ORAT ON

CASS IUS MARCELLUS CLAY

BEFORE

T ! E MAUMEE VALLEY ! ISTOR ICAL AND

M-ON'

UM-EN!TAL ASSOC IATION ,

OF O! IO,

A t Put-I'n—Bay Island ,Lake Erle , on the l oth of

September, 1 89 1

T ! ’

E ANN IVERSARY OF T ! E CAPTURE

T ! E BR IT IS ! FLEET BY

! A ! ARD PERRY.

P ! I LA D E LP ! I A

O RAT ION

CASS IUS MARCELLUS CLAY

M R . PR E S I DE N T,LA DI E S

,A ND G E N TLEM E N

The birth,maturi ty

,and death of n at ions are the

basi s of h i story,and Pope wel l says

,

“ The nobleststudy of mank ind i s man .

! The Almighty God hasgiven to man—the head of creation—no higherqual ity than courage

,—held in common with the

beasts that, by physical impulse , attack and defen dto the death

,—but in addition thereto that moral

courage which i s not shared by the lower an imals,

which i s ready to meet death in ai d of good to mankind . Not those who have d ied to destroy butto save nat ion s are to be h onored ; and yet moreworthy of immortal ity i s he who not only savesa n ation ’ s l ife

,but i ts l iberties . There i s n o doubt

evolution in nature is eternal advance to a h igherplane of perfect ion . As the dying vegetation fertil izes the so i l for a superior growth

,so th e d eath of

nations gives the material for h igher c iv i l i zation .

Thus the li bert ies of n ations rise i n n ew vestmentsof glory from age to age . In 1 776 England wasthe most advanced of all the ages i n constitut ion al

3

4. ORA TI ON OF

l iberty,but when we went to war “ for n o taxation

wi thout representation,

! and created a new nation,

we reach ed a higher plane in the advance of c ivi l ization .

Thomas Jefferson was more than th e author of

our Declaration of Independence i n 1 776 ; he m orethan any American la id down the basis o four popularl iberty. On th i s day

,standing on ground con se

crated by him to freedom from chattel slavery forever

,hi s name should be first mentioned among our

moral h eroes . The grand result of an independentn at ion was not only equal taxat ion

,but equal ity

of property and rel igion by the abol it ion of primogen iture and th e church-and-state theory of GreatBri tain

,wh ich principles have for th e first time

in h istory been practi cal ly made the bed-rock byKentucky on August 3

,1 89 1

,of her new constitution

,

by a majority ofEngland

,with Lord Chatham (W i lliam Pitt) and

a few of her greatest and noblest intellects in favorof our independen ce

,made peace on December 27

,

1 783 . But sh e submitted with i ll grace to fate .She claimed the right of inalienable allegiance

,and

stopped our vessels on the high seas,and took her

on ce subj ects,though n ow naturalized c it izen s of th e

Un ited States,against our protest . They took n ot

only once Briti sh subj ects,but nat ive-born Ameri

cans,an d held them in naval service or i n bonds and

imprisonment . The war continuing between Franceand herself

,she declared all the French coast on the

Atlanti c to be in a state of blockade,whi ch

,be ing

unable to enforce,was contrary to the laws of na

tion s . Napoleon retal iated,and declared November

3,1 806—known as the Berl in decree—all England

CASSIUS JII A R CE LL US CLA Y. 5

and the Bri ti sh Islan ds blockad ed . Finally E nglanddecreed that all vessels trading with Fran ce shouldtouch th e English coast and get a permi t

,or b e

confiscated i f caugh t on the sea s . These i ntolerableusurpat ion s at length drove the Un ited States

,under

the leadersh ip of Henry Clay,to declare war w i th

England,June 1 2

,1 8 1 2 ,

—.Tames ad ison being

President . From the time Dan iel Boone enteredKentucky wi th Findley

,in 1 76 9

,th ere was un ceas

in g war with the Indian s , whose friendsh ip Englan dcult ivated from thei r Canad ian possess ion s . T imeallows only men t ion of in cidents m ost nearly conn ected w i th our celebrat i on

,—omitting th e great

names of Anthony Wayn e,Dan iel Boone

,George

Rogers Clarke,and Lewis Clarke .

W i ll i am Henry Harrison was appo inted Governorof th e Northwestern Territory

,in clud ing Indiana

,

Ill ino i s,Michigan

,and W i scon sin

,having don e

much civ il and mil itary service well known to h istory . On th e 5th of November

,1 8 1 1

,Governor

Harrison marched with some regulars an d mil iti am ostly Kentuckian s

,800 strong— upon the Prophet ’ s

town (the brother of Tecumseh) , on th e TippecanoeRiver

,i n Indiana

,where he was intren ched . The

Indians were defeated and dispersed,the ir leader

,th e

Prophet,being k illed . Thi s overawed th e Indian s

,

who were in almost entire possess ion of th e wholeTerritory

,but war with Englan d be ing imminent

,

they refused a peace . W i l l iam Hull,a n ative of

Connecti cut,an d a d ist in guished sold ier of the

revolution , was made , by Jeff erson,Governor of

Mich igan i n 1 805 . He remained i n office t il l 1 8 1 2,

when he was made brigadier-general and commanderof the Northwestern Army

,by President James

6 ORA TI ON OF

Madison . March ing with h is army—with orders toconquer W estern Canada—to Detroi t , through thewi lderness

,he there h eard of th e fall of M ichili

m ackinac,on Lake Huron

,—wh ich set loose all

th e Indian s i n the Northwestern Territory uponh im . He attempted a retreat through Canada

,

but,being opposed

,he recrossed into Mich igan

,

an d surrendered h is whole army,Detroit

,an d th e

Northwestern Territory to General Brock,of the

Engl ish army. This filled the whole W est withindignation

,and he was everywhere declared a

trai tor to h is country . I remember when I was achi ld hearing on e of our colored slaves—Scott—s inging a doggerel

,of which I can only recal l a few

vvords

W e’v e left our plantations ,

Our fr iends and rel ations,

A n d flew to the war as the friend of the b rav eB ut ! ull , you old tra itor ,You out-cast o f nature ,Y our consc ience condem ns youA s long as you l iv e .

!

I dwell upon th is event to say that Hull was nodoubt a sin cere patriot

,an d d id hi s best for h i s men

and hi s country,and surren dered only when contest

was death .

This same Scott Clay,when I lay i ll i n 1 845

,amid

the murderous threats of my enemies,th e opponents

of l ib eration,appeared in my bedroom

,having come

twenty m ile s to Lexington,Ky.

,on foot

,from my

home at W h ite Hall,and

,on being quest ioned

,sa id

,

“ I come to defend you .

!

But,

! said I,

“ Scott,you are but on e man

,an d

thousands tod ay will surround us .!

CASSIUS M A R CE LL US OLA Y.

“ Then,said he

,

“ I wil l d ie in that door beforeth ey sh al l kill you .

On the declarat i on of war,Jun e 1 2

,1 8 1 2

,the mil i

tary spirit was h igh i n Kentucky . Seven thousan dvolunteers offered themselves to th e governmen t

,

and 1 500 were under General Hopkins,on the m arch

to Detroit through the wilderness,when th ey heard

of the surrender of Detroi t . They at once returnedhome

,or j oined General Harri son

,against the protest

of General Hopkins .I t would have been well if Napoleon

,who was

about th i s t ime march ing upon Moscow,had followed

th e example of these Kentuckian s,an d after h is real

defeat at Borodino had returned to France .On the l st day of January

,1 8 1 3

,the Northwest

Army,under Brigadier-General Harrison

,rested

,

with the l eft w ing,commanded by General W in

chester at Fort Defiance,on th e Maumee River

,and

th e righ t w ing und er the commander-ih -ch ief atUpper Sandusky . Detroit be ing the obj ect ive pointof attack

,W in chester was ordered to march wi th h is

brigade of Kentuckian s and regulars,commanded on

the left by Colonel Lewis,to reach th e rapid s and

await Harri son ’ s arrival . But W in chester,on the

1 4th,hearing of th e weak garrison of Frenchtown

,

on the river Raisin,in Canada

,detached Colonel

Lewis to capture it,wh ich was done on the 1 8th of

January,1 8 1 3 .

W in ch ester,hearing of the capture

,marched to

th e support of Lewis,refused to enter h i s p ickets ,

and camped his regimen t on th e plain s outside,b e

cau se he would not take post on the left of Lewis ,—military etiquette ordering

,—a n d he slep t at a

farm-house a mile distant from Colonel W ells ’ s regi

8 ORA TI ON OF

ment . A Bri tish force,under General Proctor

,

marched with regulars and Indian s i n the night ofthe 2 l st, assaulted Lewis

’ s fort,and were repulsed

with great sl aughter. They then turned on W el ls ’ sregiment and cu t i t to pieces

,tak ing many prisoners

,

among them Colonel TVells himself. T h e whole Briti sh force w i th six field -pieces was turned upon Lewis

,

who surrendered under promise of the protect ion ofc ivil ized warfare . The general s

,colonels

,and other

officers and men were saved as s t ipulated,but a ll the

wounded were massacred in Fren chtown . There wasno guard left

,and two houses fu ll of the wounded

were burned .

S in ce the declaration of war,defeat on all the

scenes which belong to th i s address followed ourarmies . General Harrison

,after th e battle of

Frenchtown,was compelled to abandon the recap

ture of Detro it,an d to stand on the defens ive . On

the south bank of th e Maumee River h e buil t astrong fort of logs set o n end

,wi th sal ient block

houses at the angles,coverin g seven acres of land .

It was proof against musket and rifle-balls andlight arti llery

,but was n ot secure against heavy

gunsHere he awaited re inforcements

,called for through

the authori ty of the gen eral government . This fortwas n amed Meigs

,in honor of th e then Governor

of Ohio . Governor Isaac Shelby,the hero of King’ s

Mountai n in the Revolut i onary War,was then fi lling

h i s second term of o ffice as Governor of Kentucky,

succeed in g General Charles Scott,another veteran

and Indian fighter.My father

,Green Clay

,was born in Powhattan

County,V irgin ia

,August 14

,1 757 ; m igrated i nto

CASSIUS M ARCE LL US O’LA Y. 9

Kentucky about the year 1 776 ; fought the Briti shand their all ies

,the Ind ian s

,during the Revolution

ary War til l the peace in 1 783 was a delegate of theDistrict of Kentucky before i t was made a State

,i n

th e V i rginia General Assembly ; was a member fromKentucky of the convention of 1 788

,and voted for

the Federal Constitution of 1 789 (“D . V ir. Con .

volumes and was a member of the conventi on of1 799 Collin s ’ s Kentucky

,

!

1 847,and “New Amer

i can Encyclopaedia,

! p . 307,vol . v .) was then maj or

general and commander,next to the Governor

,of the

Kentucky mil i ti a at th e declaration of war in 1 81 2 ;was made brigadier-general by commiss ion anew

,and

put in command of the four regimen ts of v olun

teers,consist ing of 3000 men

,under the command

of Colon els Dudley,Boswell

,Cox

,and Caldwell .

On the 1 2th of Apri l,1 8 1 3

,the advanced guard

reached Fort Meigs ; and on th e 25th the Britishflotill a

,having on board the battering cannon

,were

at the mouth of the Maumee River,two miles below

,

where the gun-boats landed,and finally placed their

arti llery on land opposite the Ameri can s,and had bat

teries thrown up on both sides of th e fort,—on the

right and left banks of the Maumee River. A hordeof Indians

,commanded by Tecumseh

,attended the

Briti sh as all ie s,i n al l 3000 strong . On the first

of May a h eavy fire was op en ed by the Briti sh,

an d feebly returned by Harri son,mostly from balls

p icked up from the guns of the en emy.

On th e 4th of May General Clay reached Fort Defiance

,on the Maumee River

,with the remainder

of the brigade,2000 men

,1 000 having been sent

forward before the investmen t by the Briti sh an dIndians . G eneral Harrison left orders at Defiance for

1 0 OR A TION OF

General Clay to unload h is boats on h is arrival there,

and,making forced march es

,to cut h is way through

the enemy into Fort Meigs . But my father,l ike

every true soldier,whi le observing the main pur

pose of the order to the letter,being an old Indian

fighter,unloaded h is boats

,put up additional timbers

on the gunwales of the fiat-boats,and descen ded

the river,without the loss of a man . In th e mean

time he sent orders by Major D . Trimble,with five

men,to inform General Harrison of h i s movements.

The gallant major i n the late afternoon,l aunch ing

his canoe,reach ed Fort Meigs before dayl ight

,and

del ivered h is orders . General Harrison,with the rapid

resolution of mil itary gen ius,despatched by Captain

Hamilton an order to Clay (I quote from Collin s) ,“ to lan d 800 men upon the northern shore

,opposite

the fort,to carry the British batterie s there placed ;

to Spike th e cannon and destroy the carriages,after

wh ich th ey were immediately to regain their boatsand cross over to the fort .! Hamilton

,ascending the

river in a canoe,del ivered the orders to Clay . But

he,with that sagac ity which d istinguished h i s l ife

,

sent Hamilton to del iver Harrison ’ s order to Colonel

W i l li am Dudley h imself. Dudley captured the bat

teries and fi lled h is orders l iterally,-all but the im

portant on e . Led off by the artifices of Indianwarfare

,he was killed with all h i s force

,save about

1 50 men . Clay landed h is 1 200 men . I n a letterdated at Fort Meigs

,July 8

,1 8 1 3

,to Micaj ah Harri

son,of Kentucky (

“ Life of Cassius Marcellus Clay,

!

vol . i . p . he writesOn the day of the action

,Major David Trimble

accompanied me to cover the retreat of the remnant of Colon el Dudley ’ s regiment

,and behaved with

CASSIUS JVI A R CE LL US OLA Y. 1 1

great coolness and gallantry . Here th e Ken

tuckian s drove Tecumseh where th e hottest battl ewas fought

,and then h e crossed the river

,and with

thei r whole force overthrew Colonel Dudley.

!

Acting under General Harrison ’ s orders,on May

5,1 8 1 3

,with 1 200 men

,Green Clay

,commanding

the left wing,defeated the immortal Tecumseh an d

the Bri ti sh forces,3000 men

,i n open dayl ight

,drove

them over the river,and saved 1 50 Kentucky sold iers

,

the remnant of h i s brigade,from death . Thi s was

the first real victory,with in th e lines of th i s address

,

s ince th e declaration of war,January 1 2

,1 8 1 2 .

Wh en war was declared , Green Clay was majorgeneral of the Kentucky mil i ti a. Then every m an

was boun d to perform mil itary service . His rightfulrank was m ajor-general

,but he was reduce d to a

brigadier-general,and so commission ed by Governor

Shelby.

Wi ll i am Henry Harrison was made a brigad iergen eral by Governor Charles Scott

,April 25

,1 8 1 2

,

which gave him the right of command,when they

met,over my father. This was al l righ t. Genera l

Harrison was a trained sold ier,and the commander

in -ch ief over th e Indian a Territory,and wa s made

brigadier September 1 7,1 8 1 2

,and afterwards major

general by the Federal government . Thus h e wouldhave ranked General Clay by sen iori ty . Now ourslanderers say thi s was done i n deprec i ation ofGeneral Clay . If i t was done i n a patrioti c spirit ,what sh all be said of those ignoble calumn iators ! Ifi t was don e in personal enmity to Clay

,how he

silenced h is de tractors by submi tting to wrong withsuch patriot i c self-sacr ifice ! No j ealousy at leastexisted between General Harri son and himself. He

1 2 ORA TI ON OF

was commended by the fact that h e was made,after

the siege of Fort Meigs was raised,commander-in

ch ief. There were four regiments of regular troops,

two companies of engineers and artillery, two

regiments o f Ohio militia,the Pittsburg and Peters

burg volun teers,a corps of riflemen and cavalry

,and

Clay ’ s brigade of Kentucky mil i tia . So soon as thes i ege was abandon ed

,General Harri son moved on

north with a vi ew of invad ing Canada,as soon as

h i s fleet was ready for action .

I n the mean t ime,Generals Proctor and Tecumseh

returned to th e attack o n Fort Meigs with anin creased force

,and continued it t ill about July

,

1 8 13 . But General Clay so obstinately resisted thatthe siege was finally raised once more . In th is lastattack 200 men and officers were k illed and wounded

,

and about s ix wagon-loads of bal ls an d unexplodedsh ells were p icked up and utilized by the Americans.(Clay

’ s letter to Micaj ah Harri son,July 8

,I n

the ir retreat the enemy attempted to capture bystorm an out-post

,Fort S tevenson

,with on e hun

dred and fifty Kentuckians,commanded by Cap

tain George Croghan,also a Kentuckian . The fort

was a simple stockade without sal i en t an gles,or

block-houses on the corners,and being un able to

res ist cannon,he was ordered to abandon the post

and retreat i nto Fort Meigs but being too late,he

stood h i s ground and defended h imself most gallantlyagain st the enemy . The Indian s d id n ot l ike s ieges .Neither d id they l ike Ken tucki ans ! He was brevetted at on ce l ieutenant-colonel

,and he d istinguished

h imself in after-years . On Harrison ’ s return to FortMeigs

,b e

,by special order

,thanked General Clay for

h is gallan t defence,and h is brigade

,having served

CASSIUS M ARCE LL US CLAY. 1 3

their time of enl istmen t,returned home . But my

father,by General Harrison ’ s in v itat i on

,attended the

army to Detro i t,and thence re turned to h is home

in Kentucky .

The Federal government at last awakened to theabsolute necess ity o f commanding the lakes beforemaking further advan ce in the conquest of Canada.Oliver Hazard Perry was born in Newport

,R I

,

January,1 785

,and died at the Islan d of Trin idad

,

August 23,1 8 1 9 . In 1 8 1 3 he was a l ieutenant in

th e Un ited States navy,commanding a d ivi sion of

gun-boats off h is nat ive coast . Fired by patrioti cambi t ion

,h e asked to be transferred to the command

of Commodore Isaac Chauncey,the ch ief n aval

officer of all th e lakes,being then on Lake Ontario .

Chauncey deputed Lieutenan t Perry,already famous

in naval warfare,to build on Lake Eri e a n avy out of

green timber equal to the capture of the Briti shsquadron then dominating those waters . This Perryset about with great enthusi asm and skill

,aided by

the experts from the commodore ’ s fleet . Absent fora time to assist h is ch ief i n the capture of FortGeorge

,on Lake Ontari o

,he returned to his work .

Taking advan tage of Barclay ’ s temporary absencefrom observing him at Erie

,Pa .

,he l ifted th e larger

vessels on rafts of logs over th e shallows and off

Put-I h -Bay was prepared for the great action ofSeptember 1 0

,1 8 1 3 . Commodore Barclay had six

boat s and 63 gun s and 502 oflieers and men . Perryhad n ine vessels wi th 54 guns and 490 officers andmen . The limits of th is occasion wi ll n ot allow meto go in to thi s , one of the most glorious battles inthe world ’ s h i story . It i s enough th at Perry wonth e battle and captured all the Briti sh sh ips and the ir

14 ORA TI ON OF

crews . Thi s was th e fall of Troy and our task i sfinished . The capture of the foe gave us the comm and of the lakes, and v irtually closed the war i nth e Northwest . Detroit an d Malden were evacuatedat once

,and our rule of the Northwest Territory

restored . The Ken tucky troops,released from the

forts,were anxious to jo in Perry

,but only 1 50 by

lot were taken , who served on the fleet as mariners,

an d after fighting the battle of the Thames, October5,1 8 1 3

,returned home . My fath er accompanied

General Harrison to the seat of th e Lake war,was on

the captured fleet,and embarked for Detro it

,which

was already evacuated,and was placed by Harrison

under General M cA rthur,and then h e followed hi s

men to hi s Kentucky home . The battl e of theThames exc ited but l i ttle interest after the immortal v ictory of September 1 0

,as the sun obscures

all m inor lights . But here Tecumseh made hi s laststand

,and by a dismounted squad of horsemen

,led

by Colonel Richard M . Johnson,afterwards elected

V i ce-President of the Un i ted S tates,fell dead on the

field of battle . The contest about th e birthplace ofHomer was n ever more fiercely waged than about“Who killed Tecumseh ! !

On the 30th day of December,1 843

,there was a

great meeting of th e friends of slave-holding Texasannexation

,at the Wh i te Sulphur Springs, in Scott

County,Ky.

,Johnson ’ s home

,at which he was the

principal speaker. I offered oppos ing resolutions,and

followed him i n a speech (“ Life of C .M . Clay

,

!1 vol .

,

by Horace Greeley,Harper Bros .

,New York

,

The gallant colon el,wearing a red waistcoat after

the fash ion of the Jefl'

erson ian s of earl i er days , wasat first startled by the questi on (from some opponent ,

CASS! US III A R CE LL US OLA Y. 1 5

probably) in the aud i en ce ,“Who killed Tecumseh ! !

but,recovering

,looked steadily at his inqu isitor and

repl ied,

“ I do not say I kil led Tecum seh,but if I

d id not k il l h im,say

,who d id k il l h im ! ! This sen

s ible rej oinder si len ced the batteries of hi s Opponent,

as no one could say who did k ill h im . The good andbrave soldier told but th e truth

,for had he said

,

“ Ik illed h im

,

! that would have settled the questionforever. He had killed all th e Indians about h imand fell badly woun ded . Neither h e nor any oneelse recognized the great warrior

,t ill some Indian s

,

after th e battl e,pointed h im ou t to th e Ameri can s .

But h is follow ers knew of h is death,and hold ing out

after the Briti sh left in fl ight the field,they fled when

th ei r l eader was no more .

Some Of my opponents badgering me about thematter

,I sai d i t d id not matter who killed Tecumseh

,

as Green Clay had wh ipped h im twi ce before underth e command of W i lli am Henry Harri son . Tecumseh was th e m ost d istingu i shed man of all th etribes of Indians on th e North American cont in ent .He h a d great i ntelligence as well as bravery andhumanity . At Dudley ’ s defeat

,when th e prisoners

were being m assacred in Proctor’ s presen ce,or by

his complicity,Tecumseh rushed in and wi th great

indignation stopped th e slaughter . Proctor knewvery wel l what h is fate would be if ever h e wascaught by the Kentuckians

,and he took care to

secure h imself by cowardly retreats . A s soon asPerry ’ s v ictory secured th e possib i l ity of intercepting h i s escape

,he abandoned De tro it and Malden

,

and the general Opin ion is that the gallan t Tecum seh forced h im to make a stand at the Thames

,

where he showed not only immortal courage,but

1 6 ORA TI ON OF

great gen ius i n th e selection of th e field of battle .SO every lover of home and human ity must sh ed atear over the great spirit whi ch gave all for th e defence of h i s h earth stone an d his country. Andh ere the scen e changes South to New Orleans .The Bri ti sh

,d espairing of defence i n th e North

,

on the overthrow of Napoleon,emptied the ir v icto

rion s sold iers,under the command of S ir Edward

Paken ham,below New Orleans

,on th e left bank of

th e Miss iss ipp i,two miles from the c i ty.

The great battle of the war,after the varying

results in the East,was fought o n the 8 th of January

,

1 8 1 5,after the peace which was made December 24

,

1 8 14,between Great Bri tain and America

,but was

unknown to Jackson ti ll after h i s vi ctory . The Kentu ckian s

,rel ieved from the Northern service

,eagerly

flocked to Jackson ’ s standard,at New Orleans

,La .

Here once more yet ring in my ears th e old

chan ts i n commemoration of th i s,th e most splendi d

v i ctory in our annals,on land

,

! e led us down to Cypress swamp ,Th e l and was low and murky ;

There stood J ohn B ull i n m artial pomp ,B ut here stood Old Kentucky .

C ! OR U S—Old Kentucky,—the hunters of Kentucky !They ’d hav e our gals and cotton b ags i nOld Kentucky .

Thus closed the war with th e star-spangled banner flaming w i th immortal l ight ! W e had provedour sold iers the foremost of n ations i n prowess onland and sea.

Nothin g was sai d in th e treaty of peace aboutfree trade or sai lors ’ righ ts

,

! but they were made

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 8 ORA TI ON OF

N O T E S .

My authority for the statements made by me arefrom the l iving witnesses Green Clay

,John Speed

Smith,Of Harrison ’ s stafl"

,and others .

There i s,i n the L ibrary of the Maumee

Historical and Monumental Association,a written

order-book by Captain Dan iel Cush ings,Heavy

Artillery,

Apri l 1,1 8 1 3 . The British bat

tery on the north side of th e Maumee had (4) four32-pounders and a mortar-battery Of (2) two

guns . The British battery on the south side wastaken on the 5th by the Ameri cans . The Un itedS tates had five batteries i n the fort

,—number of guns

not given . I n general order,May 9

,1 81 3

,

General Harrison writes ! “ The general gives h i sthanks to Brigad i er-General Clay for the promptitude with which th e detachment of hi s brigade waslanded

,and the ass istance given by h im for form

i ng th em for the attack on the left . S igned JohnO

’

Fa llon,assi stant acting adj utant-general .

It would then,from th ese data

,appear that

Clay ’ s brigade was the whole of th e left wing,as

Harrison h ad only 2250 men at th e t ime . It i sn ot probable that les s than a thousand were left toman th e fort and 1 200 to form the right wing . SO

General Clay fought that battle with Tecumseh,and

drove h im over th e river unaided by th e right wingengaged in the capture of the South battery .

CASSIUS M ARCE LL US CLAY. 1 9

My fa th er ’ s motive fo r send ing Harrison ’ sorder to Colon el Dudley wa s obvious . The Ken

tuckian s had been used to fight withou t regularorgan izati ons . Their leaders were generally nomimated for the occasion

,and had but l i ttle authority

over th eir associ ates . Green Clay ’ s knowledge ofthese facts e ither led him to doubt the proprie ty Ofsuch order to any but regul ars

,or he was guarding

again st hi s enem ie s i n th e rear .

Proctor kn ew well that the Kentuck ian swould n ot fai l to avenge h is crimes against c ivi l ization . He could easi ly have battered down FortStevenson

,for he h ad (2) two 32 -pound ers and

other guns,but

,failing in the assault

,he feared

h is commun i cation s w i th Canada might be cut

Off,h imself taken a nd killed ! SO h e n ot only

abandoned Detroi t and Malden,but at the battle

of the Thames he fled before the Indian s wererouted . He was pursued with such determinat i onby the Kentuckian s that hi s personal camp baggagewas captured in the fl ight .

Ex-President R . B . Hayes pres ided,and J .

K . Hamilton,m ayor Of Toledo

,was secretary o f the

celebration .

ATION OF CASSIUS MARCELLUS CB EFOR E

T! E MAUMEE VALLEY HISTOR ICAL AND MONUMENTALASSOC IAT ION, OF TOLEDO , OHIO ,

-Bay Is land , Lake E rie , o n the l o th O f S eptemb er,

! E ANNIVERSARY OF T ! E CAPTURE OF T ! E BRIT ISFLEET BY OLIVER ! A! ARD PERRY.