Diary of Captain John Cooke, 1794


  Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen
                                 County
                                  1953


One of a historical series, this pamphlet is published under the
direction of the governing Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne
and Allen County.

           BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL CITY OF FORT WAYNE

  B. F. Geyer, President
  Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary
  W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer
  Willard Shambaugh
  Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs

                 PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY

The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees
of the School City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers), together with
the following citizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate
city of Fort Wayne:

  James E. Graham
  Arthur Niemeier
  Mrs. Glenn Henderson
  Mrs. Charles Reynolds




                                FOREWORD


Primary source materials relating to General Wayne’s sojourn at Fort
Wayne are scarce. Extracts from the diary of one of his captains were
published in the FORT WAYNE GAZETTE eighty years ago.

The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen
County reprint these extracts in the hope that they will be interesting
and informative to students of local history. Grammar, spelling, and
punctuation have been changed to conform to current usage.

                                                Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
                                                              June, 1873

To the Editors of the GAZETTE:

The following extracts from the journal of Captain John Cooke of the
Fourth Sublegion of General Wayne’s army will be of interest to your
antiquary (if Fort Wayne is old enough to boast of antiquities), since
it contains the earliest market quotations of your city, notices of the
first sermons preached there, etc.

Captain Cooke was a son of Colonel William Cooke, Twelfth Pennsylvania
Regiment of the Continental Establishment; he entered the legal
profession, which he later abandoned for that of arms. He afterward
lived and died at Northumberland Town, Pennsylvania.

His son, Jacob Cooke, Esq., is the possessor of this journal, which is
written in a very scholarly hand and with great observance of details,
most of which I have omitted as of no interest to the general reader. In
the summer of 1792, Captain Cooke returned with General Wayne; with a
party of officers on furlough to Philadelphia, he was personally
introduced by General Wayne to General Washington. His fellow-officers
accompanied him to a fashionable boarding school in Philadelphia. There,
in his battle-stained clothes, he married his cousin, Jennie Cooke of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

                                                            John B. Linn


September 17, 1794

At 6:00 a.m. the army marched thirteen or fourteen miles to the Miami
villages. We halted more than two hours near the ground where a part of
Harmar’s army was defeated and directly opposite the point formed by the
St. Joseph and the St. Mary’s rivers, until the ground was
reconnoitered. It was late when the army crossed and encamped; our tents
were not all pitched before dark.


September 18, 1794

Strong breastworks were ordered thrown up; since timber was very scarce,
we were obliged to make them of earth. Four deserters came into camp
from the British garrison.


September 19, 1794

Heavy rains and violent windstorms lasted throughout the night. The men
still continued to work at the breastworks until 10:00 a.m.; then they
were obliged to quit because of heavy rain. An express arrived from
General Barbie informing us of his approach and stating that he would be
here tomorrow. We began to build a fish dam across the Miami [Maumee].


September 20, 1794

The night was stormy with frequent, hard claps of thunder. General
Barbie arrived with his command and brought provisions for the army;
several private stores were brought to camp with this command. Current
prices are as follows: mutton and beef, 25 cents; bacon, 75 cents;
sugar, coffee, and chocolate, $1 per pound; butter, 75 cents; whisky, $8
per gallon; cheese, $1 per pound.

    [Illustration: “The sermon was delivered by Rev. David Jones”]


September 21, 1794 (Sunday)

General Todd’s brigade of volunteers started for Greenville this
morning. Under his command and direction were all the quartermaster’s
and contractor’s horses, for the purpose of conducting our supplies. We
attended divine service; the sermon was delivered by Rev. David Jones,
chaplain. Mr. Jones chose for his text, Romans 8:31: “But what shall we
then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” This
was the first time the army had been called together for the purpose of
attending divine service since I joined it. [Rev. David Jones was
Wayne’s chaplain during the Revolution. He served also as chaplain
during the War of 1812. A copy of the sermon, preached from the same
text at Ticonderoga, will be found in Lossing’s PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK OF
THE REVOLUTION, volume 2; a biographical sketch is also included.
Horatio Gates Jones, Esq., the distinguished lawyer of Philadelphia, is
a grandson of this chaplain.]


September 22, 1794

Two hundred men were ordered to cut timber and to prepare to raise a
garrison. The ground laid out for the garrison is on the south side of
the Maumee River, nearly opposite the confluence of the St. Mary’s and
St. Joseph rivers. Three men deserted from the First Sublegion. Today
the men began to draw full rations of flour, which had been stopped for
some time.


September 26, 1794

No salt is available. I received a letter from Lieutenant Lee at Fort
Defiance. He informs me that eleven men have actually deserted; and
eight more are missing—either killed, deserted, or taken; the total
rises to twenty-one, all since the thirteenth of this month. Miller, one
of our spies, brought word that he had discovered an Indian and the
trail of fourteen or fifteen more. A party of Kentucky volunteers was
immediately dispatched after them and overtook them at sundown; but
before they could complete their preparations for attack, the Indians
had discovered them and had escaped unharmed. The fish basket is nearly
completed.


September 27, 1794

Large hailstones fell during a heavy hailstorm, which lasted ten
minutes.


September 28, 1794 (Sunday)

A man deserted from Captain Thompson’s company, now commanded by Captain
Bines. This desertion seems somewhat extraordinary after McClellan’s
[Robert McClellan, or McClelland, afterwards a famous trapper of the
Rocky Mountains and immortalized in Washington Irving’s ASTORIA] report
to the commander that he had, in accordance with orders, killed one of
the deserters he was sent after and had seen two more who were killed
and scalped. The contractors are out of beef and bread, and not a grain
of salt is to be had. Major Price arrived bringing with him one hundred
fifty bullocks. He informed me that four or five waiters, who had been
sent for stores for officers, and who had preceded the escort, were
killed about five miles from Greenville. Nelly Bundy was taken at the
same time.


September 29, 1794

A heavy rain began at 4:00 p.m. The storm, accompanied with thunder and
a whirlwind, blew down the top of a very large tree within a few steps
of General Wayne’s marquee.


October 2, 1794

General Barbie, with his brigade of volunteers, was ordered to
Greenville to escort our provisions. This raised great confusion among
the volunteers, who had expected a discharge in accordance with the
promise made to them some time before.


October 6, 1794

One hundred militiamen turned out voluntarily to work on the garrison.


October 7, 1794

A boat was built by the artificers and was launched. Mr. Tharp, the
principal artificer, told me it would carry twenty-five barrels of
flour.


October 9, 1794

A blockhouse on the bank of the river was begun today. The boat which
was launched yesterday was loaded with salt and whisky for Fort Defiance
but had not gone one mile before she was run upon a rock and sunk. The
stores were all saved. McClellan, with six or seven spies, started up
the St. Joseph River, intending to be gone for five days. The volunteers
worked one half-day at the blockhouse.

    [Illustration: “... a French trader ... brought with him three
    prisoners....”]

An express arrived this evening with the intelligence that Mr. Elliot,
the contractor, was fired upon and was killed while traveling between
Fort Washington [now Cincinnati] and Fort Hamilton.


October 13, 1794

A French trader, whose brother we took in the action of August 21,
arrived in camp and brought with him three prisoners to exchange for his
brother. One of them was a young girl of about thirteen years, who was
taken near the Muskingum River about three years ago. Her
brother-in-law, who is now among the Kentucky volunteers, called upon
the commander and got her.

The trader said that there had been fourteen hundred Indians in action
on August 20; thirty-three were killed and seventy-six were wounded; the
chiefs were then all in Detroit in council; Captains Brandt, Elliott,
and G. Simcoe were with them; McKee’s son was killed in the action as
well as five other white men; all the nations except the Shawnee are for
peace.

The other two prisoners were soldiers who were taken at the time Lowry
was defeated. Four hundred Chippewa, awaiting the arrival of our army,
accompanied the fourteen hundred mentioned above; but they got impatient
and went home. The letter, written by White Eyes [sic] to General Wayne
demanding ten days, was an endeavor to gain time to get the four hundred
Chippewa back. Fifteen of the warriors—five chiefs and ten warriors—were
Ottawa. The Indians, stationed between us and the British garrison [Fort
Campbell], watch for our deserters, whom they carry into the garrison
and sell to the British for twenty-five pounds. Those who will not
enlist when they are purchased are put to hard labor with the
wheelbarrow. One of our men who deserted from Defiance was pursued,
brought back, immediately tried by court-martial, and executed.

    [Illustration: “... and executed....”]


October 17, 1794

A boat forty feet long by twelve feet wide, built upon the Kentucky
plan, was launched today. It was built for the purpose of carrying
provisions down the Miami from here to Fort Defiance. The garrison is
still far from being finished. [The Maumee River is noted on maps of
1794 and previous maps as the Upper Miami River.]


October 19, 1794 (Sunday)

At ten o’clock church call was beat. The troops fell in and marched by
platoons out of the square to the front of the garrison, where a
discourse on Romans 13:1 was delivered by Mr. Jones, chaplain.


October 21, 1794

Fatigue duty was discontinued by a general order which detailed the
companies to remain in the garrison. Lieutenant Colonel Hamtramck was to
command the companies of Captains Kingsbury, Spark, Preston, Greaton,
and Reed; Captain Porter, of artillery; Subalterns Strong, Bradley,
Brady, Campbell, Wright, and Massey. Lieutenant Wade was assigned duty
as fort major.


October 22, 1794

Colonel Hamtramck marched the troops to the garrison at 7:00 a.m. After
a discharge of fifteen guns, he named the fort by a garrison order,
“Fort Wayne.” He then marched his command into it.

Captain Kibby, with his company of spies, was directed to proceed up the
St. Mary’s River to Fort Adams to ascertain the situation of the river
with respect to navigation. He took with him the canoe and three days’
provisions.


October 25, 1794

Captain Kibby sent back an express informing the general of the
impossibility of navigating the St. Mary’s River. He begged permission
to return but was peremptorily ordered to continue to Fort Adams.


October 27, 1794

At 11:00 a.m. the army proceeded on the line of march on General
Harmar’s trace; after four and one-half miles we came to a large swamp.
At about 3:00 p.m. we heard the discharge of several cannons in our
rear; the firing was generally supposed to be at a dinner given by
Colonel Hamtramck for the officers of the garrison. We encamped at 4:00
p.m. after marching eight and one-half miles.


October 28, 1794

We marched sixteen miles very rapidly and halted by a small stream of
water.


October 29, 1794

Marching twelve miles, we reached the St. Mary’s River at 3:00 p.m. We
crossed the river and encamped at one of General Harmar’s camps.
Formerly a Frenchman by the name of La Source [sic] lived here. The
woods on the north side of the St. Mary’s River is very thick.

    [Illustration: “... and after three cheers ...”]


October 30, 1794

We marched at sunrise; after thick woods for a mile and a half, we
entered an open, extensive prairie through which we marched four miles
and struck General Wayne’s trace from Recovery, Ohio, to the St. Mary’s
River. The prairie is, I judge, five miles long and four miles wide. We
continued our march up the St. Mary’s River for Girty’s Town, ten miles
away. Captain Kibby reported very unfavorably with regard to the
navigation of the river; he said it may do for canoes or pirogues in
high water.


October 31, 1794

The army fortified a camp and remained in it all day.


November 1, 1794

Starting before sunrise, we marched through some old Indian towns until
we struck Hartshorne’s road; we then cut from Greenville to Girty’s
Town. By rapid marching to the sixteen-mile tree, we made twenty-one
miles today.


November 2, 1794 (Sunday)

After an early start and seven miles of rapid marching, we came to a
bridge built by Major Hughes. The whole legion crossed and traveled
three miles, halted, and were refreshed. In two hours we marched six
miles to Greenville; after the discharge of several guns and after three
cheers, the men were assigned to their respective huts, which we found
very much out of repair.


November 3, 1794

Lieutenant Brady arrived at Greenville with a command from Fort Wayne.
[This was General Hugh Brady, who died at Detroit some years ago.]


November 5, 1794

General Wilkinson, Colonel Strong, Doctor General Allison [sic], Captain
Fort, and others, escorted by Lieutenant Brady and his command, started
for Fort Washington. [These were all old Revolutionary War Hawks. Doctor
Allison was surgeon of General Potter’s brigade during the Revolution;
General Wilkinson and General Gates were adjutant generals at Saratoga.]


FORT WAYNE GAZETTE, June 17, 1873




                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.