Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 4: An American Victory

When the British grenadiers arrived at the south at the south gate, they were met with a destructive volley that quickly sent them back into the woods  This marked the end of the attack.

Storm clouds were brewing to the west and breezes blew the smoke away  All that was left were the dead, dying and wounded in the ditch  As twilight descended, Major Croghan addressed his troops with words of praise and thanks for service well rendered.  As night came, the cries and groans of the wounded could be heard inside the fort.

Buckets filled with water were let down from the fort's walls.  The gates could not be opened because of means of safety during the night, so Croghan ordered his men to dig a ditch out to them so the wounded could be brought in.for treatment.

On August 2, 1813, 21-year-old George Croghan against a vastly superior force, won a victory that proved to be a turning point of the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 3: "Old Betsy" Speaks and the British Listen

It was at this moment that the single cannon the Americans had,which Major Croghan had named "Old Betsy,"  was once again heard from.  Slugs and grapeshot roared through the ditch spreading havoc and terror among the troops in it.  British troops observing the attack could not see the carnage and assumed the attack had been successful.

They sent a second column which also met the same welcome from "Old Betsy" along with more shots from the Kentuckians.  Lt. Col. Short and Lt. Gordon were dead in that ditch along with 25 dead and another 25 wounded.

Only three of those advancing were able to escape and make it back to their lines.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 2: The Attack Begins

The British bombardment continues, but Gen. Proctor hears rifle fire out to the east of his position, and, fearing they might be American reinforcements, orders an assault.  But what he was hearing was actually his Indian allies firing at a farmer after he came upon their position.  The farmer manages to escape uninjured.

By 4 p.m. August 2, the British have formed into two columns led by Brevet Colonel  Short and Lt. Gordon.  They began to advance toward Fort Stephenson's northwest corner.  At the same time, another 200 British grenadiers under Lt. Col. Warburton are making a wide sweep to the west and feigning an attack on the fort's  southern front.

Cannon fire and smoke continues and the group under Col.Short are able to get within 15 feet of the walls before being seen.  Kentucky sharpshooters start picking off  some of the advancing men, causing the group to temporarily be thrown into disorder.

British axe men push forward, over the glacis and into the ditch where Croghan had his men dig in preparation for such an attack.  Lt. Col. Short was with these men, whose job was to chop their way through the damaged walls with axes so that the next wave of men could enter the fort.

Lt. Col. Short could be heard shouting  from the ditch:  "Cut away the pickets, my brave boys, , and show the damned Yankees no quarter."

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Fort Stephenson (Fremont, Ohio)-- Part 1: A Standoff Ensued

Continuing from the last post.  From the Touring Ohio site.

Lt. Shipp and his group ran back to Fort Stephenson just as the British  opened fire from their gunboats.  The firing continued sporadically throughout the night.  The Americans occasionally returned fire.  Because they only had one cannon, after each firing they would relocate it to confuse the British.    This continued throughout the  night of August 1.

During the night, the British moved three of their six 6-pounder cannons to positions in the woods northwest of the fort.  This was slightly higher ground than the fort.  Today, there is a sign marking their position.

Towards sunrise, the British increased their rate of fire, but the Americans remained quiet.  The standoff continued throughout the day  It became clear to Major Croghan that the British were concentrating their fire on the northwest corner of the fort.  He ordered bags of sand and sacks of flour to be stacked up against those walls to help  deaden the impact of cannonballs striking those walls.

--Brock-Perry

Last Major Action in Ohio-- Part 3: Greetings, Salutations and Demands, Defending "The Post to the Last Extremity"

British officers Colonel Elliott and Captain Chambers, along with a group of Indians under a flag of truce approached the fort.  Major Croghan sent out 2nd Lt. Shipp along with 15 others to meet them.

After the usual salutations, Col. Elliott is reported as saying:  "I am instructed to demand the instant surrender of the fort, to spare the effusion of blood, which we cannot do should we be under the necessity of  reducing it by our powerful force of regulars, Indians and artillery."

Lt. Shipp replied:  "My commandant and garrison are determined to defend  the post to the last extremity, and, bury themselves in its ruins, rather than surrender it to any force whatever."

The British colonel then replied:  "Look at our immense body of Indians.  They cannot be restraining from massacring  the whole garrison in the event of our undoubted success.  It is a great  pity that so fine a young man as you and your commander, should fall into the hands  of the savages.  Sir, for God's sake, surrender, and prevent the dreadful massacre that will be caused by your resistance!"

Shipp then calmly replied:  "When the fort shall be taken,  there will be none to massacre.  It will not be given up  while a man is able to resist."  With these words, Shipp and his men turned to return to the fort.  But as they did, an Indian jumped forward from some bushes and tried to grab Shipp's sword.  The British captain stopped Shipp from killing the Indian on the spot.

Major Croghan had been watching from the fort and yelled,  "Shipp come in , and we'll blow them all to hell!!"

Croghan and the Americans did not fall for the Indian threat like William Hull did at Detroit.

The Battle Is On.  --Brock-Perry

Last Major Action in Ohio-- Part 2: Confrontation at Fort Stephenson

British plans called for a demonstration toward Fort Seneca, which they expected William Harrison would reinforce with troops from heavily defended Fort Meigs.  Tecumseh and his warriors had been left by Fort Meigs and as soon as the Americans left the fort to defend Fort Seneca, they were to attack.

The British were not expecting any problems at Fort Stephenson as related in the last post.  However, they hadn't figured on the fort's commander, 21-year-old Major George Croghan.

British ships came up the Sanduskey River from Sanduskey Bay in Lake Erie and their scouts reported that Fort Stephenson was just ahead and was occupied.  British General Proctor hadn't expected Harrison to defend such a weak post and determined to capture it and its garrison,  (Harrison had actually ordered Croghan to abandon the fort,)

When Croghan received the word that the British were on their way, he immediately alerted Harrison of the situation.  Harrison ordered him to abandon Fort Stephenson (where present-day Fremont is located) and burn it.  However, before those orders could arrive, Croghan had decided to defend his fort.  He ignored Harrison's orders.

He had but one cannon operating.  The British arrived and took up position to the north of the fort.  They sent messengers under a flag of truce to demand he surrender his fort.

What did Major Croghan tell the British?

Here's Where It Gets Interesting.  --Brock-Perry

Last Major Action in Ohio (1813): Going Up the Sanduskey River and George Croghan at Fort Stephenson

From the Touring Ohio site.

The British failed to take Fort Meigs in a second attack and then turned their attention to the Sanduskey River as a way to get around Fort Meigs.  They came up the river from where Port Clinton is located today.

They were hoping to draw out the Fort Meigs defenders and to have them make a stand, not at Fort Stephenson, but Fort Seneca.

Fort Stephenson (where Fremont, Ohio, is located today) was the first of three forts Harrison had built along the Sanduskey River.  Then next one upriver was Fort Seneca and then there was smaller one, essentially a depot) called Fort Ball (present-day Tiffin, Ohio).

The British knew that Fort Stephenson was a poorly constructed outpost and only mounted one or two cannons so they figured it wouldn't be too difficult of an obstacle.  However, what they hadn't counted on was that the fort was commanded by 21-year-old Major George Croghan.

Meet George.  --Brock-Perry

George Coghan: Tragic Hero fo Fort Stephenson-- Part 1: A Spiral Downward for the Hero

From Frances Hunter's American Hero Blog.

Old General George Rogers Clark, severely disabled by 1813, was living with Coghan's mother Lucy in Louisville is said to have muttered proudly,  "The little game cock, he shall have my sword."

Geirge Coghan married Sarah Livingston of the famous New York family and became postmaster of New Orleans.  By the time he was 30, Croghan was ending up much more like wild Uncle George than William Clark (of the Lewis and Clark expedition).  He had terrible financial problems and wife Sarah grew to loathe him.

Just as bad, Croghan feuded publicly and constantly with William Henry Harrison about their roles in the War of 1812.

The ladies of Chillicothe, Ohio, had commemorated the great victory at the Battle of Fort Stephenson by presenting Croghan with a sword and sent Harrison a petticoat.  The general was not amused in the least.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Holmes Rebuilt Atop Michigan's Mackinac Island-- Part 2

There were major American casualties during the unsuccessful attempt to regain control over Fort Mackinac on August 4, 1814.  This was led by Col. George Croghan, hero of Fort Stephenson in Ohio.

After the war, Fort Holmes was abandoned and fell into ruin.  A public works effort in the 1930s reconstructed the fort, but it again fell into disrepair until state legislation appropriated money in 2014 to rebuild it.  By then it had become a weedy mound of earth with scattered wood.

Reconstruction used the original plans housed in the National Archives.

It cost $500,000, part of the war's Bicentennial and is now open to visitors year round.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames-- Part 18: Last British Offensive in Northwest Territory

Proctor and Tecumseh tried again in late July to take Fort Meigs with a combined force of 5,000 regulars, militia and Indians.  They tried to lure the Americans out of the fort by staging a mock battle, hoping they would think that a relief column had been ambushed.  But the defenders were not fooled and stayed in the fort.

On August 2, Proctor sent 400 regulars and militia, plus a number of his tribal allies to attack Fort Stephenson, a small outpost on the Sanduskey River commanded by George Croghan.  Though garrisoned by only 160 men, the fort was surrounded by a deep ditch that slowed the attackers, making them perfect targets for the Kentucky sharpshooters inside the fort.

Thwarted, Proctor again withdrew to Fort Malden in Canada, and abandoned Detroit, the recovery of which had caused so much death and suffering.

This campaign was the last major British attack on the Northwest Territory.

--Brock-Perry

Last Survivor of the Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 3: Participated in Black Hawk War and the Civil War.

After the battle, William Gaines returned to Fort Seneca until after the news of Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.  They marched past Fort Stephenson, got into boats and crossed over into Canada.

They landed at Colonel Elliot's wharf and from there went to Fort Malden, then to Sand Beach and on October 5, fought at the Battle of the Thames.

Gaines remained with the Army after the war and participated in the Black Hawk War.

During the Civil War, he was in charge of the quartermaster's store at the Madison Barracks in New York.

--Brock-Perry

Last Survivor of the Battle of Fort Stephenson-- Part 2: Thurman Gets His Head Blown Off

On July 18, 1812, William Gaines, then age 13, enlisted as a drummer boy in Captain Armstrong's Company of the 24th Infantry.

In June 1812, they were at Fort Meigs and in July at Fort Seneca, Harrison's headquarters.

When rumor of a British attack on Fort Stephenson circulated, William traded in his drum for a musket and went with the fort's relief.

A company member, Samuel Thurman, was the only member of the fort's garrison killed.  Thurman was in the blockhouse and was determined to shoot a Redcoat.  he climbed on top of the blockhouse and peered over when a six pound ball took off his head.

--Brock-Perry

Last Survivor of the Battle of Fort Stephenson: -- Part 1

From the Proceedings at the Unveiling of the Soldiers Monument on the Site of Fort Stephenson, 1885.

Sgt. William Gaines is the only surviving soldier from the Battle of Fort Stephenson 72 years ago.  He later became a sergeant in the Army and now lives at Wilson Station, Ellsworth County, Kansas.  An invitation was offered for him to attend the dedication but he declined because of age and infirmities.

William Gaines was born in Frederick, Maryland, on December 25, 1799.  His parents were natives of Virginia.  In 1810, he went with his uncle, Col. Davis, to Lexington, Kentucky, where the uncle raised a regiment in the Indian War of 1811.  They joined General William Henry Harrison.

William went with his uncle to take care of the uncle's horse.  His uncle, unfortunately, was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Pretty Young to Be Without a Guardian.  --Brock-Perry

A Member of Col. Mills Stephenson's Regiment: Jacob Flaugher

From WikiTree

JACOB FLAUGHER

Born July 11, 1785, in
Franklin County, Pennsylvania.  Married Anna Wilson, December 25, 1813, in Mason County, Kentucky.

Died February 4, 1881 at age 95 in Huntington Township, Brown County, Ohio.

Buried Flaugher Family Cemetery in Ripley, Ohio.  This cemetery is on private property off Marker Hill Road.

Born in Pennsylvania and moved with his family to Kentucky.  In the War of 1812, he served in Martin's Company, Col. Mills Stephenson's Regiment, Ohio Militia.  They were stationed at Sanduskey, Ohio.  While there, they constructed Fort Stephenson by order of Governor Meigs.

--Brock-Perry

Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 9: To Kentucky and Ohio

William Stephenson (Mills Stephenson's father) and the group proceeded to the town of Washington, Kentucky, founded by noted Indian scout Simon Kenton.

They remained in Kentucky until 1798 when they moved to Ohio where William Stephenson located and settled on land he had as a warrant for his Revolutionary War service..  It was in Adams, now Brown County.  Here William erected a log cabin on the land where he would live the rest of his life.

On reaching manhood, Col. Mills Stephenson married Miss Kilpatrick and settled on a farm near his father.  He became very involved in southern Ohio business and politics.

As a colonel in the Second War with England, his troops built Fort Stephenson which was "so heroically defended by young Croghan, where now stands the town of Fremont, Ohio.

--Brock-Perry

Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 7: Married Jane Kilpatrick

Mills Stephenson was commissioned an ensign in the 15th Regt. Mason County, Kentucky military on August 9, 1792.  Fort Stephenson in Fremont, Ohio, was named for him.

His first marriage was to Jane/Jennie Kilpatrick, born October 20, 1791, in Lincoln County, Kentucky.  She died June 3, 1815.  She was the daughter of Frank Kilpatrick who was killed by Indians and his daughters raised by Richard Applegate.  her sister, Isabella, was the second wife of James Stephenson, the brother of Mills Stephenson.

So, Brothers Married Sisters.  --Brock-Perry

Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 4: Fort Stephenson Named For Him

From the History of Brown County, Ohio.

Col. Mills Stephenson was one of the earliest settlers of Eagle Creek.  Born in Delaware and went to sea a s a boy, longing for adventure but didn't like it.  Came home and moved with his parents to Pennsylvania and afterwards to Mason County, Kentucky where he became a farmer.

In the War of 1812 he was colonel of a battalion and served throughout the war.  Fort Stephenson in Fremont, Ohio,  was named after him.

His wife Jane Kilpatrick died soon after the close of the War of 1812 and he moved to Ripley, Ohio.

He died June 16, 1822, in Louisiana.

--Brock-Perry

Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 3: Born in Delaware, Lived in Ohio and Died in Arkansas

From the Roots Web of the Latham Whelan Family Tree.

Mills Stephenson was born in 1769 in Sussex County, Delaware.  he died 16 June 1822 in Helena, Arkansas and is buried in Helena.

He and his brother James married two sisters whose father was killed by Indians while he was on a flat boat on the Ohio River near Maysville, Kentucky.

The History of Brown County, Ohio, says Col. Mills Stephenson fought in the Indian Wars and was an officer in the War of 1812.  Fort Stephenson in Fremont, Ohio, was named after him.

--Brock-Perry

Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 2: Masonic Apron

I found some more information about him at the Ohio Memory Collection.

At Fremont, Ohio, there is a Mills Stephenson Masonic Apron which belonged to the colonel.

He is mentioned as one of the builders of Fort Stephenson (now Fremont, Ohio) and was the fort's first commander.

It served as a trading post from 1806 to 1813 and was built on high ground on the western bank of the Sanduskey River,

In the spring of 1813, Stephenson rebuilt the trading post as a military supply fort.  In mid-June 1813, George Croghan took command and became famous for his victory a few weeks later.

--Brock-Perry

Lt. Col. Mills Stephenson-- Part 1

From Regiments of Ohio Militia.

I have not been able to find much about Lt.Col. Mills Stephenson, who sited and built Fort Stephenson and named it after himself.

I did find that in his regiment, he had a Major Anthony Pitzer, Major Thomas Moors at Adjutant Alexander Moore.

--Brock-Perry