- Ohio History in 2000 Words
- Mound Builders
- Native Ohioans
- The Ohio Company
- Ohio's Wood Forts
- Indian Wars
- War of 1812
- Ohio's Canals
- Ohio's Road
- Scenic Railroads / Museums
- Underground Railroad
- Civil War in Ohio
When the 2nd war with Great Britain broke out and General William Hull's immediate surrender of Fort Detroit, General William Henry Harrison began preparing for the expected invasion of northwestern Ohio by the British and supporting Native Americans.
At that time, northwestern Ohio was known as the Black Swamp. It was a mucky water logged area that made travel by land extremely difficult, especially on foot. Rather than forcing troops through this ordeal, Harrison decided to build a number of forts and supply depots along the rivers so that these supplies could travel by water.
The rivers of the early 1800s were entirely different from what we know today. They were mostly slow moving, deep water rivers that retained their water levels almost year round thanks to the swampy land supplying them with water. Even during hard rains the rivers would remain relatively even since the water had to flow through the swampy land before entering the river. Later, as the land became farm lands, and was drained, the rivers changed character with wild fluctuations in water levels and current strength.
Usually the forts were built in defensible positions. Cannons deep in the wilderness of western Ohio were unlikely to be encountered, so the forts only needed to provide protection from scaling the wooden walls and to provide cover from enemy rifle fire. The forts also could accommodate a number of local citizens that might be threatened, but their primary purpose was for supply storage. They were roughly spaced to be about a days travel time between forts.
Fort McArthur that constructed by Col. Duncan McArthur in 1812. This fort was along the trail that General Hull's men created as they marched toward Fort Detroit and promptly surrendered at the onset of the War of 1812. Later the village of Kenton was built just down the road from the fort.
In the fall of 1812, troops from Kentucky under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Pogue, built Fort Amanda along the banks of the Auglaize River. He named the fort after his 12 year old daughter Amanda.
At that time the fort was about 160' x 160'. When General Harrison feared an imminent attack from the British in the spring of 1813 he ordered larger quantities of supplies to be stored at the fort. In February 1813, Capt. Daniel Hosbrook assumed command of the fort and began organizing the fort to accommodate the additional supplies arriving. He doubled the original size of the fort to almost 160' x 320'. Livestock, grain, munitions and whiskey could now be safely stored to almost double the original size of the fort so that it was about 160' x 320'. A fifth blockhouse was also added during this remodeling as well as several cabins and storage buildings. Fort Amanda's walls stood about 11 feet tall. Holsbrook also built a number of large rafts that could float supplies down the Auglaize River, north towards the Maumee River.
A monument erected at the site in 1915 memorializes the fort. It is in Logan Township, along Highway 198 and Ft. Amanda Road, southwest of Lima, Ohio. The nearby cemetery contains the graves of 75 unidentified soldiers that died at Fort Amanda, either from sickness or from wounds received from battles elsewhere in the state.
Built under orders from General Harrison, it was built by Colonel Joshua Barbee not far from the old Fort St. Marys which had fallen into disrepair. It was decided building a new fortification would be easier than trying to repair the old one. Fort Barbee was located on the St. Marys River and was a supply depot. When Fort St. Marys was built, there was a small trading outpost here along with a few cabins. It was known regionally as Girtystown. This name remained until the name St. Marys became the official name in 1823.
Fort Ball was built on the west bank of the Sandusky River, in what is now the city of Tiffin. It was a fairly small stockade, enclosing perhaps one-third of an acre, and was used as a supply depot.
Fort Defiance first saw service during the Indian Wars of the 1790s. After the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Wayne used the fort as an operational center used to seek out and destroy Native American villages within a 50 mile radius of the fort. After the signing of the Treaty of Green Ville, Native Americans allowed for the fort to be converted into a trading post. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Harrison repaired the fort so it could again become an active fortification while other forts were constructed nearby.
Built in Cleveland by orders of Secretary of War John Armstrong who wanted General Harrison to make this position his campaign headquarters after the surrender of General Hull. Harrison felt his position should be on the western front, which he did. Fort Huntington was named for the previous governor of Ohio, Samuel Huntington. On June 19, 1813 the lookouts at the fort spotted sails on Lake Erie and they opened fire. Fortunately, no damage was done as the ship fired upon was American.
This stockaded position located just east of where the Wyandot County Court House in Upper Sandusky now stands. It was used as a supply depot and was located on a bluff along the western side of the Sandusky River.
Fort Findlay was a stockaded supply base about 50-yards square, with four blockhouses. It was ordered built by General Hull on his way to Fort Detroit where he surrendered his forces to the British.
Colonel James Findlay carried out those orders to build the fort and a road from Ft. McArthur on the Scioto River to Blanchard's Fork. After he carried out those orders the fort was named in his honor. Immediately after the war the fort was occupied by some Wyandot Indian families that were common to the area. The village of Findlay was laid out in 1821 along the Blanchard River not far from where the fort stood.
During the Indian Wars of 1793-1794 General Anthony Wayne ordered construction of Fort Loramie. It was located at the portage between St. Mary's River and modern-day Loramie's Creek.
Wayne initially intended Fort Loramie to be an actual stockade, but after defeating a large group of Native Americans at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794, he decided a blockhouse and several storage buildings were more important.
When the War of 1812 erupted, the abandoned fort was once again occupied and defended as a supply depot. After the war the fort became a tavern.
Fort Meigs located just south of today's Toledo, along the banks of the Maumee River, was the largest fort constructed in Ohio during the War of 1812. Under extremely adverse conditions, General Harrison urged his men to construct the fort in record setting time. It would become a focal point in the British invasion of northwest Ohio.
Fort Stephenson was at the head of navigation on the Sandusky River, on the site of present Fremont. The fort was well constructed and enclosed an acre of ground. It was the site where a few American soldiers repelled a massive artillery barrage and frontal assault by a large British force coming from Lake Erie by way of the Sandusky River.
Fort Seneca was built as a stockade by a detachment of Gen. Harrison's army. It was used as a supply depot and stood on the west side of Sandusky River about 10 miles south of Fort Stevenson.
Also called Vance's Block House was a block house built by a group of independent riflemen organized by Joseph Vance. They organized themselves to protect nearby colonists from Indian and British attack. There was 2 twenty foot buildings connected with a common second story. Vance would later become governor of Ohio. The structure was located about a mile east of Logan.
Located near Fort Defiance, which was built in 1794 by General Wayne, Fort Winchester was constructed just south of the old fort in 1812 along the west bank of the Auglaize River. It was named for the American General James Winchester, who had initially been named commander of the western forces. However, it became quickly apparent that General Winchester was inadequate for the assignment and was deeply disliked by his men. It was decided that General Harrison would be a better commander of the western frontier. Winchester then took control of the extreme western American forces positioned at Fort Wayne. Winchester's forces became the left wing of Harrison's 3 divisions.
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