Gustave Rosenthal Gustavus Heinrich de Rosenthal ( 1753 – 1829 ) was a Baltic German soldier and nobleman born in Vaimõisa , present - day Estonia , with the Title of Baron and last name of von Wetter - Rosenthal , a junior line of the von Wetter - Tegenfelden ' s . He came into conflict with another man and was forced to flee the country after killing him in a duel . He came to North America , where he served in the Continental Army using the name John Rose . American Revolution . At the time of his departure from Europe , the American Revolution was under way . Rosenthal adopted the name John Rose and joined a unit from Pennsylvania . While stationed at Fort Ticonderoga , he befriended William Irvine who was an officer in the Continental Army . He was part of the American invasion of Quebec and was present at the Battle of Trois - Rivières . He had much experience in the military which assisted him in establishing a reputation as a competent commander . Crawford expedition . When William Irvine was transferred to the Western Department , Rose accompanied him . Irvine assigned him to the Crawford expedition under the command of Colonel William Crawford against the Upper Sandusky villages of the Wyandots and Delawares in 1782 . Irvine ordered Rose to keep a detailed account of the expedition and record all of the events . During the election of officers , Rose was elected adjutant with the rank of Major . Upon nearing the destination of the campaign , Rose was selected to lead an advance company of men to scout the area ahead and attempt to determine the location of the enemy . It was Rose who discovered and determined that the grove of trees known as " Battle Island " should be the point of defense for the army during the Battle of Sandusky . Shortly after leaving the grove , the detachment spotted several Indians . After pursuing them some distance they were ambushed by the hidden force of Native Americans under the Wyandot chief Half King , the Delaware chiefs Captain Pipe and Wingenund and the British Indian agent Simon Girty . Rose led the company in a fighting retreat while sending back runners to alert the main army that they had engaged the Indian force . With the advance company retreating and the main army advancing , they met at the grove earlier discovered by Rose . During the day of June 4 and the following day of June 5 , the Indian force surrounded and attacked the army within the grove . Several attempts were made to penetrate the army ' s perimeter with little success ; however , numerous parties of warriors continued to arrive to augment the numbers of the attackers and following the arrival of a number of Butler ' s Rangers and a party of Shawnee numbering near 200 under the Chief Black Snake , the battle began to go against the Americans . Retreat and the Battle of the Olentangy . Following the arrival of the British and Indian reinforcements , Colonel Crawford and Colonel David Williamson , the second in command , agreed that a retreat should be attempted on the night of June 5 . As the men were preparing to leave the woods , small groups began to leave on their own causing the organized retreat to degenerate into a rout . A large body of men remained together under the leadership of Col David Williamson and Major Rose . The following day , Rose was again selected to lead an advance company to scout the terrain ahead . Later in the day , as the remains of the army approached the Olentangy River to water the horses and rest , the Indians and British attacked initiating the Battle of the Olentangy . After fierce fighting , the Americans were able to push the Indians and British back . Realizing that the enemy would harass the rear of the army , Rose led the defense of a rear guard which kept the enemy at bay long enough to allow the army to leave the Olentangy River camp . On June 13 the remaining American army crossed the Ohio River into American territory . Rose delivered his report to General Irvine . After the war . Following the American Revolution John Rose returned to Estonia and married . He raised a family and died in 1829 . The journal which he had kept on the Crawford Expedition was part of his estate when he died . A family member later sent a copy to the Pennsylvania Historical Society giving Americans an excellent account of the campaign .