Col. John Duvall-- Part 1: At Fort Meigs and Dudley's Defeat

From Find-A-Grave.

Birth 14 March 1783, Culpeper County, Va.

Death 8 September 1859  Stamping Ground, Scott County, Ky.  Body lost or destroyed because of a tornado in 1974 destroyed cemeteries and homes.

Colonel John Duvall served in the War of 1812 as a captain in the Kentucky Militia.and a local political figure  and served a term in the Kentucky state legislature.

He fought in two major battles on the frontier: The Siege of Fort Meigs and Col. Dudley's Defeat.

--Brock-Perry

Capt. Leslie Combs Report to Gen. Clay on Dudley's Defeat

Book title:  "Colonel William Dudley's Defeat Opposite Fort Meigs, May 5, 1813:  Official Report From Captain Leslie Combs To general Green Clay."  Originally printed 1869.

Amazon selling it for $12.76 paperback.

"This scarce antiquarian  book is a facsimile reprint of the original.  Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

"Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work."

Since I have written about all three of these men in this blog, this should be an interesting read.  It is 16 pages long.

--Brock-Perry

Col. Wm. Dudley-- Part 4: "Dudley's Massacre"

Of the 800 Kentuckians who captured the British artillery, about 650 were killed, wounded or captured.  Only 150 were able to reach the safety of Fort Meigs.

Among the dead was Col. Dudley, who was killed in the first minutes of the fighting.

The battle became known as "Dudley's Massacre" or "Dudley's Defeat."

The event is commemorated by a plaque on the grounds of the Maumee Library in Maumee, Ohio.  This is not far from the site of the action.

--Brock-Perry

Col. William Dudley-- Part 3: The Slaughter At Fort Miami

The Indians drew the Kentuckians farther and farther into the forest. where they were eventually surrounded by the British and the Indians.  They had no recourse except to surrender.

They were marched downriver to the ruins of Fort Miami where the Indians began firing into the ranks of their prisoners, killing some of them.  They then began tomahawking prisoners and stealing their belongings.  Several British officers could be seen a distance away observing the massacre.  One of them was the British commander, Henry Procter.  They made no effort to stop it.

At least 30 Kentuckians were murdered before Indian leader Tecumseh arrived.   He drew his tomahawk and stood between the prisoners and their attackers.  The Indian leader caller Procter a woman for being afraid to end the slaughter of the helpless prisoners.  He said, "You are unfit to command.  Go put on petticoats."

--Brock-Perry

Col. William Dudley-- Part 1: Commanded the 13th Kentucky Militia

Col. Dudley was under the command of Gen. Green Clay of Kentucky in the relief of Fort Meigs in Ohio in 1813.  Leslie Combs accompanied Dudley and was captured.

From Wikipedia.

Born 1766  Died May 5, 1813.

Colonel of the 13th Kentucky Militia during the War of 1812.  Born in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  As a young man, he sought his fortune west of the Appalachians, eventually settling in Fayette County, Kentucky.  He served as the local magistrate for several years.

In the spring of 1813, Dudley was under the command of General Green Clay of Kentucky, whose force numbered around 1200.  The force moved from Maumee River, Ohio, to Fort Meigs.  They arrived May 4 in the midst of the Siege of Fort Meigs.

--Brock-Perry

Leslie Combs War of 1812 Service and Afterwards-- Part 2

Afterwards, he "took a gallant part  in the disastrous defeat of Colonel William Dudley, on the 5th of May was wounded, taken prisoner and compelled to run the gauntlet at Fort Miami."

This was when Gen. Green Clay got to Fort Meigs and in an attempt to relieve the fort had part of his command under Col. William Dudley got involved in what is called Dudley's Massacre.

After the war,  he settled in Lexington, Kentucky, where he practiced law for half a century.

In 1838, General Combs raised a regiment for the Southwestern frontier at the time of the Texas Revolution.

--Brock-Perry