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
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.
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
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.
Schillinger makes no mention of the seriousness of the injury. He wrote only that the man was "wounded" implying it was not fatal.
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.
Let Them Eat Cake
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]
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.
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.”