The Big Freeze - Locating Camp Ellen

         

  

     

On December 4, 1812, two groups of boats left Ft. Barbee carrying supplies to Ft. Wayne.,  The first group, commanded by Capt. Joshua, included 16 large canoes loaded with barrels of flour. The second group was commanded by Captain Joshua assisted by a river pilot named Mr. McClosky.  The second group included 2 larger boats carrying the cargo listed below:

  

·       398 barrels of flour

·       32 barrels whiskey

·       72 barrels salt

·       20 kegs of powder

·       10 kegs lead,

·       1 box of cannister shot

·       several boxes clothing

·       150 cannon balls 

·       10 bushels oats  

·       several boxes of hospital stores. 

·       Iron bars

·       Bars of steel 

·       Coils of rope 

The trip would not be an easy one because of the tremendous number of bends and turns of the St. Marys River.

Bad News General Harrison

The weather December 4, 1812 was balmy and cold but the St. Marys River was still navigable at that point but that was about to change.  Ten days later  Dec. 14th, Major Thomas Bodley wrote General Harrison with the bad news the St. Marys River  was so blocked with ice, driftwood and other debris, the first group of boats were forced to halt at Shane's Crossing, 18 miles from Ft. Barbee (St. Barbee).  The second group of boats met the same fate and were stopped a few miles behind near  General Wayne's old Ft, Adams (1794).  

Because the St. Marys River is so crooked the blockage had cause the water to damn up and overflow its banks for miles, making even the nearby roads impassable.  

Course of Action

It was decided the best course of action was to unload the supplies and store them until the St. Marys River opened.   Captain Jordan and his company at Shane's Crossing stayed secured their boats and cargo while the commander of the second fleet sent word to Gen. Barbee at St. Marys that he needed help. 

Back at Fort Barbee, Capt. David D. McNair and a group of men were ordered to advance to the site of the second group  of boats and help them unload their cargo and build sheds to get the materials undercover.  Because the roads were basically of no use, the assumption is McNair and his men likely used pack horses and sleds to move tarps, lumber and tools to the site. 

Meanwhile at Fort Amanda

In the meantime, Major Bodley suggested to  Gen. Harrison that until the St. Marys River opened up, all supplies being shipped be sent to Fort Amanda because, as he pointed out, 

"The Auglaise is much straighter, has more water, and will not freeze up so soon as the St. Mary's" 

Because of the rapid rise in water Pogue hadn't had time to build more pirogues so the men at Fort Amanda loaded barrels of flour, whiskey, salt and clothing onto rafts and sent them north on the Auglaize to Fort Winchester.   The assumption is the rafts from Amanda and their cargo reached Fort Winchester without incident.

   

Beyond the Call of Duty

One can only imagine how difficult it would have been working in waist high frigid water unloading the boats. b As Major Bodley pointed out in his letter to Harrison, the men were all volunteers and ofen risked their lives to unload and store all the mateirals. 

" no set of men ever exerted themselves more than these have done on this occasion. Mr. McClosky is an experienced water-man, him and many of the crew were often in the water and sometimes risqued their lives. He got in here last night very much fatigued and almost exhausted. 

How Long Were the Boats Frozen In?

While we don't know exactly when the river opened up what we do know is that the men working at the site east of old Fort Adams were still on site on December 19th and they named the site "Camp Ellen. " On December 19th Captain McNair sent the following to Lt. Col. Robert Pogue, Commander at Fort Amanda. 

 Camp Ellen   19^th   December 1812

Col Pogue                                                                     

Dear Sir, I have delivered to ­­­_____ Toby, twenty barrels of flour in     good order for which his receipt has been taken.I hope it will arrive safe.  

I   wish you by the next waggons to send an order for the loading they now  carry and for what they may be able to carry next time.  I have understood   verbally that the provisions were to be carried to Ft. Amanda but of this I   have not been officially notified.  But ­­_____ your order will be sufficient.  I am sir with due respect, your obedient servant        Capt. D. D. McNair

 No records exist telling us what Camp Ellen looked like, but my guess is it was an assortment of makeshift shelters hurridly constructed to protect the materials from the winter conditions.  Because the trip to Ft. Wayne took several days the men either slept on the boats or possibly in tents onshore each night. 

Locating Camp Ellen

Years ago, during a conversation with a friend, I mentioned that I was doing research on Wayne's old Fort Adams in Mercer County. During the conversation he mentioned that he owned property east of Fort Adams and that he had found what looked like a small cannon ball there. Out of curiosity I re-read Bodley's letter to Harrison and saw that they calculated the mileage from Ft. Barbee to where the two groups of boats froze in. The mileage he gave from Ft. Barbee to Shane's Crossing was spot on and to my amazement, the mileage he gave for the site where the second group froze in was on the property belonging to the man who found what looked like a cannister shot. The exact location of Camp Ellen is on private property so for the sake of privacy I will not note it here

How Did This Cannister Shot End Up At Camp Ellen?

 Simple! When you take into consideration the weather conditions, working conditions and the large number of materials unloaded from the boats at Camp Ellen, I think is safe say, "Someone simply dropped it." 

,  398 barrels of flour
· 32 barrels whiskey
· 72 barrels salt
· 20 kegs of powder
· 10 kegs lead,
· 1 box of cannister shot
· several boxes clothing
· 150 cannon balls
· 10 bushels oats
· several boxes of hospital stores.
· Iron bars
· Bars of steel
· Coils of rope

Conclusion

While locating Camp Ellen is of historical interest, hopefully the most notable part of this story is recognizing the sacrifices made and the hardships endured by those young soldiers  in December 1812.  Heroism in wartime is found in many places, and not always on the battlefield.