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 1 2 3 
 
 
 1 
 
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 4 
 
 S 
 
 6 
 
TWO 
 
 WESTERN CAMPAIGNS 
 
 In the War of 1812-13. 
 
 I. Expedition of Captain Henry Brush, 
 with Supplies for General Hull, 18 12. 
 
 2. Expedition of Governor MEiGs,y2?r the 
 Relief of Fort Meigs, 1 8 1 3 . 
 
 BY 
 
 Samuel Williams. 
 
 CINCINNATI : 
 
 ROBERT CLARKE & CO., 
 
 1870. 
 
OHIO VALLEY PRESS, 
 
 JtOBEliT CLARKE, <■ CO. 
 
 CINCINNATJ, O. 
 
(1 
 
 iitroductory. 
 
 : AMUEL WILLIAMS, the author of this narrative, was, 
 g for many years, a resident of Cincinnati, and more than 
 "^ fifty a resident of the State of Ohio. Thirty years of 
 this time he was connected with the surveys of public lands 
 north-west of the Ohio, as chief clerk of the Surveyor Gen- 
 eral's office. In this capacity he rendered important service, 
 having had the principal oversight of the official business, and 
 the direction of the work in the field. 
 
 He was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the year 1786, and 
 was brought up among the mountains in an adjoining county. 
 In the year 1800, .t the age of fourteen, he joined the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, and three years subsequently removed 
 with his father's family to Charleston, on the Kanawha river, in 
 Western Virginia. He and his mother were the first Method- 
 ists who settled in that valley, and aided in the formation of the 
 first Methodist class on that river. In 1807, he removed to 
 Chillicothe, in this state, and twenty years afterward to Cincin- 
 nati, where he resided until his death in 1859. 
 
VI 
 
 Introductory, 
 
 Though without the advantages of an academic education, he 
 was a man of much reading, extensive information, and thorough 
 culture. He accumulated a large library, of which he made 
 diligent use, and to the day of his death, his fondness for study 
 and iiierary pursuits remained unabated. Mr. Williams took a 
 deep interest in all matters pertaining to the Methodist Church, 
 and had collected a considerable mass of materials to serve for 
 a history of Methodism in the West. This collection he gave, 
 but a few days before his death, to the Ohio Wesleyan Univer- 
 sity at Delaware, of which he was one of the trustees. Other 
 matters of historic interest he made a subject of study, and in 
 antiquarian researches he took great delight. 
 
 He retired from active business in 1845, ^'^■^ spent the last 
 years of his life with his family. Most of this time was passed in 
 much bodily affliction, but he was not idle. He found opportu- 
 nity to prepare, for the use of his family, a full account of his 
 own history, and that of his ancestors, and to gather up a com- 
 plete genealogy of their families, embracing several hundred 
 names. His personal memoirs comprise five large quarto 
 volumes of manuscript, making about twelve hundred pages. 
 Among these are numerous sketches of early times in the West, 
 descriptions of pioneer life and customs, modes of dress, h?,bits of 
 living, styles of houses and their furniture, and details of 
 domestic employments and public service. 
 
 This narrative of his military campaigns in 181 2 and 18 13, 
 is taken from his manuscripts, and was published in the Ladies* 
 Repository in 1854. To that magazine he contributed several 
 
 < ■', 
 
Introductory. 
 
 VII 
 
 chapters of sketches, and these among them. In preparing his 
 copy for the press, Mr. Williams purposely wrote in the third 
 person, except when giving direct quotations from his own 
 letters. A few additions to this account have been made from 
 his manuscripts, by his son, who furnishes the nairative for this 
 work. As this is the only history of the two expeditions herein 
 mentioned, it was thought well to include it in the Ohio 
 Valley Historical Series. It throws light upon several points of 
 Ohio history, and forms in itself a complete episode in the war 
 with Great Britain. 
 
f If 
 
\. Expedition (j/^ Captain Henry Brush, 
 with supplies for General Hull^ 1 8 1 2. 
 
 t 
 
 i :. 
 
 THE war with Great Britain in 1812, '13, and '14, 
 was an eventful period in the history of our 
 country, and was fruitful of thrilling incidents and stir- 
 ring exploits, of deep concern at the time, and of much 
 interest even at this day. 
 
 The declaration of war was made by an act of Con- 
 gress, passed in secret session, on the i8th of June, 
 1 8 12. Two or three months prior to that declaration 
 and in anticipation of it, a large military force was 
 drawn together at Cincinnati, under the command of 
 Brigadier General William Hull, an old and distin- 
 guished veteran officer of the Revolutionary army. 
 The force thus concentrated was called the " North- 
 Western Army," and soon marched for the north- 
 western frontier — the Detroit river. A regiment of 
 Ohio volunteers from Cincinnati, under Colonel James 
 Findlay, marched with General Hull. At Urbana he 
 was joined by two other regiments of Ohio volunteers, 
 from the Scioto and Muskingum valleys, under the 
 command respectively of Colonel Duncan McArthur 
 and Colonel Lewis Cass. A few miles north of Urbana 
 
I 
 
 10 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 the army entered the wilderness, and from thence to the 
 Grand Rapids of the Maumee river, about a hundred 
 miles, had to be cut and opened a wagon road liirough 
 a dense unbroken forest. It was the intention of the 
 Secretary of War that the army should reach Detroit 
 before war would be declared, and ample time was 
 given General Hull to do so ; but from want of energy 
 on his part, the dispatch from the War Department 
 announcing the " Declaration," found him and his army 
 at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee. To expedite 
 the march thence to Detroit, General Hull chartered a 
 schooner then in the Maumee Bay, on board of which 
 he put " large portion of the army baggage and provis- 
 ion, together with his military chest, and all his papers, 
 including the official copy of the Declaration of War, 
 and all his instructions, plans of the campaign, etc., to 
 be shipped to Detroit. This schooner, while on its 
 passage up the Detroit river, was seized by the British 
 naval force lying at anchor opposite Fort Maiden, on 
 the Canada side. General Brock, the British Comman- 
 der-in-chief on that frontier, had, through the vigil- 
 ance of British spies at Washington, been put in pos- 
 session of the fact of the declaration of war before it 
 reached General Hull, and hence the capture of the 
 schooner. The loss of this vessel and its valuable car- 
 go was disastrous to the American army ; while the 
 possession of the instructions and plans of the cam- 
 paign from the War Department, and the baggage and 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 II 
 
 military stores, was a mo?t important acquisition to the 
 en^my. And General Brock, as a skillful and experi- 
 enced soldier, well availed himself of this advantage, as 
 the sequel will show. 
 
 That General Hull must have foreseen — perhaps, 
 deliberately intended — the capture of this richly 
 freighted schooner by the enemy, seems hardly to admit 
 of a doubt. And this is manifest by the history and 
 disastrous termination of this first campaign of the 
 North-Western Army, and by the subsequent trial of 
 the General before a military court-martial, and the sen- 
 tence of death passed upon him for treason. 
 
 The British fleet having the command of Lake Erie, 
 the only route by which supplies could reach the army 
 at Detroit was overland, by very bad roads, from the set- 
 tlements in southern Ohio, a distance of over two hun- 
 dred miles, and at an enormous expense. The transit 
 of provisions was not only very ted! .as, but, as the 
 intermediate wilderness was occupied in force by hos- 
 tile tribes of Indians in the interest and employ of the 
 enemy, every brigade of wagons or pack-horses, or 
 drove of beet attle, had to be guarded by a strong mil- 
 itary force. 'I'o keep the communication with the army 
 open, was made the duty of the Ohio militia. About 
 the 1 8th of July Governor Meigs, then at Chillicothe, 
 received by express, the following dispatch from Gen- 
 eral Hull : 
 
In 
 
 1^1 
 
 ''4 
 
 
 I! 
 
 12 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 " Detaoit, iiM July, i8i2. 
 
 " Dear Sir : The army arrived here on the 5th inst. 
 I have now only time to state to you, that we are very 
 deficient in provisions, and I have authorized Mr. 
 Piatf'' to furnish a supply for two months. 
 
 " The communication must be preserved by youf 
 militia, or this army will perish for the want of provis- 
 ions. We have the fullest confidence that you will do 
 all in your power to prevent so distressing a calamity 
 to this patnotic army. 
 
 " I am, very respectfully, 
 
 "Your most ob't serv't, 
 
 "W.Hull. 
 "///j Excellency, R. J. Meigs, 
 
 ^^ Governor of Ohio." 
 
 The original autograph letter from which we copy the 
 above was preserved by Mr. Williams, and stitched 
 by him into the autobiographical sket' hes which he 
 made for the use of iiis family. How he became pos- 
 sessed of this impoi lant official document he has now no 
 recollection; but supposes it had been handed to him 
 by Governor Meigs, about the time of its receipt, to 
 copy, and in the hurry of the moment its return over- 
 looked. The letter has been in his possession ever 
 
 *The late John H. Piatt, of Cincinnati, who was Commissary General 
 of the North-Western Army. 
 
 
■ 
 
 Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 13 
 
 since, and is now first given to the world as a scrap of 
 the history of the times. The reader will not fail to 
 notice the coincidence between the forebodings of Gen- 
 eral Hull in ':he above letter and the plea which he 
 afterward set up in jusiification of his disgraceful sur- 
 render of Detroit and the whole army — t!:at their pro- 
 visions were nearly exhausted, and that a supply could 
 not be obtained in time to save it from perishing ! 
 The expostulations of his field officers--his proper 
 advisers — were unheeded. The General kept his own 
 counsels. He knew what he was about. And now, to 
 save appearances, he seemingly bestirs himself, and 
 " authorizes," his Commissary to " furnish a supply 
 for two months," and appeals to the sympathies cf 
 Governor Meigs to save his patriotic army from star- 
 vation, by keeping the communication open through 
 the wilderness ! Governor Meigs needed no appeal to 
 his sympathies, and General Hull knew it. 
 
 With the dispatch from General Hull, Governor 
 Meigs received a communication from Colonel Piatt, 
 then at Urbana, stating that a brigade of pack-horses, 
 loaded with flour, together with a drove of beef cattle, 
 would be ready to leave that place for the army, so soon 
 as the Governor could furnish a military escort to guard 
 the supplies through the wilderness. On the following 
 morning Governor Meigs called a meeting of the citi- 
 zens of Chillicothe, and announced the requisition for 
 
 a company of militia for the above purpose, proposing 
 
 2 
 
' 
 
 H 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 to the meeting that a company of volunteers be imme- 
 diately raised, instead of the tedious process of draft- 
 ing the requisite force. The call was promptly re-, 
 sponded to, and in an hour or two ninety-five patriotic 
 citizens — mechanics, merchants, lawyers, and others — 
 formed themselves into a volunteer company, and tend- 
 ered their services to the Governor.* After electing 
 their officers, and adopting a uniform, the busy note of 
 preparation for an immediate march followed. Twenty- 
 four hours after its organization, fully armed and equip- 
 ped, this fine company took up its line of march for De- 
 troit, by way of Urbana, where the supplies were to be 
 placed under its escort, intending, on reaching Detroit, 
 to tender their services to General Hull, and join the 
 North- Western Army. 
 
 Before setting out with the company on its march, it 
 may be well to describe their dress, arms, and accouter- 
 ments. Every one, officers and men, were alike dressed 
 in unbleached, tow-linen hunting shirts, and trowsers of 
 the same material, with low-crown hats, on the left side 
 of which were worn black cockades about two inches in 
 diameter, on the center of which were displayed small 
 silver eagles about the size of a silver quarter-dol- 
 lar. Around the waist of each was a stout leather gir- 
 dle ; in a leather pocket attached to this was slung be- 
 hind a good sized tomahawk, and in a leather sheath, 
 
 
 *For muster roll of Captain Brush's company, see Appendix. 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 812-13. 
 
 15 
 
 also attached to the girdle, hung a medium sized butch- 
 er-knife. On the right hip, attached to a broad leather 
 strap, thrown over the left "houlder hung the cartridge- 
 box, filled with ball-cartridges. On the left side, in a 
 leather sheath, suspended to another broad leather strap, 
 thrown over the right shoulder, hung the bayonet. On 
 the same side hung also a tin canteen, holding about a 
 quart, suspended to a small leather strap over the right 
 shoulder. The fire-arm was a United States musket, 
 with bayonet, and a leather strap by which to sling the 
 musket over the shoulder, for more convenient carry- 
 ing when on a march. The knapsack was a heavy, 
 linen sack, painted and varnished, about sixteen inches 
 wide, and of the same depth, with a flap on the under 
 side, thrown over the mouth, and tied by strings. To 
 the upper and lower corner on each side was a strap 
 through which to pass the arms. The knapsack was 
 the repository of the changes of clothing, and such 
 articles of necessity or convenience as each might choose 
 to take along. On the top was lashed the blanket, and 
 over this a piece of oil-cloth to protect all from the 
 rain. The knapsack was slung on the back, and the 
 straps through which the arms passed were tied by an- 
 other strap across the breast. The arms and accouter- 
 ments including the knapsack, weighed about thirty or 
 thirty-five pounds. 
 
 Thus armed and equipped, this patriotic company 
 took up its line of march on the morning of July 21, 
 
i6 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 1812, under the command of Captain Henry Brush, a 
 distinguished lawyer of Chillicothe, who still survives, 
 residing upon his farm in Madison county, Ohio.* A 
 large number of the citizens of Chillicothe, in proces- 
 sion, escorted the company beyond the limits of the 
 town, where a brief farewell address was made by a citi- 
 zen, and responded to by Captain Brush on behalf of 
 the company. A full narrative of the campaign is given 
 by Mr. Williams, who was a member of the company, 
 in a series of letters to his wife, written from almost 
 every night's encampment. Occasional extracts from 
 these letters are given, as they were written under the 
 vivid impressions of the moment, and contain a fresh- 
 ness and a lifelike picture of passing incidents, which 
 can not otherwise be imparted to the condensed sketch 
 to which we must limit ourselves. 
 
 The first day's march was twenty-one miles, to Gen- 
 eral Timmons', where they encamped in a grove, lying 
 on the ground in the open air, without tents. The 
 march next day was over thirty miles, through the 
 " barrens," or open plains, where the men were exposed 
 nearly all day to the fierce rays of a midsummer's sun, 
 in very sultry weather. A march of nineteen miles the 
 third day brought them to Urbana, in the afternoon, 
 where they encamped on the commons. The indoor 
 
 *This was written in 1854— Capt. Brush died the next year, January 
 16, 1855, aged 78 years. 
 
 ■r 
 
 ii] i' i 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 17 
 
 occupations of nearly all the company wholly unfitted 
 them for long marches on foot and exposure to the sun, 
 carrying each a weight of thirty pounds, and trammeled 
 by the straps and fastenings of his accouterments. 
 Marching thus all day, and sleeping at night on the cold 
 ground, without tents, was very severe. Mr. Wil- 
 liams, writing to his wife from Urbana on the 24th, 
 says, "My limbs were so stiff and sore at the end of 
 each day's march that I could hardly walk." 
 
 An express arrived from Detroit on Wednesday night 
 bringing dispatches from the army, by which It appeared 
 that the forces in Maiden were one hundred and fifty 
 regulars, four or five hundred militia, and as many In- 
 dians, whose canoes were all destroyed to prevent their 
 desertion ; for both they and the militia took every op- 
 portunity to desert. 
 
 The company remained in camp at Urbana two days. 
 Here they were engaged in preparing their arms, making 
 cartridges, running bullets, carrying in military stores, 
 and in drilling, to become familiar with military exer- 
 cises. The camp was laid out in military style and sen- 
 tries posted at night, the same precautions being taken 
 against an alarm or an attack as if they were already in 
 the enemy's country. 
 
 The company resumed its march on the 25th, having 
 in charge a brigade of seventy pack-horses, each laden 
 with two hundred pounds of flour, in a bag, lashed on 
 a pack-saddle; and a drove of about three hundred beef 
 
iii 
 
 i8 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 cattle. The order of march was this : a scouting-party 
 of three or four men went in advance, a half a mile or 
 more ; the company usually in single file ;* next fol- 
 lowed the brigade of pack-horses ; and after them the 
 drove of cattle. On each side, at the distance of some 
 two hundred yards, marched a flank guard of eight or ten 
 men of the company on horseback ; and about twenty 
 soldiers of the Fourth United States Infantry, who had 
 been in the battle of Tippecanoe, under the command 
 of Sergeant Story, formed the rear guard. In the even- 
 ing they encamped on the Indian boundary line, the 
 frontier of the settlements, where they remained over 
 Sunday, July 26th. 
 
 On Monday, 27th, they entered the Indian territory; 
 and from thence their march was through an uninhab- 
 ited wilderness, in which there was no road except the 
 trace cut by General Hull's army, which was but the 
 width of a wagon-track, and much cut up by his bag- 
 gage-wagons and cavalry horses. In a letter to his 
 wife, dated at Fort McArthur, on the Scioto river — 
 near the present town of Kenton — July 29, 18 12, Mr. 
 Williams thus describes the usual routine of a day and 
 night on. the march : 
 
 " While we are waiting a few minutes to store part 
 of our baggage and provision in this fort, to lighten 
 our baggage- wagons for a more rapid march, I seize a 
 moment to tell you that I am very well, in good spirits, 
 and much improved in strength and general health. 
 
 

 1 
 
 Campaigns in IV ar of 1812-13. 
 
 19 
 
 The fatigues and hardships of a soldier's life are just 
 what I needed. You would hardly believe it possible 
 for me to endure what I daily undergo, in rommon 
 with my fellow-soldiers. Our food is coarse, and 
 cooked in the roughest manner. For whole days to- 
 gether we have had to use the water from stagnant 
 ponds, or from the wagon-ruts and horse-tracks, in the 
 road. We sleep upon the cold, damp ground, without 
 tents. One-third of the company are on guard every 
 night ; so that each one of us, after a hard day's march^ 
 has, every third night to mount guard, Rnd stand sentry 
 four hours, or half the night, and dun. y the remain- 
 ing four hours turn out hourly to receive the * grand 
 round,' and ' relief to the guard. The whole company 
 not on guard * sleep on their arms,' with all their accou- 
 terments on, ready for an attack from the hostile Indian 
 tribes occupying the country. 
 
 "You would smile at our mode of cooking, could 
 you see us riius employed. Our company is divided 
 into ' messes' of six men each. Our rations are deliv- 
 ered together to each mess when we encamp at night. 
 This consists of flour, fat bacon, and salt. The flour is 
 kneaded in a broad iron camp-kettle, and drawn out 
 in long rolls the size of a man's wrist, and coiled around 
 a smooth pole some three inches in diameter and five or 
 six feet long, on which the dough is flattened so as t6 
 be half an inch or more in thickness. The pole, thus 
 covered with dough, except a few inches at each end, is 
 
20 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 ^1 
 
 xi 
 
 I; 
 
 placed on two wooden forks driven into the ground in 
 front of the camp-fire, and turned frequency, till it is 
 baked, when it is cut off in pieces, and the pole covered 
 again in the same manner and baked. Our meat is 
 cooked thus: a branch of a tree having several twigs on 
 it is cut, and the ends of the twigs sharpened ; the fat 
 bacon is cut in slices, and stuck on these twigs, leaving 
 a little space between each, and then held in the blaze 
 and smoked till cooked. Each man then takes a piece of 
 the pole-bread, and lays thereon a slice of bacon, and 
 with his knife cuts therefrom, and eats his meal with a 
 good appetite. Enough is thus cooked each night to 
 serve for the next day; each man stowing in his knap- 
 sack his own day's provision." 
 
 A few miles north of Fort Findlay, on Blanchard 
 river — now the flourishing town of P^indlay — the expe- 
 dition entered the Black Swamp, through which the road 
 passed for many miles, much of which was almost im- 
 passable. On the 2d of August they reached the Mau- 
 mee river. 
 
 Along the route to this point, the expedition contin- 
 ued to sufi^er greatly from want of good water, being 
 obliged to drink out of puddles by the roadside, and 
 use pond water for cooking. For two weeks, scarcely 
 any rain had fallen, but this was rather favorable for 
 their progress than otherwise. 
 
 After marching many days through dense forests and 
 thickets, and wading, much of the way, through deep 
 
 1 
 
Campaigns in IV ar of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 21 
 
 and extensive swamps and morasses, to emerge sud- 
 denly therefrom into the dry open plains east of the 
 Maumee river, was a transition so great that it had a 
 most exhilarating effect upon the feelings of our weary 
 and way-worn travelers. A description of these plains 
 and the Maumee Rapids, together with some historical 
 remini-'cences of the localities, are given by Mr, Wil- 
 liams in a letter to his wife, dated, 
 
 Encampment, Foot of Maumee Rapids, "I 
 
 August 3, 18 1 2. ) 
 
 " The country we yesterday passed through is the 
 most delightful I have ever seen. Our route was, most 
 of the day, over natural plains of many miles in extent, 
 apparently as level as the ocean, seemingly bounded 
 only by the distant horizon, and interspersed with a few 
 small islets, or groves, of oak and hickory timber and 
 hazel bushes, and here and there a solitary oak tree or 
 two, standing out in the open expanse. These isolated 
 trees and groves contribute much to the beauty of the 
 scenery. But this is not all. These plains are covered 
 with a most luxuriant growth of grass and herbs, and 
 an endless variety of beautiful native flowers, represent- 
 ing all the hues of the rainbow, and loading the atmos- 
 phere with their perfume. Some portions are rich and 
 dry land ; others are of a wet, cold, and stiff clay soil. 
 
 " The Rapids of the Maumee, I am told, is nine 
 miles in length, and formed of a succession of small 
 3 
 
22 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 'A 
 
 '3 
 
 
 rapids, the principal one of which is at the place where 
 the road crosses the river. Here the whole channel is 
 stratified limestone rock, in horizontal strata, and di- 
 vided, at distances of three or four feet, by parallel ver- 
 tical seams, running diagonally across the whole chan- 
 nel, which is about forty rods wide. The descent of 
 the current over the successive ledges of rock, form 
 beautiful little cascades, at distances of a few yards b 
 tween. The Rapids terminate five miles below the 
 ford ; and from thence to the head of Maumee Bay, a 
 distance of some twelve miles, the river is from a quar- 
 ter to half a. mile or more in width, and navigable for 
 the largest vessels sailing on the lakes, which readily 
 ascend to the foot of the Rapids. 
 
 " The plain on which we encamped last night, was 
 the battle-ground on which General Anthony Wayne 
 defeated and totally routed and dispersed the combined 
 Indian forces, on the 20th August, 1794 — 18 years ago. 
 The Indians had chosen a strong position in the rear of 
 the plain^ among fallen timber of several miles in ex- 
 tent, in which their line of battle was two miles long, 
 fronting on the plain. General Wayne, after reconnoi- 
 tering the position of the enemy, sent General Scott, at 
 the head of eleven hundred mounted Kentuckians, to 
 turn the enemy's right flank by a circuitous route, and 
 fall upon their rear. At eight o'clock on that memor- 
 able day, General Wayne advanced his main columns 
 along the bank of the Maumee, formed in two lines, in 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 n 
 
 front of the enemy's position. The first line advanced, 
 with trailed arms, upon the foe, concealed behind the 
 fallen timber ; and on receiving their first fire, rushed 
 upon them and roused them from their fastness among 
 the fallen timber and bushes, at the point of the bayo- 
 net ; while General Scott precipitated his whole mounted 
 force upon their rear, and the infantry and the legion of 
 cavalry pressed forward upon their front, and into the 
 midst of their position. The Indian forces were thus 
 thrown into confusion, and in consternation fled in dis- 
 order down the river, hotly pursued, with great slaugh- 
 ter, by the mounted men and cavalry. On reaching the 
 British Fort Miami, the Indians essayed to enter the 
 gates and take refuge within its walls. But the British 
 commandant. Major Campbei!, through fear of General 
 Wayne, prudently closed his gates against them ; and 
 the Indians, driven to despair, and now nearly sur- 
 rounded and closely pressed by the victorious pursuers, 
 fled precipitately around the fort, and down the hill 
 upon which it stood, to the river. Being here hemmed 
 in, many of them plunged into the river to swim across, 
 and many more were slain ; while the remainder made 
 their escape to the woods. This decisive battle closed 
 the war with the Indian tribes on the north-western 
 frontier, and resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, in 
 August, 1795. 
 
 " This morning we moved down the river about five 
 miles, and encamped on the upp^r end of a large and 
 
24 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 beautiful plain, bordering on the left bank of the river, 
 a few rods below the old British fort, and on the very 
 ground upon which the great battle above described ter- 
 minated. Here, by order of General Hull, we are to 
 remain till reinforced by a company of volunteers from 
 Cleveland, and another from Sandusky, both daily ex- 
 pected to arrive. Near our encampment, in the bank 
 of the river, is a large spring of pure, cold water, which 
 is very refreshing after drinking, as we very often did, 
 from the puddles in the road." 
 
 While lying in camp, near the old British fort, Mr. 
 Williams made a survey of it with a pocket compass 
 and a grape-vine measure. The fort was situated on 
 the summit of a hill which rises abruptly from the mar- 
 gin of the river, at the head of the plain above men- 
 tioned. It was a quadrangle, constructed of large, 
 squared logs of timber, laid closely together and 
 notched into each other. At the two most exposed 
 angles were strong bastions, enfilading three sides of the 
 fort. On those three sides the fort was protected by a 
 deep moat, or ditch, in which water was still stand- 
 ing. And on the remaining side — that fronting the 
 river — there had been a covered way down the steep 
 bank to the water* A portion of the walls of the fort 
 were still standing, and the timber composing them in a 
 tolerable good state of preservation. 
 
 The company expected from Sandusky, commanded 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-1;,. 
 
 25 
 
 by Captain Roland, arrived on the evening of the 7th 
 August. Without waiting for the other company from 
 the Reserve, of which nothing had been heard, the two 
 now in camp were formed into a battalion, under the 
 command of Captain Brush, as mjLjor, and the march 
 resumed the next morning. In the afternoon of the 
 following day — Sunday, 9th — the battalion reached the 
 Raisin river, and encamped upon the military square, 
 containing about an acre of ground, inclosed by an old 
 line of pickets. Here, for the first time, they enjoyed 
 the luxury of good tents, which were furnished to them 
 by Colonel Anderson, the military commandant of the 
 local militia. The military defenses here consisted of 
 a single line of pickets, made of round logs about 
 twelve inches in diameter, sharpened at top and set in 
 the ground close together, and standing seven or eight 
 feet above the surface. At two diagonal angles were 
 block-houses, about eighteen feet square and twelve feet 
 high, constructed of round logs. These block-houses 
 projected six feet beyond the pickets, and the lines of 
 each had portholes to enfilade two sides of the inclosure. 
 The pickets were now so much decayed that they formed 
 a very poor defense against musket or rifle balls, and 
 none against cannon. They were originally intended 
 only for the defense of the settlement against the attacks 
 of hostile Indian tribes. 
 
 The settlement on Raisin river extended, at that time, 
 about three miles along its banks, on both sides, near 
 
16 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 the center of which was the military post we have de- 
 scribed. The inhabitants were almost exclusively the 
 descendants of the original French emigrants from Can- 
 ada, and spoke only the French language. The settle- 
 ment was formed at an early period in the last century ; 
 perhaps, indeed, but a few years after that of Detroit, 
 which is said to have been in the same year — 1682 — in 
 which William Penn laid out the city of Philadelphia. 
 Each family owned and cultivated a tract of land front- 
 ing on the river, having a few rods in width, and ex- 
 tending back from two to five miles ; the side lines be- 
 tween the farms being all parallel to each other, and all 
 the houses built on the bank of the river. In the midst 
 of this settlement, on the north side of the river, and 
 including the old stockade, stands now the flourishing 
 city of Monroe, a prominent commercial port of Lake 
 Erie, and havmg a railroad connecting it with the Far 
 West. 
 
 General Hull, about the first of August, hcd aban- 
 doned the invasion of Canada, withdrawn his troops 
 therefrom, and, recrossing the strait, the North- West- 
 ern Army now occupied the fortress of Detroit. In 
 the mean time General Brock posted a strong British 
 and Indian force at a place called Brownstown, on our 
 side of the strait, and on the only road from Detroit 
 to Ohio, and equidistant between Detroit and Paisin 
 river. And when Major Brush and his battalion ar- 
 rived at that river, all communication with Detroit had 
 
 ,1 
 
Campaigns in IV ar of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 27 
 
 been cut off by the enemy. Charged, as he was, with 
 the protection of the brigade of pack-horses and the large 
 drove of beef cattle, it would have been madness to at- 
 tempt, with his small command, to force his way to 
 Detroit. Indeed, while encamped on the Maumee, he 
 had received orders .rom General Hull to remain at the 
 Raisin river till a reinforcement from Detroit should 
 join him there. Two detachments from the army at 
 Detroit had been successively sent, for this purpose, by 
 General Hull. The first, under the command of Major 
 Vanhorne, was met by the combined British and Indian 
 force at Maguaga, an old Indian village opposite the 
 mouth of the Detroit river, and a battle ensued, in 
 which Vanhorne's detachment, after a sanguinary en- 
 gagement, was overpowered by a greatly superior force, 
 and compelled to make a precipitate retreat and return 
 to Detroit. 
 
 An incident is related of the late Governor Lucas, of 
 Ohio, in this battle, which is worthy of being preserved. 
 A Mr. Stockton, from near Chillicothe, was one of the 
 mounted men. Late in the engagement his horse was 
 badly wounded in the head by a ball ; and the horse be- 
 coming frantic with pain and fright dashed forward in 
 the retreat, throwing his head about and covering Mr. 
 Stockton with blood, till the rider was thrown off and 
 much stunned in the fall. On rising, he was unable to 
 run and uncertain which way to proceed. Having no 
 means of escape — his company having passed on with- 
 
28 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. " 
 
 out seeing him — inevitable destruction seemed to await 
 him. At that moir.ent General Lucas* — who, with a 
 few brave mounted men, covered the retreat and kept 
 the enemy in check — discovered Mr. Stockton, and see- 
 ing him covered with blood, supposed him to be badly 
 wounded. Without hesitation he instantly dismounted 
 and helped Mr. Stockton into his own saddle, and point- 
 ing the way, told him to make his escape as fust as his 
 horse could carry him. This momentary delay left 
 General Lucas the very last man on the retreat, and 
 now on foot, with the pursuing enemy in close proxim- 
 ity, and himself exposed to the deadly fire of the Indian 
 rifles. But he being tall, slender, and very active, out- 
 ran his nimble-footed pursuers, and providentially — in- 
 deed, almost miraculously — escaped the shower of bul- 
 lets, from the Indian rifles, aimed at him. Thus, at 
 the most imminent hazard of his own life, he saved that 
 of a fellow-soldier, an entire stranger to him. 
 
 \ 
 
 *General Lucas was at the time a Brigadier General of militia, near 
 Portsmouth, O., but joined Hull's army as a private volunteer, and had, 
 on the march to Detroit, received from President Madison a commis- 
 sion of Captain in the United States service. 
 
 He was afterward "governor of the state of Ohio several terms. 
 Subsequently, when the new territory of Iowa was created by Con- 
 gress, he was appointed its first Governor, which office he held several 
 years. After his retirement from office, he continued to reside in Iowa 
 till his death. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 from hisearly life, and died peacefully at a good old age. 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 29 
 
 't 
 
 The other detachment sent to reinforce Major Brush, 
 consisted of about nine hundred men, under the com- 
 mand of Colonel Miller of the United States army. 
 At Brownstown, a mile or two south of Maguaga, he 
 encountered the enemy's forces, and a severe battle en- 
 sued, in which Colonel Miller was victorious, and 
 drove the enemy from the field with great loss. But 
 his own force was so much crippled and his men so 
 fatigued, that he also found it necessary to return to 
 Detroit from the field of battle. This engagement oc- 
 curred on the 8th of August. Soon after Colonel 
 Miller's regiment returned to Detroit, General Hull 
 ordered out a third detachment to the relief of Major 
 Brush, under the command of Colonel McAthur,* 
 with orders to take a circuitous route through the track- 
 less wilderness ; and by crossing the Huron river sev- 
 eral miles higher up, avoid a collision with the enemy^ 
 and reach Major Brush's position on the Raisin. 
 
 While these abortive eflForts to relieve Major Brush 
 were being made, his little battalion, numbering only 
 some one hundred and sixty men, were in a position of 
 great peril. The road and the whole territory between 
 them and the American army, was occupied by a large 
 force of the enemy, within four hours' march of their 
 encampment. They were, therefore, in hourly expecta- 
 
 *Afterward a Brigadier General in the United States service, and 
 subsequently Governor of Ohio. 
 
 4 
 
 1 ' ?- ^ 
 
 I' 
 
!0 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 tion of an attack from the enemy, who might at any 
 time have overpowered them by a force five or ten times 
 their number, and massacred them all, as ^as the unfor- 
 tunate Kentucky brigade, under the command of Gen- 
 eral Winchester, at the same place the following winter, 
 after being taken prisoners and disarmed. 
 
 In a letter to Governor Tiffin,* dated August nth, 
 after noting the battle of Brownstown, three days pre- 
 vious, Mr. Williams adds: 
 
 "It is certain that our affairs on this frontier wear a 
 very serious and gloomy aspect. All communication 
 between us and Detroit has been for several days wholly 
 cut off by the enemy. The express mail, which, till 
 lately, always succeeded in getting throngh, has entirely 
 failed. We are, therefore, without any advices from 
 Detroit and the army, and know nothing of its move- 
 ments, nor whether, nor when relief will reach us. We 
 are at a loss what to think of these things. Our posi- 
 tion is a most perilous one. We are liable at any time 
 to be overwhelmed by the vastly superior force of the 
 enemy. The French settlers along this river are greatly 
 alarmed, and seem confident that our garrison and the 
 settlements will be in the enemy's possession before re- 
 inforcements can reach us." 
 
 
 
 * Then Commissioner of the General Land-Office, Washington 
 
 City. 
 
 » 
 
 ■■ 
 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 31 
 
 says : " I went, to-day, with Cadwallader Wallace and 
 some others, to see Lake (Erie) distant about four 
 miles east of our encampment, and to bathe in its lim- 
 pid waters. The view of the placid surface of this in- 
 land sea was most enchanting to me — having now, for 
 the first time in my life, looked upon a sheet of water 
 exceeding half a mile wide. Here, with the exception 
 of one or two small islands, scarcely perceptable in the 
 distance, there is nothing to be seen but a wide expanse 
 of waters, bounded seemingly by the horizon. We en- 
 joyed much the refreshing bath in the cool waters of 
 the lake, and battling its gentle rolling waves. It was, 
 indeed, a great luxury in a hot summer's day. But our 
 sport was soon spoiled by the arrival of a courier on 
 horseback from camp, with orders for our immediate re- 
 turn, as the enemy was reported to be but a few miles 
 distant, marching to attack us. Thinking to take the 
 nearest course to camp across a large, level prairie, nearly 
 on a level with the lake, we had to wade through three 
 bad marshes, up to our breasts in mud and water. The 
 alarm was a false one." 
 
 The last of his series of letters to his wife, is dated 
 Friday, August 14th, in which is the following para- 
 graph. 
 
 "All thought of being able to proceed to Detrrit is 
 now abandoned ; and our attention is turned exclusively 
 to fortifying our position, and putting it in the best 
 state of defense we can. If the enemy should bring 
 
 br 
 
 11 
 
j2 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 W.. 
 
 I B ^ 
 
 their field artillery to the attack — which, if they come, 
 they will surely do — our rotten stockade will be battered 
 to the ground in ten minutes. What our fate will be 
 I can not tell. But if we fall, we shall sell our lives as 
 dearly as we can. We have lost all confidence in Gen- 
 eral Hull. In any event we can not remain here longer 
 than this week, or the middle of the next." 
 
 Two days after the last-named date, namely on Sun- 
 day, August 1 6th, having the previous night crossed 
 the Detroit river, two miles below the town. General 
 Brock, at the head of the British army, marched to the 
 attack of Fort Detroit. He advanced his force directly 
 in front of the main battery of the fortress, and had but 
 just displayed his columns in line of battle, when a white 
 flag was run up on the flag-staff of the fort — a signal of 
 surrender! Sufiice it to say, that in a short time articles 
 of capitulation were drawn up and signed. Thus the 
 gallant North-Western Army, occupying a strong for- 
 tification, having a fine battery of twenty-five large guns, 
 and a full supply of amunition, was surrendered pris- 
 oners of war to a force inferior both in numbers and 
 efficiency, and composed mostly of Canadian local 
 militia and Indians. 
 
 By a supplemental article General Hull surrendered 
 Major Brush's battalion as prisoners likewise. This, 
 however, was well, as otherwise they would have sur- 
 rendered only on being overwhelmed by numbers, and 
 at the expense of much blo'^d, and the loss of many 
 
 
T 
 
 Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 ^2 
 
 
 lives. On Monday, 17th, the day after the capitula- 
 tion, Captain Elliott, of the British service, arrived 
 from Detroit, bearing a flag of truce, and delivered to 
 Major Brush an authenticated copy of the articles of 
 capitulation, with letters to him from General Hull and 
 Colonel M'Arthur, confirming the fact of the surren- 
 der, and also an order from General Brock requiring 
 Major Brush and his battalion to march to Fort Mai- 
 den, on the Canada side of the Detroit river, as pris- 
 oners of war. The surrender of Detroit and the whole 
 army was an event so unlooked for, so extraordinary, 
 so astonishing, that the papers were regarded as forge- 
 ries and Captain Elliott as a spy ; and he was immedi- 
 ately placed in confinement under guard as a spy. In 
 the afternoon, however, three or four of the well-known 
 Ohio volunteers from Detroit, who were absent from 
 the fort when it surrendered, made their escape and ar- 
 rived at Major Brush's encampment, fully confirming 
 the sad news. A council of war was held in the even- 
 ing, and it was unanimously resolved that the battalion 
 should disregard the treaty and make their way back to 
 Ohio. Accordingly every preparation was made, except 
 that of cooking food, for which there was no time; and 
 about ten o'clock that night — Captain Elliott being 
 first liberated — the men took up their march homeward. 
 The night was cloudy and dark, and in the dense for- 
 est the narrow road could only be kept by traveling in 
 the mud worked up in it. 
 
 s 
 
34 
 
 Expedition of Captain Henry Brush. 
 
 Early the next morning they had reached the foot of 
 the Maumee Rapids, thirty-four miles. Here the few 
 inhabitants furnished them a scanty breakfast of what- 
 ever could be gathered up, and the march was resumed. 
 After crossing the river, Captain Rowland's Company 
 took the Sandusky road, and Captain Brush's that to 
 Urbana. The march was continued all day and till 
 about midnight ; when, getting into the Black Swamp, 
 where it was all mud, it was found impossible to distin- 
 guish where the road lay. A halt was called, and every 
 man sought for himself a dry place at the root of some 
 tree, where he sat on his knapsack and, leaning against 
 the tree, slept till dawn the next morning, when the 
 march was continued. A courier was sent ahead on 
 horseback to Fort Findlay, on the . Blanchard's fork, 
 where, on the arrival of the company, about noon, they 
 enjoyed the luxury of a good and plentiful meal of 
 bread and jerked beef, hastily prepared for them by the 
 sergeant's guard stationed at that post. 
 
 To this point the company was pursued by Brigadier 
 General Tecumseh, the noted Shawnee chief, at the head 
 of three hundred mounted Indians, sent by General 
 Brock to capture and bring back the escaped prisoners. 
 But finding by the "sign" — the footprints of the re- 
 treat — that they were several hours in advance of them, 
 and would reach the settlements before they could be 
 overtaken, the pursuit was abandoned, and Tecumseh 
 and his brigade returned. 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 35 
 
 The march was continued from Fort Findlay imme- 
 diately after taking their meal, and late that night the 
 company reached Fort M'Arthur, on the Scioto river. 
 The next morning they made a very early start through 
 a heavy rain, which continued the whole day, and in the 
 evening arrived at "Manary's Block-House," on the 
 Indian boundary, under the command of General 
 Manary. Here every possible kindness was shown to 
 the fugitives by the General and his men. Fires were 
 made in all the huts, and their wet clothing dried ; and 
 the rangers gave up their " bunks" or berths for the re- 
 pose of their visitors. 
 
 Here the company entered the settlements, and be- 
 ing no longer in danger of pursuit, they continued their 
 march more leisurely. At Urbana they separated into 
 small parties, for greater ease in traveling, and generally 
 reached their homes at Chillicothe on Monday, August 
 23d, after an absence of five weeks, without the loss of 
 a man. 
 
 Although the company thus escaped from the enemy, 
 after being surrendered as prisoners of war, yet our 
 Government recognized them as prisoners ; and they 
 were a few months afterward, regularly " exchanged," 
 and were ordered by Governor Meigs to be credited for 
 a full tour of duty. 
 

2. 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs for the 
 Relief of Fort Meigs, 1 8 1 3. 
 
 IN the narrative of the expedition of Captain Brush's 
 company of Chillicothe volunteers, in the summer 
 of 1 8 12, we noticed briefly the disastrous termination 
 of the first campaign of the North-Western Army in 
 that year. 
 
 Soon after the fall of Detroit, and the occupancy of 
 Michigan and the Indian territory by the enemy, Pres- 
 ident Madison appointed William Henry Harrison, of 
 North Bend, C, a Brigadier General in the United 
 States service, and Commander in chief of the North- 
 Western Army. As the Government had now no dis- 
 posable regular troops in the West, General Harrison 
 was left to reorganize the North-Western Army from 
 the militia and volunteer forces of Ohio and Ken- 
 tucky, aided by some volunteer companies from Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia. No time was lost by the Gen- 
 eral in collecting his forces, and posting them at the 
 various exposed points on the frontier and in the Indian 
 territory beyond it. As soon as practicable, he ad- 
 vanced a well-appointed and disciplined volunteer force 
 to the foot of the rapids of the Maumee river, where, 
 5 
 
38 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 in the following winter, Fort Meigs was built. This 
 was nothing more than a line of pickets, with a ditch 
 and a high embankment of earth thrown up around his 
 encampment, with round log block-houses at the salient 
 angles. Fort Meigs was an important pose, and it 
 contributed mainly to the defense of an extended line 
 of frontier settlements. Small troops of mounted 
 rangers, and scouts on foot, sent out from the Fort, 
 scoured the wilderness, and kept in abeyance the bands 
 of marauding savages, whose known mode of warfare 
 was the indiscriminate murder and plundering of the 
 defenseless inhabitants of the frontier. 
 
 The importance of Fort Meigs for the protection of 
 the frontier, and in facilitating the operations of the 
 American army in its rear, then preparing for hostili- 
 ties, was well understood by General Brock, the able 
 commander in chief of the British forces on the De- 
 troit river, and he determined on its capture or destruc- 
 tion. Accordingly, in the latter end of April, 1813, 
 he sent General Proctor, at the head of a strong detach- 
 ment frrm the British army, with three thousand In- 
 dians, I .< cake this fort. After a siege of about ten days, 
 during which time a continual cannonade was kept up 
 from his batteries. General Proctor abandoned the siege, 
 with great loss. Again, early in July following, Fort 
 Meigs was closely invested by another large British and 
 Indian force, under the command of Generals Proctor 
 and Tecumseh, well provided with artillery and all the 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 J9 
 
 necessary armament for a vigorous siege. General 
 Harrison was not in command of the Fort at this time. 
 Its force was numerically vastly inferior to that of the 
 besiegers ; and, moreover, the stock of provisions was 
 insufficient for a protracted siege. General Harrison, 
 then at Lower Sandusky, immediately dispatched a cou- 
 rier to Governor Meigs, with a requisition for a large 
 reinforcement of militia, to aid him in compelling the 
 enemy to raise the siege. Meantime General Proctor 
 planted his batteries, and kept up a cannonade on the 
 Fort. Several spirited sorties, however, were made 
 from the Fort, in one of which the enemy's cannon 
 were taken and spiked. 
 
 With his characteristic promptitude. Governor Meigs 
 on receiving General Harrison's requisition, at once 
 called out, en masse^ the two entire divisions of militia 
 nearest that part of the frontier, with orderi^ to march 
 immediately to the relief of Fort Meigs. The order 
 was obeyed with equal promptness ; and in a very few 
 days the two entire divisions, without tents, but well 
 armed and provisioned, were on their march for Upper 
 Sandusky, where the whole force was to rendezvous on 
 a given day, to be there organized for a rapid march to 
 Fort Meigs. 
 
 This expedition, which lasted about six weeks, was 
 not distinguished for any 
 
40 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 " Most disastrous chances. 
 For moving accidents by flood and field. 
 Or hair-breadth 'scapes." 
 
 Ii never met the '* insolent foe" which it set out to en- 
 counter. General Proctor, learning that ten thousand 
 hardy " Buckeyes" were marching upon him, suddenly 
 broke up his camp, and fled precipitately back to Can- 
 ada. This news reached Governor Meigs — who com- 
 manded the expedition in person — at Delaware, by dis- 
 patches from General Harrison. The Governor^ how- 
 ever, continued the march ; and on the day of the gen- 
 eral rendezvous reviewed his ten thousand citizen sol- 
 diers, drawn up in line upon the beautiful plains of 
 Upper Sandusky. The further advance of this formid- 
 able force — greatly to the disappointment of all — was 
 now arrested, and their high hopes of military glory cut 
 off at a stroke. The Governor, too, may have had his 
 dreams of deathless renown and blooming laurels about 
 to be won upon the ensanguined plains of the Maumee. 
 But now the renown has vanquished, like " the base- 
 less fabric of a vision : " the laurels are suddenly pluck- 
 ed from his brow. Sic transit gloria mundi ! We were 
 forcibly reminded of the memorable exploit of a royal 
 chieftain of the olden time, which is so graphically re- 
 corded by the historian, in heroic verse ! 
 
 
 " The King of France, with forty thousand men. 
 Marched up the hill, and then — marched down again.' 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 41 
 
 The only history of this expedition, so far as the 
 writer knows, is that which is contained in his own let- 
 ters, written home almost daily, and preserved by him 
 for his family. From his narrative, thus written, such 
 portions are selected as will be the most likely to inter- 
 est the reader. Mr. Williams was at the time Clerk 
 of the Chillicothe Regiment — a military officer then in 
 existence, in the regimental staff of the Ohio Militia, 
 with the rank of lieutenant. 
 
 Instead of the privations and hardships which he en- 
 dured in the campaign of the previous year, Mr. Wil- 
 liams had now every thing that could contribute to his 
 comfort and ease. As a regimental staff officer, he was 
 well mounted, and was entitled to, and received trans- 
 portation for his baggage-trunk, forage for his horse, 
 two daily rations of provisions ; and was a member of 
 the Colonel's *' iness/' and quartered in his large mar- 
 quee ; and, withal, was exempt from all military and 
 camp duty. His office was to prepare and record the 
 regimental orders issued by the Colonel, and to record 
 and file all brigade and general orders received by the 
 Colonel from his superior officers. 
 
 The several regiments of the two divisions were all 
 on the march between the 25th and 30th of July. Col- 
 onel Ferguson's Chillicothe regiment marched on the 
 29th. The next evening Mr. Williams writes : '* Last 
 night we encamped seven miles below Pickaway plains. 
 To-night we are seventeen miles south of Franklin- 
 
 
 'I 
 
42 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 
 W: 
 
 ton. Major Dawson's battalion, from Adelphi, joined 
 us at Circleville, and makes our regiment about six 
 hundred men." 
 
 While the men were taking their lunch, about noon 
 of the first day's march, the Colonel issued an order 
 that no fruit, vegetables, or other produce of the coun- 
 try, should be taken, otherwise than by purchase or 
 permission of the owner. After the regiment had 
 bivoucked for the first night, one of the men, in direct 
 violation of the above order, took, without leave, from 
 an adjoining cornfield, an armful of "r--" ting-ears." 
 Information of the theft was promptly given, through 
 his Captain, to the Colonel, by whose order the man 
 was immediately arrested and placed under guard. After 
 supper the Colonel convened a court-martial at his mar- 
 quee for the trial of the culprit, and appointed William 
 Key Bond, a young man, a private in one of the Chil- 
 licothe companies. Judge Advocate. Mr. Bond had, 
 but a short time previous, emigrated from Virginia, 
 where he had studied law, but had not yet comm =*nced 
 the practice. The culprit was arraigned beL- - the 
 court, and Mr. Bond examined the witnesses anc co^ 
 ducted the prosecution with much ability; and his clos 
 ing address to the court was a fine effort, and eloquently 
 delivered. 
 
 This was Colonel Bond's first appearance at "the 
 bar." Soon after his return from this tour, he com- 
 menced practice as an attorney and counsek ; at law 
 
 A 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 43 
 
 in Chillicothe and adjacent counties, and soon rose to 
 the front rank of the profession. He represented that 
 district several years in the Congr-^ss of the United 
 States, in which he was a prominent and distinguished 
 member. Many years sincC; he removed to Cincin- 
 nati, where he continued the practice of law; was m 
 the United States Revenue service four years as Sur- 
 veyor of the port of Cincinnati; and has lately, we 
 believe, resumed the practice of law in that city.* 
 
 The reader will please pardon this digression. The 
 court-martial found the prisoner guilty, and sentenced 
 him to be drummed out of camp and dismissed the 
 service. This sentence was carried into execution the 
 next morning, when the regiment was drawn up in line 
 to resume the march. The culprit wa? marched along 
 in front of the whole line, followed by all the drums 
 of the regiment, beating the "Rogue's March" played 
 by the fifes, and was then dismissed the service in dis- 
 grace. This was the only case of disobedience of the 
 Colonel's order which occurred during the campaign. 
 
 Two days after the occurrence above noted, Mr. 
 
 Williams writes : 
 
 Franklinton, July 21, 18 1.3. 
 "We reached this place about six o'clock this even- 
 ing. The Governor and suite met and escorted our 
 
 *Mr. Bond was born in St. Marys County, Maryland, October 2, 
 179Z, and died at Cincinnati, February 17, 1864. 
 
1 : 1 
 
 m 
 
 
 ':i 
 
 
 44 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 regiment into and through town, and then reviewed it, 
 expressing himself highly pleased with its martial ap- 
 pearance. In the evening he visited us at our marquee, 
 and engaged to breakfast with us to-morrow morning. 
 General Ma. ary's brigade — twelve hundred and fifty 
 strong — arrived here this morning, and is encamped 
 near us. Several regiments have already gone on to 
 Sandusky. General Lucas, with the remainder of our 
 brigade, from Portsmouth, will join us to-morrow. 
 •"' spatches have just arrived to the Governor from 
 General Harrison, who is still at Seneca, nine miles 
 above Lower Sandusky, awaiting our arrival. The 
 enemy is still before Fort Meigs, intrenching them- 
 selves."* 
 
 ^'The subsequent movements of Gov. Meigs were probably quick- 
 ened by the following dispatch from General Harrison : 
 
 " Head Quarters, Seneca Town, 
 
 zd August 1813. 
 '« Dear Sir : 
 
 The enemy have been, since last evening, before Lower 
 Sandusky, and are battering it with all their might. Come, on my friend,* 
 as quickly as possible, that we may relieve the brave fellows who are 
 defending it. I had ordered it to be abandoned. The order was not 
 obeyed. 
 
 I know it will be defended to the last extremity ; for 
 earth does not hold a set of finer fellows than Crogan and his ofiicers. 
 I shall expect you to-morrow certainly. 
 
 Yours etc, 
 Gov. Meigs. Wm. H. Harrison." 
 
 I 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 45 
 
 At the date of this letter, it v/ill be remembered, 
 Columbus, the present seat of Government of the 
 State, had not been laid out. The ground now occu- 
 pied by that flourishing city was then covered with 
 cornfield and dense forest. Franklinton was then a 
 place of considerable note. Now it is withering in 
 the shadow of its great rival on the opposite bank of 
 the river. 
 
 At Delaware the Governor received the intelligence 
 that the enemy had abandoned the seige of Fort Meigs, 
 and retreated to Canada, intimidated, no doubt, by the 
 approach of the overwhelming force then on the march 
 against them. 
 
 Delaware was at this time a very small village. The 
 only public house in it was kept by Major Byxbe, near 
 the center of the town, in a small brick house, very 
 poorly fitted up, and which, we were lately informed, 
 has recently been puP'^'d down. The large and cele- 
 brated sulphur spring here was then in its original state 
 of nature. Across the morass lying between it and 
 Byxbe's tavern the Major had constructed a foot- 
 bridge, consisting of a single line of slabs set end to 
 end, and standing on wooden legs driven into auger- 
 holes, and having a rough hand-rail at one side. The 
 beautiful grounds around and southwest of the spring, 
 now occupied by that young but noble and flourishing 
 institution, the Ohio Wesleyan University, were 
 then an unbroken forest. Delaware itself, from being 
 
46 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 ■a, 
 
 
 ;?■ 
 
 ^lili 
 
 an obscure and insignificant little frontier village, has, 
 by the location there of the University, and by the 
 building of railroads through it, become a large, popu- 
 lous, and flourishing town. 
 
 The whole force of the two divisions ordered out 
 having arrived at Upper Sandusky, they were all drawn 
 out for muster and review upon the adjoining delight- 
 ful plains, covered with grass and flowers, and were 
 reviewed by the Governor. The display was quite an 
 imposing one. The sight of ten thousand men under 
 arms, drawn up in line, had never before been wit- 
 nessed upon these plains. 
 
 The siege of Fort Meigs having been raised, the 
 further advance of this force became unnecessary. But, 
 as General Harrison expected to sail in a few days for 
 the Detroit river, with all the force under his command, 
 to meet the enemy, it was judged indispensable that a 
 part of Governor Meigs' militia should remain at 
 Upper Sandusky for the defense of the exposed fron- 
 tier. For this purpose the Governor selected two 
 brigades, of one thousand men each, under the com- 
 mand of Generals Lucas and Manary, and discharged 
 the remainder, who immediately returned to the.ir 
 homes. The two brigades took a position about a 
 mile north of Upper Sandusky, on a high point of 
 land, having the Sandusky river, with a high bluff 
 bank, on the east side, and a deep ravine on the north 
 and west side, while the south side was protected by a 
 
Campaigns in War of i8 12-13. 
 
 47 
 
 'I 
 
 deep ditch and an embankment inside. The encamp- 
 ment embraced eight or ten acres, around which was 
 soon constructed a strong abatis^ which consisted of 
 piles of trees, or large branches, sharpened and laid 
 with their points outward, and presenting a formidable 
 barrier to the entrance of a hostile force into the camp. 
 Block-houses were built at each angle. To construct 
 these several works a hundred or more men were de- 
 tailed daily. Governor Meigs remained in command, 
 and personally directed and superintended the works. 
 He was vigilant; always on the alert, to see that every- 
 thing went on right, and that the orders issued were 
 well and promptly executed. 
 
 In this connection, it may be as well to give the 
 reader a description of a day in the "Grand Camp of 
 Ohio Militia," as it was called; and the duties and 
 employments of one day were, with but little varia- 
 tion, the same on every day. 
 
 At four o'clock in the morning a discharge from a 
 nine-pounder gun and beating the reveille was the signal 
 to "turn out." In several of the tents "family wor- 
 ship" was now attended to by singing and prayer. 
 Twenty minutes after reveille beat, all the troops not 
 on guard were, at the beat of the drum, paraded and 
 drilled an hour. Bet\yeen six and seven o'clock break- 
 fast was had. At eight o'clock the guards — who had 
 been on duty from the same hour of the previous day — 
 were relieved by the new guard for the day. The guard 
 
48 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 
 tf a 
 
 consisted of about a hundred and fifty men, divided 
 into three "reliefs" of fifty each, one of which "re- 
 liefs" was always on guard, and, at the end of two 
 hours, was relieved bv the next. A few of these were 
 posted at the Governor's and field oflicers' quarters as 
 "ofiicers* guard;" the larger number were stationed 
 around the encampment, at the distance of one hundred 
 yards or more, as "camp guard;" and the remainder 
 were posted at different points, a quarter of a mile 
 or more from camp, as "picket guard," to give early 
 notice of the approach of an enemy. At the same 
 hour — eight o'clock — the different "parties" for the 
 day were called out — such as "fatigue parties," to build 
 blockhouses, storehouse, hospital, dig intrenchments, 
 fortify the encampment, etc.; "grass parties," to mow 
 on the plains, and bring in grass for the field officers' 
 and cavalry horses; "police parties," for sweeping the 
 encampment and keeping it clear of filth and rubbish. 
 These parties were detailed from the several regiments, 
 according to their numbers. At nine o'clock the offi- 
 cers were mustered, and drilled an hour by the brigade 
 majors. At noon, at beat of the drum, all repaired to 
 their tents for dinner. The several works were con- 
 tinued till four o'clock p. m., when all the troops not 
 on duty during the day were mustered on the plain 
 before the camp, and drilled by battalions. At sunset 
 another discharge of cannon was the signal for "re- 
 treat," which was then beat by the drums, and the roll 
 
Campaigns in War of 1812-13. 
 
 49 
 
 !! 
 
 called. Between seven and eight o'clock supper was 
 taken. At nine o'clock "tattoo" was beat — the signal 
 for all, except the guard, to retire to rest. The "coun- 
 tersign" for the night was then given to the sentinels, 
 together with instructions concerning their duty. No 
 noise whatever was allowed during the night. 
 
 Another item of camp duty, more worthy of note 
 than the foregoing, was the observance of the public 
 worship of God every Sabbath. The exercises of the 
 first Sabbath is thus described by Mr. Williams in one 
 of his letters, written the same evening: 
 
 "This duy being the Sabbath, a general order was 
 issued in the morning by the Governor, announcing 
 that public worship would be held at his quarters at 
 eleven o'clock, and inviting all who felt so disposed 
 to attend. At the hour named, about six hundred 
 assembled at headquarters for worship. There being 
 no clergyman in camp — they being, by law, exempt 
 from military duty, and as the office of arn.y chap- 
 lain was then unknown — a public prayer-meeting was 
 held. The Governor himself conducted the meeting; 
 and, after reading the hymns, his aid-de-camp. Colonel 
 Couch, lined them for the congregation to sing, when 
 the Governor called on some one by name to lead in 
 prayer. Some six or seven prayers were offered — all, 
 I think, by Methodists, and with much fervor. The 
 meeting lasted over an hour, and was conducted with 
 the greatest good order and solemnity throughout. 
 
so 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 1 
 
 "In the afternoon, some twenty or more of us re- 
 paired to the Governor's quarters, at his request, and 
 employed an hour or two in singing sacred music, con- 
 ducting all the parts of each tune scientifically. A 
 number of good hymns were thus sung by good sing- 
 ers, while several hundred of the men in camp collected 
 around the quarters to hear." 
 
 A few further extracts from the letters of Mr. Wil- 
 liams, written at "Grand Camp, Upper Sandusky," 
 and we close this narrative : 
 
 ^'August 21, 1813. Governor Meigs informs me 
 
 that Commodore Perry's fleet has arrived in Sandusky 
 
 Bay; and that General Harrison has gone down, as he 
 
 supposes, to arrange with the Commodore the plan of 
 
 combined operations against the enemy. The British 
 
 prisoners captured in the attack a few days ago on Fort 
 
 Stephenson— Lower Sandusky— are still here at the 
 
 Fort, but are not closely confined. Among them I 
 
 find a pious Wesleyan Methodist— Michael Lindsay— 
 
 who declared to me that he would never go back to the 
 
 British army, if he could avoid it." [Lindsay, when 
 
 exchanged and on the march back, made his escape, and 
 
 afterward settled in Chillicothe, where he joined the 
 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and pursued his business 
 
 as a house painter.] 
 
 ''August ^4, 1813. . It still remains uncertain at what 
 time the General— Harrison— will be ready to proceed 
 to Canada. The fleet is yet in Sandusky Bay." 
 
 r 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 8 12-13. 
 
 51 
 
 ' 
 
 ^* August 25, 1 8 13. General Harrison has returned 
 fro.n his visit to the fleet; and General Mc Arthur and 
 some boats filled with troops have gone up the Lake 
 and Maumee river to Fort Meigs, where the General 
 takes command. We are yet in the dark as to the 
 time General Hanlson will move on, and it is quite 
 uncertain whether he will give us an opportunity to 
 'see some service' on the other side of the Lake. 
 There is, I have reason to believe, an unpleasant state 
 of feeling between the General and the Governor in 
 relation to the militia under the Governor's command. 
 And there is a probability, in consequence thereof, that 
 we will, in a few days, be disbanded. I am sorry to 
 hear so much dissatisfaction with the General expressed 
 in camp; but I must say that I have not seen or heard 
 anything yet which has lessened my confidence in him." 
 
 '■^August 26, 1 8 13. Mr. Kelley, of Chillicothe, who 
 bears this, left Seneca to-day, but brings no news. 
 General Harrison was unwell. Things all appear now 
 to await the naval action between the two hostile fleets, 
 which is expected to take place in a few days." 
 
 It will be remembered that on the loth of Septem- 
 ber, a fev/ days after the date of this letter, the expected 
 "naval action" did take place — Perry's great battle and 
 victory, in which he captured the whole British fleet. 
 
 ''August 28, 1 8 13. Our fleet is still in Sandusky 
 Bay. Commodore Perry is sick, and this may have 
 delayed the sailing of the fleet." 
 
52 
 
 Expedition of Governor Meigs. 
 
 SI 
 
 11 
 
 % 
 1 
 
 "August 29, 1 8 13. The Governor very politely 
 handed me, to-day, an official communication which he 
 had just received from General Harrison, remonstra- 
 ting against retaining in service the force then under 
 the Governor's command not now necessary. The 
 General says: *I am alarmed at the astonishing con- 
 sumption of provisions, particularly flour, at Upper 
 Sandusky. I beg leave to urge an immediate explana- 
 tion of the views of your Excellency, in retaining in 
 service so large a militia force, which, from the very 
 nature of their organization and period of service, can 
 not be permitted to accompany me to Canada.' The 
 Governor, as you may well imagine, was not in a very 
 good humor, and his reply — which he showed me — 
 was in no very honeyed terms. 
 
 *'We shall probably receive orders to commence our 
 march homeward in two or three days." . 
 
 The expected order was issued two days afterward — 
 August 31st — and the same afternoon the line of march 
 was taken up. Colonel Ferguson's regiment reached 
 Chillicothe on Monday p. m., September 6th, and was 
 immediately disbanded. Thus ends the campaign of 
 which we have written. Its object was the relief of 
 Fort Meigs, then closely besieged by the enemy. And 
 this was evidently attained by the advance of so large 
 a force; prudence dictating to the enemy their precipi- 
 tate retreat as "the better part of valor." The decisive 
 victory of Commodore Perry, on the loth of Septem- 
 
Campaigns in War of 1 812-13. 
 
 S2 
 
 ber following, and his capture of the whole British fleet 
 on Lake Erie, decided the fate of the enemy on the 
 whole northwestern frontier. The entire British army 
 on the straits of Detroit, and all their military posts 
 and dependencies there and on all the upper lakes, fell 
 an easy prey to the victorious march of General Har- 
 rison and his army before the close of that autumn. 
 7 
 
' 
 
 
\( 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 [The Muster-roll of Captain Brush's Company, preserved in the 
 War Office at Washington, contains the names of only sixty -nine men, 
 as follows : 
 
 S 
 
 Henry Brush, Captain. 
 William Beach, Lieutenant. 
 John Stockton, Ensign. 
 William Robinson, First Sergeant. 
 Robert Stockton, Second " 
 
 Craighead Ferguson, Third " 
 Henry L. Prentiss, Fourth " 
 Richard Snyder, First Corpora/. 
 Henry Wray, Second " 
 
 James McDougal, Third " 
 John Buck, Fourth 
 
 Michael Byerly 
 Levi Dougherty 
 Ebenezer Petty 
 Colby Chew 
 Henry Buchanan 
 William Bailey 
 David Johnston 
 
 William Davidson 
 George Rust 
 Horatio Evans 
 James Shaver 
 William Armstrong 
 Jacob Shaffer 
 Isaac Eastwood 
 
56 
 
 Hx 
 II 
 
 ^'h 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 Joseph Cessna 
 William McGrim 
 William S. Hutt 
 Robert Brady 
 Lewis Davis 
 Hugh Andrews 
 Peter Leister 
 Adam E. HofFman 
 Samuel McCuIlough 
 Robert Holmes 
 Samuel Willets 
 Peter Brown 
 Archibald Stewart 
 George Smith 
 Adam Bowers 
 Thomas Bailey 
 Duncan McArthur 
 Joseph Miller 
 James Huston 
 John Peebles 
 Mahlon Frazer 
 Oliver Simpson 
 
 1 
 
 John Mitchell 
 John Watson 
 John G. McCann 
 William Creighton 
 Samuel Devault 
 Cadwallader Wallace 
 Edmund Brush 
 Nathan Thompson 
 John Hoffman 
 James Cessna 
 James Mitchell 
 John Watson 
 
 Samuel Williams 
 
 Edward W. Pierce 
 John S. Langham , 
 
 Isaac Taylor 
 
 John Hall 
 
 Stephen Cessna 
 
 Francis DeSouchet 
 
 Uriah Barber 
 
 Joseph Tiffin 
 
 Abraham S. Williams. 
 Total, 69.] 
 
 ■/ 
 
1 
 
 Outline of Contents. 
 
 Samuel Williams — Biographical Sketch, v. 
 
 1. Expedition of Captain Henry Brush with Supplies for 
 
 Gen. Hull, 1812, 9. March of the North Western 
 Army to Detroit, 9. Loss of Hull's military 
 chest, etc., 10. Hull's Letter to Governor Meigs, 
 12. Supplies sent forward, 13. Composition of 
 the Company, 14. Their equipment, 15. March 
 to Urbana, 16. Incidents of march to the Raisin 
 River, 16-25. The settlement there, 26. Com 
 munication with Detroit cut off, 27. Battle of 
 Maguaga, 27. General Lucas, 28. Colonel Miller 
 Hi o rein ve Brush, but ^ails, 29. Surrender of 
 Detroit, ]i. Brushs' company included in the sur- 
 render, 32 Arriv; of Captain Elliott with flag 
 of truce and his detenti^ \ as a spy, 33. March of 
 the company baci to Urbana, 34-5- 
 
 2. Expedition of Cover rwr Meigs for the Relief of Fort 
 
 Meigs, 1813,37. ^)erations of General Harrison, 
 37. Fort Meigs built, 38. Besieged by General 
 Proctor and Tecumseh, 38. Governor Meigs called 
 
<> 
 
 58 
 
 Outline of Contents. 
 
 on for reinforcements, 39. March to Upper San- 
 dusky, 40. Incidents of the march, 41. A Court- 
 martial — Colonel Bond, 42. Letter from Harri- 
 son, 44. Fort Delaware, 45. Siege of Fort 
 Meigs raised, 45. Grand Camp of Ohio Militia — 
 daily duties, 47. Sabbath services, 49. Commo- 
 dore Perry's fleet and victory, 50, 51. Orders for 
 homeward march, 52. 
 
 Appendix. — Muster Roll Captain Brush's Company, ^y 
 
^>