GEORGE CROGHAN
A SKETCH OF AN ILLUSTRATION INTHE PAGEANT OF AMERICA.COPYRIGHT AND BY PERMISSION YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
GEORGE CROGHAN
Prepared by the Staff of the
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
1953
One of a historical series, this pamphlet is publishedunder the direction of the governing Boards of the PublicLibrary of Fort Wayne and Allen County.
BOARD·OF·TRUSTEES·OF·THE·SCHOOL·CITY·OF·FORT·WAYNE
- Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs
- Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary
- B.F. Geyer, President
- W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer
- Willard Shambaugh
PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY
The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees of theSchool City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers) together with the followingcitizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate City of Fort Wayne.
- James E. Graham
- Arthur Niemeier
- Mrs. Glenn Henderson
- Mrs. Charles Reynolds
FOREWORD
George Croghan, an officer in the War of 1812, typifies the patriotism, thebravery, and the gallantry of the young American of that period. At the age oftwenty-one, he was in temporary command of the garrison at Fort Wayne for abrief time.
His excellent record in the defense of Fort Defiance and Fort Meigs earnedhim the command of Fort Stephenson (the present site of Fremont, Ohio). His intelligentand valorous defense of the fort against overwhelming odds touched theimaginations and thrilled the hearts of the American people. His later life was uneventful;he served as United States postmaster at New Orleans and as inspectorgeneral in the regular army. He saw action under General Taylor in the MexicanWar and died of cholera in New Orleans in 1849.
The following account of Croghan’s early life, compiled by a woman who hadknown him as a boy, appeared in the supplement appended to Volume VII of theNILES’ WEEKLY REGISTER. The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library ofFort Wayne and Allen County reprint this biographical sketch in the hope that it willprove interesting and entertaining to students of local history. Grammar, spelling,and punctuation have been changed to conform to current usage.
Frankfort, Kentucky
July 22, 1814
Sir:
Upon receiving the letter which you addressed to me, I immediately tooksuch measures as were necessary to procure the information you requested. I nowtransmit to you the result of my inquiries, regretting that it was not in my po