Alexander A. Meek To General Gano

Alexander A. Meek To General John S. Gano 

Headquarters Upper Sandusky Jany 18th, 1813.

My worthy old friend

Genl. Harrison ordered us on here from Franklinton some time since of which I advised you. We left there on New Years day... .  Genl. Harrison & his suit left here this morning for Lower Sandusky. We march this day for the rapids of the Maumee ... .

There is now here about 2500 Men which I expect will follow us in a few days. This place & Delaware has been very sickly — three buried here yesterday.

I cannot help expressing my great pleasure at the beauties of this country, the plains of Sandusky are the most beautiful my eyes ever beheld, they are in every respect elegant.

Headquartered At Put-in-Bay

Perry established his headquarters at Put-in-Bay, an indentation on the northern coast of South Bass Island, which lies some twenty miles north west of the present city of Sandusky, Ohio. Here he was in excellent position to watch the movements of the British fleet, which had retired to its headquarters at Amherstburg, some thirty miles northwestward of Put-in-Bay. He was also convenient to Harrison, who was at Seneca-town, thirty-five miles to the southward. [Source]

William Henry Harrison In Uniform

Source

William Henry Harrison

Lay In The Black Swamp

General Area Of The Black Swamp In Ohio (Source - LOC)

This rain in January, 1813, was very general, especially in the valley of the Mississippi, for our troops in the northwest under General Harrison at this time, lay in the Black Swamp, some twenty miles beyond Lower Sandusky, where, from the nature of the ground, it was with difficulty that the troops could find dry ground to stand on, much less to sleep on at night. The hardships endured by these men during that winter campaign were such as not only to try men's souls, but to try their mortal bodies also, for many of these brave men died on their way home, and many of them died a lingering death after they reached home, while many of them are still living, and have obtained a bounty land warrant, calling for eighty acres of land, which was obtained under a law passed September 28, 1850, and well they all deserved it, and much more had they got it. [Source]

Zachary Taylor's Early Career

Source

Colonel Taylor destined his son William for the Army, while Zachary was to be a farmer. The former died soon after entering the service and Zachary, earnestly desiring a military career, received from President Jefferson a commission as first lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry. This commission was dated May 3, 1808, a few months before Zachary Taylor s relative, James Madison, was elected president of the United States.

The young officer reported to General Wilkinson at New Orleans, but was soon stricken with yellow fever and forced to return home to be nursed back to health. His marriage occurred about a year later and on November 30, 1810, he was promoted and became a captain. In 1811 his regiment, the Seventh, marched northward with the Fourth Infantry to serve under General Harrison, then governor of the Northwest territory, who was endeavoring to subdue the Indians.

The battle of Tippecanoe was fought November 7, 1811. The second war with Great Britain began in less than a year the act declaring war was dated June 18, 1812 and in September the young captain had his first real baptism of fire. In command of a single company of the Seventh, he was defending Fort Harrison when, on September 10, 1812, it was attacked by the Indians, who greatly outnumbered the little garrison, and there he displayed such bravery, skill, and resourcefulness in defense that he was warmly praised by his superior officers and was brevetted major by the President.

His service against the Indians of the North west continued until the close of the war, and on May 15, 1814, he received the full rank of major and was assigned to the Twenty-sixth Infantry. He then led
an expedition against the Indians and their British allies on Rock river and further distinguished himself. [Source]

Fort Amanda

From The Ohio Country....(See e-mail information below)*

 The three thousand men then at Fort Barbee were at once started direct for Defiance, Harrison commanding in person. The first night they encamped at Fort Jennings, where word of the retreat of the enemy was received. This gave opportunity for part of the soldiers to clear the road to Defiance, and others to build a fortification farther up the Auglaize River, on the site of Wayne's Fort Auglaize. This post was named by Lieutenant-Colonel Pogue, its builder, Fort Amanda... .

Jim's Photo of The Fort Amanda Monument

*Note: I received the following information via email:

There are a couple items shown on the webpage regarding Fort Amanda that are incorrect. I’ve researched Fort Amanda for the past 43 years and just recently published my book titled; “Fort Amanda – a Historical Redress.” Fort Amanda was built by Lt. Col. Robert Pogue of the Kentucky militia, not Colonel Poague. Lt. Col. Pogue named the post for his 12 year old daughter Amanda. It was built in 2 phases, the first by Kentucky troops in Oct. 1812 then enlarged by Ohio militia troops in the spring of 1813. When finished there were 5 blockhouses, not 4.

See the Fort Amanda blog here (related to the above e-mail).

Captain John Barrickman's Diary

Below is an excerpt from Captain Barrickman's Diary (source - United States History War of 1812 Personal narratives...):

Don't Go To Bed Hungry

Did They Also Have Tea To Drink?  A Block Of Tea At An Historic Fort

From Pioneer Collections...(recollections of Aura P. Stewart of St. Clair County, Michigan):

"Gen. Trotter, on hearing Gen. Meigs' order, rode up in front of his men and said: 'Boys don't go to bed hungry; if you can find anything good to eat, take it, and I will pay for it.'  It was vegetables the men wanted, and they took them whatever found.  The next morning Gen. Harrison sent for the men whose gardens had been invaded; the damages were estimated and paid to the satisfaction of all.  The British troops, in their hurry, left at Dolsen's Station, several hundred loaves of bread, which Mrs. Dolsen was selling to our men at twenty-five cents a loaf, which my father put a stop to by informing the men that it was left by the British troops, and did not belong to Mrs. Dolsen."

The Mutual Destruction Of Tecumseh And Colonel Whitley

Source

From Pioneer Collections...(recollections of Aura P. Stewart of St. Clair County, Michigan):

"...an account of a very singular and daring old man by the name of Whitney [sic; it's Whitley], a Kentuckian, and at the time about seventy years old.  "...Col. Whitney's [Whitley's] adventures and death at the Battle of the Thames.  It appeared that....[he] was an old resident of Kentucky, and had fought many a battle with the Indians on the bloody ground."


"...in their search they first came to Colonel [Whitley], and about four rods distant lay Tecumseh, both dead on the battlefield.  My father [Mr. Stewart] had seen Tecumseh often in Detroit and pointed him out to the officer who never saw him before.  The shout that Tecumseh was dead brought all of the parties together to see him...".

Tecumseh Statue

"Who killed Tecumseh is a question that cannot be answered, buy Judge Connor, my father, and many others believe that Colonel [Whitley] went into battle with a desire to meet Tecumseh, and it is possible that he killed him; General Harrison and his officers lamented the death of the old veteran...".

Sought Safety In Detroit

From Pioneer Collections, Volume 4, by the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan (recollections of Aura P. Stewart of St. Clair County, Michigan):


"The inhabitants residing on the border of the river and Lake St. Clair, and in fact all persons having their residence north of Detroit, were compelled at the breaking out of the war, to seek safety in Detroit.  The Indians, in passing down the St. Clair river, would go on shore and shoot down the cattle, sheep, and hogs of the inhabitants, and take anything they took a fancy to, and for this reason all the inhabitants of northern Michigan were compelled to seek protection in Detroit, and there remained until relieved by General Harrison."

Citizen Prisoners

"The British, while holding Detroit, to prevent Gen. Harrison from gaining information of their strength and operations, kept a strict guard over their citizen prisoners...". [From Pioneer Collections]

Little Turtle's Last Speech

Little Turtle (Me-she-kin-no-quah): the great chief of the Miami Indian ...:

Bounty On Knaggs' Head

James Knaggs' testimony from the Congressional serial set:

I hereby certify that the foregoing testimony of James Knaggs... . ...of good reputation in the community. ...intimately conversant with the manners circumstances etc. of the old French population.

Source - Canadian Side Of Detroit River

He was engaged in the various conflicts near the Detroit River already described, and in 1813, was in the battle of the Thames under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. While with Hull at Sandwich attached to Colonel McArthur's regiment, he performed important scout service.

On one occasion, accompanied by four men, he penetrated the country as far as the site of the present village of Chatham on the Thames and there captured a Colonel McGregor a burly British officer and a [man] named Jacobs and carried them to Hull's camp. He tied McGregor to a horse and thus took him to the headquarters of his chief. After the surrender, McGregor offered five hundred dollars for the capture of Knaggs dead or alive.

History Of The Fourth Regiment

Harrison At Tippecanoe

A history of the organization and movements of the 4th regiment of Infantry, U.S.A., 1796-1870.

"...the Regiment is reported to have been raised in and about the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and is supposed to have been employed during the years 1808-'09-'10 in protecting the frontiersmen in the territories north of the Ohio river and south of the Great Lakes, as the first official notice taken of the Regiment is during the campaign of General Harrison against the Indians in the northwest.

Le Breton On The Thames

On The Thames

From .... the Le Breton flats.... :

After the disastrous battle at Moraviantown [AKA Thames] where the British were badly defeated and were obliged to retreat to the Niagara River, giving up the whole western portion of the Province, LeBreton volunteered and was sent with a flag of truce to General Harrison to arrange for an exchange of prisoners.

Source

Known As The Harrison Military Trail

Source

More Rentless And Destructive

An excerpt from the Life and letters of Judge Thomas J. Anderson...:

His [Thomas Anderson's] sons William, Joseph and Abner, took up arms against Great Britain in 1812. Under Col. Sanderson they went from Fairfield county, Ohio, and William and Joseph are mentioned in Sanderson's report now on file in the office of the Adjutant General of Ohio.

Joseph, under Gen. W.H. Harrison, died in the service at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, of camp fever.

Battle Of Lake Erie

William was in the battle of Lake Erie, (Perry's Victory,) lay sick a while at Put-in-Bay and after the invasion of Canada died at Malden or Fort Malden. They were good soldiers and true men, but were swept away by an enemy more relentless and destructive than the British and Indians--the poisonous malaria of the vast swamps of Northern Ohio.

George Sanderson's Ohio soldiers: 

Source

4th Of July At Fort Wayne

The first celebration of the Fourth of July at Fort Wayne of which a record has been preserved occurred in the year 1810.  ...Commandant Rhea and his officers, together with the attaches of the fort, were enjoying the day in patriotic style when the celebration was interrupted by the appearance of a mounted courier from Detroit bringing the first regular mail and military dispatches to the garrison.  [Source]

General Harrison Portrait

Source

Document Delays

Source [First State House In Chillicothe, Ohio] War of 1812 Era

Governors Messages and Letters, Volume 2...:

General Orders 

Chillicothe, June 5, 1813

"The unaccountable delay which has taken place in the marching of some of the detachments of troops destined for the North Western Army, makes it necessary that some effectual remedy be provided for an evil which is pregnant with the most fatal consequences. The general, therefore, directs that every officer when ordered to march with a detachment of troops, shall, upon receiving the orders, commence a journal...[documenting] every circumstance which tends to procrastinate his march or delay....".

Robert Butler, Cap. 24th Inf. Assist, Adj., General

See a blog post regarding a May 16th letter from the same volume here.