Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, July 27, 1902, Page 27

How a College Boy Turned Back British Invaders HEN the war of 1812 began san- guine people believed that the Canadian provinces would be glad to be liberated from British rule and with the approach of a vie- 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 Croghan Got His Chance. It was then that George 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 defemsc of his western home against the Indians. Crog- bhan was the son of Major William Croghan of the revolutionary army and his mother was a sister of General George Rogers Clarke, one of the famous founders of civ- ilization in the northwest. Young 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 Stephenson had been built on the lower Sandusky river. A frontler fort in those days was a simple affair, consisting mainly 0. a stockade and a blockhouse. A blockhouse *vas constructed on the north- west corner and another in the middle of the north side of the fort. The space en- clceed by the stockade was about 100 yards in one directicn 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 wcstern 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 allles under Tecumseh made their way by land. General Harrison, th> victor of Tippecance, was in command of the American army. All his supplles were at Upper Sandusky, and he had a force of about 800 regulars and militia with which to maintain his position against 500 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 himeclf at Seneca, ten miles in the rear of Fort Stephenson. Against the advance of the British up the Sandusky river the only ob-tacle 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 a8 much as possible by bulld- jng two additional blockhouses and by constructing a ditch about eight feet deep and wide. One iron six-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. You 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- ers arrived Indlans were prowling in the woods around the fort. Croghan regarded retreat as impossible, and thought it likely that his reply would be intercepted, so he gave it a tone of deflance. He wrote: “I bave just recelved yours of yester- day, 10 o'clock p. m., ordering me to de- stroy this place and make good my re- treat, which was received too late to be carried into execution. We have deter- mined to maintain this place, and, by heavens, we can.” But the message got through and General Harrison would not brook what looked like insubordination. He immediately ordered Colonel Wells of Croghan's own regiment to supersede Croghan in rommand. Colonel Wells had an escort of dragoons, and on the road the party had g brush with the Indians, killing seventeen of them. Major Croghan promptly reported to headquarters at Seneca and made such satisfactory ex- planations that ha was restored to com- mand with discretionary authority to hold the fort or abandon it, as he saw fit. Gritty Little Band. Saturday, August 1, 1813, the British landed at the mouth of the river and began the attack the afternoon of the same day. Tecumseh with about 2,000 Indians occu- pied the woods in the rear, to cut off retreat end Intercept reinforcements. General Porter sent a flag of truce to the fort, de- manding immediate surrender. Major Crog- han sent Second Lieutenant Shepp to meet the party. The British officers, after receiv- ing a formal r:fusal to surrender, pleaded with him not to persist in a hopetess de- fense. “Look at our immenee body of Indlans,” sald Captain Dixon of the royal engineers, who commanded the Indian allies of the Brit'sh, “It is a great pily that so fine a young man as you, and your commander is represented to be, should fall into the hands of savages. Sir, for God's sake, surrender and prevent the dreadful massacre that w'll bs caused by your resistance.” Lieutenant Shepp coolly replied: *““Whea the fort shall be taken, there will be none to massacre.” As Lieutenant Shepp turned back to the fort an Indian attempted to snatch his sword. Captain Dixon at once interfered. Major Croghan, who was standing on the More Light on the Custer Tragedy TIMEWORN document, thenticity of which is regarded as beyond question, and of which the following is a copy, was found a day or two ago by Colonel D. W. mouth of the Big Horn. “‘General Custer's command met with ter- rible disaster here on the 25th. Custer, with five companies, were, so far as we the au- the mouth of this stream move down to the ter's command is about one-half, say 250 men. The Indlans were in great strength and were estimated at from 1,800 to 2,500 warriors. “My command is intact and in fine or- Benham, effects at Tiffin, O., reports the New York U. 8. A. (retired), among his 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 hiz command at Little Big Horn, Montana, June 25, 1876. | The message was penciled on sheets torn | from a notebook by General John Gibbon, who relleved General Reno, and was writ- | ten in the tremches in Reno’s position on a hill immed'ately after Gibbon's arrival and repulse of the besleging Indlans. A courier escaped with a message to Major Benham, who was in command at Fort BEllis, 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 deseri- ing Custer in the hour of need. The story that Gibbon gives is probably insp'red by Reno, but the interior evidence of the letter throws a hitherto unpublished light on the event. The message is legible and is as follows: “CAMP ON LITTLE BIG HORN, June 28, 1876.—Dear Major: We will start down the river today for the steamboat with the wounded of Custer's command, and from WALNUT HI can ascertain, completely annihilated, no ger, and I wish you would telegraph the living man of them having yet been found, commanding officer at Fort Shaw and Camp and probably none with them escaped, ex- paker that we are all well, to allay the cept two of our Crow scouts, who were ganxjety of friends. I wish I knew where lent Custer by me and brought us the Mrs, Gibbon was that you might télegraph first news. her, but I do not. At a venture you might “Mitch Bowyer was killed, and the bodies tejegraph Mr, Henry Moale, 18 Commerce of General Custer, Colonel C. (his brother) ptreet, Baltimore: ‘Tell Fannle myself and another brother (citizen), Captains gnq command are all well. J. G.' Date it Keogh and Yates and Lieutenant Cook, Camp on Little Big Horn, June 28. Adjutant Calhoun, Porter, Riley, Sturgis i G (son of the genmera'), Crittenden (Second «wyypep the fight commenced Colonel Reno, infantry, son of the general), Hodgson, Mc- .y (hree companies, charged, had quite Intcsh, Harrington, Acting Assistant Sur- a heavy fight, was overpowered and driven geons De Wolf and Lord, have all been ... anq took to the bluffs, where he met identified positively, except Lord, Porter four other companies, and they had heavy and Sturg’s. fighting all the rest of that day and all oa e S8tk ma > 1B whroh of the 26th, and knew nothing of the fate till dark, came in sight of some few scat- of Custer and his five companies until we tered Indlans, and the next day (yester- ":;"d and lvn;ormed ‘:"‘; :' lltl ST day) reached Colonel Reno’s command, p. m.—We nave burled a ead, fortified on a hill. They were in a des- and I hope to have litters for the wounded perate strait until 6 o'clock the night pe- finished in time to go a few miles down fore, (26th,) with very little water and the river today, camp near the site of the fitty wounded men, and the Indians de- camped in very great haste at our ap- serted by them. proach, leaving an immense quantity of “When you read this send it to‘Oeneul plunder behind, which we shall destroy to- A. J. Smith, Helena, who will p'ease to day. give it to Colonel Broadwater, at request “The delight of the poor fellows when of Carroll, who is with us here. Voura they discovered us to be friends was ex- truly, J. G. treme. Roughly stated, the loss of Cus- “Major Benham, Fort Ellis.” LL CAR BARN BASE BALL TEAM—Photo by Marsh. ramparts, saw the occurrence and it heated gathering In the western sky and the roll- his blood. ing of the thunder mingled with the boom- Croghan's Plain Speech. ing of the cannon as the British in three columns advanced to the assault. The fort Prof, James D. Butler of Madison, Wis., was attacked on both sides, but the main had it from his grandfather, Israel Harris, agsault was at the weakened northwest who was with Ethan Allen, that what that gpgle. It was gallantly made. A shower doughty fighter did say was not “in the of bullets from the deadly rifies of the name of the great Jehovah and the Con- garrigon threw the British into confusion, tinental Congress” when summoning the put their officers quickly rallled them. Lieu- British commander to surrender, as his tenant Colonel Short leaped Into the ditch story has it, but “Come out of here you at the head of the storming party and d—a old rat.” Both history and tradition ghouted to his axmen: “‘Cut away the plek- agree in Croghan's case that his language, ets, my brave boys, and show the damned when he saw the indignity offered to his Yankees no quarter.” lleutenant, was couched in the plain, Im- gy Masked Gun Works. pulsive terms of common speech, and not in the dignified eloquence preferred by his- h;h:!:::";h}:'.mflr:f:;u;(:‘:rwh!;:pC‘;::::: tory. He shouted: ‘*‘Shepp, come In, and o0 fow open and the gun poured a vol- we will blow them all to hell.” And he ley of slugs and grape shot along the ditch, soon showed that he meant it. filling it with dead and wounded. The The attack began at once, the British goiyiep fought with stubborn courage and opening fire from their gunboats and from the second storming party came on un- a five and a half-inch howitzer, which 4.untedly, but another discharge from the they had landed. In order to create the six-pounder and a volley of rifie bullets fmpression that the garrison had several ended the contest, heavy guns, the solitary cannon was shifted Lieutenant Colonel Short with = two from one block house to another and fired . v iterns and twenty-five privates, lay at intervals. When it became dark the garrison ceased replying to the British can- nonade and Major Croghan ordered his six- pounder to be trained so that it would rake the ditch in the direction of the north- west angle, the most assallable part of the stockade. The gun was masked and loaded with a double charge of slugs and grape shot. Flour and Sand for Defense, During the night the British dragged three six-pounders to ground higher than the fort, about 260 yards away, and as the dawn of Sunday lighted the scene they began a furious cannonade. All day they hammered at the defence, while the gar- rison made little reply, reserving thelr powder for the assault which they knew was coming. The British concentrated their fire on the northwest angle and Crog- han was kept busy strengthening his po- sition here. Bags of sand, and even sacks of flour from the garrison’s stores of pro- visions, were piled against the pickets. At 6 o'clock in the afternoon came the crisis of the attack for which Croghan had been walting and planning. A storm was dead in the ditch, but there were others still alive whose groans could be heard in the fort. Croghan could do nothing for them, as thousands of savage foes sur- rounded the fort and he could not take the risk of exposing any of his garrison. But as soon as it grew dark buckets of water were let down into the ditch and a trench was dug under the stockade by which the wounded could be reached without opening the gates of the fort. In the pile of bodles twenty-six were found still living and they were drawn into the fort and cared for. The whole loss of the British In killed, wounded and missing was ninety-seven. The loss of the garrison was one man killed and seven slightly wounded. The blow to the British was so severe that they abandoned the expedition. General Proctor was dis- gusted with his Indian allles, who had left the British to make the assau!t alone. The same night he re-embarked his troops at Malden Canada. One hundred and sixty men, commanded by a youth, had repelled the invasion of Ohio, defeated an army before which the army of which his own command was a detachment had retreated. ICA akes short roads. \ X LE nd light loads. Ld (yREASLE for everything that runs on wheels, Sold Everywhere. "/ Bade by STANDARD OIL OO, 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, walkiig 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 enthusistically 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 and many boys were led to make a start who had never been reached before. While the accomplishment of Elgin is perhaps away ahead of what a town of its g'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 board may see fit to provide a gymnastic room when the plans for the new school building are made. . YOUNG LADY, 27, nice looking, consider- able means and good Income, would marry soon. White, 224 Morgan St., Chicago. Indian camp, and destroy the property de- LI L L sy | ] i EEEm ey AL K F § B I rzie BUILT FOR THE . FRED KRUG BREWING CO EQUIPPED WITH THE MOFFETT ROLLER BEARING AXLES, BY P. J. Karbach & Sons, CARRIAGE AND WAGON MAKERS, I3TH AND HOWARD S8TS.,, OMAHA,