Elsie on the Hudson

by Martha Finley

"Still Harrison was anxious, thinking how strong were the foe, and how Hull and Winchester had failed and suffered; he was looking hourly and anxiously up the Maumee for the hoped for re-enforcements. Since Navarre and Oliver went out he had heard nothing from those whom he had expected to come to his aid. But near midnight on the 4th, Captain Oliver, Major Trimble, and 15 men who had come down the river in a boat, made their way into the fort, bringing the glad tidings that General Clay and 1100 Kentuckians would probably reach the post before morning, being but eighteen miles distant.

"The cannonading at Fort Meigs was distinctly heard at Fort Winchester, where Oliver had found Clay on the 3d, and Clay was hastening as fast as possible to Harrison's aid, moving down the river in eighteen flat scows, with sides furnished with shields against the bullets of the Indians who might be infesting the shores of the river.

"The head of the rapids was eighteen miles from Fort Meigs; it was late in the evening when the flotilla arrived there; the moon had gone down, and the sky was overcast with clouds, making a night so intensely dark that the pilot refused to go on before daylight. Trimble and the 15 others then immediately offered their services to go with Oliver to cheer Harrison and his men with the news that re-enforcements were almost at hand.

"It was joyful news to them. Harrison at once despatched Captain Hamilton and a subaltern in a canoe with an order to Clay bidding him detach about 800 men from his brigade and land them at a point about a mile or a mile and a half above Fort Meigs. The detachment was then to be conducted to the British batteries on the left bank of the river. These batteries were to be taken, the cannon spiked, and carriages cut down. The troops must then return to the boats and cross over to the fort.

"The rest of his men were to land on the fort side of the river, opposite the first landing, and fight their way into the fort through the Indians. Harrison knew that the British force at the batteries was not large, the main body being still near the old Fort Miami, and that the bulk of the Indians with Tecumseh were on the eastern side of the river. His object was to strike effective blows on both sides of the stream at the same time.

"While these orders of his were being carried out, he intended to make a sally from the fort, destroy the batteries in the rear, and disperse or capture the whole British force on that side of the river.

"Clay came down the river early the next morning, and about five miles above the fort Hamilton met him with Harrison's order. Clay then directed Dudley to take the twelve front boats and carry out Harrison's commands in regard to the British batteries, while he should hasten forward and perform the part assigned to him.

"Colonel Dudley landed his detachment in fine order, and they gained the plain on which Maumee City now stands, unseen by the enemy, formed for marching in three parallel columns, one led by Dudley, one by Major Shelby, the other by Acting-Major Morrison. Captain Combs with 30 riflemen, including 7 friendly Indians, flanked in front fully a hundred yards distant. Thus they moved through the woods a mile and a half toward the British batteries, which were still firing upon Fort Meigs.

"There was a prospect of capturing the whole force, but Dudley had unfortunately failed to inform his men of his exact plans, and that was a fatal mistake. Shelby's column, according to his orders, moved on to a point between the British batteries and their camp below, when the right column, led by Dudley in person, raised the horrid Indian yell, rushed forward, charged with vehemence upon the enemy, captured the heavy guns, and spiked eleven of them without losing a man.

"At the same time the riflemen had been attacked by the Indians, and, not having been told that they were to fall back upon the main body, thought it their duty to fight. That was a fatal mistake, as the main object of the expedition was already fully accomplished, although the batteries were not destroyed. The British flag was pulled down, and as it reached the earth loud huzzahs went up from Fort Meigs. Harrison, who was watching from his chief battery, with intense interest, now signaled Dudley to fall back to the boats and cross the river according to his former orders.