“In the autumn of 1811, the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought; it was the first opportunity offered for the display of his military talents. He embraced it with avidity—he left his father’s house as a volunteer and was appointed aid-de-camp to General Harrison. On November 7, an attack was made on General Harrison’s troops; the enemy were repulsed with valor, and during the engagement young Croghan evinced great courage, activity, and military skill. His services were acknowledged by all; he exhibited such proofs of genius for war that many of his companions-in-arms remarked that ‘he was born a soldier.’ A cant phrase among the troops was ‘to do a main business’; during the battle, Croghan rode from post to post exciting the courage of the men by exclaiming, ‘Now, my brave fellows, now is the time to do a main business!’ On the return march of the troops following the battle, the army was frequently met by persons inquiring of the soldiers the fates of their children or friends. Among these was a very poor and aged man whose son had been slain in battle. Croghan learned of the old man’s plight, observed his inability to perform much bodily labor, regularly made fires for him every morning, and supplied him with provisions, clothes, and money. Many accounts of similar acts of kindness are related by the soldiers and officers of this campaign.
·····HAVING WADED THROUGH MUD·····
“After the Battle of Tippecanoe his military ardor was even more increased, and, upon hearing that a speedy declaration of war was forthcoming, he expressed a desire to join the regular army. Recommendatory letters of the most flattering kind were written by Generals Harrison and Boyd to the Secretary of War; at the commencement of hostilities against Great Britain, he was appointed a captain in the Seventeenth Regiment of Infantry. He was in command for some time at Clark Cantonment [Clarksville, Indiana], near the Falls of the Ohio; but after a brief period there he was ordered to march with his few regulars to the headquarters of the Northwestern Army at Detroit. His countenance beamed with delight upon receiving this order. Soon large bodies of militia and volunteers were marching to Detroit; but before they had proceeded far they heard of Hull’s surrender.
“Shortly afterwards the command of the Northwestern Army was given to General Harrison. For a short time, Captain Croghan commanded Fort Defiance on the Maumee River; after the defeat of General Winchester, he was ordered to Fort Meigs. His conduct during the unforgettable siege of that fort was handsomely noted in General Harrison’s official report, and afterwards he was promoted to a majority and stationed with his battalion at Upper Sandusky. Late one afternoon information reached him by express of an attack upon Fort Stephenson [Fremont]. The distance between the two places was thirty-six miles, and the road was extremely bad. Because of the pitch darkness he and his men were obliged to lie down in the road and wait for the return of light in order to avoid the risk of losing their way.
“He arrived at Fort Ball before sunrise the next morning, having waded waist deep through mud and mire and having been exposed to a heavy rain during the whole night. There he was informed that the report of an attack upon Fort Stephenson was unfounded; after remaining a few days, he proceeded to Fort Stephenson, after receiving orders to take command of that post. He arrived there about the fifteenth of July.
“A few days later, Fort Meigs was besieged by large British and Indian forces. No doubt was entertained that the enemy would visit Fort Stephenson; accordingly, Major Croghan labored day and night to place the hastily built fort in a state of readiness. The necessity of cutting a ditch around the fort became apparent to him immediately. In order to foil the enemy if they should succeed in leaping the ditch, which was nine feet wide and six feet deep, he had large logs placed on the tops of the walls. The logs were adjusted so that a slight weight would cause them to fall from their position and crush to death all below. This improvement in the art of fortification took place only a few days before the attack. It is a novel idea and it originated with Croghan.
“A short time before the action, he wrote the following concise and impressive letter to a friend: ‘The enemy are not far distant—I expect an attack—I will defend this post to the last extremity. I have just sent away the women and children with the sick of the garrison that I may be able to act without encumbrances. Be satisfied; I shall, I hope, do my duty. The example set me by my revolutionary kindred is before me; let me die rather than prove unworthy of their name.’
“In the afternoon of the first day of August, the attack upon Fort Stephenson was commenced. The particulars of that memorable and brilliant action can be found in General Harrison’s official account of this period. A lucid statement of the honorable motives which influenced Colonel Croghan’s conduct on that occasion is contained in an ‘extract of a letter from himself to his friend in Seneca Town, dated August 27, 1813.’ These accounts and other interesting particulars will be found in public prints issued between August 14 and September 16.
“Major Croghan’s conduct after the battle was as noble as it had been during the hardest fighting. The wounded were treated by him with the greatest tenderness; with considerable peril, he gave them water by means of buckets let down by ropes to the outside of the pickets. During the night, when he could not safely open the fort, he had a tunnel dug under the wall and through it the wounded were conveyed into the fort.