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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 27, 1902)
How a College Boy Turned Back British Invaders w IHEN the war of 1811 began san guine people believed that the Canadian provinces would be clad to be liberated from British rule ' ' ' ' and with the approach of a vic torious army of invasion would seize the op portunity of freeing themselves. But It was the other way. Instead of submitting to In vasion Canada became the Invader. The In dian tribes defeated at Tippecanoe, saw their opportunity for revenge, and under the lead of Tecumseh gathered to the Brit ish standard. The army uner General Hull, which was to Invade upper Canada, was driven back almost at the outset and In stead of the tidings of victory which the nation had expected, there arrived the dreadful news that Hull and his whole army had surrendered at Detroit. Attempts to regain the lost ground resulted In a series of disasters filled with the horrors of In dian massacres. How Croarhan Got His Chance. It was then that Oeorge Croghan, 17 years old at the time, got his chance. He had hurried home two years before from Wil liam and Mary college in Virginia, where he was taking a post graduate course in law, to take part In the defenses of his western home against the Indians. Crog han was the son of Major William Croghan of the revolutionary army and hi mother vtas a sister of General George Rogers Clarke, one of the famous founders of civ ilization In the northwest. Toung Croghan had been appointed vol unteer aide to Colonel John F. Boyd in the battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811, and in 1812, when war with England began, he was appointed captain of In'antry. It was merely as a precaution against re mote possibilities that. In the summer of 1812, Fort Stepheneon had been built on the lower Sandusky river. A frontier fort in those days was a simple affair, consisting mainly tfa stockade and a blockhouse. A blockhouse "aa constructed on the north west corner and another In the middle of the north side of the fort The space en closed by the stockade was about 100 yards In on direction and about fifty In the other. And this shanty cf a fort was soon to be come a rock of defense which rolled back a wave of Invasion that was filling the western country with alarm. In the summer of 1813 the northwest was lost to the Americans, and a British force under Major General Proctor was advancing upon Ohio, coasting the lake shore In boats, while the Indian allies under Tecumseh made their way by land. General Harrison, th3 victor of Tlppecance, was in command of the American army. All his supplies were at Upper Sandusky, and he had a force of about 800 regulars and militia with which to maintain his position against BOO British regulars and militia accompanied by Te cumseh and his Indians, making the British force several thousand strong. It was re ported that Tecumseh with 2,000 Indians was moving straight upon Harrison's base of supplies by the direct road from the west. To check this flank movement upon his communications, Harrison established Mirsslf at Seneca, ten miles in the rear of Fort Stephenson. Against the advance of the British up the Sandusky river the only ob facie was Fort Stephenson. The stockade dignified by that title was garrisoned by 160 soldiers. Young Croghan was the officer in command. He had be come major of the Seventeenth regiment, United States infantry. He had strength ened the fort as much as possible by build ing two additional blockhouses and by constructing a ditch about eight feet deep and wide. One iron slx-pounder cannon was all that he had In the way of artillery. General Harrison did not consider the place tenable against regular siege, and in orders left with Major Croghan he said: "Should the British troops approach you In force with cannon and you discover them In time to effect a retreat you will do so im mediately, destroying all the public stores. Tou must be aware to attempt to retreat In the face of an Indian force would be vain. Against such an enemy your garrison would be safe, however great the num ber." But Croghan had no notion of retreating. He was eager to fight and full of confidence in his ability to hold the fort. It was, therefore, a great blow to him, when on July 29, 1813, General Harrison, having learned that the approaching enemy had cannon, sent positive orders to abandon the fort. By the time the dispatch bear era arrived Indians were prowling In the woods around the fort. Croghan regarded retreat as Impossible, and thought It likely ramparte, saw the occurrence and It heated gathering In the western sky and the roll that his reply would be Intercepted, so his blood. Ing of the thunder mingled with the boom he gave It a tone of defiance. He wrote: Croihsa'i Plain gpeeeh. 'n ' the cannon as the British In three "I have Just received yours of yester- columns advanced to the assault The fort day, 10 o'clock p. m., ordering me to de- Pro. Jsmes D. Butler of Madison, Wis., waa attacked on both sides, but the main stroy this place and make good my re- n It from his grandfather, Israel Harris, assault was at the weakened northwest treat, which was received too late to be who was with Ethan Allen, that what that angle. It waa gallantly made. A shower carried Into execution. We have, deter- doughty fighter did say was not "In the cf bullets from the deadly rifles of the mined to maintain this plsce, and, by name of ths great Jehovah and the Con- garrison threw the British Into confusion, heavens, we can." tlnental Congress" when summoning the but their officers quickly rallied them. Lleu- But the message got through and General BrUl8n commander to surrender, as his tenant Colonel Short leaped Into the ditch Harrison would not brook what looked like ,lorjr hai U but 'Come out of her 'ou at the head of the storming party and Insubordination. He Immediately ordered 0,d rat" Both h,8t0.ry nd tradition shouted to his axmen: "Cut away the pick- Colonel Wells of Croghan s own regiment agr6 ,n Cr08nal1 c tnat n'8 IanK". ets, my brave boys, and ahow the damned to supersede Croghan In command. Colonel wh n w tn ffere1V .b" Yank quarter." Wells had an escort of draeoons. and on "tenant, was couched In the plain, ira- ,, Ma.ked Can Work.. the road the party had a brush with the Pult" terms of common speech and not tory. He shouted: "Shepp, come In, and we will blow them all to hell." And he soon showed that he meant It. Indians, killing seventeen of them. Major Croghan promptly reported to headquarters at Seneca and made such satisfactory ex planations that hi was restored to com mand with discretionary authority to bold the f:rt or abandon it, as be saw fit. Gritty Utile Band. This was the moment for which Croghan had reserved his slx-pounder. The masked port flew open and the gun poured a vol ley of slugs and grape shot along the ditch, fllllnv It with AnmA .nrf w, kit n .4 r it Th. The attack began at once, the British BrUlBh fougnt wltQ ,tubborn co Bd opening fire from heir lUBboaU and from Becond Btormlng , came . I !"? a a , -TI T" , lih untedly. but another discharge from the they had landed. In order to create the .,.nnlinH, n . n , v..,,.. Saturday, August 1. 1813. the British Impression that the garrison had severs fnded th contPit landed at the mouth of the river and began J6' nM tha ""tary cannon nled L!eutenant Colonei short with two the attack the afternoon of the same day. frAom block house to another and fired ,ubaUern, an(1 twenty-five privates, lay Tecumseh with about 2,000 Indians occu- at Intervals. lt e?a,n' "k tne dead In the ditch, but there were others pled the woods In the rear, to cut off retreat garrison ceased replying to the British can- ,tlI, alve whoBe grMn cou,d be hoard ,n end Intercept reinforcements. General nonado and Jor Cronan or"" bta the fort. Croghan could do nothing for P.rter sent a flag of truce to the fort, de- Joun de' ! tfJ l 'nera' " thousand, of savage foe. sur mandlng Immediate surrender. Major Crog- raka '"iVmJt ..!.m.m Touniei tne fort and ne cou,d not take tno han sent Second Lieutenant Shepp to meet " tnem 1 f M" of exposing any of his garrison. But as the party. The British officers, after recelv- ,th "oc- J11!. U W" ra88ked and, " rew dark buckets of water were Ing a formal r:fueal to surrender, pleaded ,oaded h doub,e charge of "lug8 and down Into the ditch and a trench was with him not to perslut in a hopeless de- grape ,not' Au under the stockade by which the fenae ,onr " Sand tor Dtttnme. wounded could be reached without opening "Look at our Immense body of Indians." during the night the British dragged the gates of the fort. In the pile of bodies said Captain Dixon of the royal engineers. "'"-"A6" t0 froun1 h,gher than twentJ-"' found still living and the who commanded the Indian allies of the the fort about 250 yard. away, and a. the were drawn Into the fort and cared for. The Brlt sh. "It is a great pity that so fine a J"10' 8una" ,lhted th be who,e V" f ,ne Br tUh ln a'd. funded youn man a. you and your commander 1. fur oua ad- All day they and missing was ninety-even. The loss . lv..ioii i, v. hammered at the defence, while the gar- of the garrison was one man killed and represented to be, should fall Into tne nanas . . ..... . . " . " ... , . ... of savages. Sir, for God's sake, lurrender der for tne assault which they knew British was so severe that they abandoned and prevent the dreadful massacre that w.Jl wa comlng The BrUih concMtrated tne expeaitlon. General Proctor was dls- b9 caused by your resistance.' their fire on the northwest angle and Crog- gUBted with his Indian allies, who had left Lieutenant Shepp coolly replied: "Whe.i nan wa8 kept bu8y strengthening his po- the British to make the assau't alone. The the fort shall be taken, there will be none B,tIon nere Bag8 of Band and even Back8 Mme nght he re.embarked his troops at to massacre." 0f flour from the garrison's stores of pro- Maiden Canada. One hundred and sixty men, As Lieutenant Shepp turned back to the visions, were piled against the pickets. commanded by a youth, had repelled the fort an Indian attempted to snatch his At 6 o'clock ln the afternoon came the Invasion of Ohio, defeated an army before sword. Captain Dixon at once Interfered, crisis of the attack for which Croghan had which the army of which his own command Major Croghan, who was standing on the been waiting and planning. A storm was was a detachment had retreated. More Light on the Custer Tragedy ZV I thentlcity of which is regarded as UCJVUU UCDIIUU) BUM 1 UlVli k UU following is a copy, was found a day or two ago by Colonel D. W. Benham, U. S. A. (retired), among his effects at Tiffin, O., reports the New York Times. It Is of great historic value, as it is the first message from the battleflell to the outside world conveying an account of the massacre of General Custer and his command at Little Big Horn, Montana, June 25, 1876. The message was penciled on sheets torn from a notebook by General John Gibbon, who relieved General Reno, and was writ ten In the trenches ln Reno's position on a hill immedately after Gibbon's arrival and repulse cf the besieging Indians. A courier escaped with a message to Major Benham, who was in command at Fort EIIIh, and the latter gave the news of Custer's fate to the nearest telegraph office. The message has never before been pub lished, because, as alleged at the time It was written, Reno was accused of desert ing Custer ln the hour of need. The story that Gibbon gives is probably inspired by Reno, but the Interior evidence of the letter throws a hitherto unpublished light on the event. mt. - i i in. .1 f lug message is legiuie tuu is m luuuwa. "CAMP ON LITTLE BIG HORN. June 28, 1876. Dear Major: We will atart down the river today for the steamboat with the wounded of Custer's command, and from the mouth of this stream move down to the mouth of the Big Horn. "General Custer's command met with ter rible disaster here on the 25th. Custer, with Ave companies, were, so far as we can ascertain, completely annihilated, no living man of them having yet been found, and probably none with them escaped, ex cept two of our Crow scouts, who were lent Custer by me and brought us the first news. "Mitch Bowyer was killed, and the bodies of General Custer, Colonel C. (his brother) and another brother (citizen), Captains Keogh and Yates and Lieutenant Cook, Adjutant Calhoun, Porter, Riley, Sturgls (son of the genera'), Crittenden (Second Infantry, son of the general), Hodgson, Mc Intceh, Harrington, Acting Assistant Sur geons De Wolf and Lord, have all been identified positively, except Lord, Porter and Sturg s. "On the 26th we made a long march till dark, came In sight of some tew scat tered Indians, and the next day (yester day) reached Colonel Reno's command, fortified on a hill. They were ln a des perate strait until 6 o'clock the night be fore, (26th.) with very little water and fifty wounded men, and the Indians de camped ln very great haste at our ap proach, leaving an Immense quantity of plunder behind, which we shall destroy to day. "The delight of the poor fellows when they discovered us to be friends was ex treme. Roughly stated, the loss of Cus ter's command Is about one-half, say 250 men. The Indians were ln great strength and were estimated at from 1.800 to 2,500 warriors. "My command is intact and ln fine or der, and I wish you would telegraph the commanding officer at Fort Shaw and Camp Bakrr that we are all well, to allay the anxiety of friends. I wish I knew where Mrs. Gibbon was that you might telegraph her, but I do not. At a venture you might telegraph Mr. Henry Moale, 18 Commerce ptreet, Baltimore: 'Tell Fannie myself and command are all well. J. G.' Date lt Camp on Little Big Horn, June 28. "When the fight commenced Colonel Reno, with three companies, charged, had quite a heavy fight, was overpowered and driven back, and took to the bluffs, where he met four other companies, and they had heavy fighting all the rest of that day and all ' of the 26th, and knew nothing of the fate of Custer and his five companies until we arrived and Informed them of lt. "3 p. m. We nave burled all the dead, and I hope to have litters for the wounded finished ln time to go a tew miles down the river today, camp near the site of the Indian camp, and destroy the property de serted by them. "When you read tbls send lt to General A. J. Smith, Helena, who will p'ease to give lt to Colonel Broadwater, at request of Carroll, who Is with us here. Your, truly, J. O. "Major Benham, Fort Ellis." Gymnastics Exercises (Continued from Fifth Page.) back-a-way were nicely executed. The tumbling Included both forward and back ward rotation work, diving from a height. Jumping in and out of barrels, walking up and down a flight of twelve steps on the hands and combination somersault throw ing. The work In Swedish gymnastics, contortions, and on the trapeze and flying rings was equally fine and the whole performance was enthuslstically received on both nights. The results of the year's work were not altogether what had been wished for, largely on account of the Inconvenience the Instructors were put to from not hav ing a room devoted entirely to gymnastic work; still the general effect was to make the boys more interested In school work snd many boys were led to make a start who bad never been reached before. While the accomplishment of Elgin Is perhaps away ahead of what a town of lta s'ze should ordinarily undertake, still the Instructors and townspeople feel that there Is a place at least for light gymnastics or calisthenics In every public school, and It is hoped that the hoard may see fit to provide a gymnastic room when the plans for the new school building are made. akes short roads. 'A.nd light loads. as. MEASE 'ood for everything that runs on wheels. Sold Evarywhar. br ST ABOARD OIK. CO. TOUNG LADY. 27, nice looking, consider able means and good Income, would marry soon. White, 224 Morgan St., Chicago. H II Ml -- i-t l I WALNUT HILL CAR BARN BASE BALL TKAM Photo by Marsh. 1 1 iri lirli R-I -JL mmf mar- iw- OHO iTtfi ilifi -y-. 7 O h n im i n il ii 11 ii ii BUILT FOR THE FRED KRUG BREWING CO. EQUIPPED WITH THE MOFFETT ROLLER BEARING AXLES, BY P. J. Karbacli.S Sous. CARRIAGE AND WAGON MAKERS, 13TH AND HOWARD STS., OMAHA.
