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Manuscript DS, signed “Wm. H. Harrison A.d.C.,” one page, 6.5 x 3, March 12, 1795. Request for six rations of whiskey "for two spies" signed by William Henry Harrison while serving as aide-de-camp at Fort Greenville. Beautifully cloth-matted and framed with an engraved portrait and biographical caption to an overall size of 14.75 x 27. In fine condition.
In 1792 President George Washington ordered Revolutionary War hero General 'Mad Anthony' Wayne to lead an army against a Native American alliance fighting to keep settlers out of their traditional lands in Ohio, part of the Northwest Territory. U.S. soldiers had been struggling against persistent Indian warriors. Harrison, from Virginia, who had enlisted in the army in 1791 at Philadelphia, served under Wayne in Fort Washington at present-day Cincinnati in southwestern Ohio. Harrison rose through the ranks quickly and became Wayne’s aide-de-camp in 1793.
On August 20, 1794, General Wayne’s 3,000-man army defeated an alliance of 1,500 warriors, which included British support, in the Battle of Fallen Timbers at present-day Maumee, Ohio, northeast of Cincinnati. The victory was the last major battle of the Northwest Indian Wars. Wayne commended Harrison for his role in the battle, saying, 'I must add the name of my faithful and gallant Aide-de-camp…Lieutenant Harrison, who…rendered the most essential service by communicating my orders in every direction…conduct and bravery exciting the troops to press for victory.'
This interesting 1795 military document concerns rations of whiskey for spies. The U.S. Army often sent spies among the Indians, and the missions were dangerous. The spies sometimes posed as British sympathizers, and some spies spoke the Indian language. The spies gathered information about the locations and numbers of Indian warriors, their weapons, and their support from the British. The spies even kidnapped Indians to be interrogated by officers. Spies who were caught were sometimes shot.
The Indians signed the Treaty of Greenville on August 3, 1795, bringing peace and increased settlement to the area for more than a decade. The treaty was signed at Fort Greenville, at 55-acres, one of the largest of the many wooden forts that troops built in Ohio to protect settlers and soldiers. Harrison was a signatory to the treaty.
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