The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1859-08-17
Some Incidents OF the War of
1919 in the Northwest.
BY JOHN HARMON.


ers some details of the volunteering ant
march OF Campbell's Volunteer Company
from Portage County to Lower Sandusky
(now FremonD in 1919. By reference tC
my diary find some inaccuracies OF time in
my former communication. Iwrote without
my diary before me. Our company left
Cleveland, July 10th, 1912, in two boats
Smiths and Babcock's. We passed the
first night encamped on the lake shore, on
the east side of the mouth of Rocky River
The second night we lay on the west side oI
the mouth of Black River, having been de.
tanned there the after part of the day by q
rough lake. The next night-the night oil
the l2th-Smith's boat anchored out in
Sandusky bay, near the block house, and
Babcock's boat, on which was, lay at the
block house, near Major Parsons, on the
Peninsula. On the 18th, we went up the
Sanddsky bay and river 33 miles, and en-.
camped at widow Whitoker's, on the west
side, three miles below the stockade or fort,
since known as Fort Stephenson, and arriv-
ed at the fort on the l4th, all in good health
and spirits. We Immediately set about
erecting temporary shelters for ourselves,
inside of the pckets, and for flooring we
peeled bark, and laid on the ground. For
bedding, for want of straw, We stripped the
hazle bushes of their green leaves, and
strewed them on our hark flooring, on which
we slept very comfortable.
The country was then all wilderness be.
tween our fort and Portage County. There
was very little settlement west of the "OId
Indian Boundary" which previous to 1906,
was "the Cuyahoga River and the Portage
Path" Portage County, however, as con-
stituted and organized in 1903, extended d
west--south of Cuyahogu County-to the
present east line of Huron County, but had
scarcely begun to settle west of the old In.
dian boundary. Col. Campbell's regiment,
from which Campbell's company was raised
oil of the present county of Por-
tage, except the ninth range of townships,
in which there were but few settlers then,
in any townships but Aurora. Frsnklin and
Suftield, in the same range, had but few
families each, and that range, with all the
settlements west, now part of Summit,
formed ON independent Battaion-as the
militia were then organized-whch was
commanded by Major George Darrow, who
is, | believe, still living resident OF Hud.
son.
Campbel's volunteer company, was the
only company that marched from the West.
ern Reserve before HuIl's surrcnder-the
only company that had volunteered from this
region to march and join what Gov. Meiggs
WIS pleased to call "the first army of Ohio"
A volunteer company from Columbiana
County was raised about the same time, and
soon followed US, commanded by Capt. Row.
land who arrived at Lower Sandusky, July
18th, and his company arrived on August ed.
Another, volunteer company from Della.
ware County, commanded by Captain Nor.
ton, we found there, when we arrived at the
fort.
Three regiments OF Ohio Volunteers, com.
manded by CoIonels James Findley, of Gin.
cinnati, Duncan Macarthur, of Chillicothe,
and Lewis CaSs, of GAINESVILLE, had preceded
is, and arrived at Detroit by a more western
route through the wilderness, by Maumee
and River Rasin and with few regulars
"Hull's Army" at Detroit.
Rowland's and CampbelI's Companies
we're said to belong to Col. Cass' reg iment,
md were ordered on for Detroit about the
irst of August, except detachment of elev
IN from each company, who were ordered to
proceed to the fort at Maumee, under the
command of Lieutenant CARTS, to guard that
post, relieving q small detachment of regu.
ars of Col. AIiller's regiment, who were or
Tered on to Detroit, to join their regiment.
Gut about the last of July, nearly all of
Campbel's Company were taken unwell,
md several were very sick. Our Captain
Ind his clerk, Seth Day, we're SO sick tina,
hey took boat for Cleveland-parting
company with US August 7th, at the Block
louse at Sandusky bay-while we started Tor
he mouth Of River Raisin, and arrived at the
on the north easterly side of the
liver, nearly opposite to where is now the
;ity OF Monroe, on August 9Th.
have been solicited to detail some anec.
Totes and incidents of our journey, but | de.
fer them at this time, except the leading and
more important ones, leaving some interest.
ng details 10 be narrated hereafter, by nv
self or some of my old associates-several of
whom are more competent 10 do it than my
hope they will crafty US by
placing them before the public.
Many OF your readers may not, perhaps,
be aware of the situation of the frontier at
The time have been speaking of. In coast.
ing along from Cleveland to SGndusky bav.
we found very few people. l think we sa W
no house from Cleveland to the bay, but that
Of John s. Reed, at the mouth of Black riy.
er. Very few settlers had then located vest
of Cleveland. There were some small set.
Elements on Huron River-one at Milan and
perhaps one or two houses near the mouth of
the river. There was also a few settlers
near where is now Sandusky City. The
only white settler remember to have seen