
join Gen. Clark's expedition.
(Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp
154, 229.)
Colonel William Crawford. 15
army to march against Detroit. He also
did all in his power to
aid and strengthen the effort Colonel
Gibson, the officer then in
command at Fort Pitt, was making, to
organize a sufficient force
to go against Sandusky, or Upper
Sandusky as it was commonly
called. But both schemes or projects
fell through, not for want
of men, or martial spirit, but lack of
means,-the sinews of war.
Of one of these expeditions it was
intended that Crawford should
be a leading officer; and the attempt he
made to set Colonel Gib-
son's on foot, "was his last effort
as an officer on the continental
establishment." These two projects so dear to his heart, he
thought the only means of stopping the
inroads of the savage and
preventing further barbarities.51
But now, desperate as our affairs seemed
in the west, the
star of hope had risen in the east. The
power of England was
broken. The battle of Yorktown had been
fought-October 19,
1781-peace between the colonies and
mother country was at
hand,"52 and the old
warrior thought the time propitious to lay
aside the sword, and return to the bosom
of his family. As a
soldier of the Revolution, Crawford had
now served his country
six years, and sought retirement. Though
placed on the retired
list, he would still hold his
commission, and stand ready to re-
spond to the calls of his country
whenever and wherever his
services might really be needed. The
exposed condition of the
frontier settlements was ever before
him, nor could he turn a
deaf ear to the cries of the lonely
settlers.
The year 1782 is dawning. Crawford, now
fifty years old,
in fairly vigorous health, is at home on
the Youghiogheny, happy
in the belief that here he can remain
henceforth, free from war's
51 Col.
James Marshal, the commandant at Fort McIntosh, wrote to Gen.
Irvine on the 2d of April, 1782, as
follows: "This is most certain that
unless an expedition be carried against
some of the principal Indian towns
early this summer, this country must
unavoidably suffer." On the 4th
of April he wrote: "The people in
general on the frontiers are waiting
with anxious expectation to know whether
an expedition can be carried
against Upper Sandusky early this spring
or not." (Washington-Irvine
Correspondence. pp. 285, 286.)
52 The
surrender of Lord Cornwallis was an assurance to Crawford that
the struggle would soon end.
16 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
tumults and alarms. In his cabin by the
river he loved to tell
his children, grand children and
others-for all sought his com-
pany-the story of his eventful life. He
now longed for peace,
but the stars and signs in the western
firmament were lurid and
warlike. The cruel and merciless Indian
was still on the war-
path. While American arms were
triumphant in the east, the
Western frontier was still the witness
and theater of horrible
savage barbarities. The tomahawk and
scalping knife were
doing their bloody work. Settlers daily
fell victims, houses and
barns went up in flames, fields were
laid waste, and stock stolen
or slain. A state or terror reigned
along the Pennsylvania and
Virginia border. The despairing, almost
phrensied settlers were
calling aloud for help. Is it surprising
then that Crawford, though
in retirement, found himself taking a
deep interest in another pro-
posed expedition against Sandusky, and
the Sandusky Indians?
His advice was sought and freely given.
"Not less," said he,
"than four hundred men should
venture so far into the enemy's
country."53 As Crawford
had long favored an advance against
the Sandusky Indians, the settlers
naturally turned to him as the
particular person to lead it. This he
declined; there were others
equally capable, and he had done his
share. His only son, John,
had decided to enlist, so had his
distinguished son-in-law, Major
William Harrison, of the great Virginia
family of that name.
His nephew, William Crawford, had
already volunteered.
John Crawford was "A young man
greatly and deservedly
esteemed as a soldier and
citizen,"54 wrote the historian Bracken-
enridge in 1782. Sarah, the eldest
daughter of Colonel Crawford,
wooed and won by the gallant and
scholarly Harrison, was the
most charming and beautiful young
woman55 in western Penn-
sylvania, if tradition and history are
to be relied on. As Craw-
ford still held his commission as a
colonel in the regular army,
and as Irvine, the officer in command of
the Western Department,
desired him to lead the expedition,
should he refuse? That was
the question. Finally, yielding to the
entreaties of General
53 Sparks'
Corr. Amer. Rev. vol. 11, p. 509.
54 Slover's Narrative (ed. of 1783), p.
23, note.
55 Robert A. Sherrard to Butterfield:
1872.
Colonel William Crawford. 17
Irvine, at Fort Pitt, and his beloved son, son-in-law, and nephew, and no doubt other relatives, he reluctantly consented to accept the command if chosen by the volunteers. Mingo Bottom, two and a half miles below the Steubenville of to-day was agreed upon as the place of rendezvous. Crawford56 now began in earnest to get ready for the long, perilous march. On the 14th of May, 1782, in consideration of love and affection, he duly conveyed to his son-in-law, William Harrison, a farm near his own on the Youghiogheny. On the 16th he made his last will and testament, giving to his wife during life, the home farm, and three slaves, Dick, Daniel and Betty, and all his per- sonal property except a slave boy named Martin. He gave his son John the aforesaid boy Martin, and five hundred acres of land, and after his wife's death the home farm, and the three slaves, Dick, Daniel and Betty. He gave to each of his grand children, Moses and Richard, sons of John Crawford, four hundred acres, and to his grand daughter Anne four hundred acres. He made bequests to Anne Connell, and her four children: all the rest of his estate to be divided equally between his three children.57 On Saturday, the 18th, he bade adieu to his weeping wife, daughters, grand children, and others, and then set out on horse- back for Mingo Bottom, going by way of Fort Pitt for instruc- tions.58 His son, son-in-law, and nephew had already started. Crawford needing more officers, General Irvine detailed two, then on duty at the fort, to accompany him, namely, Lieutenant Rose as aide-de-camp, and Dr. Knight as surgeon. On the 21st General Irvine wrote to Washington: "I have taken some pains to get Colonel Crawford appointed to command, and hope he will be. He left me yesterday on his way down to the place of ren- dezvous. He does not wish to go with a smaller number than four hundred."59
56 Crawford was looked upon as "one of the first gentlemen in the West." History of the Girtys, p. 175. 57 Crawford's will is of record in Westmoreland county. It was proved Sept 10, 1782, and recorded Dec. 29, 1819. 58 For the "instructions" see Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 118. 59 Sparks' Corr. Amer. Rev. II. p. 509. Vol. VI--2 |
18 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
At Mingo Bottom, Colonel Crawford was
duly elected to
command the expedition. David Williamson
was made field
major, and second in command; Thomas
Gaddis, field major,
and third in command; John McClelland,
field major, and fourth
in command; Major Brinton, field major,
and fifth in command;
Daniel Leet, brigade major; Dr. John
Knight, surgeon; Thomas
Nicholson, John Slover and Jonathan
Zane, guides. There were
of course other officers. Lieutenant
John Rose, of the regular
army, went as aide-de-camp to Crawford.
General Irvine wrote
to Washington on the 21st as follows:
"Crawford pressed me
for some officers, and I have sent with
him Lieutenant Rose, my
aide-de-camp, a very vigilant, active,
brave young gentleman,
well acquainted with service and [Dr.
Knight] a surgeon. These
are all I could venture to spare."60
Butterfield in writing of the campaign
says: "The project
against Sandusky, was as carefully
considered, and as authorita-
tively planned as any military
enterprise in the west during the
Revolution." On the 25th of May,
the volunteers, four hundred
and eighty strong, all mounted on good
horses, began their march
from
Mingo Bottom. "The
route," says Butterfield, "lay
through what is now the counties of
Jefferson, Harrison, Tus-
carawas, Holmes, Ashland, Richland,
Crawford-nearly to the
center of Wyandot county." One of
the volunteers, Lieut. Francis
Dunlevy, wrote a brief account of the
campaign.61 He after-
wards became a classical scholar and
held high positions in Ohio.
In four days the army reached the Upper
Moravian village-sixty
miles from Mingo Bottom.62 On
the 2d of June the Sandusky
river was seen three miles west of where
Crestline now stands.
On the 3d of June the volunteers
encamped for the night on the
Sandusky Plains, near where the village
of Wyandot may now
be seen. On the 4th, after traveling six
miles, they came to the
mouth of the Little Sandusky, a spot
well known to John Slover,
60 Sparks' Corr. Amer. Rev. vol. III. p.
502.
61 See his declaration for a
pension: 1832.
62 See Dr. Knight's Narrative.
Colonel William Crawford. 19
20 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
Indians and
their white allies were sheltered by the tall coarse
prairie grass
that then covered the Sandusky Plains.
The Delaware
Indians, under Captain Pipe, a noted war
chief, and
Wingenund, another chief, and the renegade, Simon
Girty, first
met the Americans; but the Wyandots led by Zhaus-
sho-toh, and
Captain Mathew Elliott, another white renegade,
soon came to
their relief. Two companies of white soldiers from
Detroit were in
the fight, and forty-four "lake Indians."67 The
enemy was
reinforced on the second day by one hundred and
forty
Shawanese, and more white soldiers, and lake Indians. The
whole were
commanded by Captain William Caldwell, a British
officer,
assisted by Captain Alex. McKee, Captain Elliott, Captain
Grant,
Lieutenant Turney, Lieutenant Clinch, besides Simon Gir-
ty, and other
white officers68 in uniform. Girty, Elliott and McKee,
though
renegades and deserters,69 spoke the Delaware and Wy-
andot
languages.
The first day
the battle raged with varying fortunes, some-
times more
favorable to one side than the other till dusk, when the
British and
Indians, defeated but not discouraged, drew further
back and the
firing ceased.70 Lieut. John Turney, of the Corps of
Rangers,
writing to Major De Peyster at Detroit, from "Camp
Upper Sandusky,
June 7, 1782," says: "On the 4th about 12 o'clock
the enemy
appeared about two miles from this place. Captain Cald-
well with the
rangers, and about two hundred Indians, marched
out to fight
them, and attacked them about 2 o'clock. The enemy
* * *
had every advantage of us as to situation of ground
people could
possibly wish for. The action became general and
was dubious for
some time. * * The battle was very hot till
night, which
put a stop to firing."71 There
was no lack of bravery
on either side
during the entire time the contest lasted-from 2
67Captain
William Caldwell's report to Maj. De Peyster. Washington-
Irvine
Correspondence, p. 371.
68 See Capt.
Alex. McKee's report to De Peyster, dated Upper Sandusky,
June 7, 1782.
See same work, p. 370. See communication of Indian chief,
Capt. Snake to
Maj. De Peyster, same work, p. 369.
69 Deserted
March 28, 1778. See same work, pp. 17, 127.
70 Crawford's
Campaign against Sandusky, pp. 211, 212.
71
Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 368.
Colonel William Crawford. 21
o'clock till dark-although only five of the volunteers were killed and nineteen wounded. The loss of the British and Indians, though since denied, was probably far heavier,72 but as they were constantly expecting the reinforcements73 then marching to their relief, they were by no means disheartened. On the part of the Americans, Crawford with consummate ability directed the fight, and his officers and men so far as known bravely did their duty. Lieutenant Rose was probably Craw- ford's most efficient officer.74 Cool and daring, his martial bear- ing and words of encouragement stimulated every drooping spirit, reviving the sanguine expectations, enthusiasm, and courage of every man. Pursued during the engagement "by a party of mounted Indians who were so close to him at times as to throw their tomahawks," Rose happily escaped, owing to "his coolness and superior horsemanship." The strategy and vigilance of Ma- jor Williamson and Major Leet, were generally commended. Lieutenant Dunlevy, Philip Smith, Sherrard, Canon, John Camp- bell, and others were brave, reliable and efficient.75
72 Capt. Wm. Caldwell of Butler's Rangers, who commanded at Upper Sandusky, in his report dated June 11, 1782, says: "Our loss is very inconsiderable; one ranger killed, myself and two wounded; Le Vellier, the interpreter, killed; four Indians killed and eight wounded." 73 Lieut. Turney to Major De Peyster, commanding at Detroit. Wash- ington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 368. Captain Elliott and Lieutenant Clinch "in particular signalized themselves," says Lieut. Turney to Maj. De Peyster. 74 "John Rose and John Gunsaulus, were the undoubted heroes of the conflict on the side of the borderers." History of the Girtys, p. 167. 75 Capt. William Caldwell, in command at Upper Sandusky, where he was shot through both legs, writing from Lower Sandusky, to Maj. De Peyster, June 11, 1782, puts our killed and wounded at two hundred and fifty and intimates that we had six hundred in the fight. He asks that the Indians be supplied with provisions, ammunition, tobacco, "and such other things as are necessary for warriors." He compliments Chief- with-one-Eye, Dewantale, Sidewaltone, and other lake Indians; and be- lieves that none of the Americans could have escaped if he had not been wounded. (Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 371.) Major De Peyster, writing from Detroit, June 12, 1782, to Brigadier- General H. W. Powell, commanding at Niagara, says: "I have the pleas- ure to inform you, that the rangers and confederate Indians from this |
22 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
As soon as those who had enlisted for
the campaign met at
Mingo Bottom, Indian runners who had
been acting as spies,
started to notify the Delawares and
Wyandots, who in turn notified
the Shawanese, and their British allies,
at Detroit, of the invasion
of the Indian country.76
It is well established that Crawford's
army, though outnum-
bered
by the enemy, was clearly victorious on the 4th, that the
fighting on the 5th was desultory, and
that little damage was
done, and that on the evening of the 5th
our sentries discovered
that the enemy was being largely
reinforced by bands of Indians
and mounted rangers.77 The Indians mostly came from the
Shawanese towns78 south of
the Sandusky Plains, and the white
soldiers from Detroit, De Peyster, the British commandant at
that place having dispatched Butler's
Rangers, and some "Lake
Indians" to help repel the
invaders.79 They came from
Detroit
post, have been successful in opposing
the enemy at Sandusky." De
Peyster, writing from Detroit, July 18,
1782, to Thomas Brown, Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs, claims
"a complete victory over 600 of the
enemy." "Col. Crawford, who
commanded, was taken in the pursuit.
and put to death by the Delawares,
notwithstanding every means had been
tried by an Indian officer present to
save his life. De Peyster regrets
the revival of "the old savage
custom." (Washington-Irvine Corre-
spondence, p. 372.)
76 Crawford's Campaign against Sandusky, p. 159.
77 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp.
292, 293. De Peyster sent the
Rangers to the Sandusky river in a
vessel, called the Faith. (History of
the Girtys, p. 162.)
78 Lieut. Rose to Gen. Irvine,
Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp.
371, 372. "On the 5th * *
about 12 o'clock we were joined by one
hundred and forty Shawanese, and had got
the enemy surrounded."
(Lieut. Turney to Major De Peyster, from
"Camp Upper Sandusky, June 7,
1782.) On the 4th of June the advantage
was on the side of the Americans.
The loss of the enemy (British and
Indians) was six killed, 11 wounded,
including Capt. Caldwell. The enemy was
reinforced June 5th by 140
Shawanese, a detachment of rangers, and
some "lake Indians." (Wash-
ington-Irvine Correspondence, pp. 122,
123.) See John Leith's Narra-
tive, p. 15.
79 The Wyandot Half-King begs Major De Peyster to send him some
provisions, ammunition, clothing and a
little rum to drink His Britannic
Majesty's health, and hopes that the
Detroit Indians will be ready to come
to his aid when again needed. (Lieut.
Turney's second report to Major
De Peyster, from Camp Upper Sandusky,
June 7, 1782.)
Colonel William Crawford. 23
by lake and river, bringing two field pieces and a mortar. When the astounding discovery was made that the enemy was receiving such reinforcements,80 Crawford at once called a council of war, at which it was decided not to attack the enemy so "superior in numbers" that night, as intended, but to prepare to retreat in good order soon after dark. Simon Girty was seen during the day by Lieut. Francis Dunlevy, and others, who knew him well. Dun- levy, who was stationed near the edge of the prairie to watch the movements of the enemy, often saw Girty, who appeared to be in a high state of excitement, riding back and forth on a white horse giving orders. Many of the volunteers thought Girty was in command. Our troops about 9 o'clock formed in proper order to begin the retreat,81 with Colonel Crawford at the head, and the wounded near the center. The enemy suspecting Crawford's object began firing, which resulted in much confusion among the volunteers.82 Some got separated from the main body and were shot and scalped, or captured, others reached home after many
80 Capt. Snake, in a speech sent to Maj. De Peyster, dated Upper San- dusky, June 8, 1782, in behalf of the Mingoes, Shawanese and Delawares, says: "Let the rangers * * remain about ten days, and then march to our villages." Capt. Snake asks for more soldiers and stores, cannon and provisions. Capt. Alex. McKee, writing to the same British officer from Upper Sandusky, June 7, 1782, says: "You have already an account of the repulse of 500 of the enemy who advanced near this place and were surrounded by near an equal number of Indians with the rangers." McKee then describes the retreat and pursuit, refers to what the Indians intend to do, and says they want further assistance * * "with a further supply of ammunition and stores suitable for warriors." (Washington- Irvine Correspondence, pp. 369, 370.) 81 On the 5th of June 1782, "we heard a cannon fire at Upper Sandusky. * * At length the Americans under Col. Williamson stole a retreat on the Indians who were gathering around them in great numbers; but Col. Crawford with most of his men was taken by them. They toma- hawked all his men and burnt him alive." (Short Biography of John Leith, p. 16. Washington-Irvine Correspondence, p. 305.) 82 "Confusion followed, and some in the front line hurried off, followed by many pushing forward from the rear. The advance under command of Maj. McClelland, was furiously attacked by the Delawares and Shawan- ese and suffered severely, the major being fatally wounded." (History of Wyandot County, p. 246.) |
24 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
narrow escapes and much suffering; but
upwards of three hundred
remained together, pushing ahead, while
resisting and fighting
the pursuing Indians83 and
British.84 About 2 o'clock
in the after-
noon of the 6th the enemy had become so
daring and troublesome
that the army in retreat decided to make
a stand and fight for
their lives. An encounter then took
place near the Olentangy
creek, in what is now Whetstone
township,85 Crawford county,
called the battle of Olentangy, about
five miles from the present
site of Bucyrus, and six from Galion, in
which the Americans were
once more successful. It lasted about an
hour, and our loss, says
Lieut. Rose, was "three killed and
eight wounded." During the
battles and retreat Major Williamson and
Lieutenant Rose were
active, vigilant and invaluable.
The returning volunteers, at the head of
whom was Major
Williamson, without much further
annoyance reached Mingo Bot-
tom, and crossed the Ohio the lath of
June; they were discharged
the 14th, and thus a memorable campaign
lasting twenty days
came to an end.86 John, the
beloved son of Colonel Crawford,
reached home about the same time.87
On the 16th General Irvine informed
Washington of the
83"De Peyster lost no time in dispatching Rangers and some
Lake
Indians to the help of the Wyandots. The
former were a company com-
manded by Capt. William Caldwell.
Crossing Lake Erie to Lower San-
dusky, they began their march up the Sandusky
river, making all pos-
sible haste to succor their Indian
allies." (History of the Girtys, p. 163.)
84 Lieut. John Turney, who took command of the British
and Indians
after Capt. Wm. Caldwell was wounded, in
his report to Major A. S. De
Peyster, commanding at Detroit, says:
"Some of the Indians pursued"
the Americans, and "as soon as I
heard of the retreat I pursued them
with the rangers." On the 11th of
June Capt. Caldwell wrote to De
Peyster: "The Delawares are still
in pursuit, and I hope we will account
for most of the 600."
(Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp. 368, 371.)
85 On the north-west quarter of section
22.
86 Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pp.
122, 123.
87 Maj. Wm. Harrison, the son-in-law of
Col. Crawford, and his nephew,
William Crawford, were captured and put
to death by the Delawares.
Both suffered the most cruel torture.
(Washington-Irvine Correspond-
ence, pp. 376, 377.)
Colonel William Crawford. 25
result of the expedition; on the 5th of July he notified the execu- tive of Pennsylvania of the failure of the campaign. On the 6th of August Washington wrote to Irvine, "I lament the failure of the expedition." The State of Pennsylvania paid all losses sustained by the soldiers, and in many instances awarded pensions, and later the general government granted pensions.88 The loss our invading army sustained is believed to have been seventy, killed, captured, missing, and those who died of wounds.89 The real name of Crawford's brave and brilliant young aide- de-camp was not John Rose, but Gustave Henri De Rosenthal. He was born in Livonia, Russia, and was a baron of the empire. Having killed a fellow nobleman in a duel near the palace in St. Petersburg, he fled in disguise to our country, then at war with Great Britain, entered our service, fought long and gallantly for our independence, was the hero of the retreat from the Sandusky Plains,90 and finally having been pardoned by the Emperor Alex- ander, he left Philadelphia for his Russian home in the month of April, 1784. He there married an early love, gained distinction, was appointed grand marshal of the province of Livonia, became the father of five children, kept up a correspondence with General Irvine, and after his death with his son, and in consideration of his long and valuable services our government granted him bounty lands in Ohio, and the State of Pennsylvania gave him 88 Crawford's Campaign against Sandusky, pp. 246, 247. 89 Lieut. Rose in writing June 13, 1782, to Gen. Irvine, says: "Our loss will not exceed thirty in killed and missing." The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser of July 6, 1782, estimates the missing at from fifty to seventy. "The entire loss was about fifty men." (Washington- Irvine Correspondence, p. 123.) "The result is a total loss of less than seventy." (Crawford's Campaign, p. 259.) 90"I furnished the party with ammunition, and sent written instruc- tions to the commander, and also sent two Continental officers -Major Rose, my own aide-de-camp, and Doctor Knight, surgeon of one of the regiments under my command - to assist Colonel Crawford. After the defeat, the second in command [Williamson], and others, informed me that it was owing in a great degree to the bravery and good conduct of Major Rose that the retreat was so well effected." (Gen. Irvine to Hannah Crawford.) |
26 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
two tracts in the northwestern part of
that State. This accom-
plished man and friend of our country,
the only Russian on the
American side in the war of
Independence, died in his native land
on his own estate in 1829.91
On the night of the 5th of June, as the
army, somewhat panic
stricken, was retreating92 from the Sandusky Plains, Colonel
Crawford, then some distance from the
field of action, not seeing
his son John, son-in-law William Harrison, nephew William
Crawford, or aide-de-camp Lieutenant
Rose, called aloud for
each, and continued to call till the
troops in much confusion had
got some distance ahead. Then seeing Dr.
Knight, he begged
him to remain with him, saying his horse
had nearly given out,
and that he could not keep up with the
troops; he also condemned
the precipitate and disorderly retreat,
and the violation of orders in
deserting the wounded. Failing, during
the excitement and rout,
to find his missing relatives, or
Lieutenant Rose, for it was now
quite dark, and the firing becoming very
hot, Crawford, Knight,
and two other soldiers finally concluded
to start east. They after-
wards fell in with Captain Biggs and
Lieutenant Ashley. About
2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th, a
number of Delaware In-
dians, whose camp was only a half mile
distant, suddenly ap-
peared before them, not twenty steps
away. Dr. Knight and the
others, getting behind trees were about
to fire, when Crawford
induced them not to do so. The other
four were so fortunate as
to escape, but "The Colonel and
I," says Knight in his narrative,
"were then taken to the Indian
camp."93 Here they found nine
91 He was exceptionally fine looking,
was born in 1753, and died in
Rival, June 26, 1829. Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, p. 117.
92 Lord Derby was kind enough to
transmit through the U. S. Legation
at London, copies of various letters,
dispatches, and speeches, from which
liberal quotations have been made,
relating to the battle of Sandusky,
the retreat of the Americans, the
capture of Col. Crawford, and his awful
death by torture. Though in some
particulars they are exaggerations,
still they are valuable as the enemy's
version of that unhappy episode
of the Revolution. (Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, p. iv.)
93 "A number of people inform me
that Colonel Crawford ought to be
considered as a Continental officer, and
are of the opinion that retaliation
should take place." (Irvine to
Washington, July 11, 1782.)
Colonel William Crawford. 27
other prisoners, among whom was John
McKinley, formerly an
officer in the 13th Virginia Regiment,
and all were constantly
watched, with little to eat, till Monday
morning, the 10th of June,
when in charge of seventeen Delawares,
they all started as they
were informed, to Upper Sandusky-the
Half King's town,
thirty-three miles hence. At the Half
King's town, Colonel
Crawford had an interview with the
notorious Simon Girty, whom
he had long known, and begged him to
save his life, offering him
a thousand dollars. Girty promised to
exert all his influence to
save him, with probably no intention
whatever of doing it. He
also informed him that his son-in-law
and nephew had been cap-
tured by the Shawanese, but afterwards
pardoned. This was
false, for the guide John Slover, who
was captured, said after his
escape, that he saw the dead bodies of
William Harrison and Wil-
liam Crawford at Wapatomica, as they lay
black, bloody and
mangled.94 Slover recognized
the faces of both. Girty was born
in Pennsylvania, and the Colonel had
known him before his de-
sertion. His father came from Ireland,
and this is what Henry
Howe, the historian, says of him:
"The old man was beastly in-
temperate, and nothing ranked higher in
his estimation than a
jug of whisky. 'Grog was his song, and
grog would he have.'
His sottishness turned his wife's
affection. Ready for seduction,
she yielded * * * to a neighboring rustic, who to remove
all obstacles to their wishes, knocked
Girty on the head, and bore
off the trophy of his prowess.95 When
Simon Girty was a subal-
tern at Fort Pitt, and more or less
intimate with Crawford, there
94 "As they lay black, bloody-burnt
with powder." Slover also saw
their clothing and horses. (Slover's
Narrative.) William Harrison was
tied to a stake, when the savages fired
powder at him until he died;
they then quartered him, and left the
quarters hanging on four poles.
(The Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly
Advertiser of July 27, 1782.)
95 Historical collections of Ohio, vol.
II. p. 186. See Campbell's Bio-
graphical Sketches, p. 147.
Oliver M. Spencer was taken captive
while a youth by the Indians in
1792. He says of Simon Girty: " His
dark shaggy hair, his low forehead,
his brows contracted and meeting above
his short flat nose, his gray sunken
eyes averting the ingenuous gaze, his
lips thin and compressed, and the
dark and sinister expression of his
countenance to me seemed the very
picture of a villain."
28
Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
is a tradition that he was a suitor for
the hand of one of the Colo-
nel's daughters, whose refusal offended
him. Be that as it may,
he still professed friendship, and
promised to do all he could for
him. Tom Jelloway, one of the so-called
Christian Indians, who
understood English, overheard the
conversation between Craw-
ford and Girty, which he was careful to
repeat to the hostile Dela-
ware chiefs, Captain Pipe and Wingenund.
Crawford's offer of
money is said to have incensed these
chiefs, and fixed their deter-
mination to torture him to death. On the
morning of the 11th,
Crawford, as well as Captain Pipe and
Wingenund, arrived at
Upper Sandusky Old Town, where Knight
and the other nine
prisoners had spent the night. Thereupon
Captain Pipe, having
painted with his own hand all the
prisoners, including Crawford
and Knight, black, started with them on
the trail leading to the
village of the Wyandots. They had not
traveled far till four of
the prisoners were tomahawked and
scalped. Captain Pipe and
Crawford were well acquainted, having
frequently met, and on
the 17th of September, 1778, both signed
a treaty of peace at Fort
Pitt, between the Delawares and the
United States. On the
march, Crawford and Knight, who walked
between The Pipe and
Wingenund, were carefully guarded. The
crafty Pipe told the
colonel he was glad to see him, and that
he should be adopted as
an Indian when they met his friends,
meaning the prisoners, at
the Wyandot village. After reaching the
famous springs where
Upper Sandusky now stands, and they
changed their course for
the Delaware town on the Tymochtee,
Crawford and Knight lost
hope, and felt that their doom was
sealed. When the Little Ty-
mochtee was reached, the Indians caused
Crawford and Knight,
and the remaining five prisoners, to sit
down on the ground,
whereupon "a number of squaws and
boys fell on the five pris-
oners and tomahawked them all." An
old squaw cut off the head
of John McKinley, a gallant officer of
the Revolution, and a rela-
tive no doubt of Governor McKinley,96
and kicked it about upon
the ground. The young Indian fiends
often came to where Craw-
ford and Knight were sitting, and dashed
the reeking scalps in
96Since the above was written, Governor
McKinley has been made
President of the United States.
Colonel William Crawford. 29
their faces. At the end of these
dreadful and barbarous scenes,
Crawford and Knight were told to move
on. They were then in
what is now Crawford township, Wyandot
county, and soon met
Simon Girty and some Indians on
horseback. Well knowing
Crawford's dreadful doom, they had come
from the Half King's
town to witness the holocaust.97 Riding up to Crawford, Girty
spoke to him, but said nothing of the
determination the two chiefs
had come to. Girty now saw the chiefs
for the first time since he
had given Crawford his promise, but made
no effort to save him,
nor is it at all likely he could have
saved him. These two war
chiefs were not only in close alliance
with the British, and deter-
mined enemies of the Americans, but as
Delaware Indians, loved
to inflict cruel tortures, and to
witness human suffering and agony.
As to what took place after Crawford's
capture, we have ample
testimony, for Dr. Knight, his fellow
captive, whose escape was
marvelous, was present nearly all the
time.
As the party moved along toward the
Tymochtee, almost
every Indian the prisoners met, struck
them with their fists or
with sticks. Girty, waiting until Knight
came along, asked, "Is
that the doctor?" Knight told him who he was, and went toward
him reaching out his hand, but Girty,
calling him a damned rascal,
told him to begone.
A fire was started on the 11th of June,
on the east bank of the
Tymochtee, near this grove and about
three-quarters of a mile
from the Delaware village. Ordinary
prisoners were toma-
hawked without much ado; but Crawford,
the "Big Captain,"
97 Maj.
De Peyster writing from Detroit, August 18, 1782, to Gen. Fredk.
Haldimand, says: "Your letter of
the 11th of July, * * regretting the
cruelty committed by some of the Indians
upon Colonel Crawford, and
desiring me to assure them of your utter
abhorrence of such proceedings,"
has been received. * * "I had sent
messengers throughout the Indian
country, previous to the receipt of your
letter, threatening to recall the
troops, if they, the Indians, did not
desist from cruelty. I have frequently
signified to the Indians how much you
abhor cruelty, and I shall to-
morrow dispatch a person I have great
confidence in, to carry your
instructions to the southern
nations." De Peyster then says he has
reinforced Captain Caldwell, and sent
" Captain Grant to the Miamie with
the armed vessels and gun boats."
At that date the Maumee was called
the Miamie, or the Miamie of the Lakes.
30 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
was reserved for a death more terrible:
exceeding in fiendish,
ferocious, devilish cruelty, and
barbarity, anything recorded in
savage annals.98 Around the fire stood a
crowd of Indians, thirty
or forty men, and sixty or seventy
squaws and boys.99 Simon
Girty was present, along with some
Wyandot Indians; also Cap-
tain Elliott;100 and Knight
thought another British captain was
there. Sammy Wells,101 the captive negro
boy well known to
the early settlers on the Sandusky
Plains, was present holding
Girty's horse. Dr. Knight was a short
distance from the fire,
strongly bound, and guarded by an Indian
named Tutelu. Chris-
tian Fast, a captive boy of seventeen, a
native of Westmoreland,
and known to Crawford, was in the
crowd.102 Crawford was
stripped naked and ordered to sit down.
The Indians then beat
him with sticks and their fists, and
Knight was treated in the same
way. The fatal stake-a post about
fifteen feet high-had been
set firmly in the ground. Crawford's
hands were bound behind
his back, and a rope fastened-one end to
the foot of the post, and
the other to the ligatures between his
wrists. The rope was long
enough for him to sit down, or walk
around the post once or twice
and return the same way. Crawford then
called to Girty, and asked
him if they intended to burn him. Girty
answered "Yes." He then
replied he would take it all patiently.
Upon this Captain Pipe
made a speech to the Indians, who at its
conclusion yelled a hid-
eous and hearty assent to what had been
said. The spot where
Crawford was now to be tortured and
burnt, marked by a monu-
98 Gen. Haldimand, writing from Quebec,
July 28, 1782, to Sir Guy
Carlton, says: "The rebels were
near 600 strong." and "250 were killed
and wounded"; "Colonel
Crawford, who commanded, and two captains,
were tortured by the Indians." * *
"I hope my letter will arrive in
time to prevent further mischief."
* * "This act of cruelty is to be the
more regretted as it awakens in the
Indians that barbarity to prisoners
which the unwearied efforts of his
majesty's ministers had totally extin-
guished." (Washington-Irvine
Correspondence, p. 373.)
99 Knight's Narrative, p. 11.
100 Slover's Narr., p. 23. See letter of
Major De Peyster. Washington-
Irvine Correspondence, p. 372.
101 Was living in Wyandot Co., in 1857.
History of Wyandot Co., O.,
p. 738.
102 Knapp's History of Ashland county,
pp. 507, 508.
Colonel William Crawford. 31
32 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
with broad boards or wooden shovels,
would scoop up quantities
of live coals, or hot embers and cast
them on him; so that in a
short time he had nothing but coals of
fire or hot ashes to walk on!
In the midst of these excruciating
tortures, Crawford called to
Girty, and begged him to shoot him; the
brutal white savage mak-
ing no answer, he called again. Girty
then, by way of derision,
told Crawford he had no gun; at the same
time turning about to
an Indian who was behind him, he laughed
heartily, and by all his
actions and gestures, seemed delighted
at the horrid scene. Girty
then came up to Knight, and bade him
prepare for death, and
swore a fearful oath that he need not
expect to escape, but should
be burnt at the Shawanese town, and
suffer death in all its ex-
tremities. Girty continued talking, but
Knight was in too great
anguish and distress on account of the
torments Crawford was
suffering before his eyes, as well as
the expectation of undergoing
the same fate himself in two days, to
make any answer to the
monster.
Crawford at this period of his
suffering, besought the Al-
mighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke
very low, and bore his
torments with the most manly fortitude.
He continued in all the
extremities of pain, for an hour and
three-quarters or two hours
longer, as near as Knight could judge;
when at last being almost
spent, he lay down upon his stomach. The
savages then scalped
him, and repeatedly threw the scalp into
the face of Knight, say-
ing "he is your great
captain." An old squaw, whose appearance
Knight thought every way answered the
ideas people entertain
of the devil, then got a board, took a
parcel of coals and ashes,
and laid them on his back and head.105
He then raised himself
took about 200 prisoners. The Indians
gave over the prisoners to their
women, who instantly tomahawked every
man of them with the most
horrid circumstances of barbarity."
(The Remembrancer, London, 1782,
Part II, pp. 255, 256.)
105 "Simon Girty arrived last night
from the upper village (Half-King's
town) who informed me, that the
Delawares had burned Colonel Craw-
ford and two captains at Pipes-Town,
after torturing them a long time.
Crawford died like a hero; never changed
his countenance tho' they
scalped him alive, and then laid hot
ashes upon his head; after which
they roasted him by a slow fire."
(Capt. Caldwell, writing from Lower