Head of Auglaize - Part 4

 Head of Auglaize - Part 4

This blog is my final in a series of blogs designed to put forth my proposal that General Anthony Wayne built a post on the banks of the Auglaize River at or very near the future site of Fort Amanda.  I believe readers will find the information presented in this blog very convincing and worthy of consideration. 

Final Supporting Evidence  

May 7, 1794   (Letter from Wayne to Knox)

“I must acknowledge that I have a strong prejudice in favor of a post at the North end of the portage on Au Glaize river & in favor of that route in preference to this; because at a proper season, i.e., in the spring & fall of the year, all supplies for the use of the troops & Garrisons may be transported by Water, with only twenty-one miles Land carriage-, which is between the head of the  navigation of the Miami of the Ohio, say at Loramies stores (about fifteen miles above the Old Chillakothe or Pique town) & even from the Chillakothe to that point on Au Glaize wou’d be but about 35 or 36 miles over a fine level open ground.  At all events the savages out to be removed from, or kept in check at Grand Glaize; by establishing a post at the place before mentioned- & to which a road is already Opened, it is so from situate as to be within striking distance both of Grand Glaize  & Roche de Bout at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of the Lake the distance to either of those places from that point don’t exceed Forty miles - & forms an Equilateral triangle between those three points

IMPORTANT NOTE:  What's important here is that Wayne was saying a year before the Greenville Treaty was signed, he had already cut a road to the spot on the Auglaize where he intended to build a post. 

His plans for proceeding with construction were put on temporary hold until after his battle at Fallen Timbers and the signing of the Greenville Treaty.

The Greenville Treaty

The Greenville Treaty included the agreement in Article III of the Greenville Treaty stipulated that that certain parcels of land were to be ceded to the United States.  Among those parcels were.   

(1) One piece of land six miles square at or near Loramies store

(2) One piece two miles square, at the head of the navigable warer or landing on the St. Marys river near Girty's town.

(3) One piece six miles square, at the head of the navigable water of the Auglaize River.

 

 

 

My Proposal Hits a Snag

When I read in his Oct. 19, 1795 that he had "completed a chain of posts at St. Marys, Loramies and Old Chillakothe (Piqua)" I began to wonder why he didn't mention building one on the Auglaize.  It was then I began to wonder if I could be wrong and that he didn't build one there after all.  Further investigation of records housed in the Library of Congress records changed everything. .   

1796

On February 3^rd, 1796, outgoing Secretary of War Timothy Pickering, submitted a report to the Committee on Military Establishments listing the frontier posts he ne recommended retain a military presence of various kinds. A section of that report read:

“In applying the military force to these objects, I have thrown the posts to be occupied into divisions, in each of which there will be a principal station for the ordinary residence of the Commandant of the division. One battalion will occupy one of these divisions, and a sub-legion three of them. The Lieutenant Colonel will take a station the most convenient for superintending his sub-legion. A general officer will find abundant employment in visiting and regulating all the posts. Beyond question, the military posts we must occupy, on our frontiers, will be numerous, though the garrison will be small.”  

The following month on 29th March, 1796, James McHenry, the new Secretary of War, with his thoughts on economy, particularly  "diminished," gave to the before mentioned Committee the list of forts to be mentioned in this region, with the garrison each should have, as follows: Defiance, Wayne, Adams, Recovery, Head of Augliaze, Miami, and Michillimackinac, each fifty-six men, and Detroit 112 men. In these reports Forts Miami and Detroit were recognized as the property of the United States, but they were not evacuated by the British until the nth July, 1796, according to the report of Lieutenant Colonel Hamtramck and others.

"Un snagged"

The reason Wayne hadn't mentioned building a post on the Auglaize in his October 19th letter is simple; he hadn't built it yet, and wouldn't until sometime between the end of October and December 1795.

Why the Auglaize and Not the St. Marys?

Of particular interest is that Fort St. Marys is not listed among the posts to be maintained yet Fort Adams is.   Wayne shipped supplies via the St. Marys to Defiance in Sept. 1795.  Because Fort St. Marys is not listed in the posts to be maintained, my thought is he may have found the St. Marys difficult to navigate and started using the Auglaize instead with the loading/unloading site at Head of Auglaize.  In addition, as Bodley pointed out in 1812,  the Auglaize River had more water, and was less prone to freezing that the St. Marys,

 

Adding to this, the distance by water from Girtys town (St. Marys) to Fort Wayne then on to Fort Defiance was 170 miles whereas  using the Auglaize to ship supplies to Forts Defiance then on to Fort Wayne was only 140 river  miles, a savings of approximately 30 river miles.  

In the chart above listing posts to be maintained, Loramie's store is not specifically listed as a "Fort" nor is Head of Auglaize.  We know Loramies store became a fortified palisaded post so we can assume the same held true for the Head of Auglaize post.   In addition, McHenrys report to the Committee on Military Establishments, Head of Auglaize with the other posts in its division were to be garrisoned with 56 soldiers.  

The British abandoned their Fort Miami in 1796 when Wayne's troops took command.  

Fort St. Marys and Fort Defiance were both abandoned late in 1796 but Fort Miami didn't close until 1799.  The assumption is Head of Auglaize and Loramies remained opened longer to continue sending supplies to Fort Miami.  When Loramies closed in 1798/99, Head of Navigation closed as well.  

For more information about Wayne's Fort Loramie, check out Greg Shipplies pics and postings on Facebook.  The work being done there by he and his crew is nothing absolutely fascinating.

Proposal Conclusion

After a careful study of correspondance between General Anthony Wayne and the Secretarys of War during the period 1792 - 1796, that included recommendations from the for the operation of newly created posts on the frontier including one called Head of Auglaize,  I put fortth for consideration my proposal that between  November - December of 1795, troops under the command of General Anthony Wayne built a post on the west bank of the Auglaize River, at or very near the future site of Fort Amanda.  

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Artifacts Found at the Tawa Town site 

The large numbers of artifacts found at Tawa town i.e., a spur probably off a Dragoons boots, parts of saddles broken bayonete, uniform buttons indicate that Wayne's troops were in the area.

Worn by troops in Wayne's army

Dave Johnson

djohnson43@att.net 

 

Head of Auglaize - Part 5

 Head of Auglaize - 5

My proposal hits a "snag"

I have presented in this series of blogs, copies of correspondance between General Anthony Wayne to the Secretary of War that support my proposal that General Wayne constructed some kind of post on the banks of the Auglaize River at or very near the future site of Fort Amanda.  My original intent was to publish my findings in a book but thought a blog would be better as it allowed feedback, critiques, opinions, etc. 

 The problem I've run into is I have so much data (maps, mileage charts, personal opinions, relevant details, etc) I fear I could lose reader interest so I've decided to  summarize the key points in this blog then in my next blog, provide what I consider 99%  proof that Wayne built a structure of some kind at or very near the site of what later became Fort Amanda. 

Why Would Wayne Want a Post on the Auglaize?

While still at Greenville in 1793, Wayne showed intense interest in building a post on the Auglaize.  While his original mission was to advance to and destroy the Miami villages at the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's Rivers (Fort Wayne, Ind).   The Indians eventually abandoned the site and had moved to Grand Glaize (Defiance, Oh).  That plus the fact the British had built a fort on American soil 45 miles east of Defiance made Wayne's new primary target the Grand Glaize.  His plans to build the post on the Auglaize were put on temporary hold.

His advance from Greenville to Fallen Timbers (Mumee, Oh.)  is well documented so no need to cover it here only to say that after his success he marched west to the old Miami village site and built Fort Wayne then later that year (1794), returned to Greenville and began to put together the terms of what became the Greenville Treaty. 

Below  are excerpts from pre and post Fallen Timber letters from Wayne to Secretary Knox where he talks about his intent to build the post on the Auglaize bot pre- Greenville Treaty and post-Greenville Treaty.  

Pre Fallen Timbers Correspondance

January 18, 1794

“I have in contemplation to appoint the first of May for opening the treaty so as to be in perfect readiness at an early period to operate with effect should it prove abortive as well as to take advantage of the high waters to aid our transport up the Great Miami as far as it may be found to be navigable say to Chillakothe or rather to Loramies store at the carrying place between the Great Miami and the Au Glaize which is computed to be 18 or 20 miles’.  

March 3, 1794

“I am determined to establish a strong post on the banks of Au Glaize, at the north end of the portage, …. The distance from then to Grand Glaize, - at it’s confluence with the Miami of the Lake, is not more than from twenty five to thirty Miles – they will therefore be compelled to treat-fight or to abandon their towns hunting grounds & possessions.”  

                                                                                                                                                               March 10, 1794

“Mc Mahan found a Great part of the Ground inundated & the creeks Unfordable from a heavy fall of rain that continued for some days- & and which prevented him from reconnoitering the portage with effect

 

March 20, 1794

“I shall therefore make every preparation for taking ground in front, by establishing a post on the Au Glaize at the North end of the portage as mentioned in my letter of the 3^rd Instant as soon as the waters & circumstances will permit

 May 7^, 1794

“I must acknowledge that I have a strong prejudice in favor of a post at the North end of the portage on Au Glaize river & in favor of that route in preference to this; because at a proper season, i.e., in the spring & fall of the year, all supplies for the use of the troops & Garrisons may be transported by Water, with only twenty-one miles Land carriage-, which is between the head of the  navigation of the Miami of the Ohio, say at Loramies stores (about fifteen miles above the Old Chillakothe or Pique town) & even from the Chillakothe to that point on Au Glaize wou’d be but about 35 or 36 miles over a fine level open ground.  At all events the savages out to be removed from, or kept in check at Grand Glaize; by establishing a post at the place before mentioned- & to which a road is already Opened, it is so from situate as to be within striking distance both of Grand Glaize  & Roche de Bout at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of the Lake the distance to either of those places from that point don’t exceed Forty miles - & forms an Equilateral triangle between those three points

"only twenty-one miles Land carriage-, which is between the head of the  navigation of the Miami of the Ohio, say at Loramies stores (about fifteen miles above the Old Chillakothe or Pique town) & even from the Chillakothe to that point on Au Glaize wou’d be but about 35 or 36 miles."

Post Fallen Timbers Correspondance

October 17, 1794

“The Posts in contemplation at Chillakothe or Picque town, on the Miami of the Ohio, at Loramies stores on the North branch & at the Old Tawa towns on the Au Glaize, are with a view to facilitate the transport of supplies by water, and which to a certainty will reduce the land carriage of dead or leady articles at proper seasons i.e., late in the fall and early in the spring to thirty-five miles and in times of freshes to twenty- in place of One Hundred & seventy five by the most direct road to Grand Glaize & one Hundred & fifty to the Miami villages from Fort Washington.” 

November 12, 1794

“As soon as circumstances will admit, the posts contemplated at Pique town, Loramies Store, & at the old Tawa Towns at the head of the Navigation on the Au Glaize River, will be established for the reception of & as deposits for the stores and supplies by water carriage which is not determined to be perfectly practical in proper seasons.” 

September 2, 1795

“I expect in the course of a few days to advance with the light infantry and Artificers in order to establish, a post & store houses at the Landing on the St. Mary’s and on the Au Glaize’.  I have already established one at Loramies.”

September 19, 1795

“I intend as soon as the Equinotical storm is over to advance with the light infantry & artificers to the landing on St. Mary's, in order to erect a post & storehouse at that place.  I shall also reconnoiter a position on the Au Glaize to determine whether a post will be established at that place or not, if I find that it will be of real advantage, I shall also establish one on that river within the reservation.”  

 October 5, 1795 

“I shall mount my horse in the course of a few Minutes in order to overtake the troops now in full March to establish the post or posts mentioned in my letter of the 19^th Ultimo.”

 

November 9, 1795

“I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your several letters of the 26th of September, the 3rd, 10th and 17th of October.  The last three came to hand whilst I was on the tour & duty mentioned in my letters of the 19th of September and 5th Ultimo, and from which I returned a few days since, after completing a chain of posts & storehouses at St. Mary's - Loramies & the old Chillakothe near the confluence of the North & East branches of the Miami of the Ohio             

My Proposal Hits a Temporary Snag

In Wayne's September 2 letter to Knox, he wrote : I shall also reconnoiter a position on the Au Glaize to determine whether a post will be established at that place or not, if I find that it will be of real advantage, I shall also establish one on that river within the reservation.”   In his November 9th letter, Wayne wrote that he completed a "chain of posts & storehouses at St. Mary's - Loramies & the old Chillakothe"  He makes no mention of building a post on the Auglaize?  So the question is; "Did he build it?"

 My next blog "unsnags" it and in my opinion  proves he did.