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Lot 33
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W. H. Harrison ALS War of 1812 Military Content!
W. H. Harrison ALS War of 1812 Military Content!
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Description:

W. H. Harrison ALS War of 1812 Military Content!

In this letter to a commissary, General William Henry Harrison writes from northwestern Ohio to a commissary at Fort Barbee, eighty miles to the southwest, regarding supplies for future movements of his Army of the Northwest. Harrison's soldiers were then constructing Fort Meigs, which would within three months come under attack by the British and their Native American allies. Fort Barbee was located on the St. Mary's River, which ran north and west into the Maumee River at Fort Wayne, Indiana Territory. The Auglaize River was another tributary of the Maumee that flowed north into the Maumee River at the site of Fort Defiance (1794-1796) in Ohio. General Harrison had Fort Winchester constructed nearby in October 1812.

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, Autograph Letter Signed, to John H. Piatt, February 7, 1813, Miami Rapids [Maumee River]. 1 pp., 6.25" x 7.5". Brittle; professionally mended separations along folds; toned.

Complete Transcript
Head Qrs Foot of the Miami
Rapids 7th Feby. 1813
Dear Sir,
I received this day your Letter of the 25th ultimo, and am much pleased at the prospect it affords of an ample supply of provisions being deposited at the Forts upon the Auglaize, ready to be embarked as soon as the ice breaks up Every exertion ought to be made to increase the means of water Transportation. Our supplies by land from the Deposit at upper Sandusky untill the waters are navigable will be sufficient. Your efforts should be particularly directed to supply the Troops after that period. As it is uncertain when the provisions ordered to be laid in at Greenville will be wanted you must make arrangements for having them well secured.
I have been applied to for the purpose of fixing the pay of your relation Majr R. Piatt. This you must do yourself. It is absolutely necessary that you should have assistants and they must be paid a sum proportioned to the duties they performed.
Yours verry respecty
Willm Henry Harrison
John H. Piatt Esqr
Dy Commsry

Historical Background
In August 1812, Brigadier General William Hull surrendered Fort Detroit and the town of Detroit, Michigan, to a smaller British force. In response, the United States formed the Army of the Northwest to retake the town. William Henry Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory, took command of the army as a major general. Despite pressure from Secretary of War James Monroe, Harrison built Fort Meigs on the Maumee River (present site of Perrysburg, Ohio) and Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky River (present site of Fremont, Ohio).

Harrison's forces began construction of Fort Meigs on February 1, 1813, but the expiration of militia enlistments left the construction incomplete. Harrison disbanded his force and left for Cincinnati to raise a fresh army, leaving a small detachment to complete the construction of the fort.

Beginning in late April, a British force under Major General Henry Proctor from Fort Detroit with Native American allies led by Tecumseh and Roundhead besieged Fort Meigs. Although the Americans suffered nearly one thousand casualties in efforts to spike British siege guns, their defense convinced the British to abandon the siege after less than two weeks.

In August 1813, a British force, again under the command of Major General Henry Proctor, with allied Native Americans assaulted Fort Stephenson, but determined resistance by the outnumbered American garrison of 160 soldiers under the command of Major George Croghan convinced the British to return to Detroit without besieging the fort.

Captain Oliver Hazard Perry's decisive victory over the British navy in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, gave the Americans control of Lake Erie and forced the British back to Detroit. Perry's victory allowed Harrison to invade Upper Canada, culminating in the American victory at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in which Native American leader Tecumseh was killed.

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) was born in Virginia into a prominent planter family and studied at Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Pennsylvania. He joined the army in 1791 and participated in the Northwest Indian War, including the decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which Harrison signed as a witness. He married Anna Tuthill in 1795, and they had ten children. In 1798, Harrison resigned from the military and became secretary of the Northwest Territory. He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory (1799-1800) and as governor of the Indiana Territory (1801-1812). In 1811, he defeated Shawnee leader Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe, for which Harrison was praised as a national hero. During the War of 1812, Harrison commanded the Army of the Northwest and defeated the British and their Indian allies at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. After disagreements with the Secretary of War, Harrison resigned in 1814. He represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives (1816-1819) and in the U.S. Senate (1825-1828). After running as a regional Whig candidate for the presidency in 1836, Harrison won the 1840 election over incumbent Martin Van Buren. On March 4, 1841, a cold, wet day, Harrison wore no hat or overcoat, rode on horseback to his inauguration, and delivered the longest inaugural speech of any American president. He became ill three weeks later and died of pneumonia on April 4, having been president for 31 days. He was the last United States president born as a British subject and the first to die in office.

John H. Piatt (1781-1822) was a merchant from Ohio. On September 27, 1812, Major General William Henry Harrison appointed Piatt as Deputy Commissary of Purchases. He served in that position until June 1, 1814. He later served as a private contractor to supply provisions to the army. His relative Robert Piatt served as Assistant Deputy Commissary of Purchases from September 1, 1812, to March 1, 1814, at an annual salary of $1,200, plus expenses.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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