The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-08-18

we nave determined to mold this
place and. by heavens. we can"
This was the closing sentence of Il
military despatch written on the night
of July ~, ninety-threc years ago. 1t
was penned. says j. W. Faulkner in
the Cincinnati Enquirer, in the COM
| nandant'S room of the rude stockade
known as Fort Stephenson, on the
Sandusky River. The writer was
Major George Croghun, of the Seven
tcenth United States infantry, a boy
who had just attained his twenty first
year II was addressed to General
William Henry Harrison. in command
of the American forces in the North
west. The reply of General Harrison
t" this remarkable despatch was an
order removing Major Croghan from
command and ordering him to report
I" headquarters under virtual arrest
for disobedience. Young Croghan re-
sponded promptly, traversing a
dangerous country. Face to face with
his general he explained that 1t was
not braggadocio that inspired the Ian
guagc of his message When it wa.
written it was expected that 1t would
fall into the hands of the enemy, then
b"Hstfully advancing to the attack.
With the warlke eluuuencc that came
as Il heritage from his Irish ancestors,
~, L.:
1t was too late to retreat from the
fort, and that II was q necessary mill
tary manoeuvre to hold 1t pending the
execution of other movements His
tongue won for him what every great
soul dcsires-opportunity Restored to
command, he returned to the fort and
Won Il victory that will forever live in
the annals of the early Republic.
Two days ago the body of Major
Croghan was inferred at the base of
lie monument erected to the memory
of the soldiers of Sandusky county
This imposing shaft marks the site Of
the old fort, where the dead hero won
struck that opened the way to ulti-
mate victory over the British and In
dian power in the northwestern cOun-
! try. over his grave will stand as Il
silent witness the single cannon used
! In defense Of the fort an ancient six
| FOUNDER, which wears the arfectiOmate
feminine sobriquct of odd Betsy" 1t
| was a single beicll from the iron jaws
of this old wardog that decided the
fate of the battle. and. though inani-
| mate, still 1t deserved share of the
glory that surrounded the inter,nent
of the gallant Croghan. Since that
eventful day in August many great
events have occurred to fill the pages
of history. General Harrison became
greater and filled the Presidents chair.
Around the base of the old fort city
has sprung up named after General
John c. Fremont, the Pathfinder. In
Croghan's day the little settlement was
known as Lower Sandusky, to dis
tinguish 1t from the city in WyandOt
county known as Upper Sandusky. So
powerful Il pleader as Rutherford b.
Hayes. then a practising attorney at
the Sandusky county bar and after
ward President of the United States,
pleaded in n whimsical poetical petit
tiOn that the old name be permitted
to stand.
| There was pomp and ceremony to
mark the final sspulture of the old
commanders dust in the ground that
he hallowed with his victory but no
greater tribute could be paid to his
soldier memory than to tell again the
story Of the battle. He came of fight
ing stock, this young American soldier.
The blood Of Kelly, Burke and Shea"
flowed in his veins, and he smelled the
battle from afar off. His father was
William CrOghan, an Irishman, born in
dublin in 1852, but who was well
settled in this country when the War
Of the Revolution broke out He
fought at Monmouth, Brandywine and
Germantown, and froze with the rest
Of the immortal band at Valley Forge,
Joining in the drift from the Vir-
ginias across the Alleghanies, he
reached the settlement at the falls OF
the Ohio. where Louisville now stands.