SERVICES OF THE OHIO COMPANY IN DEFEND-
ING THE UNITED STATES FRONTIER
FROM INVASION.
WHEN General Putnam undertook the
superintending of
the Ohio Company and landed with his
organized force of
pioneers at Marietta on April 7th, 1788,
he assumed a more
important and difficult task than that
of opening a wilder-
ness for cultivation and providing
houses and homes for
settlers.
On his way out from Massachusetts he
stopped over in
New York and made himself thoroughly
acquainted with the
real situation of Indian affairs in the
Northwest Territory.
He became satisfied that former treaties
were not cordially
accepted by the Indians as a finality,
and that he was facing a
war the moment he set foot on the soil
northwest of the
River Ohio. He at once undertook a
system of defences at
the cost of his Company. He did not
trust alone or mainly
to the United States troops then
stationed at Fort Harmar.
It was the duty of the government to
provide for the protec-
tion of their own citizens who had
ventured out to improve
the public domain. But Putnam was fully
aware of the
poverty and inefficiency of his
government to afford the
protection which his followers had a
right to demand. He
virtually assumed to take the place of
the United States in
this matter of defensive war against their
enemies, and to do
it at the cost of his Company.
Notwithstanding this wise foresight on
his part he indulged
in a hope of protection based upon the
fact that Fort Har-
mar had already been established at the
mouth of the Mus-
kingum. He writes to Dr. Cutler, dated
Adelphi, May 16th,
1788, about a month after his arrival,
"Should there be an
Indian war this will be a place of
general rendezvous for an
army, so that in all human probability
the settlement can
283
284
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
never fail of the protection of
government." But he was
doomed to disappointment in this
expectation.
St. Clair's Treaty of '89 modified the
situation somewhat,
but in '91 the storm of war broke
out. Government instead
of sending aid to the Marietta settlers,
removed the slender
protection afforded by the United States
troops in Fort Har-
mar, transferred them to Fort Washington
so as to protect
the more populous districts of Kentucky,
and to operate to
better advantage against the great body
of the Indians.
Putnam placed his settlements under
martial law, ordered all
to rendezvous at Waterford, Marietta or
Belpre, and under-
took the defense of those three forts.
In the fall of 1790, government granted
an enlistment of
militia, who were placed under Colonel
Sproat, but the fol-
lowing order, issued by Governor St.
Clair, deprived the Ohio
Company settlers of any governmental
protection:
"FORT WASHINGTON, July 6th, 1791.
"The act calling the militia for
the defence of the Frontier has been
found to be a very unavailing measure
and at the same time attended with a
very heavy expense. You will therefore
discharge all the parties that have
been called out for the defense of Washington
County, (except at Gallipolis
for which I have already given orders),
upon the 20th inst. But there is
nothing in this order to be construed to
prevent you from continuing either
the parties now embodied or such others
as you may think necessary, pro-
vided the expense is borne by the people
themselves; but the United States
will not defray any that may be incurred
after that day."
This threw the entire expense of the war
in this section of
the Northwest upon the Ohio Company.
In their petition to Congress, March 2d,
1792, the direc-
tors represent the great hardship thus
imposed upon them by
being compelled virtually to assume the
responsibilities and
charges of the United States in this
crisis. They say: "The
great expense of the Company has
amounted already to more
than thirty-three thousand dollars in
specie, besides 100 acres
of land to each share." They
attribute this expense largely
to "the hazard and extraordinary
services of the settlers in
securing their own protection."
"The settlers found themselves in a
more hazardous situa-
tion than they expected. The small number of troops
Services of the
Ohio Company. 285
assigned to Western
Territory being inadequate to that pro-
tection of the
frontier which was necessary to give security,
the people found they
must erect defenses wherever they sat
down-that they must
work in companies and guards must
be continually kept or
they could neither labor or sleep in
safety."
The Directors entered
into a contract to give as a bounty
100 acres of land to
those who would perform military service
to "the end of
the war." Those pioneer settlers had as much
right to protection
from their savage enemy as the citizens of
New York or
Philadelphia had from foreign invasion, and
they came out
depending upon it.
General Putnam took
this view of the matter, and in a let-
ter to President
Washington, dated Jan. 8th, 1791, he says;
"The Garrison at
Harmar consisting at this time of little
more than 20 men can
afford no protection to our settle-
ments. It has been a mystery
with some why these troops
have been withdrawn
from this quarter and collected at the
Miami.
"I will only
observe further that our situation is truly dis-
tressing, and I do
therefore most earnestly implore the pro-
tection of Government
for myself and friends inhabiting the
wilds of America-to
this we consider ourselves entitled."
Notwithstanding such
appeals the burden of this defensive
war was thrown upon
the Ohio Company. They accepted
it and held their
forts through the war. The following is an
exact "statement
of account" as between the Company and
the United States,
copied from an old manuscript in General
Putman's hand writing,
and found among his papers:
ABSTRACT OF MILITIA IN
THE PAY OF THE OHIO COMPANY DURING THE
INDIAN WAR.
1790 At Marietta for 1
month, wages and parts of Ra-
tions
................................................$ 135 03
Bellprie for one
month, wages and Rations ...... 92
00
Waterford for 1 month,
wages and Rations...... 70
00
- $ 297 03
1791 Marietta for
Jan., Feb. and March ............. 696 00
1791 Marietta for
April, May and June.............. 839 03
1791 Bellprie, Jan., Feb. and
March....... ......... 613 37
Bellprie, April and
May ...................... 683 00
286
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
1791
Waterford, Jan. Feb. and March............... 395 03
Waterford, April, May and
June............... 498 00
3724 43
Paid to Spyes, their Wages and Rations
......... 878 71
Paid to extra Scouts and Guards
............... 183 08
Paid to Surgeons, their wages and
rations....... 229 71
Paid for Medicine and nursing
sick............. 30 21
1321 71
To the amount of rations issued by
Commissaries $1729 52
So the amount of provisions furnished by
Com-
pany
....................................
813 37
To amount of whiskey purchased
.............. 387 21
To amount of Ammunition purchased
........... 506 68
$3436 78
EXPENSE OF FORTIFICATIONS ERECTED.
To the amount of Labour on the several
works . .$3888 13
To Lumber employed, viz.: boards, brick,
tim-
ber,
&c.................................. 382 39
To Black Smith work, Iron, &c
................ 101 64
To Sundries, viz.: nails, tin, paper,
trenching
tools,
&c................................
296 68 4668 84
$13449 59
TO CHARGES MADE BY THE DIRECTORS.
1791 Viz.: To Rufus Putnam
................ 113 00
1791 To Robert Oliver at Marietta
...........351 00
To Robert Oliver, extra services and ex-
pense
......... ..................
173 33
1791 To Robert Oliver at
Marietta........... 90 00 614 33
1791 To Griffin Greene at Belprie and
Marietta 373 50
1792 To Griffin Greene at Belprie and
Marietta 118 50 492 00 $1219 33
14668 92
To goods purchased and applied for the
redemp-
tion of prisoners
.........................
40 00
$14708 92
Journal Page. CONTRA CREDIT.
230 By the United States towards the pay
and rations
of Militia refunded ....................... $2549 42
215 By the amount of 970 rations
discounted by Elliot
& Williams per Governor's order
........... 64 66
By the amount of provisions, whiskey,
ammuni-
tion, &c., &c., charged to
individuals ....... 743 94 $3358 02
Balance of clear expense
........................ $11350 90
Journal 212. N. B.-Col. Sproat's return
of Militia, July 5th, 1790, is 246
including officers.
Dr. Hildreth is authority for saying
that the above "clear
balance " "was never repaid by
the United States, although
justly due them."
The paltry sum of about $3,000,000-which
would about
represent that old "balance"
at 6 per cent. per annum, in-
Services of the Ohio Company. 287
terest payable annually up to 1888-is
not to have weight in
any adjustment of obligations as between
this great Nation
and its Founders. The lesson of their
lives is beyond com-
putation in money value to the coming
generation upon whom
is fast devolving the responsibility of
preserving that which
they founded.
Marietta is not a mendicant in demanding
some suitable
recognition of the services, the
sacrifices and endurance of
the Pioneer Fathers. The full cost of a
Monumental Struc-
ture has been paid in advance. The
above exhibit is not the
only one that might be presented.
But it is not alone or mainly the small
band of brave and
true men who were personally engaged in
the first settlement
at Marietta whose memories ought to be
cherished and hon-
ored. The wisdom of great statesmen, the
responsible au-
thors of Organic Laws, and the valor and
endurance composing
the "Old Continental Line"
cluster around events that cul-
minated here. This great Nation can not
afford to fling back
upon such an ancestry the stinging taunt
of the Newburg
letters: "Go! starve, and be
forgotten !"
WILLIAM P. CUTLER.