OHIO STATEWIDE FILES - Know your Ohio: The War of 1812 in Ohio [7] 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Darlene E. Kelley
http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374
September 03, 1999
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Historical Collections of Ohio
The Kelley Family Collections
Newspaper article, Plains Dealer
compiled by S.J. Kelley-- 1925
And Then They Went West
by Darlene E. Kelley  1998
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Ohio in war of 1812   Part 7--

On May 24th R.M. Johnson gets orders from Gen Harrison to take command
of Ft Wayne and the posts on the Auglaize and make sorties against the
Indians. Johnson's men now at North Bend. May 28th --Johnson's regiment
rendezvouses at Dayton. A few days later they start northward towards St
Mary's. June 1st -- Johnson's regiment arrives at St Mary's. From there
they continue to Wapakoneta where they get Indian guides and spies
[Shawnees ], among whom is the half-breed, Anthony Shane. June 5th--
Johnson's regiment leaves St Mary's for Ft Wayne. They spend some time
in mock manoeuvres in a prairie about half way between St Mary's and
Shane's Crossing. They arrive at Shane's Crossing in the evening. June
7th --Johnson's regiment of Kentucky Mounted Volunteers arrives at Ft
Wayne. June 8th-- A council of officers from Johnson's regiment of
mounted volunteers decides to make an excursion against the southeastern
end of Lake Michigan to visit the Indian villages there. In the evening
the regiment crosses the river at Ft Wayne en route to raid the
villages. June 9th -- They march 40 miles toward Five Medals Town and
surround it, but finds it evacuated. June 11th-- They leave Five Medals
Town en route to Indian village of Paravash, on the other side of St
Joseph's of the Lake, but cannot cross the river as it is too high, The
regiment then goes to White Pidgeon's Town and finds it unoccupied. June
12th --The main trace from Detroit to Chicago passes through White
Pidgeon's Town. Johnson's regiment returns to Ft Wayne this day. June
14th -- Johnson's regiment arrives at Ft Wayne. No incident.
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The second seige of Ft Meigs--

May 12th, 1813 -- Harrison goes from Ft Meigs to Lower Sandusky and
leaves Gen Green Clay in command of Ft Meigs. May 14th-- Militia who
have been called out to relieve Ft Meigs are disbanded at Lower
Sandusky. June 21st -- Harrison holds a council with the Indians at
Franklinton, asks them to side with United States. Tarhe represents the
Indians. June 26th-- News arrives at Ft Meigs tht the British are again
gong to attack the fort. June 28th-- Harrison sends a detachment of
R.M.Johnson's men to go to River Raisin to secure intellegence. They are
to start June 29th with Johnson in command. Harrison arrives at Ft
Meig's, having left Franklinton on the 26th. June 29th-- Johnson, at the
head of 150 men, leaves Ft Meigs on a reconnaisance mission to River
Raisin. Reaches Frenchtown at midnight. The inhabitants there say they
had heard of no movements under way against the Americans. Johnson's
detachment arrives back at Ft Meigs on the 30th. Harrison , hearing that
the British had returned to Ft Meigs, removes his headquarters from
Lower Sandusky to Seneca Town, about 9 miles up the Sandusky River,
where he constructs a fortified camp. Maj George Croghan with 160
regulars is left in Ft Stephehson.  July 1st-- Harrison, upon hearing
Johnson's report of no new activities on the part of the enemy, returns
to Lower Sandusky. July 2nd-- A mounted regiment is sent to River Huron
from Ft Meigs via Lower Sandusky to help Harrison track down some unruly
Indians who had bee raiding the frontier. July 3rd-- A mounted regiment
from Ft Meigs reaches Lower Sandusky. Col Ball's squadron escorts
Harrison from Lower Sandusky to Cleveland. There Harrison makes
arrangements for the better security of boats which are being built
there. He also has a small fort constructed on the lake and directs the
new boats to be sunk as soon as they are built in a deep part of the
Cuyahoga River. Col Ball is put in command of the new post. July 4th--
The fourth of July was celebrated by the garrison and mounted men of Ft
Meigs in great hamony and enthusiasm. Col Johnson delivers an
appropriate address and a number of toasts, breathing sentiments of the
republican soldier, were drunk and cheered. There was a firing of small
arms and the discharge of a six pounder. The militia soldier, whose
patriotism was satisfied with gong to the boundary line and looking at
the enemy, where he refuses to cross and fight them, was strongly
reprobated. July 6th-- Johnson's regiment proceeds in detachments to
Huron and encamps on the shore of the lake. July 13th -- Harrison. upon
orders from the Sec of War, sends Johnson's much fatigued regiment to
protect the Illinois country. Johnson remonstrates. July 16th--
Johnson's regimemt arrives at Upper Sandusky. Its proposed route is ;
Upper Sandusky, Ft McArthur. St Mary's, Greenville. Delaware Towns on
White River, Ft Harrison, Vincennes. This is later changed to pass
Urbana to pick up supplies. July 19th -- First of Johnson's regiment
arrives in Urbana, next part comes in the next day.  July 20th-- A
meeting of the officers of Johnson's regiment is called and they ask
that the regiment be allowed to pass through Kentucky on their way west.
Johnson argrees and orders a rendezvous at Vincennes on Aug 20th. This
is in diredt violation of Harrison's orders. Meanwhile, Harrison is
notified by the Sec of War that he and Oliver H. Perry are to cooperate
and that Harrison is to call upon the Gov's of adjoining states for
militiamen to fill out his force. From Ft Meigs, two parties are sent
out to determine the position of the enemy. One goes by land, the other
by water. They return having heard only some cannon fire from near
Malden. However, late in the evening, British boats could be seen down
the river. July 21st-- A picket guard of 11 men is sent out of Ft Meigs
to a spot 300 yards below the fort. They are surprised by Indians and 7
are killed. The British encamp at old Ft Miamis. Some horses are stolen.
At night new traverses are erected inside Ft Meigs and trenches are
deepened. July 23rd -- A large body of some 800 Indians under the
command of Tecumseh are seen passing up the river, supposedly to attack
Ft Winchester. July 24th-- Col Gaines with 200 men go out of Ft Meigs to
look for the enemy, but see none. The British do send a detachment to
intercept him, but he is back in the fort before the enemy arrive. July
25th-- The British move their camp over the river to the south side
beyond a point of woods which partly conceals them from Ft Meigs. July
26th -- A heavy fire is put n the Sandusky Road by the British about 1
mile from Ft Meigs. This was a sham battle put on by the British and
Indians to lure the Americans from the fort who might think that
reinforcements were being attacked by the enemy. It failed in its
purpose. July 27th-- The British move back across the river to their old
encampment. July 28th -- The British abandon their seige and leave.
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Continued in part 8--