The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-02-02
ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT
FATE OF AN EXPEDITION SENT
AGAINST THE MIAMI INDIANS.
A Bloody Encounter at the Head
waters of the wabash, I'm Which
the Red Men Were Victorious.

In the February Harper's the Hon.
Theodore Roosevelt describes the i'll
starred expedition against the Miami In
dams, undertaken during washington's
first administration, under the command
of General Arthur st. Clair. He writes:
On Nov. the doomed army, now re-
| duced to a total Of about 1.400 men.
camped on the eastern fork Of the Wa
| bash, high up, where 1t was but twenty
| yards wide. There was snow on the
ground, and the little polls were skinned
with ice The camp was on a narrow
rise of ground, where the troops were
cramped together, the artillery and most
of the horse In the middle. On both
| TANKS and along most Of the rear the
ground was low and wet. All about the
wintry woods lay in frozen silence. In
| front the militia were thrown across the
| creek, and nearly a quarter Of a mile be-
! yond the rest Of the troops. Parties of
Indians were seen during the afternoon.
| and they sulked around the lines at
night, so that the sentinels frequently
| fired at them; yet neither st. Clair nor
Butler took any adequate measures to
ward off the impending blow II is i'm
probable that, as things actually were at
| this time, they could have won victory
over their terrible foes, Lut they might
have avoided overwhelming disaster.
! On Nov. the men we're under arms,
1 as usual, by dawn, st. Clair intending
to throw up the intrenchments and then
| make a forced march in light order
! against the Indian towns. But he was
| forestalled. Soon after sunrise, just as
| the men were dismissed from parade.
| sudden assault was made upon the mill
| tia, who lay unprotected beyond the
| creek. The unexpectedness and fury of
! the onset, the heavy firing and the wild
| whoops and yells of the throngs CT paint
| ed savages threw the militia into cisor-
| der. After a few moments resistance
| they broke and fled in wild panic to the
camp Of the regulars, among whom they
| drove in frightened hero, spreading
diSmay and confusion.
The drums beat, and the troops sprang
to arms as soon as they heard the heavy
firing in the front, and their volleys for a
| moment che&ked the onrush CT the
plumed woodland warriors. But the
check availed nothing. The braves filed
off to one side and the other, completely
surrounded the camp, killed or drove in
the guards and pickets and then ad-
vanced close to the main lines.
A furious battle followed. After the
first onset the Indians fought in silence,
no sound coming from them save the in
cesSant rattle of their fire as they crept
from log to log, from tree to tree, ever
closer and closer. The soldiers stood in
close order in the open; their musketry
and artillery fire made q tremendous
noise, but did little damage to foe they
could hardly see. Now and then, through
the hanging smoke, terrible figures
fitted, painted black and red, the feath-
ers Of the hawk and eagle braided in
their long scalp locks; but, save for these
glimpses, the soldiers knew the presence
OF their Somber enemy only from the
fearful rapidity with which their COM
rades fell dead and wounded in the
ranks. They never even knew the num-
bers or leaders of the Indians At the
time it was supposed that they outnum-
bered the whites, but 1T is probable that
the reverse was the case, and it may even
be that they were not more than half as
numerous. 1t is said that the chief who
led them, both in council and battle, was
Little Turtle, the Miami. At any rate,
there were present all the chiefs and
picked warriors of the Delawares, Shaw
nees, Wyandots and Miamis, and all
the most reckless and adventurous
young braves from among the Iroquois
and the Indians Of the upper lakes, as
well as many of the ferocious whites and
half-breeds who dwelt in the Indian viii
lagos.
The Indians fought with the utmost
holiness and ferocity, and with the ut
most skill and caution. Under cover Of
the smoke of the heavy but harmless fire
from the army they came up so close
that they shot the troops down as hunt
ers slaughter herd of standing buffalo.
Watching their chance, they charged
again and again with the tomahawk.
gliding into close quarters, while their
bewildered foes were still blindly firing
into I moke-shrouded woods. The
m ~ saw no enemy as they stood in the
ranks to load and shoot; in a moment
without warning, dark faces frowned
through the haze, the war axes gleamec,
and on the frozen ground the weapons
clattered as the soldiers fell. AS the
comrades of the fallen sprang forward
to avenge them, the 1.-THE warriors van
ished rapidly as they had appeared,
and once more the soldiers saw before
them only the dim forests and the shift
glimpses of the hidden foe, while the
steady singing of the Indian bullets
never ceased, and on every hand the
bravest and steadiest fell. one by one.
ST. GLARS RETREAT.
There was but one thing to do. If pos
sible the remnant of the army must be
saved, and it could only be saved by in
slant flight, even at the cost of abandon
ing the wounded. The broad road by
which the army had advanced was the
only line of retreat. The artillery had
already been spiked and abandoned.
Most of the horses had been killed, but a
few were still left, and on one of these
St. Clair mounted. He gathered togeth-
ed those fragments OF the different bat
talions which contained the few men
who still kept heart and head and order
dered them to charge and regain the road
from which the savages had cut them
Off Repeated orders were necessary be-
fore some Of the men could be reused
from their stupor TO follow the charging
party, and they were only induced to
move when told that it was to retreat
Colonel Darke and a few officers
placed themselves at the head of the
column, the coolest and boldest men drew
up behind them, and they fell on the In
dians with such fury as to force them
back we'll beyond the road. This made
an opening through which, said Van
Cleve, the packer. the rest of the troops
pressed like a drove of bullocks." The
Indians were surprised by the vigor of
the charge. and puzzled as to it's object;
they opened out on both Sides and half
the men had gone through before they
fired more than a chance shot or two.
They then fell on the rear and began a
hot pursuit.
There never was a wilder rout. AS
soon as the men began to rum and real
safety, they broke into stampede which
hoo f~r.I 1oHl 10