“ When the fugitives arrived at Fort Jefferson, the first regiment was just returning from its unsuccessful effort either to overtake the deserters or to meet the convoy of provisions. The absence of that regiment at the time of the battle was believed by some men to have been the cause of the defeat. They supposed that had it been present the Indians would have been defeated or would have attacked at another time. General St. Clair seemed to think it uncertain, judging from the superior number of the enemy, whether he ought to consider the absence of that corps fortunate or otherwise. ”

“ He can still pick off a squirrel with his rifle at one hundred yards. He can walk as firmly and as fast as most men of fifty, and I cannot perceive a gray hair in his head. His mind and memory are as vigorous as his physical body.”
Major Fowler’s story is as follows:
“Excepting a single instance, St. Clair kept out no scouting parties during his entire march. We would have been completely surprised by the attack if it had not been for volunteer scouting parties from the militia who were out on the evening before the battle. ”

“ Now that mere chance had exposed the grave, the citizens were enthusiastically paying that respect which is due from every true and patriotic American. These men died to maintain liberty and the peace and quiet of the fireside. ”

“ Clair had received orders to raise and organize an army, to march into the wilderness as far as the junction of the St. Mary’s and the St. Joseph rivers, and to establish a line of military posts from Fort Washington at Cincinnati to the present site of Fort Wayne. The forts were intended to keep the Indians in wholesome dread of the power of the whites and to prevent those fearful depredations which had already done so much to check the advancing tide of civilization. In the execution of these orders, St. Clair surmounted many serious obstacles. ”

“ Their first regular fire checked the onset of the foe to some degree, but the Indians were too great in numbers and held too great an advantage to give way permanently. In a short time our gallant soldiers were violently assailed on all sides, and officers and men went down before the deadly rifle fire like leaves before the blasts of autumn wind. Several charges were ordered and made with great spirit. The savages at times gave way before the impetuous charges of their disciplined foes, yet it was only to rally in greater force and to press more fearfully upon some weaker point. ”

“ They followed the soldiers for four or five miles, shooting, tomahawking, or scalping all they could overtake. Then the most eager of the savages, satisfied with their morning’s work, gave up the chase and returned to the battlefield to gather the scalps of the dead and dying. ”

“ Several Indians, who had passed him before he rose from the grass, threw themselves in the way and completely cut him off from the other rangers. By the most powerful exertions, he left all of the pursuers behind him, with the exception of one chief who displayed a swiftness and perseverance equal to his own. The circuit which Kennan was obliged to take extended the race for more than four hundred yards. The distance between them was about eighteen feet, which Kennan could not increase nor his adversary diminish. Each runner put his whole soul into the race. ”

“ I handed him the rifle I had gone into the battle with, and I told him that we were defeated and would have to make our 13 escape as speedily as possible. If we escaped, we would need the rifles for subsistence in the woods. While the battle still raged, a group of soldiers had gathered together, but they did little more than present targets for the enemy. The soldiers appeared stupefied and bewildered. At another spot a group of soldiers had broken into the officers’ marquees and were eating the breakfast from which the officers had been called. ”

“ Clair against his army was that the men lacked discipline, a quality which could not have been developed during the short time the men were in the service. That defect rendered it impossible to restore order once the men were thrown into confusion, and this is the chief reason why the loss fell so heavily on the officers. ”

“ Clair and Butler were continually going up and down the lines; as one general went up one side, the other one went down the opposite side. St. Clair was so severely afflicted with the gout that he was unable to mount or dismount a horse without assistance. His own four horses had been turned out to feed overnight, but they had been brought in before the battle. St. Clair first attempted to ride a young horse, but the animal was so frightened by the firing that it could not be mounted. ”

“ The cannon was silenced, and all the artillery officers were killed except Captain Ford who was dangerously wounded. Half the army had fallen; it was necessary to gain the road, if possible, and to make a retreat.
“A successful charge was made on the enemy, as if to turn their right flank, but in reality to reach the road. The militia then commenced to retreat, followed by the 3 United States troops, with Major Clark’s battalion covering the rear. The retreat, as might be expected, soon became a flight. The camp was abandoned and so was the artillery for there were no horses to move it. ”

“ He soon remarked that he was at the defeat of St. Clair, and that if it had not been for the assistance of a young man of Butler’s regiment, he would have been there yet.’
“After a few more questions and replies, both men recognized each other. The gentleman was the youth who had been shot during the retreat and whose life had been saved with McDowell’s assistance. At this discovery their surprise and consequent mutual attachment may be imagined. The gentleman insisted upon taking McDowell home and introducing him to his wife and daughters. ”

“ Clair, Colonel Darke made a spirited charge with a part of the second line. The Indians instantly gave way and were driven back several hundred yards. But there was not a sufficient number of riflemen to preserve the advantage, and the enemy soon renewed the attack and forced our troops to retreat.
“When the Indians entered the American camp from the left, another charge was made with great success by the battalions of Majors Butler and Clark. Several other charges were made with equal effect. These attacks, however, caused a heavy loss of men, particularly of officers. ”

“ As soon as the troops reached Fort Jefferson, it became a question of whether they ought to stay there or return to Fort Washington. General St. Clair asked the advice of his surviving field officers; these included Colonel Darke, Majors Hamtramck, Zeigler, and Gaither, and Colonel Sargeant. After discussing the subject, they reported unanimously that they believed the troops could not be accommodated in Fort Jefferson nor could they be supplied with provisions 5 there. ”

“ They were compelled to expose themselves to an unusual degree in their efforts to rally the men and to overcome the want of discipline. Although worn down by sickness and suffering from a painful disease, General St. Clair set the example. It was alleged by the officers that the Indians far outnumbered the American troops. That conclusion was drawn, in part, from the fact that the Indians outflanked and forcefully attacked all sides of the American lines at the same time. ”

“ Being uncommonly active in those days, I soon got from the rear to the front of the troops; but I had great trouble in avoiding the bayonets which the retreating men had thrown down with the sharp points toward their pursuers.
“It has been stated that the Indians followed us for thirty miles, but this is not true. My duty as surveyor led me to mark the miles every day we proceeded on our march, and it was therefore easy to ascertain how far we were pursued. The Indians, after every other fire, fell back to load their rifles and regained the lost distance by running on 14 afresh. ”

“ At some distance in front of the ground occupied by the militia, these parties found a large camp, not less than three quarters of a mile long. They thought it had been the camp of the Indians the night before the action. We remained on the field that night, and the next morning we hitched horses to the carriages and started for Fort Jefferson.
“There is little reason to believe that the enemy carried off the cannons, and it is thought they were either buried or thrown into the creek. ”