The Accidental Killing of George Washington

The Accidental Killing of George Washington ?



Life Mask of George Washington made 14 years before his death in 1799

Note: This blog describes the agonizing death of George Washington. This is an updated post from a couple years ago. Since then and I've discovered new and interesting information as well as several new pictures I thought you might enjoy. My next blog will contain interesting details of his funeral.

George Washington was a large and powerful man. He stood 6 feet 3 inches tall and in later life weighed more than 200 pounds. He wore large shoes (size 13), and stood with an erect military bearing. His face was long with high cheekbones, and he had a large, straight nose, a firm chin, and blue eyes beneath heavy brows.

The Ordeal Begins

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1799 - Washington noted in his diary that “at night a large circle was a round the moon.” This was a prediction of approaching snow. Washington then retired for the evening in as good a state of health as he had ever known. Little did he realize that the prediction would come true and this event would translate into his death three days later.

10 a.m. - Thursday, Dec. 12, 1799 - Washington rode out to inspect his farm. He returned to bed exhausted. Dr. Craik arrived from Alexandra at 11 a.m. He had been Washington’s personal physician for more than 40 years. The two men were together during the French and Indian War and the entire American Revolution.

1 p.m. - A heavy snow began to fall. A harsh northeast wind broke open, and for two hours it rained, snowed and hailed.

3 p.m. - 67-year-old Washington returned to Mount Vernon,, soaked to the bone. His hair, neck and shoulders were covered with snow. To make matters worse, he refused to change his clothes. During the night, three more inches of snow fell. It was a heavy, wet snow that clung to the ground. It snowed so much Washington omitted his usual ride around Mount Vernon. He also began complaining about a sore throat.

Noon - Friday, Dec. 13, The sun broke out and Washington decided, sore throat or not, he was going to work outside. He spent most of the afternoon walking through the wet snow, standing in the freezing weather, marking trees he wanted cut down. He finished his afternoon work and returned home for supper. He ate a hearty meal and noticed that his throat was getting worse, but regarded it as nothing unusual.

7 p.m. - following supper, Mr. and Mrs. Washington, along with Tobias Lear, Washington's personal secretary, were sitting in the parlor reading the newspapers that had arrived in the afternoon mail.

      

Martha Washington                            Col. Tobias Lear
1731 - 1802                                            1762 - 1867


9 p.m. - Mrs. Washington left the parlor, but Washington and Lear continued reading. Time passed and eventually Washington made another reference about his sore throat and that it was really beginning to bother him. Lear suggested a home remedy treatment be made ready, but Washington brushed it off saying, “No, you know I never take anything for a cold. Let it go as it came.”

Between 2 and 3 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 - Washington woke Martha. He tried to explain to her he was ill, but he could hardly speak. He had a fever and his breathing was labored. Mrs. Washington suggested she summon Lear for help, but Washington, fearing she would also catch the cold, forbade her to leave the bed. Martha had only recently recovered from a cold herself.

7 a.m. - just after daybreak, Caroline, the chambermaid, entered the Washington’s’ bedroom to make a fire. Martha told Caroline to go and get Lear at once. Lear dressed quickly and went to Washington, now breathing with great difficulty and almost unable to talk. Lear was at a loss for what to do. The nearest physician was miles away and Washington required immediate treatment. Finally, Washington struggled to speak and told Lear to send word to Washington’s Union Farm and get Albin Rawlins to come and bleed him. Rawlins, one of Washington’s farm overseers, was learned in the practice of veterinary work and blood letting.

SIDE NOTE: Blood letting was the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluids were regarded as “humours" that had to remain in proper balance to maintain health. It is claimed to have been the most common medical practice performed by surgeons from antiquity until the late 19th century, a span of over 2,000 years.

Fleam

A Blood Letting Instrument

For hundreds of years barbers offered a range of services in addition to haircuts and shaves. They included bloodletting, cupping, tooth extractions, lancing and even amputations.

The modern striped barber’s pole harkens back to the bloodstained towels that would hang outside the offices of these “barber-surgeons.”


Albin Rawlins arrived and went immediately to Washington’s room. Rawlins was very nervous at being asked to bleed Washington, but the ex-president looked at Rawlins with a kind expression and whispered, “Don’t be afraid.” Rawlins proceeded to make an incision in Washington’s upper arm. Mrs. Washington had grave doubt about the effectiveness of this treatment and bedded Rawlins not to take too much blood. Washington, however, was adamant that as much blood as needed be taken and instructed Lear to tie a tourniquet around his arm to help the flow of blood. In the first bleeding 12 – 14 oz. of blood was taken.

Following the procedure, Col. Lear gave the patient a tonic of molasses, butter and vinegar, which nearly choked Washington to death, so inflamed were the beefy-red tissues of his infected throat.

After the first bleeding, Lear tried to bathe Washington’s throat externally with a remedy called sal volatile. He soaked a piece of flannel in the solution and wrapped it around Washington’s neck. Then he bathed Washington’s feet in warm water. Nothing helped.

At the same time, Lear dispatched a servant with a note to Dr. James Craik of Alexandria. Dr. Craik was nine miles away; the note implored the physician to come as soon as possible. At this time, the first home remedy was tried on Washington. A mixture of molasses, vinegar and butter was concocted as a tonic to soothe the raw throat. Washington attempted to swallow it; he almost suffocated.

Dr. James Craik

1727 - 1814

8 a.m. - Washington got out of bed, dressed, and was helped to a chair by the fire in the hope that some movement and activity might help. Washington received no relief and between 8 and 9 a.m., a greatly alarmed Martha sent Cyrus, a house servant, for Dr. Gustavus Brown of Port Tobacco. Dr. Craik had told Martha in the past to call Dr. Brown in an emergency.

Dr. Gustavus Brown

1747 - 1804

9:30 a.m. - another bloodletting of 18 ounces was performed followed by a similar withdrawal at 11 a.m. At noon, an enema was administered. Attempts at gargling with a sage tea, laced with vinegar were unsuccessful but Washington was still strong enough to walk about his bedroom for a bit and to sit upright in an easy chair for a few hours. His real challenge was breathing once he returned to lying flat on his back in bed.

11 a.m. - Dr. Craik arrived from Alexandra. He had been Washington’s personal physician for more than 40 years. The two men were together during the French and Indian War and the entire American Revolution. Dr. Craik bled Washington a second time and made a blister of powdered cantharides to put on his throat. The doctor also prepared a gargle of vinegar and sage tea, as well as a steaming mixture of vinegar and hot water for him to inhale. The gargle almost suffocated Washington, and although a little phlegm came up, the treatments were failures.

Alarmed by Washington’s failure to respond to treatment, Dr. Craik sent word for Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick to come to Mount Vernon as a consultant. Dr. Dick was also a prominent physician as well as the Worshipful Mater of Alexandria Lodge #22 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of which Washington was a member.

Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick

1750 - 1825

After taking the medical history, he applied a painful “blister of cantharides,” better known as “Spanish fly,” to Washington’s throat. The idea behind this tortuous treatment was based on a humoral notion of medicine dating back to antiquity called “counter-irritation.” The blisters raised by this toxic stuff would supposedly draw out the deadly humors causing the General’s throat inflammation.

3 and 3:30 p.m. - Dr. Craik ordered another bleeding. This time, 32 ounces were removed even though Elisha Cullen Dick, the second physician to arrive at Mount Vernon, objected to such a heroic measure.

Dr. Dick arrived and Washington was bled for a third time. This time the bleeding was slow, thick and sluggish, yet produced more than 30 ounces of blood, but to no avail. Now Washington could swallow nothing.

4 p.m. - Gustavus Richard Brown, arrived the mansion. He, Dr. Craik and Dr. Dick concluded Washington was suffering from “quinsy” (the old name for a severe case of tonsillitis). Dr. Dick made a radical suggestion that a tracheotomy be performed, but the other two physicians vetoed this lifesaving procedure. Brown then suggested a dose of calomel (mercurous chloride) and a tartar emetic (antimony potassium tartrate), guaranteed to make the former president vomit with a vengeance.

4:30 p.m. - Washington called for Martha to come to his bedside. He instructed his wife to get two wills. When she returned with the documents, Washington gave her one copy, which he said was useless, and instructed her to burn it. The other will he told her to use after his death. Martha placed he will in her closet for safekeeping

5 p.m. - After the fourth bloodletting, 16 ounces were removed Washington appeared to rally somewhat. Washington was simply helpless. The physicians were doing everything they could, but nothing was working. Soon enough, he was again struggling for air. He told Dr. Craik: “Doctor, I die hard; but I am not afraid to go; I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it; my breath can not last long.” Ever the gentleman, even in extremis, the General made a point of thanking all three doctors for their help.

5:30 p.m.- .He got up for half an hour. Dr. Dick and Dr. Brown came into the room as Lear was helping him up. Washington looked at the men and said, “I feel myself going. I thank you for your attention, but I pray you take no more trouble about me. Let me go off quickly. I cannot last long.”

8 p.m.- blisters of cantharides were applied to his feet, arms and legs while wheat poultices were placed upon his throat with little improvement.

10 p.m. - Washington mustered all his strength and gave Lear one final set of instructions: “I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead.” Lear stood speechless. “Do you understand?” Washington demanded. Lear responded he would do as Washington asked. Then Washington, seemingly content, said, “Tis well.” Those were the great man’s last words.

A fourth physician, William Thornton (who also designed the U.S. Capitol building), was summoned but arrived after Washington succumbed.

Dr. William Thornton

1759 - 1828

Thornton had expertise in the tracheotomy procedure, an extremely rare operation at the time that was performed only in emergencies and with occasional success. Dr. Dick, too, advocated this procedure — rather than the massive bloodletting — but given the primitive nature of surgical science in 1799, it is doubtful it would have helped much. When the doctors vetoed the tracheotomy, Washington’s fate had been sealed.

10:20 p.m. - Col. Lears’ notes record, the former president settled back in his bed and calmly took his pulse. At the very end, Washington’s fingers dropped off his wrist and the first president of our great Republic took his final breath.

Martha looked at Lear and asked, “Is he gone?” Unable to speak, Lear signed yes with his hands. Martha looked at her dead husband and said, “Tis well,” echoing her husband’s final words. “Tis well,” Martha said once more. “All is over now: I shall soon follow him. I have no more trials to pass through.”

At the bedside were Martha Washington, his doctor, James Craik, Tobias Lear, his valet, Christopher Sheels, and three slave housemaids named Caroline, Molly and Charlotte. Steele stayed at Washington's bedside throughout the whole ordeal.






Bedroom where George Washington Died


Midnight Dec. 15, 1799 - Several servants gently carried Washington’s body downstairs and laid it on a bed in the large drawing room. The body was covered and placed in front of the large Italian chimney piece which served as the room’s focal point. Washington’s body was not embalmed; instead, by putting the body in the unheated drawing room in December, he body would be thoroughly preserved for the funeral by freezing it.

Earlier that year (1799), Washington executed his last will and testament. With the help of his private secretary and distant relative, Tobias Lear, Washington wrote the will in longhand and signed his name at the bottom of every page. Specific in the will were instructions for his funeral. Washington expressed that his interment be “in a private manner without parade or funeral oration.” This wish was completely ignored big time.

George Washington died at 10:20 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, 1799. He had lived 67 years and 295 days.

So What Did George Washington Actually Die From?

According to one internet source: "The human body holds 12 pints of blood. You can lose up to about 5 pints without dying. You may go into shock, but once you've lost 6 pints, your gonna die. They bled nearly 80 ounces (5 pints) of Blood from Washington in a one day period. Considering his age, the fact he may have been suffering from strep throat, plus the fact that nearly half his blood had been removed in such a short period of time, seems death was inevitable.

 

Searching for Manary's Blockhouse

The Hunt for Manary’s Blockhouse 

War of 1812 

  

  
                                                        40° 23.648′ N, 83° 47.673′ W.

The marker is near Bellefontaine, Ohio, in Logan County. It's located on County Road 130 (Ohio Route 117) 0.2 miles south of County Route 91, on the right side of the road when traveling south toward Bellefontaine, Oh.

 For those of you new to my blog, my main area of interest in history is the history of Fort Amanda.   I’ll sometimes wander off into a new areas of interest and when I do I usually end up with more questions than answers.  My most recent wandering led me to the subject of this blog; Manary’s blockhouse.  The blockhouse was built in Logan County, Oh during the War of 1812 to protect soldiers defending the frontier along the Greenville Treaty line.  While we know the blockhouse existed, there seems to be some questions as to exactly where it was located?   What follows is a clue that might help answer that question. 

 How it All Began

In October 2020, I posted a question to members in a group on a Facebook page called “Western Ohio History Group.”   I asked members if they thought frontier blockhouses were built with round logs or squared off logs.  During the discussion, one member posted pictures of Manary’s blockhouse .  I’d heard of Manary’s blockhouse but knew little about it so I “wandered off” to see what I could find.

The first place I looked was, “History of Logan Counthy and Ohio by William Henry Perrin (1892?).  I deleted parts of sentences so the focus remains on the the blockhouse:  On pg. 487 it states:

The pioneer settler in Harrison Township was James McPherson, a native of Carlisle, Cumberland Co., Penn., who, with a family consisting of a wife and four children, arrived during the fall of 1811. He camped near the site of the present Infirmary building of Logan County, and setting immediately to work, he soon completed a comfortable log cabin near by,   A few months later a like structure was completed by Capt. James Manary's company, from Ross County. The site of this building was upon an elevation, perhaps one-half mile southeast of MoPherson's. Here, in these two strongholds, the settlers from the surrounding country sought shelter at intervals until the cessation of hostilities.

I next went to the a database of historical markers for the state of Ohio to see what I could find.  https://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Search=Keyword&SearchFor=manary+house

 The first thing I noticed was the word “stockade,” not blockhouse.   A stockade is defined by Webster as “ a line of stout posts set firmly to form a defense” and “an enclosure or pen in which animals are kept.  ”  A blockhouse on the other hand is typically a stand alone building used for shelter or protection.

     

  

                     Stockade                                                         Blockhouse

 The second thing I noticed on the marker was an arrow pointing west with words, “On Hulls trail 400 yards.”

 

Using my Google Earth app and ruler app,  I scanned the area west of the marker looking for land features.  I didn’t find anything.  I next checked the “Historical Imagery” tool to see what the area looked like in 1994.  Still nothing.   I went back to the marker area to see what it looked like in 1994 and something caught my eye.

  

My first thought was that this might be the foundation of a home that once stood there.  I looked the 1875 plat book and saw that while there were 2 houses in the area of the marker at the time.  this spot is located between the 2, the McPherson property and the Laney and Horn property.   

A plat map of 1790 shows a building near the site of the ground feature but a scale shows that the building is further south.  All indications are there was no building on the site between 1875 and 1996-97

 Manary’s blockhouse was built to protect the frontier so my guess is it was inhabited most of the time.  If the land feature is the remnants of the original blockhouse it was a big one, 7800 sq. ft. (120’ x 60’).  It’s referred to as a “blockhouse” and the historical marker calls it a “stockade.”  My question is, “could it have been both, a blockhouse within a stockade?”  

But why the need for a stockade if the men lived in the blockhouse.  Answer, where were the horses housed?  They wouldn’t have been tied up outside because they could have been stolen by the Indians.  A stockade also provided a first line of defense so it would have served a dual purpose.

Key Points

1.      Manarys blockhouse was  approx.. ½ mile southeast of McPhersons cabin.

2.   The land feature shown in the picture looks man made.

 

3.   Some sources say the original building was moved at least once.

4.   There were no modern buildings on the site between 1875 and 1996-97.

5.    While blockhouse differ in size, a 7800 Sq. foot blockhouse seems very unlikely. 

6.   The scope of the operation at the site would have necessitated the need for some type of housing for horses/livestock

7.7.  The 1880 Ohio census shows that that there was no home between J. McPherson and Horn.  

Not meant to besmirch, the man but.........

While little is known about Manary, one thing is for certain, General Harrison didn't think very highly of him. On Oct. 26, 1812 he wrote the following to the Secretary of War:

"The conduct of Manary's company of rangers has been as to destroy all confidence in it. I would have arrested him and his officers if I were not in hopes that the President would direct the whole company to be disbanded. There certainly could be companies raised of that description that would be eminently useful but to be so the officers must be selected in a different manner from what they have been. Both the companies raised in this state and that in Kentucky are entirely worthless because the officers are deficient in every quality which is necessary for their stations. Perry is a fool, coward and a drunkard, Manary a poor old imbecile creature and Gov. Scott assured me that his Captain (Perry) was as bad as could have been selected.  

Conclusion

My "wanderings" this time may have led me into wishful thinking land however, I do think I've presented enough information here to at least pose a reasonable hypothesis that Manary's blockhouse was actually a blockhouse within a stockade and located on the property at GPS coordinates 40° 23.648′ N, 83° 47.673′ W.
Whatever the case, I had fun and learned a lot from the effort.

 

An Average Day at Fort Amanda - Inventories and British Visitor

 

A Day in the Life of a Ft. Amanda Soldier  

While visitors to the Ft. Amanda park today will find a peaceful, serene place, a lovely spot to picnic or just enjoy nature, in 1813 it was anything but.  The area was a hustling bustling, noisy and rather unpleasant smelling place.

A bronze plaque on the obelisk shows a stylized version of a typical square shaped frontier fort with 4 blockhouses, in reality, Fort Amanda was rectangular shaped, enclosing an area of approx. 64,000 sq. ft (1 1/2 acres) and there were 5 blockhouses not 4.  

In addition, there were sheds for storage, corrals for horses, cattle, hogs and oxen, a gunpowder storage area, a boat building area across the river, a 19th century version of an army PX (commissary) and buildings that at one time held several thousand pounds of bacon and 9,000 gallons of whiskey.      

The Johnson Theory:  The area surrounding the monument has long been accepted as the original "footprint" of the fort however my theory suggests that the southeast end of the fort may actually have been a few feet south of the obelisk and extended 320 feet to the northwest, or approx. 200 feet into the adjacent field.   I'll be posting more about this at a later date.    

The Men  of Fort Amanda

 On Feb. 28, 1813, Captain Thompson Ward, of the Kentucky militia turned over command of Ft. Amanda to Captain Daniel Hosbrook, commander of a company of Ohio militia troops from Hamilton and Clermont counties.   Census records and letters show that some of the men were neighbors and even relatives.  Many had immigrated from New Jersey and Maryland.  The average age of the officers (Hosbrook, Davis and Schillinger) was 30.  The average age of the enlisted men was  26 and ranged from age 17 to 50   There were 3 teenagers in the company; John Hamilton, James Warbington, and John Landon.

  Formality

In today’s military, there is a definite hierarchy and chain of command between enlisted men and women and their officers with fraternization between the two, often frowned upon.  The same appears to have been the case at Fort Amanda.    Schillinger, the officer who kept a daily journal at Amanda was neighbors with at least one of the men yet he referred to him and others as “Mr.” or simply “one of the men.”   He rarely used first names.  He referred to his fellow officers by their rank and last names; i.e. Lieutenant Davis and Captain Hosbrook. 

 The Fort Amanda facility itself was a formal structured, sophisticated, well managed and disciplined military installation. Like todays military, documentation is required for almost everything and the same was true at the fort. Ensign Schillinger's civilian job was township clerk for Columbia township in Hamilton County so he was the logical choice for managing the accounting system at Amanda. He was responsible for preparing "returns;" documentation showing the number of meals distributed by which group on a given day, and where men were assigned that day. The pic below is of one of Schillinger's "returns" showing the Captain received 3 meal rations par day, the Lieutenant and Ensign 2 each and the private soldiers 1 ration per day. Every type of transaction was recorded. Military related correspondence between the officers and non-commissioned officers was also formal and in writing.

Mornings

At Fort Amanda the day began at sunrise.  Unlike Ft. St. Marys where the morning wakeup call or reveille was the firing of a small cannon, at Amanda it was probably a drum roll performed by Pvt. Lewis Bayle, company drummer.  The men lined up and a roll call taken to see if anyone had deserted during the night or if anyone was too sick to work that day.  The men were given their allotted rations for the day and work assignments and after breakfast, weather permitting, they practiced marching in different formations.  Following that they dispersed to their work assignment. 

 Typical Work Assignments

1.   Keeping the place clean.  Hygene and cleanliness were major concerns in the frontier forts, not only for appearance sake but to prevent the spread of diseases.  Each day a group was assigned to do general policing (cleanup) around the fort and included things like covering sinks (latrines/toilets), digging new ones (yes there were military specs on where to place them), disposing of animal carcasses and general cleanup.

2.   Construction work:  With increased war activities to the north, additional storage space was needed at Amanda so in addition to expanding the size of the fort the men also needed to build a smokehouse add a 5th blockhouse and build additional storage sheds.  

 

3. Ammunition:  One thing an army could never have enough of is ammunition.  In 1813 the "bullets" were called "cartridges."   A cartridge consisted of a paper tube filled with gunpowder and a lead ball.  It was tied off at both ends and when needed, a man simply chewed the end off the end of the tube, dumped the gunpowder and ball down into the barrel of the rifle. When men weren't doing other work around the fort, they were put to work making cartridges. 

A side note:  A man could be exempted from military service in 1812 if he had few front teeth.  In a battle situation, a soldier needed to be able to chew off the powder end of the cartridge so he could dump the powder and ball down into the musket.  Without front teeth that could have been difficult as well as a danger to his comrades.

4.   Slaughter house:  Beef cows and pigs were herded to Ft. Amanda on foot (to save money) usually in large droves.  There they were slaughtered, the meat smoked then placed in barrels for shipment.  Beef was the meat of choice during the summer months and pork during the winter.  One of the first assignment for Hosbrook's men was to get rid of animal carcasses left over from butchering that were strewn along the river bank. 

5.   Firewood:  Every morning, teams of men were sent into nearby woods to gathering and cutting firewood.  Enormous amounts of wood was needed for construction projects as well as for cooking fires and to heat the blockhouses and cabins.

6.  Blockhouse.:  There were 5 blockhouses at Amanda, each manned by sentries 24 hours a day. A fifth blockhouse called the "Picket blockhouse" was added in the middle of March 1813 and indications are it served not only as a sentry station but possibly the forts commissary store managed by a man named "Picket."

7.  Supply Depot:  

  

Supplies being shipped north on the Auglaize were brought to and stored at Amanda then dispensed as needed.  The chart below, shows the inventory at Fort Amanda in July of 1813. 

400 barrels of flour

20 barrels of biscuits

69 barrels of whiskey (3000 gal.)

45 barrels of salt

110,000 pounds of bacon (yes, 55 tons of bacon)

14 boxes of soap  

22 boxes of candles. 

 8.  Boat Construction:  When needed, men from Amanda went across the river to work with civilian contractors building boats.  Large numbers and various types of watercraft were built there in 1813.   

 9. Deliveries:  As orders came in for supplies needed at forts Jennings, Brown or Winchester, men at Amanda loaded the supplies into pirogues (canoes) or on large rafts and delivered the materials to  them.  

Meals

Indications are that the officers ate their meals separately from the private soldiers.  Schillinger used the term "our cook" 4 times in his journal.  For a time I had assumed that one of the private soldiers was designated as the cook for their group, but the following excerpts have caused me to rethink that.  

Mar. 6 - "This evening, our cook being sick, I had to cook supper,

Mar. 27 - "I went out with our cook to get a Broom stick." 

Apr. 7 -  "This morning our cook in company with an Indian went out hunting and kill,d five turkeys"  

July 6 -  "this morning our cook kill,d A fawn 12 oclock."

To add some variety to their meals, Schillinger often went into the woods to hunt for deer, rabbits, pheasants and turkey.  He tells us that  the men also fished in the Auglaize and would sometimes purchase fruits and vegetables from the Indians in Wapak.  While he doesn't specifically mention chickens, it wouldn't have been uncommon to see chickens running loose around the fort.   They were a good food source and by letting them roam for their own food they needed little attention.  They may also have been a number of small gardens for fresh vegetables.

Sentry Duty

As mentioned earlier, there were 5 blockhouses at Fort Amanda.  Schillinger tells us that on at least 2 occasions, sentries spotted and fired on Indians near the fort.  On March 8 he wrote:  

 Receiv,d intelligence this evening By Mr. Oliver, Express to Gen’l Harrison that the Shawonoes, had Discover,d 5  Potawatimies skulking in the woods between our fort & Wapukanati the Indian town 8 miles above on the river

Two months later on May 8th he wrote:   

Saturday the 8 1813

Cloudy Drizley weather, at 4 A.M. one of our Centinels Discovered 2 Indians approaching the fort fired at them but miss,d.  The Lieut & myself & one Man went Down the River about 6 miles to see what Discoveries we could make of Indians  found some fresh Signs of 2 or 3  returned to fort and went out in the evening and & killed some pigeons

 As for the sentry schedules, I've yet to figure them out but using post 5 for example, my thought is this. 

 On this date (Apr,. 17, 1813) James Dougherty was sentry at post 5 from 6 pm to 10 pm.  He was relieved by William Patterson at 10 pm who then manned post 5 until 4 am. Notice how

 John Hamilton's schedule overlaps both (8 pm until 2 am).  Could it be that hours between 8 and 2 were considered the hours in which the fort was most vulnerable to danger and the men on the 8 to 2 schedule "floated between the other 2" as an extra pair of eyes and to ensure that everyone was awake and alert.   Just a thought.  

Discipline

Depending on locations and situations, sleeping on sentry duty could result in execution by firing squad. It wasn't that severe at Amanda.  On April 16, 1813, Sergeant Bradbury caught John Hamilton asleep at Post 5.  He arrested him had him taken to a cabin in the fort for confinement.  The following morning Bradbury sent the following report of the incident to Ensign Schillinger, then the acting commander of the fort 

 Hamilton was in the "Ft. Amanda jail" for 3 days.  Three days later, Sergeant Swing caught 29-year-old Pvt. Archibald Job sleeping on sentry duty and arrested him.  Like Hamilton, he was released 3 days later.   

A Face From The Past

Another sentry on duty that night was 20-year-old Pvt. George Bowman, sentry on post 3.   The picture below is of Bowman taken in 1865 when he was 72 years old.  

   

The face of a man who meant business

One particularly colorful character in the company was 50 year old John  Burrows (Burris)who  friends described the 6 ft. 5" tall Burris was described by acquantainces as:

 "Given to poetry, confining his wit & genius to satire of local characters. These he would sing to very appreciative audiences.”

On March 5, Schillinger wrote that private J. Burrow (Burris) had deserted.  I'm still working on this.

The British Come to Fort Amanda

 

 The second and last attempt by the British to capture Fort Meigs (Perrysburg, Oh.) officially began on July 21, 1813.  After 2 unsuccessful attempts, at least one man must have decided that he had enough. On July 24th, 3 days after the siege began, a British deserter arrived at the gate of Fort Amanda. Whether he'd officially surrendered somewhere between Meigs and Amanda is unknown, but its highly unlikely that he passed through forts Winchester, Brown and Jennings and dozens of American soldiers along the way without having some kind of proof that he's surrendered.  That proof may have been a document called a "parole." 

Parole

During the War, it was to little advantage for armies to keep large numbers of prisoners.  Afterall prisoners needed to be guarded, fed and sheltered and those all required manpower.  One solution was once a battle was over, and the high value targets (high ranking officers) separated out, soldiers could sign a document in which they agreed to go home and not take up arms against them for the remainder of the war.   Not a gentleman's agreement or honor system because if a man  was found to have violated those conditions he could be executed on the spot.    

Consider this.  It's roughly 115 land miles from Ft. Amanda to Ft. Meigs.  We know the British soldier arrived at Amanda on the afternoon of July 24th.  If the man deserted on the first day of the  siege at Ft. Meigs (July 21) that would mean he had just traveled 115 miles in 3 days an average of 38 miles per day.   That's impressive.   

A Non-Event?

The following is Schillinger's journal entry for the day the British soldier came to Ft. Amanda.

Saturday the 24^th July

Clear & warm, sent one of our Men after the Doctor,  Capt Benagh being very sick,  went out hunting this afternoon  Kill,d nothing but a coon  One of the Brittish Deserters came to fort this evening.

  There are 2 things that I found interesting in this entry; 1) the way it's written gives the impression that to him (Schillinger), the incident was a non-event, in fact he never mentions it again.  And 2), notice the words, "One of the Brittish Deserters," and the word "one of."  Was Schillinger saying simply that he had heard that several British deserted at Meigs OR was he saying that this soldiers was the first of many expected to come to Amanda.   We'll may never know.

Did Schillinger Talk With the Deserter?

Quite possibly.  In 1813 Captain Sebree of the Kentucky militia drew a map of Fort Meigs (The Sebree map).   Keep in mind Schillinger had never been to Fort Meigs yet on the same day the British deserter arrives at Fort Amanda Schillinger makes a sketch in his journal that closely resembles the Ft Meigs drawn on Sebree's map.   In other words, the only way Schillinger could draw a map of Ft. Meigs is if someone described it to him and my thought is the person who did that was the British soldier.

 

 

 At Days End, No Shortage of Entertainment

Schillinger, a staunch Presbyterian, spent most of his evenings in his cabin writing letters to his wife Alasanna.   As for the other soldiers, they probably spent their evenings sitting around campfires laughing, telling stories and enjoying the music of the company musicians; Lewis Bayley, a drummer and Robert Ross, who played the fife.   

 

                                          Lewis Bayley

Add to that a ration of whisky or rum and for at least a brief period of time, the men could, at least temporarily, forget about the dangers of the war that surrounded them and the melancholy feeling of being a long way from home. 

 

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f you would like learn more about Fort Amanda and the men who passed through or were stationed there or the wives and mothers who "kept the home fires burning" these books can be purchased locally, on the net or by contacting me at djohnson43@att.net

     

                 $20                                                              $15

Available at;
Readmore's Hallmark stores in Lima, Ohio (E. Elm st., Eastgate and Flanders ave.

Casa Chic (109 W. Auglaize st)  in Wapakoneta, Ohio

The Allen County Museum (620 W. Market st) in Lima, Ohio 

Amazon.com 

If you'd like a signed copy email me at djohnson43@att.net and I'll send you the details.

If you're looking for a speaker related to this subject for  your group, simply email me at djohnson43@tt.net. I do not charge speaking fees.