wyandot County Historical Society Column

The Battle of Sandusky: The Struggle for Control of the Ohio Territory

Part I of II
The Wyandot, who moved to Ohio from Canada in the early 18th century to escape the Iroquois, soon found themselves facing a dangerous new enemy, white settlers.The Wyandot, along with other Ohio tribes, were afraid they would lose all of their land to the many whites who violated agreements and crossed established boundaries to settle on land in Indian territory.During the American Revolution, the Ohio tribes, including the Wyandot, decided that the Americans posed the more dangerous threat to Indian land rights.The tribes, therefore, allied themselves with the British during the war.

In 1782, it became clear that the Americans would be the victors of the war.The officers at Fort Pitt (present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) thought this would be an opportune time to deal a blow to the British allied Ohio Indian tribes.Colonel William Crawford was chosen to lead a militia to a Wyandot town located on the Sandusky Plains.This principal village of the Wyandot, known as Old Town (approximately four miles south of present day Upper Sandusky), was a meeting place for many of the British allied tribes.The Americans felt that destroying this particular town would be lethal to American Indian resistance in Ohio.

Colonel Crawford was asked to lead the Sandusky Expedition because he had distinguished himself during the Revolution as an able leader.He was also a surveyor from Virginia and had visited the Ohio territory at least once with George Washington on a surveying expedition before the war. The officers at the American Fort Pitt believed Crawford was very capable of subduing the Ohio tribes.

Second in command of the expedition was Col. David Williamson.Several months before Crawford’s militia was organized, Williamson had led his own expedition against the Christian Delaware living at Gnadenhutten.These Delaware, due to their Christian beliefs, tried to remain neutral during the war.The Americans, however, suspected them of secretly aiding the British and the Ohio Indian tribes.Without substantial evidence, Williamson’s militia attacked the village.The American soldiers separated the men from the women and children and placed the two groups into separate cabins.Williamson and his soldiers then took cooper’s mallets and crushed each Indian’s skull, one by one.Only two teenage boys managed to escape.Williamson’s militia killed forty men, twenty-two women and thirty-four children at Gnadenhutten.

In May 1782, Crawford and his men gathered at Mingo Bottom, located on the Ohio River, two and a half miles south of present day Steubenville, Ohio.Crawford’s militia was composed of 480 volunteer soldiers.The soldiers represented the extensive cultural mixing that had occurred between the American Indians and the Euro-Americans.Although the two cultures were sometimes in conflict with each other, much cultural borrowing occurred, which created a “new” culture, one that was neither American Indian, nor European.

Historian C.W. Butterfield describes the appearance of the volunteers. The volunteers’ dress included many Indian components. According to Butterfield, the typical volunteer was clad in a “hunting-shirt, reaching half-way down to his thighs, [which] was securely belted at the waist, the bosom serving as a wallet. The belt, tied behind, answered several purposes besides that of holding the wide folds of the shirt together. Within it, on the right side, was suspended his tomahawk; on the left, his scalping knife. He wore moccasins instead of shoes upon his feet.”[1]

Crawford and his militia left Mingo Bottom on May 25, 1782, bound for northwest Ohio. They reached Old Town on June 5th, only to find it deserted. The Wyandot, apparently, had received advance warning of Crawford’s approach. Crawford consulted with his officers to decide what to do next. The volunteer militia was running low on supplies after two weeks of marching across Ohio. It was decided that the militia would march on until dusk. If they did not encounter the enemy, they would camp for the night and, in the morning, begin their march back to Mingo Bottom.

The Wyandot had indeed received a warning regarding the approach of Crawford’s militia. They not only had enough advance notice to vacate their village, but they also managed to send a message to the British at Fort Detroit (now Detroit, Michigan) that the Americans were planning to attack Old Town. By the time Crawford reached Old Town on June 5, the Wyandot had assembled a force of Delaware, Seneca, and Shawnee to defend the Sandusky plains. They were also expecting the British at any moment.

As the militia continued marching north of Old Town, the American Indian force attacked them. The attack occurred several miles north of U.S. Route 23 and east of State Route 53. The militia retreated about two miles from their position and took refuge in a group of trees in the middle of the grassy plain. For this reason, the location of the Battle of Sandusky is known as Battle Island. The battle lasted until late afternoon, when two companies of Butler’s Rangers arrived from Fort Detroit. The Rangers brought two cannon with them, which was a serious problem for the militia. During the evening of June 5th, Crawford again consulted with his officers. Together, they decided to call a retreat. In the undercover of darkness, Crawford’s troops began to move out of the area. The Indians discovered this maneuver and fired their guns as an alarm. Panic stuck the militia, and they bolted into the plains in several directions.

As his men fled past him, Crawford attempted to locate his son, nephew, and son-in-law, who were among the volunteers. At the urging of Dr. Knight, the army’s surgeon, Crawford finally left the area. Crawford, Dr. Knight, and a small band of soldiers regrouped and began the trek back to Mingo Bottom. Meanwhile, Colonel Williamson and Major John Rose managed to regain control of the majority of the militia at Old Town. They began to march out of the area, but were pursued and attacked by the Indian force. This skirmish took place near Bucyrus, and is known as the Battle of Olentangy, for a nearby river. A sudden downpour of rain made it impossible for anyone to fire his weapon, which enabled to militia to escape. The militia made it safely back to the Ohio River and were mustered out of service.

Colonel Crawford’s group never managed to meet up with the rest of the militia. They were captured by the Delaware near present day Leesville, which is near Bucyrus. They were marched back to the Delaware towns on the Sandusky plains. A few of the soldiers were killed along the way, the rest were killed upon arrival at the Delaware towns. The tribes that had participated in the battle discussed the fate of Crawford and Dr. Knight. It was decided that Crawford would be given to the Delaware in retaliation for the American attack on Gnadenhutten. Dr. Knight was given to the Shawnee. The Delaware and the Shawnee sentenced both men to death by burning at the stake. Crawford’s sentence was carried out first. Crawford was stripped of his clothing, and tied to a pole, around which a fire was built. Dr. Knight was forced to watch the torture of Crawford, which lasted for several hours before he perished at the stake. The next day, Dr. Knight managed to escape his Shawnee guard. He wandered in an easterly direction for three weeks before he made it to the American Fort McIntosh on the Ohio River. Thus ended the Sandusky Expedition. (picture: artist rendition of Crawford burning at the stake)

There is a monument and an Ohio Historical marker in honor of Colonel William Crawford at the approximate burn site. These are located in the Ritchie Cemetery, just east of Route 23, three miles north of Upper Sandusky. A monument also marks the site of Battle Island. The Wyandot County Museum also exhibits a sword that, according to legend, belonged to Colonel Crawford. Although there is no substantiation for the story, supposedly Colonel Crawford plunged his sword into the ground and snapped it into three pieces before he was captured, so that he would not be killed with his own sword.

Next month: The Battle of Fallen Timbers and the continued struggle for possession of the Ohio territory.

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[1] C.W. Butterfield. An Historical Account of the Expedition Against Sandusky Under William Crawford in 1782. (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co, 1873), 65.