Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 11: The War of 1812.--Growth of the Sate.-Internal Improvements, 1881

In June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain. Before this, an act was passed by Congress, authorizing the increase of the regular army to thirty-five thousand troops, and a large force of volunteers, to serve twelve months. Under this act, Return J. Meigs, then governor of Ohio, in April and May, 1812, raised three regiments of troops to serve twelve months. They rendezvoused at Dayton, elected their officers, and prepared for the campaign. These regiments were numbered First, Second and Third. Duncan McArthur was colonel of the First; James Findlay, of the Second, and Lewis Cass, of the Third. Early in June these troops marched to Urbana, where they were joined by Boyd's Fourth regiment of regular troops, under command of Colonel Miller, who had been in the battle of Tippecanoe. Near the middle of June, this little army of about twenty-five hundred men, under command of Governor William Hull, of Michigan, who had been authorized by Congress to raise the troops, started on its northern march. By the end of June the army had reached the Maumee, after a very severe march, erecting, on the way, Forts McArthur, Necessity and Findlay. By some carelessness on the part of the American Government, no official word had been sent to the frontiers regarding the war, while the British had taken an early precaution to prepare for the crisis. Governor Hull was very careful in military etiquette, and refused to march or do any offensive acts, unless commanded by his superior officers at Washington. While at the Maumee, by a careless move, all his personal effects, including all his plans, number and strength of his army, etc., fell into the hands of the enemy. His campaign ended only in ignominious defeat, and well-nigh paralyzed future efforts. All Michigan fell into the hands of the British. The commander, though a good man, lacked bravery and

(c) Return Jonathan Meigs was elected governor on the second Tuesday in October, 1807, over Nathaniel Massie, who contested the election of Meigs, on the ground that "he had not been a resident of this State for four years next preceding the election, as required by the constitution," and the general assembly, in joint convention, declared that he was not eligible. The office was not given to Massie, nor does it appear, from the records, that he claimed it, but 'Thomas Kirker, acting governor, continued to discharge the duties of the office until December 12, 1808, when Samuel Huntington was inaugurated, he having been elected on the second Tuesday of October in that year.

(g) The result of the election of 1848 was not finally determined in joint convention of the two houses of the general assembly until January x9, 1849, and the inauguration did not take place until the twenty-second of that month.

promptness. Had General Harrison been in command, no such results would have been the case, and the war would probably have ended at the outset.

Before Hull had surrendered, Charles Scott, governor of Kentucky, invited General Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, to visit Frankfort, to consult on the subject of defending the northwest. Governor Harrison had visited Governor Scott, and in August, 1812, accepted the appointment of major general in the Kentucky militia, and, by hasty traveling, on the receipt of the news of the surrender of Detroit, reached Cincinnati on the morning of the twenty-seventh of that month. On the thirtieth he left Cincinnati, and the next day overtook the army he was to command, on its way to Dayton. After leaving Dayton, he was overtaken by an express, informing him of his appointment by the Government as commander-in-chief of the armies of the Indiana and Illinois territories. The army reached Piqua, September 3d. From this place Harrison sent a body of troops to aid in the defence of Fort Wayne, threatened by the enemy. On the sixth he ordered all the troops forward, and while on the march, on September 17th, he was informed of his appointment as commander of the entire northwestern troops. He found the army poorly clothed for a winter campaign, now approaching, and at once issued a stirring address to the people, asking for food and comfortable clothing. The address was not in vain. After his appointment, General Harrison pushed on to Auglaize, where, leaving the army under command of General Winchester, he returned to the interior of the State, and establishing his headquarters at Franklinton, began active measures for the campaign.

Early in March, 1812, Colonel John Miller raised, under orders, a regiment of infantry in Ohio, and in July assembled his enlisted men at Chillicothe, where, placing them - only one hundred and forty in number - under command of Captain Angus Lewis, he sent them on to the frontier. They erected a block-house at Piqua, and then went on to Defiance, to the main body of the army.

In July, 1812, General Edward W. Tupper, of Gallia county, raised one thousand men for six months' duty. Under orders from General Winchester, they marched through Chillicothe and Urbana, on to the Maumee, where, near the lower end of the rapids, they made an ineffectual attempt to drive off the enemy. Failing in this, the enemy attacked Tupper and his troops, who, though worn down with the march and not a little disorganized through the jealousies of the officers, withstood the attack, and repulsed the British and their red allies, who returned to Detroit, and the Americans to Fort McArthur.

In the fall of 1812, General Harrison ordered a detachment of six hundred men, mostly mounted, to destroy the Indian towns on the Missisineway river, one of the head waters of the Wabash. The winter set in early and with unusual severity. At the same time this expedition was carried on, Bonaparte was retreating from Moscow. The expedition accomplished its design, though the troops suffered greatly from the cold, no less than

General Harrison determined at once to retake Michigan and establish a line of defence along the southern shores of the lakes. Winchester was sent to occupy Forts Wayne and Defiance; Perkins' brigade to Lower Sandusky, to fortify an old stockade, and some Pennsylvania troops and artillery sent there at the same time. As soon.as General Harrison heard the results of the Missisineway expedition, he went to Chillicothe to consult with Governor Meigs about further movements, and the best methods to keep the way between the Upper Miami and the Maumee continually open. He also sent General Winchester word to move forward to the rapids of the Maumee and prepare for winter quarters. This Winchester did by the middle of January, 1813, establishing himself on the northern bank of the river, just above Wayne's old battle-ground. He was well fixed here, and was enabled to give his troops good bread, made from corn gathered in Indian cornfields in this vicinity.

While here, the inhabitants of Frenchtown, on the Raisin river, about twenty miles from Detroit, sent Winchester word claiming protection from the threatened British and Indian invasion, avowing themselves in sympathy with the Americans. A council of war decided in favor of their request, and Colonel Lewis, with five hundred and fifty men, sent to their relief. Soon after, Colonel Allen was sent with more troops, and the enemy easily driven away from about Frenchtown. Word was sent to General Winchester, who determined to march with all the men he could spare, to aid in holding the post gained. He left, the nineteenth of January, with two hundred and fifty men, and arrived on the evening of the twentieth. Failing to take the necessary precaution, from some unexplained reason, the enemy came up in the night, established his batteries, and, the next day, surprised and defeated the American army, with a terrible loss. General Winchester was made a prisoner, and, finally, those who were intrenched in the town surrendered, under promise of General Proctor, the British commander, of protection from the Indians. This promise was grossly violated the next day. The savages were allowed to enter the town and enact a massacre as cruel and bloody as any in the annals of the war, to the everlasting ignominy of the British general and his troops.

Those of the American army that escaped, arrived at the rapids on the evening of the twenty-second of January, and soon the sorrowful news spread throughout the army and Nation. General Harrison set about retrieving the disaster at once. Delay could do no good. A fort was built at the rapids, named Fort Meigs, and troops from the south and west hurriedly advanced to the scene of action. The investment and capture of Detroit was abandoned, that winter, owing to the defeat at Frenchtown, and expiration of the terms of service of many of the troops. Others took their places, all parts of Ohio and bordering states sending men.

The erection of Fort Meigs was an obstacle in the path of the British they determined to remove, and, on February, 28, 1813, a large band of British and Indians, under command of General Proctor, and Tecumseh, Walk-in-the-water, and other Indian chiefs, appeared 'on the Maumee in boats, and prepared for the attack. Without entering into details regarding the investment of the fort, it is only necessary to add, that after a prolonged siege, lasting to the early part of May, the British were obliged to abandon the fort, having been severely defeated, and sailed for the Canadian shores.

Next followed the attacks on Fort Stephenson, at 'Lower Sandusky, and other predatory excursions, by the British. All of these failed of their design; the defence of Major Croghan and his men constituting one of the most brilliant actions of the war. For the gallant defence of Fort Stephenson by Major Croghan, then a young man, the army merited the highest honors. The ladies of Chillicothe voted the heroic major a fine sword, while the whole land rejoiced at the exploits of him and his band.

The decisive efforts of the army, the great numbers of men offered - many of whom General Harrison was obliged to send home, much to their disgust - Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 1o, 1813 - all presaged the triumph of the American army, soon to ensue. As soon as the battle on the lake was over, the British at Malden burned their stores and fled, while the Amei cans, under their gallant commander, followed them in Perry's vessel to the Canada shore, overtaking them on the River Thames, October 5. In the battle that ensued, Tecumseh was slain, and the British army routed.

The war was now practically closed in the west. Ohio troops had done nobly in defending their northern frontier, and in regaining the northwestern country. General Harrison was saon after elected to Congress by the Cincinnati district, and General Duncan McArthur was appointed a brigadier general in the regular army, and assigned to the command in his place. General McArthur made an expedition into Upper Canada in the spring of 1814, destroying considerable property, and driving the British farther into their own dominions. Peace was declared early in 1815, and that spring, the troops aere mustered out of service at Chillicothe, and peace with England reigned supreme.

'The results of the war in Ohio were, for awhile, similar to the Indian war of 1795. It brought many people into. the State, and opened new portions, before unknown. Many of the soldiers immediately invested their money in lands, and became citizens. The war drove many money, for awhile, circulated. Labor and provisions rose, which enabled both workmen and tradesmen to enter tracts of land, and aided emigration: At the conclusion of Wayne's war in 1795, probably not more than five thousand people dwelt in the limits of the State; at the close of the war of 1812, that number was largely increased, even with the odds of war against them. After the last war, the emigration was constant and gradual, building up the State in a manner that betokened a healthful life.

of depression set in, as a result of too free speculation indulged in at its close. Gradually a stagnation of business ensued, and many who found themselves unable to meet contracts made in "flush" times, found no alternative but to fail. To relieve the pressure in all parts of the west, Congress, about 1815, reduced the price of public lands from two dollars to one dollar and twentyfive cents per acre. This measure worked no little hardship on those who owned large tracts of land, for portions of which they had not fully paid, and as a consequence, these lands, as well as all others of this class, reverted to the government. The general market was in New Orleans, whither goods were transported in flatboats built especially for this purpose. This commerce, though small and poorly repaid, was the main avenue of trade, and did much for the slow prosperity prevalent. The few banks in the State found their bills at a discount Abroad, and gradually becoming drained of their specie, either closed business or failed, the major part of them adopting the latter course.

The steamboat began to be an important factor in the river navigation of the west about this period. The first boat to descend the Ohio was the Orleans, built at Pittsburgh in 1812, and in December of that year, while the fortunes of war hung over the land, she made her first trip from the Iron City to New Orleans, being just twelve days on the way. The second, built by Samuel Smith, was called the Comet, and made a trip as far south as Louisville, in the summer of 1813. The third, the Vesuvius, was built by Fulton, and went to New Orleans in 1814. The fourth, built by Daniel French at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, made two trips to Louisville in the summer of 1814. The next vessel, the /Etna, was built by Fulton & Company in 1815. So fast did the business increase, that, four years after, more than forty steamers floated over the western waters. Improvements in machinery kept pace with the building, until, in. 1838, a competent writer stated there were no less than four hundred steamers in the west. Since then, the erection of railways has greatly retarded ship-building, and it is altogether probable the number has increased but little.

The question of canals hegan to agitate the western country during the decade after the war. They had been, and were being constructed in older countries, and presaged good and prosperous times. If only the waters of the lakes and the Ohio river could be united by a canal running through the midst of the State, thought the people, prosperous cities and towns would arise on its banks, and commerce flow through the land. One of the firmest friends of such improvements was De Witt Clinton, who had been the chief man in forwarding the "Clinton canal" in New York. He was among the first to advocate the feasibility of a canal connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio river, and, by the success of the New York canals, did much to bring it about. Popuiar writers of the day all urged the scheme, so that when the assembly met, early in December, 1821, the resolution, offered by Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, for the appointment of a committee of five members to take jnto consideration so much of the governor's message as

The report 'of the committee, advising a survey and examination of routes, met with the approval of the assembly, and commissioners were appointed who were to employ an engineer, examine the country and report on the practicability of a canal between the lakes and the rivers. The commissioners employed James Geddes, of Onondaga county, Néw York, as an engineer. He arrived in Columbus in June, 1822, and, before eight months, the corps of engineers, under his direction, had examined one route. examinations continued. A number of routes were examined and surveyed, and one, from Cleveland on the lake, to Portsmouth on the Ohio, was recommended. Another canal, from Cincinnati to Dayton, on the Miami, was determined on, and preparations to commence work made. A board of canal fund commissioners was created, money was borrowed, and the morning of July 4, 1825, the first shovelful of earth was dug near Newark, with imposing ceremonies, in the presence of De Witt Clinton, governor of New York, and a mighty concourse of people assembled to witness the auspicious event.

Governor Clinton was escorted all over the State to aid in developing the energy everywhere apparent. The events were important ones in the history of the State, and, though they led to the creation of a vast debt, yet, in the end, the canals were a benefit.

The main canal - the Ohio and Erie canal - was not completed till 1832. The Maumee canal, from Dayton to Cincinnati, was finished in 1834. They cost the State about six millions. Each of the main canals had branches leading to important towns, where their construction could be made without too much expense. The Miami and Maumee canal, from Cincinnati northward along the Miami river to Piqua, thence to the Maumee and on to the lake, was the largest canal made, and, for many years, was one of the most important in the State. It joined the Wabash canal on the eastern boundary of

The largest artificial lake in the world, it is said, was built to supply water to the Miami canal. 1 exists yet, though the canal is not much used. It is in the eastern part of Mercer county, and is about nine miles long by two to four wide. It was formed by raising two walls of earth from ten to thirty feet high, called respectively the east and west embankments; the first of which is about two miles in length; the second, about four. These walls, with the elevation of the ground to the north and south, formed a huge basin, to retain the water. The reservoir was commenced in 1837, and finished in 1845, at an expense of several hundred thousand dollars. When first built, during the accumulation of water, much malarial disease prevailed in the surrounding country, owing to the stagnant condition of the water. 'The citizens, enraged at what they considered an innova- tion of their rights, met, and during a dark night, tore out a portion of the lower wall, letting the water flow out. The damage cost thousands of dollars to repair. All who participated in the proceedings were liable to a severe imprisonment, but the state of feeling was such, in Mercer county, where the offence was committed, that no jury could be found that would try them, and the affair gradually died out.

The canals, so efficacious in their day, were, however, superseded by the railroads rapidly finding their way into the west. From England, where they were early used in the collieries, the transition. to America was easy. NI

The first railroad in the United States was built in the summer of 1826, from the granite quarry belonging to the Bunker Hill Monument association to the wharf landing, three miles distant. "The road was a slight decline from the quarry to the wharf, hence the loaded cars were propelled by their own gravity. On their return, when empty, they were drawn up by a single horse. Other roads, or tramways, quickly followed this. They were built at the Pennsylvania coal mines, in South Carolina, at New Orleans, and at Baltimore. Steam motive power was used in 1831 or 1832, first in America on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, and in Charleston, on a railroad there.

To transfer these highways to the west was the question of but a few years time. The prairies of Illinois and Indiana offered superior inducements to such enterprises, and, early in 1835, they began to be agitated there. In 1838, the first rail was laid in Illinois, at Meredosia, a little town on the Iliinois river, on what is now the Wabash railway.

"The first railroad made in Ohio" writes Caleb Atwater, in his 'History of Ohio,' in 1838, "was finished' in 1836 by the people of Toledo, a town some two years old then, situated near the mouth of Maumee river. The road extends westward into Michigan, and is some thirty miles in length. There is a road about to be made from Cincinnati to Springfield. This road follows the Ohip river up to the Little Miami river, and there turns northwardly up its valley to Xenia, and, passing the Yellow Springs, reaches Springfield. Its length must be about ninety miles. The State will own one-half of the road, individuals and the city of Cincinnati the other half. This road will, no doubt, be extended to Lake Erie, at Sandusky City, within a few short years."

Mr. Atwater notes, also, the various turnpikes as well as the famous national road from Baltimore westward, then completed only to the mountains. This latter did as much as any enterprise ever enacted in building up and populating the west. It gave a national thoroughfare, which, for many years, was the principal wagon-way from the Atlantic to the Mississippi valley.

known as the Mad River railroad. It is commonly conceded to be the first one built in Ohio.* Its history shows that it was chartered March 11, 1836, that work began in 1837 ; that it was completed and opened for business from Cincinnati to Milford, in December, 1842; to Xenia, in August, 1845, and to Springfield, in August, 1846. It was laid with strap rails until about 1848, when the present form of rail was adopted.

One of the earliest roads in Ohio was what was known as the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark railroad. It was chartered at first as the Monroeville & Sandusky City railroad, March 9, 1835. March 12, 1836, the Mansfield & New Haven road was chartered ; the Columbus & Lake Erie, March 12, 1845, and the Huron & Oxford, February 27, 1846. At first it ran only from Sandusky to Monroeville, then from Mansfield to Huron. These two were connected and consolidated, and then extended to Newark, and finally, by connections, to Columbus.

It is unnecessary to follow closely the history of these improvements through the years succeeding their introduction. At first the State owned a share in nearly all railroads and canals, but, finally finding itself in debt about fifteen million dollars for such improvements, and learning by its own and neighbors' experiences, that such policy was detrimental to the best interests of the people, abandoned the plan, and allowed private parties entire control of all such works. After the close of the Mexican war, and the return to solid values, in 1854 or thereabouts, the increase of railroads in all parts of Ohio, as wellas all parts of the west, was simply marvelous. At this date there are more than ten thousand miles of railroads in Ohio, alongside of which stretch innumerable lines of telegraph, a system of swift messages invented by Professor Morse, and adopted in the United States about 1851.

About the time railroad building began to assume a tangible shape, in 1840, occurred the celebrated political campaign known in history as the "hard cider campaign." The gradual encroachments of the slave power in the west, its arrogant attitude in the Congress of the United States and in several State legislatures; its forcible seizure of slaves in the free States, and the enactment and attempted enforcement of the "fugitive slave" law all tended to awaken in the minds of the Northern people an antagonism, terminating only in the late war and the abolishment of that hideous system in the United States.

The Whig party strenuously urged the abridgment or confinement of slavery in the Southern States, and in the contest the party took a most active part, and elected William Henry Harrison President of the United States. As he had been one. of the foremost leaders in the war of 1812, a resident of Ohio, and one of its most pop-

*Hon. E. D. Mansfield states, in 1873, that the ''first actual piece of railroad laid in Ohio, was made on the Cincinnati & Sandusky railroad; but, about the same time we have the little Miami railroad, which was surveyed in 1836 and 1837." If this, the generally accepted opinion, is correct, then Mr. Atwater's statement as given, is wrong. His history is, however, generally conceded to be correct. Written in 1838, he surely ought to know whereof he was writing, as the rail- 'roads were then only in construction ; but few, if any, in operation, ular citizens, a log cabin and a barrel of cider were adopted as his exponents of popular opinion, as expressive of the rule of the common people represented in the cabin and cider, in turn representing their primitive and simple habits of life. Though a rugged man when elected, he lived but thirty days after his inauguration, dying April 9, 1841. John Tyler, the Vice-President, succeeded him in the office.

The building of railroads; the extension of commerce; the settlement of all parts of the State; its growth in commerce, education, religion and population, are the chief events from 1841 to the Mexican war. Hard times occurred about as often as they do now, preceded by "flush" times, when speculation was rife, the people all infatuated with an insane idea that something could be had for nothing. The bubble burst as often as inflated, ruining many people, but seemingly teaching few lessons,