Thursday, March 5, 2015

Let Them Eat Cake and Deserters


Monday the 19th                                  Weather warm, and Rainy.
A group of eight men were assigned to making cartridges this day while the remainder of the company either worked on boats of tended to miscellaneous chores about the fort.  One of the soldiers went hunting and killed a deer which he brought it back to the fort and shared with Ensign Schillinger.

Asleep On Guard Duty

 Tuesday the 20th                                 Showers with Lightening & some heavy thunder
Sleeping during a rainstorm can be very restful but doing it while you are on guard duty isn’t a good idea.  Seems men falling asleep while on sentry duty was becoming a major problem at Ft. Amanda.  While making his rounds the night before, Sgt. Swing caught Private Archibald Job[1] sleeping while standing guard.  He reported the incident to Major Kain who immediately ordered Job to be arrested and placed in confinement.  A few days earlier, John Hamilton had been caught sleeping on sentry duty and he had been confined to quarters for the past several days.  Before leaving the fort that day, General Wingate had him released from custody and ordered him returned to duty.  Apparently Wingate thought he had learned his lesson. 

 Wednesday the 21st                           Weather cool and Raining
Because the weather wasn’t suitable for regular work duties outside, the men, once again, spent the day making cartridges. The amount of rainfall the past 3 days must have been significant as Schillinger commented in his journal about the River being high.

Thursday the 22nd                                Weather cloudy with some light Showers
Thursday morning, Schillinger was told to select another man in the company, hitch up a team of packhorses, go to St. Marys and bring back some supplies.  He was given a letter to hand carry to General Wingate.  Schillinger and his companion left Amanda around 9:30 that morning, and arrived at St. Marys around 3:00 that afternoon.   Getting late in the day, the two decided to stay the night at St. Marys.  Traveling after dark in 1813 could be treacherous especially since there was no light pollution at that time and on this particular day, very little moonlight. It wasn’t at all uncommon for serious injuries or even deaths to occur as a result of people and/or animals falling into ditches, into wells, ponds, streams, even off cliffs simply because they couldn’t see where they were going.  In fact, during the middle ages parents invented the “Boogey Man” to discourage their children from venturing outside after dark

 Friday the 23rd                                               This morning Heavy Showers with Thunder
After the heavier rains stopped, Schillinger and his comrade loaded their supplies on the packhorses and left St. Marys around 10:30 that morning, arriving back at the fort around 4:30 that afternoon.  After delivering some letters to Major Kain, Schillinger went across the river and helped push a boat off that had been grounded on the shore.  Later that day, Major Kain released Archibald Jobs from his 3 day confinement for sleeping on guard duty.  

Close Call

Saturday Apr 24th                               This morning Clear and Pleasant
Saturday morning’s weather was a welcomed reprieve from the past several days of rain and storms.  After breakfast, Schillinger and a group of men went across the river and helped turn another boat for Capt. Perry.  Around 4:00 that afternoon, a company of regulars and a company Frontier Medicine

  Schillinger helped administer medicines throughout the day to the sick men at Amanda.  A number of them had reported sick at morning muster most likely suffering from the flu, colds, strep throat or bronchitis.   In 1813, Medical practices, particularly on the frontier were still in their infancy stage and more often than not, individuals had to depend on home remedies derived from nature.   The most common types of remedies involved practices such as administering emetics to induce vomiting, laxatives and bloodletting.
To induce vomiting, the men were given a tartar emetic consisting of warm water and honey. If a laxative was needed, a mixture of calomel, jalap, nitre, Peruvian bark, and snake root were taken orally.  Enemas were also a common remedy if one was needed. of spy’s arrived at the fort on their way to headquarters near the Rapids.  After a brief stop for rest and supplies they continued on their way. 
In addition to the soldiers, the government hired contracors to help boats.  Captain Perry was the overseer of the boat construction site.  Some if not all of the men working on boats across the river apparently carried loaded weapons.  At the end of each work day, the guns were fired so as to avoid an accidental discharge.  While they were in the act of clearing or firing their weapons, named Wilson was accidently shot.  Schillinger’s entry for the day reads:

this evening the party of men that came on to build boats at this place while mustering and in the act of firing wounded one of the party by Name…Wilson Such is the case that men cannot foresee.  The ills ahead, or from them they would flee and be more steady.

Schillinger makes no mention of the seriousness of the injury.  He wrote only that the man was "wounded" implying it was not fatal.  


Let Them Eat Cake

Sunday the 25th of April 1813                        This morning clear and pleasant
Monday was another interesting day at Ft. Amanda.  Around 4:00 in the afternoon, 700 Kentucky militiamen under the command of Col. William Dudley arrived at Amanda and set up their encampment ½ miles north of the fort.[2]They probably picked that site over the commons south of the fort due to the recent heavy rains and high water that would have flooded that area.
Shortly after arriving, 33 year old William Ellis, Quartermaster for Dudley’s regiment went to the fort to draw some provisions for his regiment.  An interesting verbal exchange took place between Ensign Schillinger and Quartermaster Ellis that is worth noting.  Paraphrasing the discussion:

(Ellis) “The meat you’re giving us is not good enough for my men.” 

(Schillinger) “Well, it’s good enough for our men and the
contractors working on the boats to eat.”

 (Ellis)"Well let them eat it, I’ll find something better for our men.”   

Bloodletting was another brutal yet common practice that had been used for centuries.   The procedure called for the patient to place his arm over a basin used to collect the blood.  A device resembling a pocket knife with spade shaped cutting blades was then used to cut a vein in the wrist and a pint or so of blood drawn off.  The more serious the illness, the more blood was taken.  It was thought that doing so would help rid the body of disease.  Unfortunately it wasn’t uncommon for the patients to die from a lack of blood rather than the illness for which they were being treated. 

Did the Doctors Kill George Washington

In 1799 George Washington was suffering from a severe throat infection and asked physicians that he be bled “heavily.” Adult human beings typically have 10 pints of blood and according to The Red Cross it takes 4 – 6 weeks for red blood cells to be completely replaced after giving just one pint of blood.  During a 10 hour period a total of 125 ounces of blood (abt. 8 pints) were bled from the ailing Washington.  He died a short time later.    The question still lingers to this day; “Did George Washington die from the throat infection or lack of blood?”    You decide.
Meanwhile Near Toledo British ships had entered Maumee Bay near Toledo.   Soldiers and artillery had been put ashore and the enemy was advancing toward Ft. Meigs.

Monday the 26 of April
Lt. Davis returned from Ft. Logan with a boat loaded with 50 barrels of flour.   Around 4:00 that afternoon Capt. Hosbrook returned to the fort.  He was sent home 21 days earlier so he could recuperate from an illness.      He brought with him a large number of letters and packages from families who lived nearby.  Schillinger received five letters from his wife Alasanna, two from his brother-in-law and one from his friend Ensign McGaughy.  Meanwhile across the river, the contractors continued their work building boats while the men at Amanda spent the day moving supplies down to the river’s edge.  

 Tuesday the 27th                                           This morning Showery

Despite the rain, the men continued their work loading boats.  Around 9:00 that morning, Capt. Price and his company of regulars along with Mr. Picket, commissary agent for Ft. Amanda loaded into boats and started down the river toward Ft. Jennings.  The little flotilla consisted of seven boats of various sizes. 
Around 2:00 that afternoon, Mr. Picket, returned to Amanda with the unpleasant news that two of the boats that had pushed off earlier that morning had sunk.  One was loaded with barrels of flour and the other with barrels of whiskey, both very important commodities.  

The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming
The British Are Coming, the British Are Coming
While all was relatively quiet at Ft. Amanda events were unfolding near Ft. Meigs leading up to one of the greatest defeats of American forces during the entire war. British ships had anchored 2 miles east of Ft. Meigs, near old Ft. Miami and men and materials were being put ashore.     A short time later, the enemy marched along the north side of the Maumee River and halted across the river from Ft. Meigs where they began building gun batteries.  On April 28th, expecting an attack, General Harrison, dispatched Capt. William Oliver to find General Clay and tell him to advance with all speed.  He ordered that all future orders would be communicated orally to avoid falling into enemy hands.  Clay and his troops including Dudley’s regiment were at that very moment, somewhere between Ft. Jennings and Ft. Defiance.  Oliver, along with two other men and a Delaware Indian set out immediately to warn Clay of pending attack.  

Dead Men Walking

Meanwhile, Schillinger and another group of men were busy weighing meat for the Kentucky regiment who were also scheduled to leave Amanda that day.  Apparently Quartermaster Ellis, of Dudley’s regiment, the man who refused the meat a day earlier had a change of mind and decided to accept it. 
Finally, with last minute preparations complete, Dudley’s regiment left Amanda marching by land toward Ft. Jennings with the hopes of arriving there before sundown.  Unbeknownst to anyone, within a few days, more than half of the men on that march would either be dead, wounded or taken prisoner by the British and their Indian allies. 

Wednesday the 28th 1813                               Heavy rain and Thunder
The light rains from the day before turned to heavy downpours with thunder and lightning making routine fatigue duties around the fort nearly impossible.  Instead, the men spent the day making cartridges.  Two Indians who had been spying near the area of the River Raisin came to the fort and reported they had discovered the scalped bodies of five soldiers between the Rapids and the River Raisin sight of Winchesters battle and massacre in February.[3] 

Thursday the 29                                              This morning heavy Showers
Schillinger’s entry for the day was a brief mention of the weather and the comment, “nothing particular today.”  Nothing particular at Ft. Amanda perhaps, but 100 miles to the north British were on the move.

 Friday the 30                                      Clear & cool
The rain had stopped and the weather had turned cooler so Ensign Schillinger and Mr. Picket, the commissary agent spent the day indoors working on reconciling the records of the number of provisions drawn by Holbrook’s company during the period March 1st to May 1st.   Their job for the day was basically; balancing the books.  The rains the past several days had made the area around the fort a muddy quagmire so very little routine work such as emptying camp tubs and digging sinks had gone undone.  Camp tubs were basically garbage cans where soldiers disposed of animal bones, scraps and other filth.  The materials were either buried or simply thrown into the river.  An equally unpleasant bit necessary task was that of performing routine maintenance on the sinks (latrines). 
   
Where Are the Toilets?
It is probably safe to assume that the last thing on a readers mind when reading about frontier forts is “Where were the toilets.”  The military prides itself on regulations, and it was no different in 1813. There were even regulations on where to place the sinks (latrines).   
The placement of latrines was a serious matter for obvious reasons including health issues so the specifications for construction and placement were documented and enforced. 
First of all, regulations required that sinks or latrines be dug outside the fort walls and placed at least 100 yards away from the main camp.   They were typically nothing more than a slit trench six feet long, three feet wide and 4 or 5 feet deep.  The more elaborate or sinks had upright poles lashed together in the shape of an “X” placed at each end of the trench with another pool lashed to them that spanned its length.  This provided a seat of sorts. After each use, the men were expected to cover their “deposits” with a layer of dirt.  
I have read stories about pranks enlisted men pulled on officers at the latrine.  One involved sawing the "seat" partially through so that when the man sat down on it, or moved suddenly, it snapped.  I wonder if that's where the term, "down in the dumps" came from.  Pardon me, I regressed.  Another involved wrapping the pelt of a porcupine around the seat so when an unsuspecting person sat on it, well, you get the picture. 

At Ft. Meigs, the men were prohibited from going outside the fort to use sinks after the gates were closed.  The same rule probably held true at Ft. Amanda.  To compensate, the men used chamber pots or buckets.
Specific instructions on the care and maintenance of sinks were outlined in a general order issued at Ft. Meigs in 1813.  It read in part:
                         
“Sinks must be made (outside) the pickets to be used in the day and others within to be used at night and for the sick always.  The filth about the camp must be immediately cleaned up.  Each Corps must attend to that part which it occupies and such others as may be assigned to it by the principle Quartermaster.  Any Person after 3 o’clock this evening who shall be found easing himself in any other way than in a sink either in or outside of the pickets shall be made to do the duty of a camp color man and employed in removing the filth for one week.”


While there are no records telling us where the latrines at Amanda were located, geography and the need for expediency provides the modern “latrine hunter” with some valuable clues.  During the period of occupancy at Ft. Amanda (possibly 3 years or more), a large number of latrines would have been needed during that time.  More than likely a special area was designated for latrines rather than placing them helter skelter around the area, this of course done to minimize the possibility of accidently finding an abandoned one that wasn’t “properly abandoned.”  To the northwest of the fort is a deep and wide ravine which would require a man working in the fort to walk nearly a quarter of a mile to use the latrine, thus not geographically and certainly not expediency friendly. Northwest of the fort is a deep embankment leading down to the river; again, not geographically friendly.  The area to the west and southwest of the fort was a high traffic area so that wouldn’t be a good spot for latrines nor would the area southeast of the fort where the ramp leading down to the river is located.  The only logical spot is the area directly south of the fort and west of where the animal pens and corrals were located.  That would make them both geographically and expediency friendly as well as air quality friendly if you get my meaning.    





[1]Biography
[2] The area was just north of Ft. Amanda-Deep Cut road. 
[3] Monroe, Michigan

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