A letter to Lt. Bryson, Newport, with excellent military content. In full: “Sir, if the detachment of Militia from the Indiana Territory are not furnished with a sufficiency of ammunition you will send on to them one hundred pounds of powder and balls and other ammunition in proportion to it upon the application of Colonels Dell, Noble, or Hunt. Yours Respectfully, William Henry Harrison.” Harrison was Governor of the Indiana Territory from 1800 to 1812, gaining fame by defeating the Indians at Tippecanoe in 1811. When the War of 1812 began, President Madison appointed him as Commander of the Northwest frontier. Trivial soiling, light toning and foxing, otherwise fine. Harrison left Frankfort August 17th with the intention of taking command of the forces destined for the relief of Detroit. While en route to Cincinnati he received first reports of Hull's surrender. Fort Dearborn, which Hull had ordered evacuated, had fallen to the Indians, the garrison massacred on the preceding day. The supply situation was terrible and there was no time to drill the troops. The immediate need was to head north to save Fort Wayne, then under actual Indian attack. This was accomplished by Harrison with speed and determination, and the villages of the attackers were then destroyed. At this moment of triumph, Gen. Winchester arrived and assumed command. On September 18, Harrison, America’s best general in the west, was a general bereft of command. Harrison returned with a mounted force to Piqua, his plans as yet undetermined, although mounted Ohio volunteers were being raised at his call for an expedition against the Indiana tribes. Then, on September 24, Harrison broke the seal of a War Office order appointing him to the command of the Northwestern Army. It was likely to be a winter campaign, so Harrison called on army contractors to supply a million and more rations to be deposited at outposts along the three routes. The great project was to be accomplished in addition to the defense of the Indian frontier. Furthermore, another defeat was not to be risked, according to President Madison's instructions. Harrison immediately moved up to St. Marys with newly arrived detachments to supervise the construction of Fort Barbee. To insure transportation of adequate supplies to Winchester's army, then advancing northeasterly up the Maumee from Fort Wayne, he sent on a force to cut a road along the Auglaize Trail to Defiance, 60 miles in advance, and to erect two outposts. A drove of 300 cattle and 200 packhorses destined for Winchester were pushed forward by the road-builders as they labored in the Black Swamp. The protection of this supply link was now Harrison's primary concern and when on August 27 two mounted officers brought word that British regulars and Indians were harrying the left wing of his advancing force, he determined to hasten forward to reinforce them that very afternoon with a troop of dragoons and infantry. In command of the Northwestern Army for just three days, this would be his first foray against the enemy in that capacity. He thought that the Virginia militia reinforcements he had been promised might arrive at any time, so before leaving, he wrote field orders to its commander (whose identity he did not yet know), laying out his plan and instructions for the campaign. Wanting to be sure that the letter reached the recipient in a country swarming with the enemy, Harrison dispatched two couriers, each with identical versions of the letter. One of these originals survives in the collections of the Indiana State Historical Society; one is offered here. These may well have been the first such orders Harrison wrote as Commander of the U.S. Northwestern Army. COA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
We use cookies on this site to improve your experience. By using this site, you accept our use of cookies. To learn more, please see our Privacy Policy.
