526
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications
and accoutrements. Wayne could not safely go di-
rectly down and thereupon he dug an
oblique shelf-road
in the breast of the declivity downward
-- eastward a
distance of about one hundred feet, and
thereby the
army descended to the floor of the
valley and crossed
the stream.
The shelf-road is not the
"pitch." It is the ex-
pedient made in breast of the pitch or
declivity. It is
a very interesting, well-preserved
remnant of Wayne's
Preble Trail. It is historically and sentimentally
worthy a permanent designation by an
attractive
monumental stone with a bronze tablet
insert inscribed
"WAYNE'S FORTY-FOOT PITCH"
THE BATTLE OF FORTY FOOT PITCH*
BY ESTHER E. NICHOLS
Today we are met to honor some of the
brave heroes
of our own state. Though inconspicuous
in the history
of our country, still they played a
most important part
in gaining for us a great Nation and
homes of safety.
Many of them were the close friends and
relatives of
our ancestors and they justly deserve
the gratitude and
respect which we, each one, can give.
Among those
who are most intimately connected with
the history of
our own country, are the brave heroes
who fell in the
Battle of Forty Foot Pitch, or Ludlow
Springs, a few
miles north of Eaton.
A month previous to this battle a great
confedera-
tion of Indians had been threatening
attacks, putting
* Read at the St. Clair celebration,
November 6, 1922, Eaton, Preble
County, Ohio.
Fort St. Clair 527
our infant Nation in a most perilous
position. General
Wayne, appointed by President
Washington, was in
command of an army of two thousand five
hundred
men at Fort Greenville, where the
present Greenville is
now situated. General Wayne was a man
of stern will
and we may rightly say had a heart full
of love for his
country. At that time it had become
very difficult to
furnish sufficient protection for the
many convoys of
supplies as the soldiers were all
needed to repel the
sudden, treacherous attacks of the
enemy at each fort.
The Battle of Forty Foot Pitch did not
occur at
what is now called Forty Foot Pitch but
really took
place at Ludlow Springs, Preble County,
Ohio, which
was probably located on the Montgomery
farm. This
site was supposed to be in a
picturesque little hollow
near the Zion Church, about seven miles
from Fort St.
Clair.
On the morning of the 17th of October,
1793, or
one hundred twenty-nine years ago, the
seventeenth of
last month, began the skirmish which
has meant so
much to us and in which we are
interested at present.
Lieutenant Lowery of the second Legion,
and En-
sign Boyd of the first, in charge of
one of those precious
convoys of provisions and in command of
about ninety
non-commissioned soldiers, were our
leaders in this
skirmish. At the head of the Indians was Little
Turtle, the chief of the Miamis, ready
to do his part in
maintaining the honor of his
tribes. This Indian
leader was a real gentleman and a most
sagacious
statesman. Even many of his enemies at
his death paid
him the highest of honors.
It has been said by old residents that,
as the soldiers
were looking for a place to camp, they
sent a few men
528
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
ahead as usual to blaze the trail. When
the soldiers
came along a short time after, they
found a deer where
the battle later took place, so they
naturally supposed it
had been left there by the other men
who had blazed the
trail. Accordingly they camped in that
place, believing
the deer a sign that they should do so.
However it had
not been left by the blazers but by the
Indians, and the
Indians had in that way used strategy
in getting the
soldiers to camp at an advantageous
spot for an attack.
This is only a tradition, but at any
rate Lieutenant
Lowry and his men had camped at Ludlow
Springs al-
ways on the lookout for attacks and yet
not realizing any
immediate danger. Suddenly early on the
morning of
October 17th they found a band of
fierce Indians upon
them, led by the wary and able Little
Turtle. Upon the
very first discharge the unfortunate
little company of
white men were heartlessly abandoned by
the greater
part of their escort, but even in the
face of all this and
superior numbers they fought bravely
and obstinately.
Gradually their ranks were thinning. It
was then in the
crucial moment that Lieutenant Lowry
proved his
bravery. Heedless of his own suffering and
safety, his
supreme thought was the welfare of the
many helpless
ones at home. His last and inspiring
words were, "My
brave boys, all you that can fight,
now display your
activity and let your balls fly."
In addition to Lieutenant Lowry, there
was Ensign
Boyd, both promising young officers,
with about thirteen
officers and privates who were killed.
About seventy
horses were either killed or carried
off by the savages,
although the stores remained
undisturbed.
Those who fell in this encounter were
buried at Fort
St. Clair. Later, on July 4, 1846, the
bodies were taken
Fort St. Clair 529 up and re-interred, with impressive funeral services and all the honors of war. The bodies of Lieutenant Lowry and his men were afterwards removed to the mound in the cemetery at Eaton. A stately shaft marks their resting place which is now and will be throughout the centuries a monument of glory and honor for those who knew the true meaning of patriotism. The monument is one of the finest, made of elegant Rutland marble, twelve feet in height, erected on an artificial mound and constructed by La Do??n and Hamilton of Dayton at a cost of $300. This was gladly contributed by public- spirited persons who truly cherished the memory of ??ese beloved patriots. May we, as staunch citizens of our great United States and our own Ohio, remember this example of genuine patriotism and by doing our utmost at this present day save our country from many lurking perils and thus contribute our part in making it a land to be loved and cherished by the citizens of the near future. |
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Vol. XXXII -- 34. |