Ohio History Journal

The Croghan Celebration.                     57

Governor Shelby in his letters to the War Department speaks

highly of Colonel Boyd and his brigade and of Clark and Croghan who

were his aides.

Of the above, Croghan and Shipp fought together at the defense

of Fort Stephenson. Shipp was the officer sent by Croghan to meet the

flag of truce sent by General Proctor when the formal demand for the

surrender of Fort Stephenson was made. O'Fallen was a cousin of

Croghan and during the campaign was aide-de-camp to General Harrison.

We copy from McAfee his account of the defense of Fort Stephenson

and of Harrison's expedition to Canada and the victorious battle at the

Thames. Also Colonel Croghan's subsequent campaign against the British

at Mackinac in the joint army and naval expedition under the command

of Commodore Sinclair.

"General Harrison had returned from Cleveland to Lower Sandusky

(July, 1813) several days before the arrival of the enemy, and received

at that place from the express the information that Camp Meigs was

again invested. He then immediately removed his headquarters to Seneca

town, about nine miles up the Sandusky river, where he constructed a

fortified camp, having left Major Croghan with 160 regulars in Fort

Stephenson and taken with him to Seneca about 140 more, under the

immediate command of Colonel Wells. A few days afterward he was

reinforced by the arrival of 300 regulars under Colonel Paul, and Colonel

Ball's corps of 150 dragoons, which made his whole force at that place

upwards of 600 strong. He was soon joined also by Generals McArthur

and Cass; and Colonel Owings with a regiment of 500 regulars from Ken-

tucky, was also advancing to the frontiers; but he did not arrive at head-

quarters before the siege of Fort Meigs had been abandoned by the

enemy. * * *

The force which Proctor and Tecumseh brought against us in this

instance has been ascertained to have been about 5,000 strong. A greater

number of Indians were collected by them for this expedition than ever

were assembled in one body on any other occasion during the whole war.

Having raised the siege of Camp Meigs, the British sailed round

into Sandusky bay, whilst a competent number of their savage allies

marched across through the swamps of Portage River, to co-operate in

a combined attack at Lower Sandusky, expecting no doubt that General

Harrison's attention would be chiefly directed to forts Winchester and

Meigs. The General however had calculated on their taking this course,

and had been careful to keep patrols down the bay, opposite the mouth

of Portage River, where he supposed their forces would debark.

Several days before the British had invested Fort Meigs, General

Harrison, with Major Croghan and some other officers, had examined the

heights which surround Fort Stephenson; and as the hill on the opposite

or southeast side of the river, was found to be the most commanding

eminence, the General had some thoughts of removing the fort to that

place, and Major Croghan declared his readiness to undertake the work.

58         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

But the General did not authorize him to do it, as he believed that if

the enemy intended to invade our territory again, they would do it be-

fore the removal could be completed. It was then finally concluded, that

the fort which was calculated for a garrison of only two hundred men,

could not be defended against the heavy artillery of the enemy; and that

if the British should approach it by water, which would cause a pre-

sumption that they had brought their heavy artillery, the fort must be

abandoned and burned, provided a retreat could be effected with safety.

In the orders left with Major Croghan it was stated,-"Should the

British troops approach you in force with cannon, and you can dis-

cover them in time to effect a retreat, you will do so immediately, destroy-

ing all the public stores. * * * You must be aware that the attempt

to retreat in the face of an Indian force would be vain. Against such

an enemy your garrison would be safe, however great the number."

On the evening of the 29th, Gen. Harrison received intelligence by

express from Gen. Clay, that the enemy had abandoned the siege of Fort

Meigs; and as the Indians on that day had swarmed in the woods round

his camp, he entertained no doubt but an immediate attack was intended

either on Sandusky or Seneca. He therefore immediately called a council

of war, consisting of McArthur, Cass, Ball, Paul, Wood, Hukill, Holmes

and Graham, who were unanimously of the opinion that Fort Stephen-

son was untenable against heavy artillery, and that as the enemy could

bring with facility any quantity of battering cannon against it, by which

it must inevitably fall, and as it was an unimportant post, containing

nothing the loss of which would be felt by us, that the garrison should

therefore not be reinforced but withdrawn and the place destroyed. In

pursuance of this decision the General immediately despatched the fol-

lowing order to Major Croghan:

"Sir, immediately on receiving this letter, you will abandon Fort

Stephenson, set fire to it and repair with your command this night to

headquarters. Cross the river and come up on the opposite side. If

you should deem and find it impracticable to make good your march

to this place, take the road to Huron and pursue it with the utmost

circumspection and despatch."

This order was sent by Mr. Conner and two Indians, who lost

their way in the dark and did not arrive at Fort Stephenson before 11

o'clock the next day. When Major Croghan received it, he could not

then retreat with safety, as the Indians were hovering round the fort

in considerable force. He called a council of his officers, a majority

of whom coincided with him in opinion that a retreat would be unsafe,

and that the post could be maintained against the enemy at least until

further instructions could be received from headquarters. The major

therefore immediately returned the following answer:

"Sir, I have received yours of yesterday, 10 o'clock P. M., ordering

me to destroy this place and make good my retreat, which was received

The Croghan Celebration.                   59

too late to be carried into execution. We have determined to maintain

this place and by heavens we can."

In writing this note Major Croghan had a view to the probability

of its falling into the hands of the enemy, and on that account made

use of a stronger language than would otherwise have been consistent

with propriety. It reached the General on the same day, who did not

fully understand the circumstances and motives under which it had been

dictated. The following order was therefore immediately prepared, and

sent with Colonel Wells in the morning, escorted by Colonel Ball with

his corps of dragoons.

"July 30, 1813.

"Sir. The General has received your letter of this date, informing

him that you had thought proper to disobey the order issued from this

office, and delivered to you this morning. It appears that the informa-

tion which dictated the order was incorrect; and as you did not receive

it in the night as was expected, it might have been proper that you should

have reported the circumstance and your situation, before you proceeded

to its execution. This might have been passed over, but I am directed

to say to you, that an officer who presumes to aver that he has made

his resolution and that he will act in direct opposition to the orders

of his General can no longer be entrusted with a separate command.

Colonel Wells is sent to relieve you. You will deliver the command to

him and repair with Col. Ball's squadron to this place. By command

etc.; A. H. Holmes, Asst. Adj. General."

The squadron of dragoons on this trip met with a party of Indians

near Lower Sandusky and killed 11 out of 12. The Indians had formed

an ambush and fired on the advance guard consisting of a sergeant and

five privates. Upon seeing the squadron approach they fled, but were

pursued and soon overtaken by the front squad of Captain Hopkins's

troop. The greater part of them were cut down by Colonel Ball and

Captain Hopkins with his subalterns, whose horses being the fleetest over-

took them first. The loss on our part was two privates wounded and

two horses killed.

Colonel Wells being left in the command of Fort Stephenson, Major

Croghan returned with the squadron to headquarters. He there explained

his motives for writing such a note, which were deemed satisfactory and

having remained all night with the General who treated him politely,

he was permitted to return to his command in the morning with written

orders similar to those he had received before.

A reconnoitering party which had been sent from headquarters to

the shore of the lake, about 20 miles distant from Fort Stephenson, dis-

covered the approach of the enemy by water on the evening of the 31st

of July. They returned by the fort, after 12 o'clock the next day, and

had passed it but a few hours when the enemy made their appearance

before it. The Indians showed themselves first on the hill over the river,

60         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

and were saluted by a 6-pounder, the only piece of artillery in the fort,

which soon caused them to retire. In half an hour the British gun-

boats came in sight; and the Indian forces displayed themselves in every

direction, with a view to intercept the garrison should a retreat be

attempted. The 6-pounder was fired a few times at the gun-boats,

which was returned by the artillery of the enemy. A landing of their

troops with a 51/2-inch howitzer was effected about a mile below the

fort; and Major Chambers accompanied by Dickson was despatched

towards the fort with a flag, and was met on the part of Major Cro-

ghan by Ensign Shipp of the 17th Regiment. After the usual cere-

monies Major Chambers observed to Ensign Shipp, that he was in-

structed by Gen. Proctor to demand the surrender of the fort, as he

was anxious to spare the effusion of human blood, which he could not

do, should he be under the necessity of reducing it by the powerful force

of artillery, regulars and Indians under his command. Shipp replied

that the commandant of the fort and its garrison were determined to

defend it to the last extremity, that no force however great could induce

them to surrender, as they were resolved to maintain their post or to

bury themselves in its ruins. Dickson then said that their immense

body of Indians could not be restrained from massacring the whole

garrison in case of success-of which we have no doubt, rejoined

Chambers, as we are amply prepared. Dickson then proceeded to re-

mark that it was a pity so fine a young man should fall into the hands

of the savages-sir, for God's sake surrender, and prevent the dreadful

massacre that will be caused by your resistance. Mr. Shipp replied that

when the fort was taken there would be none to massacre. It will not

be given up while a man is able to resist. An Indian at this moment

came out of an adjoining ravine and advancing to the Ensign took hold

of his sword and attempted to wrest it from him. Dickson interfered,

and having restrained the Indian, affected great anxiety to get him safe

into the fort.

The enemy now opened their fire from their 6-pounders in the gun

boats and the howitzer on shore, which they continued through the

night with but little intermission and with very little effect. The forces

of the enemy consisted of about 500 regulars, and about 800 Indians

commanded by Dickson, the whole being commanded by Gen. Proctor

in person. Tecumseh was stationed on the road to fort Meigs with a

body of 2,000 Indians, expecting to intercept a reinforcement on that

route.

Major Croghan through the evening occasionally fired his 6-pounder,

at the same time changing its place occasionally to induce a belief that

he had more than one piece. As it produced very little execution on

the enemy, and he was desirous of saving his ammunition, he soon dis-

continued his fire. The enemy had directed their fire against the north-

western angle of the fort which induced the commandant to believe that

an attempt to storm his works would be made at that point. In the

The Croghan Celebration.                   61

night Captain Hunter was directed to remove the 6-pounder to a block-

house from which it would rake that angle. By great industry and per-

sonal exertion, Captain Hunter soon accomplished this object in secrecy.

The embrasure was masked, and the piece loaded with a half charge of

powder and double charge of slugs and grape shot.

Early in the morning of the second, the enemy opened their fire

from their howitzer, and three 6-pounders which they had landed in

the night, and planted in a point of woods about 250 yards from the

fort. In the evening, about 4 o'clock, they concentrated the fire of all

their guns on the northwest angle, which convinced Major Croghan that

they would endeavor to make a breach and storm the works at that

point; he therefore immediately had that place strengthened as much

as possible with bags of flour and sand, which were so effectual that

the picketing in that place sustained no material injury. Sergeant Weaver

with five or six gentlemen of the Petersburg Volunteers and Pittsburgh

Blues, who happened to be in the fort, was entrusted with the manage-

ment of the 6-pounder.

Late in the evening when the smoke of the firing had completely

enveloped the fort, the enemy proceeded to make the assault. Two

feints were made towards the southern angle, where Captain Hunter's

lines were formed; and at the same time a column of 350 men were dis-

covered advancing through the smoke, within 20 paces of the north-

western angle. A heavy galling fire of musketry was now opened upon

them from the fort which threw them into some confusion. Colonel

Shortt who headed the principal column soon rallied his men and led

them with great bravery to the brink of the ditch. After a momentary

pause he leaped into the ditch; calling to his men to follow him, and in

a few minutes it was full. The masked porthole was now opened, and

the 6-pounder, at a distance of 30 feet, poured such destruction upon

them that but few who had entered the ditch were fortunate enough to

escape. A precipitate and confused retreat was the immediate conse-

quence, although some of the officers attempted to rally their men. The

other column which was led by Colonel Warburton and Major Chambers,

was also routed in confusion by a destructive fire from the line com-

manded by Captain Hunter. The whole of them fled into the adjoining

wood, beyond the reach of our small arms. During the assault, which

lasted half an hour, the enemy kept up an incessant fire from their

howitzer and five 6-pounders. They left Colonel Shortt, a lieutenant

and 25 privates dead in the ditch; and the total number of prisoners

taken was 26, most of them badly wounded. Major Muir was knocked

down in the ditch, and lay among the dead, till the darkness of the

night enabled him to escape in safety. The loss of the garrison was

one killed and 7 slightly wounded. The total loss of the enemy could

not be less than 150 killed and wounded.

When night came on, which was soon after the assault, the wounded

in the ditch were in a desperate situation. Complete relief could not be

62         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

brought to them by either side with any degree of safety. Major Cro-

ghan however relieved them as much as possible - he contrived to convey

them waterover the picketting in buckets, and a ditch was opened under

the pickets through which those who were able and willing were en-

couraged to crawl into the fort. All who were able preferred of course

to follow their defeated comrades, and many others were carried from

the vicinity of the fort by the Indians, particularly their own killed and

wounded; and in the night about 3 o'clock the whole British and Indian

force commenced a disorderly retreat. So great was their precipitation,

that they left a sail boat containing some clothing and a considerable

quantity of military stores; and on the next day 70 stand of arms and

some braces of pistols were picked up round the fort. Their hurry and

confusion was caused by the apprehension of an attack from Gen. Har-

rison, of whose position and force they had probably received an exag-

gerated account.

It was the intention of Gen. Harrison, should the enemy succeed

against Fort Stephenson, or should they endeavor to turn his left and

fall back on Upper Sandusky, to leave his camp at Seneca and fall back

for the protection of that place. But he discovered by the firing on the

evening of the 1st inst that the enemy had nothing but light artillery,

which could make no impression on the fort; and he knew that an

attempt to storm it without making a breach could be successfully re-

pelled by the garrison; he therefore determined to wait for the arrival

of 250 mounted volunteers under Rennick, being the advance of 700 who

were approaching by the way of Upper Sandusky, and then to march

against the enemy and raise the siege, if their force was not still too

great for his. On the 2d inst. he sent several scouts to ascertain their

situation and force; but the woods were so infested with Indians that

none of them could proceed sufficiently near the fort to make the neces-

sary discoveries. In the night a messenger arrived at headquarters with

intelligence that the enemy were preparing to retreat. About 9 o'clock

Major Croghan had ascertained from their collecting about their boats

that they were preparing to embark, and immediately sent an express

to the commander-in-chief with this information. The general now de-

termined to wait no longer for reinforcements, and immediately set out

with the dragoons, with which he reached the fort early in the morning,

having ordered Generals McArthur and Cass, who had arrived at Seneca

several days before, to follow him with all disposable infantry at that

place, and which at this time was about 700 men, after the numerous

sick, and the force necessary to maintain the position were left behind.

Finding that the enemy had fled entirely from the fort so as not to be

reached by him, and learning that Tecumseh was somewhere in the

direction of Fort Meigs with 2,000 warriors, he immediately ordered the

infantry to fall back to Seneca, lest Tecumseh should make an attack

on that place, or intercept the small reinforcements advancing from the

Ohio.

The Croghan Celebration.                   63

In his official report of this affair, General Harrison observes that,

"It will not be among the least of Gen. Proctor's mortifications to find

that he has been baffled by a youth who has just passed his twenty-first

year. He is, however, a hero worthy of his gallant uncle, Gen. George

R. Clarke."

"Captain Hunter, of the 17th Regiment, the second in command,

conducted himself with great propriety; and never was there a set of

finer young fellows than the subalterns, viz., Lieutenants Johnson and

Baylor, of the 17th; Anthony, of the 24th; Meeks, of the 7th, and

Ensigns Shipp and Duncan of the 17th."

Lieutenant Anderson, of the 24th, was also mentioned for his good

conduct. Being without a command, he solicited Major Croghan for a

musket, and a post to fight at, which he did with the greatest bravery.

"Too much praise," says Major Croghan, "cannot be bestowed on

the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates under my command

for their gallantry and good conduct during the siege."

The brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel was immediately conferred

on Major Croghan by the president of the United States for his gal-

lant conduct on this occasion. The ladies of Chillicothe also presented

him an elegant sword accompanied by a suitable address.

On the 9th of August, at Lower Sandusky, a British boat was

discovered coming up the river with a flag. When it landed below

the fort, Captain Hunter was sent to meet the commander, who proved

to be Lieut. LeBreton, accompanied by Doctor Banner, with a letter

from Gen. Proctor to the commandant at Lower Sandusky, their object

being to ascertain the situation of the British wounded and afford them

surgical aid. Captain Hunter invited them  to the fort. Le Breton

seemed to hesitate, as if he expected first to be blind-folded, as usual

in such cases; but Captain Hunter told him to come on, that there was

nothing in the fort which there was any reason to conceal; and when

he introduced him to Major Croghan as the commandant of the fort,

he appeared to be astonished at the youthful appearance of the hero,

who had defeated the combined forces of his master.

As the letter of General Proctor also contained a proposition for

the paroling of those prisoners who might be in a condition to be re-

moved, the flag was sent by Major Croghan to headquarters at Seneca.

Gen. Harrison replied to the letter of Proctor, that "Major Croghan,

conformably to those principles which are held sacred in the American

army, had caused all possible care to be taken of the wounded prisoners

that his situation would admit-that every aid which surgical skill could

give was afforded," and that he had already referred the disposal of

the prisoners to his government and must wait for their determination.

Dr. Banner in the meantime had examined the situation of the wounded,

and was highly gratified with the humane treatment they had received.

He informed Major Croghan that the Indians were highly incensed at the

64         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

failure of the late expedition and were kept together with the utmost

difficulty.

*     *      *

[Governor Shelby.]

HEADQUARTERS, SENECA. 12 Sept., 1813.

"You will find arms at Upper Sandusky; also a considerable quan-

tity at Lower Sandusky. I set out from this place in an hour. Our fleet

has beyond all doubt met that of the enemy. The day before yesterday

an incessant and tremendous cannonading was heard in the direction

of Malden by a detachment of troops coming from   Fort Meigs.   It

lasted two hours. I am all anxiety for the result. There will be no oc-

casion for your halting here. Lower Sandusky affords fine grazing. With

respect to a station for your horses, there is the best in the world im-

mediately at the place of embarkation. The Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie,

and Portage river form between them a peninsula, the isthmus of which

is only a mile and a half across. A fence of that length, and a sufficient

guard left there, would make all the horses of the army safe. It would

enclose fifty or sixty thousand acres, in which are many cultivated fields,

which have been abandoned are now grown up with the finest grass. Your

sick had better be left at Upper Sandusky or here.

HARRISON."

Within half an hour after the above letter was written, the gen-

eral received the following laconic note from the commodore, by express

from Lower Sandusky:

"U. S. BRIG NIAGARA, OFF THE WESTER SISTER, ETC.,

September 10, 1813.

"DEAR GENERAL- We have met the enemy and they are ours-

two ships, two brigs, one schooner and a sloop.

"Yours with great respect and esteem,

OLIVER HAZARD PERRY."

The exhilirating news set Lower Sandusky arid camp Seneca in

an uproar of tumultous joy. The general immediately proceeded to the

former place, and issued his orders for the movement of the troops,

and transportation of the provisions, military stores, etc., to the margin

of the lake, preparatory to their embarkation.

In bringing down the military stores and provisions from the posts

on the Sandusky river, to the vessels in the lake, a short land carriage

became necessary to expedite the embarkation. The peninsula formed by

the Sandusky Bay on the right and by the Portage river and Lake Erie

on the left, extending between fifteen and twenty miles from the anchor-

age of the shipping in the mouth of the Portage; at which place the

isthmus on which the army was encamped was less than two miles

The Croghan Celebration.                    65

across from one river to the other. The boats in going round the

peninsula to the shipping, would have to travel upward of forty miles,

and to be exposed to the dangers of the lake navigation. It was there-

fore deemed the most safe and expeditious to transport the stores and

drag the boats across the isthmus, which was accomplished between the

15th and 20th of the month, whilst the army was detained in making

other necessary arrangements.

The Kentucky troops were encamped across the narrowest part

of the isthmus, above the place of embarkation; and each regiment was

ordered to construct a strong fence of brush and fallen timber in front

of its encampment, which extended when finished, from Portage River

to Sandusky River. Within this enclosure their horses were turned

loose to graze on ample pastures of excellent grass. The preparations

for the expedition being nearly completed, it became necessary to detail

a guard to be left for the protection of the horses. The commandants

of regiments were ordered by the governor to detach one-twentieth part

of their commands for this service; and Colonel Christopher Rife was

designated as their commander. In furnishing the men, many of the

colonels had to resort to a draft, as volunteers to stay on this side the

lake could not be obtained.

On the 20th, Gen. Harrison embarked with the regular troops

under Generals McArthur and Cass, and arrived the same day at Put-

in-Bay in Bass Island, and about 10 miles distant from the point of

embarkation. Next morning the governor (Shelby) sailed with a part

of his troops, having ordered Major General Desha to remain at Portage

and bring up the rear, which he performed with great alacrity and vig-

ilance. On that and the succeeding day all the militia arrived at Bass

Island. Colonel Rife was left in command at Portage, with Doctor Ma-

guffin as his surgeon. The whole army remained on Bass Island on the

24th, waiting for the arrival of all necessary stores and provisions at

that place.

On the 25th, the whole army moved to the Middle Sister, a small

island containing about five or six acres of ground, which was now

crowded with men, having about 4,500 upon it. Whilst the transport

vessels were bringing up the military stores and provisions on the 26th,

Gen. Harrison sailed with Commodore Perry in the Ariel to recon-

noitre off Malden, and ascertain a suitable point on the lake shore for

the debarkation of his troops.

On Monday the 27th, the whole army was embarked early in the

day, and set sail from the Middle Sister for the Canada shore, Gen.

Harrison having previously circulated a general order among the troops

in which he exhorted them to remember the fame of their ancestors and

the justice of the cause in which they were engaged.

Soon after the British force had surrendered and it was dis-

covered that the Indians were yielding on the left, Gen. Harrison ordered

Vol. XVI-5.

66         Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.

Major Payne to pursue Gen. Proctor with a part of his battalion. * * *

But Proctor was not to be taken. His guilty conscience had told him

that his only chance for safety from the vengeance of those whose

countrymen he had murdered lay in the celerity of his flight. The

pursuers, however, at last pressed him so closely that he was obliged

to abandon the road, and his carriage and sword were captured by the

gallant Major Wood.-Six pieces of brass artillery were taken, three of

which had been captured in the Revolution at Saratoga and York, and

surrendered again by Hull in Detroit."

Lieut.-Colonel Eleazer Wood was one of the first graduates of the

military academy at West Point, 1806, and was a distinguished engineer.

In 1812 he built the fort at Lower Sandusky, which was later named

after Col. Stephenson, and was so gallantly defended by Major George

Croghan on the 2d of August, 1813. He was also the engineer who

planned Fort Meigs in 1813, and participated most gallantly in its siege

and also in the Battle of the Thames. He was killed September 17, 1814.

Proctor's carriage, captured by Major Wood, was brought to Lower

Sandusky; and for many years was shown upon all public occasions as one

of the trophies of the war, second in interest only to "Old Betsy."

One of the "six pieces of brass artillery" referred to above, is

now one of the most cherished relics in the museum on Fort Stephenson.

It is a handsome brass piece, evidently a French gun originally, as it

has near its muzzle the royal cipher of King Louis of France. It was

presented to King George of England, or was captured by him, and has

the monogram G. R., with the crown, near its base. It was captured

from the British under Burgoyne at Saratoga, and in common with other

trophies was elaborately inscribed:

TAKEN AT THE STORM OF

THE BRITISH LINE NEAR SARATOGA.

BY

October 7, 1777.

After Benedict Arnold turned traitor at West Point, his name was

carefully erased from all trophies. This gun was one of the number so

ignominously surrendered at Detroit by Gen. Hull, August 16, 1812, to

the British Major General Brock. After being captured for the second

time from the British under Proctor, by the Americans under Gen. Har-

rison at the Battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, it was retired from

active service and has now for more than twenty-five years been an

object of the greatest interest in the museum on the site of old Fort

Stephenson.

The Croghan Celebration.                   67

McAfee's History continues: In April, 1814, Colonel Butler obtained

leave to return to Kentucky, and the command of Detroit devolved on

Lieut.-Col. Croghan, Commodore Sinclair, who succeeded Commodore

Perry as the naval commander on the lakes, had received orders to

conduct a military and naval expedition against the British on Lake

Huron.

About the time these instructions were communicated to the Com-

modore, the secretary of war thought proper to send a corresponding order

directly to Major Holmes, entirely passing by Col. Croghan, the com-

mandant at Detroit, and merely notifying Gen. Harrison, the commander

of the district, through whom the arrangements for the expedition should

have been made. This course of the secretary was a violation not only

of military etiquette, but also of the most important military principles,

which require that the commander of a district, or of a separate post,

especially when situated on a distant frontier, should have the supreme

direction of minor matters within the sphere of his command. The

interference of the government in such matters must inevitably derange

his plans, and produce confusion and disaster in the service. The gen-

eral should be furnished with the object and outlines of the campaign or

expedition and with the necessary supplies of men, money and munitions

for accomplishing that object; and then be made responsible for their

proper management. But the secretary in this instance issued his or-

ders to Major Holmes under the nose of his colonel, whereby the rank

and authority of the latter were superseded, and the resources of his post

were to be clandestinely withdrawn from his power. This was highly

resented by Colonel Croghan, who communicated his sentiments on this

subject without reserve to Commodore Sinclair and Gen. Harrison. He

assured the Commodore that he had already taken every means to recon-

noitre the upper lakes and the country with a view to obtaining such in-

formation as he requested, and that he would be happy to co-operate

and assist him in the enterprise, but could not pledge himself in the

present state of his resources to furnish any important assistance. To

the general he wrote: "Major Holmes has been notified by the war de-

partment that he is chosen to command the land troops, which are in-

tended to co-operate with the fleet, against the enemy's forces on the

upper lakes. So soon as I may be directed by you to order Major Holmes

on that command, and to furnish him with the necessary troops, I shall

do so, but not till then shall he or any other part of my force leave

the sod."-Croghan.

In answer to a second letter from the commodore, written in the

latter part of May, he proceeds: "I much fear, sir, that in your ex-

pectation of being joined at this place by a battalion or corps of regu-

lars under Major Holmes, you will be disappointed. Major Holmes, it is

true, has been notified by the war department that he is selected to

command the land troops on the expedition up the lakes. But this no-

The Croghan Celebration.                    69

Although the colonel appears to consider the order to Holmes as

a mere notification of his appointment, yet it was certainly intended by the

secretary to be sufficiently positive and ample to put the expedition in

motion, without any other communication from the war department, ex-

cept the instructions to the Commodore. Soon after the above was writ-

ten, the Colonel addressed another letter to Gen. Harrison, from which

the following is an extract: "I know not how to account for the

Secretary of War assuming to himself the right of designating Major

Holmes for this command to Mackinaw. My ideas on the subject may

not be correct, yet for the sake of the principle were I a general com-

manding a district, I would be very far from suffering the Secretary of

War, or any other authority, to interfere with my internal police.

"I have not yet been able, even by three attempts, to ascertain

whether the enemy is building boats at Mackedash (Gloucester Bay).

None of my spies would venture far enough, being either frightened

at the view of Lake Huron, or alarmed at the probability of meeting

hostile Indians."-Croghan.

This letter was written in the latter part of May. Gen. Harrison,

actuated by similar sentiments, had already resigned his commission of

Major General in the army, which he had received about the time his

appointment in the Kentucky militia had expired. He believed that the

Secretary of War disliked him, and had intentionally encroached on

the prerogatives of his rank to insult him, by corresponding with the of-

ficers under his command, and giving them orders direct which ought at

least to have been communicated indirectly through the commander-in-

chief of the district. He had remonstrated in a spirited manner against

this interference, and finding it again renewed in the present case, he

resigned his commission by the following letters to the Secretary and

President.

"HEADQUARTERS, CINCINNATI, 11th May, 1814.

"SIR, I have the honor through you to request the President to

accept my resignation of the appointment of major general in the army

with which he has honored me.

"Lest the public service should suffer, before a successor can be

nominated, I shall continue to act until the 31st inst., by which time I

hope to be relieved.

"Having some reasons to believe that the most malicious insinua-

tions have been made against me in Washington, it was my intention to

have requested an inquiry into my conduct, from the commencement of

my command. Further reflection has however determined me to de-

cline the application -because from the proud consciousness of having

palpably done my duty, I cannot believe that it is necessary either for

the satisfaction of the government or the people, that I should pay so

much respect to the suggestions of malice and envy.

"It is necessary, however, that I should assure you, sir, that I sub-