Formed
in January 1807, Miami County was only five years old when the War of 1812
began. What significance did Miami County play in the war? Who were the men
who served? Historians often overlook the role of Miami County's men during
the War of 1812. At the time of Hull's surrender at Detroit, these men were
all that stood between the United States and the hostile forces at our
western border.
Locally, state law required that all men from ages
18-45 serve in the militia. The earliest record of any county militia
activity was in 1809. Records show protests of election law violation
concerning senior staffing at state level. (Before 1813, Miami County
belonged to the First Division of Ohio Militia. In 1813, it became part of
the Fifth Division, along with Greene, Montgomery, Champaign, Preble, and
Darke Counties.)
When
the war broke out, so did the beginning of a rather confusing ordeal. Before
the war, the county militia was already functional. At the declaration of
war, General Harrison, commander of the federal troops in the northwest,
issued a local call to arms. Men who should have already been militia
members volunteered to serve with Harrison. Many who volunteered were draft
exempt. Greene and Miami Counties were exempt from war draft because they
were war zones. Many of the men who lived in these counties formed the
state's volunteer companies. Many men in Miami County who were already
active in the militia became captains of companies. The men of rank from
Miami County were:
|
William Barbee Sr.- Captain
Richard Benham-Corporal
Barnabas
Blue-Corporal
James
Blue-Lieutenant
Garner Bobo-Lieutenant
William
Brown-Corporal
George
Buchanan-Captain
James
Caldwell-Lieutenant
Joseph
Coleman-Captain
Benjamin Dye-Captain
John Dye-Corporal
Vincent Dye-Sergeant
Alexander Ewing-
Colonel
Elias
Gerard-Corporal
Nathaniel
Gerard-Corporal
Thomas
Gilbert-Sergeant
Charles
Hilliard-Captain
Joseph Hunter
Sr.-Captain
Jesse
Jackson-Captain
John Johnson-Captain
Ezekiel Kirtley-Captain
John Kiser-Ensign
David
Knight-Corporal
John Knight-Ensign
Samuel Kyle-Captain
Michael Lenon-Sergeant
William Luce-Captain
Jacob Mann-Major
John Mann-Field Colonel
Jacob Mann-Major |
John Manning-Musician
John McClary-Lieutenant
David
McClung-Sergeant
William McKee-Fifer
Jesse
Miller-Sergeant
J. Orr-Lieutenant
Francis
Patterson-Captain
John
Patterson-Captain
Moses
Patterson-Captain
Israel
Price-Corporal
Robert Reed-Captain
John Ross-Sergeant
Daniel Rowzer-Sergeant
Benjamin
Saunders-Sergeant
John Sheets-Captain
John Shell-Corporal
John Shidaker-Sergeant
Andrew
Telford-Sergeant
John
Telford-Corporal
Timothy
Titus-Captain
John Tullis-Musician
T.B. VanHorne-Colonel
Zebulon
Wallace-Corporal
Reuben
Westfall-Captain
Michael
Williams-Adjutant
John
Williams-Captain
Benjamin Winans-Corporal
Lewis Winans-Corporal
Charles Wolverton-Major |
(The two Miami
County deaths attributed to the War of 1812 were those of John Williams
and William Barbee Sr.) Major John McCorkle was also a member of the
militia during the War of 1812. He did not pursue active duty, but
assisted many others by providing provisions and clothing through his
Mercantile. The Miami County Militia's uniforms consisted of the
following:
light
blue hunting frocks
a leather belt with an
ax and knife tucked in.
a shot pouch.
a powder horn.
a rifle.
Most men
already had all of these items. (Dyeing the hunting frock a common color
for militia duty was a standard practice throughout the United States.)
Records indicate all Miami County men were riflemen for the Ohio
Militia. That is logical, in the wilderness it took a frontiersman to
survive. Militia records indicate frequent shortages of supplies. Being
frontiersmen, supply shortages meant little to them.
In early April,
1812, President Madison issued instructions to Governor Return Jonathan
Meigs of Ohio to assemble the militia at Dayton, Ohio. By the end of the
month, more than the required number of men had enrolled. The troops
drilled and prepared to march to Detroit. Early in May the troops had
chosen their Field Officers. President Madison commissioned William
Hull, Governor of the Michigan Territory, as Brigadier General of the
Northwest Territory Army.
This army
consisted of 600 regular troops, and 1,600 state militia troops. General
Hull (who was Ohio Governor Meigs brother- in-law) arrived in Dayton,
Ohio on May 25th, 1812. He left with his troops on June 1st, to march on
Detroit as ordered by President Madison. General Hull was 58 years old
at the time of his appointment. As Howard Houser states in his book From
Blacksmith to General, "Like many other appointed officers, he was no
longer command material. Hull was not a picture of health, bearing the
marks of heavy eating and drinking. The effects of having a stroke in
1811, affected his ability for clear thinking. He viewed the militia as
untrained and untrustworthy, and treated them with little respect. A
group of militia complained because they did not receive a promised
bounty for enlistment. Hull court-martialed the officers in the group,
sentencing them to:
1. have one
half of their heads shaved.
2. have
their hands tied behind their backs, marched around
the lines with a label
"Tory" between their shoulders.
3. be
drummed out of the army.
Hull later waived these
punishments." Eventually, he and over 2,000 men made their way through
the state and across the border in to the Michigan Territory. After an
encounter with General Brock, Hull surrendered unconditionally to the
British. Hull's primary reasons for surrendering 2,000 men to 700
British and Canadian soldiers were:
1. His
concern that a massacre would include the many women, children
(including his own daughter, and grandchildren) and older people who
were with him.
2. The
surrender of Fort Michilimackinac in upper Michigan.
3. His
mental health. He was unable to speak clearly , and
demonstrated
disorganized thinking.
4. Lack
of support from several militia units who had refused to cross state
lines.
In total, Hull
and the Northwest Territory Army surrendered Fort Detroit and all its
contents, 600 regular army, 1,600 militia, 2,500 muskets, 30 pieces of
heavy artillery, and 50 barrels of gunpowder. Also surrendered many
boats, a baggage train of 100 pack animals, and provisions for 20 days.
Hull's
surrender caused widespread panic on the frontier, including Miami
County. This was no small victory in the eyes of the Indian forces. It
was license for them to do as they chose. The Northwest Army was
defeated. The Ohio Valley was now unprotected. Was the danger real?
Accounts of Indian attacks were increasing on the frontier. Ohio
Governor Meigs was at Zanesville. He received a letter from the
commanding officer of the state militia near Greenville stating:
"The people of
this county are much alarmed at this time by the near approach of the
Indian Prophet and his party, consisting of about 45 warriors, who are
hunting about thirty miles from here. We were told by two Mingo Indians
who say they are camped about ten miles from his place, that the Prophet
and his party are hunting about 20 miles from here, in a western
direction. They say that they were told by two of the Prophet's men who
came to their camp and said the Prophet's men would kill every white man
they came across. We are about to send out spies immediately to discover
whether the Prophet is there or not. Our exposed position would render
us an easy prey to the Indians should they attack us.the inhabitants
have earnestly requested that troops be sent for our protection, and the
sooner they are here, the better."
Indian attacks
seemed to surround our county. Area murders included men killed at St.
Marys, Urbana, Springfield, and Greenville. Two young girls were killed
while traveling one half mile from Greenville, as well as two men
traveling from Greenville to Preble County. Indians then began attacking
settlers within Miami County. The murder of David Gerard occurred on
Spring Creek in the middle of August 1813, as did the double murder of
Mr. and Mrs. Dilbone. The Dilbone family lived about two miles north of
Gerard.
Enter the Miami
County Militia. Where were they at this time? They were performing
widespread duties as volunteer companies and staffing detachments
ordered by Governor Meigs. Dr. Asa Coleman, a local historian who served
as a physician for the Ohio Militia, noted that "there were several
independent companies of Miami County Militia on the edge of the
frontier". According to Coleman, Miami County's volunteers occupied the
local outposts. Other records indicate they kept the edge of
civilization safe by patrolling to and from Staunton, Piqua, Covington,
Greenville, St. Mary's, Urbana, and Wapakoneta. Those who did not patrol
manned local blockhouses. In summary, Miami's men ran a line of defense
from Urbana to St. Marys, and discouraged invasion on the western border
of the state and nation.
Immediately
following General Hull's surrender, Harrison marched north in his famous
campaign toward the Indian Territories. He and his favored Kentucky
Militia came through Miami County. He used these men because he had
prior battle experience with them. It is also important to remember that
Kentucky had more established settlement. In frontier time, 30 years
provided a more established, organized, and disciplined group than many
Ohio Companies were. Another factor in his choice was his distrust of
the Ohio Militia after Hull's surrender. His friend and ally, Colonel
John Johnston, a Federal Indian Agent located in the northern part of
the county, also found the Miami Militia uncooperative. This may not
have been a just conclusion. Although Johnston was representing the
Federal government, he was not part of the leadership hierarchy of the
militia, who did not always answer his requests.
Harrison's
preference of the Kentuckians angered many militia members in Ohio. By
the end of the war, many of the Ohio Militia felt reduced to pack mules
for the Kentuckians. The Kentuckians did get the glory and recognition.
Ohio's soldiers felt it shamed them almost as much as Hull's surrender
did. Men from our county did not feel this way. There were many family
ties to the Kentuckians. This was the frontier and these men were a
different breed. They found favor among the Kentuckians. The Kentuckians
and Miami County men together rebuilt Fort Greenville. The Barbee family
(Captain Wm. Barbee Sr.) had brothers and cousins with rank and position
in the Kentucky regiments. The men from Miami County also sensed more
fear than people in eastern counties of Ohio. They readily received the
Kentuckians' assistance. We have no record of any negative impact on
their arrival. On the contrary, the Kentuckians helped stop Indian
uprisings that were a threat to our Miami County ancestors.
As for the
Miami County Militia, it seems that there were actually two different
hierarchies within one. There was a definite show of a volunteer
staffing that helped keep the frontier safe. There also seemed to be a
"more military element" in men such as Jacob Mann and John Williams, who
led groups of sharpshooters on the frontier.
Despite
food and clothing shortages, lack of federal military support, and
living in war zones, the Miami County Militia kept the western war front
secure. These men provided security and defense to the citizens of Ohio.
Their acts were significant to the security of the nation.