George Croghan, Commander at Fort Stephenson

 

George Croghan was born in Kentucky on November 15, 1791. He attended the College of William and Mary, and joined the U.S. Army in 1811. Croghan took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe and the siege of Fort Meigs. George Croghan became commander at Fort Stephenson, located on the Sandusky River in the city now known as Fremont, Ohio. Though General William Henry Harrison ordered Croghan to abandon Fort Stephenson, Croghan stayed at the fort. He and his men were successful when British forces attacked Fort Stephenson on August 2, 1813.

When  “Old Betsy” was fired during the attack on Fort Stephenson, over one hundred British soldiers were killed.

After the War of 1812, Croghan remained in military service. In 1824 he became postmaster of the City of New Orleans, and in 1825 Croghan was named Inspector General of the U.S. Army. George Croghan died of cholera in New Orleans on January 8, 1849. He was originally buried near Louisville, Kentucky, but in 1906, his remains were removed to the site of Fort Stephenson in Fremont, Ohio.

 You can learn more about George Croghan at Ohio History Central and the Sandusky County Scrapbook.

(Note: Image of George Croghan courtesy Wikipedia.)

Avery Button, Fifer in the War of 1812

Avery Button was born in 1782. By 1820, he was residing in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio. Ohio Marriage Records, accessed at Family Search, indicate that Avery Button married Sarah McMillan in Geauga County, Ohio on February 8, 1812. The roll of Captain Clark Parker's Company, states that Avery Button was a fifer in that company during the War of 1812. Avery Button died in 1855, and he was buried in the Castalia Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio.

Reminder about Events Commemorating the Battle of the Peninsula

Click here to read about upcoming events which commemorate the Battle of the Peninsula, which took place during the War of 1812 in Danbury Township. The many activities will be held at the Keeper's House, the former home of pioneer resident Benajah Wolcott.

War of 1812 Primer from Ohio Historical Society

Click here to see the War of 1812 Primer . from the Ohio Historical Society. This feature is part of the monthly newsletter series called the Ohio Histor-e-news. At the War of 1812 Primer site, you will find links to more information about the history of the War of 1812, which also took actually place between 1812 and 1815. Don't miss the informative database of cemeteries in Ohio that mark the final resting places for many War of 1812 veterans who were residing in Ohio at the time of their death. The database is a "work in progress" by The Ohio Society, United States Daughters of 1812. Click here to visit the Online Index to Grave Records of Servicemen of the War of 1812, State of Ohio. Once you are at the online index, searching is available by county, name, birth year, death year, and birth state. Did you know that there are fifteen individuals who were either patriots, soldiers, or officers during the War of 1812 who are buried in the small Bloomingville Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio? Check this online index for War of 1812 soldiers in your family tree!















Thanks Ohio Historical Society and Ohio Society, United States Daughters of 1812 for these excellent resources!

Note: Top image courtesy WikiPedia.

Events This Fall Commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812

Click here for more information about several events taking place on the Marblehead Peninsula on September 22 and 23, 2012 commemorating the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. Events will include reenactments of the 1812 skirmish on the Peninsula, speakers, a church service, and a memorial service and wreath laying at the Giddings Monument. Events will take place at the Keeper's House and Battlefield Park on the Marblehead Peninsula.

First Battle Site Marker in Marblehead, Ohio

In September of 1812, General William Hull sent a company of volunteers to defend the residents of the Marblehead peninsula in Ottawa County, Ohio. Native Americans, who were British sympathizers, attacked the party, resulting in casualties on both sides. Joshua Reed Giddings, who survived the attack, erected a stone in honor of those who lost their lives on September 29, 1812. The names of officers Daniel Mingus, Alexander Mason, and M. Simmons appear on the stone.

Today this stone stands in a spot that is now known as Battlefield Park in Marblehead, Ohio.

You can read about this early battle in an article about Joshua Reed Giddings, found in Volume 8 of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.

Officers Interred at Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

The Battle of Lake Erie was fought on September 10, 1813 during the War of 1812. Oliver Hazard Perry, who led the Americans, became a national hero after his victory. Casualties numbered over one hundred for both the British and the Americans.

(Image from Perry's Victory Memorial: First Annual Report of the Perry's Memorial Commission, available at Google Books.)

Three British and three American officers are entombed at the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial. The names of the men, as listed in the 1916 PERRY'S VICTORY CENTENARY are: Lieutenant Brooks and Midshipmen Laub and Clark of the American service; and Captain Finnis and Lieutenants Garden and Garland of the British service.

More details about these officers are available online at the Ohio Genealogy Express and at FindaGrave.

While Put in Bay is now known for its thousands of tourists every summer, in 1813, many lost their lives in the Battle of Lake Erie. A news item in the Toledo Blade reported that the Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on South Bass Island is going to be closed for repairs for two seasons beginning in August, 2009.