The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-08-25


command this night 10 head quarters Cross the riyer
and come up ON the other side IL you should find |
OF deem II impractcabe to make good your march to
ms place, take the road TO Huronn and pursue il
with the utmost crcumspecton and dispatch" The |
bearer Of this dispatch losing his way did reach
Major Croghan until eleven o'clock Of the next day
ihe MAJOR was then OF opinion that he could not re-
treat with safety the Indians were around the fort
IN considerable numbers A majority Of his officers |
concurrcd IN the opinion that retreat was unsafe,
and that the post could be maintained until ut least
further instructions received from head quarters
The Major therefore, promptly returned the following
answer Sir; have received yours Of Yesterday, |
ten o'clock, +. M ordering to destroy this place,
and make good my retreat which was received too |
late TO be carried into execution We have deterrnin-
ed TO maintain this place, and, BY heavens we can p
The strong language Of this note was used on the
suppositien that might fall into the hands Of the enc
my. II reached the General on the same day, who
not fully understanding the motives under which il
was written, sent Colonel Wells next morning. es-
corted by Colonel Ball aud detachment of dragoons
with the following order:
July 3Oth 1873.
The General has Just received your letter of
tins date informing him that you had thought proper
TO dsobey the order issued from this office and deli
vered to you this morning. II appears that The infor
nation which dated the order incorrect; and as
you did not receive il in the ngl as was expected il
might have been proper that you should have reported
the circumstance and your situation before you pro-
cecded to its execution This might have been passed
over; but am directed To say you, that an officer
| who presumes to aver that he has made his resou
ton and that he will act in dnect opposition TO the
orders of his General, longer be entrusted with
| a separate command Colonel Wells is sent 10 re-
lIeye you. You will deliver the command to him. and
repair with Colonel Balls squadron to this place. BY
command, &c
A. II. Holmes Asst, Adj. General"
In passing down, the Dragons with party of
fourteen Indians and killed twelve of them When
Major Croghan reached head quarters he explained
to the General his motives in writing the note, which
We're deemed satisfactory In the meantime the scouts
had reported to General Harrison that the Indians
had not gone in the direction of Upper Sandusky
Upon receiving this information Major Croghan was
directed to resume his post with written instructions
of the same import as had been previously given
On the evening of the 3lst of July some scouts
sent out by General Harrison discovered the British
within twenty miles Of Fort Stephenson approaching
the place by water. It was IL o'clock, however, on
the next day August ist before these scouts, in
turning to Seneca, by Lower Sandusky, communi-
Gated this information to Major Croghan and in few
hours afterwards the fort actually invested by the
| British and Indians flag was now sent from the
enemy demanding surrender The messenger was
informed that the commandment and garrison were de-
termncd to defend it to the last extremity The at
tack was promptly commenced, and CALAMITY sustain
/ ed The result was glorious to the American arms
and covered the gal ant Croghan and his officers and
men, with honor, Only one was killed, and but
seven wounded. belonging to the garrison. The loss
OF the enemy was not less than hundred and fifty
in killed and wounded
/
Fort Stephenson, paused before moving to its relief
lie was hourly expecting considerable renforcemcns
nom the interior, but had not with him at Seneca,
disposable force of more than eight hundred men, the
NTH OF whom were cavalry, who in the thick woods
extending the greater part of the way between that
place and Lower Sandusky would have been of little
use. The remainder of these eight hundred men
were raw recruits To have marched upon an enemy,
several thousand strong, with such force would in
all human probability have resulted in its total de-
4 structon. Again, in moving to Fort Stephenson he
must necessarily leave the camp Seneca with one
hundred and fifty sick soldiers in it, exposed to the
| Indian tomahawk; while Upper Sandusky at which
ten thousand barrels of -four besides other sup
plies of public stores indispensable for the main OBJ
ccts of the campaign equally liable to be attack
ed and destroyed by Tecumthe, who, with two thou
sand warriors, was then lying in the swamp, between
that point and Fort Megs ready strike upon either
Seneca the Upper Sandtsky in the event Of Gene
| raj Harrson's moving to Fort Stephenson. Under
these circumstances he was bound by every military
principle, to retain that position in which he could
with the most certainty, accomplish the best results
He therefore determined to wait for time, at least
| the progress of events hoping that reinforcemcnts
| would arrive before the fort could be reduced. On
the night of the ID he informed that the enemy
retrcating, and early the morning. having in
the night been reinforced by three hundred Ohio mi
ta he set out for the fort attended by the dragoons
and directing the remainder of the dsposabe force to
/ follow under Generals Cass and Macarthur. Upon
reaching the fort the General was told by wounded
sergeant of the British troops that Tecumthe in
the swamp, south Of Fort Megs, ready to strike at
Upper Sandusky, on the first opportunity This in
formation, coroboraye of what he had before heard
induced the commander-in-chief to direct General
Macarthur, who had not yet reached the fort to
turn TO Seneca with all possible dispatch
In his official report of this affair, General Harrison
said 1T will not be among the least of General Proc
tors notifications to find that he has been baed by
youth, who has just passed his twenty first year
lie Isl however hero worthy of his gallant uncle,
! George r. Clark" The President Immediately con-
terrcd the brevet rank of Lieutenant COLONEL on Ma
! jor Croghan.
Shortly afterwards an attack was made in some pub
lie prints upon the conduct of General Harrison in
regard to the defence Of Fort Stephenson. Major
| Croghan promptly replied TO it, by forwarding to a
newspaper in Cincinnati, communication under
date Of Lower Sandusky, August 9th, 1872 in which
he gives the reason already stated, for disobcyng
General Harrisons order to destroy the fort and re-
treat to Seneca, and says
81 have with much regret seen in some of the public
prints such misrepresentation respecting my refusal
to evacuate this post calculated not only to in
Jure me IN the estimation of military men, but also
excite unavorable Impressions as to the propriety of
/ General Harrsons conduct relative to this affair
+" His character military man is too well es alb
! lished to need my appreciation support But his
public services entitled him at least to Justice
This affair does not furnish of reproach If pub
lie opinion has been lately nised respecting his late
conduct il will require but moments cool dispas-
sonae reflection, to convince them of its propricty
! The measures recently adopted by him, so far from
deserving censure the ceares proofs of his keen
penetration and able generalship"
/ The letter concludes with the following paragraphs,
alike honorable to the soldier and the gentleman
" It would be nsincere to say that am not attcrcd
by tho many handsome things which have been said
about the defence which was made by the troops un-
der my commando but desire no plauiits which are
bestowed upon me at the expense of General Harri-
4 son.
have at all times enjoyed his confidence so far as