Pioneer Meeting

Tho Toledo war oceurredin 1835. I5y General Order No. I oftlmtyear, Stevens T. Mason, acting Governor of the Territory of Michigan, and Adjotant-Gencral Lhmiercd, tho cavalry couipaay of this place which was in lull blooni and ander the command ut' (Japt. Peter Slingerland, commissioned by Gov. Mason, myself holding the commission of First Lieutenant ofsaid coinany, bytho same autriority, was orderod to rendezvous at the hotel kept by my father in Anti Arbor, for general irispection, and for the purpose of arming ■nul equipping oureelves for tho defensc ol our frontier line betweea our Territory and the State of Ohio, a dispute having irisen as to the original survey, whether (hc line fchat is now cstablished was correct or not. The disputed Territory ctnbnicod a strip of land soine seven miles in width, extending west to the Indiana Une. We niet as above stated, were inspeeted and passed muster, but when the time carne to advanee on the enoniy, a difficulty aróse as to the horse that 1 had eniployed in doing duty in our coinpany. It belonged to my father, and he refused to let me have it, for he wisely said he could not afford so valuable an animal to be slaughtered o captured by the foes of our glorious Terri tory, only on the grounds that the authori ties would become responsible for the ful valuó of the animal. Our Colonelinforinet the proper authorities of our situation, ani very soon au order came to havo the horse got in line. Accorduigly it was equippec aecording to law, and tho line was foruiec early in the morning. Two appraiser were appointed, viz, ïny father and Mosely Maynard. The business of' appraisal wa through with in a hurry. The horse wa numbered 85. The company took dinne at father' i house. We were immediately ordered to Ypsilanti to join a mountec coinpany of' that place. The nuniber o that company was 85. When we arrivec at Ypsilanti we were ordered to consolidat the two companies. Tho question then arose (a very important one) what to d with the extra set of' oflicers. Col. Owen Welcb. who was then young and vigorou as many of us at the time had reason t know, proposed the fbllowing plan, viz that the officers of each company shoulc throw the dice and the highest numbe thrown at three trials shouíd decide th elections, and the men so elected shouk lead their countrymen on against tho brav Buckeyes in the terrible contest no looming up in the distünce between th two contending parties. The first in orde were Capt. Peter Slingerland, of An Arbor, and Captain Forsyth, of Ypsilanti Capt. Siingerland was elected by six dots Then came my turn with the First Lieu tenant of the Ypsilanti company. I bea him by four dots. Ypsilanti got the Sec ond Lieutenant and Anti Arbor the En sign. That question settled, our Colono was transferred to the militia. Then oam General Order No. 4, which was to proinot our Captain to Major, to take charge o our detachment until we could join the res of our brigade at headquarters at Monro or Toledo. This made a vacaney in ou ranks, and as a result I was promoted t the captaincy, and the balance of the offi cers were promoted for the same cause anc in the same way, by our commanding offi cers. There was only one inore office t bc filled, and that was done by the tw companies. My inipression is that an Yp silanti man was appointed, but it migo have been James Welch, of Ann Arbor I atu not sure. Our headquarters were on the east fit] oftheriver, in a hotel kept by Dr. Ai drews. How proud and haughty (not t say insolent) we were that we came ou ahead of the Ypsilanti boys. They ap peared rather down-hearted, but whethe it was caused by their failure to secure th prominent officers, or the terrible prospec beore them, I cannot say, but we cheerec them up and gave them the best the hous afforded in provisions and a superabunc anee of good whisky, (not the 40-rod o the present day). It had the effect t make them as well ai us, valorous and rt markably courageous. We were grltty a hyenas and boasted greatly of our ability t whip our cursed enemies, the Buckeyes who were unpardonable trespassers on ou soil, - the very soil that our great congress men had bequeathed to us and our pos terity, We would show them that w could whip them five to one. We wouk not leave a man of them tq teil the awfu tale to their friends, of their destruction their breves should fall beneath our coi quering héroes, and terrible should be th slaughter. Words like these feil from th lips of our noble chieftains, and wer echoed back by the noble patriota wh composed tlie rank and file of ourbeautif'u Territory. Our country being rich in re souroes, tho boys went their length i ratioiis for that night at least. The nex morning the major issued his iirst order Order No. G. It was to this effect Drilling the brigade from 6 to 8 o'clock then from 10 to 12, then from 2 to 4. Thi servise continucd only one or two days, a we were soon ordered to the front, or t the headquarters then at Toledo. Ou first day's march carried us to Knagg' tavern, 10 miles west of Monroe, on th river Raisin. Our quartermaster, ofcourse went on in advance of our columns to pre pare quarters for the night, for our ow men, but no others, The officers had n reason to find fault with .him for he mad ampie provisión for them. He obtainec perinission of Maj. Knaggs that the officer should occapy tho house, the horses wer to occupy the barn. He got good quarter for the men in a suaall field near the hous and barn. Here they pitched their tent for the night, after receiving strict order from myself not to touch a thing belonging to the major, not even the smallest thing should they appropriate that belonged to Major Knaggs. The major was presen when the order was given and heard it. . was very explicit and told them distinetly that should they disobey the order a iiii_st terrible penalty would be certain to follow. I said should any be caught in the act of stealing from the major, or of doing any harm to him or his property, for any such misdemeanor, I should certainly report them to headquarters and have them court-martialled. The men gave three hearty chcers for the captain, all pledging themselves to obey my order to the letter. So I left them in charge of the ensign and lower officers until morning. The officers were provided with a bountiful supper by Major Knaggs at his own expense. Moses Rogers was second sergeant and my ordcrly. He took the care of my horse as well as his own. We all, oflieers and privatcs, f'arcd as well as could be expected under the circutnstances. Next morning wc were all on hand at reveille, which took place at five o'cloek. The first man I niet after the rail was called was Rogers, I asked how matters were. Hc said that tho quartermaster had furnishèd threblo rations, the horses were getting fat, and that the cooks were preparing breakfast for all the officers and men, and that I had better eat with them, for they had been to a little extra trouhlc to get rations for the officers. I left him and passed on. The noxfc man 1 met was Knaggs. He was in a terrible rage, as mad as a natter, I said, l' Knaggs, what is up. " He said the boys of my company had stolen five or six swanns of his hees, all hisducks and chickens, all his decanters, tumblers, with tliroe or four casks of liquor out of his bar, and what e!se, God only knew. Ue said he would soon find them out and have them brought to justice. I said to him it could not havo teen my men, for they would not disobey my orders, ospecially after giving the charge I did last night,and which he heard. "It cannot be possible, " said I ; ''but T will have the roll called after jrcakfast, and put them in line, and have hém examined by Major Slingerland and yourself. I will also be present, and if we ind any who shows signs of guilt, I will ïave him dealt with severely by a courtuartial." This seemed to satisfy the old iian for the time being. Very soon we verc called to breakfast, and lbund that the marter master had made ampie preparaions, as the following bill of fare will indiate: Roast beef, roast pork, ducks, chickns, turkeys, geese, buttnr, honey, wheat iread and cortee of the flrst quality were iHamong tho eatablos. Iasked tbc boys how hey gotf all these extra rationa. The only inswcT given to tlie Major and myself was, hat the commissary had furnishcd thom. ihüt officer being present wc questioned ïim. Be said ho dia furnish i partor the ffaolc of them, and picad in justification bal lbo Territory was rich and could afbrd her fighling men good rations. I reKted to him the charges made by Kn to myself. Ho said he would elear the xmpany froiu al] such charges, "for," said he, " tho militta have encamped near another tavern, about uur mile uboVe u# jnd they were caught etealing honey and chickens, and had evn killed a fine x that was owned by tin: tavern-keeper." J said that did not exeux; the inen ander my eoinmand. 1Í' any of them were founil ;uilty, the Major and rayself would certainly iiavc them sevcvoly punishod. At that moment Major Knaggs eame in, and toiny jjreat surprise acoused my uien i!' stelling liis honey, poültry, etc. Me taid tho prooi was plain enough, for they might be seen on the table. The coinmissary stated that lie bought the beef, pork, and othcr eatables yesterday, and he uould prove it by Hatch, the teamster, for our comparo. Match said the eommissary had stated tbc facts, and f'urther stated tliat he had been up to the other eamp, and had King and a nuuiber of others up for stealing honey and otlier things, ineluding ducks and beef. This rathercooled Knaggs down somewhat, but said he would not be satisfied, until I . had the cotnpany in line and have them all examined. I was entirely willing, and even anxious that his desire should be ooinplied with. I, of eourse, wantod to clear the boys if not quilty, and was willing to do anything for them I could as their chief officer. So 1 ordered James Welch, niy orderly, to torta the company into two ranks, open file of' three feet space, giving the major a good chance to examine each man. He commenced on the lieht of the company, and all went well until we cama to ono of the corporals, by the name of Wicoff'. I noticcd that his lef 't anu and chost were badly swollen,the arm was asize or two larger than the other. Knaggs at that moment carne up, and said we had at last got the right chap. I asked Wicoff what the matter was with his arm, and what means that svrollen face, and what is the cause of this excessive rotundity of' person just at this time. He said he was detailed yesterday to guard the baggage wagon, with f'our others detaiied for the same purpose under me. I became tired of riding on horseback, and tied my horso to the teamster's wagon, and got on to the load with him ; the wheels suddenly falling into a deep rut, I was thrown iioni the wagon, and struck on my face and left arm,causing extreme pain and enormous swelling of mv chest. In fact. it carne near killing liiiu. I said to him, " I for onc givo great credit to yourstatenient ; but I fear the major will require you to prove it." "I do," said Knaggs. I then called an orderly - Welch - to inform me whether Wicoff was detailed as ho had stated. He said he was. Ilatch, the teamster, being questioned, corroborated Wicoff 's story. Tho f'our men who were dctailcd with him stated the same thing. This satisfied Knaggs. So the coast was now clear, and we h'nished the rear rank, finding no fartber evidence of disorderly conduct, and the matter ended satisfactorily to Knaggs. About that time, Capt. Crane's detachment came past, bringing reporta that the militie were stealing everything they could lay their hands on. So my company got clear for this time, and were ordered by Major Slingerland to mount and proceed forthwith to Monroe, which order was promptly obeyed. We arrived there about noon, and took our dinner in the Court House square. The dinner consisted of' the remoins of tho rations firmished by the eommissary the day before, as I have stated, except the contents of' Major Knagg's bar. The men, the night before, by order of the eommissary - a respcctable man froni Detroit, appointed by Gov. Mason - ordered a guard of eight men to draw from Knagg's bar its contents, and start business down by the sido of the river liaisin. Thcy obeyed orders, and deposited the liquor in a still place in the river, and there it lay safely until the line of'inarch was taken up the next morning, and thon it was carefully taken up out of the river, placed in one of the baggage wagons, and eonveyed to Monroe, whero the company dealt it out to the men for their grog rations at their dinner. Knaggs followed on the trail ; but he was not any wiser, for he never found out about tho liquor. Major Slingerland took the eommissary in hand about the matter, but could get no satisl'action f'urther than that he had given Knaggs an order on the Territory for an amount that would cover the value of his liquor. So ended that chapter. Froin Monroe, we were ordered to pro eeed immediately to the disputod territory on the line that divided us from Ohio. We arrived there on tho evening of' the day we left Monroe. On arriving there, our company f'ormed a line in front of a tavern. The quartermaster went into the house to secure quarters for the officers and stabling for the horses. The landlord drove him out not with the point of a bayonet but with an axe, and ordered us from the premesis, calling us rebels and traitors to the country. He said he would have the regular army called out to defend him and his property, But it was of no use to resist the invineible host from the Wolverine State. Orders were given however, as usual, to respect the man's property, and our army was ordered to pitch their tents in the most convenient place that could be found. A strong guard was stationed to keep off the enemy and proteqt aurselves. The officers found quarters in the house, and the eommissary furnished abundant rations for the oflioers, men and horses, from the landlord' s cattle yards, roosts and graneries, all of oourse, in accordance with army regulations. The landlord and his family were put under guard, lest they should pass through our linos into tho territory of' our enemies, and thua frústrate the grand objects&nd designs of our governmeut, for we were awaro of the fact that should the Buckeyes be notified of our extreme weakuess, (only 150 strong) they might make a Buil run advanco on us and uso us up. Capt. A. I). Crane with his Dexter braves and anothor company were far in the rear to give us immodiate aid and wc had to do the best we oould under the circumstances. We kept our encimes under heavy guard that night. A pieket guard was ordered out. A scouting party was al.so sent out. In the morning the scouts returned with thecheering news tliat it was Ml quiet at the front. They also ïeported that they were very fortúnate in capturiug many of our enemies. But I WW feo unfortunate as not to see any of the capturcd men. What a night that was for us poor ofticers and soldiers. Think of' the blood that was shed and the awful carnage that followed such a terrible war. The fatigue resulting ïom our long marches was of' eourse, almost intolerable. The terrible conflicts with our focs, how they louiü uj) in histo■y. After this fearful night, we breakfastd ou the remains of beef, chickens and ïoney, provided by our eommissary the lay beforc. Ye yere soon ordered to mount and nareli in close eoluums, le.-t sonie of' our uen might stragiile off ;unl be gobbled up ;y the cnemy. We were now in the eninies country, and orders oame l'rom Maj, Slingerland, to make Toledo our headquarters, that being the ])lace where our iovernorhad made his headipuarters. In due time we arrived there, and made our eport to the Adjutant (jcneral. We soon vent into camp upon the farm of Major Stickuey, of' the Ohio melitia. He was grit to the back-bone. He threatened : ummary vengeaace upon our men if' they vero so presumptuou.s as to put a finger ; pon anything bclonging to him. Bat liis ' Incat availed nothiug with our invineibles. lis barns were filled with hay and grain ' i' all kinds. Our (voru out horses ully aekuowledged the kiudness of' our i uar term aster in the ampie provisiona (' nade for their wantr, and with appetites, ] Imost unparalleled in the annals of war, esulting ii'om long marches and short 1 ;cd, they stowed away largo quantities of ie Major's fodder, not thinking, I súpose, of the awful threats of the owner. j, While the men were engagcd in p g the Major's fodder froin his barns to ir i'ump, he with his rebel horde, ásüng oí about 20 mun and boys, feil unrm our men with pistols, pitchfoíks, club, and other deadly weapons, but our braw boys feeling tbc impórtanos of the ere, workbefore them, were invincible, anj and had but Httle trouble in keepine tl o rebela atbay. When ono portion f 01? Formidable army beoóme fátigued, anotC orce wonld be employed. Thw kind of Bkinmsning was kept np for a whole week each day, until the Major's forado wá used u p. Duriog all this time our army w;is Ju]v drillcd, with scouts in the country 'to ro port the probable strength of tbc cnomV iho reporta wero duly forwardcd to headquarters, by orderlies wbo wero on duty dnand nigbt, and U is not yet known hov many horses were killed in the great liaste to L-iye information to the commander'icbief'. ïhis was all important, as it was feared that unless constant digpatchca were ponveyed to our anny, the rebels would surprise ua and annihilate our entire f'orce. Thus we defended our beantifa] country. But soon an adjustinent of the matter was effected and our noble army re. turned to thoir homes and their üisconsolate iauiilie?, without the loss of a sintde man or an ounce of human blooil. jjut notwithstanding our bravcry and the immense suffering froin long and frequent marches our government bas entirelv forgotfrm us in the bestowment of rensions either in money or land?.