The Irish standard., 1906-08-18


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 ]. W. Faulkner in
| the Cincinnati Enquirer. in the COM
| mandantS room of the rude Stocllade
| known as Fort Stephenson, on the
Sandusky River. The writer was
Major George Croghan. of the Seven
teenth United States infantry, a boy
who had just attained his twenty first
year. 1t was addressed to General
William Henry Harrison, in command
of the American forces in the North
west. The reply of General Harrison
To this remarkable despatch was an
order removing Major Croghan from
I" headquarters under virtual arrest
for disobediencc. 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 lam
guagc of his message. When it wa.
written il was expected that 1t would
fall into the hands of the enemy, then
bnastfully advancing to the attack.
With the wnrlike eluuuencc that came
as Il heritage from his Irish ancestors,
Major Croghan showed his general that
II WAS too late to retreat from the
fort, and that 1t was a 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 ana
won a 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
the 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
his laurels and where the blow was
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
FOUNDER, which wears the affectionate
feminine sObriquet of odd Betsy" 1t
vas u single beich 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 internent
OF the gallant Croghan. Since that
cvcntful 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 a 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 vel
settled in this country when the Wa,
Of the Revolution broke out. He
fought at Monmouth, Brandywine anG
Germantown, and froze with the res,
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 O;
the Ohio. where Louisville now stands