Captain David Wilkeson, Perrysburg's Local Sea Captain

 

The Sidewheel Steamer General Wayne, in 1838, represents the kind of steam powered vessels that plied Lake Erie in the early 19th century. She was wrecked off Vermillion, Ohio in 1850.

Today my hometown Perrysburg, and its sister town of Maumee across the Maumee River, is a medium sized, middle class suburb of Toledo in Northwest Ohio. It is located about ten miles up the river from the lake, and is visited mostly by smaller motor or sailboats, which are prevented by the lower rapids from proceeding any further upstream. Few people who live there today would think of Perrysburg as being a major shipbuilding center, let alone a port. Yet in the early decades of the 19th century, the town was expected to become a major industrial center because of its location at the "head of navigation", the point on the river where boats could go no farther inland and where wagons and land traffic must pass to make the corner around Lake Erie. What stopped it from developing so was nature: a limestone shelf under the river a few miles downstream that prevented deeper-drafted vessels from making it upriver. During the days of schooners and the early steam sidewheelers, Perrysburg was not just a port town but the wide bottomlands below the town and thousands of acres of Black Swamp forests made it an ideal place for shipbuilding. As I've written in other posts, the pioneering Great Lakes sailors and sea captains were often local men who formed partnerships and built schooners to haul in passengers and goods from Buffalo, shipping out raw materials and farm products or furs. Perrysburg's main export in these early years was called "Ohio fur": bundles of white oak staves and heads for barrels piled high on the deck.

David Wilkeson came to Perrysburg from the Buffalo area shortly after the War of 1812. His uncle, a Captain James or Jacob Wilkeson, hired him on as a hand aboard the 25-ton schooner Black Snake in 1815, when he was about 15 years old. The tiny schooner brought the first band of refugees from Buffalo to resettle the Maumee Valley, and in turn took on Alman Gibbs and 40 soldiers who were the last garrison of Fort Meigs in May that year. (Gibbs soon returned, having married the daughter of settler Amos Spafford, and built a Greek revival house in what is now downtown Maumee). In 1817 while still a teenager he had assumed command of the schooner, and in 1818 was captain of the Pilot running between the Maumee River and Buffalo. Among his various sailing vessels were the 90-ton schooner Eagle, but in 1835 he launched the steamer Commodore Perry and sailed it as Captain and part owner for ten years. In 1845 he took command of the steamer Superior, and continued sailing until 1852 when he retired to his farm in Perrysburg. Even then, he took an active hand in seafaring life on the Maumee River, tending the lighthouse near Manhattan, Ohio on Maumee Bay (near modern Point Place).

While he made his career on Lake Erie, from an early age he had made Perryburg his home, and died there in 1873. Most of what we know about him comes from the personal recollections of a friend and fellow sailor named William Hodge, who published his memoir in 1883. Hodge, too, was a lifelong Erie sailor who lived at Buffalo, New York. As the terminus of the Erie Canal, and especially before ship canals were dug to bypass Niagara Falls, Buffalo was the gateway to the Great Lakes. 

There are a lot of good stories in William Hodge's book, which you can read in its entirety here. I've transcribed a few below:

Late in the month of November, 1833, westerly winds had prevailed at this end of the lake for about a week. Buffalo Creek had become quite filled with sail vessels, so much so, in fact, that there was but a narrow passageway left, only wide enough to allow one vessel to pass up and down the channel. Captain Wilkeson's schooner, the Eagle, was one of the thirty or more thus in waiting. The docks along the creek at this time were not very extensive, nearly or quite all lying below the foot of Main street... I was to take passage on the Eagle for Perrysburg, and early that morning Captain Wilkeson kindly sent a sailor out to my father's house (about three miles), to notify me that the vessel was ready to start, and was only waiting for me. I immediately rode down to the dock in a sleigh and went aboard. The Eagle was then quickly gotten under way. Most of the vessels that had been in the harbor were already off in the lake, and some were out of sight. We were soon beyond the pier... When fairly in the lake, with all sails set, for the wind was favorable though light, Captain Wilkeson directed the men to try the pumps, and to his great surprise found water in the hold. He therefore concluded to lay his course for Dunkirk, and kept the pumps going. He soon found that the vessel took in water when on one tack, but not when on the other. He then ordered the mate, Frank Bushaw, to lower the small boat and examine the vessel's sides. While he was doing so, I leaned over the port railing, and discovered a hole near the water's edge which had evidently been made by the fluke of an anchor while we were in the jam of vessels in the harbor. The Captain then gave orders to "about ship" and return... A carpenter was sent for, who repaired the broken plank. We then again set forth and once more were in the lake... Night set in, the light breeze continuing all night and the next day, and until almost one o'clock in the morning, when it shifted to the west, and blew a gale. The mate who had charge of the deck called to the Captain who was below, and wanted to know what he should do, as he could make no headway. The Captain turned out in a moment, and stopping half way up the companion way, asked what was the vessel's position. Being told how far we were above Cleveland, he then asked, "Can you make the lee of the islands by laying your course across the lake?" The mate replied, "I don't know." The Captain told him to "try it." He did so; and in the morning, we got under the lee of Cunningham's Island, now called Kelley's Island. I had been lying still in my berth, wide awake, all this time, as the vessel had tossed very much; but about daylight beginning to feel sea-sick, I concluded to go on deck and take the air. I did so, but the effort was too much, I was compelled to go to the rail. I hung on with both hands, and after a few heaves and surges, both the vessel and myself felt easier, as we soon got into still water. We continued our course without stopping, until we arrived at Swan Creek, now Toledo. After discharging part of our cargo at the warehouse there, we sailed up the Maumee River to Perrysburg. In consequence of this terrible gale, the Eagle, though the last of all that fleet of vessels to leave port, and notwithstanding the delay on account of the leak, was the first to reach her intended destination, while many of those vessels were driven on shore, the Guerriere, which was also owned by Captain Wilkeson, being of this number; and several were totally wrecked.

After many years of captaining sailing vessels, Wilkeson contracted with F. N. Jones, a shipbuilder from Buffalo, to build a steamboat, the Commodore Perry, at Perrysburg for him. One of his shareholders, or part-owners of the ship was the Eagle's cook, an African-American man named Joseph Langford. According to Hodge, Langford's wife was one of "the most lady-like and stylish women in Perrysburg." He continued to serve as cook aboard the Commodore Perry. One day, after most of the passengers had eaten dinner and Langford was sitting down to eat his own, he was interrupted by a passenger who had been late for dinner. Seeing Langford eating, the passenger declared he would not eat with a person of color. Langford indignantly replied "I should like to know who has a better right to eat his dinner aboard that boat than one of the owners." In later years, according to a 2008 article I found, Joseph Langford lived in a house on Mulberry Street in Perrysburg and guided travelers on the Underground Railroad, using a fast pony by night to help them reach the Canadian border. Langford and his wife definitely deserve some more research.

Captain Wilkeson, who Hodge described as so punctual that he once cast off at the scheduled time of departure, even though he saw his own wife hurrying down the bank of the Maumee to catch the boat, even pioneered breaking the Lake Erie ice:

In those early days of lake commerce, in the spring, or late in the winter, just before the opening of navigation, every one seemed busy along the docks in fitting out both steam and sail vessels. Sometimes, however, these would be delayed in commencing their trips until quite late in the season on account of the "ice blockade." I presume there are many now living who remember the delay caused at Buffalo by the ice, in the spring of 1837. All the vessels in the harbor had been for several weeks ready to leave, but found it impossible to get out. Boats would go out to the line of the ice and make an attempt to break through, but their efforts were in vain. They would have to work themselves back out of the jam and return to their berths in the harbor. Vessels and steamboats from the west would be seen to come down to the edge of the floating ice, and after reconnoitering would return. In this state of affairs, when Captain Wilkeson with his steamboat Commodore Perry came down, it being his second trip from Perrysburg that spring, he determined not to be balked at a second time, and resolved to work his way through if possible, even though it broke all the buckets on the paddle-wheels, and cut through the planking of the boat. To resolve with him was to act. He plunged into the ice, and all hands exerted themselves with a will to force the boat through. After many hours of hard labor, and a general destruction of the buckets and some of the arms of the wheels, the Perry emerged from the ice-pack into clear water, and in a crippled state steamed slowly up the harbor... Captain Wilkeson was the hero of the day. Through the energy and confidence he had displayed in this emergency, as in others, he had succeeded, by breaking the blockade, in setting the many captives free, for the channel made through the ice by the Perry remained open, ,and within an hour several sail vessels had taken advantage of it, and before the sun went down were out beyond the ice. Others continued to follow, and there was no further obstruction. The Commodore Perry was thus the first boat which came in the spring, arriving the 16th day of May. 

Throughout this time, his farm at Perrysburg didn't necessarily receive as much attention as his ships: 

Some of his friends at home "ran him" pretty hard, at one time, about his paying so much attention and giving so much care to his steamboat, and neglecting his homestead. They said that he kept his boat in good repair, all painted up nice and fine, but neglected his premises at home; that his house looked dusty and brown, wanted painting and brushing up. So they offered to contribute and furnish the materials if he would have this renewing done. He answered them by saying he did not believe in this half-way charity giving, and when he did a person a favor he did not stop half way, but carried it out fully. "Now," said he, "if you furnish the paints and materials and two good workmen to put it on, I will consent that you may have the job."

 All told, Captain Wilkeson sailed the schooners Black Snake, Pilot, Nancy Jane, President, Superior, Guerriere, and Eagle; and the sidewheel steamers Commodore Perry and Superior. Most of these were built at Perrysburg. 

Samuel R Brown, Forgotten Veteran of the War of 1812

The confused records of the War of 1812 often lead to some intriguing mysteries. One such are the several books produced by Auburn, New York newspaper editor Samuel R Brown. Auburn is in upper state New York, far from the scene of fighting during the War of 1812 in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Upper Canada. As early as 1814 and 1815, publishers in the United States were churning out histories of the recent events of the war, especially such events as the Battle of Tippecanoe, the surrender of Detroit, the Siege of Fort Meigs and the American victory at the Battle of the River Thames.

During this time there was a major newspaper boom in America-- every county seat and town, no matter how far into the frontier, seems to have had its local print shop and daily or weekly newspaper. The Miami Western Star (Lebanon, Ohio), the Trump of Fortune (Warren, Ohio), Freeman's Chronicle (Franklinton Ohio), and Intelligencer (Worthington, Ohio) are a few of Ohio's frontier newspapers of this era. They seemed to be beneficiaries of the postal system of the era, which allowed newspapers to be easily disseminated. News from Europe, the globe, and the eastern United States was mingled with local news, letters from people attached to the armies during the War of 1812, and even poems and amusing stories. They also served a vital community role-- they were paid for mostly by classified ads usually taking up the last page, which grant us a window into the early shops, tradesmen, and legal actions going on in frontier towns. There was also usually a list of people for whom mail had arrived-- the postal system did not use stamps, but rather the recipient of a letter had to pay the postmaster for it. Therefore letters tended to pile up for people who needed to pay for them!

Samuel R Brown set himself up in Auburn sometime in 1813 or 1814, and remained there until his death at age 42 in 1817. He published the Cayuga Patriot, which outlived him being printed until 1819. We have a glimpse at the man and his business and family life because his apprentice printer, Thurlow Weed, later became a prominent Albany publisher and newspaper editor. Weed recalled:

Nor shall we ever forget the upper story of a wagon-maker's shop, where the "Cayuga Patriot" was first printed; for there we worked, and laughed, and played away most of the winter of 1814.  Samuel R. Brown, who published the "Patriot", was an honest, amiable, easy, slip-shod sort of man, whose patient, good-natured wife was 'cut from the same piece.'  Mr. Brown, the year before, had been established at Albany, with a paper called the "Republican, " under the auspices of Governor Tompkins, Chief-Justice Spencer, and other distinguished Republicans, with whom Mr. Southwick, of the "Register", and then State printer, had quarreled.  The enterprise, like everything in our old friend Brown's hands, failed. and he next found himself at Auburn, then a small village, without a sidewalk or a pavement, and, save for Sackett's Harbor, the muddiest place we ever saw.  Mr. and Mrs. Brown were originals.  Neither of them, so far as we remember,ever lost their temper or ever fretted.  the work in the office was always behind-hand, and the house always in confusion.  The paper was never out in season, and neither breakfast nor dinner were ever ready.  But it was all the same.  Subscribers waited for the paper till it was printed, and we waited for our meals till they were cooked.  The office was always full of loungers communicating or receiving news; and but for an amateur type-setter, Richard Oliphant, late editor of the "Oswego County Whig" and brother of the editor of the "Auburn Journal", to whom we became much attached, and who, though a mere boy, used to do a full share of the work, the business would have fallen still further behind-hand.

 For small town newspaper publishers, the newspaper was only one aspect of business. They handled all sorts of printing jobs for locals, including blank forms, journals and stationary. It's not surprising that such a man would branch out into writing books about current events and geography. There was a huge demand for books about the recent events of the war, but also for guides for settlers immigrating into the vast lands that had been opened up in large part due to the settlements between the US Government and the Indian nations of the Northwest and Southeast frontiers. Between 1814 and 1817 Samuel R Brown wrote and published Views of the Campaigns of the Northwestern Army (1814), Views on Lake Erie (1814), two volumes of An Authentic History of the Second War for Independence (1815), and the Western Gazetteer, or, Emigrant's Directory (1817). Many of these books relied on Brown's own travels throughout the western frontier, or on first hand accounts he had examined from correspondents. There are a number of stories or descriptions in his books on General William Henry Harrison's campaigns in 1813 which contain odd details, and lead me to believe they are based on his own direct experience, even though his books are usually listed under the category of secondary works in most historiography of the War of 1812. Another veteran of the war, writing in the 1870s, accused Brown of printing "camp rumor" rather than a objective history.

As a War of 1812 historian, the question for me remained-- was Samuel R Brown present during the Siege of Fort Meigs, the aftermath of the Battle of Lake Erie, or the Battle of the Thames? How could he have been involved in all these events and yet, seemingly without missing a beat be peacefully back in his print shop above the wheel wright's in Auburn, with his wife and six kids and working on his newspaper and book manuscripts?

As to the nature of his service, there is only a small hint in his obituary:
"Mr. Brown was a rational lover of our free, Republican Institutions; warmly attached to the
best interests of his country, and ever vigilant and prompt to promote it's prosperity, and
defend and enhance it's glory.  On the tented field he was a patriotic soldier.  In the heat of
battle, he stood a hero, undismayed by the crash of arms, unappalled by the sight of blood,
and, proud and fearless in the front of danger, he did breast himself against..."

"In the late War, Mr. Brown evinced the spirit of a freeman, under the immediate command of Col.
Johnson of Kentucky.  Not until Proctor was vanquished and Tecumseh slain upon the battlefield
did the unfortunate Brown quit the frontiers of his country and return to the bosom of his
family, his kindred and his friends."

But there is nothing to suggest that Samuel R Brown was attached as a volunteer to the famous Regiment of Mounted Riflemen led by Colonel Richard Johnson. The answer, seems instead to come from the modern brute-force technology of Googling, because a my search for his name and the term "War of 1812" pulled up a hit on a muster roll of Captain James A McClelland's company of Volunteer Light Dragoons, which in turn served under Major James V. Ball throughout the 1813 campaign. This supports his own account, because almost as an aside Brown mentioned that he was attached to McClelland's company throughout the campaign.

He was definitely present with Ball's dragoons during the siege of Fort Meigs:

Notwithstanding the incessant fire of the enemy, the men were obliged to go to the river for water every night--the well not being finished... Their 24 pound shot passed through the pickets without cutting them down. Our gunners silenced one of their pieces several times. They did not fire so rapidly as the enemy, but with a better aim...

One reason why our troops did not sustain a greater loss in the fort, was because the men had contrived a kind of bomb proof retreat all along the ditch immediately behind the pickets. They would watch the enemy's fire and knew when to squat into their hiding places. By this means many valuable lives were saved.

Vast quantities of rain fell during the siege--the soil within the pickets is clay, and the constant treading of the men and horses caused the whole area of the fort to become a perfect bed of mortar, half leg deep--the frequent bursting of shells caused it to fly in every direction, covering officers and men with mud. 

Brown's pamphlets and histories are a valuable primary account of the campaign, especially the events which he was present to witness, including the siege of Fort Meigs, and as we shall see, the aftermath of the Battle of Lake Erie, the amphibious landings near Fort Malden, recapture of Detroit and the Battle of the Thames.

Update: Sandusky Mail Incident

A late-18th century gunboat. Photo By Rémi Kaupp

According to the notebook of Major Peter L. Chambers, General Henry Procter's Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General, the Sandusky express mail that I mentioned in a previous post as approaching close enough to the siege of Fort Meigs to see cannon fire, didn't get away unmolested.

"30th I accompanied Lt Colonel Warburton and made a reconnissance on the Enemy's side approached so near to their Fort that the Rifflemen fired several shot at us. I fired one shot at a number I perceived together with my Rifle (one that General Brock presented me with)
Four Ottawa Boys intercepted the Sandusky Mail, it was guarded by three men who fled as soon as the Boys fired, the Eldest Boy was only fourteen years of age. [my underlining]
7 o'clock Pill went on Board the Myers Gun Boat and in company with the Eliza [another small gunboat, perhaps built by the British army that year on the Thames River--DW] ascended the River about half a mile fired a shot from the 9 Pounder every half hour the enemy did not fire a shot at us."

You can read the rest of Major Chambers' report here, pp. 289-91 of Michigan Historical Collections vol. 15. (online at archive.org)

Muster on the Maumee 2011 Gallery

This past weekend I participated in Muster on the Maumee, a timeline living history encampment hosted by Fort Meigs State Historic Site and my unit, Cushing's Company/ 2nd US Artillery. Here are some pictures I took during the weekend:

The central part of the Fort held a pretty decent selection of sutlers (merchants) and a couple of food stands.

I spent a lot of my time at the Grand Battery, which held guns from three different eras.

One of our companies guns, a bronze six-pounder field piece.

Fort Meigs Living History Event: First Siege

This Memorial Day weekend, Fort Meigs State Historic Site in Perrysburg Ohio (near Toledo) is hosting a reenactment of the first siege of the fort in 1813. If you're in the tri-state area and don't have any plans for the long weekend, check it out. Starting on Saturday, reenactors representing the American and British armies (as well as Native American forces fighting for both sides) occupy camps in opposite ends of the fort. A large scale battle is held on Saturday on Sunday; in between battles each camp holds demonstrations and a morning and evening parade. On Memorial Day, a smaller group of American reenactors will hold a ceremony at the 1908 obelisk to honor the soldiers who fought and died here.
 

Check it out:

Official event page at fortmeigs.org

wikipedia.org page for Fort Meigs

A youtube video from last years' event

Series of blog posts on the first siege

The Siege of Fort Meigs (part three)

This blog entry may be a bit rambling, but I wanted to finish off my series on the First Siege of Fort Meigs...

The monument at Fort Meigs, erected 1908 by the Grand Army of the Republic (the veterans association of the Union army).

Graffiti, c. 2007 or '8.

 
May 17, 1813. Lt. Colonel George McFeely reported in his diary that both Fort George (held by the British) and Fort Niagara fired salutes to commemorate the siege and battle of Fort Meigs. Both Americans and British felt that they had won victories at the rapids. However, since then, historians' opinion of the battle has ranged from being a tactical defeat for William Henry Harrison to a decisive victory for Henry Procter.

Siege of Fort Meigs, 198th Anniversary

Overview of the May 5th engagements by Benson Lossing. There are a few inaccuracies since he was visiting the site in the 1860s, namely the bridge.

This is the second post of a series on the First Siege of Fort Meigs, which took place 198 years ago this week.

198 years ago yesterday (May 5, 1813), a relief column of Kentucky militiamen descended the Maumee River near modern-day Perrysburg, Ohio to reach Major General William Henry Harrison's besieged garrison at Fort Meigs (see previous post. They arrived at the head of the rapids, five miles up river of the Fort, on the evening of May 4th, and tied their boats to the shoreline. Couriers with instructions from the General crept through picket lines of British and Indians to the militia commander, General Green Clay. Alexander Bourne, then in command of the fort's blockhouse six, described what took place:

Seige of Fort Meigs... 198 Years Ago

A 5.5 inch howitzer at Fort Meigs State Historic Site, Perrysburg Ohio. Three of the forts batteries overlook the lower fords of the Maumee River.

Having just returned from a week-long trip, I've decided to make a series of posts on the Battle of Fort Meigs, the anniversary of which is this week. I'm currently researching a book about the 1813 campaign of General William Henry Harrison to recapture Detroit during the War of 1812.

198 years ago today, Fort Meigs in modern-day Perrysburg Ohio has been under siege by a combined British and Native American force for five days. Beginning on April 28, 1813, forces under General Henry Procter surrounded Maj. General William Henry Harrison's Northwest Army at the fortified camp. Captain Daniel S. Cushing of the Second United States Regiment of Artillery kept a diary of the siege:

Saturday, May First-- At 2 o'clock in the morning the British opened their artillery upon our garrison from their gun-boats, which lay one and one-half miles below us, but it was without effect. At 8 o'clock they hoisted the red flag at their lower battery and commenced firing with 24, 12 and 6 pounders, and eight inch mortars. They fired at us this day 240 shot and shells; did very little damage. They continued firing shells through the night but not often, just enough to keep our camp from rest. We keep up a heavy fire on them all day from different parts of our camp, the Indians are very thick on our flank and in our rear. We have not more than two killed and four wounded today.

War of 1812 Reenactment

It's January, the depths of winter, and the humid summer months seem an eternity away. I sometimes troll youtube for online videos of battle reenactments, nearly all of which take place during the warmer times of year. Youtube user hevelhorst has posted video of a reenactment at Fort Meigs last year. I'm in there somewhere, at the end of the American line furthest from the camera. This video really captures a bit of the excitement of a battle with flintlock muskets and cannon.


hevelhorst's youtube channel.

Canals

Stole a post from one of my older blogs, one on wordpress that I'd forgotten the password to.
Canal Building:

Then (1820s):

Now (2000s):


There are a lot of immense ruins dotting the Ohio landscape, some of them dating from the European settlement of the 18th and 19th centuries, some of them dating from the time of Christ. Many have been wiped out by agriculture or urban growth. Those that remain are for the most part off the beaten path or hidden from casual observers.

The canal system was a brief, but important stage in the infrastructure of Ohio. Only a decade or so after the last one was finished, railroads displaced them as the primary mode of transportation. However, the canals allowed migration and commerce to reach the landlocked central portions of the state, and connected the sea lanes of the Great Lakes with the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. As early as the 1780s, George Washington was mentioning the possiblity of using canals to facilitate the development of the Ohio country, in which he had been buying up land since the close of the French and Indian War. Perhaps he, as a young scout and militia officer, had heard of the great Indian portage trails linking the watersheds of rivers in central Ohio, which allowed navigation between the lakes and the Mississippi.

But it was not until the end of the War of 1812 that enough capital was available for such an ambitious undertaking, and the legislature finally got around to voting for the project in 1822, long after the wars were over and Washington dead. From the 1830s until the 1860s, canals were vital to the infrastructure of the state, allowing farmers to ship their goods without resorting to the horrible roads of the time.

Today, several museums interpret the history of the canal era and feature working canal boats and locks. Moreover, remnants of the locks, immense piles of limestone, still dot the countryside and lurk incongrously amidst modern suburbs.

Worthington Western Intelligencer

Looking upriver at Fort Meigs today
Worthington Western Intelligencer Article from May 5th, 1813:

Pittsburgh, April 18

A letter from Fort Meigs, dated in the afternoon of the 9th of April, says-- “Four American citizens of Detroit made their escape from the enemy, and arrived here the 4th inst. They confidently state that this garrison will be attacked in 7 or 8 days. The fort has accordingly been placed in the best possible state of defense, and we hope to give a good account of them, should the attack be made.
Col. Stevenson has arrived with 100 men and Maj. Ball, with his squadron of 200. Col. Miller’s regiment is hourly looked for, and have with them 18 pieces of cannon, four of which are 18 pounders.
One the morning of the xth three privates of Capt. Langham’s company went about 20 perches up the river from the lower blockhouse, were surprised by the Indians, one killed and scalped one taken prisoner, and one escaped. Capt. Langham pursued them with his company for about x miles, but could not overtake them.
On the morning of the 8th the Indians surprised Capt. Cushing’s company of artillery, about 2 quarters of a mile from the Fort, killed 1 and took two prisoners. Three parties were immediately sent in pursuit of the Indians, one to the eastward, another down the bank of the river, and the third under the command of Capt. Peters, with 10 French Canadians in batteaux…

In a letter to Lt. Joseph Larwell on April 23rd, Captain Daniel Cushing explained what happened next-- (edited a bit for clarity)

Peters and 11 Frenchmen jumped into a boat parked down the river, came upon the Indians 15 in number killed six and wounded 2 mortally—one shot through the breast the other through both arms and breast, the Frenchmen had 7 wounded 2 mortally—died the next day, the other 5 are well or near it, our little Frenchman, quite a lad, discharged his piece 4 times at the Indians after he was shot through the arm, this fight was in the boats… The Indians had two boats, 5 in each boat and five on land behind the trees, these fellows did wonders.

Earlier in the same letter, he wrote:

The damned Indians have killed one of my men and taken two others, they killed Felix Rudes tomahawked and scalped him on the 8th, also took Joseph Patterson and John Kelly prisoners, they were in the woods after punching with two tenns (?), there was 4 more with them which did but just make their escape.

Major Amos Stoddard’s general orders the next day made sure that the men of the garrison would take better care:

No fatigue party is to be sent from the garrison without a guard with it--
One subaltern, one noncommisioned officer and twenty privates of the dragoons will be kept in as much readiness as practicable to make a sudden pursuit of the enemy on proper occasions…
No men are to straggle along the river more than three hundred yards either above or below the pickets without the written permission of the officer commanding the corps to which they belong…

Cell Phone Pics

I use my cell phone camera quite a bit. Oftentimes it works simply as a memo pad, to record something I want to remember for later, like the title of an interesting looking book. Since I rarely bring a camera with me when I go places or travel, when I want to record a moment or an object, out comes my low-resolution camera. The pictures are usually pretty blurry, but at least its some kind of record of the subject.
(fig. a)

(fig. b)

(fig. c)

(fig. d)

(fig. e)

(fig. f)

(fig. g)

(fig. h)

(fig. i)

Fig. a: A small songbird found dead next to a cigarette. Smoking kills, kids.
Fig. b: Composition notebook found at the Blackburn House bus stop.
Fig. c: View of University Hall from the upper floors of the Thompson Library, OSU campus.
Fig. d: Geocache found in Westerville.
Fig. e: Graffiti on the GAR Monument at Fort Meigs, Perrysburg Ohio.
Fig. f: Display summarizing the economic geology of Ohio, Mendenhall Labs, OSU campus.
Fig. g: 5.5 inch howitzer, Fort Meigs.
Fig. h: Three officers of French Hussar Regiments, Osprey book.
Fig. i. Pan and lock of 1795 pattern Springfield Arsenal musket, before being cleaned.

The War of 1812 Witnessed the Invention of Sea Mines

Niles Register, August 7 1813: Naval Torpedo
We are happy to inform the public (says a writer in the New York Evening Post) that a torpedo has been invented by a gentleman of New York, simple in its mechanicism and powerful in its effect, and which upon trial has been found to exceed the most sanguine expectations of the inventor. The experiment was made by placing the torpedo in the river, and by letting a raft float over it covered with stones of various magnitude. The instant the raft came in contact with the torpedo, a most dreadful explosion took place throwing the raft and stones in various directions, and some of the stones at a very great distance. As a harbor defence nothing can be more efficient or useful. The expense of constructing a thousand would be but trifling, and with a tenth part of that number the city of New York might be effectually secured from any attack of an invading fleet-- government will doubtless take the subject into consideration, and individuals are already preparing to expel a cruel and ferocious enemy from our coasts.

Mile Markers

Last Mile Marker "P 1 m"

Another face of the same marker, "LS 30 m"

The highway that runs from Perrysburg (south of Toledo, Ohio) to Fremont (south of Sandusky, Ohio) is state route 20, the Fremont Pike. Frequent travelers along this road might occasionally notice squat, triangular stones along the side of the modern roadway, that look somewhat like lonely tombstones. These stones are the remaining mile markers that trace the old turnpike between the village of Perrysburg and the settlement of Lower Sandusky (Fremont) (which grew up around the old fort where Major George Croghan and 160 men from the 17th Infantry Regiment defied an entire British expeditionary force). In the old days, this route cut directly through the Great Black Swamp of Northwest Ohio, and was known as the worst road in America. Given that most early American roads were actually little more than muddy tracks, this was a dubious honor indeed. Since in many places the swamp was ankle or waist deep, trees had to be felled across the road bed to create a passable trail for carriages and wagons. Nevertheless, the going was so slow for most travelers that enterprising locals created inns along the way: according to one source, at one time there were 32 inns spaced along the 31 miles separating Perrysburg from  Lower Sandusky. The milestones were set in place in 1842, once the road had been improved.

According to a brochure produced by the Woodville Historical Society,  of the 30 original milestones, 23 of them are still in place, and the remaining 7 were recreated with concrete replicas. This stretch of State Route 20 is the only one left in the United States with a continuous string of milestones, once a common sight for travelers.