The people's presidential candidate, or, The life of William Henry Harrison, of Ohio

Front matter

LIFE

OF

WILLIAM HfciBI HABBISON.

Chapter I

Harrison's Birth, Parentage and Education. — He is commissioned as an Ensign m the United States' Army. — State of things on the Northwestern Frontier. — St, Clair's defeat. — Harrison is promoted to a Lieutenancy. — Is appointed aid to General Wayne. — Operations of Wayne's Army. — Harrison is appointed to the command of Fort Washington. — His Marriage.

William Hen&y Harrison was born on the ninth day of February, 1773, in the county of Charles City, in Virginia, at a place called Berkley, on the banks of the James River, some twentyfive miles below Richmond. He was the third and youngest son of Benjamin Harrison, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, lineally descended from that General Harrison, who made so conspicuous a figure in the English civil wars, and who held a high command in the armies of the Commonwealth.

Benjamin Harrison, was one of the representatives of the "Old Dominion," in the Continental Congress, during the years 1774, 1775, and 1776. He was the brother-in-law of Peyton Randolph, the first president of Congress ; and on the death of that distinguished patriot, it was the desire of many of the southern members that Mr Harrison should succeed his brother-in-law, as the presiding officer over that body. But he was well aware of the existence of strong sectional feelings and prejudices both in Congress and the country at large. He was sensible of the danger of irritating those prejudices, and was desirous of improving the opportunity now afforded, to conciliate the northern members, and to secure their confidence. Accordingly he used all his influence on behalf of John Hancock of ' Massachusetts, and succeeded in procuring for him a unanimous vote.

Mr Harrison was Chairman of the Committee of the whole House, when the Declaration of Independence was finally agreed to ; and his signature is annexed to that celebrated document. In the year 1777, having been elected to the House of Delegates of the state of Virginia, he was chosen Speaker of that body, which office he continued to fill till 1782, when he was elected Governor of the State. All these important trusts he discharged to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens.

Benjamin Harrison did not accumulate a fortune in the public service. On the contrary he expended his own private means, and left his children little other inheritance except his example, and the friendship of many of his distinguished fellow-patriots. At the death of his father, William Henry Harrison was under age. Robert Morris, the celebrated financier, at his father's request, had consented to act as his guardian. He had determined to follow the profession of medicine, and was diligently pursuing his studies, with that object, at Philadelphia, when the ravages committed by the Indians on our northwestern frontier, and the opportunity afforded of serving his country in that dangerous quarter, induced him to adopt the idea of joining the army under General St. Clair, which had been raised for the purpose of bringing the Indians to terms. His resolution with respect to this matter, was warmly opposed by his guardian. But it was approved by General Washington, then president of the United States, who had been the intimate friend of his father, and who gave him a commission of ensign in the first regiment of United States artillery, then stationed at Fort Washington on the Ohio, near the present site of the city of Cincinnati. Thus, at the early age of nineteen, William Henry Harrison became intimately associated with the fortunes of the Northwestern Territory, and entered upon a long career of public service, in that section of the country. Before we follow him thither, it will be well to take a general view of the state of affairs at that time upon the northwestern border.

During the war of the Revolution, Great Britain succeeded in persuading almost all the Indian tribes along the whole frontier, to raise the tomahawk against the people of the United States. Shortly after the close of that war, several of these tribes were induced to enter into treaties of peace. But the Indians northwest of the Ohio, still retained all their former hostility, and continued to carry on a murderous and desolating war, directed chiefly against the western border of Pennsylvania, and the few scattered settlements which had been formed within the Northwestern Territory.

The principal among these tribes, were the Miamies, whose various bands occupied, or claimed, an immense extent of territory, including all that part of Ohio, west of the Scioto, almost all of Indiana, and a large portion of Illinois. Of this immense territory, however, the greater part was entirely destitute of inhabitants. The various bands or tribes, into which the Miamies were subdivided, possessed numerous villages on the Scioto, and about the head waters of the Great and the Little Miami. There were also many villages upon the Maumee, and its tributaries, and along the course of the Wabash, as low down as Vincennes. But the whole country, for a great extent, bordering on the river Ohio, was entirely destitute of inhabitants, and was used merely as a hunting ground.

Next to the Miames, may be ranked the Hurons or Wyandots, who occupied the southern shore of Lake Erie, including all that territory now known as the Connecticut Reserve; a small tribe, but enjoying a high reputation among the northwestern Indians, on account of the desperate valor of its warriors.

In addition to these two tribes, there were also within the present limits of Ohio, and engaged in this war against the United States, the Delawares, or Leni Lenapes, who had gradually retreated before the white man, from their original seats on the banks of the river Delaware ; and the Shawnees, who, about the middle of the eighteenth century, had fled or emigrated from Georgia or Florida — driven out probably by some stronger tribe, — and had sought an asylum north of the Ohio.

Besides the four tribes above enumerated, the Chippewas, Ottowas, and Potowatomies, who occupied the peninsula of Michigan, also took a part in the hostilities carried on against the United

States ; and these seven tribes united, were able to bring into the field a very formidable force.

It was generally believed, at that time, and no doubt it was the fact, that the hostility of these tribes against the United States was stimulated, and that ammunition, arms, and other means of carrying on the war were supplied by the British authorities in Canada, through the commandants of the forts at Detroit, Chicago, Mackinac, and other posts within the limits of the United States, which according to the provisions of the treaty of peace, ought long since to have been surrendered, but which were still kept possession of by British troops.

The pretence or apology, for keeping possession of these posts, was founded upon the allegation, that the United States, or rather the individual States of the union, had neglected to perform that part of the treaty, which guaranteed the removal Df all legal obstacles in the way of collecting debts due to British subjects, which had been contract- 3d previous to the war. As the whole value oi these posts consisted in the influence which the possessors of them were able to exert over the neighboring Indians, there is little doubt that the British government, by way of enforcing their demand on the subject of British debts, used every means in their power, to make the people of the United States feel the necessity of obtaining their surrender.

The hostilities of these northwestern tribes, whether stimulated by the British, or originating in their own love of war, became at length so annoying, that very soon after the re-organization of the government by the adoption of the federal constitution, the president resolved upon vigorous measures. In the year 1790, General Harmer, at the head of about fifteen hundred men, partly regulars, but principally militia, was sent against the northwestern Indians. He marched into the interior of what is now the state of Ohio, and succeeded in destroying most of the Indian towns on the Scioto. But in two engagements between bodies of the Indians, and detachments of Harmer's troops, the Americans were defeated with considerable loss. Harmer found it necessary to retreat ; and in a short time, the incursions and depredations of the Indians along the frontier, became as troublesome as ever.

This unfortunate state of affairs was brought before Congress, and an act was passed increasing the regular army, and enabling the President to raise two thousand men, under the denomination of levies, to serve against the Indians for six months. It was resolved to prosecute the war with vigor, and General St. Clair, at that time governor of the Northwestern Territory, was appointed Commander-in-chief.

The enlistment, however, and other preparations for the campaign went on but slowly ; and the beginning of September had arrived before St. Clair was able to commence his march into the Indian country. He advanced cautiously, opening a road, and building forts at convenient distances. In this way he had arrived within about fifteen miles of the Miami villages, near the head waters of the Wabash, when on the 4th of November, 1791, about half an hour before sun-rise, he was suddenly attacked in his camp by a large body of Indians. The assailants pressed forward with great rapidity. Firing from the ground, or the shelter afforded by the trees, and scarcely seen, except when springing from one covert to another, they advanced in front and upon both flanks, close upon the American lines, and up to the very mouths of the field pieces. The militia who were posted in front, were soon broken, and falling back upon the regular troops, threw them also into disorder. The officers, most of whom had seen service, exerted themselves to rally and re-form the men, and they partially succeeded. The Indians were twice driven back at the point of the bayonet ; but while they were pressed in one direction, their fire was poured in from every other with fatal effect ; and and the whole army was soon thrown into confusion. A most disorderly retreat ensued. The Indians followed the flying troops for four miles, and then returned to plunder the camp. The army suffered most severely. Out of fourteen hundred men engaged, five hundred and thirty were killed and three hundred and sixty wounded. This battle was planned and commanded, on the part of the Indians by Meshecunnaqua, the Little Turtle, a celebrated Miami warrior, and Buckongehelas, head chief of the Delawares,

Young Harrison, as soon as he had received his commission of Ensign, hastened to join his regiment at Fort Washington, where he arrived shortly after the defeat of St. Clair's army. That defeat had been wholly unexpected, and produced the greatest consternation throughout the whole country. The defence of the frontier against the Indians, flushed with victory, and now more audacious than ever, devolved on a little handful of men. Winter was setting in; and the hardships to be anticipated by those stationed in these distant posts were so great, that Harrison, young, slender, and apparently of a feeble constitution, 2 was advised by his companions to resign his commission, and so escape a service for which his organization, and early habits seemed to render him unfit. This advice was at once rejected ; and the energy, boldness, and capacity of the young officer were soon put to the test. The first duty confided to him, was the command of an escort having charge of a train of pack horses, bound to Fort Hamilton on the great Miami, some twenty or thirty miles north of Fort Washington. This duty was difficult and perilous, requiring great exposure, constant watchfulness, and more prudence and sagacity than is ordinarily to be expected from a youth of nineteen. However, the service was successfully performed, and in so able a manner, as to attract the attention, and elicit the applause of General St. Clair, the commander-in-chief.

At this time the vice of intemperance prevailed to a great extent among the officers of the army. The extreme hardships of the service, and their removal from all the comforts as well as the restraints of civilized life and domestic intercourse, led many promising officers to indulge in excesses, which proved ruinous to their character, and destructive to their health. Young Harrison had the <rood sense to see and avoid these dangers; and he now laid the foundation of those habits of temperance to which he ever after adherea, and which have enabled him to support the extreme fatigues of border warfare, and have given him a degree of health and vigor which few men of his age enjoy.

In 171)2, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. In 1793, he joined the new army under the command of General Wayrte, which had been raised for the purpose of prosecuting the war against the Indians. This war had now grown into great importance. The defeat of St. Clair had produced a general sensation ; and it had become highly necessary that some decisive steps should be taken for bringing the struggle to a close. For this purpose General Washington had selected Wayne as St. Clair's successor, — an officer, who by his impetuous valor, had acquired durin the revolutionary war, the title of Mad Anthony ; but whose discretion and sagacity were equal to his courage.

In May 1792, General Wayne having been furnished with instructions, in which it was emphatically declared " that another defeat would be inexpressibly ruinous to the reputation of the government," proceeded to Pittsburg for the purpose of organizing his army. By the laws which Congress had enacted on this occasion, an entirely new arrangement was to be made. The army was to consist of one Major General, four Brigadier Generals, and their respective staffs, the commissioned officers, and five thousand one hundred and twenty non-commissioned officers and privates, the whole to be called " the Legion of the United States." St. Clair's army having been almost wholly destroyed, the Legion, which never reached more than half the number of which it was intended to consist, had to be recruited almost wholly anew ; after which the men were to be disciplined and instructed in their duty. This required time ; and it was the 28th of November, before Wayne was able to move from Pittsburg. He descended the Ohio only about twentytwo miles, and then encamped for the winter. Being within striking distance of the enemy, the greatest watchfulness was necessary to keep the army in a condition for action, and great efforts were required to teach the troops self-reliance, and to prepare them to face the foe. This position, which was called Legionville, was strongly fortified and every precaution was taken to guard against surprise.

In April, 1793, General Wayne broke up his encampment at Legionville, and conveyed his army in boats to Fort Washington, a post which occupied, as we have already mentioned, the present site of the city of Cincinnati. Here Lieutenant Harrison joined the Legion. His spirit, enterprise, and sagacity soon attracted the attention of General Wayne, who appointed him one of his aids-de-camp, in which laborious and difficult post he served throughout the war. The army of Wayne remained the whole summer in the vicinity of Washington, waiting for supplies and reinforcements, and preparing for the ensuing campaign. In the month of October, General Wayne took up a position about eighty miles from Fort Washington, on the western branch of the Miami, and near the head waters of that stream. This position was strongly fortified and called Greenville, and here the army encamped for the winter.

On the 23d of December, eight companies of infantry and a body of artillery were detached to take possession of the ground upon which St. Clair had been defeated. The bones of the slain were collected, and interred with military honors; and a strong post called Fort Recovery, was erected on the battle ground. In the general order issued by the Commander-in-chief Lieutenant Harrison is mentioned, as particularly entitled to commendation for his " voluntary aid and services" on this occasion.

The next summer Fort Recovery was warmly attacked by a large body of Indians. Thongh repulsed several times, they still renewed the assault, till finally they were obliged to retreat with great loss. About the middle of July, L794, having been joined by a body of mounted militia from Kentucky, General Wayne pushed on seventy miles in advance of Greenville and established himself at Grand Glaise, in the very heart of the Indian territory. The British had lately erected a fort in this vicinity, probably with the design of encouraging and supporting the Indians ; — for the difficulties and disputes between Great Britain and the United States had now reached such a point, that a war between the two countries seemed inevitable. In his despatches to the Secretary of War, General Wayne speaks of the country which he had now occupied, as the "grand emporium of the hostile Indians." " The very extensive and highly cultivated fields and gardens show," he observes, " the work of many hands. The margins of those beautiful rivers, the Miami of the lake,* and the Au Glaise, appear like one continued village for a number of miles above and below this place ; nor have I ever before seen such immense fields of corn in any part of America, from Canada to Florida."

Having erected a strong work, to which he gave the name of Fort Defiance, at the confluence of the Maumee and the Au Glaise, the two rivers above described ; and being now prepared to strike a final blow, — agreeably to his instructions, by which he was strictly commanded to settle the difficulties with the Indians by negotiation if possible,— he made the enemy a proposal of terms.

* Now more generally known as the Maumee.

This proposal was rejected, notwithstanding the advice of that celebrated warrior the Little Turtle, who had commanded at St. Clair's defeat, and who recommended its acceptance. " We have beaten the enemy twice," he said, " under separate commanders. We cannot expect the same good fortune always. The long knives are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and the day are alike to him. During all the time that he has been marching on our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace." This speech was delivered in a council of the Indians held the night before that battle, in which their forces wers completely routed.

By this time the army had advanced into the immediate vicinity of the rapids of the Maumee, near which was the newly erected British fort, and where the main body of the Indian forces was assembled, under the command of Blue Jacket, a war chief of the Shawnees. On the morning of the 20th of August, General Wayne continued his march down the river, uncertain whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. After proceeding about five miles, the advanced corps received so severe a fire from the Indians secreted in the woods and grass as to compel them to retreat. The legion was immediately formed in two lines, the right resting on the river, and the left extending into a thick and close forest which formed the principal part of the battle field. For a considerable distance in front, the ground .was covered with fallen timber uprooted probably in some tornado, amid which it was impossible for cavalry to act, and which afforded the enemy a most favorable covert. The Indians were formed in three lines within supporting distance of each other, extending nearly two miles at right angles with the river.

The mounted volunteers under General Scott, were ordered to make a circuit and to gain the right flank of the enemy. The troops of the first line, who were formed in open order, were commanded to advance with trailed arms, to rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and as soon as they began to retreat, to pour in a close fire upon them, and to follow up with a brisk charge, so as to give them no opportunity of re-loading their rifles.

This idea of charging the Indians, and so bringing them at once to close quarters, was wholly new, and original, with General Wayne. It proved entirely successful ; and has now become the established method of Indian warfare. The first line of the Legion advanced with such rapidity, driving the enemy before them, that the other corps of the army had little opportunity to take a part in the engagement. In the course of one hour thelndians were driven more than two miles through the thick woods above described. The Indians engaged were thought to exceed two thousand ; while the infantry of the first line fell short of nine hundred. The enemy soon abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed in every direction. The contest terminated under the guns of the British fort. In his official account of the battle, General Wayne mentions with honor, his " faithful and gallant aid-de-camp, Lieutenant Harrison, as having rendered the most essential service by communicating orders in every direction, and by his conduct and bravery, exciting the troops to press for victory.

The army remained for three days on the banks of the Maumee, near the field of battle, during which time the houses and corn-fields, for a considerable distance above and below the British fort, were wasted and burnt — among the rest, the houses, stores, and other property of Col. M'Kee, the British Indian agent, who was regarded as the principal stimulator of the war. Of all this destruction inflicted on their friends, the British garrison were obliged to remain tacit spectators. The troops afterwards returned by easy marches to Grand Glaise, laying waste the villages and corn-fields of the Indians in every direction.

The spirit of the Indians was broken by the decisive victory obtained over them by General Wayne, and by the severe losses which they had suffered in consequence. The conduct also of the commander of the British fort, in declining to take any open part in their behalf, had disgusted many of the principal warriors. The celebrated chiefs, Little Turtle, and Buckongehelas, thenceforward renounced the British connection, and became the advocates of peace with the United States. On the first of January, 1795, the Indians commenced a negotiation with General Wayne ; and the news of his victory, which had reached London in November, is said to have had considerable effect in inducing the British government to accede to the propositions of Mr Jay, who was then employed in negotiating the celebrated treaty which bears his name, — among other provisions of which was included the surrender of the Western posts. The negotiation with the Indians was considerably protracted, but in August, 1795, a treaty of peace was finally concluded at Greenville, by which the United States obtained the cession of considerable tracts of land, and secured quiet and security to the border settlements.

These events have been related with the more particularity, in order that the reader may have an opportunity to compare the conduct of General Harrison when subsequently acting as commander-in-chief, in the same regions, with that of those celebrated officers under whom he had previously served in a subaltern capacity. Such a comparison candidly made, will place his conduct and services in a highly favorable point of view.

Shortly after the close of the campaign, Lieutenant Harrison was promoted to the rank of captain, and was placed in command of Fort Washington, under circumstances, which show the confidence reposed by General Wayne, in his talents and discretion. At this period, certain agents of the French government were zealously employed in Kentucky in attempting to get up an invasion of Louisiana ; and thus to embroil the United States with Spain, and force it into an alliance with France. This project was very alluring to the Kentuckians, who had long entertained the most violent hostility towards the Spaniards, on account of their refusing to the United States the free navigation of the Mississippi. The government at Washington felt great apprehensions, lest the Kentuckians might be inveigled into some acts of hostility against the Spanish government. General Wayne was trusted with the management of this affair ; and among other precautions he placed Captain Harrison in command of Fort Washington, with extensive discretionary powers to be used as circumstances might require. Among other things, he was instructed to keep General Wayne advised of all movements, and to prevent the passage down the river of boats laden with military stores, belonging to the French agents.

About this time the posts at the Northwest, which had been so long held by the British, were at length surrendered to the United States, under Jay's treaty. The troops intended to occupy these posts, together with their provisions and warlike stores, were sent to Fort Washington, thence to be forwarded through the wilderness. Captain Harrison was charged with this whole service, which he discharged with a prudence, ability and intelligence, which justified the high confidence reposed in him by the Commander-in chief.

While in command of Fort Washington, Captain Harrison married a daughter of John Cleves Symmes, the celebrated founder of the Miami settlements, a lady in whom he has ever found a faithful and affectionate companion.

Chapter II

Harrison resigns his commission in the Array. — Is appointed Secretary of the Northwestern Territory. — Is chosen Delegate to Congress. — His land bill. — Is appointed Governor of the Indiana Territory. — His jurisdiction anc| powers. — Indian relations.— Harrison's principles and method of Administration.

On the death of General Wayne, in 1797, Captain Harrison resigned his commission in the army, and received his first civil appointment, that of

Secretary of the Northwestern Territory, and exofficio, Lieutenant Governor. General St. Clair still remained Governor of the Territory.

Mr Harrison's conduct as Secretary was so much approved, and so favorable was the impression made upon his fellow-citizens by his character and manners, that the next year, when the Northwestern Territory entered the second grade of Territorial Government, (according to the system which then prevailed,) and the inhabitants became entitled to elect a Delegate to Congress, he was chosen to fill that office. The opposing candidate was Arthur St. Clair, Jr., the son of the governor.

What recommended him in particular to the choice of his fellow citizens upon this occasion, was the stand he had taken, and the exertions he had made, against the system of disposing of the public rands which then prevailed ; a system highly detrimental to the interests of the new settlers, and which retarded the population, and checked the prosperity of the Territory. By the law as it then stood, the public lands could not be purchased in tracts of less than four thousand acres ; and as the minimum price was, at that time, two dollars per acre, it was utterly beyond the means of the vast majority of the new settlers to become possessors of land by an original purchase from the government. They were driven to the necessity of buying at second hand, and at great disadvantage.

The injustice and impolicy of this exclusive system had struck Mr Harrison very forcibly. His daily observation satisfied him that it was adverse to the interests both of the government and the settlers ; and the stand he had taken upon this subject pointed him out to his fellow citizens as a proper person to represent them on the floor of Congress, and to bring this question, in which they were so deeply interested, to the notice of the National Legislature.

Nor did he disappoint the hopes and expectations of his constituents. Soon after he had taken his seat, he offered a resolution for the appointment of a committee with instructions to inquire into and report on, the existing mode of selling the public lands. He was himself appointed the chairman of that committee, the only instance, it is believed, in which that honor has been conferred upon a Territorial Delegate.

The committee, in due time, made a report, accompanied by a bill, providing that the public lands should be sold thereafter in alternate half and quarter sections ; that is, in alternate tracts of 320 and 160 acres. This report, in the preparation of which Mr Harrison had been aided by Mr Gallatin, afterwards Secretary of the Treasury, produced a powerful sensation, and when it came up for consideration, led to a warm debate. The reasonableness, justice, propriety, and good sense, of the modification proposed by Mr Harrison, is now so obvious that it will be acknowledged by all ; yet at that time it was most violently opposed by many able men and leading politicians. The report was zealously attacked by Mr Cooper of New York, and Mr Lee of Virginia; but it was ably defended by Mr Harrison, who exhibited in his speech a perfect acquaintance with the whole subject. He fully exposed the folly and injustice of the old system, and demonstrated that it could benefit nobody except the wealthy monopolist, or the adventurous land speculator ; while the great mass of the people by whom the country was to be settled, would be driven by this law to the necessity of purchasing at an advanced price, and at second hand ; or what was more probable and more to be dreaded, would be reduced to the condition of a tenantry, dependant upon a few wealthy proprietors, instead of being themselves free-holders of the soil.