Allen County, Indiana - Chapter 3: Continued Active Operations in Tiie Indian Depart¬ Ment, 1880 (part 2 of 2)

Diverging, for a time, from the general narrative of Capt. McAfee, the fol¬ lowin'. account! giving more in detail the incidents connected with the mission of Logan and his companions, is given instead. About this time, at the fort, intense anxiety was visible in every countenance. A return messenger from Gov. Harri¬ son had not yet arrived to inform the inmates of the fort whether the express laid reached him and what were the prospects of relief. The information before received and not contradicted, that the besieging force was to be augmented by the additions of the British and Indian force from Malden, under the circum¬ stances, was not calculated to allay the excitement, but, indeed, to heighten it. At that moment, away to the eastward, the forms of four Indians and a white man, horsemen, riding at full speed, came suddenly in view. As they approached the fort an Indian yell of triumph burst upon their ears - but it was not the triumphant yell of the besiegers that was to sound the death-knell of the beleaguered "urrison. They were an advance express, sent out to learn the true situ¬ ation of the besieged, and to inform them that relief was rapidly approaching. These messengers were none other than young William Oliver and the brave Log an, with Ins faithful Shawanon guard, who had, in defiance of the five hun¬ dred fierce Indian warriors who surrounded the fort, forced a passage through their ranks and reached the garrison in safety.

" Having pursued their course with much care until within some twenty-four miles of the fort, a council was called to consider the expediency of a further advance, when it was concluded best for all to remain behind except Oliver, Logan and the other Indian attendants. On the following morning, with their horses, they continued their way, ' with the common wariness of Indians, and without any remarkable occurrence until they came within some four miles of the fort. Oliver had determined to enter fort in broad daylight.' " A critical examination of the surroundings was then made, to determine, if possible, what movement had taken place, and how the Indians were located. Logan's observant eye soon discovered that the enemy was concealed along the road to intercept and cut off any re-en¬ forcements that might attempt to reach the tort. Under the circumstances, it was determined to leave the main road, and, cautiously crossing the Maumee River, tie their horses in a thicket and make a reconnaisance on foot to learn the true state of affairs. Following out this plan, they satisfied themselves fully and returned to their horses and remounted. Then they struck the main road again, and, putting whip to their horses, they started at full speed for the fort, which they reached safely. It was an opportune moment, for, just at that period, the watchful Indian guards had relaxed their vigilance - the only time for days when such a movement could have been similarly executed.

"First reaching the gate of the esplanade, and finding it inaccessible, they descended the river bank, and were soon admitted by the northern gate * * * Entering the general gateway, which was located about where now stands the residence of the late James B. Hanna, or Martin Knoll, on Wayne street - the fort then, with several acres of ground, being inclosed by a substantial fence - a few moments more and all was safety. The forUwas gained, the north gate opened, and Oliver and his companions rode quickly in, to the great astonishment and joy of the little garrison."*

Soon, a concise account of the situation was prepared to be forwarded to Gen. Harrison, the faithful Logan and his chosen braves being the appointed messensers. Seeing an opportunity, Logan and his companions left the fort quietly, but being soon observed, were pursued and fired upon, but they escaped unharmed, their exultant shouts announcing the fact that they had outstripped their pursuers and passed the guard line in safety.

Resuming the narrative of Capt McAfee, concerning the mission of Logan, the author proceeds : " On his way, he eluded all the vigilance of the enemy, got into the fort and returned with the information of its being beseiged. He also brought intelligence that Stephen Johnston, a brother of the Indian Agent, had been killed in sight of the fort while attempting to escape as an express to Gen. Harrison, and that the Indians had tried every stratagem to get possession of the fort. This information was important as well as that from the Indians from the Auglaize, that there was no appearance of a British army having passed up ' the Miami of the the Lakes' (the Maumee of to-day). * * * Early next morning, the army marched for Fort Wayne, except the mounted volunteers, who remained till 12 o'clock to rest their horses and to elect a Major. II. M.

evening at Col. Adam's camp, at Shane's crossing of the St. Mary's; and Maj. Johnson came up at night and encamped half a mile above the main army. On the morning of the 10th, some delay was caused by repairing broken wagons and making other necessary arrangements. The delay was not spent idly. Most of the different corps were paraded and drilled. Maj. Johnsons battalion was drilled on horseback by Capt. James Johnson, whose zeal and military informa¬ tion was surpassed by few men of his age and opportunities.

" The progress of the army was slow, and there was but very little water on the route. On the 11th, Lieut. Suggelte, Adjutant of Johnson's battalion, was sent with twenty men from that battalion to reconnoiter in advance. Logan and two other Shawanoes went with them. They fell iq with a party of Indians who fled immediately, leaving a young Pottawatomie chief mortally wounded.

In the evening they returned, and their little encounter, being the first that had occurred, had some effect in raising the spirits of the troops.

" Durin" the night, there was a number of alarms caused by the Indians attempting to approach and examine the camp. The army was now within twenty miles of Fort Wayne, at which it would be able to arrive next day. Very early next morning, the whole army was in motion, and expecting to meet the Indians at a well-known swamp about five miles this side of the fort. As the army approached it, the horsemen, under Johnson and Adams, went round it to the rio'ht and left. It was about a mile long and three hundred yards wide, except where the road crosses it, at which place it was not more than one hundred yards wide. It was tolerably dry, and no enemy was seen about it, nor any appearance of one except a recent encampment immediately beyond the swamp. About a mile further, a single Indian was seen and fired upon, which caused the army to form in line of battle, but, no others appearing, the march was resumed, and, about two hours before sunset, the troops arrived at the fort. Their arrival was the source of no little joy to the garrison and the people, who had taken refuge in the fort. The Indians had fled, most of them, on the evening before, and some only a few moments before the appearance of the army. They were pursued by the Ohio horsemen, but without success. The fort had been closely invested for ten or twelve days by the Iudians, who had made several pieces of wooden cannon by boring out pieces of timber and strengthening them with iron hoops. The army encamped around the fort, where a few days before there had been a handsome little village, but it was now in ruins, having been burnt down by the Indians, together with the United States factory, which had been erected to fur¬ nish the ungrateful wretches with farming utensils.

" Until the 1st of September, the savages about the fort had professed friend¬ ship with the view to get possession of it by stratagem. Capt. Rhea, who com¬ manded, was addicted to intoxication, for which, and his other misconduct, he was arrested by Gen. Harrison, but, on account of his age, he was permitted to resign. The fort was well prepared to resist a siege by Indians, as it had plenty of pro¬ visions and water, and about seventy men, with four small field pieces. It is delightfully situated on the south bank of the Miami of the Lake, immediately below the formation of that river by the junction of the St, Mary's from the southwest with the St. Joseph's from the north. It is well constructed of block¬ houses and picketing, but could not resist a British force, as there are several eminences on the south side from which it could be commanded by a six. or ninepounder. This is the place where the Miami Indians formerly had their princi¬ pal town, and here many an unfortunate prisoner suffered death by burning at the stake. * * * For more than a century before that time, it had been the chief place of rendezvous between the Indians of the lakes, and those of the Wabash and Illinois, and had been much resorted to about 1756, and, previously, by French traders from Canada."

During the siege, especially, the habit of intemperance had become so fixed upon Capt Rhea as to render him wholly disqualified for the discharge of the important duties demanded by his position as commander of this post. Dissatis¬ faction had, for some time, been manifested touching his conduct, and it only required the presence of the commanding general to cause an inquiry to be made investigation was that, owing to his habits of inebriety, he ought no longer to hold a commission ; but Gen. Harrison, in consequence of the advanced age of the accused, gave him the alternative to resign, which was accepted, taking effect January 1, 1813.

Two days after the arrival of the army at this point, Gen. Harrison separated his force into' two detachments, the first composed of the regiments under Cols. Lewis and Allen, and Capt. Garrard's troop of horse, under Gen. Payne, accom¬ panied by Gen. Harrison, the second under Col. Wells, accompanied by a battalion of his own regiment, under Maj. Davenport (Scott's regiment), unteers under Maj. Adams. The purpose of this division was the destruction of the Indian villages round about in the immediate vicinity of Fort Wayne, as a means of cutting off their supplies and preventing their continuance in the neighborhood. And as a further means to that end, it was determined, while destroying the villages, to cut up and destroy their corn and other products. This work was rapidly accomplished, and the expedition returned after an absence of less than a week. On the day preceding, however, a company of mounted rifle¬ men, under Col. Farrow, from Kentucky, was sent to destroy the Little Turtle Village, but with special orders not to molest the buildings erected for the benefit of Little Turtle at the expense of the United States, because of the great friend¬ ship of that chief for the white people.

In addition to the aforementioned precautions, to the end that the places of concealment in the immediate vicinity of the fort which enabled the Indians to

I make assaults upon the garrison unobserved, might be destroyed, Gen. Harrison next caused all the trees and undergrowth to be cut down and removed from the fort grounds, extending toward the confluence of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary s to the site of lludisell's Mill, and westward as far as St. Mary's, to the point where the Fort Wayne College now stands ; thence southeast to about the point where the residence of the late Allen Hamilton now stands, and to the Maumee on the east, embracing almost the entire area of the city. This clearing was so thoroughly accomplished that, it is said by those whose early residence here enabled them to know, a sentinel " on the bastions of the fort, looking westward, could see a rabbit running across the grounds as far as so'small an object was dis¬ cernible to the naked eye." By this means the soldiers were enabled to observe the approach of an enemy in time to bring the guns of the fort to bear upon anv hostile movement.

On the 19th of September, Gen. Harrison made an official report of his pro¬ ceedings in this expedition to the War Department, when he was ready to sur¬ render his command into the hands of Gen. Winchester. Having done so, he returned to Piqua, where he took command of the force collecting there, with the first division of Kentucky troops, which had already advanced for the re-enforcement of the Northwestern army, in preparation for a mounted expedition against Detroit. On the 20th, the General met those men at St. Mary's (Girty's town), the infantry not having arrived. Subsequently, he directed Maj. Johnson, with his dragoons, to return at once to Fort Wayne, and there await further orders. They returned accordingly.