216 HISTORY OF OHIO. 



array in front of their General. This popular address was 

 answered by shouts of applause and devotion. 



Instantly the enemy's gun-boats were seen disgorging 

 their troops, guns and munitions of war, on the site of the old 

 British fort Miami on the southeast side of the upper end of 

 Maumee bay. Having performed this service, they took in 

 and conveyed over the Maumee river, on to its eastern shore 

 their red allies, who forthwith invested our garrison, yelling 

 hideously all around it. 



Next morning the General issued a patriotic general order, 

 Avhich was read to the troops. One third of the whole garri- 

 son, was ordered into the trenches, all the time night and day. 

 These were relieved every three hours. Captains Gkatiot 

 and Wood were the engineers who planned and superintended 

 the construction of these defences. All was now animation. 

 The enemy was constructing his batteries; our men were 

 laboring on their defences. Around our fort was a space some 

 hundred yards or more in width clear of trees. Not liking to 

 venture on this open space, the savages went beyond it, and 

 climed up the trees, from whence they killed several and 

 wounded still more of our men. Sorties to shoot down these 

 aerial combatants, as so many squirrels,were frequent, and an 

 occasional grape shot took effect on them. The Indian yell, 

 and the constant blaze of their rifles, produced an excellent 

 effect in our camp and the men labored constantly and with 

 great effect on the defences. On the 30th the enemy's batte- 

 ries were completed, and his artillery fixed on them, under a 

 heavy fire from our fort not without effect. On the mornino- 

 of the 1st of May, it was discovered by our officers, that the 

 batteries of the enemy were completed, mounted with guns, 

 and at 10 in the forenoon, he was seen to be loading his pie- 

 ces, and preparing for his grand attack on our fort. 



By this time our troops had completed their grand traverse 

 twelve feet high, on a twenty feet base, and three hundred 

 yards long, running along on elevated ground through the mid- 

 dle of the fort, calculated to ward off the balls of the enemy. 

 The tents in front of this traverse which had previously hid- 



