The army crossed the river just below the
site of the old town, at a point half a mile from the deserted Moravian huts,
following the Indian trace, which led across a broad, level bottom, in a
northerly direction, to the bluffs, or high ground, beyond. Three miles from the starting point brought
them to the springs, where Upper Sandusky is now located; when, after marching
a mile further, some of the men, for the first time, expressed a desire to
return home—alleging they had but five days' provisions in reserve. [Col. William] Crawford, stopping the march, immediately called a council of war,
consisting of the captains and field officers. [Dr. John] Knight and [Lt. John] Rose
were also invited, as were [John] Slover
and [Jonathan] Zane. The opinion of
the latter had great weight with Crawford, who knew Zane to be exceedingly well
versed in Indian strategy.
Zane advised an immediate return. He was
of opinion that the Indians would, in the end, bring an overwhelming force
against them. A further march into their
country, he reasoned, even though the army had supplies in abundance, would
only be giving more time to the enemy to gather reinforcements. That none of the Indians had, as yet, been
discovered in the Plains was a sure evidence, in his judgment, that they were
concentrating at some point not far away for a determined resistance. The views of Crawford coincided with those of
Zane. It was finally determined by the
council that the army should continue its march that afternoon, but no longer.
Crawford had previously formed a company
of light-horse to act as scouts in advance of the army. These could now move a considerable distance
in front of the main body with comparatively little risk—the woods having, to a
great extent, disappeared, and there being no bushes or undergrowth in the
groves for ambuscades by the enemy. From
this company Crawford had detached a small party for observation, soon after
leaving the old village. They followed
along the Indian trail, and were now reconnoitering the open country to the
northeast of the spot where the council of war was deliberating. To the left of the trace they saw a beautiful
island, or grove, which seemed to beckon them from the fierce heat of the sun. They drew up for a moment to enjoy the cool
shade of its clustering oaks.
The spot where the party halted was slightly
elevated above the surrounding country, and, notwithstanding the overshadowing
branches of the thickly-growing trees, was covered with a luxuriant growth of
the tall, wild grass of the Plains. To
the north and west the prairie spread out before them—a broad champaign of
exceeding beauty, with here and there, in the distance, small island-groves, to
break the otherwise uninterrupted view. Eastward,
at not more than a mile away, a long line of forest trees of the usual variety
of the country, decked the margin of the Sandusky. Midway, and near the edge of the Plains, the
Indian trace led onward in a direction nearly northeast to the Wyandot town—
the Half King's residence—only a little over two miles distant. Not very far off, in a southwest direction,
there was a large swamp, impassable to horsemen. The scouts had passed to the right of this
swamp .without discovering it.
They now struck out into the open
prairie to the north, moving leisurely on, when, at a distance of a mile from
the grove they had just left, they suddenly came in full view of the enemy,
having unsuspectingly reconnoitered, very near the rendezvous of the latter. When first seen, the Indians were running
directly toward them. The scouts
immediately drew together, and dispatched one of their number, riding their
fleetest horse, as an express, to inform Crawford of the discovery of the
savages; and then wheeling about, retired slowly as the foe advanced.
The Indians had chosen
a favorable point for the assembling of their forces. It was not far distant from the two
traces—the one leading northeast to the Half King's town; the other, northwest
to Pipe's town,—branching off from the springs, the spot where Upper Sandusky
now stands. The warriors in advance were
the Delawares under The Pipe, their famous war-chief. With him were Wingenund and [Simon] Girty. Their object in moving south was to secure the
grove before the arrival of the Americans. The Wyandots under Zhaus-sho-toh were held
back by [Capt. Matthew] Elliott for the
present.
Just as the officers of the American
army had ended their council of war, the scout from the north came riding up at
full speed, announcing the discovery and advance of the savages. The news was received with evident
satisfaction by the whole army. Rapidly
the volunteers mounted and fell into line. Crawford immediately prepared to
meet the enemy he had been so anxiously looking for. An advance was ordered, which was obeyed with
alacrity. The army was now joined by the
retiring scouts, who reported the Indians just ahead in considerable force,
evidently prepared to offer them battle.
The resplendent genius of Rose, the aid
of Colonel Crawford, began now to exhibit itself. As the belligerents rapidly approached each
other he aroused himself. Although his
keen, dark eyes flashed with excitement, yet his voice exhibited no
trepidation. In all his movements he was
cool and collected. The genial,
complaisant, and retiring gentleman was now the bold, dauntless, and spirited
soldier. He rode the best horse in the
army; and as he galloped up and down the lines carrying the orders of his
commander, his gallantry and martial bearing attracted general attention. It was well, as we shall presently see, that
Irvine consented to spare his aid-de-camp to Crawford.
The Americans had advanced scarcely a
mile when the enemy were discovered immediately in front, taking possession of
the grove the light-horse had so recently abandoned. Crawford, instantly detecting the advantage
this would give the foe, ordered his men to dismount; and a quick, forward
movement, with brisk firing by the Americans, soon drove the Indians out of the
wood into the open prairie to the north, the former getting full possession of
the grove. The savages then attempted to
gain a small skirt of woods on the right of our army, but were prevented by the
bravery and vigilance of Major Leet, who had command in that quarter. Just then the Delawares, who had bravely met
the first shock of the battle, were reinforced by the Wyandots under
Zhaus-sho-toh.
Elliott, who was now
present and in command of the entire force of the enemy, ordered The Pipe, with
his Delawares, to flank to the right and attack Crawford in the rear. This was quickly accomplished, the Indians
passing along just beyond the edge of the grove on the west; and the action
became at once general, close, and hot. This
skillful maneuver of the savages came well nigh proving fatal to the Americans;
but the latter, having the advantage of position, maintained their ground,
although clearly outnumbered by their assailants. The firing began at four o'clock and continued
very warm on both sides. Girty was
conspicuous in his excitement and endeavors.
The enemy were sheltered by the grass which grew high and rank upon the
Plains, so that they could scarcely be seen, when on foot, at any great
distance away. On the other hand, the
Americans were better protected by the grove they had so bravely secured.
At times it was doubtful how the day
would end, as the battle continued with varying success. After a while, however, it was evident to
Crawford that the Indians were slacking their efforts. Toward sunset they became more cautious in
their attacks, being evidently less inclined to expose themselves to the deadly
aim of the frontiersmen; and finally, at dusk, they drew back farther into the
Plains, and the firing ceased as daylight disappeared.
The afternoon had been unusually
hot. Little or no air was stirring. The river was over a mile away from the
battle-ground, and the soldiers suffered very much from thirst. No spring was near nor running stream. Many canteens were emptied long before the
battle was ended. Several of the
volunteers went in search of water. John
Sherrard was one of the number—his gun having become useless to him from
forcing a bullet into the barrel without powder. After a while, in wandering about, he came to
a spot where a tree had been blown down and a considerable depression in the
ground had been caused by the upheaval of the roots. Here he found some stagnant water. After quenching his thirst he filled his
canteen and hat, and, thus supplied, made his way to his company—the men
eagerly drinking of the water, bad as it was. The residue of the time, during the battle,
Sherrard employed in traveling back and forth with canteens filled at the pool,
the bullets flying thickly around him, but he escaped unhurt.
As the battle progressed, the savages,
skulking in the high grass of the prairie, would frequently get within close
range of the guns of the Americans, generally to be shot before they could make
good their retreat; for, in all maneuvers of that sort, the volunteers were the
equals of the Indians. Some of the
borderers climbed trees, and from their bushy tops took deadly aim at the heads
of the enemy as they arose above the grass. Daniel Canon was conspicuous in this novel
mode of warfare. He was one of the
dead-shots of the army; and, from his lofty hiding-place, the reports of his
unerring rifle gave unmistakable evidence of the killing of savages. "I do not know how many Indians I
killed," said he, afterward, "but I never saw the same head again
above the grass after I shot at it!"
"About a hundred feet off,"
says Philip Smith, "an Indian was hid in the tall grass, firing at me. I felt the bark of a tree, where I stood, fly
in my face several times. Having
discovered the position of the savage I fired several shots; and, at the
seventh one, catching sight of his body, I brought him down. No more balls came from that quarter. After waiting a reasonable time, I crawled
along to find his body, but it had been dragged away. I could see plainly the trail of blood it
made."
Another soldier, who had climbed one of
the trees of the grove, witnessed, from his lookout in its scrubby top, the
pursuit of the gallant Rose by a party of mounted Indians, who were so close to
him, at times, as to throw their tomahawks! They were, however, finally baffled by his
coolness and superior horsemanship. It
was, according to the narrator's account, a most exciting race—even to a forgetfulness,
by the latter, of his own dangerous position.
Francis Dunlevy, who belonged to Captain
Craig Ritchie's company, had, during the fight, been engaged with an Indian of
huge proportions. The latter, as evening
approached, crept carefully and cautiously toward Dunlevy, through the top of a
tree lately blown down, which was full of leaves, when, getting near enough as
he supposed, he threw his tomahawk, but missed his aim, and then escaped. This Indian was afterward recognized by
Dunlevy, as he believed, in "Big Captain Johnny," who, in the war of
1812, was with the friendly Shawanese at Wapakoneta. "In a campaign in which I served,"
writes A. H. Dunlevy, "under General William Henry Harrison, in 1812—13, I
frequently saw this Indian. He must have
been seven feet in height! He was as
frightfully ugly as he was large."
At dark, the victory was clearly with
the Americans. The enemy drew off,
"with the loss of several scalps," afterward wrote Rose to
Irvine. How many savages were killed
must be left entirely to conjecture. The
loss of the enemy was doubtless severe—much more so than with the borderers. No prisoners were captured on either side.
Although Crawford was left in full
possession of the battle-field, yet the Indians were far from being dispirited.
They well knew that reinforcements were
hastening to their relief; that these would certainly reach them on the morrow.
The American army, during the three
hours and a half contest, lost five killed and nineteen wounded. Of the latter were Major Brinton, Captains
Munn and Ross, Lieutenant Ashley, Ensign McMasters, and Philip Smith. Captain Ogle was killed; also, private John Campbell,
of Pigeon creek, Washington county.
Both parties lay on their arms during
the night, and both adopted the policy of kindling large fires along their
lines and then retiring some distance in the rear of them, to prevent being
surprised by a night attack. The camp of
the Wyandots was in the prairie north of the grove; that of the Delawares, in
the open country to the south.
The battle of Sandusky was fought in and
around the grove since well known as "Battle Island," in what is now
Crane township, Wyandot county, three miles north, and half a mile east, of the
court-house in Upper Sandusky. This spot
has always been readily identified, by reason of the scars upon the trunks of
the trees, made by the hatchets of the Indians in getting out the bullets after
the action. But the "Island"
may now be said to have disappeared. Cultivated
fields mark the site where the contest took place. Occasionally an interesting relic is turned up
by the plowshare, to be preserved by the curious as a memento of the battle. 1
Although the
Americans seemed to be victorious, the campaign wasn’t over yet. The Indians were hoping to receive
reinforcements; the Americans were hoping to just hold on. Lord willing, we’ll pick up the story in my
next post.
Christ, not man, is King!
Dale
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