414
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
we take increased devotion to that cause
for which they gave
the last full measure of their
devotion." It remains for us to
take up the full burden of citizenship
and to consecrate our lives
to the task of making our country worthy
of the sacrifices that
have been made by those who in countless
numbers have given
their lives for its establishment and
its preservation. With a great
price have our privileges of citizenship
been purchased. Woe
be to him who is recreant to this trust,
and who in the presence
of those who have laid down their lives
for their country shall
use the privileges thus secured for them
for selfish gains regard-
less of the public good.
ADDRESS OF MRS. JOHN T. MACK.
Madam Regent, Daughters of the American
Revolution
and Friends:
I bring greeting to you today from the
National Society, Uni-
ted States Daughters of the War of 1812, and
congratulations
to the members of Fort McArthur Chapter,
that the long de-
sired marking of this historic site has
been accomplished. Over
one hundred years have past since this
nation, then young, was
plunged into war the second time with
the mother country.
That war grew out of a long series of
aggressions. Our ships
were searched on the high seas and our
men impressed into
the English service, and in violation of
former treaties, Great
Britain maintained forts and posts on
American soil, inciting
the Indians to bloody outbreaks, even
paying the savages for
American scalps.
England had so long and so wantonly
vexed our commerce
by restrictions and confiscations, that
the patience of the young
nation was completely exhausted, and on
June 18th, 1812, war
was declared. That war was to completely
sever this country for
all time from Great Britain. In this
second struggle for inde-
pendence, this nation was not well
equipped when war was de-
clared. General Hull was Governor of the
Michigan territory,
having been appointed by President
Jackson in 1805. He was
a Revolutionary soldier, having fought
in the battles of White
Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Stillwater,
Saratoga, Fort Stanwix,
Monmouth and Stony Point, and commanded
the expedition
Fort McArthur Memorial Tablet. 415
against Morrissania, for which he
received the thanks of Wash-
ington and Congress. While Governor of
Michigan territory
he had repeatedly urged upon the
government, the importance
of building a fleet on Lake Erie, as the
only means of maintain-
ing Detroit, which was 300 mi. from any
magazine of provisions,
munitions of war or re-enforcements, and
also a protection to
Forts Mackinac and Dearborn. He urged
also that a large
force be maintained at Niagara to
co-operate with any force that
might invade Canada from Detroit.
These communications were made while he
was Governor,
and also after he took command of the
army of the northwest,
but the government did not comply with
any of these requests.
He was made commander of the army of the
northwest and on
the 25th of May, 1812, proceeded to
Dayton where Governor
Meigs turned over to him the command of
the Ohio troops as
directed by the Secretary of War.
General Hull addressed the
troops in an eloquent and dignified way,
and with his soldier-
like bearing, he inspired confidence.
The little army began their
northward journey with every assurance
of success. From Day-
ton they marched to Manary's Block House
now Bellefontaine,
over a wagon road.
This was the most northernly settlement
in Ohio. From
Manary's Block House to Detroit was an
unbroken wilderness,
with only a foot-path part of the way.
As the government had
made no provision for the army, they
were compelled to carry
their subsistence and forage in wagons
and to literally cut their
way through the thick woods and swamps.
Bridges had to be
constructed over streams and marshes and
spongy ground where
none but the solitary red or white
hunter, or Indian trader with
his Canadian ponies had ever passed.
From this point north, a
road had to be constructed. This work
was done by Colonel
McArthur and his regiment. He was Major
General of the
state militia, and at the call of the
President for volunteers, he
ordered his division to assemble by
regiments to see how many
would enroll themselves to defend their
country. These men
were organized into companies and
McArthur was made Colonel
of the first regiment of Ohio volunteers
on the 7th of May, 1812.
To his men fell the work of building the
first 30 miles of road
416
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
for the march. Guides went forward and
blazed the trees with
tomahawks, then the soldiers followed
with axes, grubbing hoes,
spades and shovels. They went to work
with spirit and the road
was built in two days. A fort was
constructed on the Scioto
River and named Fort McArthur, after the
man of indomitable
spirit, a man who did not hesitate to
put his hand to the spade,
and success crowned his efforts. Then
Colonel McArthur's reg-
iment was relieved and other regiments
took up the work of
road construction for the army until he
reached the foot of the
rapids of the Maumee, and from there
they marched to Detroit,
arriving on July 5th, where
they found the worst possible con-
ditions. Gun carriages were old and
decayed, unfit for action,
and had to be repaired before the cannon
could be used. This
made the field officers restless and
impatient of delay. General
McArthur and the other officers
repeatedly urged Gen. Hull to
cross the river and attack Fort Malden
without delay. Several
attempts to do this were made, but no
real attack followed. It
is believed had this been done at once,
Fort Malden would have
fallen. But General Hull had received
intelligence that General
Dearborn, who then commanded the
northern frontier from
Niagara down to Lake Ontario and the St.
Lawrence had agreed
to a cessation of arms along the whole
length of his command
for forty days, commencing on the first
clay of August.
This left the English army free to
concentrate their forces
around Detroit. The Indians also were
gathering there. Food
and ammunition for our men were getting
scarce. Expeditions
sent out by General Hull failed to
secure them. Forts Dear-
born and Mackinac had fallen into the
hands of the British, so
that when General Brock, the British
commander demanded the
surrender of the American army, General
Hull without consult-
ing his officers, surrendered. For this
act, he was court mar-
tialed and found guilty of cowardice,
and sentenced to be shot,
but was told to go home to Newton,
Mass., and await his execu-
tion, which never occurred. Lossing, in
his history calls Gen.
Hull's trial disgraceful, the sentence
unjust, and says the court
was evidently constituted in order to
offer Hull as a sacrifice to
save the government from disgrace and
contempt.
Thus closed the disastrous expedition
under the command
Fort McArthur Memorial Tablet. 417
of General Hull, Colonel McArthur
returned to his home at Chil-
licothe, a prisoner on parole, and in
the fall of 1812 he was
elected to a seat in the House of
Representatives, and during the
session 1812-13 he was oppointed by the
President, Colonel
of the 26th Regiment United States
Infantry, and the Senate
confirmed the appointment. On the 23rd
of March, 1813, he
was appointed Brigadier General in the
regular army. After
the fall of Detroit, the whole lake
country was exposed to the
enemy, and they were preparing to attack
Fort Meigs and Fort
Stephenson. General Harrison having been
appointed to com-
mand the army of the northwest had a
critical and responsible
task to perform. General McArthur was
second in command.
The troops were concentrated at Fort
Meigs under McArthur, and
General Harrison marched his division
over the now famous
Harrison trail, from Franklinton to Fort
Seneca, through Dela-
ware where last February, the Chapter
there unveiled a tablet,
marking the old tavern where General
Harrison had his head-
quarters and from where they marched to
Marion, Upper San-
dusky and Fort Seneca, where on June 14th, 1913,
Flag Day,
the Dolly Todd Madison Chapter D. A. R.
unveiled a tablet to
mark both the Harrison trail and Fort
Seneca. Old Glory was
raised to the breeze by two grand
children of a woman who was
born in the log house inside of Fort
Seneca. On the 30th of
May,
1912, last year, Memorial Day, a tablet was unveiled at
Port Clinton where General McArthur,
with his troops from
Fort Meigs, joined General Harrison and
embarked on board
the boats captured by Commodore Perry at
the battle of Lake
Erie, for Put-in-Bay, Malden, Detroit
and the battle of the
Thames.
This day, July 4th, 1913, a large
concourse of people are
gathered at Put-in-Bay, to lay the
corner stone of a monument
which is to stand for all time, as a
reminder, not only of a battle
fought and won on the waters of Lake
Erie, but as a memo-
rial of one hundred years of peace
between the daughter and the
mother country.
It is especially fitting that you have
erected here these mem-
orials to mark Hull's trail, and Fort
McArthur and in memory
of those brave pioneer patriots of the
war of 1812 whose dust
Vol. XXII- 27.
418 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications. reposes here. Your patriotic endeavor is in the nature of a com- pletion of the historic markings, to which I have briefly called attention. It is a loyal sacrifice and will contribute to perpetua- ting, not only memory of deeds fought with so much interest to the young Republic we love, but that spirit of patriotism and reverence to the flag so essential to our national life. If we are to continue in the forefront of the great onward march of na- tions, we must inculcate in our children and in our children's children, an abiding love of the flag, and faith in all that it stands for. |
|