Commander at Fort Jennings
During the War of 1812, there was a great deal of interactions between the captains at Amanda, Jennings and Defiance, both in terms of sharing information and supplies. Captain McHenry, like Hosbrook and Seton was a key player in the movement of men and supplies to the north during the war, and like the hundreds of men who served at their forts, their names remained unknown (until recently). The purpose of this blog is not only to share information about their forts, but about the men and women who served them. What follows is what I've learned about Captain Van McHenry (so far).
The Man
Van McHenry, the 40 year old commander at Ft. Jennings on the Auglaize, was born in 1773 in Hampshire Virginia the son of Joseph and Rebecca McHenry. McHenry married Catherine Huron (b. 1778) in 1798 and together they had 4 children. The McHenry family eventually moved to Crosby Township in Hamilton County, Oh and bought property on River Road ¾ miles north of the village of New Baltimore, Oh. Van McHenry, a farmer when the War of 1812 broke out, was commissioned as a captain in the Ohio militia. McHenry’s company was called to active duty along with Captain Thomas Seton and Captain Daniel Hosbrook. The three companies assembled in Cincinnati the first week of February 1813 and marched to Fort Amanda, arriving there on March 1, 1813. Hosbrook’s remained at Fort Amanda, while Seton’s moved on to fort Defiance and McHenry’s to Fort Jennings the following day.. 
Site of Ft. Jennings, Fort Jennings, Ohio
Captain
Van McHenry’s Company at Fort Jennings
March
– August (1813)
Van McHenry Captain
William Thomas Lieutenant
Jonothan Markland Ensign
Thomas D. Wheelan 1st Sergeant
Justice Gibbs
Sgt. Conrad
Plow Sgt. Gad Waggoner Sgt.
James Armstrong CorP Charles
Stephens Corp. Richard Campbell Corp.
Samuel Dodson Corp.
PRIVATES PRIVATES PRIVATES
Arnold, William Bavis,
James Burnett,
Daniel
Boyer, Sweden Chaisman,
Henry Cox,
Benjamin B.
Campbell, William F. Davis,
Thomas Freedly,
John
Ford, William Fenton,
Jacob Frazer,
Samuel
Frasier, David Frost,
John Herrin,
Beverly
Harcourt, Enoch Howard, Phillip Hartman, Joseph
Ingersol, Joseph Ireland,
Moses Jacobs,
John
Longfellow, Thomas Lancaster,
John F. Marshall,
James
Miller, Frederick Mitchel,
William Millholland, William
DuMont, Peter Marshall,
William Merril,
Adam
Mizner, Jacob Norris,
Caleb Nugin,
Thomas
Olendorf, Frederick Plow,
Phillip Posy,
Armsted
Richardson, Jacob Risner,
John Stout,
Andrew S.
Sargent, John Stout,
Thomas T. Smith,
William
Shupe, Daniel Stewart,
Charles Sherwin, William
Scogin, Eli Tollar, Asa Tebow, Uriah
Torrence, John C. Taylor, Cornelius Taylor, Henry
Veach, John Willey, George Wilkinson, Joel
Wallis, Aaron Walden, James
References to McHenry
The ensign in Hosbrook’s company, William Schillinger, kept a journal during his 6 months service at Fort Amanda. What follows are partial excerpts for his daily journal entries in which he mentions McHenry.
Monday March the 1, 1813 Weather cool & cloudy. some Snow this evening
By mid-morning, most of the Kentuckians had left the fort and were on their way home. A few remained behind waiting for friends and relatives returning from the northern forts. Schillinger spent his day issuing orders, assigning work parties and getting ready for the arrival of the rest of his company. Around 4 o’clock that afternoon, Major Daniel Kain along with Capt.’s Hosbrook, Van McHenry, Thomas Seton and their companies numbering approximately 200 men arrived at the fort where Schillinger turned over command to Major Kain. With less than two hours of daylight left, work parties were sent into the nearby woods and gather up firewood for the campsite. A light snow that had begun to fall earlier in the afternoon had become much heavier and it continued throughout the night.
Tuesday the 2nd weather clear & cool
Around 11 o’clock that morning, Capt. McHenry and his company started for Ft. Jennings seventeen miles to the north. Capt. Seton’s company left a short time later, headed for Ft. Winchester, fifty two miles to the north. Later that afternoon a group of Kentucky soldiers from Capt. Belts Company at Ft. Winchester and some from Ft. Jennings arrived at Amanda on their way home and joined their comrades inside the fort.
They, along with the few remaining men from of Capt. Wards Company must have decided a celebration was in order and judging from Schillinger comments in his journal the following day, it must have been quite the affair.
Thursday the 11 Morning Rain evening Heavy rain with Thunder & Lightening.
While one group of men was at work on the new smokehouse, another was started work removing the oats and corn that had been stored in the south blockhouse. Like the other blockhouses, the chinking between the logs needed repaired and the port holes had yet to be cut.
Early in the afternoon two men from Ft. Findlay a man named Mr. Rock and a companion came to Amanda to borrow some axes and other tools. They loaded them into a boat and started downriver mid-afternoon. The warming temperatures had caused some of the ice on the Auglaize to break up and melt and as a result, the water was very high with a fast current.
Around 4 o’clock the men returned to the fort saying they thought it too dangerous to continue on. A short time later, a man from Ft. Jennings, came to Amanda to pick up some of Capt. McHenry’s and Capt. Seton’s personal belongings. He reported that the ice on the river had broken. The two men from Ft. Findlay, feeling it was still too dangerous to use the river decided to spend the night there and leave the next morning. As it turned out, they made a good decision. Later that afternoon a heavy rain with thunder and lightning came into the area and had they decided to start back their trip would have been a long cold wet one.
Tuesday the 30th of March
Private Leming didn’t return during the night so Schillinger and six other men were sent to look for him. They’d gone about two miles when they found him in the company of two other men from Ft Jennings. Leming explained that he’d met the men on his way back to Amanda and they told him they were also going there. Because it was getting late they camped along the trail that night. Schillinger doesn’t mention the issue any further but one has to wonder if he was disciplined in some fashion for causing an alarm. Also returning to the fort that day was the orderly sergeant who had gone to Ft. Winchester. With him was Dr. Albron Crowe, regimental surgeon for the First Regiment of Ohio Militia along and two men from Capt. Seton’s Company. At 5 o’clock that evening, Ensign Markland of Capt. McHenry’s company at Ft. Jennings came to the fort by boat towing four empty canoes to pick up some provisions for the men at Jennings.
NOTE: During one of their conversations, Markland confided in Schillinger that rumors were being spread about the character of Capt. McHenry, Markland’s company commander. Schillinger doesn’t elaborate on the nature of those rumors but he apparently thought it was serious enough to write a letter to McHenry advising him of the situation.
Reference to rumors being spread about Captain McHenry
(top of page)
Sunday Morning the 16th May Clear & Cool
After breakfast, the men lined up to receive their one month’s pay. Schillinger received his pay plus $15 subsistence money. Col. Orr then paid the civilian workers who had come to Amanda to help build boats. They were being released from duty and returning to their homes. Orr, Jenkinson and McDonald left for St. Marys in the afternoon. Being a day of rest Schillinger spent his afternoon writing a letter to his wife.
During the night, two of men deserted at Ft. Jennings. Apparently they had planned to leave shortly after they had received their pay. As of this date, there had been desertions from Forts Logan, Jennings, Winchester and Amanda.
The standard practice for dealing with deserters was to post notices in local newspapers, sometimes offering rewards for information leading to their capture. McHenry had the following notice placed in Saturday edition of “The Western Spy” newspaper Vol. III No. 141 It read:
Capt. McHenry reports two deserters, Adam Merrill (a substitute in the place of Job Hayhurst, “a noted fiddler” and shoemaker) and John Stauton (from Dayton, a substitute for Uriah Teahowe.
Sunday the 25th July Very warm
Jonathan Markland, Ensign from McHenry’s Company at Ft. Jennings came to Amanda this day. Schillinger noted that Markland was sick but he doesn’t elaborate but more than likely it was the measles. Schillinger spent part of his day writing letters, one to his wife Alasanna and one to his father-in-law Nathaniel Armstrong.
Meanwhile the second attack at Ft. Meigs was underway. Stinging from the first failed attack, Tecumseh insisted that General Procter attack it again. His plan was to create a diversion to diversion to draw troops outside the fort where they could be cut off as they did to Dudley’s force in May. The Indians created a sham battle with all the noise of a fight giving the impression they had cut off a replacement detachment coming to Meigs. Despite pressure from some of the officers to go to their help, General Clay resisted the temptation to send troops out. That action saved the day.
Friday the 30th this morning clear
Three of the men in Hosbrook Company were still very sick. Two were placed on wagons and a third on a cart and transported to St. Marys At 4 o’clock that afternoon, Sgt. Wheelan of Capt. Van McHenry’s company at Ft. Jennings came to the fort and informed them that the Indians had wounded Kentucky militia Capt. Isaac Gray a short distance from Ft. Defiance. Gray had been shot in the arm and later lost the use of it.
After the War
Little is known about McHenry after the war other than he lived out his life on the family farm near New Baltimore. McHenry’s wife Catherine died on the family farm north of New Baltimore in 1829. She was just 51 years of age. He later married a woman named Nancy. McHenry’s last will and testament, dated October 20, 1836 reads:
“I, Van McHenry, of the Township of Crosby in the County of Hamilton and the State of Ohio, being far advanced in years and in a weak and low state of health, have thought proper to make and publish this my last Will and Testament. Rejoining my soul to my wonderful Redeemer and my body to the dust, to be decently buried at the discretion of my executors. And as to what worldly estate God has been pleased to bestow upon me in this life, I dispose of the same in manner and form following that is to pay:
Firstly, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Nancy, two feather beds and bedding such as she may choose or see proper to select, also my bay mare, woman's saddle and bridle, also my two cows and all my hogs, and one hundred fifty dollars in money and such cooking utensils as she may choose to select, and such as she may choose to select, also my corner cupboard and bureau, also all the furniture belonging to the same cupboard, also, I give unto her during her natural life the use of the two north rooms or bedrooms in my Dwelling house and all the woodland south of the Road leading to New Baltimore for the purpose of furnishing her with necessary finances during her natural life and also with one third of all the produce that may be raised on my farm during her natural life, together with one third of the pasture which may grow grain, orchard farm and as many apples as she may choose to make use of out of the orchard farm and all the small grain now in stock at the barn which my son, Amos, delivered me for rent the present year and also all the rent that my son, Amos, and Edward Burrough is to deliver me the present year, also with a suitable piece of ground near the dwelling house for a garden.
Secondly, I give unto my daughter, Phoebe McHenry, two feather beds with five horse made blankets or coverlets or bed quilts to each bed.
Thirdly, I give and bequeath to my son, Joseph H. McHenry, one (bay) horse, known by the name of Chocteau, and my house and three lots in New Baltimore.
Fourthly, I give and bequeath unto my son, Amos N McHenry, my (bay) horse and all my farm north of the road leading to New Baltimore, together with all the (improved?) land on said farm lying south of the aforesaid road, provided he pays on (delivery) my widow during her natural life one third of all the produce that may be raised on said farm, the wheat, rice, or oats to be delivered in the (stack) near the barn on said farm. Also, I give and bequeath to him after the decease of my widow, all the woodland that I have set apart for her use during her natural life.
Fifthly and lastly, the residue and remainder of my personal property not before disposed of, I order and direct my Executors as soon as it is convenient after my decease to sell at (Vendor, New due) and the proceeds of the same to apply to the payment of my funeral expenses, and lawful debts. I hereby renouncing and revoking all other and former wills by me made, and
I do also hereby appoint my two sons, Joseph H. McHenry and Amos N. McHenry to be my executors of this, my last Will and Testament, in witness whereof I have hereto set my hand and seal this twentieth day of October in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Thirty Six.
Van McHenry (seal) signed, sealed and declared by the testator to be his last
Van McHenry (seal) signed, sealed and declared by the testator to be his last
Will and Testament.”
The 63 year old McHenry stated in his will that he was “far advanced in years and in a weak and low state of health,” The exact date of his death is unknown, however it was probably later that year of 1837
The McHenry family cemetery was established on Oct. 9, 1807 on the east side of River Road, ½ mile northeast of the village of New Baltimore. Captain Van McHenry, his wives Catherine and Nancy rest peacefully side by side in the cemetery on River road.
GPS: N39°16'15.48”,W84°39'34.24”
1847 Map of Crosby Township, Hamilton County Ohio
Showing Van McHenrys Home and Gravesite
Little remains of the cemetery other than a roadside pull off. A check of the cemetery on Oct. 28, 1 986 showed that only 2 tombstones remained intact; those of Van Buren McHenry (the Captains grandson) and someone (probably a daughter) named Rebecca Holland.
Son Joseph McHenry married Nancy Pottinger and both he and his wife rest forever in the Miamitown cemetery 6 miles to the northeast, plot: section 1; lot 45.
Like Captains Hosbrook at Amanda and Seton at Defiance, McHenry was a hero. The 3 men, relatively unknown to or forgotten by history created something that while no longer visible to the eye, remain in our minds to remind us of the sacrifices the 3 men made for our country and the history they created for us to enjoy.
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