County Tidbits - Native American Incidents

The first section of this article contains two stories of the Native Americans, which should prove interesting to the readers. They were inserted into The Western Star, in December 1907, written by S.S. Vinton of Dayton, Ohio. I will record it as it was actually written.

"The last Indian raid in southern Ohio was in October, 1803. Colonel [Louis] Drake and twelve other surveyors were at work one mile north of Ridgeville, a short distance east of the old Baptist Church. They had made their camp and had a man to hunt and cook for them. The cook had been out hunting and had killed two wild turkeys, which he had stewed.
"Supper was ready when the men came into camp from work. They went to the spring just above the church that comes out from under a large tree near the pike.
"The men had gone back to camp and the cook was taking up the supper when, bang! went a rifle east of their camp. The cook turned the camp kettle with turkeys and broth into the fire.
"The men were all armed with rifles and they hid in the underbrush until morning and then they started out to find the enemy. At the spring that is near a brick farm house they see the Indians' camp. There were fifteen Indians in the party. The men followed them, to have a scrap with the red men.
"They traced them to Blue Ball and there they found a barn and a farm house burning and the family killed and scalped. The surveyors then came back to the camp, all tired out.

The Indians Retreat

"The Indians went on to Fort Hamilton. They held the fort in siege for one day. There were two hundred soldiers in the fort. The Indians opened fire on it at daylight. The woods rang with their yells. The commander of the fort had made an estimate of the enemy to be one hundred and fifty Indians.
"When darkness came the Indians slipped away and retreated down the Miami River to the Ohio River. The troops came up as the Indians landed on the Kentucky shore. The Indians had canoes, and beckoning for the troops to come over, pointed to their boats."

A Fort Meigs Incident

Another encounter with the Indians was recorded by Mr. Vinton from which I shall draw.
"Moses Trimble [of Warren County] built Fort Meigs on the right bank of the Maumee River and was completing the gates when 2,000 English soldiers and 1,700 Indians appeared and had planted two large cannons, as they supposed, one and one-half miles up the river, but which was two miles and could do no damage to the fort. The English had a six-pounder and fired through the gate, but Mr. Trimble stayed at his post till he had finished.
"The Americans had a six-pounder inside but no ammunition; and they loaded with nails and slugs of iron. They picked up the ball which the British had shot into the fort and put in their guns and fired at the English gun, and striking it fair in the muzzle and knocked it from the carriage and rendered it useless. The Indians seeing this, ran away, and then raised the siege."

FOOTNOTES: [a place to add additional information that you might want to submit]

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This page created 6 August 2004 and last updated 28 September, 2008
© 2004 Arne H Trelvik  All rights reserved