John B . McClelland John B . McClelland ( 1734 – 1782 ) was an officer in the American Revolutionary War . He was captured by American Indians during the Crawford Expedition and tortured to death at the Shawnee town of Wakatomika , which is currently located in Logan County , Ohio , about halfway between West Liberty , Ohio and Zanesfield , Ohio . McClelland was born in Lancaster County , Pennsylvania , and after moving to Westmoreland County , Pennsylvania and taking up a tract of land in Franklin Township , lived in that part which fell within Fayette County , Pennsylvania on its organization in 1783 . He married Martha Dale on November 12 , 1759 , and was either the founder or co - founder of McClellandtown , Fayette County , Pennsylvania . In 1776 , McClelland ' s Fort , an early army outpost , was built on a cliff near Royal Spring Park , Georgetown , Kentucky . The fort was abandoned in 1777 , however , after Indian attacks increased in frequency and severity . John B . McClelland may have been involved in surveying the land , or possibly building a nearby log cabin . Though , it ' s more likely that a cousin , by the name of John McClelland ( 1745 – 1776 ) , was actually responsible . A monument to Scott County ' s fallen soldiers of the Revolution now marks the location . John B . McClelland was a member of the commission for the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776 , and later represented Westmoreland County in the Pennsylvania General Assembly . The Convention met in Philadelphia , July 15 , 1776 , to form a constitution and frame a government for the state of Pennsylvania . A committee of prominent citizens met at Carpenter ' s Hall , Philadelphia , on June 15 , 1776 , in order to make arrangements for a convention anticipating the separation of the colonies from Great Britain . Attendants were asked by the committee " " to choose such persons only to act for them in the ensuing convention as are distinguished for wisdom , integrity , and a firm attachment to the liberties of this province " . " In pursuance of this recommendation , delegates were chosen July 5 , 1776 , and the eight delegates to the convention elected for Westmoreland County were John Moore , Edward Cook , James Perry , James Barr , James Smith , John Carmichael , John McClelland , and Christopher Lobingier . At the outset of the Revolutionary War , McClelland was appointed to a citizen ’ s committee to procure arms and ammunition for the defense of the struggling new nation . He enlisted in the Fourth Pennsylvania Battalion , on January 28 , 1776 , which worked in conjunction with the Continental Army during the war . McClelland later became a Captain in the First Battalion of Westmoreland Militia , a unit which was prominent in the Siege of Yorktown . To clarify , it was actually his son , John McClelland ( 1766 – 1849 ) , who helped illustrate the unfair nature of the taxes imposed during the Whiskey Insurrection . Officers of the Westmoreland Militia met on June 18 , 1781 , at the home of Captain John McClelland , on Big Sewickley Creek , and by a majority , voted to give aid to General George Rogers Clark . It was resolved to furnish 300 men out of the County Militia to join General Clark ' s army against the Ohio savages , for the immediate benefit of the Westmoreland frontier ; despite the fact that Clark ' s real intention was to conquer the British post at Detroit . Although George Washington agreed to transfer a small group of regulars to assist Clark , the detachment was defeated in August 1781 before they could meet up with Clark , effectively putting an end to the campaign . By 1782 , the Indians of the frontier allied themselves with the British and started attacking settlers . McClelland was commissioned a Major , and made third in command of an expedition , led by Colonel William Crawford , intended to put an end to Indian attacks on American settlers in that region . In fact , John McClelland was one of four majors elected for the Crawford Expedition . The other Majors included David Williamson ( Pennsylvania ) of Washington County , Pennsylvania , Thomas Gaddis of Westmoreland ( now Fayette ) , and James Brenton also of Westmoreland County ( now part of Washington County , Pennsylvania ) . By that time , McClelland was certainly no novice in military affairs , having been a Lieutenant - Colonel of the Fourth Battalion of Militia of Westmoreland County , to which he was elected on January 3 , 1778 . He was a brave and efficient officer , and much respected as a citizen . His election as one of the general officers of the expedition , at Mingo Bottom ( present Mingo Junction , Ohio ) , was evidence of the confidence reposed in him by the volunteers , with many of whom he was personally acquainted . Upon learning that a British detachment from Detroit was about to join forces with the Wyandot Indian forces , and that a large band of Shawnee warriors had also appeared to the south , Colonel Crawford commenced a retreat , with Major John McClelland leading the way . However , the volunteer army was soon attacked by the Shawnee and Delaware Indians , and suffered severely . McClelland was wounded and fell from his horse . Calling to John Orr , who was near , he told him to take his horse ( Orr was on foot ) and clear himself , which he did . Orr afterward related that he heard several of the men who were in the conflict say that the horsemen on the retreat rode over McClelland ; and it was the general belief that he was killed where he fell . Such , however , was not the case . The remainder of the division became disorganized and panic - stricken and disregarding McClelland ' s orders to follow the advance in a solid column , did not follow the prescribed route , becoming entangled in the wetlands . John Slover , one of the guides on the Crawford Expedition , saw McClelland ' s body at Wapatomica . The Indians had painted his body black , cut him with their tomahawks , and burnt holes with loads of gunpowder into it . His body was cruelly mangled ; the blood mixed with gunpowder and was rendered black . McClelland ' s body , along with the body of William Harrison , Colonel Crawford ' s son - in - law and the body of young William Crawford , the Colonel ' s nephew , was dragged approximately two hundred yards outside of the town . The corpses were given to the dogs , except their limbs and heads , which were mounted on poles . Young William Crawford , William Harrison , and Major John McClelland all lost their lives at the hands of the Delaware and Shawnee Indians . Colonel Crawford was brutally tortured and burnt at the stake . According to Fitzpatrick , the Shawnee Indians were led by Chief Blacksnake . A government - issued marker honoring Lt . Col . John B . McClelland has been installed where his wife , Martha Dale McClelland ( 1741 – 1822 ) ; son , John B McClelland ( 1766 – 1849 ) ; and daughter - in - law , Rachel Orr McClelland ( 1770 – 1843 ) ; are buried , at Tent Presbyterian Church Cemetery ( 275 Tent Church Road , Uniontown , PA 15401 ) .