Transcription contributed by Martie Callihan 11 February 2005

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It is proposed in this place to state briefly what can at this day be learned from the best histories of the Indian wars concerning the routes of the expeditions against the Indian villages on the head-waters of the two Miami Rivers. Four of these passed through Warren County. The earlier expeditions were organized before settlements had been commenced northwest of the Ohio, and consisted chiefly of Kentuckians. The later expeditions of St. Clair and Wayne passed from Fort Washington up the Great Miami, and with them we are not here further concerned. In 1786, Col. Benjamin Logan destroyed the Mack-a-cheek towns in Logan County. His route seems to have been from Maysville. Ky., where he crossed the Ohio, thence to a point on Todd's Fork afterward called the "Deserted Camp," in Clinton County, thence to Mad River. The four expeditions which passed through Warren County all proceeded from the Ohio River opposite the mouth of the Licking, the present site of Cincinnati.

The first of these was that of Col. John Bowman, who, in July, 1779, with 160 mounted Kentuckians, marched against Old Chillicothe, the Shawnee town, about three miles from the site of Xenia. It was in retaliation for atrocities then recently committed by the Shawnees in Kentucky. The following particulars of this expedition are from the "Notes on Kentucky:"

"The party rendezvoused at the mouth of the Licking, and, at the end of the second night, got in sight of the town undiscovered. It was determined to await until daylight in the morning before they would make the attack; but, by the imprudence of some of the men. whose curiosity exceeded their judgment, the party was discovered by the Indians before the officers and men had arrived at the several positions assigned them. As soon as the alarm was given, a fire commenced on both sides, and was kept up while the women and children were seen running from cabin to cabin, in the greatest confusion, and collecting in the most central and strongest. At clear daylight, it was discovered that Bowman's men were from seventy to one hundred yards from the cabins, in which the Indians had collected, and which they appeared determined to defend. Having no other arms than tomahawks and rifles, it was thought imprudent to attempt to storm cabins well-defended by expert warriors. In consequence of the warriors collecting in a few cabins contiguous to each other, the remainder of the town was left unprotected, therefore, while a fire was kept up at the port-holes, which engaged the attention of those within, fire was set to thirty or forty cabins, which were consumed, and a considerable quantity of property, consisting of kettles and blankets, was taken from those cabins. In searching the woods near the town, 133 horses were collected.

"About 10 o'clock. Bowman and his party commenced their march homeward, after having nine men killed. The men had not marched more than eight or ten miles on their return home before the Indians appeared in considerable force on their rear, and began to press hard upon that quarter. Bowman selected his ground, and formed his men in a square; but the Indians declined a close engagement, only keeping up a scattering fire. It was soon evident that their object was to retard their march until they could procure reenforcements from the neighboring villages.

The " Notes on Kentucky" gives the number of men under Bowman on this expedition as 160, but the memoranda of Col. Robert Patterson. afterward of Dayton, who was in it, puts the number at 400.

The next two expeditions passing through the county were both led by Gen. George Rogers Clark. The first of these was in 1780, when he destroyed the Piqua town on Mad River, near the site of Springfield; the second, in 1782, when he destroyed the Upper and Lower Piqua towns on the Great Miami, within the present limits of Miami County, and also Loramie's store, on Loramie's Creek, within the present limits of Shelby County. In the first of these expeditions, Gen. Clark probably marched near the present site of Lebanon, and crossed the Little Miami about a mile below the mouth of Caesar's Creek. This was Gen. Harmar's route in 1790, and he followed the old trace of Clark. There is a reference in the description of Virginia Military Lands. located in 1787, on the east side of the Little Miami, above Caesar’s Creek, to "Clark's Old War Road." In the expedition of 1782, Gen. Clark appears to have marched between the site of Lebanon and the Great Miami, and to have crossed Mad River not far from the site of Dayton. The army in both cases consisted of about one thousand men, all Kentuckians.

"On the 2d of August, 1780, Gen. Clark took up the line of march, from where Cincinnati now stands, for the Indian towns. The line of march was as follows: The first division, commanded by Clark, took the front position; the center was occupied by artillery, military stores and baggage; the second. commanded by Col. Logan, was placed in the rear. The men were ordered to march in four lines, at about forty yards distant from each other, and a line of flankers on each side, about the same distance from the right and left lines. There was also a front and a rear guard, who only kept in sight of the main army. In order to prevent confusion, in case of an attack of the enemy, on the march of the army, a general order was issued, that, in the event of an attack in front, the front was to stand fast, and the two right lines to wheel to the right, and the two left-hand lines to the left, and form a complete line. while the artillery was to advance forward to the center of the line. In case of an attack on either of the flanks or side lines, these lines were to stand fast, and likewise the artillery, while the opposite lines wheeled and formed on the two extremes of those lines. In the event of an attack being made on the rear, similar order was to be observed as in an attack in front.

"In this manner the army moved on without encountering anything worthy of notice until they arrived at Chillicothe (situated on the Little Miami River, in Greene County), about 2 o'clock in the afternoon on the 6th day of August. They found the town not only abandoned, but most of the houses burnt down and burning, having been set on fire that morning. The army encamped on the ground that night, and, on the following day, cut down several hundred acres of corn; and, about 4 o'clock in the evening, took up their line of march for the Piqua towns, which were about twelve miles from Chillicothe [in Clark County]. The army came in sight of the Indian town on the west side of Mad River, about five miles west of the site of Springfield, at 2

"It was estimated that at the two Indian towns, Chillicothe and Piqua, more than five hundred acres of corn was destroyed, as well as every species of eatable vegetables. In consequence of this, the Indians were obliged, for the support of their women and children, to employ their whole time in hunting, which gave quiet to Kentucky for a considerable time.

"The day after the battle, the 9th, was occupied in cutting down the growing corn, and destroying the cabins and fort, etc., and collecting horses. On the 10th of August, the army began their march homeward, and encamped at Chillicothe that night, and on the 11th, cut a field of corn, which had been left for the benefit of the men and horses on their return. At the mouth of the Licking, the army dispersed, and each individual made his best way home.

"Thus ended a campaign in which most of the men had no other provisions for twenty-five days then six quarts of Indian corn each, except the green corn and vegetables found at the Indian towns, and one gill of salt; and yet not a single complaint was heard to escape the lips of a solitary individual. All appeared to be impressed with the belief that, if this army should be defeated, that few would be able to escape, and that the Indians then would fall on the defenseless women and children in Kentucky, and destroy the whole. From this view of the subject, every man was determined to conquer or die."

Mr. Abraham Thomas, afterward of Troy, Ohio, was in both of Clark’s expeditions. He says:

"In the summer of 1780, Gen. Clark was getting up an expedition, with the object of destroying some Indian villages on Mad River. One division of the expedition, under Col. Logan, was to approach the Ohio by the way of Licking River; the other, to which I was attached, ascended the Ohio from the falls in boats, with provisions and a six-pound cannon. The plan of the expedition was for the two divisions to meet at a point in the Indian country opposite the mouth of Licking, and thence march in a body to the interior. In ascending the Ohio, Daniel Boone and myself acted as spies on the Kentucky side of the river, and a large party on the Indian side was on the same duty. The latter were surprised by the Indians, and several killed and wounded. It was then a toilsome task to get the boats up the river, under constant expectation of attacks from the savages, and we were much rejoiced in making our destination. Before the boats crossed over to the Indian side, Boone and myself were taken into the foremost boat, and landed above a small cut in the bank, opposite the mouth of Licking. We were desired to spy through the woods for Indian signs. I was much younger than Boone, ran up the bank in great glee, and cut into a beech tree with my tomahawk, which I verily believe was the first tree cut into by a white man on the present site of Cincinnati. We were soon joined by other rangers, and hunted over the other bottom. The forest everywhere was thick-set with heavy beech and scattering underbrush of spicewood and papaw. We started several deer, but, seeing no sign of Indians, returned to the landing. By this time the men had all landed, and were busy in cutting timber for stockades and cabins. The division under Col. Logan shortly crossed over from the mouth of Licking, and, after erecting a stockade, fort and cabin, for a small garrison and stores, the army started for Mad River. Our way lay over the uplands of an untracked. primitive forest, through which, with great labor, we cut and bridged a road for the accommodation of our pack-horses and cannon., My duty in the march was to spy some two miles in advance of the. main body. Our progress was

"In the year 1782. after corn-planting, I again volunteered in an expedition under Gen. Clark, with the object of destroying some Indian villages about Piqua, on the Great Miami River. On this occasion, nearly one thousand men marched out of Kentucky, by the route of Licking River. We crossed the Ohio at the present site of Cincinnati, where our last year's stockade had been kept up, and a few people then resided in log cabins. We proceeded immediately onward through the woods, without regard to our former trail, and crossed Mad River not far from the present site of Dayton. We kept up the east side of the Miami, and crossed it about four miles below the Piqua towns. On arriving at Piqua, we found that the Indians had fled from the villages, leaving most of their effects behind. During the following night, I joined a party to break up an encampment of Indians said to be lying about what was called the French Store. We soon caught a Frenchman, tied him on horseback, for our guide, and arrived at the place in the night. The Indians had taken alarm and cleared out. We, however, broke up and burned the Frenchman's store [Lorimie's store], which had for a long time been a place of outfit for Indian marauders, and returned to the main body early in the morning, many of our men well stocked with plunder. After burning and otherwise destroying everything about Upper and Lower Piqua towns, we commenced our return march."

The last and largest of the armies in the Indian wars which marched through the county was that led by Gen. Josiah Harmar, in 1790. This military expedition was the first one organized after civil government had been established in the Northwest Territory. Although the objective point of the expedition was the Indian villages on the Maumee, in the vicinity of Fort Wayne, Ind., Gen. Harmar followed the old trace of Gen. Clark, and crossed to the east side of the Little Miami. His route was readily traced in the early settlement of the Miami country. One of his encampments is believed to have been on the hillside between the town of Lebanon and the County Infirmary. The army was organized at Fort Washington, and consisted of 1,453 men, including one battalion of Kentucky mounted riflemen, and a small artillery company, with three brass pieces. Among the troops were several persons who saw for the first time fertile lands in Warren County, which they afterward purchased and resided upon. On the 15th of October, Gen. Harmar reached the Indian villages on the Maumee, and, finding no enemy, spent the next four days in burning the villages and about twenty thousand bushels of corn. After this was done, the General sent Col. Harding, with a detachment of 300 men, to look for the enemy, and to bring them to an engagement. Col. Harding fell into an ambuscade of Indians numbering about seven hundred, commanded by Little Turtle. The Indians fought with great fury, and the militia and the regulars alike behaved with gallantry. More than one hundred of the militia, and all the regulars except nine, were killed, and the rest were driven back to the main body. Dispirited by this severe misfortune, Harmar immediately marched to Cincinnati, and the object of the expedition in intimidating the Indians was entirely unsuccessful.

"September 30, 1790. —The army moved from Fort Washington about seven miles northeast course. Encamped on a branch of Mill Creek.
"October 1. —Marched about eight miles to a small branch of Mill Creek. General course, a little westward of north.
"October 2.—Marched about ten miles a northwest course. The first five miles over a dry ridge to a lick; then five miles through a low, swampy country to a branch of the Little Miami, where we halted one hour and forty-live minutes. After 1 o'clock, moved on five miles further, in a northeast, east and southeast course, and encamped in a rich and extensive bottom on Muddy Creek, a branch of the Little Miami. This day's march, fifteen miles, and one mile from Col. Harding's commune!
"October 3.—The army, at 8 o'clock, passed Col. Harding's camp, and halted at Turtle Creek, about ten yards wide, where we were joined by Col. Harding's command. Here the line of march was formed. Two miles.
"October 4. —The army moved at half past 9 o'clock. Passed through a rich country (some places broken), a northeast course, and, at 3 o'clock, crossed the Little Miami, about forty rods wide, moved up it one mile a north course to a branch called Sugar Creek and encamped. Nine miles.
"October 5. —The army moved from Sugar Creek at forty-five minutes after 9 o'clock; march through a level country in a northeast course up the Little Miami, having it often in view. The latter part of this day's journey, through low glades or marshy land. Halted at 5 o'clock on Glade Creek, a very lively, clear stream. Ten miles.
"October 6.—Reached Chillicothe. an old Indian village. Re-crossed the Little Miami. Encamped at 4 o'clock on a branch. Nine miles."