Butler County, Ohio - The whole text, 1882 (part 6 of 39)

'General St. Clair, aware of the public odium that rested upon him, asked of the President the appointment of a court of inquiry to investigate his conduct. This was not deemed expedient; but a committee of Congress was appointed, on motion of Mr. Giles, of Virginia, to consider the subject, who, after maturely deliberating upon the matter referred to them, reported ' that the causes of the failure of the expedition were the delay in the late passage of the act for that purpose; the delay caused by neglect in the quartermaster's department; the lateness of the season when the expedition was commenced ; and the want of discipline and experience in the troops.' The report concluded with a full and complete exoneration of General St. Clair 'from all blame in relation to every thing before and during the action.' In commenting upon his honorable acquittal of all blame by the committee of Congress appointed to inquire into the causes of the failure of the expedition, and of the concurrence therein by the Secretary of War, as given in a report to Congress, Judge Marshall, in his Life of Washington, remarks with his usual felicity of manner, 'that more satisfactory testimony in favor of St. Clair is furnished by the circumstance that he still retained the undiminished esteem and good opinion of President Washington.'

'"' Notwithstanding the foregoing facts, which were highly favorable to him, General St. Clair became very unpopular with the unthinking, inconsiderate masses, and continued to be a greatly maligned patriot. He had been defeated, and that was sufficient with the ignorant, the thoughtless, and with superficial thinkers and those of limited knowledge of the facts of the case, to bring down upon him, all over the country, 'one loud and merciless outcry of abuse, and even detestation.' The undoubted patriotism, unflinching courage, and eminent services to his country of General St. Clair were worse requited by his countrymen, and his reputation held further below his real merits by them, than was the case with any other of the many gallant chieftains who apeared upon the fiery theater of Western Indian warfare. If our Western history furnishes a parallel to it, it is presented in the case of Captain Michael Cresap, with whose reputation his countrymen have also dealt with exceeding harshness ; and I might place General William Hull in the same category."

General St. Clair held the office of territorial governor until 1802, the year after the transference of the capital from Cincinnati to Chillicothe, when he was removed by President Jefferson. The reason of his removal is stated by Judge Burnet to have been dissatisfaction caused by his seeming disposition to enlarge his own powers and restrict those of the territorial legislature, which was manifested in his veto of nineteen out of thirty bills passed at its first session. Judge Burnet, in his favor, adds: "'He not only believed that the power he claimed belonged legitimately to the executive, but was convinced that the manner in which he exercised it was imposed on him as a duty by the ordinance, and was calculated to advance the best interests of the Territory." While in the public service General St. Clair had neglected his private interests, and at the close of his official career he returned to Ligonier, in Pennsylvania, poor, aged, and infirm. The State of Pennsylvania granted him an annuity, however, a few years afterward, which comfortably supported him during the remainder of his life. He was a man of superior ability, fair scholarship, and of unquestionable patriotism and integrity. He is described as having been, while in public life, plain and simple in his dress and equipage, open and frank in his manners, and accessible to persons of every rank. His family consisted of one. son and three daughters. Arthur St. Clair, the son, was many years ago a prominent lawyer in Cincinnati, and was the first prosecuting attorney of Butler County. One of the daughters also lived here for many years. Robert Clarke & Co., of Cincinnati, are about to publish the papers of General St. Clair, which have been in possession of the State of Ohio for years, and justice will then be done to his memory. The volume will be edited by William Henry Smith, of Chicago, and will contain a copious biography.

Israel Ludlow

IsrAEL LupLow, an early surveyor of the Northwest Territory and the founder of the town of Hamilton, was born at Long Hill Farm, near Morristown, New J ersey, in 1765. His ancestors were English, and emigrated to

New Jersey from Shropshire, England, to escape persecution on the restoration of Charles the Second, the Ludlows having been actively identified with the cause of the parliament and prominent in the affairs of the commonwealth. The head of the family at that period, Sir ry , ~ : {

Edmund Ludlow, was one of the judges who passed sentence of death on Charles I, became lieutenant-general of Treland under Cromwell, and, banished after the restoration, died an exile in Vevay, Switzerland. Israel Ludlow was appointed, in 1787, by Thomas Hutchins, surveyorgeneral of the United States, who was '' assured" of his 'ability, diligence, and integrity," to survey for the government the boundary of the large tract of land purchased in this neighborhood by the New Jersey association, of which Judge John Cleves Symmes was principal director. He accepted the appointment, and received his instructions, with an order for a military escort to protect himself and assistants during their performance of the work. But the military posts on the western frontier had no soldiers to spare, and General Joseph Harmar, then in command of the forces in the Northwest Territory, advised Mr. Ludlow of the impossibility of giving his expedition an escort, at the same time warning him as to the danger of attempting the survey, without such protection, among the hostile tribes of the Ohio wilderness. But, being a man of great energy, Mr. Ludlow undertook the task, and, keeping up friendly intercourse with the Indians, they did not molest him or hinder his operations. In 1789 he became one-third partner, with Matthias Denman and Robert Patterson, in the proprietorship of the lands about Fort Washington, and is claimed to have given the present city of Cincinnati its name, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, composed of officers who had served in the Revolutionary war, of which his father, Cornelius Ludlow, was a member. He began, in the year just mentioned, the survey of the town - a plat of which he placed on record. There was a controversy about its correctness, one having been previously made and recorded by another person; but the community soon became satisfied that the plat prepared and certified by Mr. Ludlow was the correct one. Ludlow Station was established in 1790 near the north line of the original town, a block-house having first been built for protection, the Indians at that date being exceedingly hostile and dangerous. In the Summer of 1791 General Arthur St. Clair's army encamped at and about the above-named station, previous to its march into the Indian territory. It was not until 1792 that Mr. Ludlow, then known as Colonel Ludlow, completed his survey of the Miami Purchase; but, having done so, in May of that year he made a full report of the survey, together with a report of all the expenses incidental thereto, which was accepted by Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury. Colonel Ludlow was subsequently the founder and sole proprietor of Hamilton, having surveyed its town plat in 1794.

There had been considerable competition for the location of the county seat, and Colonel Ludlow made several stipulations, which were not entirely filled, however, at the time of his death.

ton. After General Wayne's treaty with the Indians at Greenville, in the same year, Colonel Ludlow was appointed to survey the boundary line between the United States and the Indian Territory. This was a work of great danger; but it was of the highest importance that the boundary should be established; and, as no military escort could be furnished, he undertook the task, and, with only three backwoodsmen as spies to give warning of danger, he accomplished it. Colonel Ludlow married Charlotte, daughter of General James Chambers, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1786. He left four children, - James C., Sarah B., Israel L., and Martha C. Ludlow.

Thomas Irwin

Tus name should be preserved as that of one of the earliest pioneers. Thomas Irwin was born in the county of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the year 1768. His father was in humble circumstances, and in 1782 set out for the western frontier of Pennsylvania. Land was held so cheaply there that any one could get it, and Mr. Irwin took up a tract near Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The boy aided his father, in clearing up the farm there purchased, and remained with him until he was twenty-one years of age, when he set out for the West.

In company with James Burns and another neighbor, he journeyed to Pittsburg, where a small flat-boat was bought, in which the party intended floating down the Ohio River. They set out on their voyage on the last week in March, 1789, and at Wheeling were joined by a family which had intended going on to Kentucky with them. Becoming frightened, however, they refused to proceed, and Mr. Irwin and his companions went on without them. They had reason for apprehension. The Indians were in the habit of shooting at the travelers, which they could do with impunity, as the boats offered a very distinct mark, and those who fired at them did so under the shelter of the trees and bushes on the shore.

Two of those who had started with Irwin left him at Limestone, and he and Burns proceeded on their voyage down the stream. Arrived at Columbia, they spent some time in examining the place, which had just then begun. There were a number of families living there, in a very exposed situation, scattered over a wide extent. Eight miles further down there was another small settlement, opposite the mouth of the Licking River, but offering no superior advantages. As they wished to see it, they took their guns and went overland, through bushes and thickets, till they reached a double shanty, occupied by seven men, most of whom had been employed. the. previous Winter in surveying Symmes's purchase. This was the first improvement made in Cincinnati, and these persons were the first settlers of Cincinnati. Joel Williams, an agent of the owners, was also there, and he encouraged

The first hewed log-house was erected by Robert Benham, and Irwin and all the men in the settlement helped to put it up. It was situated near Front and Main. The settlers at that time had to depend chiefly upon the hunters for their meat. Irwin went frequently on these excursions, and much improved his knowledge of hunting thereby. No Indians were visible at this time. Mr. Irwin, three months after arrival, accompanied one of the settlers, Mr. Kitchell, up stream, in a boat which had been built at the infant settlement, after a tedious time arriving at Wheeling, and then going to his father's house in Pennsylvania, where he remained until the following year. In the Summer of 1789 Major Doughty descended the Ohio River from Fort Harmar, at the mouth of the Muskingum, with one hundred and forty men, and began the construction of a fort at the settlement opposite the mouth of the Licking. This structure, known as Fort Washington, was one of the best forts of wood ever built in the West. Josiah Harmar, who had borne arms with credit as a colonel during the Revolutionary War, was commissioned as brigadier-general, and assigned to the command of the Western army, in 1789. He arrived at Fort Washington with three hundred men, on the twenty-

"ninth day of December in that year. The continuance of Indian hostilities and depredations on the infant settlements of the West determined the general government to make an effort to terminate the war by marching an army into the Indian country, and attacking the enemy on their own ground. A call for volunteers and a requisition or draft of militia from the States of Pennsylvania and Kentucky were made for the contemplated expedition, under the command of General Harmar, against the Indians. Major. James Paul, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, raised a battalion of volunteers, which was joined by Thomas Irwin. He belonged to the company under the command of Captain Faulkner, who had been an officer in the War of the Revolution. Mr. Irwin was elected ensign, and Mr. Hueston lieutenant. They descended the Ohio River in boats, in December, 1790, landing at Fort Washington on the 19th. The principal object of the expedition was to destroy the Indian villages at and near the confluence of the St. Joseph River and St. Mary's River, where they unite and form the Maumee, near where Fort Wayne was afterward built. Colonel Hardin took the advance, and marched to Turtle Creek, a short distance west of where the town of Lebanon now is, and there encamped, General Harmar following with the main body, four days later. His force consisted of three hundred and twenty soldiers of the regular army, forming two battalions, commanded respectively by Majors Wyllysand Doughty, and a company of artillery under the command of Captain Ferguson, with three brass pieces, and eight hundred and thirty-three volunteers and militia from Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

The army followed the trace made by General George Rogers Clark with his army in his expedition against the Indian towns in October, 1782, as far as the Piqua towns. The route pursued was through what is now the northeast part of Hamilton County, then by Lebanon, Xenia, and Mad River. The expedition was successful in one of its objects, that of burning the Indian town at the forks of the Maumee, and after this began sending out small parties to harass the Indians.

But a different fate awaited some of them. On the 18th of October a detachment of three hundred men was sent out with a view of seeing what discoveries they could make. Ensign Irwin was with this body, as was also Captain John Armstrong, afterward commandant at Fort Hamilton. They returned at sunset. The next morning the same troops were ordered out, and were placed under the command of Colonel Hardin. During the day they found numerous fresh tracks of Indians, who appeared to have been making a hasty retreat. Colonel Hardin was so eager for pursuit that he immediately started out with the principal portion of his troops, in such a hurry that he neglected to communicate his movements to Captain Faulkner, who was stationed at one side, and out of sight of the others.

The captain, however, discovered it soon, and followed. They had not gone far before they met Major Fontaine, who had returned to inform them of Colonel Hardin's movements. They were moved on at a quick pace, but in a short time met two of the mounted men, riding at full speed, having each a wounded man behind him. They called out '' Retreat! retreat! The main body in front is entirely defeated, and there are Indians enough to eat us all up." Captain Faulkner and his men, however, moved on until they gained an elevated piece of ground, when they discovered our troops in rapid retreat, the Indians in close pursuit, shouting and yelling like demons. The party to which Ensign Irwin belonged halted and formed a line on each side of the trace, and secreted themselves behind trees, intending to give the Indians a fire when they came up. The officers of the defeated party stopped when they reached where Captain Faulkner was, and remained in that position until all the retreating troops had passed by. When the Indians came up, the small party on either side of the trace gave them a fire, -which checked them for a moment, and thé detachment then slowly retreated, covering the fugitives. The latter continued coming into camp until twelve or one o'clock at night. It seemed that the Indians had set a trap for our troops, and we were caught in it.

After destroying every thing practicable, the army set out on its return march on the 21st of October. A few "i were left _ des! the proceedings of the Indians.

ney reported to Colonel Hardin the same night, and said that the Indians had returned to their camp, and were engaged in hunting for buried provisions. Colonel Hardin, inflamed with a desire to allow his troops to dis- tinguish themselves, and wipe off the stigma they had incurred a few days before, determined to attack the In- Ensign Irwin and seven men volunteered from Captain Faulkner's company. The troops were divided into two parties. Major Fontaine, who was in advance, stumbled upon a small number of men, who shot him as he sat upon his horse. This gave the alarm. The fight soon became general; the Indians fought with the greatest bravery and resolution, and stubbornly maintained their ground. At length, however, they yielded, and retreated. Our loss was great, but if the forces had been larger, it was the general opinion we-should have inflicted upon them a lasting chastisement. In this engagement there were killed, on the American side, one hundred and seventy-eight, and twenty-one were wounded. The number of Indians killed could never be ascertained, but Mr. Irwin was of opinion that their loss was very heavy.

An affecting incident occurred at the place of crossing the river. A young Indian, with his father and brother, was crossing the river, when a ball from the rifle of a white man passed through the body of the young Indian. The old man, seeing his boy fall, dropped his gun, and attempted to raise his son, in order to carry him beyond reach. At this moment his other son was also shot at his side. The old man drew them both to the shore, and then sat down between them, and with fearless composure awaited the approach of the pursuing foe, who soon came up, and killed him also.

Duncan McArthur, formerly governor of the State of Ohio, who was in this battle, relates the following circumstance, which tends to show the cool, undaunted courage of Mr. Irwin. While his company was covering the retreat of the troops, and slowly retiring before the fire of the enemy, the strap which held his powder-horm was cut from his shoulder by a ball. As soon as he missed it, he turned about, ran back several paces in the full face of a considerable body of the enemy, secured his powderhorn, and then again joined his companions in their retreat. He was soon again observed to halt and commence picking the flint of his gun. McArthur, who was close by him at the time, addressing him, said: '' Damn it, come along; the Indians are upon us." Irwin coolly replied: '"'I want to get one more shot before I leave them."

The army took up its line of march for Fort Washington the day after the battle, arriving on the third day of November. The Indians pursued them, in sight of the army, almost the whole distance, without, however, committing any serious depredations. As soon' as the army arrived at the fort, the militia were disbanded and dismissed, and General Harmar left soon afterward for Philadelphia, the seat of government. After the disbandment, Mr. Irwin remained in Cincinnati during the ensuing Winter and Summer.

surrounded the fort, and began firing at those within. Cox, afterward one of the first to take up lands in Union Township, happened to be out hunting in that neighborhood, and being satisfied in his own mind as to the cause, went to Cincinnati, and informed Governor St. Clair. A volunteer force of twenty-five or thirty men, of whom Irwin was one (being in Cincinnati at the time), turned out immediately. The same number of men were taken from the regulars, the whole being placed under the command of Captain Truman; and about twenty volunteered to go from Columbia the next morning. The Indians had, however, left before the troops reached the station. Two of the savages were found lying dead, as well as a white man, named Hunt, whom they had captured the day before.

About the 1st of September, 1791, Thomas Irwin joined St. Clair's army. He was engaged as one of the wagoners who had charge of the gun-carriages for transporting the cannon. The army moved from Ludlow's Station on the 17th of September, and marched, under the command of Colonel William Darke, to the Great Miami River, striking it about half a mile below where the court-house now is, in the city of Hamilton. There were two companies that had charge of the artillery wagons, Mr. Irwin belonging to one of these companies. They lay at this camp until the fort was built, or at least so far completed as to be in a Condition to receive a garrison.

We have sufficiently described the events of the campaign elsewhere, and shall only mention those matters which particularly concerned Mr. Irwin. At the disastrous defeat he was posted near the artillery, which was in the center of each wing, and against which the great weight of the attack was directed. The enemy, impelled to vigorous exertions by all the motives which operate on the savage mind, rushed up boldly, tomahawks in hand, to the very mouths of the cannon, and fought with the daring courage of men whose trade is war. The-artillerymen were driven from their posts with great slaughter, and two pieces were captured by the enemy. Shortly after, Colonel Darke charged the Indians with bayonets, and drove them out of their coverts with consternation. The artillery was retaken, and the Indians driven across the creek out of sight, when the colonel gave the order to march back. This they did through the mass of Indians, those they had driven back following and keeping up a deadly fire in their rear. When they arrived where the artillery and baggagewagons stood, they found them in the possession of the Indians, and surrounded by them in great numbers. By this time there were not more than thirty or forty of Colonel Darke's command left standing: the rest had been shot down, and were either killed or wounded. 'To avoid this fate for the remainder of the men, the little band charged again, and at the same time a charge was made on the other side by the battalions commanded by

Majors Butler and Clark. It was successful, and the artillery was again retaken. General St. Clair ordered up the whole train of artillery in order to sweep the bushes with grapeshot; but the horses and artillerymen were soon destroyed by the terrible fire of the enemy before any -effect could be produced. As fast as the artillerymen were shot down they were replaced by men from the infantry, but with no avail.

The men fell in-every portion of the camp. No more hotly contested action was ever fought. The ground was covered ,with the bodies of the dead and dying; the - freshly scalped heads were reeking with smoke, and in the heavy morning frost (as one who was present expressed himself) looked like so many pumpkins in a cornfield in December. The little ravine that led to the creek was literally running with blood. The men were evidently disheartened.

Under these circumstances, General St. Clair determined to save the lives of the survivors, if possible. The troops were massed, and by a charge regained the road from which they had previously been cut off. Thomas Irwin was near the front when the retreat began, but for some reason was delayed, and fell nearly in the rear. The savages were in full chase, and scarcely twenty yards behind him. He exerted himself to place a more respectable distance between himself and the pursuing foe, although it required considerable caution to avoid the bayonets of the guns which the men had thrown off in their retreat, with the sharp points toward the pursuers, great numbers of men haying thrown away their arms, running with all their might. The Indians pursued them about four miles.

The battle began half an hour before sunrise, and the retreat commenced about ten o'clock. They reached Fort Jefferson a little before dark.

In the month of December following, Mr. Irwin hay-' ing received his discharge, left Cincinnati, and returned to his father's residence in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The next April Mr. Irwin again descended the Ohio River to Cincinnati, and in January, 1793, was married in Cincinnati, by Justice William McMillan, to Miss Ann Larimore. He remained there a few years, when he removed to this county, buying land in the neighborhood of Blue Ball, Lemon Township, where he resided until the time of his death. As the country was entirely new, he had much work in clearing up the trees, and erecting the necessary buildings.

In the war of 1812 he served a tour of duty of six months as a major in the Ohio militia, under the command of General John 8. Gano. The regiment in which Major Irwin served was commanded by Colonel Henry Tumalt. After the expiration of his term of service he returned to his home, in March, 1814. This closed his active military career, but shortly after he was elected a colonel, and commanded a regiment of militia, which gave him the title of colonel, by which he was uniformly called.

In October, 1808, Mr. Irwin was elected a member of the State Senate of Ohio, to which he was successively reelected until his whole term of service was twelve years, or until the year 1820. In the Fall of 1824 he was chosen to the Lower House of the Legislature from Butler County, and served in that body one 'session. In 1823 he was eleeted a justice of the peace for Lemon Township, holding the position for nineteen years. He always discouraged strife, and invariably counseled a peaceful settlement of any matter brought before him.

Colonel Thomas Irwin died on Sunday evening, October 3, 1847, aged eighty-one years. On the succeeding Tuesday his remains were interred with military honors by the Monroe Guards, in the burying-ground of Mount Pleasant, a little north of Monroe. He died a consistent Christian, having been an elder in the Associate Reformed Church from 1805. He was a man of exemplary habits,

Samuel Dick

Our country owed much of its rapid development to those who came here from foreign lands to seek their fortunes. Among these, in proportion to its size, Ireland has been the most prolific. Fully one quarter of our population have some Irish blood in their veins. Among these hardy immigrants was Samuel Dick, a native of the

.county of Antrim, where he was born on the 21st of April, 1764. His parents, who were in a respectable position of life, died when he was quite young, and left him to the care of some relatives. In the Spring of the year 1783, being then nineteen years of age, he sailed from Belfast for America. Two of his brothers were settled in Baltimore, where they had been selling goods, but on his arrival they proposed to take him into partnership, and establish themselves in business in Gettysburg. He refused this offer, although they were well-to-do and he was poor, for he had resolved to carve out his own fortunes. He went, however, with his brothers to Gettysburg, with the intention of going to school that Winter; but only.a few days after his arrival he met some one who wished to have brandy distilled from apples. Mr. Dick was somewhat acquainted with the process, and offered his aid. It was accepted, and in this same employment he remained all Winter, being well compensated.

The next Spring the young man crossed the Alleghanies, and among other things he engaged to teach the son of Mr. George Gillespie the art of distilling. This necessarily brought him much about the house, and in frequent intercourse with the family, which resulted in an intimate and lasting friendship. Mr. Gillespie had a daughter, Martha, of comely figure and good disposition, whom Mr. Dick admired very much. One day her father treated her rather harshly, and in a fit of exasperation she said she would accept the first respectable man that offered. Mr. Dick was close by, and said to her, said in a joke was taken in earnest, and he married her in 1785. They lived in great harmony together until her death, at the homestead on Indian Creek, in 1833.

The place where he was residing at the time of his marriage was Washington County, Pennsylvania; but in 1790 he concluded to go farther West, taking his wife and two children with him. He purchased a lot in the new settlement of Cincinnati, on which he erected a house. He opened a grocery, and occasionally was_engaged in forwarding provisions and supplies for the troops at Fort Hamilton and other forts in the interior. He afterward kept a tavern in the house where he resided. He was one of those who went forth to the relief of Dunlap's Station, when it was attacked, and also saw Harmar, St. Clair, and Wayne each march out on their respective expeditions.

At an early period he became the purchaser of a section of land containing six hundred and forty acres, lying on the head-waters of what is now known as Dick's Creek, adjoining the Butler County line, in Warren County. The United States lands west of the Great Miami River were first brought into market in the year 1801. At the first sale Mr. Dick bought six hundred and forty acres in the rich bottom of Indian Creek, in the present town of Ross, where he removed the next year. On this land he spent the remainder of his days, bringing up his family in great respectability.

Mr. Dick was one of the grand jurors in July, 1803, at the first session of the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County. At the general election in October, 1803, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio that met at Chillicothe, on the first Monday of December in that year. He served in the Legislature during that session, but ever afterward refused to permit his name to be used for office.

He died at the house of his son-in-law, Judge Fergus Anderson, in Ross Township, on the 4th of August, 1846, aged eighty-two years; and was buried beside his wife, in the burying-ground at Bethel Chapel. He was a man of high moral principle, thorough and painstaking, prompt in his engagements, and full of sagacity. His business undertakings were successful, and he amassed a considerable fortune. During a great portion of his life he was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in his will bequeathed a legacy to the one in Venice, which he attended.

He left five sons and four daughters. George, who married Jane Anderson; David, who married Judith Bigham; Samuel; James; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Wilson; Jane, who married John Wilson; Mary, who married Fergus Anderson; Martha, who married James Bigham; and Susan, who married Thomas J. Shields.

James Shields The War Of 1812

born in the year 1763. He received the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages'at a classical school in his native land, and completed his education at the University of Glasgow. He had a quick and retentive memory, a sound, discriminating judgment, and a heart formed for friendship and benevolence. Possessing a mind so capable of receiving and retaining instruction, and enjoying the advantage of well-qualified tutors, it need not be wondered at that he laid a deep and solid foundation for future improvement. He had an extensive acquaintance with every branch of useful knowledge. With natural, civil, and ecclesiastical history, and with law, physic, and divinity, he obtained a very general acquaintance. Few men possessing knowledge so various and extensive made so little display of their attainments or so reluctantly acknowledged the extent of their acquisitions.

Having early imbibed an ardent love of liberty, with an unconquerable aversion to priestly and royal domination, he resolved to leave the land of his birth, and to cast in his lot with the sons of freedom in the United States. He landed in this country in 1791. He spent a short time in the State of Pennsylvania, after which he removed to Virginia. In this State he spent thirteen years in cultivating his own mind, and in the useful and honorable employment of instructing youth. In 1804 he married Miss Jane Wright, daughter of Mr. James Wright, of Berkeley County, Virginia. In 1805 he removed to Morgan Township, in this county, where he had previously purchased land. - He began farming in the midst of a dense forest, surrounded by few settlers, and these entire strangers. It must be confessed that from the natural disposition and former habits of Mr. Shields, he was little qualified for this course of life. But while he was reasonably successful in his undertaking, he ' speedily rose to a commanding influence among his fellowcitizens, that must have recompensed him for the failure to reap great pecuniary success. His immediate neighbors soon discovered that they were blessed with a friend of superior acquirements, and they uniformly looked up to him for counsel, but never in vain.

He was successful in political life. He never took a step, wrote a line, or dropped an expression to obtain preferment, yet the public demonstrated their conviction of his superior worth by sending him to the State Legislature for a period of nineteen years. He was chosen a presidential elector, and for the last two years of his life was a member of Congress. Each and all of the duties incumbent upon these stations were discharged with the utmost punctuality and regularity, and although, when Congress assembled for its second term, the disease had begun which finally carried him off, he would not allow himself to be absent from any session. His duty was to be there, and he was there.

Mr. Shields was a man of the highest moral character. During his long residence in Morgan Township all with whom he had any intercourse knew that he would never

He was In pecunapproach a dishonorable cases, his bond, and his which he had witnessed was never disputed. uniformly abstemious in eating and drinking. iary transactions he would rather suffer loss than contend with a neighbor. His conduct was uniform. He was never seen at any convivial party, without a special call on important business; and wherever he was, in his family, on his farm, in a party of friends, or in public company, his conduct strictly conformed to the rules of moral | rectitude.

He was an enlightened and firm believer in revealed religion. Few men have studied the subject more diligently. He had read, not only those brief and ephemeral attacks on Christianity which are at all times to be found, but also those more learned and elaborate works of Herbert, Hobbes, Bolingbroke, Hume, Gibbon, Voltaire, Volney, and Rousseau. He was a man who made up his opinion on evidence, and consequently read the answers to infidel publications written by Leland, Halyburton, Les-

He was warmly attached to the Bible Society, Sabbathschools, missionary societies, the American Colonization Society, and every other institution which had for its object the illumination, liberty, and happiness of men. To establish a Sunday-school in his immediate neighborhood he exerted all his influence; and while he refused the superintendence of the school he most cheerfully became a teacher, and the diligent, profitable, and agreeable manner in which he taught was not soon forgotten by those who had the privilege of being his scholars. He was never absent, never late in attendance. He attended public worship regularly.

James Shields died on the 13th of August, 1851, after a lingering sickness. He had returned home from Washington, with extreme difficulty, and from the day of his arrival was generally confined in bed. He did not lose his cheerfulness, although his sufferings were great. He left an affectionate wife and twelve children to lament their loss.

The War Of 1812

THe second war with Great Britain was a very important one to us. Without saying, as do some historians, that England had never given. up her hopes of forcing us to come back until after 1815, it is clear that there were many questions upon which, if successful, she could have ordered matters to suit herself. Her fleets could have filled the Northern lakes; Oregon would have been hers, as well as a strip of more than one hundred miles wide running out to the Rocky Mountains;

Maine would have lost her northern frontier, and the Indians would have threatened us for the next quarter of a century. Here, in Butler County, a success to Great Britain meant an army marching down to Cincinnati, and devastation by the Indians all through the western part of Ohio. Happily, we were victorious.

The declaration of war was immediately followed by the raising of troops in Cincinnati, Dayton, Franklin, Middletown, and Hamilton. There were.at least eight companies from this county, or chiefly from this county, but it is impossible to give a list of them. Their musterrolls are decaying in some garret, or have before this been used as kindling. The customary term of enlistment was for six months, and several of the later companies embraced men. who had been out before. The disastrous experience of the American army at the beginning of the Revolutionary War had not taught our authorities its rightful lesson, and we had again, at the opening of the Rebellion, to be shown that troops enlisted for short periods are of very little value. When some slight experience is gained, their term is up, and it is time to go home again.

The best known of those who went out from this county was Joel Collins, who had been a soldier in the Indian wars, and was then settled in the township of Oxford.

In organizing the militia of the county, previous to the commencement of hostilities with England, two rifle companies were ordered to be made up by voluntary enrollment, one out of the militia residing on the east, the other out of the militia residing on the west side of the Miami River. Collins himself enrolled as a private soldier under Captain William Robeson, who had been elected to command the company on the west side of the river. Captain Robeson was, however, shortly after promoted to a brigade-major, and the company then chose his lieutenant, John Taylor, to be their commander. He died in 1811, and Joel Collins was elected his successor. His commission bore date the 16th of May, 1812, giving him the rank of captain of a rifle regiment; he was attached to the first battalion, second regiment, third brigade, and first division of Ohio militia. In the Spring of the year 1812, General James Findlay, who had command of the third brigade, in preparing to join Hull's army, sent an order for the two rifle companies in Butler County to parade in the town of Hamilton on a given day, and the company which should have the largest number of volunteers on the ground would have the honor of being taken into the service and attached to Findlay's regiment. General Findlay acted in the capacity of a colonel in the expedition, under General Hull. Unfortunately for Captain Collins, as he thought at the time, many of his men were prevented from appearing, being unable to cross the streams of water, that day flooded by the torrents of rain which had fallen the night previous, and Captain John Robinson, who resided on Dick's Creek, Lemon Township, who commanded the other rifle company, received the appointment. Thus a kind providence (though much against his own will) permitted Captain Collins and his men to escape the disaster by which the first army of the North was overtaken. They, however, held themselves - in readiness for the next call. It was determined, in the course of the Summer, to furnish the army on the northern frontier with an additional number of troops from Ohio. The counties of Hamilton, Clermont, Warren, and Butler were to make up one battalion, the counties farther north to make up another, the two to compose one regiment. Early in August he received orders to march with his company to the town of Lebanon, in the county - of Warren, the place appointed for the rendezvous of the troops from the counties first named. Accordingly he gave notice to the men composing the rifle company to parade in Hamilton on the tenth day of August, 1812, and a company ninety-two strong, including officers, was on the ground that day, a muster-roll of which was then made out, and was in his possession for many years. follows: 3

"Fort Hamivton, August 17, 1812. "Srr: - Captain Collins has agreed to meet the detachment at Lebanon, as you wished. I promised to them payment of his company about ten o'clock. He has really one of the finest companies I ever saw; somewhere about one hundred strong. They are as fine, cheerful a set of fellows as can be well placed in exercise. Whatever is offered to them, they are ready and willing to march when and where they are wanted. I expect to be in Cincinnati to-morrow. They have some tents, and are preparing more. They expect orders from you for marching. I am, sir, respectfully, 'Your obedient servant, ''GrORGE P. ToRRENCE." under Captain Joseph Jenkinson, and a company of light infantry, under Captain Matthias Corwin. The commissioned officers met in the evening, and elected Captain Joseph Jenkinson major. The command of his company devolved on Lieutenant Gibson. Thus organized, they next day took up their line of march for Urbana, making quite a formidable appearance. But before reaching the town of Dayton, they received the news that Hull and the whole of his army were made prisoners by the enemy, and that the British, with their Indian allies, were rapidly advancing upon the frontier settlement of the State.

At Urbana they were joined by the second battalion, under the command of Major James Galloway, of Xenia. The commissioned officers of these battalions elected David Sutton, of Warren County, to command the regiment. Colonel Sutton had raised a company, and gone out with the first army as a captain, had been sent into the interior by General Hull, for the purpose of transacting some business connected with the army, and was with Jenkinkinson's battalion on his return, when they received the intelligence of Hull's surrender.

General Hu!], who was an old and esteemed officer of the Revolutionary army, was in command of the forces on our frontier. Being without proper support, and without provisions, he surrendered his troops to the British, on the 16th of August, 1812. A storm was immediately raised about his head, he was court-martialed, and his countrymen mentioned his name, for years, with only less detestation than that of Benedict Arnold. So strong was the feeling of patriotism which pervaded the country at that time, that it appeared as if every able-bodied man, whether old or young, who, could possibly raise a horse and gun, was on the move for the frontier, and-in a few days a large and promiscuous multitude were collected in and about Urbana. But they were without leaders, and knew not what to do. At length Governor Meigs and General Tupper, with other leading characters, appeared on the ground, with the agreeable news that General

Harrison was coming on to take command. Harrison was then governor of Indiana Territory, and had been invited to Frankfort, Kentucky, by Charles Scott, governor of Kentucky, to consult on the subject of defending the northwestern frontier. Governor Scott, on the 25th of August, 1812, appointed William Henry Harrison majorgeneral of the Kentucky militia, which appointment he accepted. This measure, although complained of by some at the time, appears to have answered a good purpose. The supposed defection of General Hull had implanted a spirit of suspicion and distrust in the minds of both officers and men, and some of them were not slow to express themselves unwilling to enter the-service under the command of any but a man of acknowledged patriotism, and who possessed at least some experience in the art of war. The year before he had gained a brilliant victory over the Indians at the battle of Tippecanoe. The appointment of General Harrison, therefore, seemed to be a measure called for by the public feeling at the time. On the seventeenth day of September following the President of the United States appointed General Harrison commander-in-chief of all the troops in the Northwestern Territory. ;

Governor Meigs gave orders for the troops to spread out for the protection of the frontier. It was deemed proper, in making arrangements, to divide Colonel Sutton's regiment; and Major Jenkinson, with his battalion, was ordered to file to the left, by way of Troy and Piqua, in the direction of Fort Wayne, while the colonel, with Galloway's battalion, joined the troops destined to form the center line, and took up his line of march in the direction of Fort McArthur. Soon after Jenkinson's arrival at Piqua, General Harrison, with two or three regiments from Kentucky, appeared on the left wing, and assumed the command.

Major Jenkinson called a meeting of his captains, soon after, and informed them that he had orders to send one company as an escort of a train of wagons on their way to Fort Wayne; one company to act as road-cutters, to open a wagon-way along Wayne's old trace from Fort Loramies to St. Mary's; and another company to relieve a company of militia from Ohio, stationed at Loramies; the remainder of the battalion to remain at Piqua for further orders. Major Jenkinson permitted the captains to decide the matter by lot, as to what company should be assigned to each particular duty. Tickets were accordingly prepared, and placed in a hat. On drawing them out, it fell to the lot of Captain Collins and his company to open the road. They performed that duty in about eight days, and were directed to remain in their last encampment. One night, about ten o'clock, while they were lying at that place, Lieutenant Nathaniel McClain came to them, as. an express, to inform them that Captain Corwin's company, which was acting as an escort to twenty wagons loaded with valuable supplies for the army, was encamped about three miles in their rear; that there was good reason to apprehend that a party of Indians intended to make an attack on the escort before morning; and that Captain Corwin wished Captain Collins to re-enforce him with as many men as he could spare. Captain Collins soon had _ his company on parade, and was obliged to make a detail of men to remain and keep their own camp, for every man wanted to go to the relief of his comrades. Captain Collins, with more than half his company, moved off in quick time. Lieutenant McClain led the way, he being mounted on a horse furnished him by the wagoners. When Captain Collins arrived at the camp, Captain Corwin was himself going the rounds, relieving his guards, at that part of the line of sentinels which they first reached. He informed Captain Collins that a considerable number of the Wabash Indians (who pretended friendship for the whites) had visited the setthkements in the neighborhood of Piqua, with the expectation that the inhabitants would afford them maintenance through the Winter. But our army needed alk the spare provisions, and the people, after these Indians had been among them a few weeks, became tired of them, arid insisted on their returning to their own homes. They had left in rather an angry mood, two or three days before the departure of the wagons for Fort Wayne. It was also reported to him, by some of his men, that Indians had been seen in the dusk of the evening near his encampment, apparently in the act of spying out his position. Besides, it seemed reasonable to suppose that the contents of the wagons afforded a strong temptation to a band of starving sayages, who, they had every reason to believe, were within striking distance, and who knew that they were loaded with the provisions they somuch needed. He had thrown out a guard sufficiently strong to form a close chain of sentinels entirely around his encampment, at least one hundred and fifty paces in advance of the wagons. It was decided that out of the re-enforcements now arrived, a second chain of sentinels should be made fifty paces in advance of the first line. Accordingly, Captain Collins proceeded to place at that distance one of his men opposite to each space between the sentinels of the first chain. While in the performance of that duty, Collins heard the snap of a musket, nearly in the direction he was going.

66 107 ; Call the sergeant to go round and let the guards know of this arrangement." Here was an error committed for want of thought. A notice of the plan adopted should have been given to the sentinels before its execution commenced. Mr. Collins, however, said he could not well censure Captain Corwin for not performi ' i performing that duty or making the suggestion, as he claimed to outrank him because of his age and experience, though it was a military blunder that had nearly cost him his life.

The encampment was not disturbed by the Indians during the night, but in the opinion of those experienced in Indian warfare, it was believed that the care and vigilance of the escort in guarding against a surprise prevented them from making the attempt. It will be recollected that these same Indians shortly afterward became so hostile and took such a decided part against the whites that a regiment of six hundred men, composed of a few regulars, a volunteer company from Pennsylvania, and some militia from Kentucky and Ohio, were sent out under the command of Colonel Campbell of the regular army, to drive them from their towns and destroy their habitations. But before the colonel could finish, the Indians collected in great numbers, and gave him battle. Colonel Campbell and his men, however, being on their guard and well prepared, succeeded in repulsing the enemy, with the loss, on his part, of some fifty men in killed and wounded.

There are many well known instances where the Indians have abandoned a meditated attack because they could not find the white people off their guard, and therefore could not take them by surprise. Now, if Colonel Campbell of the standing army has justly received the applause of his countrymen for saving himself with the loss of fifty men killed and wounded, there can be no impropriety in thinking well of a young militia captain who, by his own care and the vigilance of his men, saved all without losing any thing. .

The hostile Indians on the Wabash and Hlinois having thrown themselves under the protection of the British, General Winchester left a small garrison for the protection of Fort Wayne, and moved with his army down the Maumee. In the mean time, General Harrison had received his commission of major-general in the regular army of the United States. He had ordered Colonel William Jennings to join General Winchester at old Fort Defiance, at the mouth of the Auglaize River, with a large drove of beef cattle and other army supplies. Colonel Jennings was advised of the probable time at which General Winchester would arrive at Defiance, and was ordered not to advance nearer than ten or fifteen miles without having certain intelligence that the army had arrived there. Our spies, however, discovered that old Fort Defiance, at which they were to form this junction, was occupied by the British and Indians, at least three days after the time set for General Winchester's arrival there. This intelligence was immediately communicated by express to the commanding general at St. Mary's, who ordered that the troops at that place should forthwith be supplied with three days' rations, and an additional supply of gun-flints and ammunition; and by three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, Colonels Poage's and Barbee's regiments of Kentucky volunteers, Colonel Sim- rall's regiment of dragoons, Garrard's troop of horse (also from Kentucky), and Captain Collins's company of riflemen, from Butler County, Ohio, amounting in all to upward of two thousand men, were put in motion on a forced march, to ascertain what had become of General Winchester ; the light horse in front, Captain Collins's company of riflemen forming the rear-guard. The troops marched on at a quick step in this order until it became dark, when a halt was called. General Harrison, in riding round to form the hollow square, ordered Captain Collins to fill up with his company thé space in the rear line, between the two Kentucky regiments of infantry, chard all day. But they pushed on, without making a single halt, until four o'clock in the afternoon, when they arrived at Jennings' encampment, at the mouth of the Little Auglaize. . The men, being burdened with heavy packs and drenched in the rain, had a most fatiguing and disagreeable day's travel. Toward evening it was observed that numbers of the Kentuckians were lying by the way-side, entirely exhausted and unable to proceed. Many of them were young gentlemen who had been delicately raised, and were unaccustomed to hardships of this kind. Captain Collins, and Ensign John Hall of his company (being originally from Kentucky), were rather disposed to sympathize with them; Lieutenant Ephraim Gard, of the company, when he came to where any number of them had given out, would sing out at the t&p of his voice, '' Hook up, my rugged sons of Ohio, these-brave Kentuckians will soon be able to relieve the rear guard." As further provocation, some of the riflemen would spring up and strike their heels together, as they passed. General Harrison was informed by an express, which met him at Fort Jennings, that the enemy had retreated, and that General Winchester, with his army, now occupied the ground at Fort Defiance. He thereupon gave orders that the regiments of Colonels Barbee and Poage, and Captain Collins's company of riflemen, should remain at Fort Jennings until further orders, and he continued his march for Defiance. On the next morning, Colonel Jennings (with whom Captain Collins had been acquainted in Kentucky, and to whom he had reported himself on the previous evening) came to where Captain Collins's company were encamped, and inquired for some men called mounted rangers (a small company of whom had been for some time in the employ of the army as spies), stating that General Harrison had - informed him that some of those men were in the rear, and would be up that night; and left orders that one or two of them should be sent with two friendly Indians to ascertain whether the enemy in retreating had not taken the direction of Fort Wayne. Captain Collins was unable to give him any account of the men inquired for.

Colonel Jennings appeared to be much disappointed, and expressed his fears that the general would not receive the needful information in time. Captain Collins told him that rather than that should be the case, if the general had left no orders for the disposition of his company, he would, if furnished with a good horse, go with the Indians, make the examination, and report to the general that night. This offer was readily accepted.

A horse and saddle were soon provided for Captain Collins. As soon as he was mounted Colonel Jennings brought to him the two Indians and James Conner, an interpreter. The Indian guides were young men, said to be brothers, belonging to a tribe residing on the Auglaize River. They were directed to pilot Captain Collins to a point on the Maumee River, six miles above old Fort Defiance. One of the guides, through the interpreter, requested Captain Collins to remove a handkerchief which he had tied on his head, and by all means to keep his hat on; for there was danger of their being taken as belonging to the enemy and fired on by the Kentuckians. Captain Collins took the hint, and complied with the request. The Colonel ordered. him to satisfy himself by . a careful examination whether the enemy had or had not evaded the army of General Winchester, and were still on their march for Fort Wayne. They then started on their journey, and after they were clear of the encampment the elder of the two guides gave Captain Collins to understand that, while they would be careful to keep the proper course, the other man and Collins were to keep a good lookout in every direction, intimating that there was danger of their falling in with the enemy. By pushing their horses as fast as they were able to go, they arrived at Maumee River, above Defiance, a short time before night, and by the time they had made an examination sufficient to satisfy themselves that the enemy had not taken that direction, it commenced getting dark. Captain Collins being much fatigued, and observing that the horses needed rest and time to feed, proposed that they should encamp for the night; but the guides insisted that they could find the main army that night, and by signs gave him to understand that it was not more than four miles distant. Accordingly, they hurried on, > and about nine o'clock came in hearing of horse-bells, upon which the guides halted ; and when Captain Collins came up, one of them, placing his mouth close to Collins's ear, said, in a low voice: ground which brought them in full view of the fires of the encampment, which extended down the river as far as they could see. When they came to where they supposed they were near the chain of sentinels, the Indians commenced hurrying their horses by a peculiar kind of language, mixed with coughing and whistling, sufficiently loud to apprise the guards of their approach. In a short time they were hailed by a sentinel, not more than twenty paces in advance of them.

In the same manner they hailed at the guard-fire, and were permitted to pass into the encampment. This want of vigilance grew out of the necessity there was for permitting the horsemen to pass out and return through the chain of sentinels, for the purpose of procuring grass for their horses. At length they came to where they heard quite an animated and apparently warm conversation, which seemed to be going on in a marquee near the center of the encampment. Among the voices engaged Captain Collins readily recognized that of the commanding general; upon which he dismounted, leaving his horse in the care of the guides.

On General Harrison coming out, Captain Collins made himself and his business known to him. General Harrison expressed some surprise at seeing him there, and inquired what he had done with his company. To which Captain Collins gave an explanation, and was about to report the discoveries made by him as a spy, when General Harrison interrupted him by saying that the enemy had left the neighborhood and retreated down the river some five or six days before. At the request of General Harrison, Captain Collins went with him to his marquee.

The next morning Captain Collins was ordered by General Harrison to retrace his steps to Fort Jennings, take command of his company, and return to St. Mary's, where they went into Winter quarters and remained until their term of service expired, in March, 1818, when they were discharged and returned -to their homes. While Captain Collins and his company remained at St. Mary's, some of the officers in command of the Kentucky troops, who were continually passing and repassing, stated to a part of his company, who were on detached duty, that they knew Captain Collins from a boy, and that if ever he came in contact with the enemy they would find him to be ''a fighting man."

Some of the Kentuckians at times felt themselves at liberty to charge the Ohioans with cowardice in not rushing to the relief of Fort Wayne when it was besieged by the enemy. This produced a high feeling, and often oceasioned words. But as it was known that Captain Collins was on the line, and had the command of a rifle company from Ohio, there were a few old officers among the Kentuckians who were not slow to make an exception in his favor. Every member of the rifle company from Butler County, at the expiration of their term of service, the fortune to be ordered into battle ; consequently, they returned unincumbered with those laurels and high honors which some imagine can only be obtained on the battle-field. Still it is justly claimed for them that they transport supplies down the St. Mary's River, and pushing on provisions and other needful supplies for the use of the army. They did their duty by promptly performing any service that was required of them by those in command. :

Immediately affter Mr. Collins returned home, in 1813, he received the appointment of captain in the standing army of the United States, and was ordered to proceed to Cincinnati and enlist men for the service. He soon had twenty-three men enlisted, when he was ordered to rendezvous at Franklinton. Lieutenant Alexander Delorac early in the month of Octoher, dnd proceeded to Franklinton, where they remained about a month, when they were ordered to Sandusky, and from thence to Detroit, where he was stationed for some time. On the 4th of March, 1814, he was appointed to the command of the force at Sandwich, in Canada, and proceeded to build the fort at that place. He was also, for a short time, commander of Fort Malden, in Canada. He was afterward ordered back to Detroit, where he took command of the place, and continued in the service until the close of the war in 1815, when he retired from the army with credit and honor to himself. He then returned to his farm in Oxford Township. During the time Captain Collins was in the army he disbursed considerable sums of money on account of the government, and when he retired from the service his accounts were promptly closed, and a small balance found due to him from the government by the accounting officers.

"Brigadier John Wingate, with his brigade major, William Robeson, served a tour of six months' duty in the army of the northwestern frontier. Colonel James Mills, with his regiment, assisted in defending Fort Meigs during both the times it was besieged by the enemy. Captain John Hamilton was wounded and Lieutenant Harper was killed in Dudley's defeat at the river Raisin.

1814. He had with him at least two companies from Butler County. I regret being unable to recollect the names of his captains and other officers. I saw passing through Detroit, in the Summer of 1814, a company of mounted riflemen from Butler County, under the command of Captain Zachary P. Dewitt, of Oxford Township. They had volunteered to accompany General McArthur, who that Summer made an incursion into the enemy's country with about five hundred mounted volunteers. They met and dispersed some of the advanced parties of the enemy engaged in collecting supplies near the center

"In making up the officers of the Twenty-aixth Regiment of United States Infantry, four lieutenants were selected from Butler County, to wit: Robert Anderson, Alexander Delorac, John Hall, and Anderson Spencer. Lieutenant Anderson was early sent on with the first reeruits. He volunteered at Lower Sandusky, and served with distinction as an officer of marines in the naval force on Lake Erie.. Lieutenant Delorac marched with me to Fort Malden in Upper Canada, and did faithful service in that region. He was my messmate, and a most agreeable companion. I understood that the other gentlemen were ordered to the Niagara frontier, and remained in the service during the war." miles north of Hamilton. The colonel of the regiment was James Mills. The lieutenant of Robinson's company, which was in the First. Regiment, Third Brigade, and First Division of Ohio militia, was William Shafor, who survived the war for sixty-five years, at the time of his death being the oldest man in Butler County. He preserved his muster-rolls, commission, and order-book, and kept a diary for most of the time. It seems to be unfinished. Each of the soldiers received an advance of ten dollars, the ensign of twenty, the lieutenant of thirty, and the captain of forty dollars.

"February 6, 1813, rendezvoused at Fort Hamilton. Engaged in the United States service for the term of six months in a company of Ohio militia commanded by Captain John Hamilton, First Regiment, Third Detachment, and started the 17th instant for St. Mary's, arriving there the 27th. We were then ordered to Fort Logan.

'*Qn the 3d they began early, and kept it up all day very warmly, and killed and wounded more than any day before. A memorandum of the balls and bombs shot by the British on the 3d is said to be five hundred in the day and thirty-three in the night, besides the Indians shooting all the time all around us, and yelling like wolves night and day.

''May 4th, it began to rain before day, and continued till about eight o'clock, during which time the firing ceased. When the rain stopped, the firing began, and was kept up all day. Not much damage was done. Some were wounded, but it is not known to me how many.

''May 5th, a severe engagement took place on both sides of the river. Clonal Dudley's regiment from Kentucky landed on the north side of the river, and advanced down to the British batteries, driving them away and spiking their cannon, but was by a superior force obliged to retreat. They suffered greatly. Out of the whole regiment there were only one hundred and fifty or sixty who came in. 'The number of prisoners is not yet ascertained. :

''On the 6th there was a cessation of arms. Harrison sent a flag of truce to get liberty to bury the dead. The British refused to give the privilege unless General Harrison would give up the forts

'On the 7th they came over with a flag, and brought a list of names and number of prisoners, which was three hundred and fifty. The number of British prisoners was forty-two. They were sent home on parole for thirty days.

'On the 10th myself and a part of the company volunteered to go out to assist in hunting the dead and burying them on the south side of the river. The number I do not know.

''On the 11th myself and a part of the company volunteered, with a number of Ohio and Kentucky troops, to cross the river to gather the dead. The number found was about forty-seven.

" July 2d, a party of men left Camp Meigs to go to Defiance, but were attacked by a party of Indians. Two the rest were all missing, except one, He said they were all killed

"July 19th, Captain Patrick Shaw and his company of Ohio militia of the First Regiment, Third Detachment, marched from Camp Meigs to Portage, there to remain until further orders.

"On the morning of the 25th the Indians attacked the wood-guard, which was sent out at reveille, and killed five or six, and then continued firing on the garrison all day, doing no damage.

"The 23d, there were one hundred regulars, one hundred and twenty Ohio militia, and some spies sent out to search the woods for batteries, but found none. There appears to be a great stir among the enemy; but what their intentions are we can't tell.

"On the 26th the enemy began firing about four hundred yards from the garrison, and kept it up twenty minutes or more, which alarmed the garrison very much. Thinking that General Harrison was coming with a reenforcement .and was attacked, officers and men were very anxious to go to their assistance. General Clay assured us that it was a sham to get men out; there were no re-enforcements so soon.

Several of the soldiers died on the march or in encounter with the foe. Among them were James Harper, May 5, 1813; Samuel Colby, May 21st; Samuel Cotley, May 21st; John Byram, May 27th; Robert Van Vickle, July 2d; Abraham Huffman, July 15th; John Cain, corporal, July 17th. Others deserted. Among these were James Carlisle and John Morton. The property of these men was sold and the proceeds turned over to the relatives, who gave Mr. Shafor receipts. of the prices that the articles brought:

Mr. Shafor records in his book the orders received, and other official papers. On the 17th of June J. H. Hawkins, acting adjutant, issued an order to the troops by authority of General Green Clay. Colonel Miller was thanked for the ability and thoroughness with which he had discharged his duties.

day at least four hours by companies in the manual exercise, marking time, facings, wheelings, ete. From opening of the gates until seven o'clock of the morning, bathing and swimming would be allowed, and after this '+ would not be permitted. Swimming to the opposite shore was positively forbidden. At four o'clock every morning four men from each company were to be permitted to pass the sentinels, accompanied by a commissioned officer, to gather fruit and salad, the men to go out and return by twelve o'clock. One gill of whisky would be issued daily to each man returned fit for duty. Those returned on the sick list would be furnished at such time and in such proportions as the surgeons might deem proper, for which whisky would be lodged with the hospital stores. The officers were earnestly recommended in every case to pay the strictest attention to the cleanliness of their men. Saturday the men were to be permitted to wash their clothes.

'<The President has been pleased that I should communicate to you, and through you to the troops composing the garrison of Fort Meigs, his thanks for the valor and patriotism they displayed in the defense of that post, and particularly to the different corps employed in the ' sorties made on the 5th instant (May)."

The general adds that he is persuaded the gallant troops which served at Fort Meigs will duly appreciate the approbation of the chief magistrate of their country, and that it will prove a stimulus to future exertions.

'The general announces to the troops under his command the return of the day which eave liberty and independence to the United States of America, and orders that a national salute be fired under the superintendence of Captains Gratiot and Cushing. All the troops reported fit for duty shall receive an extra gill of whisky, and those in confinement and those under sentence, attached to this corps, be forthwith released, and ordered to join their respective corps. The general is induced to use this lenity alone from the consideration of this evermemorable day, and flatters himself that in future the soldiers under his command will better appreciate their liberty by a steady adherence to their duty and prompt compliance to the orders of their officers, by which alone they are worthy to enjoy the blessing of that liberty and independence, the only real legacy left us by our fathers.

It is one of the most difficult things in war to keep up the standafd of health. Officers, as well as men, neglect an attention to details which is necessary for that purpose. This difficulty was met at Fort Meigs. General

The War

'Will the officers never learn that attention to the health and comfort of the men is, perhaps, the most important and most honorable of their duties, and that the neglect of this is certain to bring along with it contagion and disease infinitely more destructive than the sword of. the enemy? The general assures the officers that future neglects of this kind will not be passed ever. The lives of the soldiers are too precious to be trifled with. The commandants of corps are directed to make an extra separate weekly report to the general, personally, of the state of their commands as regards police, 'particularly noting those officers who are attentive to and-who neglect this sacred duty. The former will be applauded, whilst the latter will be taken from his commands and made to exchange situations with such of the recruiting officers as are now longing for an opportunity to distinguish themselves."

A reward of eight gills of whisky was shortly after given to the best shot, and four gills to the next best. This was to encourage marksmanship.

Muster-Roll

Of a Company of Infantry Militia under command of Captain John Hamilton, of the Third Detachment of Militia from the State of Ohio, now in the service of the United States, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel James Mills, from the sixth day of February, 1813, when first mustered to continue im service, until the sixth day of August, 1813.

A number of the men did not go out, but appointed substitutes. They are as follows: Benjamin Berry, substitute for L. Hull. Christopher Kiger, substitute for Joseph Blosom. Thomas Gregory, substitute for Jacob Rush. Enoch Galloway, substitute for A. Squier. William Price, substitute for John Brinley. John Wells, substitute for Shobal Vail. James Wynn, substitute for B. Blew. John Martin, substitute for Jeremiah Johnson. David Vinnedge, substitute for John Bridgeford. John Immick, substitute for Dayid Donan. Jacob Miller, substitute for G. Stonebreaker. Warner Windsor, substitute for G. Iseminger, Jr. Thomas W. Spencer, substitute for William Martin. John McCain, substitute for B. Goble. James Dickey, substitute for L. Leffer. Samuel Bowles, substitute for William Riddle. Samuel Chambers, substitute for J. C. Newhouse. Mark Briney, substitute for D. Conger. Alexander Fleming, substitute for N. Curtis. Samuel Fleming, substitute for P. Muchner. Robert McCain, substitute for S. Robbins.

The next muster-roll, formerly in possession of Lieutenant Shafor, is dated May 31st. Upon it appear the names of James Carlisle, Winthrop Emerson, Thomas Spencer, Benjamin Stone, John Wells, and Warner Wynn. Eli Davis was fourth sergeant, Nicholas Bailey first corporal, John Cain third corporal, and John Porter fourth corporal. Christopher Kiger was left sick at Amanda; John Martin had deserted at Hamilton, Feb- ° ruary 17th; Robert Jordan was appointed brigade quartermaster at St. Mary's, April 7th; James Heaton was appointed brigade quartermaster at St. Mary's, April 7th; Samuel Bayles was appointed adjutant, February 11th ; Benjamin Stone was appointed sergeant-major, February 16th; John Wells was appointed quartermaster's sergeant, February 16th; John Bailey deserted from Fort Logan, April 8th; and James Carlisle died, May 21st, at Camp At the time of making out the roll four non-commissioned officers and nineteen privates were present fit for duty; the lieutenant, four non-commissioned officers, and seventeen privates were sick, present ; two privates were sick, absent; eight were on detached duty and on extra service ; four men had been promoted; the captain was a prisoner ; the ensign was missing; two had deserted, and two were dead. This made a total of fifty-three, against eighty-one on their original roll. It afterwards appeared that Ensign Harper, who was reported missing, was dead.

The charge was sleeping on his post, while officer of guard No. 3, about three o'clock of the night of the 6th of July, 1813, and suffering his men to sleep on their posts also. The court was composed of Captains Shaw, Hatfield, McKune, and Engle, Lieutenant Hopkins, and Ensigns Spence and Culp; judge advocate, Samuel Bayles.

Colonel Anderson, the complainant, was sworn. He testified that on the night of the 6th, after going the grand rounds, between eleven and twelve P. M., going a second time at two o'clock, or thereabout, in passing the blockhouse where Lieutenant Shafor had charge of the guard, | the sentinel hailed faintly. He then asked the sentinel where the officer of the guard was; receiving answer that he was asleep or sleeping. The sentinel then asked: 'Shall I wake him?' and made some attempts to do so. Colonel Anderson told him he need not, but to tell him, after waking, that the officer of the day had been there, and had found him asleep. He saw no one about the guard but what was asleep, excepting the sentinel. He did not see the officer of the guard himself, or if he did see him he did not know him.

Benjamin Stone, the sentinel, said that between two and three o'clock the night of the 6th he hailed the officer of the day, who gave the countersign. Stone then, called to the sergeant to parade the guard. The officer of the day said it was not worth while to parade the euard, but tell the officer of the guard that the officer of ' the day had been there. He called his officer twice, but received no answer.

Question by the Cout. 'Do you know whether the lieutenant was asleep or not?" Answer. 'I do not. He arose immediately after the officer of the day was gone. There was no noise that could have awakened any person after the colonel went away before the lieutenant rose."

John Johnson, the sergeant of the guard, heard Colonel Anderson tell the sentinel that he need not parade the guard, but tell the officer of the guard that the officer of the day had been there. Sergeant Johnson did not know whether Lieutenant Shafor was asleep or awake at the time in question.

John Collins testified that he was on guard that night with Lieutenant Shafor, sitting up nearly all night. He did not find him asleep at any time. He had heard the questions of the officer of the day, and the hail of the sentinel.

Commission

"Tomas Krrker, Speaker of the Senate, now acting as Goyernor and Commander-in-chief of the State of Ohio, to Witiiam SHaror, Esq., greeting: %not you, That from the special trust and confidence which is reposed in your fidelity, courage, activity, and good conduct, I have, by virtue of the power vested in me, appointed you, the said William Shafor, lieutenant to a company of militia in the second battalion, first regiment, second brigade, first division, Ohio militia, and do, the privileges thereunto appertaining. You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge the duties of lieutenant as aforesaid, agreeably to law, and such instructions as you shall from time to time receive from your superior officers and the commander-in-chief. "Fn fitness tobereof, the said THomAs KIRKER, now acting as Governor and Commander-in-chief of the State of Ohio, hath caused 'the great seal of the State of Ohio' to be hereunto affixed, at Chillicothe, the 19th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven, and of the independence of this State the fifth. 'THOMAS KIRKER.

"Srare or Onto, Butler County. - Before me, Daniel Strickland, justice of the peace, came William Shafor, and took the oath of a lieutenant in a company in the second battalion, second brigade, first regiment, and first division of Ohio militia, and took the oath to support the Constitution of this State and of the United States.

'" Aoreeable to general orders, the company who volunteered from the third brigade of the first division of Ohio militia, commanded by Captain John Robinson, who ment by making a tender of their services in the cause of our country and its rights and privileges, met at Middletown, in the county of Butler, on Monday, the 27th instant, for the purpose of marching to the general rendezvous at Dayton. On that occasion, and to manifest an approbation of the courage and integrity of those brave volunteers, the citizens of Middletown and its vicinity, animated with that spirit which the government, freedom, and privileges of the American people ought always to inspire, came forward and gave a liberal and elegant breakfast to the corps on the morning of the 28th instant, before they proceeded to march. The subscribers, the Rev. Matthew G. Wallace and Mr. William Bigham being present, were invited to partake with the corps. The repast being ended, an appropriate address was delivered by Mr. Wallace to the corps before they left the table, and-concluded with a prayer well adapted to the occasion. 'The greatest attention and good order prevailed amongst the soldiers and numerous crowds of citizens who attended the scene; after which the volunteers took their station to march, with the greatest spirit and composure; and being impressed with a just sense of the zeal and patriotic spirit manifested by the people, and as an acknowledgment to those worthy citizens, and the ladies in particular, who contributed such attention and the most extreme exertion to accommodate and accomplish such a noble and generous act, the subscribers thought it their duty to communicate the same to the public prints, as a testimonial of the gratitude we feel toward such generous and. noble actions.

At a respectable meeting of citizens of Fairfield Township, at the house of Mr. Joseph Colby, in Hamilton, on the 4th of July, the following toasts were drunk:

1. '' The United States - May her sons possess the fire of patriotism which animated the bosoms of their ancestors, and drive the proud Britons by the sword, and with the, tune 'Yankee Doodle,' from her shores into Pandemonium."

3. " The Canadas - May they see the perfidy and oppression of their old mother, and with disdain flee from her ranks to the standard of the American arms, and learn to feel the glow and animating spirit of patriotism."

8. "The President of the United States - May his determined mind, in signing the proceedings of Congress in the present crisis, be remembered to our latest posterity."

Encouragement To Enlist

To every able-bodied man, from the age of eighteen to forty-five years, who wishes to enlist in defense of the honor and independence of their country for the term of five years, will be paid; and whenever he shall have served the said term, or obtained an honorable discharge stating the faithful performance of his duty while in service, he shall be paid three months' extra pay, and and in case he should be killed in action, or die in the service, his heirs and representatives will be entitled to the said three months' pay and one hundred and sixty acres of land, to be designated, surveyed, and laid off at the public expense.

'To those who prefer enlisting.for eighteen months the same bounty, additional pay, and clothing will be given (the bounty in land excepted), as if enlisted for five years. The following places are appointed, and a rendezvous opened for

Besides those mentioned above, Thomas Irwin served a tour of duty of six months in the Ohio militia as a major. Robert Anderson, of the township of Ross, entered the commissary and pack-horse service at the beginning of the war, but in the early part of 1813 received 2 commission as lieutenant. He was first placed upon the recruiting service, then joining General Harrison's army at Sandusky.. The fleet was insufficiently manned, and Lieutenant Anderson volunteered his services, acting as an officer of marines during Commodore Perry's active service on the lake. He received a silver medal, by order of Congress, as a testimonial of his bravery and: good conduct during the action. He then joined the northern army, in which he served until the conclusion of the war. General Brown was his commander.

Dr. Daniel Millikin marched at the head of a company of his neighbors up to the frontier, and narrowly escaped being shot by an Indian. John Woods, afterwards the leader of the bar here, but who then lived in Warren County, did his duty as a soldier. He was included in the last draft of the Ohio militia, which was made in 1814, and was in the garrison at Fort Meigs when peace with Great Britain was proclaimed. The Rey. Matthew G. Wallace, to prove that the clergy were not behind the laity, also went out as a captain.

Colonel Matthew Hueston, who had served valiantly in Wayne's army, saw service in the war of 1812. General Hull surrendered on the 16th of August of that year, and the whole country immediately armed to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. Hueston volunteered his services, and marched, with a number of others, to Fort Wayne, for the relief of that place, which was then besieged. After being out two or three months, he was appointed purchasing agent for the contractor of the Northwestern army. He bought a vast number of horses and a large quantity of provisions in Butler County for the supply of the army. He continued to act in that capacity until the close of the war.

Hundreds of others might be mentioned did we possess perfect records, and the reader will find accounts of many of them scattered through the township histories. The war of 1812 marks an epoch in the annals of this county. Settlements had then been begun in every quarter, and, although the forests covered a much larger extent of the country than the cultivated land, yet there were farms and cleared patches everywhere. Schools were beginning; there were a dozen Church organizations, although but three or four meeting-houses ; and the main ~ roads were laid out. It would seem to us now very savage; but it was in reality a great advance upon the wilderness. The population was 11,150, just about a quarter of what it is at present.

Tammany Society

In the year 1812 a secret political society was formed at Hamilton as a branch of the Tammany Society of New York. Their place of meeting, which they called 'Wigwam No. 9," was first established at the house of William Murray, who then kept a tavern on the corner of Dayton and Water Streets. It was afterwards. removed to the house of Michael Delorac, who also kept a house of entertainment in the upper part of Rossville. James Heaton was their first grand sachem, and Benjamin D. Pardee, a printer, was secretary. Their number, in the most flourishing condition, amounted to about one hundred. Many of the most respectable citizens of Butler County were initiated members of the society. From the time of their organization they continued to meet regularly at stated periods, until some time in the year 1816. They had their celebrations and long talks, as they called their orations, and on certain anniversary oceasions paraded the streets in procession with their flags and banners '' waving in the breeze" and buck-tails stuck in their hats by way of plume. At the head of the procession was borne the flag of the United States, and at intervals in the procession were carried small white flags, corresponding in number with the number of the States in the Union, with the name of a State painted on each. They had a seal or emblem, having in the center the word '' Illumino," a rising sun above, with a heart below, and the wing of an eagle on each side. A celebration and procession was held at Hamilton on the twelfth day of May, 1815, at which a '"'long talk" was delivered by Thomas Henderson, of Cincinnati. A celebration was also held at Middletown on the twelfth day of October, 1815, and a 'long talk" delivered by Benjamin D. Pardee.

In their notices and transactions they gave their own peculiar names to the months. January they called the month of beavers, February the month of snows, May the month of flowers, June the month of heats, October the month of travels, etc., and dated from the year of discovery (A. D. 1609), 7

This society was a fraternity bound together by a written constitution, the members of which pledged themselves, under the solemnities of an oath, to keep the proceedings of the society a profound secret. At their business meetings, which were usually held at night in their wigwam, illuminated by a council fire, they deliberated on the weighty affairs of the country, and decided what was to be done, dictated politics, interfered with elections, and decided who should be elected to office ; which decision every member of the fraternity was bound to support, denouncing every other person who did not belong to their society as federalists and enemies to their country. They kept a regular system of espionage, issued circulars, and employed runners to carry them and learn what was doing in every part of the country, thus enabling them to spring upon their opponents like savages from an ambuscade.

During the short time they flourished at Hamilton they furnished abundant evidence that self-interest was their ruling, if not their only, motive. They exerted an influence which was extensively felt, and in the short period of their existence did considerable mischief. Through the efforts of the Tammany Society the civil institutions of our State were nearly reduced to a state of anarchy, from which a recovery was effected with difficulty. The society created considerable excitement and opposition in the community at large during its existence; but about the year 1816, four years after its organization, it dwindled away, and was no longer publicly known.

'*' Norice. - The members of the Tammany Society No. 9 will meet at their wigwam at the house of brother William Murray, in Hamilton, on Thursday, the first of the month of heats, precisely at the going down of the sun. Punctual attendance is requested.

Tammany was an Indian chief of the Delaware nation. Mr. Heckewelder, in his historical account of the Indian nations, devoted part of a chapter to this chief. He spells the name Tamaned. All we know of him is that he was an ancient Delaware chief who never had his equal. We infer from Gabriel Thomas, who published ''An Historical and Geographical Account of Pennsylvania and West Jersey," at London, in 1698, that Tammany might have been alive as late as 1680 or 1690,

'The fame of this great chief' extended even amongst the whites, who fabricated numerous legends respecting him, which, however, Heckewelder says he never heard some calendar, and his festival celebrated on the first day of May in every year. On that day a numerous society of his votaries walked together in procession, through the streets of Philadelphia, their hats decorated with bucks' tails, and proceeded to a handsome rural place, out of town, which they called the 'Wigwam ;' where, after a long talk or Indian speech had been delivered and the calumet of peace and friendship had been duly smoked, they spent the day in activity and mirth. After dinner, Indian dances were performed on the green in front of the wigwam, the calumet was again smoked, and the company separated."

It was not until some years after the peace that these yearly meetings were discontinued. In New York, however, they worshiped Tammany as an Indian saint, and a benevolent society was named after him. In a few years it became a political society, but until the diffusion of universal suffrage, in 1846, had not acquired the unsavory odor it now has. Since the close of the Revolutionary struggle, Philadelphia, and perhaps other places, have had their Tammany societies, Tammany balls, etc. Among the multitude of poems and odes to Tammany, the following is selected to give the reader an idea of the acts said to have been achieved by him.

"Immortal Tammany of Indian race, Great in the field, and foremost in the chase! No puny saint was he with fasting pale; He climbed the mountain, and he swept the vale, Rushed through the torrent with unequaled might; Your ancient saints would tremble at the sight ; Caught the swift boar, and swifter deer with ease, And worked a thousand miracles like these. To public views he added private ends, And loved his country most, and next his friends. With courage long he strove to ward the blow (Courage, we all respect, even in a foe), And when each effort he in vain had tried, Kindled the flame in which he bravely died. To Tammany, let the full horn go round, His fame let every honest tongue resound, With him let every gen'rous patriot vie, To live in freedom, or with honor die." *

County Officers

We have been at the pains to compile a list of county officers from the beginning. In some cases there has been great difficulty in procuring the names. The county was organized in 1803, and a special election was then held.

The first sheriff was chosen only to fill the place pro tem., and the same year another person was elected to occupy the office. He is chosen every two years, and is

Clerks Of The Court

The constitution of 1802 required each court to appoint its own clerk, to serve for the term of seven years. The following are the names of persons who have served as clerk of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Common Pleas:

By the constitution of 1851, the office of the clerks of the courts was made elective by the voters of the county, to hold their office for the term of three years. The following are the names of the persons elected to that office since that time: ;

County Treasurers

The office of county treasurer was first filled by appointment, made by the associate judges. Afterward the appointment was made by the commissioners of the county, until the year 1827, when it was made elective by the people, the term of office to be two years.

Richard Easton committed suicide on the morning of the 4th of June, 1848, by shooting himself in the head with a pistol ball, in his bed at the United States Hotel, in Cincinnati. When the door of his room was opened he was found dead, and the pistol lying beside him. A committee appointed by the Court of Common Pleas to examine the condition of the treasury reported a defalcation of about. eight thousand dollars. However, on the prosecution of a suit against his securities, various credits and offsets were allowed, which reduced the judgment which was rendered at July term, 1855, to $552.44.

About the 1st of July, 1853, it was discovered that Henry Traber was a defaulter in his office to the amount of about seven thousand dollars, and on the 16th of that month he resigned. Suit was commenced against his securities, and at the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, 1855, judgment was obtained against them for $6,991.84, which was promptly paid.

The board of commissioners first met on the eleventh day of June, 1804, and appointed John Reily their clerk, who continued to serve in that capacity until the first day of March, 1819, when he resigned, and John McClure, Jr., was appointed in his stead. John McClure continued to serve as clerk until he was appointed auditor of the county, in 1821.