Ohio History Journal

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.

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

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

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

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.

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,

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!

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

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.                   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.

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

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