Timeline: Council of Piqua

 

Nov. 30th, 1811   Thomas Worthington requests three commissioners be appointed to treat with the Indians and assess the situation on the frontier .

 

January 1812 (late) Governor Return J, Meigs wrote to Worthington to propose 'a general treaty'.  He optimistically hopes this gathering would "almost totally destroy the British influence."

 

January 23rd, 1812  Johnston warns General Meigs that it is only fear that keeps the Indians in hand.  Meigs tells Worthington that he seeks a meeting and a general treaty with the Indians.

May (or spring of 1812) A newspaper reported, "The (Shawnee) chiefs, as usual, made great professions of a friendly disposition, and Mr. Johnston expresses much reliance in their sincerity."  The article sneered at John's credulity. 

 

June 11th, 1812 The Secretary o f War sent instructions to Governors Hull, Ninian Edwards of Illinois, and Harrison, and Indian Agents Stickney, Joseph B. Vance of Michilimackinac, and Johnston, to invite the Indians in their agencies to a great council with special commissioners to be held at Piqua, Ohio.

 

June 15th,1812  Order issued for 10,000 provisions to be sent to Piqua Town on August 1st.  No liquor.   Order sent to Dayton.

 

June 17th, 1812  President Madison refuses to employ the Indians as allies in the war.

 

June 1812 (week of 11th) A week before the war was declared the War Department issued a circular announcing the Piqua council and the appointment of the commissioners. 

 

June 1812 (early to middle) The passage of Hull's army through the area on the way to Detroit had reduced the available wheat. 

 

June 18th, 1812 War is declared .   The Indians agreed to open a road as necessary to the army through their lands from the northern border of Champaign Co. to the Greenville Treaty line, to the foot of the rapids of the Miami of the lake.  No settlements were to be permitted, but blockhouses would be allowed.  The treaty was signed by Black Hoof among others.  Agreement of Hull with the Indians.

 

July 1st, 1812  The Secretary of War to His Excellency, Return J. Meigs, the Honorable Thomas Worthington, and the Hon. Jeremiah Morrow .  A letter is sent outlining the specifics of what the commissioners are to say.

 

July 2nd,1812  Johnston acknowledges Eustis' letter but counters that he cannot gather the Indians by August 1st as Hull's army was encamped 29 miles away for weeks and consumed all provision.  Suggests August 15th instead.  Johnston said he expected supplies for all agencies in 10-12 days.  He asks to pay the Fort Wayne annuities at the meeting and that he has advised Benjamin Stickney to come with 'his Indians'.  Hull's items are at Piqua.  Johnston wants to know what do with them.  He reports that the frontier is quiet for the moment, and then asks for authority to procure the needed supplies.

 

July 3rd, 1812 The declaration of War alerted the British in Malden in time for them to capture the baggage of Hull's army.

 

July 6th, 1812  Stickney states he has received notice of declaration of war.  He has app. 200 Indians.  He told them the 'road to Malden' was full of lies and not to join with the British.  The friendly Indians tell him the hostile natives will not meet near any white settlement, but that they will try to persuade them too.  37 packages of goods are sent  to Piqua to be distributed among the Indians  besides the quantity they receive every year.  Stickney reports the Indians are pleased with the idea of the Council.  They are uncertain about the venue as they fear whites will sell liquor to the young man.

 

July 7th, 1812  Stickney wrote to Johnston from Fort Wayne concerning the seizure of an American ship at Malden. 

 

July 8th, 1812 Johnston to Capt. Nathan Heald, "The Bares Foot is the bearer of this.  He is going to invite the Indians to the Grand Council at Piqua (which I have mentioned to you)."  

 

July 12th, 1812 – Americans invade Canada at Windsor, Ontario.

 

July 13th, 1812  Stickney writes to the Secretary of War that he is out of supplies and needs government money to purchase provisions for the subsistence of 1000 Indians on their way to the council at Piqua.

 

July 14th  1812  Little Turtle dies.

 

July 17th, 1812  The next day, the 17th (July) the sergeant who had a “severe fit of Dierhoe (sic) and cramps” was better and a detachment of their men was ordered to Piqua or Dayton to escort five Indian prisoners.” 

 

July 18th,  1812  John Johnston, Piqua, to Capt. George Buchanan, Stillwater.  Johnston writes to the commander at Stillwater that troops need to be dispersed to guard the frontier.  He offers that the men can sleep in his barn and also guard the store of public goods there.

 

July 19th, 1812  Little Turtle's death is reported to Stickney.  It is also reported that a great wampum belt has been carried to the tribes to call them to war and to not attend the conference.  General Hull holds a conference with the Indians at Brownstown.

 

July 20th, 1812  Jerome Holt, Lieut. Col. Comd.  to Capt. George Buchanan, Stillwater.  Holt sends a letter stating that the militia in the area of Piqua is to be disbanded until two days before the Council unless hostilities arise.  They are to reconvene on August 10th at Troy and march to Piqua the next day.

 

July 21st, 1812  Hull writes Eustis that only Tecumseh and Marpot had joined the British and that he had sent the rest on to Piqua.   President Madison appointed Senator Worthington, Congressman Morrow, and Governor Meigs to negotiate with the tribes at Piqua, August 1st.  He informs the Secretary of War of the results of Brownsville Conference, that the Indians are 'unanimous for remaining neutral'.   Hull reported to Eustis that he had held a number of councils with the Native Americans and had just received a pledge of neutrality from the Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Wyandot, Delaware, Munsee, Kickapoo, Sac, and Iroquois. The Crane, Walk-in-theWater, BlackHoof, Colonel Lewis, and the Wolf had made great efforts to detach the Native Americans from the British.  

 

July 25th, 1812 Worthington started for Piqua to meet the Indians, but when he learned from the papers that the council had been postponed until August 15, he returned home.

 

August 5th, 1812 The news of the fall of Michilimackinac (which fell on the 17th) reaches Worthington.  Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat. 

 

August 6th, 1812  John Johnston has between 30 and 40 thousand dollars in goods in the barn in expectation of the Council.  He states he has only “one rifle, a fowling piece, and an English musket” to defend it.

 

August 12th, 1812  (App.) Benjamin Stickney leaves Fort Wayne for Piqua in order to recuperate from an attack of fever which had incapacitated him for some time.  He does not attend the council.

 

August 13th, 1812 Worthington and Morrow reached Piqua, but no Indians had yet arrived.  Naval battles in the War of 1812 in August begin with the United States Navy defeating the British when the U.S.S. Essex captures the Alert.  Three days later, the tide would turn in favor of the British as English forces capture Fort Detroit without a fight.  Captain William Wells arrives at Fort Dearborn from Fort Wayne with a group of about 30 Miami Indians to act as an escort.

Worthington and Morrow reached Piqua, but no Indians had yet arrived.  There they learned that Hull had invaded Canada, July 12, but that he had not yet struck the British.  The Indians came in slowly and in nothing like the number expected.  It became evident Hull's sluggishness and the intrigues of the British had led many of the Indians to believe the United States had no chance of winning the war and that if they placed themselves in the power of the Americans they would probably be massacred.  Some groups which had halted near Fort Wayne joined in the siege of that post when they heard of the fall of Michilimackinac on July 17th.    In spite of delays, however, by August 16th, there were over seven hundred Indians present at Piqua to hear Worthington read the President's message.  Their chiefs made appropriate replies.

The Indians were sold large quantities of liquor by local dealers and were uncontrollable.  Worthington spent most of his time riding about the camp quieting them and exhorting their chiefs to control them.  refuge at Detroit, it was decided to hold the Indians as long as possible while governor Meigs left to raise more troops.

 

August 14th, 1812  Captain Heald at Fort Wayne held a council with the Potawatomi leaders and informed them of his intention to evacuate the fort.  The Indians believed that Heald told them that he would distribute the fire-arms, ammunition, provisions and whiskey amongst them, and that, if they would send a band of Pottawatomies to escort them safely to Fort Wayne, he would pay them a large sum of money. However, Heald ordered all the surplus arms, ammunition and liquor destroyed "fearing that [the Indians] would make bad use of it if put in their possession." A Potawatomi chief called Black Partridge warned Captain Heald that the young men of the tribe intended to attack, and that he could no longer restrain them.

 

August 15th, 1812  insts near 800 Indians (men, women, and children) arrived composed of Shawanoes, Delawares, Wyandotts, Taw-ways & Kickapoo.  It appears pretty evident that British agents have used every exertion to prevent the attendance of the Indians & not without success to a certain extent.  This together with the unfavourable state of our affairs to the North has we apprehend had a considerable effect on the movements of the Indians and will on our part require additional exertion and caution.  We deem it all important in the present critical situation of affairs to use every means in our power to keep the Indians quiet either in their homes or at the council until reinforcements get to Detroit and a favorable change takes place.  We have with a view to effect this sent confidential persons out among them to watch them to hasten such as are on the way in and to counteract the operations of the British.   You will perceive with this view of the subject that it will be necessary to prolong the council to a period beyond what it might otherwise have been necessary.  All is quiet at present on the frontier and we hope will continue so tho' we acknowledge we shall not be entirely without fear at least until this army gets on the frontier  we have only to add that we shall do all i our power to aid in the operations and effect the objects of the Government - PS Governor Meigs left on the 18th and is now at Urbana using every exertion to start reinforcements and supplies for this Army and (?) his return to the council is uncertain.  The council convenes.  Worthington reported that near 800 Indians (men, women, and children) had arrived composed of Shawanoes, Delawares, Wyandotts, Taw-ways & Kickapoo. 

 

August 1812 (middle) Soon after one of Colonel Johnston's appeals for just and humane treatment of the Indians was printed in the papers, an article filled with abuse of him and the Shawnees was published in the Ohio Centinel.  It was claimed that while he was assuring the people that the Indians would not be troublesome in any way, he directed them to bring him the ears of all the swine they had killed. The settlers insisted that the order would not have been issued if there had been no ground for complaints against the savages. Colonel Johnston's only object in publishing this order was to prove the innocence of his wards, if possible, or, if he failed in this, to provide some means of deciding what would be full compensation for hogs that had been lost by their owners.  Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison were the only posts above Piqua that had not been taken by the British and Indians. 

 

August 16th,1812  There were over seven hundred Indians present at Piqua.  These councils were of exciting interest at the time. Gov., Meigs, and United States Senator Jeremiah Morrow, and Thomas Worthington, were present at some of them. in the autumn of 1812. These councils were generally held at the village of Washington, now Piqua. The writer was present at some of them and also several times visited the Indian encampment referred to. There was usually some amusement going on of an afternoon, such as wrestling, foot-races, etc., between the red-skins and white boys. The Indians were generally the fleetest on foot, but in wrestling the pale-face was oftenest uppermost. There were frequently Indian dances in the afternoon; a few plugs of tobacco would procure an interesting entertainment in this line. Some fifteen or twenty Indians, in a half-nude state, would assemble in a circle on the dance ground, made smooth for the purpose, and perform a dance of an hour or so, under the direction of a master of ceremonies, as dances are managed by the more refined of the present day. Their music consisted of the Indian drum, shaking of bells and singing.

 

August 18th, 1812  Governor Meigs leaves Piqua for Urbana to raise troops and supplies.  Unable to control their warriors, tribal chiefs refuse Harrison’s invitation to attend a peace council at Piqua, OH.

 

August 19th, 1812 A majority of Harrison's troops depart.  News of Hull's retreat to Detroit had reached Piqua. Gen. Gano received orders last evening by express from Governor Meigs to furnish three hundred men from his district to march immediately for Detroit.  From the Ohio Centinel newspaper: “The Indian Council – In consequence of the posture of affairs at Detroit, very little good is expected to result from the Indian Council at Piqua. None but the neighbouring Indians will probably attend.  By a gentleman who left there yesterday morning, we are informed that about 700 had arrived, including men, women and children, among whom are 250 warriors.  They are chiefly from the Shawanoe tribe from Wapokanetta, and are encamped a few miles from Piqua.  On Monday the warriors, headed by their chief, marched in with much order and solemnity, and fired a salute to the commissioners after which the Council was adjourned until Friday next, and the commissioners went over to Urbana where the troops destined for Detroit are beginning to rendezvous.  The object of the adjournment was to afford an opportunity to the more distant tribes to attend, if they felt disposed; but very little hopes were entertained that there would be any more at the council than those at present assembled.  Even the Miamis had not attended and were but little expected; they have either been seduced by the arts of the British or are apprehensive of exciting the hostility of the Indians west of them.  We are told they assign the latter reason as the cause of their not attending.”

 

August 1812 (middle) At Piqua Worthington wrote letters for publication to counteract the wild stories "that the Indians assembled here, had seized the public stores, and murdered all those white people collected here". 

 

August 21st, 1812 Johnston states 'Agreeably to your Excellency's orders I have delivered to the bearer here of Gershom  Gard, Ten Casks of Rifle powder of Fifty pounds each making 500 lbs. and Five Boxes of Bar Lead each containing 2 cwt. making 1120 lbs. net p her receipt enclosed.' Captain Rhea writes from Fort Wayne in a panic that they need help and supplies.   News comes of the capture of Detroit on August 16th.   It was known at Piqua that Hull had surrendered.   John would learn of Wells' death.

 

August  1812 (latter part) ...Colonel Johnston knowing that there were a number of women and children at Fort Wayne who needed to be relocated before something bad happened.  Johnston asked for volunteers to go there and escort them to Piqua. 

 

August 22nd, 1812 Ohio Centinel, extra edition, Dayton, calls for citizens to take up arms and though not stating it directly, calls for an attack on Piqua to seize the arms and ammunitions there and to drive off the Indians assembled for the Council.  In response to the Centinel, so many poured into town, and so immediate was the response to the appeal, that the Centinel headed an editorial relating the occurrences of the next day or two, "Prompt Patriotism," and challenged "the annals of our country to produce an example of greater promptitude or patriotism." Though the news came Saturday noon, a company of seventy men, commanded by Captain James Steele, was by seven o'clock Sunday morning raised, organized, and completely equipped, and marched a little later in the morning to Piqua. 

 

August 22-24th, 1812  Worthington spends the next three days enrolling volunteers and collecting provisions at Piqua.  Attendance at the council was as follows:  590 Shawanoese, 714 Mingoes, 26 Ottawas, 24 Kickapoos, 160 Delawares for a total of 1414.  Delaware and Shawnee tribes, along with several Kickapoos, Seneca, Mingoes and Wyandot attended.  Indians declared they would remain neutral.  Any tribe not attending was deemed hostile.  No goods or annuities would be paid to them.

 

August 25th, 1812 Worthington recorded in his diary that 'many troops arrive in consequence of a report that the Indians have murdered Mr. Morrow and myself and seized the public property.   Worthington ordered Col. Samuel Wells to march at once to the relief of Fort Wayne.

 

August 26th, 1812  Meigs held a meeting at Chillicothe at which a selected committee urged him to exert greater effort in recruiting troops.  John Johnston suggested Worthington organize seven mounted companies of forty men each.  Johnston reports that due to the failures of the American forces 'the Indians have not attended the Council in such numbers as was expected.  None of the remote tribes have attended.'  John Johnston talks of 700 men from the militia being mustered at U.P. to be sent to the relief of Fort Wayne.

 

August 27th,1812  A public council was held to assure the local citizenry of the good intentions of the Indians.  John Johnston called it in Piqua and 50 persons were in attendance.  Tribes included were the Shawanoese, Wyandott and Seneca.

 

August 28th, 1812  Stephen Johnston is killed while trying to leave the fort to join his wife.  He is also carrying messages to Harrison.  Governor Meigs arrived in Piqua with more troops and stores.

 

August 29th, 1812  Worthington writes Eustis that he has heard since his arrival at Piqua that troops are about to be marched from Kentucky to carry on an expedition against thousands of Indians.

 

August 30th, 1812 News arrived by way of a friendly Indian on the 30th of the fall of Fort Dearborn.  Fort Dearborn had fallen on the 15th, and the garrison had all been massacred by Indians. 

 

August 31st, 1812  Harrison joined his troops on the 31st near Dayton.