OHIO Archaeological and Historical PUBLICATIONS.
THE CROGHAN CELEBRATION.
LUCY ELLIOT KEELER. It was not bad usage of the old Romans to bring down from its niche the waxen image of an eminent ancestor on the anni- |
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turning of the tide in the War of 1812, which up to that time had been a series of disasters to the American arms. The first formal observance of the anniversary of Croghan's Victory occurred in 1839, at which time messages from Croghan himself were received. Since that date every decade has wit- nessed one or more celebrations, notable among which were those of 1852, when "Old Betsy" was brought back to the scene of Vol. XVI-1. (1) |
2 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
her great triumph; 1860, presaging the
Civil War, when Cassius
M. Clay was the orator of the day; and
1885, when the Monu-
ment on the fort was unveiled in the
presence of the President of
the United States and many other
distinguished soldiers and
civilians.
The celebration of August 2d, 1906, was,
however, more
notable and imposing than any of its
predecessors, since on that
date the remains of Croghan were
interred at the base of the
monument erected to the memory of
himself and the brave men
of his command, on the very spot they
had so gallantly defended
ninety-three years before.
Following the defense of Fort Stephenson
Croghan figured
conspicuously in the closing events of
the War of 1812. His sub-
sequent career as Colonel Inspector
General, United States Army,
during the Mexican War and until his
death, will be noted in the
pages following. He died of cholera, in
New Orleans, January
8, 1849, his spirit taking flight just
as the last gun of the national
salute commemorating the 34th
anniversary of Jackson's victory,
was fired.
For many years past it was the general
supposition that the
remains of this hero lay in one of the
numerous cemeteries of
New Orleans. Colonel Webb C. Hayes,
imbued with patriotic
sentiment and historic spirit, began
several years ago the search
for the grave of Croghan. Through
Colonel Hayes' efforts the
Quartermaster General at Washington took
up the matter and
made diligent investigation in New
Orleans, but finally was
compelled to abandon the search as
fruitless. Colonel Hayes
persevered and in February, 1906,
received a letter from Mrs.
Elizabeth Croghan Kennedy, grand
daughter of George Cro-
ghan and wife of the late Captain
Kennedy, U. S. N., which
gave the information leading to the
coveted discovery of the re-
mains in the family burial plot in the
beautiful old Croghan
estate, Locust Grove, on the Ohio river,
several miles from Louis-
ville, Kentucky.
Col. Hayes, in company with R. C.
Ballard-Thruston and
S. Thruston-Ballard, of the Kentucky
Historical Society, pro-
ceeded to the old estate, now owned by
J. S. Waters, and located
the burial plot about 300 yards from the
mansion. Thickly over-
The Croghan Celebration. 3
grown with beautiful myrtle were the
moss-covered tombstones of
Major William Croghan and wife, the
parents of George Croghan,
his brothers, Dr. John and N. Croghan,
and one sister, Elizabeth.
In one corner lay an overturned
headstone on which appeared the
inscription, Col. G. C., marking the
long-sought resting place.
General George Rogers Clark, brother of
Lucy Clark Cro-
ghan and uncle of George Croghan, died
at the Croghan home-
stead and was buried in the Croghan
family burying ground at
Locust Grove, Ky. In 1869 the State of
Kentucky authorized the
removal of the remains to Cave Hill
Cemetery, Louisville, Ky.,
where a beautiful and imposing monument
was erected in his
honor.
Arrangements were at once made for the
disinterment by
Messrs. Ballard and Thruston who, with
their wives and Miss
Mary Clark, of St. Louis, were present,
all being related to Col.
Croghan through his mother, of the great
Clark family.
The mahogany casket, found at a depth of
six feet, was
badly decomposed, but the leaden casket
within was intact, being
six and one-half feet in length, 20 inches wide and
eight inches
deep. It was immediately boxed and taken
to Louisville and
thence directly to Fremont.
The remains arrived in Fremont Monday
evening, June 11th,
1906, and were conveyed to the city hall
on the fort. The room
had been beautifully decorated by the
George Croghan Chap-
ter, D. A. R., with flowers and
evergreen, and myrtle from the
Kentucky grave. A detail from Company K
stood at the head and
foot of the casket as the remains lay in
state. On the afternoon
of the 13th, the flag-draped
casket was lifted to the shoulders
of six members of Company K, who were
preceded by the com-
pany's trumpeter, and followed by the
five local veterans of the
Mexican War who had served in that
campaign under Croghan.
These veterans acted as honorary
pall-bearers. The ladies of the
D. A. R. and many citizens followed. The
procession passed out
in front of the Soldiers' Monument,
where it was photographed,
and then proceeded to Oakwood Cemetery,
marching over the
Harrison trail through Spiegel Grove. At
Oakwood the re-
mains were placed in the vault, a song
was sung by the D. A. R.,
and the trumpeter sounded taps.
4 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The.surviving members of the Croghan
family graciously ac-
quiesced in Col. Hayes' action and gave
all assistance in their
power. The following letter, from a
nephew of Colonel Croghan,
Mr. R. C. Ballard-Thruston, tells the
story of the discovery, to-
gether with other important facts
regarding the distinguished
family to which our hero belonged. We
give the letter entire:
LOUISVILLE,
KY., June 13, 1906.
COL. WEBB C. HAYES.
My Dear Colonel: As per my letter of a few days ago I now take
pleasure in writing you of certain data
regarding the Clark family, which
you desired and, in addition thereto,
the facts regarding the location of
the grave of Col. George Croghan and the
exhuming and forwarding of
his remains to you.
Major William Croghan and wife Lucy, lived about five or six
miles east or northeast of the court
house of Louisville, Ky., and probably
something over a mile from the Ohio
river, at a place which was called
Locust Grove, now owned by J. S. Waters.
What was formerly the rear
of the house is now the front. An
illustration of the house with the
present front is shown in Gov. English's
work, vol. II, page 887. And it is
north of this house about 300 yards that
their family burying ground
is located. A description of this and
what we found there will follow
later. Quite an account of them is given
by Gov. English in his work,
vol. II, page 1002 et seq., in which
there are a few errors that should
be corrected as follows: Page 1003,
first line, "1767" should be "1765."
Page 1004, line four,
"seventy-first" should be "seventy-third." And on
line 3, after the word
"marriage" should be inserted the words "License
issued July 13, 1789-no return
made." In the next paragraph on that
page is a list of the children of Major
William Croghan and wife, which
I notice does not include "Serina
E," mentioned in the foot note on that
page. I think she was Serena Livingston,
wife of George Croghan, and
therefore a daughter-in-law.
I have no list of the dates of the
births of these Croghan children.
Their names as given in Gov. English's
work, page 1004, are correct.
From an original letter which I have,
written about the early part of last
century, John, George and Nicholas were
among the eldest of the chil-
dren and I have a newspaper clipping
giving the death of Nicholas
Croghan in 1825.
The marriage records of this county show
that a marriage license
for George Hancock and Elizabeth
Croghan, daughter of Major William
Croghan, was issued September 29, 1819,
and return made by the Rev.
D. C. Banks on the same day. A marriage
license for Gen. Thomas
Jessup with Ann Croghan, daughter of
Maj. William Croghan, was is-
The Croghan Celebration. 5
sued May 15, 1832. Return made two days
later by the Rev. Daniel
Smith. My notes on this subject were
made some years ago and I fail
to find among them the marriage records
of any other of these Croghan
children.
As to the family burying ground at
Locust Grove. It lies about
three hundred yards north of the
dwelling surrounded by a stone wall
eighteen inches thick and from three to
five feet high, the sides facing the
cardinal points, and the entrance six
feet wide in the center of the
southern wall. It, however, has since
been filled in with stone, making a
north and south walls which are each 48
feet long on the outside, the east
and west walls being 47 feet. There are
quite a number of trees within
the enclosure, the most prominent of
which is a five-pronged elm. We
also found two red elms, four
hackberries, two cherries and two locusts.
Almost the entire space is covered with
myrtle and some underbrush.
The walls are largely overgrown with
Virginia creeper and poison ivy
or oak. The graveyard seems to have been
designed with four parallel
rows of graves running from north to
south, in each case the grave
facing the east. The eastern one of
these rows apparently was not
used, as we saw neither headstone nor
evidence of a grave on that row.
On the next row, five feet from the
north wall, we found a headstone
marked "McS." I am at a loss to know whose grave this
could be.
Fourteen feet from the north wall on
this line is the center of a one-
foot space between two large marble
slabs, each being three feet wide
and six feet long with ornate edges. The
northern one of these seems
to have rested on four pedestals, one at
each corner. They have since
fallen and the slab is now resting on
the ground and covers the remains
of Mary Carson O'Hara, wife of William
Croghan, Jr. The inscription
on this slab is as follows:
Beneath this slab
are deposited the remains of
Mrs. Mary Carson Croghan
(late of Pittsburgh)
who departed this life
October 15th, A. D. 1827,
In the 24th year of her age.
Also
her infant daughter
Mary O'Hara,
who expired July 18, 1826,
in the ninth month of her age.
6 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Slab B rests on four slabs, each of
which is ornately carved. The
inscription being:
Eliza,
youngest daughter of
William and Lucy Croghan,
born April 9th, 1801,
married George Hancock Sept., 1819,
died July 12th, 1833.
The next headstone was twenty feet from
the north wall and was
marked "Mrs. L. C." The next
headstone, twenty-three feet from the
north wall, was marked "Maj. W.
C." These were evidently the graves
of Major and Mrs. William Croghan, the
parents of Colonel George
Croghan. On this same row south of Major
Croghan's grave was quite
a sunken space, which probably marks the
spot from which the remains
of Gen. George Rogers Clark were removed
in 1869. On the next row
of graves west of the last and fourteen
feet from the north wall is a
headstone marked "E. C." This
is probably Edmund Croghan's grave.
On this row, seventeen feet from the
north wall, is a headstone marked
"N. C.," or Nicholas Croghan,
a brother of Col. George Croghan, who
died in 1825. At ten feet from the south
wall on this same row is a
headstone marked "Dr. J. C.,"
Dr. John Croghan, who lived at Locust
Grove after the death of his parents and
at whose home my mother was
a frequent visitor in her younger days.
As there were no other head-
stones found between those of Dr. John
Croghan and Nicholas Croghan,
the probabilities are that other members
of the family were buried within
this enclosure whose headstones have
since been lost, or whose graves
were not properly marked.
Near the southwest corner in the most
western one of these rows,
we found but one headstone, four feet
from the western wall and five
feet from the southern wall. It was
lying on its face entirely covered
with myrtle and upon investigation bore
the marks of "Col. G. C." mark-
ing the grave of Col. George Croghan,
which you were searching for,
and whose remains you desired to remove
to Fremont, Ohio, having ob-
tained permission of his daughter and
other descendants.
When this grave was found, on Thursday,
June 7, there were
present yourself, my brother, S.
Thruston Ballard, Mr. J. S. Waters
and myself. After definitely locating
and identifying the grave, my
brother sent to his country place for
two negro hands (John Bradford
and Alex Howard) and after lunch we
proceeded to open the grave. At
nearly five feet below the surface we
found fragments of a mahogany
casket, now almost entirely decayed, and
a leaden case which con-
tained the remains. This latter was
broken in several places, and as
would naturally be expected, its top was
resting upon the skeleton.
The Croghan Celebration. 7
This leaden case containing the remains, the headstone above mentioned, a footstone marked "G. C." which we also found at the foot of the grave, and some myrtle which was growing over the grave, which you desired, were carefully taken to my brother's place, and the following morning brought into Louisville, where I had them properly boxed (the leaden case being covered with a United States flag) and the following day, June 9, expressed them to you at Fremont, Ohio, and I hope, before |
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R. C. BALLARD THRUSTON, Member of the Filson Club, Virginia Historical Society.
George Croghan himself left three children; a son, Col. St. George Croghan, a brave soldier on the Confederate side, killed in Virginia, in one of the early battles of the Civil War; Mrs. Mary Croghan Wyatt, who died in California in February, 1906; and the youngest and only surviving child, Mrs. Serena Livings- ton Rodgers, wife of Augustus F. Rodgers, U. S. N. Mrs. Rodgers lives in San Francisco, and is now 86 years of age. |
8 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Col. St. George Croghan left two
children, both living, a
son, George, and a daughter, Elizabeth
Croghan, now the widow
of Capt. Duncan Kennedy, U. S. N., who
has one son.
Mrs. Rodgers has a daughter, and Mrs.
Wyatt a son,
Judge Wyatt, of New York. All living
descendants of Croghan
were invited to be present at the
re-interment of the remains of
their famous father, grandfather and
great-grandfather.
On the occasion of the unveiling of a
tablet to Croghan, on
Fort Stephenson Park, by the D. A. R.,
Mrs. Wyatt, to whom
an invitation to be present had been
sent, wrote, under date of
July 14, 1903:
"My Dear Miss Keeler: It was indeed most gratifying to receive
your invitation to be with you when the
Croghan tablet will be unveiled.
If would indeed be a delight to me to be
present when such honor was
paid to my dear father, but with sorrow
I must decline. My journeyings
in this world are pretty much over. I
have lately injured my knee and
walk with difficulty. * * * Sincerely,
"MARY CROGHAN WYATT."
CROGHAN'S ANCESTRY AND LIFE.
The name Croghan is an illustrious one
in the early annals
of our country, especially in the Western annals preceding the
establishment of the Republic.
On the paternal side George Croghan came
of fighting blood.
He belonged to the race of "the
Kellys, the Burkes and the
Sheas," who always "smell the
battle afar off." The first Cro-
ghan we hear of in this country was
Major George Croghan, who
was born in Ireland and educated at
Dublin University. Just
when he came to America we do not know.
He established him-
self near Harrisburg, and was an Indian
trader there as early as
1746. He learned the language of the
aborigines and won their
confidence. He served as a captain in
Braddock's expedition in
1755, and in the defense of the western
frontier in the following
year. The famous Sir William Johnson, of
New York, who was
so efficient in dealing with the natives
and whom George II had
commissioned "Colonel, agent and
sole superintendent of the
affairs of the Six Nations and other
northern Indians," came to
recognize Croghan's worth, and made him
deputy Indian agent
for the Pennsylvania and Ohio Indians.
In 1763 Sir William
The Croghan Celebration. 9
sent him to England to confer with the ministry in regard to some Indian boundary line. He traveled widely through the In- dian country which is now the Central West. While on a mis- sion in 1765 to pacify the Illinois Indians he was attacked, wounded and taken to Vincennes. But he was soon released and |
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accomplished his mission. He was deeply impressed with the great possibilities of this western country and urged upon Sir William Johnson the importance of securing this region to the English colonies. It is a singular coincidence that this first Major George Croghan was pitted against Pontiac in much the |
10 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
same way that Major George Croghan the
second was pitted
against Tecumseh. In May, 1766, he fixed
his abode near Fort
Pitt, using his good offices and
influence in pacifying the Indians
and conciliating them to British
interests. He died about 1782.
It is altogether probable that his
reports regarding the northwest-
ern country had something to do with
impressing George Rogers
Clark with its importance.
The similarity of name and title makes
this reference to the
first George Croghan pertinent, although
his kinship with the
second George Croghan was but
collateral. The father of our
hero of Ft. Stephenson was William
Croghan, born in Ireland
in 1752. Just when he came to this
country it has been impossible
to ascertain. At any rate the young man
was well established
here at the time of the Declaration of
Independence. He
promptly volunteered his services,
becoming a captain of a Vir-
ginia company. He served to the end of
the war, being mustered
out the senior Major of the Virginia
line. He took part in the
battles of Brandywine, Monmouth and
Germantown; and he was
with the army that bitter winter at
Valley Forge. In 1780 his
regiment was ordered South and he was
made prisoner at the
surrender of Charleston. He was present
at Yorktown, when the
last great battle of the war was fought,
though he could not share
in the fighting, as he was on parole. He
served for a time on the
staff of Baron Steuben, and he was one
of the officers present at
the Verplanck mansion on the Hudson in
May, 1783, when the
Society of Cincinnati was instituted.
Shortly after the war Cro-
ghan joined the increasing drift of
Virginians over the moun-
tains into the new land of Kentucky and
found a home near the
Falls of the Ohio.
There, presumably, he won and wed his
wife. She, too,
came of valorous stock. Her name was
Lucy Clark, daugh-
ter of John Clark, recently come to
Kentucky from Virginia.
She had five brothers, four of whom
served in the Revolu-
tionary War. The most distinguished of
these was George
Rogers Clark, to whose great and heroic
campaign through
the wilderness to Vincennes we owe the
winning of the North-
west Territory. It was to this George
Rogers Clark, uncle of
Croghan, that Harrison referred in his
official report of the
The Croghan Celebration. 11
battle when he said with evident
gratification: "It will not be
among the least of General Proctor's
mortifications to know
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. G. R. Clark, and I bless my
good fortune in having
first introduced this promising shoot of
a distinguished family
to the notice of the government."
Another brother, William,
who was too young to participate in the
Revolution, was the
Clark who, with Captain Lewis, made the
famous expedition of
exploration across the continent. He was
appointed in 1813 by
President Madison Governor of Missouri
Territory.
To William Croghan and his wife, Lucy,
at Locust Grove,
Ky., November 15, 1791, was born the
boy that was destined to
make the family name illustrious. He was
christened George, in
honor of the mother's brother, whose
great and daring achieve-
ment had given his name vast renown. We
know practically
nothing of George Croghan's boyhood.
Doubtless it was like
that of the ordinary Virginia boy of the
period, who was the
son of a well-to-do planter, modified by
the exigencies of frontier
life.
Our boy had books to read, and lessons
to learn; and there
were always his father's and his uncles'
tales of the recent Revo-
lutionary War and of the untamed country
through which they
had traveled; as well as of the Dublin
kindred and society.
George was ready for college at an early
age, and went to
William and Mary, in Virginia, next to
Harvard the oldest col-
lege in the land. From it graduated four
presidents of the
United States, Jefferson, Monroe, Tyler
and Harrison, beside
Chief Justice Marshall and Gen. Winfield
Scott. After Croghan's
graduation he took up the study of law.
War was in the air,
however, as well as in his blood, and in
1811 the youth enlisted
as a private in the volunteer army under
Harrison. His hand-
some face, alight with intelligence, won
him speedy notice from
the officers, a good impression which
was strengthened by his
conduct and ability. He was soon
appointed aide-de-camp to Gen.
Boyd, second in command. At the battle
of Tippecanoe, shortly
after, his zeal and courage induced Gen.
Harrison to recommend
12 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
the lad's appointment to the regular
army, and he was made cap-
tain of the 17th U. S. Infantry.
In August, 1812, his command accompanied
the detachment
under Gen. Winchester, which marched
from Kentucky to the
relief of Gen. Hull at Detroit. Hull's
disgraceful surrender made
a change of plan necessary, and
Winchester's men marched
through the wilderness to assist Gen.
Harrison at Fort Wayne,
and then down the Maumee to Fort
Defiance, in September,
1812.
Here, in spite of his extreme youth,
Croghan was left
in command by Harrison. So successful
was he in this trying
ordeal that Winchester left him in
command of Fort Defiance,
while he himself marched on to the River
Raisin. All know the
frightful massacre which followed,
Croghan owing his escape to
his duty at Defiance.
Capt. Croghan then joined Gen. Harrison
at the newly con-
structed Fort Meigs on the Maumee,
taking gallant part in its
defense during the seige. Here the
famous pair, Proctor and
Tecumseh, the one with a thousand
British regulars and the
other with twice that number of Indians,
were the besieging
leaders. The siege continued during
thirteen days of that May,
and included one direful incident. Col.
Dudley, with his Ken-
tucky troops, came to the relief of the
fort, but owing to an am-
buscade arranged by Tecumseh, Dudley's
forces were surrounded
and 650 of the 800 soldiers were killed,
wounded or taken
prisoners.
In a sortie made to save these
unfortunate troops, Capt.
Croghan so distinguished himself by the
vigor and bravery of his
assault on a battery, that Gen. Harrison
recommended him for
further promotion. He was soon afterward
commissioned major
in the 17th U. S. Infantry. In July of that year he and his
command appeared at Fort Stephenson, the
wretched little stock-
ade in Lower Sandusky. When they left
this place three weeks
later, they were the heroes of the whole
country.
The story of the battle of Fort Stephenson,
the hurried prep-
aration therefor, and its results in the
War of 1812 are given on
a later page in the words of a
contemporary. For this notable
victory Croghan was brevetted lieutenant
colonel by the president
of the United States; Congress awarded
him a medal, and the
The Croghan Celebration. 13
ladies of Chillicothe, then the capital of Ohio, presented him with a beautiful sword. The famous repulse of August 2, 1813, marks the turning point in the war that ended in sweeping the haughty British navy from our Lakes, and hurling their army from our borders. Croghan remained in the army after the close of the war till March, 1817, when he resigned. In May, 1816, he mar- ried Serena Livingston, daughter of John R. Livingston, of New York, and niece of Chancellor Robert Livingston, famous as jurist and diplomat, who administered the oath of office to Wash- ington when he first became president of the United States, and |
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wonder that the flame of patriotism burned intensely in the veins of Croghan. There was much of the Irish in our hero, as his impulsive speeches, which sometimes got him into trouble, easily testify; and like well-born Irish everywhere, he was proud of his good blood, proud of his forebears, and determined not to bring dis- credit on their name. It is the best heritage any man can have, and Croghan, for one, knew it. Just before the attack on Fort Stephenson Croghan wrote a friend: "The enemy are not far distant. I expect an attack. I will defend this post to the last extremity. I have just sent away the |
14
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
women and children, with the sick of the
garrison, that I may
be able to act without incumbrance. Be
satisfied. I shall, I hope,
do my duty. The example set me by my
Revolutionary kindred
is before me. Let me die rather than
prove unworthy of their
name."
THE CELEBRATION.
Thursday, August 2, 1906, dawned auspiciously on the his-
toric city of Fremont. The Toledo
battery which had arrived
the night before and was stationed in
Fort Stephenson aroused
the people at sunrise with a salute of
twenty-one guns, announc-
ing that the events of the day had
begun. Thousands of visitors
from far and near, including many
prominent officials of state and
nation, made pilgrimage to the historic
shrine of Fort Stephenson.
The city was appropriately decorated and
every hospitality and
courtesy possible was extended by the
citizens to their guests.
At eight o'clock the casket of Major
Croghan, which had been
temporarily placed in the vault at
Oakwood, was taken therefrom
and borne to the city, with military
honors of music and soldiery
escort. The line of march was over the
old Harrison trail,
through Spiegel Grove, down Buckland and
Birchard avenues
to Park avenue and then to the high
school building where, in
the hallway, the casket, draped with
flags, was placed. Guarded
by a detachment of state troops the
remains lay in state until the
big parade of the day passed the school
house, when the casket,
borne on the shoulders of six stalwart
members of the National
Guard, was tenderly escorted to Fort
Stephenson Park. The
civic and military parade, which was the
feature of the forenoon,
was an imposing spectacle. It was headed
by the city police force
and fire department, followed by a
provisional Brigade of the
Ohio National Guard commanded by
Brigadier General W. V.
McMaken, O. N. G. the local and visiting
posts of the Grand
Army of the Republic, Spanish War
Veterans, Masons, Wood-
men of the World and secret orders,
German musical socie-
ties, commercial organizations and
school children waving the
American emblem and singing patriotic
songs. An interesting
link in the procession brought the
present event in close touch
with the historic past, for in a
spacious carryall were Fremont's
five Mexican War veterans, Captain
Andrew Kline, his brother
Thc Croghan Celebration. 15
Louis Kline, Grant Forgerson, Martin Zeigler and Jacob Faller. They had all personally known Croghan. The parade passed in review before the handsomely decorated stand at Croghan street and Park avenue, on which stood Vice President Fairbanks, Gov- ernor Harris, Mayor Tunnington, General Chance, Congressman Mouser, Hon. J. F. Laning and Hon. A. H. Jackson; behind them the governor's staff, Col. Kautzman, Col. Weybrecht, Major Hall, Captain Williams, Capt. Knox, Capt. Garner, Capt. Wood and |
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Lieut. Moulton. Vice President Fairbanks stood up in his auto- mobile almost the entire length of Front street, and with his hat in hand acknowledged the cheers and applause of the crowds, while Governor Harris kept bowing to people on both sides of the street in response to the cheers with which he was greeted. At the high school the procession halted and the Croghan remains were escorted from their resting place at the base of the monu- ment by the George Croghan Chapter of the D. A. R., the mem- |
16 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
bers of which had charge of the final interment. The children scattered flowers in the grave, a salute was fired, taps were sounded, and the honored dust of the gallant George Croghan was consigned to its final resting place on the spot and in the sacred soil he had so bravely and loyally defended ninety-three years before. The grave was covered with a large block of Quincy granite bearing this inscription: George Croghan Major 17th U. S. Infantry, Defender of Fort Stephenson, August 1st and 2d, 1813. Born Locust Grove, Ky., Nov. 15, 1781. Died New Orleans, La., Jan. 8, 1849, Colonel Inspector General United States Army. Remains removed from Croghan Family Burying Ground, Locust Grove, Ky., August 2, 1906. |
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REV. W. E. TRESSEL, CHAPLAIN. God of our fathers, we praise and worship Thee! Assembled on historic ground, which has been consecrated by heroes' blood, we not only hold in glad and grateful remembrance the noble deeds of valiant men, |
The Croghan Celebration. 17
but we proclaim Thy great glory, O Lord
of hosts; for Thou art the
God of battles, and right and truth
triumph by Thy blessing. And whilst
we thank Thee for the brave men of that
older day who fought so nobly
in freedom's holy cause, we give Thee
laud and honor for the pa-
tience, the skill, the industry, through
which were won those notable
victories of peace, no less renowned
than those of war, that made the
wilderness to blossom as the rose and
laid the foundations for the
splendid material prosperity which
to-day is our portion. For health,
and peace, and plenty, for home, good
government, for our great educa-
tional system, we give Thee thanks, 0
God. And richer gifts than these
have flowed to us from Thy bounteous
hand. Thou hast revealed to us
Thy dear son, Jesus Christ, and hast
made Him to be our Savior from
the bondage of sin and from eternal
death; and in Thy precious word
Thou hast conveyed to us Thy saving
grace and power. Eternal praise be
to Thee for these, Thy choicest gifts!
We pray Thee to continue to us Thy
favor. To this end bless
with repentance and faith; help us to
renounce all sin and error, to love
and to follow truth and righteousness,
that we may hold fast what
Thou hast in mercy given. Instil more
and more into our hearts love
of country. Do Thou use the exercises of
this day to impress on our
mind the responsibilities of
citizenship. Awaken and quicken within us
civic spirit. And thus let this
memorable day on which we stand before
Thy holy throne, result in countless
blessings, for time and eternity, to us
and to our children.
"Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!
"Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure:
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
"Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
For aye wilt be the same.
"A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Swift as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
Vol. XVI-2.
18 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away: They fly, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day.
"0 God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our Guard while troubles last, And our eternal home!"
Thou, who hearest prayer, for Jesus' sake give ear to these our prayers and praises, which we sum up in the words of our Lord: Our Father, Who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen!
ADDRESS OF HON. SAMUEL D. DODGE. When your fellow citizen, Col. Webb C. Hayes, asked me to ad- dress you upon this occasion, and I accepted the invitation, I did so |
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1812; eminent writers have described to you the campaign preceding the attack on Fort Stephenson; and distinguished orators, with brilliant phrases, have pictured to you the handsome youth standing upon the ram- parts of Fort Stephenson, and amid the yells of savages and the fierce at- tacks of the veterans of Wellington urging his little band to deeds of hero- |
The Croghan Celebration. 19
ism. The life and deeds of George
Croghan are familiar tales in every
household of this historic neighborhood.
Your fellow townswoman, Miss
Julia M. Haynes, in her admirable paper,
"Fremont in History," read to
you a few years ago, has given us a
clear, concise and eloquent statement
of the events which have made your city
famous. Dr. Charles R. Williams,
in his public address delivered at Spiegel
Grove, a few years since, has
added to the historical literature of
Fremont a brilliant and polished essay,
and other distinguished men and women
have placed before you the
geography, history, and traditions of
your town in pamphlet and speech.
You have listened to the thrilling
eloquence of General Gibson and the
polished sentences of Governor Jacob D.
Cox, and at that memorable
meeting when you dedicated this handsome
monument, a meeting pre-
sided over by your distinguished
citizen, Rutherford B. Hayes, you lis-
tened to the voices of Sherman, Foraker,
Henry B. Payne and others.
That I could add anything to what has
been said and written concerning
these historical events, I have not for
a moment dared to hope, but per-
haps a personal allusion, if I may be
allowed, will partially explain my
presumption and willingness to accept
this invitation.
On July 9th, 1813, there was born in my
grandfather's house in
Cleveland, a son, and for several weeks
no agreement could be reached
as to the name he was to bear. Less than
a month after the child's
birth, from every hill top to every
valley, from settlement to settlement
of pioneers along shores of Lake Erie
came the news that Major George
Croghan, a young man, had put to rout
the English and Indians and
saved Fort Stephenson, and my
grandfather's family had found a name
for their son, and to-day there is a
grave in Lake View cemetery in
Cleveland and at its head a simple
granite monument with the inscription
George Croghan Dodge, born July 9th,
1813, died June 6th, 1883; and
so I regard it as a privilege to pay a
simple tribute to-day to a man
whose name my father bore, the story of
whose achievement told me in
my boyhood was a narrative to which no
tale of giants or fairies could
compare.
Fifty years before the defense of Ft.
Stephenson or "Sandusky," as
the name was engraved on the gold medal
presented by congress to the
peerless Croghan, this historic neighborhood
had been the scene of the
capture and utter destruction at the
outbreak of Pontiac's gigantic con-
spiracy of old Fort Sandusky, built in
1745 on the left or west side
of Sandusky bay and river on the
Marblehead peninsula.
"The storm burst early in May of
1763. * * *Nine British forts
yielded instantly and the savages drank,
scooped up in the hollow of
joined hands, the blood of many a
Briton. * * * Sandusky was the
first of the forts to fall, May 16th.
Ensign Paully * * * was seized,
carried to Detroit, adopted, and married
to a squaw, who had lost her
husband, the remainder of the garrison
were massacreed and the fort
burned."
20 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Fort Sandusky, the first fort
established in Ohio, was built in 1745 by
British traders from Pennsylvania and
Virginia under the instruction, it
is said, of George Croghan, later deputy
Indian Commissioner to Sir.
Wm. Johnston. It was located on the
Marblehead peninsula on the
left or west side of the Sandusky river
and bay at the portage where
Indians and trappers coming from
Detroit, in their course skirting
the chain of islands in Lake Erie, would
land to carry their canoes
across to the Sandusky river on their
way to the Scioto and Ohio.
The French, resenting this intrusion,
"usurped F. Sandoski" and in 1754
built another fort,
"Junundat," on the east or right side of the Sandusky
river and bay. The maps of John Mitchell
and Lewis Evans, both pub-
lished in 1775, clearly show the
location of these two forts.
Mitchell's map shows the fort on the
west side of the river and
bay with the notation "Sandoski
usurped by the French, 1751," while
Evans' map has "F Sandoski" on
the west side and also "F Junundat
built in 1754" on the east side of
the river and bay and diagonally across
from "Sandoski."
"Sandusky was afterward evacuated
and on the 8th of September,
1760, the French governor, Vandreueil
surrendered Canada to the Eng-
lish" and then ended French
dominion in America. "Major Robert Rogers,
a native of New Hampshire, was directed
to take possession of the west-
ern forts. He left Montreal on the 13th
of September, 1760, with two
hundred rangers. * * * Proceeding west,
he visited Sandusky * * *
after securing the fort at Detroit
returned by land via Sandusky and
and Tuscarawas trail to Fort Pitt."
Soon after Major Rogers took possession
of the western forts for
the British, Ensign Paully was placed in
command of Fort Sandusky and
so remained until his capture, and the
massacre of his garrison and the
utter destruction of the fort on May 16,
1763, at the outbreak of Pon-
tiac's conspiracy. As soon as the news
of the capture of the nine British
forts reached the British authorities,
Detroit and Fort Pitt alone escap-
ing capture, expeditions were sent to
relieve the latter and to re-establish
British supremacy in the northwest.
Captain Dalyell arrived at the
ruins of old Fort Sandusky in the fall
of 1763 and then proceeded up
the Sandusky river to the village of the
Hurons and Wyandots at the
lower rapids of the Sandusky river (now
Fremont) and utterly destroyed
the Indian villages located there.
In 1764, twelve years before the
declaration of Independence, Col.
John Bradstreet started from Albany to
relieve Major Gladwyn at De-
troit. Pontiac, the crafty, powerful and
ambitious chief of the Ottawa
Indians, the year before, had sent his
red-stained tomahawk and his
war belts to the various Indian tribes
between the Allegheny mountains
and the Mississippi river, stirring the
hearts of the red men against the
pioneers, and was preparing to
continue his attacks upon the various
western forts, and in his hatred toward
the whites was determined
The Croghan Celebration. 21
to accomplish by force what he could not
accomplish by treachery. He
had returned from Detroit in November,
1763, and it was evident that
he was preparing for a more complete
siege of that important military
post. It was then that General Thomas
Gage wrote the Colonies and
asked for troops to suppress the growing
insurrection of the Indian na-
tions; and Colonel Bradstreet set forth
from Albany with his army of
1180 men, 766 being provincial troops
from New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut under Israel Putnam. Along
they came to Lake Ontario
and with two vessels, 75 whale boats,
and numberless canoes, issued
forth and steered westward. Remaining a
while at Fort Niagara, passing
on and founding Fort Erie, they pushed
on to Detroit after making
short encampments on the banks of the
Cuyahoga river, on the present
site of Cleveland, and at the ruins of
old Fort Sandusky. All along the
journey Indians had been sent to treat
for peace, but knowing from
experience the treacherous character of
the Indians, Bradstreet was warned
against putting trust in the overtures
of the savages. Yet notwithstanding
the protests of his followers,
Bradstreet promised to refrain from march-
ing against the Delawares, Shawanese and
other tribes, if within twenty-
five days the representatives of the
tribes would meet him at Fort San-
dusky for the purpose of giving up
prisoners and concluding a definite
treaty. Bradstreet had, however, been
ordered to give to the Wyandots,
Ottawas and Miamis a thorough
chastisement, but on the approach of
the English commander these three tribes
sent deputies to meet him
and promised to follow him to Detroit
and make a treaty there, if he
would abandon the hostile plan against
them. It was with this expecta-
tion that he reached Detroit, only to
learn that the Indians whom he
had expected to meet on his return to
Fort Sandusky for the purpose
of making a treaty, had assembled there
to oppose the disembarkment
of the English soldiers. So Bradstreet
started with sixty long boats and
one barge and glided down the Detroit
river out upon the bosom of
Lake Erie. All expected to engage in a
fierce combat with the savage
foe, but Bradstreet soon received better
news. With this expedition of
Bradstreet was one Lieutenant Montresor,
who kept a journal, and this
journal has been preserved among the
collections of the New York
Historical Society. From the journal we
learn that "news soon arrived
that the Delawares and Shawanese are
assembled at Sandusky where the
old fort stood in order to treat with us
for peace." With this information
Bradstreet's "troops entered
Sandusky lake or bay" September 18, 1764,
and "encamped on a good clay bank
half a mile west of the spot where
sixteen months before Pontiac had
butchered the English garrison and
burned the fort." Indians soon
appeared and pledged if he would not at-
tack the Indian village they would
conclude a definite treaty and surrender
all prisoners they had. Bradstreet did not
attack them. After waiting
seven days "Col. Bradstreet then
proceeded up Sandusky river to the
village of the Hurons and Wyandots,
which had been destroyed by Cap-
22 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
tain Dalyell the preceding year."
Montresor in his journal says "Brad-
street's whole force proceeded and
encamped one mile below the rapids
of the Sandusky River, and here at this
camp near the Huron village
on Sandusky river, Major Israel Putnam
served as Field Officer for the
picket and presided at a General Court
Martial at his own tent to try
all prisoners brought before
him."* So to this very spot, now
Fort
Stephenson Park, Fremont, Ohio, fresh
with the laurels won while in
command of Provincial troops in the
siege of Havana, Cuba, with this
expedition came Israel Putnam, who
afterwards became Senior Major
General in the army of the United States
of America, one of the heroes
of Bunker Hill, an indomitable soldier,
a man of generous soul and
sterling patriotism, and of whom his
biographer, Col. David Humphreys,
says, "He seems to have been formed
on purpose for the age in which
he lived. His native courage, unshaken
integrity, and established repu-
tation as a soldier gave unbounded
confidence to our troops in their first
conflict in the field of battle."
The colonial records of Connecticut for
March, 1764, says this as-
sembly doth appoint Israel Putnam, Esq.,
to be major of the forces now
ordered raised in this colony for his
Majesty's service against the In-
dian Nations who have been guilty of
perfidious and cruel massacres of
the English.
Thus to the long list of patriots and
statesmen and pioneers, who
in the early days wandered through the
densely wooded trails, over these
plains which smiled to the sun in grass
and flowers, and along the banks
of this historic river; to the names of
Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton,
William Henry Harrison, George Croghan
and a host of others we can
add the immortal name of Israel Putnam.
The fifty odd years between the campaign
of Bradstreet and the
War of 1812, the years preceding and
following the Revolutionary War
are filled with the stirring events of
pioneer history. Northern Ohio was
the scene of border wars and Indian
outrages. The massacre of the Mo-
ravians, Crawford's Expedition, the
destruction of St. Clair's army, and
the victory of General Wayne at Fallen
Timbers are a few of the many
important events that go to make up the
history of the region around
the Maumee and Sandusky rivers. The
disasters to the American arms
incident to the opening of the campaign
of the War of 1812 in the north-
west-the disgraceful surrender of Hull
at Detroit, the massacre of Win-
chester's men at the River Raisin, and
Dudley's massacre, so-called, in the
otherwise successful defence of Fort
Meigs culminated, however, on
August 2, 1813, in the unparalleled
discomfiture of the British and In-
dians by a young Kentucky major. This
defense, so brilliant and com-
plete, followed by Perry's Victory on
Lake Erie and General Harrison's
triumph at the battle of the Thames
practically closed the campaign.
* Livingstone's Life of Israel Putnam,
p. 139.
The Croghan Celebration. 23
The war of 1812 only supplemented the
Revolutionary War. We
had become at once independent and
feeble. Articles of confederation
bound us loosely together, and we had
not yet fully won our place
among the nations of the earth. Other
nations looked upon us as an
easy prey-they could seize our ships and
imprison our seamen, but these
results were only incidents which gave
rise to the conflict for which the
time was ripe and for which there was
and could be no postponement.
This war must be had. We must
consolidate and finish the work of
independence. It must be a reality and
not a name, England must ac-
knowledge us as a distinct member of the
family of nations, and this is
what we accomplished by the contest of
1812 and 1813. When that war
broke out the Indians were banded
together in this Northwestern quar-
ter of the state under the leadership of
Tecumseh, to whom the English
had given the rank of a general in their
army. There was no city of
Fremont. The spot called Lower Sandusky
was a military reservation two
miles square, established by treaty in
1785. Here was built Fort Stephen-
son-one of the many outposts in the
midst of this hostile country. Built
to protect the communications of the army
with the more distant posts
at Chicago and Detroit; built perhaps
that a crossing at this point of this
then important river might be made in
safety. Up this Sandusky river
from the lake came all who wished to
reach the Ohio river on their way
from Canada to Mississippi for, with a
short portage, they could enter
the Scioto and then on down to the great
rivers beyond. It was an im-
portant place then for a growing
settlement, a vigorous colony might
be started here and Major Croghan
appreciated its importance even if
Harrison did not. The English had made
allies of the Indians. Te-
cumseh was made a general. British
emissaries were busy among the
Northwest tribes stirring them up to war
upon the Americans. Gen-
eral Proctor, with his savage allies had
failed to capture Fort Meigs,
and Proctor had withdrawn to his old
encampment and there he re-
mained until on July 28th, 1813, the
British embarked with their stores
and started for Sandusky bay and river
for the purpose of attacking
Fort Stephenson. Again and again have
you heard the story of this
fight. How General Harrison had sent
word to Major Croghan that
if the British approached with force and
cannon and he could discover
them in time to retreat, that he must do
so. How Harrison in council
with his other Generals had decided that
the fort was untenable and
ordered him to abandon it. How the
messenger lost his way, and when
he did arrive Croghan sent back word to
Harrison the memorable mes-
sage, "We have determined to
maintain this place, and by heavens we
can." The natural anger of General Harrison at this seeming diso-
bedience to his order and the summoning
of Croghan to come to Fort
Seneca and the placing of another in
command until the gallant boy
had explained and appeased the wrath of
his superior and was sent back to
his post, are familiar facts of history.
On the afternoon of August 1st,
24 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
1813, we find the young hero back in command and with 160 men and "Old Betsy," sending back to Proctor with his 700 veterans, 2,000 In- dians and Barclay's gunboats in the river, a defiant refusal to his summons to surrender. General Harrison, in his report to the Secretary of War, thus de- scribes the battle. "Their troops were formed into two columns, one led by Lieut.-Colonel Short, headed the principal one. He conducted his men to the brink of the ditch under a galling fire from the garrison, and by Lieut.-Colonel Shortt headed the principal one. He conducted his men and the light infantry. At this moment a masked porthole was sud- |
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denly opened and the six-pounder, with a half-load of powder and a double charge of leaden slugs, at a distance of thirty feet, poured destruc- tion upon them, and killed or wounded every man who entered the ditch. In vain did the British officers try to lead on the balance of the column. It retired under a shower of shot, and sought safety in the adjoining woods." And who was this young man who defended this place against a force of British and Indians and drove them discomfited from the field of battle. We seem to see him now as he stood there a model of manly beauty in his youthful prime, "a man in all that makes a man ere man- |
The Croghan Celebration. 25
hood's years have been fulfilled";
standing on the threshold of his
career. This young, accomplished,
handsome youth was born at Locust
Grove, Ky., November 15, 1791. His
mother was Lucy Clark. Of
uncles he had upon his mother's side,
George Rogers Clark, whose great
campaign through the wilderness won for
us the Northwest Territory
was one; and William Clark, who with
Captain Lewis made the famous
Lewis and Clark expedition of
exploration across the continent, was
another. His father, William Croghan,
was born in Ireland in 1752,
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War
and fought at Brandywine,
Monmouth and Germantown, and when young
George had finished
his preliminary schooling he entered at
the age of 17 the College of
William and Mary and graduated two years
later with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. His purpose was to
become a lawyer, but when the
governor of Indiana, William Henry
Harrison, called for volunteers to
strike at Tecumseh and his stirring red
men, Croghan joined the little
army as a private and began his life as
a soldier at the battle of
Tippecanoe.
From that day until General Harrison
sent him to this place, the
spirit of the soldier in him had met
every test of skill and bravery, and
he took command of Fort Stephenson with
the confidence of his su-
periors and with the love and admiration
of his soldiers. In a report
of this battle by an English historian
occurs this sentence: "The first
division were so near the enemy that
they could distinctly hear the various
orders given in the fort and the faint
voices of the wounded and dying
in the ditch, calling out for water,
which the enemy had the humanity
to lower to them on the instant."
Over in that beautiful cemetery at
Clyde, on its sunkissed slopes,
bright with the foliage of this August
day, rests one who, fifty years
after the defense of Fort Stephenson,
honored this country, his state and
his country by his conduct upon the
field of battle-General James B. Mc-
Pherson, as good a soldier, as
chivalrous a leader, as gallant a gentle-
man, as pure a man as ever fell upon the
field of battle. General Sher-
man says of him "History tells us
of but few who so blended the grace
and gentleness of the friend with the
dignity, courage, faith and man-
liness of the soldier." Now Sandusky County has gathered to herself
all that remains of another hero, her
first if not her greatest. Here under
the shadow of this monument among the
people who love to do him honor,
on the very spot he so gallantly
defended, will he lie
Till mouldering worlds and tumbling
systems burst;
When the last trump shall renovate his
dust.
Till by the mandate of eternal truth,
His soul will flourish in immortal
youth.
Such names as Croghan and McPherson are
like the sound of a
26 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
trumpet. They are the precious jewels of
our nation's history, to be
gathered up among the treasures of the
nation and kept immaculate from
the tarnishing breath of the cynic and
the doubter.
My Friends; Wars are cruel. They crush
with bloody heel all
justice, all happiness, all that is
God-like in Man. We have but to
read the History of Nations to discern
the hideous slaughters which
have marked their progress, and yet man
is such a savage that until
the present generation he has insisted
that the only way to settle things
is by the gage of battle. He has covered
a hundred battle fields with
men and horses; with the groans of the
wounded and the dying. He
has covered the pages of our history with
gore, and if history, such
history as you have learned here on the
banks of this gentle flowing
river that for a half a century had been
the scene of strife and battle,
if such history I say, cannot cultivate
out of man the brutal spirit of
war, teach him the wisdom of diplomacy
and the need of arbitration,
then has the lesson been lost and he has
failed to taste the fruit or
imbibe the philosophy of humanity. It is
for us to substitute law for
war, reason for force, courts of reason
for the settlement of contro-
versies among nations following up the
maintenance of the law with the
vitalizing forces of civilization until
all nations are molded into one
International Brotherhood, yielding to
reason and conscience. Then can
we draw the sword from its sheath and
fling it into the sea rejoicing
that it has gone forever. Let us
recognize this truth and today on this
anniversary we will lay a new stone in
the temple of Universal Peace.
This temple which shall rise to the very
firmament and be as broad as
the ends of the earth. May such
occasions as this lead us away from
an era of wars and battleships and new
navies and bring us to a time
when Patriotism and Humanity can be
compatible one with another and
to a time
When navies are forgotten
And fleets are useless things,
When the dove shall warm her bosom
Beneath the eagle's wings.
When memory of battles.
At last is strange and old,
When nations have one banner
And creeds have found one fold.
Then Hate's last note of discord
In all God's world shall cease,
In the conquest which is service
In the victory which is peace!
The Croghan Celebration. 27
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES W. FAIRBANKS.
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. I am gratified, indeed, to be present and participate with you for a brief while upon this historic occasion. I have not come to make a formal speech, nor did I come to make you a speech at all. According to the programme, I am to indulge only in a few "remarks." What I shall say to you shall be born of the moment. I have brought with me no well-turned phrases. I have come simply to join with you in paying tribute to the memory of men who did valiant service |
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remains of this brave soldier to their everlasting sleep beneath the shade of yonder monument. I wish we knew the names of the hundred and sixty men who stood with him August 2, 1813, that we might call the roll of them here to- day and pay to them the tribute of our gratitude and our admiration. The brave commander who rendered illustrious service here in a critical period of the war of 1812, is known to us and his name is upon our lips and it will be sung by our children in days to come, but his brave compatriots are unknown. The one hundred and sixty men who stood here--as brave men as ever placed their lives upon the sacrificial altar of their country--are known, for God Almighty knows men who go down to the battle field to preserve American institutions for ages to come. There is one brave young man, who stood with Croghan, whose name we cannot forget, and which we recall with pride and satisfaction, and that is the name of Ensign Shipp. When the British General Proctor |
28 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
came bearing a flag of truce, supported
by an army trained in the art
of arms -five hundred British, eight
hundred savages, I believe, twelve
hundred in all, -against an hundred and
sixty-one, commander and
soldiery, it was believed that the flag
of truce would win a complete
surrender of the small garrison. But the
British commander knew little
of the metal that was in George Croghan
and Ensign Shipp and the
hundred and fifty-nine others who shared
with them the fortunes of
war. The young commander who had barely
reached his majority sent
to meet the officers bearing the flag of
truce, this young Ensign, younger
still than himself. The British officer
demanded the surrender of the
garrison. The Ensign answered--and
history can never forget his an-
swer: "My commandant and the
garrison," said he, "are determined
to defend the post to the last extremity
and bury ourselves in its ruins
rather than surrender to any force
whatever."
It was pointed out by the British
commander that resistance would
probably result in massacre by the
savages. To this suggestion the
Ensign defiantly replied: "When the
fort shall be taken there will be
none to massacre. It will not be given
up while a man is able to
resist."
This was the note of sublime heroism. It
was essentially the
answer of a brave American patriot. It
was a sentiment kindred to
one uttered by General Grant during the
Civil War. The great General,
as I remember, in one of his campaigns,
crossed a river and sought an
engagement with the enemy with the river
in his rear, and with only
one transport. When it was suggested
that this was, perhaps, inade-
quate provision in the event of the
necessity of a retreat, the great
captain of our armies made the laconic
reply that if he was obliged to
retreat, one transport would be
sufficient.
As Shipp made his way back to the fort,
Major Croghan awaited
him. The latter knew the British would
demand surrender and that
the brave Ensign would decline to accede
to his demand. As the fort
opened for the Ensign's return, Croghan
said: "Come in Shipp and
we will blow them all to Hell."
That was a naughty word. (A voice:
"But it was the right one under the
circumstances.") Yes, you are
right. If it was ever to be used, then
was the occasion to use it, and
I think that a word like that, used in
the cause of liberty, is a dis-
infected word.
(The Vice-President indicated he was
about to close. Several
voices: "Go on! Go on!")
I do not want to talk longer than it
took George Croghan to lick
the British and the savages here. He
illustrated better than any man
can that it is not words which win
victories, but it is deeds that accom-
plish them.
Fellow citizens, American liberty has
cost something. It is a
singular fact that those great blessings
to the human race which it
most longs for, which it most prays for,
always come at the greatest
The Croghan Celebration. 29
cost. Humanity, in all her march, back from the early mist of history, down to this present hour, has won her victories for liberty mainly upon the battle field. We who are here to-day are in the enjoyment of liberty which was won upon the field of battle. We are a great, happy, contented nation of eighty millions. We look out across the sea to the Empire of Russia, with her one hundred and forty millions struggling with the great problems of human liberty. We see their wars, we see their massacres, we see their bloodshed unspeakable. We each and every one wish that those people could come out of the bondage of iron rule into the glad sunshine of liberty. America has had five wars: the War of the American Revolution; the War of 1812 which made us forever secure against the efforts of |
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Great Britain to wrest liberty from us - the liberty fought for by our continental fathers; the war with Mexico was the third, and I am glad to see here to-day and take by the hand several of the survivors of the war with Mexico. Their presence is an inspiration. It is a curious coincidence that there is now present a man who knew Croghan in the Mexican War. It seems to carry us back from the present to the very presence of the hero of Fort Stephenson. Then the war of the great Rebellion-the mightiest war in the history of man. There are here to-day scores of men bearing upon their breasts the evidence of their loyalty to the Union in the hour of its supremest exigency. And later came the war with Spain. These five wars were fought by the people of the United States, |
30 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
not to enslave men but to make men free,
to enlarge in a vast degree
the zone of Republican government.
All honor to George Croghan and his
heroic band. All honor
to the soldiers of the revolution. All
honor to the soldiers of the
Mexican war. All honor to the soldiers
of the Union. All honor to
the soldiers of the Spanish-American
war. The American people honor
them. They honor them each and all. They
hold them forever within
the embrace of their fondest memory.
Fellow citizens, it would be impossible
for me to close these few
words without expressing that
appreciation to Col. Webb C. Hayes
which is in the hearts of all of us here
to-day. It is a happy circum-
stance that he, a soldier himself, and a
son of one of the brave defenders
of the Union in the Civil War, should
thoughtfully and generously bring
back from the soil of Kentucky where he
was sleeping his everlasting
sleep the remains of this brave,
fearless leader, in order that they might
rest here amid the theater of his
immortal achievements.
All honor to Colonel Hayes for what he
has so splendidly done,
and all honor to the community which
respects and preserves the memory
of those who have served so well in the
cause of their country.
I will leave you, my friends, and I
leave you with regret. I leave
you, however, with the confident hope
that you will go forward in the
enjoyment of peace and happiness which
are the legitimate fruits of
those who fought here and elsewhere for
Republican government.
ADDRESS OF GENERAL ANDREW L. HARRIS.
GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
The chairman has stated that I will make
a few remarks, and this
is truly said. When your committee came
to Columbus to invite me to
participate on this occasion I frankly
told them that it would be im-
possible for me to make any preparation,
but that I could come provid-
ing no speech was expected of me, and,
fellow citizens, Col. Hayes
gladly accepted the promise, and it was
with that understanding that I
am here to-day, for the purpose of
participating with you in my pres-
ence more than by words or speech on
this memorable occasion.
I sometimes think that we have never
given sufficient importance
in history to the gallant deeds that
were performed here in 1813. You
remember that up to that time the
results of the war seemed against us.
We had met many reverses, but it was
Col. Croghan and his 160 men
who won one of the most important
victories, according to the numbers
engaged on our side and the numbers of
the enemy, that is recorded
in American history. It was from this
moment that the tide of the
battle turned in our favor. From that
time victory after victory followed
until in a few months' time the war was
ended, and victory seemed
vouchsafed to us so far as the mother
country was concerned, the
The Croghan Celebration. 31
liberty that we are enjoying to-day, and I wish to say that upon this spot, this historic spot that the tide turned in favor of the American nation, in the war of 1812-13. How unfortunate you are to have within your corporate limits the most historic spot in the United States of America. I never stood upon this ground, upon this battlefield until to- day. My mind turns back to my youthful days, when I read of the |
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ory of the American people, in the person of Col. Webb C. Hayes. I thank you for your attention for you must be getting tired and I will leave you, saying that I am glad it was my privilege to be with you to-day, and I will ever remember this meeting as long as I live. This day will be deep in my memory.
ADDRESS OF E. O. RANDALL.
SECRETARY OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The only apology I have for the honor of appearing before you on this interesting occasion is that my college friend of years ago, your splendid, patriotic and enterprising fellow-citizen, Colonel Webb. C. Hayes, invited me to come; his apology being that I am an official of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, whose business it is to gather, preserve and disseminate the lore, historic and prehistoric of our great state. The orator of the day, the Hon. Samuel D. Dodge, has recited to you in graphic terms the history that led up to the siege of Fort Stephenson and the incomparable bravery and patriotism with which the youth George Croghan and his gallant little band defended the crude stockade fort and stemmed the tide that to that moment seemed against the Americans. The successful repulse of Proctor and the British |
32 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
soldiers and Tecumseh, with his hundreds of braves, was the first real victory on Ohio soil in the War of 1812. That we may all the more appreciate the extent and significance of that event, let us for purposes of comparison look to other parts of the world, and note some of the stupendous acts that were being performed in the theatre of great things. In this very month, indeed on this very day and the days fol- lowing, in August, 1813, Bolivar, known as the Liberator and often called the Washington of South America, as the head of several hundred vol- unteer revolutionists, was entering as conqueror, Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, which country was thus freed from the oppression of Spanish monarchial rule and became one of the first republics of South America. In Europe a greater scene was being enacted. The incomparable Napo- leon was engaged in that series of military movements on the banks of the Elbe, which were the crowning events of his generalship and the culmination of his career. At this date (August 1813) Napoleon was |
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of the Ohio Valley, devoid of the "pomp and circumstance" of gigantic war, was being fought the battle for freedom and the best form of demo- cratic government ever given man. Here, in this little stockade fort George Croghan, a native American lad, with but 160 men, heroes of struggle and sacrifice with a might almost miraculous, repelled the forces of the British under Proctor, with 500 of the weathered veterans of the Peninsula War, the trained troops of the victorious Wellington and two thousand or more Indian braves under command of Tecumseh, the most sagacious and daring leader of his race. How did George Croghan do it? He had the versatility as well as the valor of the pioneer soldier. He had but one mounted gun, "Old Betsy," whose venerable presence now stands guard over the new grave of her old commander,-this one cannon Croghan so deftly shifted behind the stockade walls, firing a shot now through one port-hole and then through another, that the enemy were fooled into the idea that Fort Stephenson was "chuck full" of firing |
The Croghan Celebration. 33
Betsies. The bravery of this American
boy and his dauntless band ex-
ceeded in results for the betterment of
humanity arid the advance of
civilization all the campaigns combined
of Napoleon and his antagonists.
Croghan and his 160 followers were
victorious because they were typical
pioneer Americans- Americans, a new type
of character in the history
of the world. Someone has said that God
sifted four races to produce
the American. Each one of you within the
sound of my voice can
vividly recollect how on that
magnificent May morning, 1898, Dewey
sailed into the Bay of Manila and almost
in the twinkling of an eye sunk
the Spanish fleet, without the loss of a
single American sailor and
scarcely the scratching of the paint
from any of the American ships.
We thought that that was the most
unparalleled event in history and
could never be repeated, but in sixty
days thereafter it was encored in
the Bay of Santiago when the fleet of
Cervera emerged and on that
July Sunday morning left the bay for the
sea to encounter the storm
of fire and shot from the ships of
Sampson and Schley. The war cor-
respondent of the London Times, one
who for the last forty years had
been an eye-witness of the chief
military and naval feats, both in the
old world and the new, gave in his paper
a most graphic picture of this
battle of Santiago, which he viewed from
the deck of one of the American
vessels. At the close of his vivid
description, he made the significant
remark that the behavior of the American
sailor was one of the most
marvelous exhibitions of coolness,
bravery and accuracy he had ever wit-
nessed. Said he, "I verily believe
that had those rival seamen exchanged
places, namely, had the Spanish sailors
possessed the modern, thoroughly
equipped American ships and thus emerged
from the bay, and had the
American sailors possessed the decrepid
and time-worn ships of Spain,
the result would have been the same,
namely, that the Americans
would have won the victory, because that
victory was won by the char-
acter of the American boy who manned the
American ships." The
American boy, Croghan, who defended Fort
Stephenson against such tre-
mendous odds was the same type as the
sailors of Dewey and Sampson
and Schley and the followers of the
generals who led in the Spanish
War. It is related that when the Sultan
of Turkey heard of the great
victory of the Americans at Manila and
Santiago, he sent for the Amer-
ican ambassador and asked him if the
reports of the marvelous feats
of the Americans were true. The
ambassador replied that they were,
when the sultan asked if he could buy
ships and guns like those which
the Americans employed. The ambassador
told him that he supposed
the sultan could get them, they were
made in America for money by
great manufacturers. "Then,"
said the sultan, "I will buy some of them
that I may win great victories."
"Oh," said the ambassador, "that you
can do; but you cannot buy the American
boys to man them for you."
It is of such men and boys as those who
fought the American Revolution,
Vol. XVI- 3.
34 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
the War of 1812, of 1848, the Rebellion
of 61-5 and the Spanish War
that this republic is composed. Your
Vice-President and your Governor
have told you in eloquent language of
the heroism and patriotism of
the American soldiers in those wars for
independence, unity, liberty and
humanity. It is a noble record of a
noble people and in that record
Ohio has taken a most conspicuous part.
Three thousand Revolutionary
soldiers, scarred and wearied after the
battles for independence, came
across the Alleghanies to establish
homes for their declining years in the
peaceful and fruitful plains and valleys
of Ohio. Their lives had been
dedicated to independence and freedom
and their buried bones made
sacred the soil of Ohio. The seed of
that Revolutionary patriotism
ripened into an hundred fold in the war
for the national Union, for
300,000 loyal recruits went forth from
the "Buckeye State" to fight on
the battle-fields of the Sunny South for
the preservation of the republic
whose foundation was laid by their
revered sires. In the crypt of St.
Paul's Cathedral, London, that splendid
temple erected to the faith of
Christianity, lie the remains of its
great architect, Christopher Wren.
They repose beneath the floor in which
is sunken a simple plate, upon
which is inscribed the name
"Christopher Wren," and the Latin inscrip-
tion "si monumentum requiris,
circumspice"; if you seek his monument,
look about you. So I say, we may erect
monuments, the graven metal
or carved marble, to the heroes of the
past, not for them, for they
need them not, but for us that this
reminder of their heroic deeds may
lead us to emulate their examples and
push on to loftier heights. No,
I would say of George Croghan and the
heroes of 1776 and 1812, if you
should ask for their monument, look
about you and contemplate the mag-
nificent republic of which they laid the
corner-stone, a republic whose
people present the highest of type character
and civilization and whose
principles of liberty and humanity are
being borne to all the inhabitants
of the earth and the islands of the sea.
James A. Garfield, than whom
there was no more exalted example of the
American citizen, soldier,
statesman, scholar and orator, a
martyred President from Ohio, at the
close of one of his brilliant addresses
used these words: "The history
of the worlds is a divine poem; the
history of every nation is a canto in
that poem; and the life of every man is
a word in that poem. The
harmony of that poem has ever been
resounding through the ages and
though its melody has been marred by the
roaring of cannon and the
groans of dying men, yet to the
Christian philosopher, to you and me,
that poem breathes a prophecy of more
happy and halcyon days to
come." What a word was the life of
George Croghan in that poem of
universal history--a word that was a
clarion note of bravery, heroism
and patriotism, a note that shall ever
resound clear and distinct in the
harmony of American history.
The Croghan Celebration. 35
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
BY BASIL MEEK, ESQ., FREMONT, OHIO. We have met today on this ground, famous in history, because of the victorious defence of Fort Stephenson, then standing on this spot, |
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tablet near the spot from which the British cannon bombarded the fort. The tablet reads as follows:
Near this spot British cannon from Commodore Barclay's fleet bombarded Major Croghan in Fort Stephenson August 1, and 2, 1813. General Proctor attempted to capture the fort by assault with his Wellington veterans, assisted by Indians under Tecumseh. Major Croghan with only 160 men and one cannon "Old Betsy,"repulsed the assault. The British retreated to their ships with many killed and wounded, but leaving Lt. Col. Short, Lieut. Gordon and 25 soldiers of the 41st regiment dead in the ditch. Commodore Barclay was wounded and with his entire fleet including the cannon used against Fort Stephenson was captured by Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 10, 1813. General Proctor, with his British regulars, was defeated and Tecumseh with many of his Indians, was killed by General Harrison at the battle of the Thames, Oct. 5, 1813. Major Croghan was awarded a gold medal and each of his officers a sword by the congress of the United States for gallantry in the defense of Fort Stephenson. Erected by the George Croghan Chapter, D. A. R.
It is not for me, in this paper, to enter into any detailed account of the engagement, or any description of the fort; nor to enter into details of the causes or military movements that led up to the attack, |
36 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
as these have been assigned to others. Reference, however, is made to the accompanying cut of the plan of the fort and its environs.
"In long years past, on the banks of this river Whose current so peaceful, flows silently down, Roamed the race of the red man, with bow and with quiver, Where stands fair Fremont, our beautiful town."
Here centuries ago, according to tradition, there were two fortified neutral towns. One on the east and one on the west bank of the river, remains of which, in the shape of earthworks were visible within the remembrance of inhabitants now living. |
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REFERENCE TO THE ENVIRONS.--a--British gunboats at their place of landing. b- Cannon, a six-pounder. c - Mortar. d - Batteries. e - Graves of Lieut. Col. Short and Lieut. Gordon, who fell in the ditch. f - Road to Upper Sandusky. g -Advance of the enemy to the fatal ditch. i-Head of navigation.
Major B. F. Stickney, for many years Indian agent in this locality and familiar with its history and traditions, in a lecture in Toledo in 1845, speaking of these towns, said: "The Wyandots have given me this account of them. At a period of two and a half centuries ago all the Indians west of this point were at war with those east. Two walled towns were built near each other, inhabited by those of Wyandot origin. They assumed a neutral character. All of the west might enter |
The Croghan Celebration. 37
the western city and all of the east the eastern. The inhabitants of one city might inform those of the other that war parties were there; but who they were or whence they came or anything more must not be mentioned." Gen. Lewis Cass, in an address in 1829 before the Historical Society of Michigan, alluding to these neutral towns, said: "During the long and disastrous contest which preceded and followed the arrival of the Euro- peans, in which the Iroquois contended for victory, and their enemies for existence, this little band (Wyandots) preserved the integrity of their tribe and the sacred character of peacemakers. All who met upon their threshold met as friends. This neutral nation was still in existence when the French Missionaries reached the upper lakes two centuries ago. The details of their history and of their character and privileges are meager and unsatisfactory, and this is the more to be regretted as such a sanctuary among the barbarous tribes is not only a |
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REFERENCES TO THE FORT. -Line 1-Pickets. Line 2-Embank- ment from the ditch to and against the picket. Line 3. Dry ditch, nine feet wide by six deep. Line 4-Outward embankment or glacis. A- Blockhouse first attacked by cannon, b. B-Bastion from which the ditch was raked by Croghan's artillery. C--Guard blockhouse, in the lower left corner. D- Hospital during the attack. E E E -Military store-houses. F-- Commissary's store-house. G - Magazine. H- Fort gate. K K K-Wicker gates. L- Partition gate.
singular institution but altogether at variance with that reckless spirit of cruelty with which their wars are usually prosecuted." Internal feuds finally arose, as the tradition goes, and the villages were destroyed. Here then the Indians for centuries had their homes and swarmed along the banks and in the forests and plains of the valley of their beloved river. Large game abounded on every hand, the river teemed with fish, |
38 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and the marshes were alive with wild
fowl. To them it was an ideal
abode and typical of their heaven, the
happy hunting ground. They were
mostly of the Wyandot tribe, whose
ancestors' home was once on the
north side of the river St. Lawrence,
and who, becoming involved in a
war with the Senecas, living on the
opposite side, which threatened their
extermination, concluded to leave their
country. They settled first in the
vicinity of Greenbay; the Senecas
followed them and the war was
renewed with varying fortunes, until
finally it came to an end with the
Wyandots victors, but so badly worsted
as to be unable to take much
advantage of their victory, and they
finally settled here. They were
more civilized than any of the other
tribes inhabiting this region, among
whom were Delawares, Shawanees and
Ottawas.
The origin of the name of the river has
been variously explained.
A map, published in Amsterdam in 1720
founded on a great variety of
Memoirs of Louisiana, represents within
the present limits of Erie
county a water called Lac San douske.
There is also a map published by
Henry Popple, London in 1733, where the
bay is called "Lake Sandoski."
A very probable account of the origin of
the name is the tradition of
aged Wyandot warriors given to Gen.
Harrison in the friendly chat of
the Wigwam from which it appeared that
their conquering tribes in
their conflict with the Senecas,
centuries ago, having landed at Maumee,.
followed the lake shore toward the east,
passing and giving names to
bays, creeks and rivers until on coming
to Cold creek, where it enters.
the bay, they were so charmed with the
springs of clear, cold water in
the vicinity that they pitched their
tents and engaged in hunting and
fishing, and by them the bay and river
was called Sandusky. Meaning
in their language "At the Cold
Water." Butterfield gives a conversation
of John M. James, with William Walker,
principal chief of the Wyandots
at Upper Sandusky, at Columbus, 1835. He
said the meaning of the
word was "at the cold water,"
and should be pronounced San-doos-tee.
The Lower San-doos-tee (cold water) and
Upper San-doos-tee being the
descriptive Wyandot Indian names known
as far back as our knowledge
of this tribe extends.
Here at Lower Sandusky was one of the
most important Wyandot
villages, named Junque-indundeh, which
in the Wyandot language, noted
for its descriptive character, signifies
"at the place of the hanging haze
or mist (smoke)," a name applicable
and of a poetic tinge when its site
with the surrounding forests, prairies
and marshes, and the burning
leaves and grass are considered. Through
this village passed one of
the main Indian trails from Detroit to
the Ohio River country through
the Ohio wilderness. There was good
navigation from here to Detroit
and the upper lakes, and a good waterway
for their canoes, with but a
short portage, between the Sandusky
river and the Scioto, to the Ohio
river.
For a period of nearly sixty years
before the battle of Fort Stephen-
The Croghan Celebration. 39
son this spot was on the route pursued
by military expeditions of France,
Great Britain and our forefathers, and
by the war parties of the savage
red man from the St. Lawrence to the
Mississippi. The first military ex-
pedition of white men to this place of
which we have a record at the pres-
ent time, was that of the French sent
out by DeLongueuil, commandant at
Detroit, in 1748, during the conspiracy
of Nicolas, the Wyandot chief
who resided at Sandosket, on the north
side of the bay of that name,
and who had permitted English traders
from Pennsylvania to erect
a large blockhouse at his principal town
on the north side of Lake
Sandoski, in 1745, named Fort Sandusky.
After the failure of his con-
spiracy, Nicolas resolved to abandon his
towns on Sandusky Bay, and
on April 7, 1748, destroyed his villages
and forts and with his warriors
and their families moved to the Illinois
country.
The French sent another expedition in
1749 under Captain de
Celeron who after passing up the
Sandusky river conducted an expe-
dition to the Ohio country, burying
engraved leaden plates along the
Ohio river. The first British expedition
up the Sandusky was after
the close of the old French War in 1760,
when Robert Rogers, a native
of New Hampshire, was directed to take
possession of the western forts.
He left Montreal on the 13th of
September, 1760, with two hundred Ran-
gers-proceeding west he visited Sandusky--after
securing the fort at
Detroit returned by land via Sandusky
and Tuscarawas Trail to Fort
Pitt, stopping at the Lower Rapids of
the Sandusky, probably on this
very knoll. The succeeding expedition,
that of Colonel Bradstreet and
Israel Putnam in 1764, was outlined in
the address of Hon. S. D. Dodge.
In May, 1778, the Renegades Alexander
McKee, Matthew Elliott
and Simon Girty passed through Lower
Sandusky to join the notorious
Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton at
Detroit, and lead the savages
in their attack on the settlers. James
Girty came from Fort Pitt a few
weeks later to join them. Later in the
year 1778 Daniel Boone and
Simon Kenton, then held captive by the
Indians, at different times passed
through Lower Sandusky en route to
Detroit. Strange to say Simon
Girty saved Simon Kenton's life and sent
him to Detroit after he had
been condemned to be burned and
tortured.
The next military expedition of which we
have knowledge which
stopped at or passed through this place
was the British contingent which
served with the Indians in repelling
Crawford's expedition which cul-
minated in the terrible scene of
Crawford's execution by burning at
the stake. This followed about two
months after the passage of the
Moravians through this place on their
removal to Detroit.
The pathetic story of the Moravian
Indians whose villages were
originally planted on the banks of the
Tuscarawas river, in 1772, had a sad
ending some ten years later in the
brutal massacre which forms one
of the darkest pages of Revolutionary
times. The Moravian missio-
naries and Christian Indians seemed to
excite the special enmity of the
40 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
savages both white and red, British and
American. The renegades, Elliott,
Girty and McKee, finally persuaded the
British Commandant at Detroit
to order their removal, and sent the
bloody Wyandot Indians under
their war chiefs Kuhn of Lower Sandusky,
and Snip of Upper Sandusky,
accompanied by the famous Delaware chief
Captain Pipe of Upper San-
dusky, to transfer them to the Sandusky
villages or to the vicinity of
Detroit. This was carried out in their
usual ruthless manner. While
the Indian converts remained at Upper
Sandusky, De Peyster, the Com-
mandant of Detroit, through the
machinations of Simon Girty, ordered
the missionaries brought before him.
Rev. John Heckewelder, one of
the missionaries, afterward wrote, in
his "History of the Mission": "On
the morning of the 13th of March, 1782,
a Frenchman named Francis
Levallie, from Lower Sandusky, gave us
notice that Girty who was to
have taken us to Detroit, having gone
with a party of Wyandots to war
against the Americans on the Ohio, had
appointed him to take his place
in taking us to Detroit, and that on the
next day after tomorrow (the
15th) he would be here again to set out
with us. A little conversation
with this man satisfied us that we had
fallen into better hands. He
told us: 'Girty had ordered him to drive
us before him to Detroit, the
same as if we were cattle, and never
make a halt for the purpose of
the women giving suck to their children.
That he should take us
around the head of the lake (Erie) and
make us foot every step of
the way.' He, however would not do this,
but would take us to Lower
Sandusky, and from that place send a
runner with a letter to the Com-
mandant at Detroit, representing our
situation and taking further orders
from him respecting us."
Notwithstanding Girty's hard order, the
kind-hearted Frenchman
conducted the missionaries with every
regard for their comfort and
safety, and boats were sent to take them
from Lower Sandusky to Detroit.
A short time after reaching Lower
Sandusky they received word that the
almost equally brutal white borderers on
the American side, led by the
notorious Col. Williamson, had marched
from Fort Pitt and cruelly
slaughtered some ninety or more
Christian Indians who still remained
at the Moravian villages on the
Tuscarawas. The missionary band at
Lower Sandusky consisted of the senior
missionary David Zeisberger,
and his wife; John Heckewelder, wife and
child; Senseman, wife and
babe but a few weeks old; Youngman and
wife; and Edwards and
Michael Young, unmarried. The two latter
were, while in Lower San-
dusky, lodged in the house of Mr.
Robbins. The other four missionaries
with their families were guests of Mr.
Arundel. Robbins and Arundel
were English traders at this place.
Heckewelder in his History of Indian
Nations describes the ordeal
of running the gauntlet as follows:
"In the month of April, 1782, when
I was myself a prisoner at
Lower Sandusky, waiting for an
opportunity to proceed with a trader to
The Croghan Celebration. 41
Detroit, - three American prisoners were
brought in by fourteen war-
riors from the garrison of Fort
McIntosh. As soon as they had crossed
the Sandusky river to which the village
lay adjacent, they were told
by the captain of the party to run as
hard as they could to a painted
post which was shown to them. The
youngest of the three without a
moment's hesitation immediately started
for it, and reached it fortu-
nately without receiving a single blow;
the second hesitated for a moment,
but recollecting himself, he also ran as
fast as he could and likewise
reached the post unhurt. The third,
frightened at seeing so many men,
women and children with weapons in their
hands ready to strike him,
kept begging the captain to spare him,
saying that he was a mason and
would build him a fine large stone house
or do any work for him that
he would please.
"Run for your life," cried the
chief to him, "and don't talk now of
building houses!" But the poor
fellow still insisted, begging and praying
to the captain, who at last finding his
exhortations vain and fearing the
consequences turned his back upon him
and would not hear him any
longer. Our mason now began to run, but
received many a hard blow,
one of which nearly brought him to the
ground, which, if he had fallen
would have decided his fate. He,
however, reached the goal, and not
without being sadly bruised, and he was
beside bitterly reproached and
scoffed at all round as a vile coward,
while the others were hailed as
brave men and received tokens of
universal approbation."
"In the year 1782," says
Heckewelder, "the war chief of the Wyandot
tribe of Indians of Lower Sandusky sent
a young white man whom he
had taken as prisoner as a present to
another chief who was called the
Half King of Upper Sandusky, for the
purpose of being adopted into
his family in the place of one of his
sons who had been killed the pre-
ceding year. The prisoner arrived and
was presented to the Half King's
wife, but she refused to receive him;
which according to the Indian rule
was in fact a sentence of death. The
young man was therefore taken
away for the purpose of being tortured
and burnt on the pile. While
the dreadful preparations were making
and the unhappy victim was
already tied to the stake, two English
traders, moved by feelings of pity
and humanity, resolved to unite their
exertions to endeavor to save
the prisoner's life by offering a ransom
to the war chief; which how-
ever he refused, saying it was an
established rule among them to sacri-
fice a prisoner when refused adoption;
and besides the numerous war
captains were on the spot to see the
sentence carried into execution.
The two generous Englishmen, were,
however, not discouraged, and
determined to try another effort. They
appealed to the well-known high-
minded pride of an Indian. 'But,' said
they, 'among all these chiefs
whom you have mentioned there is none
who equals you in greatness;
you are considered not only as the
greatest and bravest, but as the
best man in the nation.' 'Do you really
believe what you say?' said
42 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
the Indian looking them full in the face. 'Indeed we do.' Then without speaking another word, he blackened himself, and taking his knife and his tomahawk in his hand, made his way through the crowd to the un- happy victim, crying out with a loud voice, 'what have you to do with my prisoner?' and at once cutting the cords with which he was tied, took him to his house, which was near that of Mr. Arundel, whence he was secured and carried off by safe hands to Detroit, where the Com- mandant sent him by water to Niagara, where he was soon after liberated; the Indians who witnessed this act, said it was truly heroic; they were so confounded by the unexpected conduct of this chief and by his manly and resolute appearance, that they had not time to reflect upon what they should do, and before their astonishment was well over, the prisoner was out of their reach." |
|
Another description of the same ordeal is related by Jeremiah Arm- strong, who with an older brother and sister, was captured by the Indians in 1794 opposite Blennerhassett's Island and brought to this place. He says: "On arriving at Lower Sandusky, before entering the town, they halted and formed a procession for Cox (a fellow prisoner), my sister and myself to run the gauntlet. They pointed to the home of their chief, Old Crane, (Tarhe), about a hundred yards distant, signifying that we should run into it. We did so and were received very kindly by the old chief; he was a very mild man, beloved by all." Tarhe when critically analyzed means "at him," "the tree," or "at the tree," the tree personified. Crane was a nickname given him by the French on account |
The Croghan Celebration. 43
of his height and slender form. Tarhe's wife was a white woman, a
captive named Sally Frost, who had been
adopted by the Wyandots.
LOWER SANDUSKY.
The two mile square tract which still
comprises the corporate limits
of the city of Fremont, was ceded to the
government of the United States
by the Indians at the treaty of Fort
McIntosh, January 21, 1785, renewed
at Fort Harmar, January 9, 1789, and
reaffirmed at the treaty of Green-
ville, August 3, 1795; and has
constituted a distinct military or civil
jurisdiction now for 121 years. Gen.
George Rogers Clark, the uncle
of our Major George Croghan, was one of
the Commissioners of the
United States who made the treaty with
the Indians at Fort McIntosh,
by which the spot so gallantly defended
by his nephew, twenty-eight years
after, was first ceded to the
government.
While this region was within the
jurisdiction of Delaware county
(1809-15) the term or name Lower
Sandusky was sometimes understood
to apply to all that region within the
Sandusky river valley north of
an undefined line dividing the upper
from the lower Sandusky country.
On April 29, 1811, as recorded in
journal 1, page 35, the board of county
commissioners of Delaware county passed
the following resolution:
"Resolved by the board of
commissioners of Delaware county in
conformity to a petition from the white
inhabitants of Sandusky and by
the verbal request of some of the
inhabitants of Radnor township, that
all that part of country commonly known
and called by the name of
Upper and Lower Sanduskys shall be and
now is attached to Radnor
township enjoying township privileges so
far as is agreeable to law."
This is the first record concerning
local civil government here, that
I have been able to find.
It is quite reasonable to conclude that
more than the two-mile square
tract is meant by "All that part of
country commonly known and called
by the name of Lower Sandusky." In
further support of this conclusion
may be mentioned a criminal prosecution
in the common pleas court of
Huron county at the May term, 1819,
while this territory was within
that jurisdiction. - Law Record, Vol. 1,
page 217.
The case referred to was the
State of Ohio vs. Ne-go-sheek, Ne-
gon-e-ba and Ne-gossum, three Ottawa
Indians, indicted for the murder
of John Wood and George Bishop, white
men, at a hunter's and trap-
per's camp on the Portage' river, at a
point about twelve miles from its
mouth, near what is now Oak Harbor in
Ottawa county, April 21, 1819.
The indictment was drawn and the
prosecution conducted by Ebenezer
Lane, assisted by Peter Hitchcock, both
very able lawyers and not likely
to be mistaken in the averments as to
the venue or place where the
crime was committed, which, though known
to have been several miles
distant from the two-mile square tract,
was nevertheless charged in the
indictment as committed "At the
county of Huron in Lower Sandusky."
44 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
A very interesting account of this case
may be found in the Fire-
land Pioneer, June 1865, page 43.
Ne-gossum was discharged without
trial. The other two were convicted and
sentenced to be hung, which
sentence was executed at Norwalk, July
1, 1819. Lane and Hitchcock both
subsequently became Judges of the
Supreme Court of the State.
On August 1, 1815, while the region
known as Lower Sandusky was
within the civil jurisdiction of Huron
County, having been transferred
from Delaware County to Huron, January
31, 1815, the Township of
Lower Sandusky was formed by the
commissioners of that county, and
provision made for the first election of
township officers for the town-
ship, the same to be held August 15, 1815,
at the house of Israel Har-
rington.
The order, among other things,
provided: "Said township to
comprise all that part of Huron County
west of the 24th range of Con-
necticut Reserve," which meant then
all that region of country between
the west line of Huron and the east
lines of Hancock, Wood and Lucas
Counties, lying south of Lake Erie and
extending to the south line of
Seneca County.
At this election Israel Harrington,
Randall Jerome and Jeremiah
Everett (father of Homer Everett) were
elected township trustees;
Isaac Lee, clerk; Morris A. Newman and
William Ford, overseers of
the poor, and Charles B. Fitch and Henry
Dubrow, appraisers.
This immense township thus remained
until May 18, 1819, when by
action of the county commissioners of
Huron County another township
was formed by detaching from the
township of Lower Sandusky all that
part of the same east of the Sandusky
river. To the new township the
name of Croghan was given.
FORT STEPHENSON PARK AND BIRCHARD
LIBRARY.
Fort Stephenson Park, the site of the
fort, covers a little more than
two acres of ground, and is a part of a
57 acre tract, numbered 9, of
the subdivision of the two-mile square
reservation made in 1817, and
about that time platted into inlots and
is located near the center of
the historic two-mile square tract. The
first purchaser from the gov-
ernment was Cyrus Hulburd, whose deed is
dated March 11, 1824.
From him it passed through successive
grantees till the title to the three-
fourths part fronting Croghan street was
acquired by Lewis Leppelman,
the southwest one-eighth by Dr. W. V. B.
Ames, and the southeast
one-eighth by Lucinda Claghorn. The city
of Fremont purchased this
property in 1873, the Birchard Library
Association, having contributed
$9,000 toward the purchase of the
property, and being the equitable owner
of one-third thereof. On March 29, 1878,
the Birchard Library Associa-
tion became the owner of the legal title
to the undivided one-third of
this ground by deed of conveyance from the
City council of Fremont
pursuant to an ordinance duly passed
February 18, 1878. This deed
The Croghan Celebration. 45
contained the conditions prescribed in
the ordinance which are as fol-
lows: "That said Birchard Library
Association are to have the right to
erect, maintain and occupy a building
for the Birchard Library on Lots
number two hundred and twenty-one (221)
and two hundred and forty
(240), and that said City have the right
to erect, maintain and occupy a
building on said premises for a City
Hall, where the same is now be-
ing erected on the corner of Croghan and
Arch streets, and that no other
building, fence or structure of any kind
shall hereafter be erected or
put upon any part of said Lots, nor
shall the same ever be used for any
purpose other than as a Public Park or
any part thereof sold or con-
veyed without the consent of both the
said City Council and the said
Birchard Library Association. The
control and supervision of said Park
shall be vested in the City Council and
said Birchard Library Associa-
tion jointly, but said City Council
shall have the exclusive use and con-
trol of the building now on said
Lots."
The Birchard Library Association, which
was largely instrumental in
preserving old Fort Stephenson for the
public, was founded in 1873 by
Sardis Birchard, who named a Board of
Trustees of which his nephew
Rutherford B. Hayes was the president,
and arranged to place with such
Board property and securities to the
value of $50,000. Mr. Birchard died
January 21, 1874, before the property
intended to be given was legally
vested in this Board of Trustees, and
his last will, dated August 21, 1872,
contained no provision for the Library.
His nephew and residuary legatee,
Rutherford B. Hayes, however,
on February 14, 1874, but fifteen days
subsequent to the probating of Mr.
Birchard's will, himself made a will in
his own handwriting, witnessed
by J. W. Wilson and A. E. Rice, which
will was for the sole purpose of
correcting this omission and securing
for the Library the endowment in-
tended by Mr. Birchard. Item 2 of
General Hayes's will was as follows:
"To carry out the intention of my
uncle for the benefit of the people
of Fremont and vicinity, I give and
bequeath to the Birchard Library all
my right, title and interest to the
following property, viz." Then
fol-
lowed the description of parcels of real
estate in Toledo, out of which
was to be realized an aggregate of
$40,000 for the Library. Subse-
quently this property was conveyed by
deed and later it was sold. It
was undoubtedly the expectation and
intention of Mr. Birchard to com-
plete his gift while living; hence the
absence of any provision for it in
his will, although his cash bequests to
educational and charitable institu-
tions and relatives and friends other
than his residuary legatees, aggre-
gated some $40,000.
General Hayes, in making this will at
the time he did, evidently in-
tended that even in the case of his own
death, the people of Fremont
and vicinity should receive the
unexecuted gift of Mr. Birchard; so that
the people are indebted both to the
benevolence of Sardis Birchard and to
the generosity of Rutherford B. Hayes
for Birchard Library.
46 Ohio Arch. and
Hist. Society Publications.
It is an interesting fact that the
existence of the above mentioned
will was only learned during the present
year by the finding of a photo-
graphic copy of it, which has since been
placed in Birchard Library.
The name Fort Stephenson first appears
in the military records as
follows:
"FORT STEPHENSON, May 22, 1813.
May it please your Excellency:
Sir: Agreeably to your orders I have
forwarded all the articles
specified therein. * * * Considerable
manual labor has been done on
the garrison since you left this place
and improvements are daily making.
*
* *One person has been buried since you left this place. He came
from Fort Meigs with a part of the
baggage of Major Tod. * * * "
R. E. Post, Adjutant.
The Major Tod mentioned became the
president judge of the com-
mon pleas court of the district to which
Sandusky county was attached
when organized and presided at the first
term of that court held in the
county, May 8, 1820, at Croghansville.
At the time of the defense of Fort
Stephenson there were but very
few white inhabitants in Lower Sandusky,
as is evidenced by the follow-
ing petition to Governor Meigs, dated
December 21, 1813:
"May it please your Excellency:-
"The undersigned inhabitants and
settlers on the plains of Lower
Sandusky on the reservation beg leave to
humbly represent their present
situation."
"In the first instance B. F.
Stickney, Indian Agent has denied us
the right or privilege of settling on
these grounds * * * and has
actually instructed Gen. Gano, our
present Commandant, to dispossess us
of our present inheritance. Many of us *
* * have been severe suff-
erers since the commencement of the
present war. * * * We do not,
neither can we attempt to claim any
legal right to the ground or spot
of earth on which we have each
individually settled; but the improve-
ments which we have made and the
buildings which we have erected we
trust will not be taken from us. * * *
Permission to build has been
granted by Gen. Gano to those who have
erected cabins since his arrival."
Signed by Morris A. Newman, Israel
Harrington, George Bean,
Geo. Ermatington, R. E. Post, Asa Stoddard,
R. Loomis, Jesse Skinner,
William Leach, Walter Brabrook, Louis
Moshelle, Wm. Hamilton, Lewis
Geaneau, Patrick Cress.
Whether this petition was granted or not
there is no record to
show, but it is probable that it was.
But few of the names of the four-
teen signers appear in the subsequent
history of the county affairs.
Israel Harrington and Morris A. Newman,
however, became Associate
Judges of the Common Pleas Court, and
Judge Newman was also County
Commissioner. It was at his tavern on
the northeast corner of Ohio
The Croghan Celebration. 47
Avenue and Pine Street, in
Croghansville, that the first term of the
common pleas court in the county was
held, and Judge Harrington was
one of the associate judges presiding at
that term.
BALL'S BATTLE.
On July 30, 1813, when General Harrison
sent Colonel Wells to
relieve Major Croghan from command at
Fort Stephenson, he was
escorted from Fort Seneca by Colonel
Ball's squadron, consisting of about
100 horse. On the way down they fell in
with a body of Indians and
fought what has since been called Ball's
Battle. Israel Harrington, a
resident of Lower Sandusky at the time
of the battle and one of the
first associate judges of Sandusky
county, said that "three days after
he passed the ground and counted thereon
thirteen dead Indians awfully
cut and mangled by the horsemen. None of
the squadron were killed
and but one slightly wounded." The
scene of this battle is about one
and a half miles southwest of Fremont on
the west bank of the river,
near what is now the residence of
Birchard Havens. There was an
oak tree on the site of the action
within the memory of persons still
living, with seventeen hacks in it to
indicate the number of Indians killed;
but this tree has unfortunately
disappeared as have many other monu-
ments of those stirring times. Howe
says: "The squadron were moving
toward the fort when they were suddenly
fired upon by the Indians from
the west side of the road, whereupon
Colonel Ball ordered a charge
and he and suite and the right flank
being in advance first came into
action. The colonel struck the first
blow. He dashed in between two
savages and cut down the one on the
right; the other being slightly in
the rear, made a blow with a tomahawk at
his back, when, by a sudden
spring of his horse, it fell short and
was buried deep in the cantel and
pad of his saddle. Before the savage
could repeat the blow he was shot
by Corporal Ryan. Lieut. Hedges (now
Gen. Hedges of Mansfield) fol-
lowing in the rear, mounted on a small
horse pursued a big Indian and
just as he had come up to him his
stirrup broke, and he fell headfirst
off his horse, knocking the Indian down.
Both sprang to their feet, when
Hedges struck the Indian across his
head, and as he was falling buried
his sword up to its hilt in his body. At
this time Captain Hopkins was
seen on the left side in pursuit of a
powerful savage, when the latter
turned and made a blow at the captain
with a tomahawk, at which the
horse sprang to one side. Cornet Hayes
then came up, and the Indian
struck at him, his horse in like manner
evading the blow. Serj. Ander-
son now arriving, the Indian was soon
dispatched. By this time the
skirmish was over, the Indians who were
only about 20 in number being
nearly all cut down; and orders were
given to retreat to the main
squadron. Col. Ball dressed his men
ready for a charge, should the
Indians appear in force, and moved down
without further molestation
to the fort, where they arrived about 4
P. M."
48 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Among Colonel Ball's troopers was a
private, James Webb, the
father of Lucy Webb Hayes, whose old
flint-lock rifle and hunting horn
are among the treasures of Spiegel
Grove.
In the plan of the environs of the Fort,
it will be noted that the
spot where the British officers, Lieut.
Colonel Shortt and Lieut. Gordon
were buried, is marked. The new High
School building now covers this
spot, and in 1891, while excavating for
its foundation portions of the
graves were uncovered and metallic
buttons with the number of the
regiment, 41, stamped on them were
found, which have been placed in
Birchard Library by Mr. H. S. Dorr,
their owner. Mr. Dorr, soon after
finding these buttons showed them to
President Hayes who stated that
in reading an autobiography of a Scotch
Bishop Gordon, he found the
following: "The great sorrow of my
life was the loss of a son in an
unimportant battle in an obscure place
in North America--called Fort
Sandusky."
From an English work, the
"Dictionary of National Biography" the
following facts are gathered. The father
of Lieut. Gordon was James
Bently Gordon (1750-1819) of
Londonderry, Ireland, who graduated from
Trinity College, Dublin, in 1773 took
Holy Orders and subsequently was
presented with the living, first of
Cannaway on Cork and finally that of
Killegney in Wexford, both of which he
retained till his death, in April,
1819. He was a zealous student of
history and geography and a volum-
inous writer of books on such subjects,
among which were "Terraquea
or a New System of Geography and Modern
History," "A History of the
Rebellion in Ireland in 1798,"
"A History of the British Islands" and
"An Historical and Geographical
Memoir of the North American Con-
tinent."
He married in 1779 a daughter of Richard
Bookey of Wicklow, by
whom he had several children. His eldest
son, James George Gordon,
entered the army and was killed at Fort
Sandusky in August, 1813.
DEFENDERS OF FORT STEPHENSON.
The public is greatly indebted to Col.
Webb C. Hayes for his un-
tiring and partially successful efforts
in procuring the names, appearing
below, of the officers and soldiers in
the garrison at Fort Stephenson at
the time of its heroic defence.
The list is not complete, containing
only seventy-eight names out of
the 160 in the fort at the time. The war
records at Washington do not
show the names of the volunteers, who
were detached and assigned to
this service; hence it was impossible
for him to obtain their names.
The following are the names furnished by
Col. Hayes:
Major George Croghan, Seventeenth U. S.
Inf., commanding.
Captain James Hunter.
First lieutenant, Benjamin Johnson;
second lieutenant, Cyrus A.
The Croghan Celebration. 49
Baylor; ensign, Edmund Shipp; Ensign,
Joseph Duncan, all of the
Seventeenth U. S. Infantry.
First Lieutenant, Joseph Anthony,
Twenty-fourth U. S. Infantry.
Second Lieutenant, John Meek, Seventh U.
S. Infantry.
Petersburg Volunteers.
Pittsburg Blues.
Greensburg Riflemen.
Captain Hunter's company, Capt. James
Hunter commanding. Ser-
geants, Wayne Case, James Huston,
Obadiah Norton. Corporals, Matthew
Burns, William Ewing, John Maxwell.
Privates: Pleasant Bailey, Samuel Brown,
Elisha Condiff, Thomas
Crickman, Ambrose Dean, Leonard George,
Nathaniel Gill, John Harley,
Jonathan Hartley, William McDonald,
Joseph McKey, Frederick Metts,
Rice Millender, John Mumman, Samuel
Pearsall, Daniel Perry, William
Ralph, John Rankin, Elisha Rathbun,
Aaron Ray, Robert Row, John
Salley, John Savage, John Smith, Thomas
Striplin, William Sutherland,
Martin Tanner, John Zett, David Perry.
Captain Duncan's company, 17th U. S.
Inf., First Lieutenant Benja-
min Johnson commanding. Second
Lieutenant Cyrus A. Baylor. Ser-
geants, Henry Lawell; Thomas McCaul,
John M. Stotts, Notley Williams.
Privates: Henry L. Bethers, Cornelius S.
Bevins, Joseph Blamer,
Jonathan C. Bowling, Nicholas Bryant,
Robert Campbell, Samuel Camp-
bell, Joseph Klinkenbeard, Joseph
Childers, Ambrose Dine, Jacob Downs,
James Harris, James Heartley, William
Johnson, Elisha Jones, Thomas
Linchard, William McClelland, Joseph
McKee, John Martin, Ezekiel
Mitchell, William Rogers, David
Sudderfield, Thomas Taylor, John
Williams.
Detachment Twenty-fourth U. S. Infantry.
First Lieutenant Joseph
Anthony commanding.
Privates: William Gaines, John
Foster, Jones, Samuel
Riggs, Samuel Thurman.
Greensburg Riflemen. Sergeant Abraham
Weaver.
Petersburg Volunteers. Private Edmund
Brown.
Pittsburg Blues.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRADY.
During the war of the Revolution,
Captain Samuel Brady was sent
here by direction of Washington to learn
if possible the strength of the
Indians in this quarter. He approached
the village under cover of night
and fording the river secreted himself
on the Island just below the falls.
When morning dawned a fog rested over
the valley which completely
cut off from view the shore from either
side. About 11 o'clock a bright
sun quickly dispelled the mist and the
celebrated borderer became the
witness from his conealment of a series
of interesting horse races by
the Indians during the three days he
remained on the Island, from which
Vol. XVI-4.
50 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
he concluded that they were not then
preparing for any hostile move-
ments, and started to return, and after
a perilous tramp of several days
reached the fort from which he had been
sent out. This Island where
Brady secreted himself was known among
the early settler's as Brady's
Island. Capt. Brady subsequently started
on a scout towards the San-
dusky villages as before and had arrived
in the neighborhood, when he
was made a prisoner and taken to one of
the villages. There was great
rejoicing at the capture of Brady, and
great preparation and parade were
made for torturing him. The Indians
collected in a large body, old
and young, on the day set for his
execution. Among them was Simon
Girty, whom he knew, they having been
boys together. Girty refused
to recognize or aid him in any way. The
time for execution arrived,
the fires were lighted, the circle
around him was drawing closer and he
began sensibly to feel the effects of
the fire. The withes which confined
his arms and legs were getting loose and
he soon found he could free
himself. A fine looking squaw of one of
the chiefs ventured a little too
near for her own safety and entirely within
his reach. By one powerful
exertion he cleared himself from
everything by which he was confined,
caught the squaw by the head and
shoulders, and threw her on top of the
burning pile, and in the confusion that
followed made his escape. The
Indians pursued, but he outdistanced
them, the crowning feat being his
celebrated leap across the Cuyahoga
river at the present site of Kent,
known as Brady's Leap.
Brady's name is perpetuated in the chief
island of Sandusky river,
within the limits of the city of Fremont;
his exploits are typical of the
emergencies of that early frontier life
and of the spirit in which they
were everywhere met.
SANDUSKY COUNTY.
Gen. Arthur St. Clair, governor of the
Northwest Territory, or-
ganized Hamilton County, February 11,
1792, with Cincinnati as the
county seat, and the present Sandusky
County forming a very small
portion of it. Subsequently Wayne County
was organized, August 15,
1796, with Detroit as the county seat,
covering a vast extent of terri-
tory from the Cuyahoga river on the east
and extending as far west
as Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the present
site of Chicago, with its northern
boundary the Canadian boundary line,
extending through the Great Lakes
from Lake Superior to Lake Erie. This
included the present county of
Sandusky. On the organization of the
state of Ohio it was included
in Franklin county with Franklinton as
the county seat, until February 17,
1809, when it became a part of Delaware
county with Delaware the county
seat, and so remained until January 31,
1815. In April, 1811, Lower
Sandusky by name was attached to Radnor
township of Delaware county,
by the county commissioners for township
purposes. On January 31,
1815, it became a part of Huron county
with Avery, now Milan, as the
county seat, until 1818, and after that
date with Norwalk as the county
The Croghan Celebration. 51
seat. On February 20, 1820, the state
legislature organized the terri-
tory ceded by the Indians under the
treaty of September 29, 1817, into
fourteen counties, of which Sandusky was
one. Sandusky county as
thus organized, extended from the west
line of the Western Reserve
to the east line of Wood county, and
from the north line of Seneca
county to the lake; and included all of
the present counties of San-
dusky and Ottawa, and parts of Erie and
Lucas. For the first four
years, Sandusky and Seneca counties were
joined for judicial purposes.
Croghansville, on the east bank of the
Sandusky river, was the first
county seat, until 1822, when the town
Sandusky on the west bank became
the permanent county seat and later
these two towns were joined and
known as the town of Lower Sandusky, as
mentioned below.
The name of the county is derived from
that of the river, which
enters from the south, two miles east of
the southeast corner of Ball-
ville township, and flows northeasterly,
entirely across the county, a dis-
tance, following its meanderings, of
about thirty miles, when it empties
into the bay which by early geographers
was named Lake Sandusky.
Originally, as is shown by a plat of a
survey made by Josiah At-
kins, Jr. (Plat Record 3, page 3), the
term "Lower Sandusky" was ap-
plied to the entire tract of "two
miles square on each side of the lower
rapids of the Sandusky River," as
originally ceded by the Indians at the
treaty of Fort McIntosh, January 21,
1785, and contained the village of
Croghansville. According to this plat,
Croghansville extended across the
river and included several inlots and
some larger tracts on the west side,
the 57-acre tract containing the site of
the Fort being one.
After the township of Croghan was formed
in 1819, this term had
reference to the whole tract on both
sides of the Sandusky river; but
thereafter the name "Sandusky"
was applied to the west side exclu-
sively, both as to the village and
township, the village being sometimes
called "Town of Sandusky."
When the county was organized it
contained two townships only,
namely, Sandusky, which included the
village of that name on the west
side and all of the county west of the
river; and Croghan, which in-
cluded the village of Croghansville and
all of the county east of the
river. Subsequently, in 1827, that
portion of Croghan township in which
the village on the east side was
located, was attached to Sandusky town-
ship by the county commissioners. In
1829 the territory of both villages,
by act of the legislature, was
incorporated by the name of the "Town
of Lower Sandusky." It was changed
to Fremont at the October term,
1849, of the common pleas court (Journal
6, page 437).
It is a matter of regret that the name
about which cluster so many
interesting traditions and local
historical associations was ever changed
to one which, however highly honored,
carries with it no suggestions of
these traditions or local history. The
change was, however, thought to
be called for in order to prevent
confusion in the matter of the postal ser-
vice, owing to the quadruplication of
names.
52 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
The name Croghansville, for the village, was probably first suggested by Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office, in a letter from Washington City, April 12, 1816, in which, among other words are these: "If it were left to me to name the town at Lower Sandusky I should name it in honor of the gallant youth, Col. Croghan -and should say it should be Croghansville. The name is still preserved in that of the school on the hill on the East Side, known as Croghansville School, as well as in the street abutting on Fort Stephenson.
REMARKS OF J. P. MOORE. I was born in Pennsylvania in 1829 and brought to the Black Swamp in, 1834. All my older brothers attended the Croghan celebra- |
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construction of the fort and many incidents connected with its building and its defense against the British and Indians. The late David Deal, who was a member of Col. James Stephen- son's regiment of Ohio militia, told me that Col. Stephenson left them at Fort Meigs in January, 1813, to go to Lower Sandusky to build the fort which has ever since been called Fort Stephenson. I had always supposed that the first fort constructed on this site was built by Col. Stephenson's soldiers in January, 1813, but Col. Hayes has shown me a number of official records and a copy of an order issued by Brig. General William Irvine dated at Fort Pitt (now Pitts- burg) November 11, 1782, during the Revolutionary War, to Major Craig as follows: "Sir. I have received intelligence through various channels that the British have established a post at Lower Sandusky, etc., etc., also a copy of the treaty by which the reservation (present corporation limits of Fremont), two miles square, of which Fort Stephenson is about the center, was established by the treaty of Fort McIntosh as early as 1785 and continued in all subsequent treaties. Also an order from Governor Meigs of Ohio to Captain John Campbell dated Zanes- |
The Croghan Celebration. 53
ville, June 11, 1812. "You will
take with you the necessary tools for
building two blockhouses at
Sandusky." * * *. "You will build two
blockhouses and piquet them so as to
protect the United States trading
house and store at the place." * *
* "I expect you will meet at San-
dusky Major Butler, from Delaware with a
company to assist you."
Governor Meigs' letter shows that the
fort was built in 1812, but
the official record also shows that it
was abandoned for a short time
after Hull's surrender.
The old soldier Figley, of Columbiana
county, came here early in
February, 1813, and worked on the fort
until mustered out at Cleveland
on June 1st of that year. He related to
me how the pickets were drawn
by oxen from the vicinity of Stony
Prairie to the fort and points sharp-
ened and the posts set in the ground
close up one against the other.
Many of the oxen engaged in drawing them
died of starvation or were
devoured by the wolves howling around
the fort.
The company to which James Kirk belonged
came to the fort June
1, 1813, and worked here until the
arrival of the British and Indians
the day before the battle. James Kirk
himself had been detailed to carry
dispatches to Fort Seneca the day before
the battle so that he was not
present but came down early on the
morning of August 3 and helped
bury the British dead. He distinctly
heard the firing of the British can-
non and howitzers and noticed that some
discharges were louder than
others.
Kirk was 25 years old at that time and
after his discharge opened
a blacksmith shop in Lower Sandusky in
1818 and in 1828 went to Port
Clinton. He said that the well in the
fort was not a good one, so that
the garrison got their water from a
spring at the foot of Garrison
street, bringing it through a small gate
on the east side of the fort,
for which gate Kirk made the hinges.
I sent my son Theodore to visit James
Kirk in 188- and get a
description of the fort. Kirk said
"Mark off a square plat of ground
containing half an acre with a block
house on the northeast corner and
one in the northwest corner, this was
the original fort. In June, 1813,
when we came here the fort was found to
be too small. He said, "mark
off another square on the west side of
the old square and this you will
see will place the northwest blockhouse
in the center of the north line
of the enlarged fort. This was the
blockhouse from which "Old Betsy"
cleared the ditch when it was filled
with Col. Shortt's men. There was
a sealed log house in the new part
filled with biscuit for Perry's fleet.
This house was knocked down level with
the pickets by the British
cannon balls. The northeast blockhouse
was in the center of Croghan
and Arch streets. The center blockhouse
was about opposite the monu-
ment. The northwest angle of the fort
extended out about 15 feet into
High street. There were many extra guns
in the fort, as a company
of Pennsylvania soldiers had deposited
their guns there a few days be-
54 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
fore the battle on their way here from Fort Meigs. Their time being out, they were on their way home to be mustered out. The walls of the fort were made of logs, some round, some smooth on one side, half of the other logs averaging about 18 inches in thick- ness, all set firmly in the earth, each picket crowded closely against the other and all about ten feet high, sharpened at the top. The walls enclosed about one acre of ground. After Major Croghan took com- mand July 15, 1813, he had a ditch dug six feet deep and nine feet wide around the outside, throwing about one-half of the earth against the foot of the pickets and graded down to the bottom of the ditch; |
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the rest of the earth was thrown on the outer bank and the depth of the ditch thus increased. Major Croghan had large logs placed on top of the wall of the fort, so adjusted that an inconsiderable weight would cause them to fall from their position and crush any who might be below. When the British landed opposite Brady's Island they sent a flag of truce under Col. Elliott who was met by Ensign Shipp on the ridge where the parsonage of St. John's Lutheran Church (which was for- merly the court house), now stands. This was eloquently described to me by Thomas L. Hawkins, the poet, preacher and orator. A ravine ran up from the river north of the fort through Justice street across the pike in a southwestern direction near the court house, |
The Croghan Celebration. 55
the British brought their cannon up this
ravine. They would load
their cannon and then run them up out of
the ravine and after dis-
charging them, back them down again to
reload out of range of the
guns of the fort. The next ravine south
of this ran up Croghan street,
turning to the southwest at High street,
thence northwest through the
northwest corner of the Presbyterian
church lot. This ravine formed
the north boundary of the plateau or
ridge on which Fort Stephens on
was located and on which ridge ran the
Harrison trail to the southwest
up through Spiegel Grove and on to Fort
Seneca. The next ravine
south of this extended between Birchard
avenue and Garrison street,
one branch ran towards the Methodist
church through the Dorr and
McCulloch property. It was from this
last named ravine that the British
Grenadiers made a feint against Capt.
Hunter's company just before Col.
Shortt made his assault on the northwest
corner of the fort.
Lieut. Col. Short and Lieut. J. G.
Gordon, of the 41st Regt. were
buried near the south entrance of the
high school building.
RECEPTION AT SPIEGEL GROVE.
Following the exercises of the afternoon
at Fort Stephenson, an
informal reception was held at Spiegel
Grove, to the out-of-town guests
of the city and the citizens at large.
Col. Webb C. Hayes, the prime
mover of the whole celebration, Mr. and
Mrs. Birchard A. Hayes and
Mrs. Fanny Hayes Smith cordially
received the guests on the great
piazza, where the Vice-President, the
Governor, the Governor's Staff
and the staff and line officers of the
Sixth Regiment were guests of
honor. Great numbers of persons moved
about through the beautiful
grounds, enjoying the music by the Light
Guard Band stationed in
front of the house, the superb weather
and the gay spectacle. The week
having been observed as Old Home Week,
many former residents of
Fremont were at hand to renew old
acquaintances and assist in doing
the honors of the place to the crowds of
strangers.
THE VENETIAN SPECTACLE.
With the falling of dusk the immense
crowds commenced to assemble
to witness the glories of as realistic a
Venetian night as was possible
to produce, following the plans
originated by Dr. Stamm, who has
several times viewed these spectacles in
Venice.
The river banks between the L. E. &
W. and State street bridges
were thronged with crowds, while the
special guests and those, by whose
efforts the day was a success, occupied
the guests' stand, built on the
water just north of the bridge.
More than a hundred boats and launches,
gaily decorated and illum-
inated, approached the reviewing stand,
presenting a beautiful sight
with their swaying colored lights on a
background of dark sky,
56 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
emphasized by the hundreds of Japanese lanterns strung along either bank and in sweeping festooons across the big Lake Erie bridge. Near the bridge, and extending across the river, were seven of the largest boats in the river, bearing huge electric transparencies upon which appeared six-foot letters spelling the name Croghan, which was also seen in a set piece. The hit of the evening was the reproduction of Fort Stephen- |
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The fireworks, in charge of Chief Reiff, of the fire department, were magnificent and no accidents occurred. Especial praise is due Charles Hermon, the lamplighter, who superintended the illuminations. Commo- dore Coonrod's fleet as managed by Charles Grable, was a thing of beauty. The display occupied three hours and general satisfaction on the part of all was evident in their attention.
HARRISON'S NORTHWESTERN CAMPAIGN. The best description extant of General Harrison's Northwestern Campaign is that contained in "A History of the Late War in the Western Country," by Robert B. McAfee, Lexington, Ky., 1816, a rare and valuable volume. Major McAfee was himself an officer in that campaign, serving as a captain in the regiment of mounted riflemen commanded by Col. Richard M. Johnson. In his Preface he acknowledges his indebtedness to Gen. Harrison, Governor Shelby, Colonels Croghan and Tod and Colonel Wood of the Engineers for official correspondence and assistance in procuring material and formation. The chapter relating to the Tippecanoe campaign in 1811 contains the following references to some of the Kentucky Vol- unteers: "Colonel Keiger, who raised a small company of 79 men near Louisville, including among them Messrs. Croghan, O'Fallen, Shipp, Chum and Edwards, who afterward distinguished themselves as officers in the army of the United States." |
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-