The siege of Fort Meigs during the war of 1812, by a combined British
and Indian force, under command of General Proctor, was attended by one
of those thrilling incidents which chill the blood with horror, and
which have stained the escutcheon of Great Britain with indelible
infamy. It is with no desire, however, to harrow up the feelings of our
readers at a tale of soul-sickening massacre, nor yet with a wish to
undertake the invidious task of reprobating the course of the English
Government in connection with the war, that we have introduced the
following narrative; but simply with a view of presenting the character
of that brave and patriotic chieftain, Tecumseh, in its true light as
regarding his magnanimity, and freedom from those brutal propensities
and inclinations which have conduced so strongly to stigmatize the
Indians as savages.
The fort was invested on the 26th of April, and from that period up to
the 5th of May, a constant fire had been kept up by the British
batteries on the opposite side of the river, without serious injury to
the works. General Clay, with a reinforcement of twelve hundred Kentucky
militia, arrived in the neighborhood on the 4th, and received orders to
detach eight hundred men to attack the British batteries while the
remainder was to aid a sortie against the Indians, who had established
themselves in the immediate vicinity of the fort, and who were a source
of great annoyance to its garrison. Colonel Dudley was placed in command
of the larger party, and, agreeably to his instructions, landed on the
right bank, and completely succeeded in driving the enemy from his
works, and in spiking the cannon. His orders were peremptory to return
immediately to his boats on the accomplishment of this object, and
repair to the fort; but his men had tasted the sweets of victory, and
the rashness which follows success on the part of militia, proved their
ruin. They allowed themselves to be amused by some faint attempt at
resistance on the part of a small body of Indians in the woods, until
the main body of the British, which was some distance in the rear, could
be brought up, and a severe and bloody action soon followed. It can
hardly be called an action, for the militia were in detached parties,
pursuing the scattering troops, when they suddenly found themselves
confronted and surrounded by a force double their number, and after a
manly effort to retain the victory they had won, they attempted to
retreat but found themselves cut off from the river by a force which had
got into their rear, to whom they were obliged to surrender themselves
prisoners of war. Out of the eight hundred who landed in the morning,
only one hundred and fifty escaped massacre or captivity. Colonel Dudley
was severely wounded, and afterward tomahawked and scalped. A large
portion of the prisoners were marched to the British fort lower down the
river, where they immediately became the sport and prey of the Indians,
who commenced an indiscriminate slaughter of the unarmed men, until the
entreaties of some of the more humane British officers checked it for a
time. Another party were placed in charge of a Sergeant and fifty men
for the purpose of being embarked in the gunboats, where it was supposed
they would be safe from the attacks of the infuriated savages. Upon
reaching the encampment, which at that time happened to be deserted by
the troops, they were met by a band of Indians who had not been engaged
in the contest at all, but, actuated by a brutal thirst for blood, and
disappointed at not having a share of the plunder, to which they thought
themselves entitled, they determined to satisfy their desires by
murdering and stripping the prisoners before them. Perhaps they were
actuated by a spirit of revenge for the loss which had been sustained by
their friends in the action. Be this as it may, they each selected a
victim from the ranks, and with fearful yells commenced the work of
slaughter. With a magnanimity scarcely to be expected of men who had
witnessed the cold-blooded murders at the river Raisin, the British
guard threw themselves between the savages and their intended victims,
and endeavored to dissuade, and then to coerce them from their horrid
butchery. But in vain. Excited to the highest pitch of ferocity by the
blood they had already shed, they were not to be deterred from their
purpose; and the soldiers—after witnessing the death of one of their
number, who was stabbed to the heart by a savage from whom he had
snatched a prisoner—finding their interposition to be fruitless,
withdrew and left the unfortunate men to their fate. Surrounded upon all
sides by the savages, with no chance of escape, with none to interfere,
the prisoners were huddled together; those in front striving to screen
themselves behind their comrades; while those in the rear, with the love
of life urging them with an equal force, endeavored to keep them from
doing so, they surged to and fro, the tomahawk and scalping-knife doing
its work, until forty of their number lay stiff in the embrace of death.
The Sergeant in command of the guard, who had been forced to leave their
charge to the tender mercies of the savages, sought for Tecumseh, and
informed him of the horrid butchery which was being enacted. The eyes of
the chieftain lit up with a consuming blaze, and his nostrils dilated
and contracted as his breast heaved with the mighty passion which the
soldier's story had roused within him. He stopped but a moment to hear
the end, and then dashing his heels against his horse's sides, he darted
off in the direction of the scene. Raising his voice as he approached,
in thunder-tones he commanded the Indians to desist from their brutal
work. A few, startled at the unexpected interference, drew back; but the
majority, regardless of his authority, and drunk with passion, refused
to obey. Precipitating himself between these and their prey, he forced
them back, and, drawing his tomahawk, he whirled it over his head, while
his face was wrought into an expression of the most fearful and
scorching rage, as he threatened to cleave to the earth the first one
who offered to disobey him. This was effectual with some, but there were
still a few who continued their bloody work, and one after another the
miserable prisoners were falling, like sheep in the shambles, before the
unrelenting knives and hatchets of their executioners. None but a man
destitute of fear would have dared to rush between these and their
victims. It was tearing the carcass of his prey from the jaws of the
lion to interfere between these ferocious fiends and their feast of
blood. But, the chief knew no fear: he was wrought to such a fearful
state of excitement as not to heed the dictates of prudence. Leaping
from his horse and drawing his knife, he threw himself upon them with
all the fury of a tigress divested of her young. Seizing one by the
throat, and another by the breast, he hurled them to the ground, and
thus, one after another, he beat them back with a strength which nothing
could withstand. Taking his station in front of the remnant of the band
which still remained alive, and raising his tomahawk high above his
head, while his whole figure dilated to a greater height by the passions
which raged within his bosom, he dared them, in tones which thrilled
through them like electricity, to strike another blow. None were found
so bold as to tempt his arm or disobey his command, and the prisoners
were saved. Looking around for Proctor, he espied him as he approached,
and demanded why he had not stopped the massacre. "Sir," said he, "your
Indians are not to be commanded." "Begone!" replied Tecumseh, as a look
of the greatest disdain and contempt swept over his swarthy visage, "you
are unfit to command; go and _put on petticoats_!"
This Proctor, the British commander, had already branded himself with
indelible infamy at the battle of the River Raisin, in January of the
same year. In reference to this battle, we will briefly state the object
of General Harrison's campaign was to take Detroit, and expel the
British from the territory of the United States—and to protect the
extensive frontier; also to furnish such protection as was possible to
the settlers in Ohio, Indiana, etc., from the savages in the pay of the
British. The points to be defended were scattered over a vast region of
country; and though the care of it fell upon General Harrison, officers
in the different sections were frequently obliged to act for themselves.
It was thus that General Winchester, failing to receive counter-orders
sent after him by Harrison, and unaware of the full force of the enemy,
was induced to make an imprudent, though brave, movement against a body
of English and Indians who were coming from Malden and the Raisin to
attack his camp at the rapids.
He pressed forward and found the enemy prepared to meet him at
Frenchtown; they were posted among the houses, but were soon dislodged
and driven to the woods. Here a short, desperate engagement took place,
and the English were driven two miles before the continual charge of the
brave Kentuckians, though the latter had made that day a forced march of
over eighteen miles over ice. In reporting the action, afterward,
General Harrison said: "The troops amply sustained the double character
of Americans and Kentuckians."
Thus far our heroes were successful; instead of retiring after this
brilliant affair, they determined to maintain their position; they
remained in Frenchtown two or three days, part of their forces being
exposed in an open field, and a part sheltered by the garden pickets of
the town. During the night of the 21st of January, the British came up,
unobserved, and at daylight fired bombs, balls and grape-shot from heavy
pieces of artillery, at a distance of only three hundred yards. The
troops in the open field were sadly injured by this fire, and soon fled
across the river in the utmost confusion. The Indians gained our flank
and rear, butchering our soldiers shockingly. General Winchester was
taken prisoner and marched to the British camp. Colonel Lewis still
maintained his position in the town, frequently repulsing the enemy,
until the Indians gained his flank, when a general and indiscriminate
massacre ensued. Colonel Lewis was made a prisoner, had his coat
stripped off, and was conducted to the enemy's camp. Colonel Allen,
being badly wounded, surrendered to an Indian. Another assailed him,
whom Allen struck dead at his feet, and was in turn shot down by a third
savage. Garrett, with fifteen or twenty men, surrendered, and all but
himself were butchered on the spot.
Two other officers, Graves and Madison, still maintained their position
within the picketing, and with their troops, behaved most gallantly. The
former being severely wounded, and as he sat down, wiping the blood from
his wounds, cried: "Never mind me, my boys, fight on!" Proctor, with all
his British regulars and savage allies, could not subdue this band—they
gave not an inch to the foe.
A flag was at last sent to Madison, with an order from Winchester to
surrender. Proctor accompanied the flag, and made the demand, but Major
Madison replied that he would not surrender unless the safety of his men
could be guaranteed. Proctor demanded:
"Sir, do you mean to dictate to _me_?"
"No," returned the intrepid Major, "I intend to dictate for myself; and
we prefer selling our lives as dearly as possible, rather than be
massacred in cold blood."
The surrender was made on express conditions, that the officers should
retain their side arms, the sick and wounded to be carefully removed,
private property to be respected, and the prisoners protected by a
guard. Proctor disregarded all stipulations, and handed over the
prisoners to the Indians, who butchered them without mercy. Some of
their bodies were thrown into the flames of the burning village, while
others, shockingly mangled, were left exposed in the streets. These
awful deeds were continued for several days.
For the massacre of the River Raisin, in return for which any other
civilized government would have dismissed, if not gibbeted, the
commander, Colonel Proctor received the rank of Major-General in the
British army. This infamous officer it was who shortly after commenced
the siege of Fort Meigs, his mind filled with visions of conquest,
personal glory and official promotion. He was assisted by Tecumseh, with
fifteen hundred of his warriors; but even the Indian nature revolted at
the more savage deeds of the English General. From this siege of Fort
Meigs Proctor was obliged to retreat toward Malden in disgrace and
confusion.
In the May following, however, Proctor, thinking to surprise Fort Meigs,
made a second attack upon it with a large force of British regulars and
Canadians, and several thousand Indians under Tecumseh, but was again
obliged to retreat in disgrace.
On the first day of August, General Proctor appeared with five hundred
regulars, and about eight hundred Indians of the most ferocious kind,
before fort Stephenson, twenty miles above the mouth of the river
Sandusky. There were not more than one hundred and thirty-three
effective men in the garrison, and the works covered one acre of ground;
it was a mere outpost of little importance; and General Harrison, acting
with the unanimous advice of his council of war, had sent orders to
Major Croghan, who commanded the garrison, to evacuate the fort, and
make good his retreat to head-quarters, provided the enemy should
approach the place with artillery, and a retreat be practicable. But the
first step taken by Proctor was to isolate the fort by a cordon of
Indians, thus leaving to Major Croghan no choice but between resistance
and submission. A messenger was sent to demand the surrender of the
fort. He was met by Ensign Shipp, to whom the messenger observed that
General Proctor had a considerable body of regular troops, and a great
many Indians, whom it was impossible to control, and if the fort was
taken by force, he must expect that the mildest instruments made use of
would be the tomahawk and scalping-knife! Shipp replied, that it was the
commander's intention to defend the garrison or be buried in it, and
that they might do their worst. The messenger, startled at the reply of
Shipp, again addressed him: "You are a fine young man. I pity your
situation. For God's sake surrender, and prevent the dreadful slaughter
which must inevitably follow resistance." The gallant Shipp turned from
him with indignation, and was immediately seized by a frightful-looking
savage, who attempted to wrest his sword from him, but the Ensign was
fortunately too quick for him, and buried the blade to the hilt in his
body, and succeeded in reaching the fort in safety. The attack now
commenced. About four P. M., all the enemy's guns were concentrated
against the northwestern angle of the fort, for the purpose of making a
breach. To counteract the effect of their fire, the commander caused
that point to be strengthened by means of bags of flour, sand and other
materials, in such a manner that the balls of the enemy did but little
injury. But the enemy, supposing that their fire had sufficiently
shattered the pickets, advanced, to the number of six hundred, to storm
the place, the Indians shouting in their usual manner. As soon as the
ditch was pretty well filled with the copper-colored assailants, the
commander of the fort ordered a six-pounder, which had been masked in
the block-house, to be discharged. It had been loaded with a double
charge of musket-balls and slugs. The piece completely raked the ditch
from end to end. The yell of the savages was at this instant horrible.
The first fire leveled the one half in death; the second and third
either killed or wounded all except eleven, who were covered by the dead
bodies. The Americans had but one killed, and seven slightly wounded.
Early the ensuing morning the few regulars and Indians that survived
retreated down the river, abandoning all their baggage.
The time was now at hand when General Harrison and his army were to
reach the full completion of all the contemplated objects of the
expedition.
Among the earliest recommendations of General Harrison to the Government
the year before, and immediately after he commenced operations, had been
that of constructing and equipping a naval armament on the lakes. In one
letter he says: "Admitting that Malden and Detroit are both taken,
Mackinaw and St. Joseph will both remain in the hands of the enemy until
we can create a force capable of contending with the vessels which the
British have in Lake Michigan," etc. And again, in another letter:
"Should any offensive operation be suspended until spring, it is my
decided opinion that the cheapest and most effectual plan will be to
obtain command of Lake Erie. This being once effected, every difficulty
will be removed. An army of four thousand men, landed on the north side
of the lake, below Malden, will reduce that place, retake Detroit, and,
with the aid of the fleet, proceed down the lake to coöperate with the
army from Niagara." These sagacious instructions, being repeatedly and
strenuously urged by him, and reinforced also from other quarters, were
adopted and acted upon by the Government. Commodore Perry was
commissioned to build, equip and command the contemplated fleet; and, on
the 10th of September, with an inferior force, he met the enemy, and
gained the brilliant victory of Lake Erie.
Meanwhile, Colonel Richard M. Johnson, then a member of Congress from
Kentucky, had devised the organization of two regiments of mounted
militia, which he was authorized by the Government to raise, as well for
service against the Indians, as to coöperate with Harrison. Colonel
Johnson crossed the country of Lower Sandusky, where he received orders
from the war department to proceed to Kaskaskia, to operate in that
quarter; but, by the interference of Harrison, and at the urgent request
of Colonel Johnson, who said, for himself and his men, that the first
object of their hearts was to accompany Harrison to Detroit and Canada,
and to partake in the danger and honor of that expedition, under an
officer in whom they had confidence, and who had approved himself "to be
wise, prudent, and brave,"—the orders of the department were
countermanded, and Colonel Johnson attained his wish.
[Illustration:
Tecumseh Saving the Prisoners.—_Page_ 19.
]
General Harrison now prepared to strike the great blow. Aided by the
energetic efforts of Governor Meigs, of Ohio, and Governor Shelby, of
Kentucky, he had ready on the southern shore of Lake Erie, by the middle
of September, a competent force, destined for the immediate invasion of
Canada. Between the 16th and the 24th of September, the artillery,
military stores, provisions, and troops, were gradually embarked, and on
the 27th the whole army proceeded to the Canada shore. "Remember the
river Raisin," said General Harrison, in his address to the troops, "but
remember it only while victory is suspended. The revenge of a soldier
can not be gratified on a fallen enemy." The army landed in high
spirits; but the enemy had abandoned his stronghold, and retreated to
Sandwich, after dismantling Malden, burning the barracks and navy-yard,
and stripping the adjacent country of horses and cattle. General
Harrison encamped that night on the ruins of Malden.
On the 2d of October, arrangements were made for pursuing the retreating
enemy up the Thames. The army was put in motion on the morning of the
4th. General Harrison accompanied Colonel Johnson, and was followed by
Governor Shelby with the infantry. Having passed the ground where the
enemy had encamped the night before, the General directed the advance of
Colonel Johnson's regiment to accelerate their march, for the purpose of
ascertaining the distance of the enemy.
The troops had now advanced within three miles of the Moravian town, and
within one mile of the enemy. Across a narrow strip of land, near an
Indian village, the enemy were drawn up in line of battle, to prevent
the advance of the American troops. The British troops amounted to six
hundred, the Indians to more than twelve hundred. About one hundred and
fifty regulars, under Colonel Ball, were ordered to advance and amuse
the enemy, and, should a favorable opportunity present, to seize his
cannon. A small party of friendly Indians were directed to move under
the bank. The regiment of Colonel Johnson was drawn up in close column,
with its right a few yards distant from the road. General Desha's
division covered the left of Johnson's regiment. General Cass and
Commodore Perry volunteered as aids to General Harrison.
On the 5th, the enemy was discovered in a position skillfully chosen, in
relation as well to local circumstances as to the character of his
troops. A narrow strip of dry land, flanked by the river Thames on the
left and by a swamp on the right, was occupied by his regular infantry
and artillery, while on the right flank lay Tecumseh and his followers,
on the eastern margin of the swamp. But, notwithstanding the judicious
choice of the ground, Proctor had committed the error of forming his
infantry in open order. Availing himself of this fact, and aware that
troops so disposed could not resist a charge of mounted men, he directed
Colonel Johnson to dash through the enemy's line in column. The movement
was made with brilliant success.
The mounted men charged with promptitude and vigor, broke through the
line of the enemy, formed in the rear, and assailed the broken line with
a success seldom equaled, for nearly the whole of the British regular
force was either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.
On the left the contest was much more serious. Colonel Johnson's
regiment, being there stationed, received a galling fire from the
Indians, who seemed not disposed to give ground. The Colonel gallantly
led his men into the midst of them, and was personally attacked by a
chief, whom he dispatched with his cutlass the moment the former was
aiming a blow at him with his tomahawk. The savages, finding the fire of
the troops too warm for them, fled across the hills and attempted to
seek shelter in a piece of woods on the left, where they were closely
pursued by the cavalry. At the margin of the wood Tecumseh stationed
himself, armed with a spear, tomahawk, &c., endeavoring to rally and
persuade his men to return to the attack. At this point a considerable
body of Indians had collected; but this brave savage saw that the
fortune of the day was against him, and the battle was lost. Proctor had
cowardly fled from the field, and left him and his warriors alone to
sustain themselves against a far superior force; and he knew that there
was no chance of contending with any hope of success. He therefore
stood, like a true hero, disdaining to fly, and was, with many of his
bravest warriors around him, shot down by the Kentucky riflemen. It has
been published to the world, and by many believed, that this
distinguished warrior was killed by a pistol-shot from Colonel Johnson;
but this is undoubtedly a mistake, which probably originated from the
circumstance of the Colonel's having killed a chief by whom he was
attacked, as has before been related. That he fell by a rifle-shot,
there can be no doubt; but by whom fired, it was not certainly known, or
probably never can be satisfactorily proved. No less than six of the
riflemen and twenty-two Indians fell within twenty-five yards of the
spot where Tecumseh was killed.
The Indians continued a brisk fire from the margin of the wood until a
fresh regiment was called into action to oppose them. A company of
cavalry having crossed the hills and gained the rear of the savages, the
rout became general. They fought bravely, and sustained a heavy loss in
killed and wounded. The death of their leader, Tecumseh, was an
irreparable loss to them.
Tecumseh was the most extraordinary Indian that has ever appeared in
history. He was by birth a Shawanese, and would have been a great man in
any age or nation. Independent of the most consummate courage and skill
as a warrior, and all the characteristic acuteness of his race, he was
endowed by nature with the attributes of mind necessary for great
political combinations. His acute understanding, very early in life,
informed him that his countrymen had lost their importance; that they
were gradually yielding to the whites, who were acquiring an imposing
influence over them. Instigated by these considerations, and, perhaps,
by his natural ferocity and attachment to war, he became a decided enemy
to the whites, and imbibed an invincible determination (he surrendered
it with his life) to regain for his country the proud independence which
he supposed she had lost. For a number of years he was foremost in every
act of hostility committed against those he conceived the oppressors of
his countrymen, and was equally remarkable for intrepidity as skill, in
many combats that took place under his banner. Aware, at length, of the
extent, number, and power of the United States, he became fully
convinced of the futility of any single nation of red-men attempting to
cope with them. He formed, therefore, the grand scheme of uniting all
the tribes east of the Mississippi into hostility against the United
States. This was a field worthy of his great and enterprising genius. He
commenced in the year 1809; and in the execution of his project he
displayed an unequaled adroitness, eloquence, and courage. He insinuated
himself into every tribe, from Michilimackinack to Georgia, and was
invariably successful in his attempts to bring them over to his views.
The following characteristic circumstance occurred at one of the
meetings at Vincennes. After Tecumseh had made a speech to General
Harrison, and was about to seat himself in a chair, he observed that
none had been placed for him. One was immediately ordered by the
Governor, and, as the interpreter handed it to him, he said, "Your
father requests you to take a chair." "_My father!_" said Tecumseh, with
an indignant expression; "_the sun is my father, and the earth is my
mother, and on her bosom will I repose_," and immediately seated
himself, in the Indian fashion, upon the ground.
Tecumseh was born about 1770, and was supposed to be in his forty-fourth
year at the time of his death. He received the commission of
Brigadier-General in the British army; but aversion to civilization was
a prominent trait in his character, and it is not supposed that he
received the red sash and other badges of office, because he was fond of
imitating the whites, but only as a means of inspiring respect and
veneration among his own people, which was so necessary in the work he
had undertaken. He was about five feet ten inches in height, of a noble
appearance, and a perfectly symmetrical form. His carriage was erect and
lofty, his motions quick, his eyes penetrating, his visage stern, with
an air of _hauteur_ in his countenance, which arose from an elevated
pride of soul. It did not leave him, even in death. Had he not possessed
a certain austerity of manners, he could never have controlled the
passions of those whom he had led to battle. The Indians are usually
fond of gaudy decorations; but Tecumseh was an exception. Clothes and
other valuable articles of spoil frequently fell into his possession;
yet he invariably wore a deer-skin coat and pantaloons. He had
frequently levied subsidies, to a comparatively large amount; yet he
retained little or nothing for himself. It was not wealth, but glory,
that was his ruling passion.
Previously to General Brock's crossing over to Detroit, he asked
Tecumseh what sort of a country he should have to pass through in case
of his proceeding further. Tecumseh, taking a roll of elm-bark, and
extending it upon the ground, by means of four stones, drew forth his
scalping-knife and with the point sketched upon the bark a plan of the
country: its hills, woods, rivers, morasses and roads; a plan, which, if
not as neat, was for the purpose fully as intelligible as if Arrowsmith
himself had prepared it. Pleased with this unexpected talent in
Tecumseh, as also with his having induced the Indians not of his
immediate party to cross the Detroit, prior to the departure of the
regulars and militia, General Brock, as soon as business was over,
publicly took off his sash and placed it around the body of the chief.
Tecumseh received the honor with evident gratification, but was, the
next day, seen without his sash. General Brock, fearing something had
displeased the Indian, sent his interpreter for an explanation; who soon
returned with an account that Tecumseh, not wishing to wear such a mark
of distinction, when an older, and, as he said, abler, warrior was
present, had transferred the sash to the Wyandot chief, Roundhead.