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ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT 
 
 Prepared by the Staff of the 
 
 Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County 
 
 1954 
 
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 FOREWORD 
 
 Several survivors of St. Clair's Defeat wrote vivid 
 accounts of their experiences during that terrible battle. 
 These personal reports detail one of the worst defeats ever 
 suffered by an American army. Encouraged by victories 
 over the forces of Generals Harmar and St. Clair, the In- 
 dians preyed upon the defenseless frontier. Therefore, the 
 success of General Wayne's expedition, undertaken in 1792 
 to subdue the redskins, was of primary importance to the 
 development of the West. 
 
 The first of the three articles in this pamphlet con- 
 tains the accounts which Henry Howe included in his HIS- 
 TORICAL COLLECTIONS OF OHIO, first published in 1847. 
 Sources of quotations used in Howe's COLLECTIONS are 
 not always clear, but the material is considered of sufficient 
 historical significance to warrant reprinting without exact 
 citations. The second item appeared in the INDIANA HER- 
 ALD on April 13, 1864. The third article is a brief news- 
 paper report which was published in the INDIANA STATE 
 JOURNAL on September 27, 1851. 
 
 The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort 
 Wayne and Allen County present this publication in the hope 
 that it will prove interesting to the general public as well 
 as to students of the history of the Old Northwest. Gram- 
 mar, spelling, and punctuation have been changed to con- 
 form to current usage. 
 
The great objective of St. Clair's campaign was to es- 
 tablish a military post at the Miami village (the site of the 
 present city of Fort Wayne) at the junction of the St. Mary's 
 and St. Joseph rivers. Intermediate posts of communica- 
 tion were to be maintained from that place to Fort Washing- 
 ton at Cincinnati. This was felt to be the only way to pre- 
 vent future hostilities. 
 
 Acting under instructions, St. Clair proceeded to or- 
 ganize his army. At the close of April, 1791, he was at 
 Pittsburgh where troops and munitions of war were being 
 collected. On the fifteenth of May he reached Fort Washing- 
 ton. The expedition was expected to start before the first 
 of August, but mismanagement in the quartermaster's de- 
 partment and other hindrances prevented the departure for 
 many weeks. From Fort Washington the troops advanced 
 only six miles to Ludlow's Station. The army of 2,300, ex- 
 clusive of the militia, remained thereuntil September 17, 
 when it moved forward and built Fort Hamilton on the Great 
 Miami River. From there the army marched forty-four 
 miles farther and built Fort Jefferson. On the twenty-fourth 
 of October the toilsome march through the wilderness began. 
 We copy below from the NOTES ON THE EARLY SETTLE- 
 MENT OF THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY by Judge 
 Jacob Burnet. 
 
 "During this time 300 militiamen deserted and re- 
 turned to their homes. The supplies for the army were still 
 in the rear, and General St. Clair was afraid that the de- 
 serters might seize them for their own use. He decided 
 very reluctantly to send the first regiment back for the dual 
 purpose of bringing up the provisions and, if possible, of 
 overtaking and arresting some of the deserters. 
 
 "After that arrangement had been made, the army 
 resumed its march; and on the third of November, it arrived 
 at a creek flowing toward the southwest. This stream was 
 thought to be the St. Mary's River, one of the principal 
 branches of the Maumee River; but it was afterward ascer- 
 tained to be a branch of the Wabash River. Since it was late 
 in the afternoon and the men were fatigued by the laborious 
 march, they encamped on a commanding piece of ground by 
 
 1 
 
the creek. 
 
 "General St. Clair intended to occupy that position un- 
 til the first regiment arrived with the provisions. Accord- 
 ing to a plan he had made with Major Ferguson, he intended 
 to begin work on a fort the next day; but he was not permit- 
 ted to do so. Half an hour before sunrise on the fourth of 
 November, just after the men had been dismissed from pa- 
 rade, the Indians attacked the militiamen posted at the front. 
 By rushing back into camp with the Indians close upon their 
 heels, they threwthe army into disorder from which it could 
 not recover. In a short time the Indians were checked by 
 the fire of the first line, but they immediately concentrated 
 a very heavy fire on that line; and in a few minutes they ex- 
 tended their fire to the second line. 
 
 "In each case their heaviest fire was directed into the 
 center of the line where the artillery was placed, and men 
 were frequently driven from the center with great slaughter. 
 Bayonets were resorted to in that emergency. Under orders 
 from St. Clair, Colonel Darke made a spirited charge with 
 a part of the second line. The Indians instantly gave way 
 and were driven back several hundred yards. But there was 
 not a sufficient number of riflemen to preserve the advan- 
 tage, and the enemy soon renewed the attack and forced our 
 troops to retreat. 
 
 "When the Indians entered the American camp from 
 the left, another charge was made with great success by 
 the battalions of Majors Butler and Clark. Several other 
 charges were made with equal effect. These attacks, how- 
 ever, caused a heavy loss of men, particularly of officers. 
 In the charge made by the second regiment, Major Butler 
 was dangerously wounded. All but three of the officers of 
 that regiment fell, and one of these three was shot through 
 the body. The cannon was silenced, and all the artillery 
 officers were killed except Captain Ford who was danger- 
 ously wounded. Half the army had fallen; it was necessary 
 to gain the road, if possible, and to make a retreat. 
 
 "A successful charge was made on the enemy, as if 
 to turn their right flank, but in reality to reach the road. 
 The militia then commenced to retreat, followed by the 
 
United States troops, with Major Clark's battalion covering 
 the rear. The retreat, as might be expected, soon became 
 a flight. The camp was abandoned and so was the artillery 
 for there were no horses to move it. For about four miles 
 the road was almost covered with the arms and accouter- 
 ments which the men continued to throw away even after the 
 Indians had stopped pursuing them. 
 
 "All of General St. Clair's horses had been killed, 
 and he was mounted on a broken-down packhorse that could 
 scarcely be forced out of a walk. It was, therefore, impos- 
 sible for him to get forward to command a halt; and the or- 
 ders which he dispatched by others for that purpose were 
 not executed. The rout continued until about dark when the 
 remnant of the army arrivedat Fort Jefferson, twenty-seven 
 miles from the battleground. The battle had lasted about 
 three hours; it began a half hour before sunrise, and the 
 retreat did not start until nine-thirty in the morning. With 
 only one exception, the troops behaved with great bravery 
 during this time; this accounts for the very large number of 
 casualties. 
 
 "Among those killed were Major General Butler, Colo- 
 nel Oldham, Major Ferguson, Major Hart, and Major Clark. 
 Among the wounded were Colonel Sargeant (the adjutant gen- 
 eral), Colonel Darke, Colonel Gibson, Major Butler, and 
 Viscount Malartie, who served as an aide. In addition to 
 these, the list of officer s killed contained the names of Cap- 
 tains Bradford, Phelon, Kirkwood, Price, Van Swearingen, 
 Tipton, Purdy, Smith, Piatt, Gaither, Crebbs, and New- 
 man; Lieutenants Spear, Warren, Boyd, McMath, Burgess, 
 Kelso, Read, Little, Hopper, and Lickins; Ensigns Cobb, 
 Balch, Chase, Turner, Wilson, Brook, Beatty, and Purdy; 
 Quartermasters Reynolds and Ward; Adjutant Anderson; and 
 Dr. Grasson. In addition to the wounded officers whose 
 names are mentioned above, the official list contains the 
 names of Captains Doyle, Truman, Ford, Buchanan, Darke, 
 and Hough; Lieutenants Greaton, Davidson, DeButts, Price, 
 Morgan, McCrea, Lysle, and Thompson; Adjutants Whistler 
 and Crawford; and Ensign Bines. The melancholy result of 
 that disastrous day was felt and lamented by all who had 
 
sympathy for private distress or public misfortune. 
 
 "The only allegation made by General St. Clair against 
 his army was that the men lacked discipline, a quality which 
 could not have been developed during the short time the men 
 were in the service. That defect rendered it impossible to 
 restore order once the men were thrown into confusion, and 
 this is the chief reason why the loss fell so heavily on the 
 officers. They were compelled to expose themselves to an 
 unusual degree in their efforts to rally the men and to over- 
 come the want of discipline. Although worn down by sick- 
 ness and suffering from a painful disease, General St. Clair 
 set the example. It was alleged by the officers that the In- 
 dians far outnumbered the American troops. That conclu- 
 sion was drawn, in part, from the fact that the Indians out- 
 flanked and forcefully attacked all sides of the American 
 lines at the same time. 
 
 "When the fugitives arrived at Fort Jefferson, the 
 first regiment was just returning from its unsuccessful ef- 
 fort either to overtake the deserters or to meet the convoy 
 of provisions. The absence of that regiment at the time of 
 the battle was believed by some men to have been the cause 
 of the defeat. They supposed that had it been present the 
 Indians would have been defeated or would have attacked at 
 another time. General St. Clair seemed to think it uncer- 
 tain, judging from the superior number of the enemy, wheth- 
 er he ought to consider the absence of that corps fortunate 
 or otherwise. On the whole, he seemed to think it fortunate, 
 for he gravely doubted whether its presence would have 
 changed the fortune of the day. If it had not, the triumph of 
 the enemy would have been more complete, and the country 
 would have been left without means of defense. 
 
 "As soon as the troops reached Fort Jefferson, it be- 
 came a question of whether they ought to stay there or re- 
 turnto Fort Washington. General St. Clair asked the advice 
 of his surviving field officers; these included Colonel Darke, 
 Majors Hamtramck, Zeigler, and Gaither, and Colonel Sar- 
 geant. After discussing the subject, they reported unani- 
 mously that they believed the troops could not be accommo- 
 dated in Fort Jefferson nor could they be supplied with pro- 
 
visions there. The officers thought it proper to proceed 
 immediately toward supplies which were known to be on the 
 road not more than two marches distant. This plan was 
 adopted, and the army set out at ten o'clock and marched 
 all night. The next day they met a convoy with a quantity of 
 flour which was one day ahead of a drove of cattle. These 
 supplies were used by the troops on their march to Fort 
 Washington. 
 
 "The loss sustained by the country in the fall of so 
 many gallant officers and men was most seriously regretted. 
 General Butler and Major Ferguson were spoken of with 
 particular esteem. The public feeling, however, was in 
 some measure alleviated by the fact that those brave men, 
 officers and privates, fell covered with honor while defend- 
 ing the cause of their country. 
 
 "The principal complaint made by the commander was 
 that some of his orders given during the night to Colonel 
 Oldham were not executed. He also complained that some 
 very important information sent during the night by Captain 
 Hough to General Butler was not imparted to him, and he 
 did not hear of it until he arrived at Fort Washington. 
 
 "Because of the almost treasonable negligence of the 
 government agents infurnishing supplies, the army had been 
 on short allowances for many days. This had made it abso- 
 lutely necessary either to retreat or to send the first regi- 
 ment, which was the flower of the army, to bring up the 
 provisions and military stores. The latter alternative was 
 chosen, and in the absence of that corps the attack was made. 
 In regard to the negligence of the War Department, it is a 
 well -authenticated fact that boxes and packages were care- 
 lessly put up and marked. During the battle a box marked 
 'flints' was found to contain gunlocks; a keg of powder 
 marked 'for the infantry' was found to be damaged cannon- 
 powder that could scarcely be ignited. 
 
 "Under all of these disadvantages, it was generally 
 believed by candid, intelligent men that the commanding 
 general was not justly liable to severe censure. With one 
 exception at the commencement of the action, the troops 
 behaved with great bravery. They maintained their ground 
 
for three hours in an uninterrupted conflict with a superior 
 force. They did not attempt to leave the field until it was 
 covered with the bodies of their companions and a retreat 
 was ordered. The General, less anxious for himself than 
 for others, was the last to leave the ground after he had or- 
 dered the retreat. 
 
 "For some time after the disaster, St. Clair was uni- 
 versally censured. After a thorough investigation, a com- 
 mittee of Congress, with Mr. Giles of Virginia as chairman, 
 found that the campaign had been conducted with skill and 
 personal bravery. The committee concluded that the defeat 
 was caused chiefly by the lack of discipline in the militia 
 and by the negligence of those whose duty it was to procure 
 and forward the provisions and military stores necessary 
 for the expedition. 
 
 "Secretary of War Henry Knox addressed a letter to 
 Congress complaining that an injustice had been done him 
 by the committee. The report was then reconsidered by 
 the same committee. After hearing the statements and ex- 
 planations of the Secretary and after reconsidering the whole 
 matter, they reaffirmed their first report. " 
 
 From one part of the country to the other, this defeat 
 caused one loud and merciless outcry of abuse and detesta- 
 tion of St. Clair. Many a general with far less bravery and 
 military skill has , when, successful, been applauded by the 
 unthinking multitude with vehement acclamations. The fol- 
 lowing excerpt from the narrative of St. Clair's campaign 
 shows that he deserved a better fate. 
 
 "During the engagement, Generals St. Clair and But- 
 ler were continually going up and down the lines; as one gen- 
 eral went up one side, the other one went down the opposite 
 side. St. Clair was so severely afflicted with the gout that 
 he was unable to mount or dismount a horse without assist- 
 ance. His own four horses had been turned out to feed over- 
 night, but they had been brought in before the battle. St. 
 Clair first attempted to ride a young horse, but the animal 
 was so frightened by the firing that it could not be mounted. 
 He had just moved the horse to where he could have some 
 advantage from the slope of the ground when the horse was 
 
{he hoist Qjcub shot {hiQutfjfi iMhzcud 
 
 ^L * 
 
shot through the head. The boy holding it was wounded in 
 the arm. A second horse was brought and harnessed; but 
 as St. Clair was about to mount, the animal and the servant 
 who held it were killed. The General then ordered the third 
 horse to be prepared and brought to him at the left of the 
 front line, which was then warmly engaged. The man and 
 horse were never heard of afterward, and it is supposed that 
 they were killed. General St. Clair's fourth horse was killed 
 under the Count de Malartie, one of his aides, whose horse 
 had died on the march. 
 
 "On the day of the battle, St. Clair was not in his uni- 
 form; he wore a coarse coat and a three-cornered hat. A 
 long queue and heavy gray locks flowed from under his bea- 
 ver hat. Early in the action, a ball grazed the side of his 
 face and cut off a portion of one of his locks. It is said that 
 during the battle eight balls passed through his clothes. Af- 
 ter his horses were killed, he exerted himself on foot for a 
 considerable time with a degree of alertness that surprised 
 everybody who saw him. When he was nearly exhausted, a 
 packhorse was brought to him. Although he could scarcely 
 prod the animal out of a walk, he rode it during the remain- 
 der of the day. Had he not been furnished with a horse, he 
 would have had to remain on the field, even though he was 
 unhurt. 
 
 "During the action General St. Clair exerted himself 
 with a courage and presence of mind worthy of the best for- 
 tune. He gave his orders in person to Colonel Darke, and 
 he was present when the first bayonet charge was made up- 
 on the enemy. When the Indians first entered the camp by 
 the left flank, General St. Clair led the troops which drove 
 them back. When a retreat became indispensable, he put 
 himself at the head of the troops which broke through the 
 enemy ranks and opened the way for the remainder of the 
 army. When this was done, he remained in the rear and 
 made every exertion to obtain a party to cover the retreat. 
 The panic, however, was so great that his exertions were 
 of little avail. At the height of the action, a few of the men 
 crowded around the fires in the center of the camp; St. Clair 
 was seen drawing his pistols, threatening them, and order- 
 
 8 
 
ing them to turn and repel the enemy. " 
 
 In commenting upon the General's honorable acquittal 
 of all blame by the committee of Congress appointed to in- 
 quire into the causes of the failure of the expedition, Chief 
 Justice John Marshall, in his LIFE OF GEORGE WASHING- 
 TON, remarks with his usual felicity of expression: "More 
 satisfactory testimony in favor of St. Clair is furnished by 
 the circumstance that he still retained the undiminished es- 
 teem and good opinion of President Washington. " 
 
 To the foregoing description of the battle we extract 
 from the narrative of Major Jacob Fowler his own personal 
 experience in the events of that fatal day. Charles Cist pub- 
 lished Fowler's story in his ADVERTISER, with the follow- 
 ing introduction: 
 
 "There was hardly a battle fought in the early strug- 
 gles with the Indians in which Mr. Fowler did not partici- 
 pate. He is now (July, 1844) eighty years old, but his eye 
 has not dimmed nor his natural force abated. He can still 
 pick off a squirrel with his rifle at one hundred yards. He 
 can walk as firmly and as fast as most men of fifty, and I 
 cannot perceive a gray hair in his head. His mind andmem- 
 ory are as vigorous as his physical body. " 
 
 Major Fowler's story is as follows: 
 
 "Excepting a single instance, St. Clair kept out no 
 scouting parties during his entire march. We would have 
 been completely surprised by the attack if it had not been 
 for volunteer scouting parties from the militia who were out 
 on the evening before the battle. The constant discharge of 
 rifles throughout the night also warned us to prepare for the 
 event. The militia, encamped about a quarter of a mile in 
 front of the main army, received the first shock of the at- 
 tack a little after daybreak. The camp was on the bank of 
 a small creek, one of the upper branches of the Wabash Riv- 
 er. The ground was nearly level and covered with a heavy 
 growth of timber. As surveyor, I drew the pay and rations 
 of a subaltern; but as an old hunter, I was not disposed to 
 trust myself among the Indians without my rifle. Indeed, I 
 found it very serviceable during the march, for the army 
 never had more than half rations during the whole campaign. 
 
"My stock of bullets had become low from using them 
 for hunting; and as soon as it was daylight that morning, I 
 started for the militia camp to get a ladle to pour some 
 more. By this time the battle had begun, and I met the mi- 
 litia running into the main body of troops. I hailed one of 
 the Kentuckians, whom I found disabled in the right wrist 
 by a bullet; and I asked him if he had bullets to spare. He 
 told me to take out his pouch and to divide with him. I poured 
 out a double handful, put back what I supposed was half, and 
 was about to leave him, when he said, 'Stop, you had better 
 count them. ' I could hardly resist the impulse to laugh, for 
 the idea of counting a handful of bullets was ludicrous under 
 the circumstances. 'If we get through this day's scrape, 
 my dear fellow, ' said I, 'I will return you twice as many. ' 
 But I never saw him again, and I suppose he shared the fate 
 that befell many a gallant spirit on that day. I owe the bul- 
 lets, at any rate, at this moment. 
 
 "When I returned to the lines, I found that the engage- 
 ment had begun. One of Captain Piatt's men lay shot through 
 the belly near the spot I had left. I saw an Indian behind a 
 small tree not twenty steps away and just outside the regular 
 lines. He was loading his piece, squatting down as much as 
 possible to screen himself. I sighted and shot him. through; 
 he dropped as soon as I had fired, and I retreated into our 
 lines to reload my rifle. Finding that the fire had ceased 
 at this point, I ran to the rear line, where I met Colonel 
 Darke leading a charge with about three hundred men. I 
 followed with my rifle. By this movement the Indians were 
 driven out of sight, and the Colonel called a halt to rally 
 his men. A number of trees had been blown down near 
 where we stood. As an experienced woodsman and hunter, 
 I suggested to Colonel Darke that these trees would form an 
 excellent breastwork of sufficient length to protect the whole 
 force. We might yet need that protection, for judging by 
 the shouting and firing, the Indians behind us had closed the 
 gap we had made in charging. I told the Colonel that if we 
 turned and charged the Indians at our rear, we should have 
 them with their backs to us. No doubt we would be able to 
 give a good account of them. 'Lead the way, then, ' said the 
 
 10 
 
v^fo*^ 
 
 WW 
 
 «o« 
 
Colonel, as he rode to the rear to march the whole body for- 
 ward. We then charged the Indians, but they were so thick 
 that we could do nothing with them. In a few minutes they 
 had surrounded us, and we found ourselves beside the army 
 baggage and the artillery, which had been captured. I then 
 climbed a tree. After firing twelve or fourteen times, two 
 or three rods being my longest shot, I discovered that many 
 of those whom I had struck were not brought down. I had 
 not then had sufficient experience to know that I must shoot 
 them in the hip to bring them down. The unprotected regu- 
 lars armed with muskets could do little better than to fire 
 at random. 
 
 "By this time only about thirty men of Colonel Darke's 
 command were left standing; the rest were lying around us, 
 either killed or wounded. I ran to the' Colonel, who was 
 waving his sword in the thickest of it to encourage his men, 
 and told him we should all be down in five minutes if we did 
 not charge. 'Charge, then!' said he to the little line that 
 remained, and they did so. Fortunately, the main army 
 charged on the other side at the same time, and the Indians 
 were momentarily put to flight. 
 
 "I had been partially sheltered by a small tree, but 
 two Indians behind a larger tree fired simultaneously at me. 
 Feeling the stream of air following the passage of their 
 shots, I supposed myself cut to pieces; but no harmhad been 
 done. I brought my piece to my side and fired without aim- 
 ing at the one that stood his ground. The fellow was so close 
 to me that I could hardly miss him, and I shot him through 
 the hips. While he was crawling away on all fours, Colonel 
 Darke, who had dismounted and stood close by me, cut off 
 the Indian's head. By this time the cock of my rifle lock 
 had worn loose and gave me much trouble. I told my diffi- 
 culty to an acquaintance from Cincinnati who had picked up 
 a gun from a militiaman. 'There is a first-rate rifle,' he 
 said, pointing to one at a distance. I ran to get it as soon 
 as I ascertained that my bullets would fit it. 
 
 "Here I met Captain J. S. Gano, who was unarmed. 
 I handed him the rifle I had gone into the battle with, and I 
 told him that we were defeated and would have to make our 
 
 12 
 
escape as speedily as possible. If we escaped, we would 
 need the rifles for subsistence in the woods. While the battle 
 still raged, a group of soldiers had gathered together, but 
 they did little more than present targets for the enemy. The 
 soldiers appeared stupefied and bewildered. At another spot 
 a group of soldiers had broken into the officers' marquees 
 and were eating the breakfast from which the officers had 
 been called. It must be remembered that neither officers 
 nor men had eaten anything the whole morning. Some of the 
 men were shot down in the very act of eating. 
 
 "Just where I then stood, no Indians were visible, al- 
 though their rifle balls were striking all around. At last I 
 saw an Indian dash for a tree about forty yards off. From 
 this protection he loaded and fired four times, bringing down 
 his man at every shot. He fired too quickly to give me a 
 chance to aim at him. At length I got a range of two inches 
 inside his backbone and blazed away; down he fell, and I saw 
 no more of him. 
 
 "A short time later I heard the cry given by St. Clair 
 and his adjutant sergeant to charge to the road. I ran through 
 the disorganized army to where I had left my relative, Cap- 
 tain Piatt, and I told him that the army was broken up and 
 in full retreat. 'Don't say so,' he replied. 'You will dis- 
 courage my men, and I can't believe it. ' I persisted a short 
 time, but finding him obstinate, I said, 'If you will rush 
 your fate, in God's name do it ! ' I then ran off toward the 
 rear of the army, which was rapidly retreating. 
 
 "Piatt called, 'Wait for me!' It was no use to stop, 
 for by this time the savages were hardly twenty yards be- 
 hind me. Being uncommonly active in those days, I soon 
 got from the rear to the front of the troops; but I had great 
 trouble in avoiding the bayonets which the retreating men 
 had thrown down with the sharp points toward their pursuer s. 
 
 "It has been stated that the Indians followed us for 
 thirty miles, but this is not true. My duty as surveyor led 
 me to mark the miles every day we proceeded on our march, 
 and it was therefore easy to ascertain how far we were pur- 
 sued. The Indians, after every other fire, fell back to load 
 their rifles and regained the lost distance by running on 
 
 13 
 
afresh. 
 
 "Even during the last charge of Colonel Darke, the 
 bodies of the dead and dying were shrouded with smoke and 
 in the heavy morning frost looked like so many pumpkins in 
 a cornfield in December. It was on the fourth of November, 
 and the day was severely cold for the season. My fingers 
 became so benumbed at times that I had to take the bullets 
 in my mouth and load from it, while I had the wiping rod in 
 my hand to force them down. " 
 
 The map of the battleground is taken from the survey 
 of John S. Houston of Celina. The localities were pointed 
 out to him by Mr. McDowell, who was in the action and who 
 is now living near Fort Recovery. In a letter headed Celina, 
 March 20, 1847, Mr. Houston reported on a conversation 
 with Mr. McDowell. 
 
 "Mr. McDowell states that on the morning of the battle 
 he and several others had just gone out to look after their 
 horses when suddenly theyheard discharges of musketry and 
 the most hideous yells from the opposite side of the river. 
 Instantly, he rushed to camp where his regiment was pre- 
 paring for action. He joined them and gallantly charged the 
 enemy. On the retreat he was among those who defended 
 the rear and kept the enemy in check for several miles. The 
 ground was covered with a slushy snow which greatly re- 
 tarded their progress. After a while many soldiers became 
 so dispirited and hungry- -having eaten no breakfast--that 
 they threw down their arms and made their way as best they 
 could among the retreating crowd. 
 
 "About this time, Mr. McDowell saw a mother carry- 
 ing her year-old infant. She was so tired that she was about 
 to fall by the wayside when he took the child and carried it 
 some distance. Afterward, to save her own life, the woman 
 left the child in the snow. The Indians carried it to the 
 Sandusky towns and reared it. Soon after this, McDowell 
 overtook a youth about eighteen years old who was hobbling 
 along, wounded in the leg. McDowell gave him a drink of 
 spirits and a little bread, although he himself had not had 
 time to eat. This refreshed and encouraged the young man; 
 and when a pony came dashing by, McDowell caught it and 
 
 14 
 
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 fa* Wi**wa»l Collecfic*s of Olraio Wy ^owe. 
 
mounted the young soldier upon it. In this way the youth 
 reached the fort safely. 
 
 "At Stillwater Creek, twelve miles from the battle- 
 ground, the Indians gave up the pursuit and returned to share 
 the booty. 'Oh!' said an old squaw who died many years ago 
 on the St. Mary's River, 'my arm that night was weary 
 scalping white man. ' 
 
 '"Some years ago,' McDowell said to me (and here 
 his cheeks became moistened with tears), 'I was traveling 
 in Kentucky to visit a sister I had not seen in many years. 
 When I arrived at Georgetown, I entered my name on the 
 hotel register with the place of my residence--Fort Recov- 
 ery, Ohio. 
 
 '"After I had been sitting some time at ease before a 
 comfortable fire, a gentleman who had noticed the entry of 
 my name and residence opened a friendly conversation about 
 the place and country. He soon remarked that he was at the 
 defeat of St. Clair, and that if it had not been for the assist- 
 ance of a young man of Butler's regiment, .he would have 
 been there yet. ' 
 
 "After a few more questions and replies, both men 
 recognized each other. The gentleman was the youth who 
 had been shot during the retreat and whose life had been 
 saved with McDowell's assistance. At this discovery their 
 surprise and consequent mutual attachment may be imag- 
 ined. The gentleman insisted upon taking McDowell home 
 and introducing him to his wife and daughters. He had be- 
 come a wealthy merchant and gave McDowell a new suit of 
 clothes and other presents which he has carefully preserved 
 to this day. " 
 
 In his SKETCHES OF WESTERN ADVENTURE, John 
 A. McClung relates some anecdotes which show the heroism 
 and activity of a young man who was in this action. 
 
 "The late William Kennan, of Fleming County, when 
 a young man of eighteen, was attached to the corps of rang- 
 ers who accompanied the regular force. He had long been 
 noted for his strength and activity. In the course of the 
 march from Fort Washington, he had repeated opportunities 
 to test his astonishing physical powers; and it was univer- 
 
 16 
 
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 tmt ^»w*n 
 
 L 
 
 movnt&l ike yovng so-/aU&c 
 
 U 
 
sally admitted that he was the swiftest runner in the light 
 corps. On the evening preceding the action, his corps had 
 been advanced a few hundred yards in front of the first line 
 of infantry in order to give reasonable notice of the enemy's 
 approach. Just as day was dawning, he observed about thir- 
 ty Indians within one hundred yards of the guards' fire. They 
 advanced cautiously toward the spot where he stood with 
 about twenty rangers; the other men were considerably in 
 the rear. 
 
 "Supposing it to be a mere scouting party, numbering 
 no more than the rangers, he sprang forward a few paces 
 in order to shelter himself in a spot of rank grass. After 
 firing with a quick aim upon the foremost Indian, Kennan 
 instantly fell flat upon his face and proceeded with all pos- 
 sible rapidity to reload his gun. He did not doubt for a mo- 
 ment that the rangers would maintain their positions and 
 support him. The Indians, however, rushed forward in such 
 overwhelming numbers that the rangers were compelled to 
 run. Kennan was in total ignorance of his danger until his 
 captain, who had observed him when he threw himself into 
 the grass, suddenly shouted, 'Run, Kennan! or you are a 
 dead man!' Instantly, Kennan sprang to his feet and beheld 
 Indians within ten feet of him; his company was already more 
 than one hundred yards in front. 
 
 "Not a moment was to be lost. He darted off with 
 every muscle strained to its utmost. A dozen yelling Indi- 
 ans were close behind him. At first he pressed straight 
 forward to the ford in the creek which separated the rangers 
 from the main army. Several Indians, who had passed him 
 before he rose from the grass, threw themselves in the way 
 and completely cut him off from the other rangers. By the 
 most powerful exertions, he left all of the pursuers behind 
 him, with the exception of one chief who displayed a swift- 
 ness and perseverance equal to his own. The circuit which 
 Kennan was obliged to take extended the race for more than 
 four hundred yards. The distance between them was about 
 eighteen feet, which Kennan could not increase nor his ad- 
 versary diminish. Each runner put his whole soul into the 
 race. 
 
 18 
 
"Kennan, as far as he was able, kept his eye upon the 
 motions of his pursuer, for he was afraid the Indian would 
 throw the tomahawk which he held aloft in a menacing posi- 
 tion. At length, finding that no other Indian was immediately 
 at hand, Kennan determined to try the mettle of his pursuer 
 in a different manner. He felt for his own tomahawk but 
 discovered it had slipped out of its sheath while he lay in the 
 grass. His hair almost lifted the cap from his head when 
 he realized he was totally unarmed! Kennan had slackened 
 his pace for a moment, and the Indian was almost in reach 
 of him when he again sprinted forward. Fear lent wings to 
 his feet, and for the first time he saw himself outdistancing 
 the Indian. He had watched the motions of his pursuer too 
 closely, however, to pay proper attention to the nature of 
 the ground before him; and he suddenly found himself infront 
 of a large tree which had been blown down. Brush and other 
 impediments increased the height of the obstacle to eight or 
 nine feet. 
 
 "The Indian, who heretofore had not uttered the slight- 
 est sound, now gave a short, quick yell as if sure of his 
 victim. Kennan had not a moment to deliberate. He must 
 clear the tree at a leap or perish. Putting his whole soul 
 into the effort, he bounded into the air with a power that 
 astonished himself. Clearing limbs, brush, and everything 
 else, he alighted in perfect safety on the other side. A loud 
 yell of astonishment burst from his pursuer, who had not 
 the hardihood to attempt the same feat. Kennan, as may be 
 readily imagined, had no leisure to enjoy his triumph but 
 dashed into the bed of the creek. With its high banks shield- 
 ing him from the fire of the enemy, he ran up the stream 
 until he found a convenient place to cross. Soon he rejoined 
 the rangers in the rear of the encampment. He was panting 
 from the fatigue of exertions which have seldom been sur- 
 passed, but no breathing time was allowed him. The attack 
 instantly commenced and, as we have already observed, 
 was maintained for three hours with unabated fury. 
 
 "When the retreat commenced, Kennan was attached 
 to Major Clark's battalion which was assigned the task of 
 protecting the rear. This corps quickly lost its commander 
 
 19 
 

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 ^e auUjhi<zd in poytcr sojctu 
 
 ^**, ! 
 
and was completely disorganized. Kennan was among the 
 hindmost when the fight commenced; but by exerting those 
 same powers which had saved him in the morning, he quickly 
 gained the front and passed several horsemen in the flight. 
 Here he beheld a private of his own company, an intimate 
 acquaintance, lying upon the ground with his thigh broken. 
 In the most piercing tones of distress, the wounded man 
 implored each horseman who hurried by to take him up be- 
 hind him. As soon as he beheld Kennan coming on foot, he 
 stretched out his arms and called aloud for help. Notwith- 
 standing the imminent peril of the moment, Kennan could 
 not reject so passionate an appeal and carried him for sev- 
 eral hundred yards. Horseman after horseman passed them, 
 but each rider refused to take the wounded man. 
 
 "At length the enemy was gaining upon them so fast 
 that Kennan saw their deaths to be certain unless he relin- 
 quished his burden. Accordingly, he told his friend that he 
 had used every possible exertion to save his life and that 
 he must relax his hold around his neck or they would both 
 perish. The unhappy man, heedless of every remonstrance, 
 still clung convulsively and impeded Kennan' s exertions un- 
 til the foremost of the enemy, armed with tomahawk alone, 
 was within twenty yards of them. Kennan then drew his 
 knife from its sheath and cut the fingers of his companion. 
 The unhappy man rolled upon the ground in utter helpless- 
 ness. He was tomahawked before Kennan had gone thirty 
 yards. Relieved of his burden, Kennan darted forward with 
 a speed which once more brought him to the front. Here 
 again he was compelled to neglect his own safety in order 
 to attend to that of others. 
 
 "The late Governor George Madison of Kentucky, who 
 afterward commanded the troops who defended themselves 
 so honorably at Raisin River, was a man of amiable temper 
 and unconquerable courage. At that time, he was a subal- 
 tern in St. Clair's army. His health was poor; and now, 
 totally exhausted by the exertions of the morning, he was 
 calmly sitting on a log awaiting the approach of his enemies. 
 Kennan hastily accosted him and inquired the cause of his 
 delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which had bled pro- 
 
 21 
 
fusely, replied that he was unable to walk any farther and 
 that he had no horse. Kennan instantly ran back to a spot 
 where he had seen an exhausted horse grazing and caught it 
 without difficulty. Having assisted Madison to mount, he 
 walked beside the animal until they were out of danger. For- 
 tunately, the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of the camp 
 presented irresistible attractions to the enemy. The friend- 
 ship thus formed between these two young men endured with- 
 out interruption for the rest of their lives. Kennan never 
 entirely recovered from the severe exertions which he had 
 been compelled to make during this unfortunate expedition. 
 He settled in Fleming County where he was a leading mem- 
 ber of the Baptist church for many years. He died in 1827. " 
 
 The number of Indians' engaged in this action can never 
 be ascertained with any degree of certainty. Estimates have 
 varied from one to three thousand. Colonel John Johnston, 
 long an Indian agent in this region, had many opportunities 
 to form a correct opinion on this subject. His statements 
 in a letter of 1846 are worthy of consideration. 
 
 "The number of Indians at the defeat of St. Clair must 
 have been large. At that time game was plentiful, and a 
 large number of Indians could have subsisted easily. Wells, 
 one of our interpreters, was there and fought for the enemy. 
 To use his own language, he tomahawked and scalped the 
 wounded, dying, and dead, until he was unable to raise his 
 arm. The principal tribes in the battle were the Delaware, 
 Shawnee, Wyandot, Miami, and Ottawa. A few Indians of 
 the Chippewa and Potawatomi tribes were also present. I 
 had no accurate means of knowing the total number, but it 
 could not have been less than two thousand. " 
 
 Some time after the defeat of St. Clair, General Wil- 
 kinson, who had become commander of Fort Washington, 
 ordered an expedition to visit the battleground. Captain 
 Buntin, who was with the party, afterward wrote a letter to 
 St. Clair from which the following is extracted. 
 
 "In my opinion, those unfortunate men who were cap- 
 tured alive suffered the greatest torture by having their 
 limbs torn off. The women were treated with the most inde- 
 cent cruelty; stakes as thick as a person's arm were driven 
 
 22 
 
through their bodies. The former I observed while burying 
 the dead; the latter was discovered by Colonel Sargeant and 
 Dr. Brown. We found three carriages whole; the other five 
 were so badly damaged that they were useless. By the Gen- 
 eral's orders, we dug pits in different places and buried all 
 the bodies that were exposed to view or that could be found 
 conveniently. 
 
 "During this time several small parties were detached 
 --some to protect the main group and others to examine the 
 course of the creek. At some distance in front of the ground 
 occupied by the militia, these parties found a large camp, 
 not less than three quarters of a mile long. They thought 
 it had been the camp of the Indians the night before the ac- 
 tion. We remained on the field that night, and the next morn- 
 ing we hitched horses to the carriages and started for Fort 
 Jefferson. 
 
 "There is little reason to believe that the enemy car- 
 ried off the cannons, and it is thought they were either bur- 
 ied or thrown into the creek. I think the latter more prob- 
 able, but as it was frozen over with thick ice and covered 
 with a deep snow, it was impossible to make a search with 
 any prospect of success. I have mentioned the camp occu- 
 pied by the enemy the night before the action. Could Colonel 
 Oldham have complied with your orders on that evening, 
 things at this day might have worn a different aspect. " 
 
 Mr. McDowell, previously mentioned, was one of 
 those who visited the battleground. He stated that although 
 the bodies were much abused and stripped of everything of 
 any value, they were recognized and interred in four large 
 graves. General Butler was found in the shattered remains 
 of his tent. After he had been wounded, he was carried to 
 the tent; while two surgeons were dressing his wounds, a 
 ball struck one of them in the hip. At that instant, an Indi- 
 an, who was determined to have Butler's scalp, rushed in. 
 While attempting to scalp the General, he was shot by the 
 dying surgeon. 
 
 In December, 1793, General Wayne arrived with his 
 army at Greenville and sent forward a detachment to the 
 spot of St. Clair's Defeat. They arrived on Christmas Day 
 
 23 
 
and pitched their tents on the battleb round. Before the men 
 could make their beds in their tents that night, they had to 
 gather the bones together and carry them out. The next day 
 graves were dug and the bones remaining above ground were 
 buried. Six hundred skulls were among them. The flesh 
 was entirely off the bones, but in many cases the sinews yet 
 held them together. After this melancholy duty was per- 
 formed, a fortification was built and named Fort Recovery 
 in commemoration of its being recovered from the Indians 
 who had been in possession of the ground since 1791. On 
 the completion of the fort, one company of artillerymen and 
 one of riflemen were left there; the others returned to Green- 
 ville. 
 
 Henry Howe, HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF OHIO (Cin- 
 cinnati: Published by the state of Ohio, 1908), Vol. II, pp. 
 223-32. 
 
 24 
 
The terrible battle known as St. Clair's Defeat was 
 fought on the morning of November 4, 1791, in what is now 
 the northwestern part of Darke County, Ohio, near the Indi- 
 ana boundary. Early in the preceding spring General St. 
 Clair had received orders to raise and organize an army, 
 to march into the wilderness as far as the junction of the St. 
 Mary's and the St. Joseph rivers, and to establish a line of 
 military posts from Fort Washington at Cincinnati to the 
 present site of Fort Wayne. The forts were intended to keep 
 the Indians in wholesome dread of the power of the whites 
 and to prevent those fearful depredations which had already 
 done so much to check the advancing tide of civilization. In 
 the execution of these orders, St. Clair surmounted many 
 serious obstacles. After building Forts Hamilton and Jef- 
 ferson, he reached a branch of the Wabash and encamped 
 there in supposed security on the evening of the third of No- 
 vember. His army numbered between two and three thou- 
 sand men. Several hundred women and children, the fami- 
 lies of the soldiers, traveled with the army. 
 
 St. Clair's great and fatal mistake was in his fancied 
 security. Instead of having a large number of experienced 
 scouts to scour the wilderness far in advance of the main 
 army and to warn him of danger, he marched blindly for- 
 ward as if passing through friendly territory. The Indians 
 proved themselves more circumspect, for their scouts and 
 runners had not been idle and had brought their leaders in- 
 telligence of the whites. To check and punish what they re- 
 garded as an invasion of their territory , the Indians collected 
 a great force and marched forward to battle with their ene- 
 mies. Because of the American commander's neglect, these 
 dusky sons of the forest were enabled to concoct their plans 
 without suspicion, to arrange their attack without detection, 
 and to carry out their designs with the most terrible effect. 
 
 About half an hour before sunrise on the fourth of No- 
 vember, the Indians fiercely attacked the militia posted in 
 front of the main army. The first ranks made a slight re- 
 sistance and thenfell backin wild disorder to the main camp. 
 The overwhelming force of savages, led by their most dis- 
 tinguished chiefs, came rushing on with yells of fury, cre- 
 
 25 
 
ating panic and confusion impossible to describe. Then be- 
 gan a desperate fight and a fearful slaughter. Though taken 
 completely by surprise, the brave soldiers seized their 
 arms, rallied under their respective leaders, and stood 
 their ground like heroes. Their first regular fire checked 
 the onset of the foe to some degree, but the Indians were 
 too great in numbers and held too great an advantage to give 
 way permanently. In a short time our gallant soldiers were 
 violently assailed on all sides, and officers and men went 
 downbefore the deadly rifle fire like leaves before the blasts 
 of autumn wind. Several charges were ordered and made 
 with great spirit. The savages at times gave way before the 
 impetuous charges of their disciplined foes, yet it was only 
 to rally in greater force and to press more fearfully upon 
 some weaker point. 
 
 For three hours the battle raged with wild fury, and 
 the ground everywhere was covered with the dead and dying. 
 General St. Clair saw with dismay that the day was hope- 
 lessly lost. Four of his ownhorses had already been killed, 
 his clothes were riddled with bullets, and nearly every of- 
 ficer had been cut down. Under these distressing circum- 
 stances, there was but one thing for him to do. He gave 
 the order to retreat. 
 
 This retreat, as might have been anticipated, soon 
 became a rout of the most terrible kind. The Indians, find- 
 ing themselves masters of the field and finding their ene- 
 mies flying in wild disorder, rushed after the fugitives with 
 yells of triumph. They followed the soldiers for four or 
 five miles, shooting, tomahawking, or scalping all they 
 could overtake. Then the most eager of the savages, sat- 
 isfied with their morning's work, gave up the chase and re- 
 turned to the battlefield to gather the scalps of the dead and 
 dying. Nearly all of the wounded were butchered. Those 
 unfortunate ones who had been taken unharmed were gener- 
 ally reserved for later tortures, and there were enough 
 captives to provide many holidays for the different tribes. 
 
 We have thus given a brief sketch of the disaster on 
 that woeful day. The details of that horrifying scene of con- 
 flict would fill volumes. This we cannot do. We can, how- 
 
 26 
 
ever, piece together a narrative from the records of the 
 actors in that dreadful tragedy. It is our purpose to pub- 
 lish the story of Robert Branshaw, a Kentuckian, who has 
 left behind him an account of what he saw and did on that 
 memorable day. 
 
 "The main camp was pitched in a level wood by a small 
 stream which was one of the branches of the Wabash River; 
 on higher ground about a quarter of a mile across this 
 stream, the militia and a company of rangers had been on 
 duty through the latter part of the night and were prepared 
 for an attack by Indians whom we knew to be in front of us. 
 We supposed them to be a mere scouting party sent out to 
 gather information about our movements. We did not think 
 that they planned anything more serious than to pick off some 
 of our number and to get a few scalps if they could do so 
 without serious risk. Certain it is, we were not prepared 
 for what took place. 
 
 "In the gray of the morning, before objects had become 
 distinct at any considerable distance, I was standing near 
 one of the fires conversing with a comrade. Suddenly I saw 
 twenty or thirty painted savages dodging around among the 
 trees in front of us, as if they planned to attack by surprise. 
 Supposing the ones I saw to be the entire party, and thinking 
 it a good chance to bring down one of them and at the same 
 time to alarm the camp, I instantly raised my rifle to my 
 eye, took a quick aim, and dropped the nearest Indian. The 
 smoke had not cleared away from my rifle when a terrific 
 volley was poured in upon us. It was accompanied by ap- 
 palling yells from a thousand throats. At the same instant 
 I saw Indians springing from behind their covers and rush- 
 ing down upon us in overwhelming numbers. Instantly, I 
 turned to fly and stumbled over the dead body of the com- 
 rade with whom I had been conversing. He had been shot 
 through the temples, and he was the first dead man I saw 
 on that fatal day. 
 
 "As we fell back, the militiamen behind us discharged 
 their pieces at the approaching savages; then they turned 
 and fled in the wildest alarm through the little hollow back 
 toward the main camp. Many of them never reached it, for 
 
 27 
 
by this time the Indians were firing rapidly from all sides 
 and were following up the advantage with their murderous 
 tomahawks and scalping knives. All the while, they were 
 screeching with such appalling effect that I believe some of 
 our men, who might otherwise have escaped, became be- 
 wildered, stupefied, and lost. 
 
 "As for myself, I had some very narrow escapes. Al- 
 though I was a pretty good runner, I had been singled out by 
 an ambitious young warrior, who, in a race of about two 
 hundred yards, had almost caught up with me. With a good 
 reach of his arm, he might have sunk his tomahawk in the 
 back of my head. A glance over my shoulder showed him 
 about to strike, and instinctively I threw myself down to 
 avoid the blow. As fortune would have it, he struck his foot 
 against one of mine and pitched headlong over me. His 
 weapon flew from his grasp. Before he could recover him- 
 self, I was upon him, driving my hunting knife through his 
 throat and severing his jugular vein. 
 
 "As I again sprang to my feet, I beheld three other 
 savages close at hand, bounding toward me with yells of 
 rage. I had no hope of escaping from them; but still I ran, 
 straining every nerve to its utmost. Fortunately, they were 
 not as fleet-footed as the one I had killed, and to my un- 
 speakable joy, I found that I was outdistancing them. Each 
 Indian carried a gun in his hand, but I had thrown mine away 
 during my first race. This probably gave me some advan- 
 tage. Seeing that they could not overtake me, they suddenly 
 stopped; one of them took deliberate aim and fired. The 
 ball sung loudly in my ear, the outer portion of which felt 
 as if it were touched with a live coal. A small portion of 
 my ear had been shot away. 
 
 "As I neared the creek, I discovered another small 
 party of Indians in front of me. Turning quickly to the left, 
 I crossed the stream at a bend thirty or forty rods higher 
 up; and by making a broad circuit, I came into camp from 
 the right. 
 
 "Here I found a scene of the wildest confusion. Two 
 or three hundred women and children were gathered together 
 in a state of excitement bordering on distraction. Some 
 
 28 
 
were running to and fro, wringing their hands and shrieking 
 out their terrors; some were standing speechless, like stat- 
 ues of horror, with their hands clasped and their eyes fixed 
 upon the not very distant scene of strife; some were kneeling 
 and calling on Heaven for protection; some were sobbing 
 and groaning in each other's arms; and several who had 
 swooned from fright lay as if dead upon the ground. 
 
 "I did not tarry even to answer the questions that many 
 eager voices put to me but hurried forward to the raging 
 battle. As yet I had no rifle, but I soon supplied myself with 
 one from an old comrade who had been shot through the 
 heart. Thinking I could do quite as well alone as by attach- 
 ing myself to any company, I hastened to a tree that looked 
 suitable for my purpose. I began to load and fire as fast as 
 possible, and I brought downa savage with nearly every shot. 
 
 "I wish I could describe that battle, but I lack the 
 power. As I look back on it now, it seems like a wild, hor- 
 rible dream, in which whites and savages, friends and foes, 
 were all mixed in mad confusion. They melted away in 
 smoke, fire, and blood, amid groans, shouts, shrieks, 
 yells, clashing steel, and exploding firearms. 
 
 "I fired eleven shots and had the grim satisfaction of 
 seeing nine savages go down before my aim; four of them 
 fell withinten feet of me. While I was loading for the twelfth 
 time, a ball struck my right wrist and fractured the bone. 
 I dropped to the ground and bound my wound as well as I 
 could. Finding that I could be of no further use where I 
 was, I started for the rear, feeling weak and faint. I had 
 eaten nothing that morning, which was the case with nearly 
 all of the army. On my way to the center of the camp, I 
 met pale, frightened men running in all directions. Numer- 
 ous dead bodies, some of them scalped and presenting ghast- 
 ly spectacles, proved that many of the Indians had been 
 there before me. Wounded soldiers called to me and begged 
 for help and water. But I could do nothing for them, and I 
 hurried on. When I came within sight of the spot where the 
 women and children had been collected, I beheld a large 
 body of Indians busy at their work of slaughter. Turning in 
 another direction, I ran down the road. 
 
 30 
 
"Fortunately, I caught a horse that had lost its rider, 
 and with a good deal of difficulty I succeeded in mounting. 
 There were many fugitives running in the trail ahead of me; 
 and I rode after them, passing some in my flight. In this 
 way I escaped before the order to retreat was given; and I 
 was spared the painful sight of seeing the whole army in 
 flight, with the victorious savages in hot pursuit, butchering 
 at every step. 
 
 "I succeeded in reaching Fort Jefferson, twenty-two 
 miles from the battlefield. I fainted as soon as I found my- 
 self in a place of safety. The remnant of the army arrived 
 about dark, and nothing was heard that night but sounds of 
 lamentation and woe. Subsequently my arm was amputated. 
 My career as a soldier ended with that disastrous day, in 
 which nearly a thousand gallant men and two or three hun- 
 dred women and children had been killed or wounded. Oh, 
 woeful, woeful day!" 
 
 INDIANA HERALD, April 13, 1864 
 
 31 
 
The ceremony of reburying the remains of the soldiers 
 slain at the site of Fort Recovery during St. Clair's Defeat 
 took place on September 24. When we arrived there the pre- 
 ceding afternoon, the hotels and many of the private houses 
 were crowded to overflowing. People continued to arrive 
 throughout the night and until noon the next day. The num- 
 ber who attended was variously estimated at from five to 
 seven thousand, and it was impossible to make a closer es- 
 timate. Two thousand persons formed a procession. The 
 sons and the grandsons of those who were to be carried to 
 their last resting place were present. 
 
 The occasion was one of solemn import. If these 
 bones had heretofore been neglected, it was only through 
 ignorance of the spot where they lay. Now that mere chance 
 had exposed the grave, the citizens were enthusiastically 
 paying that respect which is due from every true and patri- 
 otic American. These men died to maintain liberty and the 
 peace and quiet of the fireside. There were some old gray- 
 haired veterans present with recollections of the defeat 
 vividly stamped upon their memories. 
 
 The bones were placed in thirteen coffins, represent- 
 ing the thirteen original states. They were buried in one 
 large grave in the village cemetery. Peace to their ashes. 
 Beneath the sod in one common grave lie the bones of offi- 
 cers, soldiers, and citizens. May their memory live in 
 the heart of every American. 
 
 INDIANA STATE JOURNAL, September 27, 1851 
 
 32 
 

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 ?f St DEFEAT. FORTUNE 
 
 3 0112 025365062