WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 223 



militia, in silence. He was ordered, also, to aid all he could, 

 in fitting out a force, now in a state of great forwardness, with 

 which, to contend on the lake, for the supremacy on this in- 

 land sea. 



Keeping all these orders in view, he moved rapidly to Chil- 

 licothe, and finally to Cincinnati, encouraging the recruiting 

 service, looking into the quarter master's and commissary's 

 departments, as he went forward. At Newport, the General 

 found the 24th regiment of United States infantry, from 

 Nashville, Tennessee. These, he instantly ordered off to 

 Franklinton, and they marched there. The General himself 

 following them, to the same place, sent for deputations from 

 our friendly Indians. When they arrived, he held many long 

 talks with them. 



General Clay, now in command of Fort Meigs, informed 

 Harrison, that the enemy was preparing to invest that fort 

 with a large force. The 24th regiment had already marched 

 some days previous, to Sandusky. These the General followed, 

 and overtook below Upper Sandusky. From these troops, 

 three hundred of the stoutest men were selected, to make a 

 forced march, to relieve Fort Meigs. The swamp was dry 

 on the surface, but not enough so, to bear a man's weight ; so 

 down he went knee deep, and now the difficulty was to draw 

 out his feet, the earth being dry on the surface. The General 

 pressed forward without halting night or day, and arrived at 

 the garrison on the 28th at nightfall. Colonel Anderson, 

 colonel Gaines, and their Tennessee detachment, reached the 

 garrison within a few hours after the General. 



No enemy appeared, but, towards the latter part of June, 

 the General learned, that one hundred Indians had left the 

 river Raisin in canoes for Lower Sandusky. Nothing required 

 his presence any longer at Fort Meigs. On the 1st of July, Har- 

 rison left the fort and went to Lower Sandusky. Here, on the 

 2nd, Colonel Ball with a squadron of horse met Harrison, 

 according to his orders. With these, Harrison immediately 

 marched for Cleveland. The secretary of war had ordered 

 boats built at the mouth of the Cuyahoga in which to trans- 



