Trail of Hope

 Fort Recovery

                          Two very significant battles in American history took place in Fort Recovery: the first in 1791 on the banks of the Wabash when Arthur St. Clair suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of 1,000 to 1,500 Indian warriors; the second in 1794 when Mad Anthony Wayne’s men successfully defended the fort against Indians who were under the command of Little Turtle and Blue Jacket. This last battle led to the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville in 1795.

After the Revolutionary War many citizens of the 13 states began to come across the Appalachian Mountains to settle the rich lands of the Northwest Territory. The Native Americans greatly resented this intrusion onto their land and proceeded to employ every measure possible to frighten the settlers back to the East. 

The general and his army were the ones to be surprised and embarrassed. After Harmar’s humiliating loss, Arthur St. Clair was put in charge of raising an army and finding a way to make the Ohio Country safe for settlement by the white man. He was an appropriate choice since he had military leadership experience during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War and because he was very familiar with the Northwest Territory, having served as its first governor.

With this army Arthur St. Clair began his journey up through the Northwest Territory in the fall of 1791. Since the army was proceeding through virgin forest land, the progress was very slow. With hatchets and axes, the army proceeded to cut a road from Fort Washington (Cincinnati) to the north.

It was on November 3, 1791, that St. Clair’s American Army arrived on the banks of the Wabash River thinking that it was the St. Marys River. Although everyone was aware that there was much Indiana activity about the area, the tired and demoralized men pitched camp without erecting any kind of fortifications.

Early the next morning, the Indians attacked in numbers never anticipated. The Kentucky militiamen who were to be the first line of defense, were rendered helpless at the sight of the war painted faces and the sound of blood curdling cries as the Indian warriors swooped down upon them. 
It was obvious from the beginning that it would be an impossible victory for the army, but because they were surrounded, retreat was impossible. Finally, Colonel Darke lead a charge which drove a wedge through the Indian army and enabled those soldiers and civilians who were able to escape down the road to Fort Jefferson. General St. Clair did survive the battle — even though he had four horses shot out from under him. Major General Richard Butler and many other officers lost their lives during the battle.

Mad Anthony Wayne was appointed by Washington to succeed St. Clair as the Commander-in-Chief of the army. Wayne made it clear from the outset that he was in charge and that he would have an army of 2,600 well trained, disciplined men….

On June 30, 1794, a combined Native American Army of over 2,000 warriors, under the command of Little Turtle of the Miamis and Blue Jacket of the Shawnees, made a frontal attack upon the fort. 
Following the attack on the morning of June 30, a two day battle ensued. The obvious difference between the circumstances of this battle and that of 1791 was the presence of the fort. Although the odds in the second battle were much worse as compared to St. Clair’s defeat, the structure of the fort gave the soldiers the protection they needed to successfully defend themselves. As a result, after two days of bloody battle the Indian confederation gave up their assault on Fort Recovery.

Modern historians recognize the significance of the battle in Fort Recovery. It was the 1794 battle that “broke the back of Indian resistance and lead the way to the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville and to the opening up the Northwest Territory for settlement by the white man.”

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Yesterday I took the day off to rest and prepare a little bit for the next leg of my journey. I should be crossing into Indiana by tomorrow. It will be very exciting to walk through the third state of my journey.

On my day off, I decided to spend some of my time exploring the streets of Greenville. It is a charming little city to walk around. I took a few pictures here and there. As I was photographing a house, I met a resident from Greenville after a rather unusual introduction. Turns out she and her boyfriend were photographers as well. She invited me over for dinner that evening and I graciously accepted.

The three of us ate a delicious meal of spaghetti and some wine. I talked a little about the Trail and her boyfriend, who is a collector of unusual things, showed me some of the photographs he has taken. After dinner they brought me back to my motel so I could get some rest before setting out again the following day.

The night didn’t go so well. I was staying at a motel where people stay for weeks or even months at a time. They’re usually filled with interesting characters. Throughout the night there was a loud and raging party going on, so I had a little trouble trying to get to sleep. When I awoke this morning, I set off for Union City. Tomorrow I’ll be headed to Fort. Recovery and will cross the Indiana state line. I’ll be walking close to 30 miles a day for the next few days so I was pleased to have an interesting and relaxing day.

While exploring Greenville on my day off, I stumbled upon this very interesting story of :
                                                 ANNIE OAKLEY

NAME: Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee. She was named Phoebe Ann by her mother, but called Annie by her sisters. She took the stage name Oakley, reportedly after Oakley, Ohio.

FAMILY BACKGROUND: Quaker parents Jacob and Susan were originally from Pennsylvania. After a tavern fire ended their livelihood as innkeepers, they moved to a rented farm in Ohio. Father, who had fought in the War of 1812, died in 1866 from pneumonia and overexposure in freezing weather. Annie was the fifth of seven children. Her mother remarried, had another child and was widowed a second time. During this time Annie was put in the care of the superintendent of the county poor farm, where she learned to embroider and sew. She spent some time in near servitude for a local family where she met with mental and physical abuse. When she reunited with her family, her mother had married a third time.

DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Whether it be a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, the legendary markswoman Annie Oakley was masterful with them all. Dubbed “Little Sure Shot” by Chief Sitting Bull (she was 5 feet tall), her sharp shooting in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show won her many awards and captivated audiences far and wide. Her name remains synonymous with firearms and entertainment.

Born in a log cabin on the Ohio frontier, Annie Oakley began shooting game at age nine to support her widowed mother and siblings. She quickly proved to be a dead shot and word spread so much that at age sixteen, Annie went to Cincinnati to enter a shooting contest with Frank E. Butler (1850-1926), an accomplished marksman who performed in vaudeville. Annie won the match by one point and she won Frank Butler’s heart as well. Some time later they were married and she became his assistant in his traveling shooting act. Frank recognized that Annie was far more talented and relinquished the limelight to her, becoming her assistant and personal manager. In 1885 they joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, run by the legendary frontiersman and showman Buffalo Bill Cody.

For seventeen years Annie Oakley was the Wild West Show’s star attraction with her marvelous shooting feats. At 90 feet Annie could shoot a dime tossed in midair. In one day with a .22 rifle she shot 4,472 of 5,000 glass balls tossed in midair. With the thin edge of a playing card facing her at 90 feet, Annie could hit the card and puncture it with with five or six more shots as it settled to the ground. It was from this that free tickets with holes punched in them came to be called “Annie Oakleys.” Shooting the ashes off a cigarette held in Frank’s mouth was part of the Butler and Oakley act. In a celebrated event while touring in Europe, Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany, invited Annie to shoot a cigarette held in his own lips. Annie had Wilhelm hold the cigarette in his hand and not his mouth; she accomplished this challenge, as always effortlessly. In this period Annie Oakley was easily recognizable by the numerous shooting medals that adorned her chest.

In a train wreck in 1901, Annie suffered a spinal injury that required five operations and even left her partially paralyzed for a while. Although she recovered very well, Annie toured less frequently during the latter part of her career. Nonetheless, her shooting expertise did not wane and she continued to set records. In a shooting contest in Pinehurst, N.C. in 1922, sixty-two-year-old Annie hit 100 clay targets straight from the 16 yard mark.

Annie Oakley died of pernicious anemia on Nov. 3, 1926, in Greenville, Ohio, at the age of sixty-six. A legend in her own time, the remarkable life of Annie Oakley would be celebrated in the 1946 Herbert and Dorothy Fields musical Annie Get Your Gun.

In her life, Annie overcame poverty, mistreatment and physical injury with her determination and strength of character. She played a role in breaking barriers for women with her talent and accomplishments in her sport. 

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 In Darke County, Ohio sits the city of Greenville, a land of both peace and war. In the late 1793, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne oversaw the erection of Fort Greenville which was named for Wayne’s comrade in the American Revolution, Nathanael Greene. Wayne’s army was marching against the Indians of the Ohio Country. Fort Green Ville had walls that were ten feed high and expanded an area of about 50 acres. It is considered the largest wooden fortification ever built.

In August 1794, the Battle of Fallen Timbers raged on between the American Indian tribes who allied the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory. It was Wayne and the United States who captured the victory in this battle.

After the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Wayne utilized Fort Greenville as a negotiation post with the Indians. On August 3, 1795, the Treaty of Greenville was signed between the Indians, the Western Confederacy and the United States. There were 1,130 Indians present representing the participating tribes including a contingent of 381 Lenape men, women and children, the largest of any tribal delegations.

In exchange for provisions and goods, the Indians turned over to the United States large parts of modern-day Ohio. They agreed to release white captives and in return would be protected by the United States. The Indians were still permitted to hunt on the land which they ceded and would receive $9,500 every year in goods.

While the negotiation looked somewhat good on paper, many Indians refused to honor the agreement. White settlers continued to move onto the contested land and violence continued between the white man and the Indians until they were essentially outnumbered and dominated by the whites.

The city of Greenville was founded in August of 1808. Its population gradually grew to over 3,535 residents by 1880. Many of the residents were of German decent. By 2000, Greeville became the largest city in Darke County, Ohio.

 The element of peace describes a society or a relationship that is operating harmoniously and is without violent conflict. Peace is often understood as the absence of hostility or war. Yet there is so much more to this element of peace. It is considered the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal relationships and even the acknowledgement of equality.

Peace is a state of balance in understanding within yourself and between others. Respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists and conflicts are resolved through dialog, people’s rights are respected and their voices are heard and most importantly, everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension.

Peace is an element which has been passed down from generation to generation. Native Americans would share a ceremonial peace pipe, smoking it to seal a covenant or treaty. The peace pipe was used by not just Native Americans, but anyone attending a particular peaceful ceremony. Wars were ended after peaceful treaties were signed. We have phrases such as “peace of mind” and “peace of heart,” which mean to have a harmonious balance within ourselves. Today people exchange a handshake as a symbol of peace.  Many artists write poems and perform songs relating to peace.

            Paul McCartney wrote this song:

Pipes of Peace Lyrics

I light a candle to our love

In love our problems disappear

But all in all we soon discover

That one and one is all we long to hear

All round the world

Little children being born to the world

Got to give them all we can til the war is won

Then will the work be done

Help them to learn (help them to learn)

Songs of joy instead of burn, baby, burn(burn, baby burn)

Let us show them how to play the pipes of peace

Play the pipes of peace.

Let us take a minute and remember one of the most famous pacts of peace, the treaty never written and never broken in 1682 along the banks of the Delaware River where people from two very different walks of life came together to live in peace and inspire generations in the future to strive for this harmony.

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On April 1, 1796, only seven years before the admission of Ohio to the Union, the city of Dayton was founded. Twelve settlers known as “The Thompson Party” ventured up the Great Miami River and discovered the area. In 1805, the city was named after American Revolutionary War Captain Jonathan Dayton who happened to own the land.

Dayton is nicknamed the “Gem City” and for three decades was advertised as “The Cleanest City in America.” Ohio’s nickname “Birthplace of Aviation” is seen throughout Dayton for it is the hometown of the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur.  

Dayton is considered one of the forerunning cities in regards to Ohio industrialization. It continued to prosper throughout the twentieth century until the Flood of 1913. This natural disaster caused significant loss of life and property and temporarily halted the city’s growth. However, the people of Dayton recovered and rallied together to create the Miami Conservancy District to limit future flooding.

Dayton has been the site of some very noteworthy historical events. On November 29, 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech to over 6,2000 people at the UD Field house (presently the Thomas J. Frericks Center) on the University of Dayton campus. Additionally in 1995, The Dayton Agreement, a peace accord between the parties in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia, was negotiated in the Dayton area. This event hailed Dayton with the phrase “temporary center of international peace.”

Dayton’s city structure is unique for its area. The streets are broad and straight downtown with two or three full lanes in each direction. This was due to Dayton’s early history as a marketing and shipping center. The streets were wide enough to enable wagons drawn by teams of three to four pairs of oxen to turn around.

Today Dayton is a metropolitan hub of arts, culture, technology and healthcare with a strong sense of history and a community sense of pride for the city’s roots.

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Yesterday I took a day off to rest. I spent the day relaxing and doing as little as possible. By late evening I became quite hungry so I left my motel in search of a place to eat. I was staying it what seemed like the middle of nowhere between Columbus and Springfield Ohio. I had to walk for at least 15 minutes before I finally spotted an establishment advertising food and spirits.

As I walked inside I soon realized that the establishment was a bar. There was a DJ blasting some rather loud music, a few patrons, and a rectangular bar in the center of the area. Hungry and now a bit tired despite my day of rest, I asked the bartender if he served any kind of food. He smiled and pointed to a small board with a very limited selection displayed. Noticing I was in need of something with sustenance, the bartender offered to cook me a hamburger which I gladly accepted.

I ordered a beer and took a seat at the bar. To my left there was a man drinking beer out of a pitcher. To my right there were two ladies chatting together while enjoying a few drinks. Directly across from me in the center of the bar on the other side of the rectangle was a guy talking to a lady with a seat separating the two of them.

While waiting for my burger, the DJ made an announcement that it was karaoke night and my evening quickly became filled with some entertaining talent. The woman talking to the dude across from me on the other side of the bar kept looking over at me and likewise, I at her. I thought she came with the dude she was talking to, so I kept trying my best to be discreet. We made eye contact like this several times across the bar. Meanwhile I noticed the dude introduce himself to her and that is when I realized that they just met and he did not come with her to the bar.

My burger arrived and it was delicious. The dude across the bar bought the women next to me and the woman he was talking to a drink. The guy that was drinking beer out of the pitcher stood up and waddled over to the karaoke station, and proceeded to belt out a country song. Afterwards the lady from across the bar walks up to the DJ and requests a song to sing…or wail, rather. She was very attractive yet she couldn’t sing worth a dime. I finished my burger as she finished her song. Now throughout the song, I was free to look her in the eye without the dude noticing; however she locked eyes with me throughout the whole time it was as if she were singing to me.

After her song, she ran over to me, grabbed me by the hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. She put a microphone in my fist and said, “Let’s sing together!” It happened so fast! I didn’t want to be rude so I decided to play along. She picked Sonny and Cher’s famous song, “I’ve Got You Babe.”

We sang the song while I added a little improvisation. I looked up to check on the dude and discovered that he looked really angry. Here I was singing with the girl that he was trying to get with that evening. The woman and I were bumping hips as I tried my best to sing the song with her. I kept one eye on the lyrics and the other eye on the dude because he was fuming like a volcano.

Mercifully we finished the song and it seemed to please the audience. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder as I escorted her to her seat, thanked her for the song, and quickly returned to my seat. It looked as if the dude was going to try to kill me so at that point I knew it was time to go. I quickly asked for the check, paid my bill and got out of that bar as soon as I could.

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Yesterday I walked to Columbus, Ohio and explored the city. I took a few pictures here and there. The weather was rainy in the morning but by the afternoon cleared up to some sunshine. I was amazed to finally experience some full on sunshine in Ohio!

During my walk I met an older gentleman. We started talking about various things including my Trail and his hobbies. As it turns out, he is very passionate about his writing. He writes whatever he feels and whatever comes to his mind and his heart. You could feel the energy radiating off of him as he discussed his passion with me.

This gentleman was an inspiration to me. It was great to see someone, especially at an older age, have so much pride in their work and desire to write more and more.

Here is an excerpt from one of his poems he shared with me:

It may not be a cardinal sin

If you forget to feed the birds again !

And your vision may be way to narrow

If you don’t feed the little sparrow !

Like an owl, you could be wise

If you don’t pin, your hopes to the skies !

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Once again I had to tackle terrible weather. The rain has gotten so bad that my waterproof walking shoes are no longer waterproof. I’ve had to improvise a little bit by wearing plastic shopping bags on my feet to keep them dry. However, I’m come to realize that these shopping bags only make it for two miles or less before needing to be replaced.

Despite the rain, I was able to occupy my mind with other thoughts. There were those moments when a large truck rumbled past, or the rain became heavy I had to focus on what was in front of me. For the most part I was able to just let my mind wander.

I’ve been trying to get over a bad cold for the past week and a half or so. I’ve been taking asprin and drinking hot fluids when I get the chance. I was hoping to nip it in the but when I first starting feeling the symptoms but it seems to be dragging on. I’m not looking to blame things but I have a feeling the endless rain may have been a contributing factor.

After a day of rain I found a place to stay a little east of Columbus. I’m looking forward to taking time out tomorrow to share what I’ve witnessed so far in Columbus.

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The area where Columbus, Ohio is settled was once called the Ohio Country and it was controlled by the French Empire. Oftentimes, the area was a site for battles and violent disputes regarding Native American, European, and American interests. In the early 1750s George Washington was sent to the Ohio Country by the Ohio company to survey and fight for control of the territory. This movement would spark Europe’s Seven Year’s War with the French and Indian War. The war ending Treaty of Paris when French ceded the country to the British Empire in 1763.

It wasn’t until after the American Revolution, when the Ohio Country became part of the Virginia Military District under the control of the United States. When colonists from the East Coast moved in, they found a variety of Indian tribes settled in the area. There were years of bitter conflict until the battle of Fallen Timbers and the Treaty of Greenville which opened the way for new settlements.

During the Civil War, Columbus was a major base for the volunteer Union Army that housed 26,000 troops and held up to 9,000 Confederate prisoners of war at Camp Chose located at what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of west Columbus. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers remain buried at the site, making it one of the largest Confederate cemeteries in the North.

The city was first laid out in 1812 and incorporated in 1816. Columbus was not the original capital but was eventually chosen due to its central location. The growth of Columbus can be attributed to its proximity to major transportation routes such as the Ohio and Erie Canal. Today Columbus is the capital and largest city in Ohio and the third largest city in the American Midwest. In 2009, BusinessWeek named the city as the best place in the country to raise a family.

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