The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876 Part 69

PRESENTED BY CONGRESS TO COLONEL GEORGE CROGHAN 1835. Bust of Colonel Croghan, in uniform, facing the right. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

In a pendant: PARS MAGNA FUIT[111] (_His share was great._) Major Croghan is defending, with one hundred and sixty men, Fort Stephenson against the attack of the British army, one thousand strong. In the background, three gunboats on Lake Erie. Exergue: SANDUSKY 2; AUGUST 1813. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

[Footnote 111: Virgil, aeneid, Book II, 6.]

As this medal was not voted by Congress until 1835, it is placed here according to the chronological order adopted.

GEORGE CROGHAN was born near Louisville, Kentucky, November 15, 1791.

He was graduated at William and Mary College, Virginia, and in 1811 was aid-de-camp to Colonel Boyd at the battle of Tippecanoe; captain in 1812, major in 1813, and aid-de-camp to General Harrison at Fort Meigs. On August 3, 1813, with a garrison of one hundred and sixty men, he repulsed General Proctor at the head of an army of one thousand British troops and Indians. For this gallant deed Congress, in 1835, gave him a vote of thanks and a gold medal. In 1814 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel; resigned in 1817; was promoted to the rank of inspector-general and colonel in 1825; served under General Taylor in Mexico, and died in New Orleans, January 8, 1849.

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ORIGINAL DOc.u.mENTS. (p. 273)

_Resolution of Congress Voting a Medal to Colonel Croghan, etc._

_Resolved unanimously by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress a.s.sembled_: That the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with suitable emblems and devices, and presented to Colonel Croghan, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of his gallantry and good conduct in the defence of Fort Stephenson; and that he present a sword to each of the following officers engaged in that affair: to Captain James Hunter, to the eldest male representative of Lieutenant Benjamin Johnston, and to Lieutenant Cyrus A. Baylor, John Meek, Ensign Joseph Duncan, and the nearest male representative of Ensign Edmund s.h.i.+pp, deceased.

Approved February 13, 1835.

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_Major Croghan to General Harrison._

To MAJOR-GENERAL HARRISON, Lower Sandusky, August 5th, 1813.

Commanding Northwestern Army.

Dear Sir: I have the honour to inform you that the combined force of the enemy, amounting to at least 500 regulars, and seven or eight hundred Indians, under the immediate command of General Proctor, made its appearance before this place early on Sunday evening last, and so soon as the general had made such disposition of his troops as would cut off my retreat, should I be disposed to make one, he sent Colonel Elliott, accompanied by Major Chambers, with a flag to demand the surrender of the fort, as he was anxious to spare the effusion of blood, which he should probably not have it in his power to do should he be reduced to the necessity of taking the place by storm. My answer to the summons was, that I was determined to defend the place to the last extremity, and that no force, however large, should induce me to surrender it. So soon as the flag had returned, a brisk fire was opened upon us from the gunboats in the river, and from a five and a half inch howitzer on sh.o.r.e, which was kept up with little intermission through the night. At an early hour the next morning, three sixes (which had been placed during the night within 250 yards of the pickets) began to play upon us, but with little effect. About 4 o'clock P.M., discovering that the fire from all his guns was concentrated against the northwestern angle of the fort, I became confident that his object was to make a breach, and attempt to storm the works at that point. I therefore ordered out as many men as could be employed for the purpose of strengthening that front, which was so effectually secured by means of bags of flour, sand, &c., that the picketing suffered little or no injury. Notwithstanding which, the enemy, about 5 o'clock, having formed in close column, advancing to a.s.sail our works at the expected point, at the same time making two feints at the front of Captain Hunter's line, the column which advanced against the north-western angle, consisting of about 350 men, (p. 274) was so completely enveloped in smoke as not to be discovered until it had approached within fifteen or twenty paces of the lines; but the men being all at their posts and ready to receive it, commenced so heavy and galling a fire as to throw the column a little into confusion. Being quickly rallied, it advanced to the outer works and began to leap into the ditch. Just at that moment a fire of grape was opened from our six pounder (which had been previously arranged so as to rake in that direction), which, together with the musketry, threw them into such confusion, that they were compelled to retire precipitately to the woods. During the a.s.sault, which lasted about half an hour, an incessant fire was kept up by the enemy's artillery (which consisted of five sixes and a howitzer), but without effect. My whole loss during the siege, was one killed and seven wounded slightly. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded, and prisoners, must exceed one hundred and fifty; one lieutenant-colonel, a lieutenant and fifty rank and file, were found in and about the ditch, those of the remainder, who were not able to escape, were taken off during the night by the Indians. Seventy stand of arms and several brace of pistols have been collected near the work. About three in the morning the enemy sailed down the river, leaving behind them a boat, containing clothing and considerable military stores. Too much praise cannot be bestowed on the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates under my command for their gallantry and good conduct during the siege.

Yours, with respect, G. CROGHAN, _Major 17th U. S. Infantry comdg. L. S._

No. 56. (p. 275) PLATE LVII.

_March 4, 1837--March 4, 1841._

Martin Van Buren President of the United States A. D. 1837. [Rx].

Peace and friends.h.i.+p.

PRESIDENT MARTIN VAN BUREN.

[_Eighth President of the United States of America._]

MARTIN VAN BUREN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES A. D. (_Anno Domini: The year of our Lord_) 1837. Bust of President Van Buren, facing the right. FuRST. F. (_fecit_).

PEACE AND FRIENDs.h.i.+P. Two hands clasped in token of amity; on the cuff of the left wrist three stripes, and b.u.t.tons with the American eagle on them; the other wrist bare; above the hands, a calumet and tomahawk crossed--Indian emblems of peace and war.

MARTIN VAN BUREN was born at Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York, December 5, 1782. He received his early education at a common school; was admitted to the bar in the city of New York, 1803; State senator, 1812; attorney-general of New York, 1815; United States senator, 1821-1828; governor of New York, 1828; secretary of State to President Jackson, 1829-1831; appointed minister to England, 1831, but was not confirmed by the Senate; vice-president of the United States, 1833-1837; President of the United States, 1837-1841. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency in 1848. He died at Kinderhook, July 24, 1862.

No. 57. (p. 276) PLATE LVIII.

_April 4, 1841--March 4, 1845._

John Tyler, President of the United States. 1841. [Rx]. Peace and friends.h.i.+p.

PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER.

[_Tenth[112] President of the United States of America._]

[Footnote 112: General Harrison, the ninth President, died one month after his inauguration, and no Indian peace medal of him was struck.]

JOHN TYLER, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 1841. Bust of President Tyler, facing the left.

PEACE AND FRIENDs.h.i.+P. Two hands clasped in token of amity; on the cuff of the left wrist three stripes, and b.u.t.tons with the American eagle on them; the other wrist bare; above the hands, a calumet and tomahawk crossed--Indian emblems of peace and war.

This medal bears no signature. Below are given the only doc.u.ments relating to it which could be obtained.

JOHN TYLER was born in Charles City County, Virginia, March 29, 1790.

He was graduated at William and Mary College, Virginia, 1807; and was admitted to the bar, 1809. He was a member of the State Legislature, 1811-1816; member of Congress, 1816-1821; member of the State Legislature, 1823-1825; governor of Virginia, 1825-1827; United States senator, 1827-1836; vice-president of the United States, March 4, 1841, and President, on the death of General Harrison (April 4), (p. 277) 1841-1845. He took part with the South during the Civil War, and was a member of the Confederate Congress. He died in Richmond, January 17, 1862.

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ORIGINAL DOc.u.mENTS.

_R. M. Patterson to J. C. Spencer._

To the Honorable J. C. SPENCER, Mint of the United States, Secretary of War. November 2, 1841.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th ult., and am gratified to see the interest which you take in the subject of our American Medals.

The Military Medals of which we have the dies, are now in the course of execution, in compliance with your request. Among them is included the Medal voted, in 1777, to General Gates, of which the dies were given, by the family, through Colonel Burr, to our former chief coiner, Mr. Eckfeldt.

Electrotype copies of the other Medals, properly mounted, could be furnished at two dollars each. We have already the means of making the following: Was.h.i.+ngton--Boston, 1776; Colonel Howard--Cowpens, 1781; General Greene, 1781: Alliance with France, 1777-1781[113]; Colonel Was.h.i.+ngton--Cowpens, 1781.

The dies for the Indian Medals, bearing the heads of the successive Presidents, have heretofore been cut by artists in this country; the earlier ones by Reich, the later by Furst. One of these is dead, and the other in Europe.

I now propose, with your approbation, to pursue a different course, and to dispense entirely with the services of the die sinker. For this purpose, a medallion likeness of the President must be modeled in wax or clay, on a table of four inches in diameter, and I understand that an artist at Was.h.i.+ngton, named Chapman, is competent to this work. A plaster cast from this model is used as a pattern for a casting in fine iron, which can be executed by Babbit at Boston, as well as at the celebrated foundries at Berlin. This casting is then placed in an instrument called a _portrait lathe_ (of which we have a very perfect one at the Mint, which I caused to be made at Paris), and reduced fac-similes of it are turned by the lathe, thus preparing for us the dies which we need.

The advantages offered by this mode of operating are manifest. A model made on a large scale in relief, and in plastic material, can hardly fail to be more perfect than a head sunk originally on a die of steel. I accordingly antic.i.p.ate from this process a more perfect set of dies, than any we have yet made. But it is not an untried experiment which I propose to make. I send you herewith, a medal of Franklin executed by us here, entirely by this process.

The original was a medallion likeness of Franklin in burnt (p. 278) clay. All the rest was a purely mechanical operation, (the work being, in fact, done by a steam engine), except a little retouching, and the impression of the letters.