Historic Highways of America Volume VIII Part 7

[56] See note 54.

[57] Oakdale.

[58] Coultersville.

[59] Northwest of Steel's Mills.

[60] Mr. Draper reduces these estimates to "probabilities," giving as the total distance 156 miles (_Draper MSS._, xxv J, fol. 49).

[61] This point of junction is eighteen miles east of Salem, which is given as the point of junction on Mr. English's map of Clark's route.--_Conquest of the Northwest_, vol. i, pp. 290, 291. Salem is the junction of the modern route from Kaskaskia with the St. Louis Trace.

[62] Additional testimony to the same effect is found in _Draper MSS._, xxv J, fol. 76.

[63] Evans's _History of Scioto County and Pioneer Record of Southern Ohio_ contains the best map of western Ohio extant.

[64] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. vi, p. 166.

[65] Josiah Morrow, to whom the author is indebted for much help in the study of Harmar's route, affirms that in the land records of Warren County he has found reference to this as "Clark's old war-road."

[66] November 27, 1782.

[67] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 88.

[68] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 97.

[69] _Id._

[70] _Id._

[71] _Id._, pp. 93, 94; St. Clair to Knox, _Id._, p. 87.

[72] _Id._

[73] _Id._

[74] _Id._, p. 88.

[75] The authorities used in connection with Harmar's route and march are: the Journal of Captain John Armstrong, of the Regulars (Dillon's _History of Indiana_, pp. 245-248); Thomas Irwin's account of Harmar's and St. Clair's campaigns, in the _Draper MSS._, iv U, fols. 3-17; Hugh Scott's Narrative, _Id._, fol. 99, and David H. Morris's Narrative, in the Troy (Ohio) _Times_ of January 29, 1840. Hereafter these will be referred to by name only. Harmar's route out of Cincinnati is thus described by J. G. Olden in his _Historical Sketches and Early Reminiscences of Hamilton County, Ohio_: "Moved from Ft. Was.h.i.+ngton up the little ravine that runs into Deer Creek near what is now the head of Sycamore street, Cincinnati, thence through Mt. Auburn and along the general course of what is now the Reading turnpike to the little stream since known as Ross run where he encamped for the night in what is now Section 4 Mill creek towns.h.i.+p near where Four Mile tavern was built. The next day he moved, still on Clark's old trace, now Reading turnpike, pa.s.sing near where the school-house now stands in Reading, thence on to the little run east of where Sharonville now is, where he encamped for the [second] night."

[76] An error for 1780. As noted, three well-known expeditions had gone northward from the present site of Cincinnati before Harmar's: Bowman in 1779, Clark in 1780, and Clark again in 1782. In 1782 Clark pa.s.sed northward on the watershed between the Miamis. It was therefore Clark's route of 1780 which Harmar's militia followed.

[77] Mt. Auburn. Dr. Daniel Drake, writing in 1801, says: "Main street, beyond Seventh, was a mere road nearly impa.s.sable in muddy weather which, at the foot of the hills, divided into two, called the Hamilton and the Mad-river road. The former took the course of the Brighton House; the latter made a steep ascent over Mount Auburn."

Of a later road on Harmar's Trace we have this record: "1795 Road laid out from Main Street, Cincinnati, northeast nearly on Harmar's trace (six miles) to the road connecting Columbia and White's Station [Upper Carthage]" (_History of Hamilton County_, p. 223).

[78] Lick Schoolhouse, Deerfield Towns.h.i.+p, Warren County?

[79] _History of Warren County_ (Chicago, 1882), p. 410.

[80] Josiah Morrow offers this correction for future editions of Armstrong's _Journal_: "The printed journal of Armstrong's makes the first ten miles of the third day in a northwest course. Even if this be understood as meaning west of north, it would take the army to the west of West Chester in Butler County. If we a.s.sume northwest to be an error for northeast, 'the first five miles over a dry ridge to a lick' would bring the army to the lick at Lick School-house in Deerfield towns.h.i.+p, Warren county; and the next 'five miles through a low swampy country to a branch of the waters of the Little Miami' would be over the swampy land of early times in the vicinity of Mason, and there is a tradition that the army stopped for a time on Little Muddy creek, on the farm formerly owned by Joseph McClung, north of Mason."

[81] MSS. in possession of Josiah Morrow, Lebanon, Ohio.

[82] A western tributary of the Little Miami, down which Harmar is supposed to have marched to Fish-pot Ford, was formerly known as Harmar's Run.

[83] Armstrong's printed _Journal_ reads Sugar Creek for Caesar's Creek.

Either this was an older name or the result of a typographical error. As the name Caesar comes from a negro who resided here with the Indians, it is probable that, as Josiah Morrow a.s.sumes, "the soldier wrote Seezar or Seizar, which the printer mistook for Sugar."

[84] A station on the Big Four Railway, twelve miles northeast of Troy.

[85] In General Wayne's campaign in 1794 a trace known as "Harmar's Trace" was crossed just south of the St. Mary River in Mercer County (see p. 207). If Harmar recrossed the St. Mary and proceeded south of the river to "Shane's Crossing" (Rockford, Mercer County) this is the only record of it.

[86] The Irwin MS. account of the operations of the army on the Maumee is intensely vivid, and, though incomplete, should be preserved in lasting form. It will be found in Appendix C.

[87] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. ix, ch. 2.

[88] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 129.

[89] _Id._, p. 171.

[90] _Id._, p. 172. This project was suggested by General St. Clair the year previous, but was not countenanced by the Government. _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 100.

[91] _Id._, p. 172.

[92] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 192.

Officers who had orders from Butler to march were, in some instances, delayed nearly a week before they received the necessary provisions with which to do so.--St. Clair's _Narrative of the Campaign against the Indians_ (1812), p. 228.

[93] _Id._, p. 193.

[94] St. Clair's _Narrative_, p. 12.

[95] _Id._, p. 207.

[96] c.u.mmingsville--"six miles from the fort [Was.h.i.+ngton], along what is now 'Mad Anthony Street.'"--_History of Hamilton County_, (Cleveland, 1881), p. 78.

[97] Knox to Was.h.i.+ngton, October 1, 1791, _American State Papers_, vol.

iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 244.

[98] The site of Fort Hamilton was in the present city of Hamilton, Ohio, and was described in 1875 as located on the ground reaching from Stable Street to the United Presbyterian Church, and stretching from the Miami River eastward to the site of the Universalist Church.

[99] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 173.

[100] _Historic Highways of America_, vol. ix, ch. 2.

[101] _American State Papers_, vol. iv (Indian Affairs, vol. i), p. 245.

St. Clair had ordered Butler to proceed in three parallel paths each ten feet in width.

[102] Everts's _Atlas of Butler County, Ohio_, p. 23.