ASHLAND MEMORIES: Ashland and the War of 1812

Once the surveyors had measured off the townships, the first White settlers came to buy land here in 1809. They had just begun to choose land and build primitive cabins when the War of 1812 interrupted things.

Within the larger tale of the War of 1812, the events that occurred in this area — the Zimmer murders, the skirmish at the Copus cabin, the armies that hacked their way across Ohio, and the so-called Battle of Cowpens — are tiny blips of history.

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The War of 1812 grew out of the conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte, but Americans, particularly those on the Western Frontier, weren’t terribly interested in Napoleon’s antics. To Americans, this was a second war for independence, while British Canadians saw it as territorial aggression. Many Native Americans allied with the British in a last ditch effort to control their own destinies.

This war was fought largely by militia rather than regular troops. The militiamen were poorly trained and supplied, often indifferent to the cause, and poorly paid. Furthermore, militia often simply packed up and returned home when their typically short enlistment period was up.

Governor calls up 1,200 troops

In the spring of 1812, Gov. Return J. Meigs Jr. called up 1,200 troops to serve under Gen. William Hull. The soldiers rendezvoused at Dayton and marched to Fort Detroit. Just across the river, British troops and their Native American allies defended the Canadian settlement of Amherstberg.

When word reached Hull that Congress had declared war in June, his troops attempted to cross into Canada. Hull’s campaign was a mess, due to his faltering leadership, exposed supply lines, and the inexperience of his troops.

While Hull dithered at the Canadian border, American soldiers surrendered Fort Mackinac on upper Lake Huron. Fearing a general collapse of American defenses along the Great Lakes, Hull ordered the commander at Fort Dearborn—present day Chicago—to vacate that distant outpost.

That turned out to be a bad idea as Potawatomi warriors massacred the troops as they left Fort Dearborn on Aug. 15.

On Aug. 16, Hull inexplicably surrendered Detroit to the British. His officers believed that they could have held the fort, and Hull was accused of treason before a court martial.

The American loss of Detroit and other forts, coupled with British naval dominance in the Great Lakes, sparked fear and uncertainty among Americans as military defenses began to crumble, leaving scattered settlements vulnerable to attack.

Nearby militia officers, who feared the local Native Americans might provide aid to the British allies, forcibly removed them from their villages, which they then burned to the ground.

On Sept. 5, 1812, the Potawatomi warriors who had slaughtered the troops at Fort Dearborn and other warriors and British troops from the Detroit area converged on Fort Wayne in northern Indiana. Gen. William Henry Harrison, now the highest ranking American officer, moved American troops in the same direction.

The violence in Ashland County involving the Zimmer and Copus families happened at this same time. For safety, local settlers took shelter in blockhouses or fled to more densely populated areas.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Conflict heavy among settlers in Ashland area at time of War of 1812