July 1813: Harrison's Secret Report to the Secretary of War

A 5.5 inch howitzer.

One of many interesting items from Logan Esarey, ed. Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison, volume 2. William Henry Harrison goes into a lot of detail about the defenses of Fort Meigs. Counter to what some histories claim, he had only a weak force (mostly the 27th US Infantry, newly recruited in Ohio) with him before several regiments of regulars and militia arrived at his fall-back position at Seneca Town. Note the use of 24-pounder cannonballs recovered from the earlier British bombardment as makeshift ammunition for the two 5.5-inch howitzers present at the Fort.

The Second Attack on Fort Meigs begins

A map, supposedly copied soon after the 1813 campaign after an original by Joseph H Larwill. It includes an account of the two battles of Fort Meigs.

 

First Lieutenant Joseph H Larwill had been on furlough during the first siege of Fort Meigs, but by July 4th was at Lower Sandusky. His brother William was traveling with him, hoping to see the action when the army marched to Detroit (this is somewhat akin to a soldier's relative today being curious and tagging along to a Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan-- but war tourism and civilian visits to the front were more common then!). In July the brothers traveled to the camp on the Maumee, in time to describe the condition of the fort on the eve of the second attack by British and Indian forces.

From the Journal of Joseph H Larwill:

We delay here [Lower Sandusky/ Fort Stephenson] until the mail goes, having an escort to go with it, which was Thursday July 8, 1813. Capt. James Butler and Lieut. John Henderson accompany us. We start at 7 am, make all possible speed, find the road bad. In several places we see Indian signs. By dusk we arrive Camp Meigs, having had a very fatiguing ride to ourselves, but much more so for our horses, not delayed any time to feed them excepting letting them pick grass for 1/2 hour in the course of the day.

Find Capt. Cushing at camp in good health. The camp is materially altered in its appearance since I left it, being cut to pieces by traverses, some more batteries erected, which was done during the siege. The company is generally in good health, but find several of them have died since I was with them. Hereafter I mean to have a register of their names started.

In camp is a considerable force, to wit: part of 17th and 19th Regt. Infantry commanded by Col. John Miller; 24th Regt. Infantry from Massac commanded by Capt. Anderson [Colonel William Anderson], Lieut. Col. Gain [Edmund P Gaines, later famous commander of the 25th US Infantry at Chippawa and Lundy's Lane]; Artillery Company, Capt. Cushing 2nd Regt.; Kentucky and Penn. Militia. The whole force is rather upwards of 2,000 men, exclusive of part of Col. Johnson's Mounted men that are encamped in the bottom. Genl. Green Clay of Kentucky commands the troops at this place.

The weather is very changeable, sometimes extremely cold for the season, look for frost, at other times quite warm, sufficiently so as to be pleasant. The fatigues of the camp which are daily detailed is considerable, making preparations  to facilitate the movements of the army.

Other observations (July 15):

A small barge [meaning a long rowboat] is completed at this place, it will carry 50 men, has one mast and square sail. It is intended to sail to the mouth of the Bay for the purpose of making discoveries. Captain Martin of a company of spies or rangers go to the bay. They return and inform that they hear cannon when at the Bay... Courts martial are frequent in camp. Frequently two set each day for the trial of officers and soldiers.

 The next day, July 20, Indians were sighted near the fort, and unknown vessels in the river.  It was to be the start of General Procter and Tecumseh's second attempt to capture Fort Meigs. Colonel Richard M Johnson's mounted riflemen had by then marched off, but the remaining garrison was quite strong.

This evening some Indians was discovered (sic) to be over the bank of the river above the camp. Late in the evening one or two sail was also seen below near the British garrison [the ruins of Fort Miamis in modern-day Maumee]. Fine evening.

 General Clay, anxious to ascertain what kind of forces were approaching, dispatched a small detachment of infantry to the summit of Indian Hill to scout. They soon ran into trouble...

21st Immediately after reveille beat the picket guard was turned out. They had just entered the woods on the point of land called Indian Hill... the men had not penetrated but a short distance in the woods before the savages fired on them. It was returned by our men. The bodies of 3 have since been found, some mangled in a most horrid manner; the hands cut off, the belly ripped open, and a powder horn placed therein and scalped. [Robert B McAfee stated that the detachment was made up of a corporal and ten men, of whom seven were killed or captured.]

 Immediately upon the firing of the guns, the alarm to arms was sounded and in a few minutes every man was under arms. The Block Houses and batteries was as speedy as possible put in a state of defense, the cannon was arranged in their proper places...

 The modern day reconstructed Fort Meigs, looking towards Indian Hill from (Captain Eleazar D. Wood's Battery.)

"The woods on the point of land called Indian Hill, so distinguished from their erecting works to lay behind to annoy our men with their rifles, they being under cover of the hill..." --Joseph H Larwill.

To be continued...

The "Cracker Line" to Fort Meigs

From Captain Daniel Cushing's Diary, 12-14 June 1813:

Saturday, 12th.-- This day Capt. Bradford dined with us. Capt. Wood joined mess with Capt. Gratiot and me on the 10th. Thirteen boats and several pirogues arrived here laden with flour, salt, whiskey, soap and candles. Several men with two horses and eight head of cattle were seen down at the old fort this afternoon. Sergeant Meldrum caught an Indian horse this day.

Sunday, 13th.-- A tremendous thunder gust last night with heavy rain and hail, this morning pleasant. Mr. Asa Stoddard, Major Spafford and Major Farley arrived here with two boats from Cleveland laden with produce and dry goods; I got twenty-four pounds of butter, a bag of pickles and a large cheese.

 Monday, 14th.-- This day the gentleman that arrived here yesterday with produce sold to the amount of $1,500.

 The Union soldiers defending Chattanooga, Tennessee following the Battle of Chickamauga in 1863 relied for a while on a tenuous supply line called "the cracker line" after the boxes of hard tack that came through the Confederate siege lines. Likewise, after the Siege of Fort Meigs in late April, early May several supply lines opened up. The main one had been suggested in the fall of 1812 by Major Amos Stoddard, who had then been organizing supplies from Fort Fayette in Pittsburgh. Stoddard died a painful death by lockjaw at Fort Meigs, but the route for supply lines he suggested was now, in June 1813, keeping the American army alive. ...

Franklinton Newspaper Revisited

Is that musician wearing flip flops?

     

    Yesterday I spent a good two hours in the basement of the Worthington Public Library going through a microfilm reel from the Franklinton, Ohio Freeman's Chronicle published between 1812 and 1814. It's the same paper from which I posted a selection of classified ads two years ago. Although I didn't find many new things, I was able to immerse myself in the world of a frontier town two hundred years ago. There were some familiar names, like Goodale, along with many others whose names have passed from public memory. In 1812 Franklinton was still a frontier village--but the number of brick houses, taverns, shops, and the handsome courthouse belie the image of a crude settlement made up of log cabins (but there were certainly plenty of those). Even during the height of the British blockade in 1813 and 14 you could still get a number of luxury items, including Chinese tea and Caribbean coffee. The state capital of Chillicothe was a few miles south, and the future capital city--Columbus-- was a sparsely settled rise of land called Wolf Ridge overlooking Franklinton from across the Scioto River.

      What was most interesting was how connected the residents of the town were. News articles in the Chronicle were copied freely from other papers-- an early form of syndication or even aggregation like the Huffington Post. Irregular mail pouches from other towns brought the news of the world. What a time it was! Not only was the endgame of the great world conflict known as the Napoleonic Wars playing out in Europe, but news came from Turkey of the Russo-Turkish war, in Texas a group of American adventurers had invaded the Mexican state and captured San Antonio-- while other filibusters were taking control of Spanish Florida, Algiers was taking advantage of the wars to raid American shipping, and pirates infested the seas. Here are some selections of news and ads from those years:

A Card.

Mr. Huntington most respectfully acqaints the Ladies and Gentlemen of Fraklinton that, at the Court House this evening, he will have the honor to offer them one of the Entertainments he has recently exhibited in some of the principle Towns in the United States.

In the course of the evening Mr. H will deliver some "Hints to those designed for a military life," & introduce a number of patriotic effusions breathing as nearly as possible the spirit of the times, and several pieces of satire on the English officers and government.

To commence at 7 o'clock.

Tickets (50 cents) to be had at Mr. Brodrick's Bar.

October 20. 

Handle--Cash!

Notice is hereby given, for the last time, to all persons indebted to the subscriber, either by note or book account, to come forward immediately, and settle the same, as longer indulgence cannot nor will be given.

My iron's good, my work is just,

Times are so hard I cannot trust;

Therefore to save both suit & sorrow.

Pay to-day, and I'll trust to-morrow.

George Skidmore

October 24, 1813.

 "Deserted"

"When he went away he had on brown clouded linsey clothes, and a white hat, pretty well worn. Whoever will apprehend the said Hall, and deliver him to any military officer in the service of the United States, so that he is brought to Head-Quarters, or delivered to the subscriber, shall receive 10 dollars reward, with all reasonable charges."

John M'Wharter

Capt. 1st Regt.

Nov. 4, 1813.

 

 The Election for President & Vice-President of the United States, has terminated in favour of Madison and Gerry. Clinton had 89 votes for President, and Ingersol 86 (?) for Vice-President.

Congress are doing--nothing.

Dr. Eustis, alias Useless, has resigned (from being the Secretary of War). Rumor is busy respecting his successor. Armstrong, the author of the famous letter exciting the revolutionary army to mutinize against Gen. Washington (the Conway Cabal affair), will probably be appointed.

The Hon. Secretary of the Navy tipples as much as ever.

The heroic Gen. Smyth has immortalized himself by-----running away.

Gen. Dearborn has concluded not to invade Canada till a "more convenient season".

By HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE REGENT

 

A Proclamation

WHEREAS an evil ill disposed Frigate known by the name of the AMERICAN CONSTITUTION ...being instigated by one ISAAC HULL, and not having the fear of our good ship the GUERRIERE... did with malice afore-thought and evil intent, on the King's high Sea, commit assault and Battery on the aforesaid ship... and after having overcome her in single combat, did send her to a place known to mariners by the name of Davy Jones' Locker...

 AND WHEREAS we have reason to fear that none of our Royal frigates are able to cope with the aforementioned frigate called the Constitution, we, therefore, ...are pleased to make known to the captain of all our frigates on the American station, that, the less they have to do with the American Constitution, the better for themselves--and if they have to consult their safety by flight, no disgrace will be attached to them.

General James Wilkinson was in fact a Spanish secret agent... but I didn't know that was so widely known at the time!

In 1813, with wartime scarcity and inflation, 100 pounds of wheat flour was $57.14 in today's money (according to a dodgy online calculator). $12 was the average monthly wage of a laborer.

The Northwestern Army's Tool Shed

Building the National Road with similar tools.

When the Northwest Army left Fort Meigs in the Autumn of 1813, it left behind a respectable inventory of hand tools which had been used to build the fort, maintain equipment, and even cook meals with. This is one list that I found in the papers of General Duncan McArthur:

At Fort Meigs, Nov. 30 1813

139 Camp Kettles

268 Tin pans

24 Pots

104 Pack saddles

331 Bags

86 Common tents

24 Wall tents

12 sets Tent poles

257 Canteens

8 kegs of nails

1 Box small axes

10 cross cut whip saws

1 Box of Buttons

174 Horse collars

62 Blind bridles

191 pairs of (Hames?)

165 Belts, chains and Hipstraps

25 Pairs of stretchers

5 Travelling Forges

21 Waggons

114 Pair Doubletrees

357 Felling axes

11 Drawing knives

18 Broad (adzes?)

2 coopers adzes

8 foot (edges?)

9 Broad axes

20 Mattocks

16 spades and shovels

4 Boxes old Iron

5 (illg)

5 Scythes

4 ox chains

4 Large Kettles

15 Skillets 13 Dutch Ovens

4 Ox yokes

4 Large Ropes

6 Small Ropes

The Forgotten Tavern Battle-- December 1813

An early 19th century frame house, not unlike the one where Americans were surprised by an early morning Canadian attack on December 15 1813. Although McCrea's was a tavern, most frontier taverns of the period were simply one room farmhouses, with no special facilities like this one on the National Road.

One forgotten aspect of the (mostly) forgotten War of 1812 is the American occupation of Western Canada during the last part of the war, from October 1813 to early 1815. While for the most part the Americans didn't venture very far out from Detroit, there were continual skirmishes in the wilderness around London (in modern-day Ontario). This document from the 1823 court deposition of John Starkey, now held in the collection of the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library, describes one such skirmish that ended very badly for the Americans in December 1813.

State of Ohio, Muskingham County.

The deposition of John Starkey, late a private in the 27th  Regt. of United States Infantry to be read in cause or trial now pending in the Court of common pleas of Wayne County Ohio, wherein Joseph H Larwill is plaintiff and Benjamin Bertley and Joseph Clingan are defendants. taken by and before me Samuel Thompson a Justice of the Peace in and for the County of Muskingum aforesaid on the 29th day of March 1823 at the office of the Clerk of the Court of common pleas in the town of Zanesville for the county of Muskingum Ohio, between the hours of Six O clock in the morning and then oclock in the afternoon, of said day, and agreeable to the written notice from the Plaintiff to the defendant hearing date the 24th of March 1823. The said John Starkey being of Lawful age and by me duly cautioned and sworn doth on his solemn oath depose and say that he was..

 The context of this deposition is that it was taken during a political campaign in former Lt. Joseph H Larwill in  Wooster, OH in 1823. The defendants had spread rumors about Larwill's involvement in a small disaster for the Americans during the war...

...one of the detachment that marched under the command of Lt. Joseph H Larwill of the United States Artillery from Detroit to the River Thames-- that they crossed the Detroit River on the 6th or 7th day of December 1813 and marched up the River Thames to the house of -- McCrea Esq. where they encamped for 2 or 3 days-- on the morning of the 15th day of Decm afd (December aforementioned) the detachment under the command of said Liut Joseph H Larwill was captured by a party of British consisting of Dragoons about 12 or 13 in number, besides men on horse not uniformed, Infantry Volunteers about 31 in number, militia and peasantry from the neighborhood about 30 in number making in the total of the enemy about Seventy five, the Dragoons were well equipped, the Infantry volunteers were also armed with muskets bayonets etc. The militia with fuzees, United States Rifles and etc...

 The official British dispatch claimed that only 7 dragoons, 13 volunteers, and 9 militiamen captured the American force. Here's a Canadian report of the same action from the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections (MPHC) volume 15:

 ...On the night of the Capture I was one of the guard that stood on post, and had been releaved by the guard previous to the one then on post, and should have been the relieve (relief) guard to the one then on post at the time of the capture. There were three sentinals on post at a time. The time that we were captured was about 5 oclock in the morning or two hours before daybreak. The corporal of the guard George Collins was just in the act of returning from releaving the sentinals on post--and as he was about two or three steps from the door of the house where the soldiers lay he cried out, to arms, the British and Indians are coming at the time he jumped against the door and in the act of shutting it he received a ball from the enemy which caused him to fall upon the floor of the house.

 At this point, the Canadians (for there were no British regulars involved in this operation) fired through the door and windows at the drowsy American soldiers.

At that time I was within a few feet of him, a fire being in the house which gave considerable light gave the enemy an advantage, the enemy kept up a brisk fire and wounded six or seven of our men one of which died shortly after. Not being able to discover the enemy's force or position we surrendered to them immediately thereafter we were ordered out of the house in which the soldiers lay and our arms taken from us. We were then put back into the room and the wounded attended to, and about the break of day we were marched off up the River some distance where we halted to take some refreshment.

At this point, Stark stated that Larwill attempted to convince his men to  try to overpower their captors. Perhaps because his group is made up of men from three or four different regiments--and thus unfamiliar with one another, they refuse.

Lt Joseph H Larwill then used exertions with the soldiers to venture themselves which he stated might be accomplished with some loss. I agreed to the same but many objected to making the attempt being thought too dangerous for their risk.

I this deponent further state that on the evening preceding our capture Lt Larwill had us paraded  in front of his quarters our arms were then by him inspected furnished with ammunition and ordered to lay that night upon our arms, in the evening after being paraded as aforesaid some music and noise being in the soldiers quarters Lt Larwill  came in and stated there must not be so much noise. That after hours of tattoo they must be silent. He then gave orders to the sergeant to have the men on parade very early in the morning and retired.

The situation of the place where we were encamped at McRea's as aforesaid was on the banks of the River Thames about fifty-five miles above Detroit. The soldiers' quarters was a frame house near the river immediately in front and about 45 feet distant was the house set apart for the guard adjoining the last house and distant from the soldiers quarters about 61 feet was where the officers Lieuts Larwill and Fisk and ensign Davis lay. The guards were posted outside of their quarters, some distance above and below

While on the Lake shore below Malden above hundred miles, I with two others made my escape from the enemy and arrived at Detroit on the 25th of December 1813 and reported to Genl (Brigadier General Lewis) Cass that on that or the next day Genl Cass left Detroit to attend the trial of Genl (Brigadier General William) Hull and left the post under the command of Colonel (Lieutenant Colonel Anthony) Butler...

Lieutenant Larwill, one of his officers, and one of his men escaped across the St. Lawrence River before the prisoners reached Montreal. Larwill was court martialled in 1814, but apparently exonerated. There are more questions in this deposition, which include a reference to a Canadian citizen who had been held prisoner at the time of the attack--and was presumably released by the Volunteer Militia. These will have to wait for another day, though. The key point of interest about this skirmish is that it was a Canadian force, not a British one, that captured the Americans.

An 18th Century Urban Dictionary

A friend recently clued me in to the existence of a valuable reference for reenactors, historians and anyone who’s interested in the common language of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Francis Grose, esq’s Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published in 1785, and went through many editions. Below is an example hosted on archive.org from 1823:

Some of my favorite phrases or terms from early 19th century Britain include…

“All Nations” A composition of all the different spirits sold in a dram-shop, collected in a vessel into which the drainings of the bottles and quartern pots are emptied.

“Ambassador of Morocco” A shoemaker.

“Bug Hunter” An upholsterer.

“To dance upon nothing” To be hanged.

“Firing a Gun” Introducing a story by head and shoulders. A man, wanting to tell a particular story, said to the company, “Hark; did you not hear a gun?—but now we are talking of a gun, I will tell you the story of one.”

“Flam” A lie or sham story: also, a single stroke on a drum. To flam; to hum, to amuse, to deceive. Flim flams; idle stories."

“Gingerbread Work” Gilding and carving; these terms are particularly applied, by seamen on board Newcastle colliers, to the decorations of the sterns and quarters of West-Indiamen, which they have the greatest pleasure in defacing.

“Hen House” A house where the woman rules; called also a she house, and hen frigate: the latter, a sea phrase, originally applied to a ship, the captain of which had his wife on board, supposed to command him.

“High Jinks” A gambler at dice, who, having a strong head, drinks to intoxicate his adversary, or pigeon.

“Huzza” Said to have been originally the cry of the huzzars, or Hungarian light horse; but now the national shout of the English, both civil and military: in the sea phrase termed a cheer; to give three cheers being to huzza thrice.

“Rabbit Catcher” A midwife.

“Rag Carrier” An ensign (!).

“Rollers” Horse and foot patrol, who parade the roads round about London during the night, for the prevention of robberies.

“Turnpike-Man” A parson; because the clergy collect their tolls at our entrance into and exit from the world.

“Used Up” Killed; a military saying, originating from a message sent by the late General Guise, on the expedition at Carthagena, where he desired the commander-in-chief to order him some more grenadiers, for those he had were all used up.

“Wife” A fetter fixed to one leg.

There’s even a 19th century English version of Fight Club (!)

P.C. Pugilistic Club; a society of gentlemen, founded in 1814, expressly for the purpose of keeping alive the principles of courage and hardihood which have distinguished the British character, and to check the progress of that effeminacy which wealth is apt to produce. Men of rank, associating together, learn to prize the native and acquired powers of human nature. The incitement which they produce to noble deeds of hardihood and bravery,and the high respectability which they confer by the patronage of their rank and fortune, is of inestimable benefit. This club consists of about 120 subscribers.

Of course, there are probably more different terms for prostitutes than for any other person or thing listed in this book. See Barber’s Chair, Public Ledger, etc. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of an American version of this book. The diverse and sprawling geographical regions of the early United States gave rise to heterogeneous dialects and slang. It's hard to say which English phrases and vulgar words would have been uttered on the streets of say, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati during the War of 1812.

American soldiers developed their own slang. "Uncle Sam", the famous term for government supplies and equipment, supposedly came from an Army contractor in upper state New York named Samuel Wilson. However, Kentucky militia soldiers crossing the Ohio River at Newport, KY used the term as early as 1814. Another great term comes from the siege of Fort Erie that summer, when British round shot was tumbling dangerously through the American encampment. Every time a near miss rolled past, some wag would announce: "that went as swiftly as any goose egg!" For some reason, the goose egg did not last as long in the popular lexicon as Uncle Sam did...

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)

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.

Thomas Morgan: 1812 Veteran

After returning to Lebanon Ohio in 1814, Captain Daniel Cushing wrote Morgan a certificate noting his wounds. Cushing drowned in the Auglaize River in 1815. Morgan, like many veterans of the early wars, applied to the government for a pension, but his papers were lost en route. This entry in the official register of the State of Illinois tracks Morgan's efforts in 1844 to have local witnesses vouch that the papers existed, so he could be provided for in his old age.
What makes this passage interesting is that Morgan seems to have seen too many famous aspects of the Northwest campaign (even the Battle of Lake Erie), and suffered wounds which seem out of place for an artilleryman. Cushing's Company of the 2nd United States Artillery Regiment was indeed involved in a close combat skirmish before the Seige of Fort Meigs, but to have been wounded by a tomahawk during Dudley's Massacre on May 5th, 1813, by a falling spar during the Battle of Lake Erie, and finally by an officer's sword during the famous charge of the Kentucky mounted rifles at the Thames, severely tests our credulity. It seems that either Morgan was concocting stories in order to generate more interest in his plight as an aging veteran, or some of the 1812 regular soldiers saw far more action than most sources attest.

Edit: Thomas Morgan was indeed the First Sergeant of Cushing's Company. Whether he was detached from that unit for the variety of missions that his testimony describes is still unclear. I recall McAfee mentioning that Captain Eleazar Wood of the Engineers was involved in the mounted pursuit of some fugitive British officers in the aftermath of the Thames rout, but this doesn't explain how a first sergeant attached to an artillery crew would have gotten into combat with a British officer-- and I haven't seen British documentation of which officers, if any, were killed at the Thames.