Columbus has had a fascinating past, but unfortunately, some of that history has been forgotten over the years.
One saga took place about 200 years ago during the War of 1812. Bill Pickard, assistant curator of archaeology at the Ohio Historical Society, told me the tale.
It involved soldiers who were stationed in Franklinton under Gen. William Henry Harrison, commander of troops in the Northwest Territory during the war.
Harrison ordered 34 soldiers and six officers to head north to reinforce American troops attempting to hold back the British and American Indians who were coming down from Fort Detroit to harass Ohioans.
The troops heading north from Franklinton were commanded by Capt. Daniel Cushing. On Jan. 1, 1813, they started up what is now High Street, which then was probably just a buffalo trail, Pickard said. Their destination was Upper Sandusky by way of Worthington.
They got about 4 miles into their journey when they were caught in a heavy rainstorm near where Clintonville is now. That area was then just “a howling wilderness,” Pickard said.
Cushing’s wagons got stuck in the muddy trail; then the rain changed to snow, and the wagons became frozen in the mud. The men dug the wagons out eventually and made it to the settlement of Worthington, a welcome place to stop for a while after they had battled the elements.
But there, the thirsty troops got into a barroom brawl among themselves, Pickard said.
Their journey had not had an auspicious beginning. But after regrouping, they somehow made it to Upper Sandusky on Jan. 14, after trudging through a couple of feet of snow for days.
The Franklinton troops were moved in May 1813 to Fort Meigs on the Maumee River, where they became involved in a siege by an enemy force of British soldiers and Indians. The Indians were led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh.
The American troops, now under the command of Harrison, withstood the assault on the fort, and the enemy withdrew back across Lake Erie to Fort Detroit.
Pickard said some of the American troops who came north from Franklinton probably later took part in the Battle of the Thames in Canada in October 1813. During that battle, the British and Indians were defeated by the Americans, and Tecumseh was killed.
The Indians took his body to a secret location for burial; its whereabouts remains a mystery.
Pickard’s story reminds us that New Year’s Day has not always been a festive time with rich food and football in Columbus’ storied past.
Retired weather columnist John Switzer writes a Sunday Metro column.