The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-06-02

that the British in considerable force, had slsAnAs'
and driven the companies of Henry and A. haorr'o"'
and then remained upon the ground, erpec'ins o''
return from the woods To this force OF sne e'eny'
thus UNEXPECTEDLY thrown in rear ana WIN ""''A
our men came into collision without order and wsnou'
officers. we surrendered Captains Henry ana n. MOT
rison and st Of ther men, reached the boats crossed
,he river and got TO the fort The residue OF the
rsr,,sn, ,.,s tiIlcd or captured Tho field officers
xye,. Il. an fot Il was, therefore, impossible TO pass
with speed from company to company and give orders
| Cal Dudley was corpulent man. lie and Captains
! q Morrison, Lewis, Clark, and irwin four OF the
six heads OF companies which pursued the Indians IN
the woods lost their lives was the Lieutenant IN
Capt, J. c. Morrison's company. l was badly wound
cd Our Ensign had been left behind sick. More
than third Of the company were killed and wounded
Here was a company without commissioned officer
capable ofservice when it reached the battery Other
companies were in a similar condition. Under such
circumstances a surrender was unavoidable. Be
Sides those who first reached the battery, being few
in number incapable of making resistance and run
ming right up to the British soldiers, where they ex-
pected to join friends, threw down their arms as they
were ordered and thus set the example to those who
followed.
have thus briefly stated the facts attending the de-
feat Of Col Dudley, being an eye witness Of most OF
them, and having learnt what did not see from my
fellow soldiers just after they occurred, do this in
Justice to my old General, whose military life is under
going the scrutiny of public examination and crti-
cism that my testimony may receive such cons'de
ration as il may deserve in leading to correct concu
sion.
Allow me, in conclusion, to make a few remarks in
regard to the difficulties General Harrison had to en-
counter in conducting his military operations in the
Northwest They were much greater, in my opinion
than those which any other of our Generals had to
contend against during the last war From Pique, -
miles above Dayton TO the mouth Of the Maumce
thence down Lake Erie to the mouth of the HUI
ron river and east of the Of the Maumee as
far as the head waters of the Muskingum river, the
country was wilderness The enemy had command
of the Lake during 1872 and up to short time pre-
vious to Perry's memorable victory in 1913 II was
consequently impossible TO obtain supplies by water
from Cleveland Erie or Buffolo, TO sustain Fort
Meigs and the other Posts in its vicinity. For the
same reason troops for their defence could not be
transported by The country, and that part of
it especially, which denominated the Black
Swamp, was little else than quagmires and marshes
1t was almost impossible to get along with baggage
wagons carriages of any kind The -four and other
articles for the of the army Except beef driven
FOOT were generally transported on pack horses. The
volunteers from Kentucky and Ohio, in the spring of
1913, had wade through mud and water in passing
to the irontier-oen building brush heaps to sleep on
at night, for want of dry ground on which to pitch
heir tents The talented Tecumseh and his hosts
Of savage warriors aided by British regulars and
Canadian militia. Thus uniting tho skill and military
Implements OF civilized men to the lurking cunning
and ceaseless activity Of Infatuated savages These
things should be considered Those who fail to reflect
upon them, cannot properly appreciate the value OF
General Harrsons services in the successful defence
of Fort Megs, in the expulsion Of the enemy from
our territory and in the pursuit and capture Of Gen.
Proctor's army upon the Thames, General Harrison
is the only Commander in service TO whom q
British army surrendered during the last
| at one time thought would follow the example Of
others and seek opportunity to mention these facts
on the floor Of the House Of Representatives but
have concluded that the better is to address
YOU and request the insertion Of this letter in the
| Madisonian
Very respectfully, yours,
J. r. UNDERWOOD