Elsie on the Hudson Part 16

"Wayne and his troops remained there until the middle of September, when they went to the head of the Maumee; and at the bend of the river, just below the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's, which form it, they built a strong fortification and called it Fort Wayne. By the latter part of October it was finished and garrisoned with infantry and artillery, under Colonel Hamtramck.

"The rest of the troops then left, some for Fort Washington, to be discharged from the service, and others for Fort Greenville, where Wayne made his headquarters for the winter. There the various tribes with whom he had been at war came to him--by deputations--and agreed upon preliminary terms of peace. They remembered that he had a.s.sured them that the British had neither the power nor the inclination to help them--and how that a.s.surance had been verified by the silence of the guns of Fort Miami.

"They promised to meet him in council early the next summer, and did so. Early in June chiefs and sachems began to reach Fort Greenville, and on the 16th of that month a grand council was opened there. Almost 1100 Indians were present, and the council continued until the 10th of August. On the 3d of that month a satisfactory treaty was signed by all parties. And by a special treaty between the United States and Great Britain the western military posts were soon evacuated by the British, and for fifteen years the most remote frontier settlements were safe from any annoyance by the Indians."

"And that encouraged emigration to the Northwestern Territory, did it not, papa?" asked Lucilla.

"Yes," he said, "and in consequence the country grew rapidly in population of a hardy kind."

"Until the War of 1812."

"Yes; and it was in that war that Harrison did so much to distinguish himself as a patriot and a brave and skilful officer."

"And it was then he built the Fort Meigs you are taking us to, papa?"

"Yes; at the Maumee Rapids in February, 1813. It was named for Return Jonathan Meigs, who was then Governor of Ohio."

"Return Jonathan! what an odd name!"

"Yes, and there is an odd story connected with it. Years before the Revolution a bright-eyed coquette was courted by Jonathan Meigs. On one occasion he pressed his suit with great earnestness and asked for a positive answer. She would not give it, but feigned coolness, and he--growing discouraged--resolved to be trifled with no longer, so bade her farewell forever. He took his departure, but had not gone far down the lane when she ran after him and at the gate called out, 'Return Jonathan; return Jonathan!'

"He did go back to her; they afterward married, and were very happy together; and when the first son was born they named him Return Jonathan.

"He was born in 1740; was the heroic Colonel Meigs who did such valiant service in the Revolutionary War, and was one of the early settlers of Ohio, going there in 1788. His son Return Jonathan was elected Governor of Ohio in 1810 and held that office until 1814.

"Harrison arrived at Fort Meigs on the 12th of April, 1813, and was glad to find there 200 Pennsylvanians, patriotic men, who, though anxious to go home to put in their spring seeds, a.s.sured him that they would never leave him until he thought their services could be spared without danger to the cause. He discharged them on the arrival of three Kentucky companies.

"While on his way Harrison had been told of frequent appearances of Indian scouts in the neighborhood of the rapids, and of little skirmishes with what he supposed to be the advance of a more powerful foe. That alarmed him, and he despatched a messenger to Governor Shelby of Kentucky asking him to send to the Maumee the whole of the 3000 men who had been drafted in that State. He brought with him about 300 men in all, but was agreeably surprised to find, on his arrival, that there were no signs of the enemy being near in great force.

"But that enemy was at that very time preparing to strike a destructive blow at Fort Meigs. Tec.u.mseh was even then at Fort Malden with almost 1500 Indians. Proctor had fired his zeal and that of his brother, who was called the Prophet, by promises of future success in their schemes for confederating the tribes, and boasting of his ample power to place Fort Meigs with its garrison and immense stores in the hands of his Indian allies.

"Proctor was delighted with this response of the savages to his call, and had fine visions of the victory he was going to gain, and the glory and promotion it would bring him. He was more boastful than ever, and treated the Americans at Detroit in a supercilious manner.

He ordered the Canadians to a.s.semble at Sandwich on the 7th of April and told them the campaign would be short, decisive, successful, and profitable."

"How did he know!" exclaimed Lucilla scornfully.

"He did not," said her father; "events shortly following showed it to have been but idle boasting. That boast was made on the 7th of April.

On the 23d his army and his savage allies embarked on a brig and several smaller vessels, accompanied by two gunboats and some artillery. On the 26th they were at the mouth of the Maumee, about twelve miles below Fort Meigs, and two days later they landed on the left bank of the river near old Fort Miami, and established their main camp there.

"Captain Hamilton of the Ohio troops was reconnoitring down the river with a small force on the 28th, when he discovered the enemy there in force. They were first seen by Peter Navarre, one of Harrison's most trusty scouts. Hamilton sent him in haste to Fort Meigs with the news, and Harrison at once despatched him with three letters--one for Governor Meigs at Urbana, one for Upper Sandusky, and one for Lower Sandusky. Fort Meigs was quite strong--had intrenchments, pickets, several blockhouses, and a good supply of field-pieces; but from the account he had had of the character and strength of the enemy, Harrison considered it in imminent peril. He knew that General Clay was on his march with his Kentuckians, and immediately after despatching Navarre with his letters, he sent Captain William Oliver, the commissary of the fort, and a brave, judicious, and intelligent officer, with a verbal message to Clay urging him to press forward by forced marches.

"Oliver found General Clay at Defiance with 1200 Kentuckians. At St.

Mary's blockhouse Clay divided his brigade. He descended the St. Mary himself with Colonel Boswell's corps, while Dudley went down the Auglaize.

"The two divisions were to meet at Defiance. But before Dudley had reached that point he heard of Harrison's perilous position at Fort Meigs. A council of officers was called, and it was resolved to send Harrison word that succor was at hand. It was a very dangerous errand and required someone who was well acquainted with the country. Leslie Combs, a brave, patriotic young man, whom Clay had commissioned captain of a company of riflemen as spies or scouts, volunteered to go.

"'When we reach Fort Defiance,' he said, 'if you will furnish me a good canoe, I will carry your despatches to General Harrison, and return with his orders. I shall only require four or five volunteers from my own company.' His offer was joyfully accepted by Dudley. The next morning, May 1, they reached Defiance, and as soon as a canoe could be procured, Combs and his companions--Paxton, Johnson, and two brothers named Walker--started on their perilous errand. They had with them also a Shawnee warrior named Black Fish. He took the helm, the other four the oars, while Combs was at the bow in charge of the rifles and ammunition.

"As they pushed off from Fort Defiance there were cheers and sad adieus, for few thought they would ever see them again. It was a dangerous voyage; rain was falling fast and the night was intensely dark. Combs was determined to reach Fort Meigs before daylight the next morning. They pa.s.sed the rapids in safety, but not till quite late in the morning, and then heard heavy cannonading in the direction of the fort. That told them that the siege had begun, which made an attempt to reach the fort far more perilous than it would otherwise have been.

"Combs had now a hard choice to make. It would be prudent to go back, but would not seem courageous, while to stay where they were till the next night, or to go on at once, seemed equally hazardous. But he was very brave and soon came to a decision. 'We must go on, boys,' he said; 'and if you expect the honor of taking coffee with General Harrison this morning, you must work hard for it.'

"He knew the weakness of the garrison and feared it could not hold out long. Therefore great was his joy when, on sweeping round Turkey Point, at the last bend in the river, he saw the Stripes and Stars waving over the beleaguered camp. His little company evinced their delight by a suppressed shout. That was a sad mistake, for, suddenly, a solitary Indian appeared in the edge of the woods, and in another moment a large body of them could be seen in the gray shadows of the forest, running eagerly to a point below to cut off Combs and his party from the fort.

"He attempted to dart by them, when a volley of bullets wounded Paxton and Johnson--the latter mortally. The fire was returned with effect, then the Shawnee turned the prow to the opposite sh.o.r.e, and the voyagers left the canoe and fled toward Defiance. They tried to take Johnson and Paxton with them, but found it impossible, so were compelled to leave them to become captives.

"At the end of two days and two nights Combs and Black Fish reached Defiance, where they found Clay and his troops just arrived. The Walkers were there also, having fled more swiftly than Combs and the Indian had been able to because of their efforts to aid the flight of the two wounded men. They had suffered terribly in their flight, and for a time Combs was unable to take command of his company, but he went down the river with the re-enforcements and took an active part in the fight at Fort Meigs.

"But, ah, here come others of our party, and I must leave the rest of my story to be told later in the day," added the captain, turning to greet Violet and his younger children, who at that moment appeared upon the deck.

CHAPTER XI.

Shortly after breakfast, when the whole of their little company had gathered beneath the awning upon the deck, the captain resumed his story, as all had expressed a desire to hear it.

"On the morning of the 30th of April, 1813," he said, "the British had completed two batteries nearly opposite Fort Meigs and mounted their ordnance. On one there were two twenty-four pounders, on the other three howitzers. Well-directed round-shot from the fort had struck some of their men while at work, but neither that nor the drenching rain stopped them.

"Harrison had been busy too. He addressed his soldiers eloquently in a general order.

"'Can the citizens of a free country, who have taken arms to defend its rights,' he said, 'think of submitting to an army composed of mercenary soldiers, reluctant Canadians goaded to the field by the bayonet, and of wretched, naked savages? Can the breast of an American soldier, when he casts his eye to the opposite sh.o.r.e, the scene of his country's triumphs over the same foe, be influenced by any other feeling than the hope of glory? Is not this army composed of the same materials as that which fought and conquered under the immortal Wayne?

Yes, fellow soldiers, your general sees your countenances beam with the same fire that he witnessed on that glorious occasion; and although it would be the height of presumption to compare himself with that hero, he boasts of being that hero's pupil. To your posts then, fellow citizens, and remember that the eyes of your country are upon you.'

"That general order was given on the morning that the British made their appearance, and when he saw that they were erecting batteries on the opposite sh.o.r.e that would command his works, he directed his men to make a traverse, or wall of earth, on the highest ground through the middle of his camp. It had a base of twenty feet, was three hundred yards long and twelve feet high. While they were at the work it was concealed by the tents, which when it was finished were suddenly removed to its rear.

"Then the British engineer perceived, to his great mortification, that his labor had been almost in vain. Instead of an exposed camp from which Proctor had boasted that he would soon smoke out the Yankees,--meaning quickly destroy it with shot and sh.e.l.l,--he saw only an immense shield of earth which hid the Americans and thoroughly sheltered them.

"Proctor then changed his plans somewhat and sent a considerable force of white men under Captain Muir, and Indians under Tec.u.mseh, to the eastern side of the river, under cover of the gunboats, to attack the fort in the rear.

"The British batteries were silent through the night, but a gunboat, towed up the river near the fort under cover of darkness, fired thirty shots. The only effect, however, was an increase of the vigilance of the Americans. The next morning, though it was raining heavily, the British opened a severe cannonade and bombardment upon Fort Meigs, which they continued with slight intermissions for about five days; but without doing much injury to the fort or garrison.

"Occasionally our men returned the fire by eighteen-pounders. But their supply of shot for these and the twelve-pounders was very small, and as they did not know how long the siege might last, it was thought best to use them very sparingly.

"The British seemed to have powder, b.a.l.l.s, and sh.e.l.ls in great abundance, and they poured a perfect storm of missiles--not less than five hundred--upon the fort the first day and until eleven o'clock at night."

"And was n.o.body hurt, papa?" asked Elsie.

"One or two of the garrison were killed," replied her father, "and Major Stoddard of the First Regiment, a soldier of the Revolution, was so badly wounded by a sh.e.l.l that he died ten days later of lockjaw.

"The British were building a third battery on the other side of the river; they finished it that night, and all the next day kept up a brisk cannonade.

"Within the next twenty-four hours a fourth battery was opened. The British had been making mounds in the thickets near the angles of the fort, and that night a detachment of artillerists and engineers crossed the river and mounted guns and mortars upon them. One was a mortar battery, the other a three-gun gun battery. The Americans had expected something of the kind, and had raised traverses in time to foil their enemy; and when toward noon of the 3d the three cannon and the howitzers suddenly began firing upon the rear angles of the fort, they did scarcely any damage.

"A few shots by our men from their eighteen-pounders soon silenced the gun battery, and the British hastily moved the cannon and placed them near the ravine. During the 3d they hurled shot and sh.e.l.l steadily upon the fort, but with so little effect that the besiegers grew discouraged, and on the 4th the fire was not nearly so constant.

"Then Proctor sent Major Chambers with a demand for the surrender of the fort, and Harrison promptly responded, 'Tell General Proctor that if he shall take the fort it will be under circ.u.mstances that will do him more honor than a thousand surrenders.'