Fort Jennings - He Called Col. Jennings Bluff

Twenty miles to the north on the west bank of the Auglaize River, Lt. Col. Jennings  Jennings was putting on the finishing touches to his fortification which he named after himself.  Once described as having a “domineering manner and a  tremendously loud and powerful voice,”   Jennings was a well educated individual who was highly respected for his successes in civilian life and envied for the huge personal library in his home, and despite the personality flaws of his temper and gruff nature, Jennings was a war hero long before the War of 1812. 

Lt. Col. William Jennings – Loud, Boisterous and Domineering But a Hero None the Less

Lt. Col. William Jennings
1771 - 1831
Retired University of Wisconsin professor
William Williamson says this portrait has
been passed down through his family
for generations

The 42 year old Lt. Col. Williams Jennings, commander of the Second Regiment of Kentuck Volunteer Militia was an interesting individual. He was born on Jan. 9,1771 near Farquier, Virginia.  

When Jennings was 19 years old he joined a militia unit attached to Josiah Harmars army in 1790.  He was later wounded in a battle near Kekionga (Ft. Wayne, Ind).  In 1791, he served as a lieutenant in Captain Jesse Richardson’s Mounted Volunteers attached to St. Cairs army and was wounded at what has come to be known as “St. Clairs defeat” on November 4, 1791.  Three years later, Jennings married a woman named Nancy Ballinger.  In 1812, Jennings once again heard the call to duty and he along with Pogue and Barbee brought their regiments to Ohio.

Harrison had ordered Jennings to build a road from St. Marys to Waynes old Ft. Defiance and to build a fort midway.  If you recall, on getting word that a large enemy force was then at Ft. Defiance, Jennings halted and began building a fortification which he later named for himself, Ft. Jennings. Several of Pogues and Barbees companies had been sent to Ft. Jennings to assist in building of boats there.

It was during this time that an interesting exchange took place between Jennings and a young 28 year old Captain named Micha Taul. It was a well known fact that Jennings was a proud and loud individual with a bad temper and Taul experienced it firsthand.

Captain Micha Taul
1785 - 1850

Tauls commander, Lt. Col. Barbee was in St. Marys at the time and had ordered Taul to escort a supply wagon train to Jennings encampment. His orders were that once the supplies had been delivered, the men were to return to St. Marys. Taul, having heard storied about Jennings temper, had the foresight to get Barbee’s orders about returning in writing. Upon his arrival at Jennings encampment, Taul informed Jennings that he had orders to return to Ft. Barbee and that he and his men would be leaving in the morning.

Apparently Jennings did not appreciate a mere Captain telling him what he was going to do or not do so he told Taul in no uncertain terms that he would tell him when he could leave and not until then. Taul wrote in later years that he laid in bed and worried all night about what he should do. On one hand his commander had ordered him to return and Jennings had ordered him to stay. During the night he made up his mind.

The following morning, Taul had his men form up and prepare to return to St. Marys. As they were advancing toward the gate, they saw Jennings sitting on a stump. As they approached, Jennings in a loud and as Taul described it, “a stentorian voice,” so everyone could hear, asked Taul where he was going. Taul reminded him that he had orders to return to St. Marys and continue toward the gate. Jennings called on the Adjutant of his regiment threatening Taul with force if he continued. Ignoring the threat, Taul and his men continued past Jennings. Making matters worse, not only had Taul disobeyed him, Jennings own men cheered Taul and his group as they passed through the gate. Jennings later tried to have Taul court-marshaled but nothing came of it.

Micha Taul described Jennings as “a proud, vainglorious, and self-willed man, foolishly puffed up with being commandant of a regiment, and that, too, at a separate post. He was unpopular with his regiment, and I knew it.” Despite their differences, the two men met several years later at a tavern in Cincinnati and as Taul later wrote about their meeting, they “settled their argument very amicably.”