Fort Laurens : Seige & Ambush in the Ohio Territory - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

History reports the details as this:


Washington dispatched General Lachlan McIntosh with 1,200 men and many Indian Scouts to the Ohio territory in the fall of 1778. The goal was two-fold: defeat the British allied Indians who were attacking American settlements. And launch an attack against the British garrison located at Detroit, Michigan.

By early November, McIntosh was deep into the Ohio territory. He determined that he could not carry out his orders due to the winter months that lay ahead and decided to wait until the warmer spring months before conducting any attacks. He ordered the construction of a fort along the Tuscarawas River to help his men survive the harsh winter weather.

Named Fort Laurens after the president of the Continental Congress, Henry Laurens, they completed it by early December 1778. McIntosh soon realized that his men disliked living in such a primitive and hostile environment. Rather than have a mutiny on his hands, he decided to take the bulk of his men, just over one thousand of them, to the safer confines of Fort Pitt in western Pennsylvania. He left behind approximately 150 men of the 13th Virginia under Colonel John Gibson's command.

Colonel Gibson did not have sufficient food to last until spring and hunting in the woods was soon stopped by the appearance of hostile Indians. He was promised a resupply in January and on January 21, Captain John Clark of the 8th Pennsylvania arrived and did just that. With him he brought 15 men and pack horses loaded with flour and meat. Two days later Captain Clark departed with his men for the return trip to Fort Pitt.

The construction of Fort Laurens drew the attention of the English and their Indian allies in the Ohio Country. In January 1779, Simon Girty, a British agent and interpreter among the Indians, led a small group of 17 Mingo Indians to reconnoiter the fort's defensive features. Three miles from the fort, they came upon Clark on his return trip and attacked. Clark and his detachment made it back to Fort Laurens but they had suffered two dead, four wounded, and one captured. Days later Clark made another attempt to leave and was successful this time. They eluded the Indians and made it back to Fort Pitt.

Back at Fort Detroit, Girty’s captive revealed the awful conditions in the fort and the resulting low morale among the Americans. Captain Henry Bird of the English army hoped to take advantage of the situation. With a handful of British soldiers and 180 native allies, consisting of Wyandot, Mingo, Munsee and Delaware Indians, Bird slowly laid siege to Fort Laurens in the middle of February.

Seeing this, Colonel Gibson sent a messenger through the siege lines to carry news of his situation to General McIntosh. A comment from Gibson to McIntosh read: “You may depend upon my defending the fort to the last extremity.” McIntosh began readying a force to help Fort Laurens.

On February 23 the garrison suffered a major blow. Early in the winter the men had cut firewood and piled it in the forest less than a mile from the fort. A wagon was sent out from the fort under escort of 18 armed men to retrieve it. Within sight of the fort, the work party was seen passing an ancient Indian burial mound when suddenly Indians hidden behind it burst upon them. Ambush! They came from the front and the rear and overwhelmed them. The party was decimated. All were killed and savagely scalped except for two who were taken prisoner. Soldiers inside the fort could do nothing to help them.

Conditions inside the fort were horrible and outside only slightly better. Food was scarce and the winter was terribly cold. After many unsuccessful attempts to get Gibson to surrender, the English and the Indians lifted the siege of the fort on March 20, 1779. Partly because Gibson managed to bluff the British as to the actual food status in the fort. Gibson boldly sent out a barrel of flour and a barrel of meat to them. This made the British believe that they were better stocked than expected and simply gave up.

Three days later McIntosh and a relief force consisting of seven hundred men from Fort Pitt, arrived. As soon as Gibson's men became able to travel, the bulk of the Americans returned to Fort Pitt. Only 106 men, under the command of Major Frederick Vernon, remained behind for a short while longer. By summer, the fort was completely abandoned.

Fort Laurens was the only fort that the Americans built in the Ohio Country during the Revolution. After it was abandoned, the Continental Army no longer had a real presence nor played a major role in the area for the rest of the war. Militiamen became responsible for the defense of American settlers in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Name of Battle: Siege and ambush at Fort Laurens Name of War: The American Revolution Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 02/23/1779 Date of Battle (End): 03/20/1779 Entrance Fee: Not Listed Parking: Not Listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/07/2009 TheLostHiker visited it

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