esent city of
Cincinnati). Brigadier-General Harmer, a veteran of the revolution,
led the expedition, having under him three hundred and twenty
regulars, with militia detachments from Pennsylvania and Virginia (or
Kentucky), making in all fourteen hundred and fifty-three men. After a
march of seventeen days, they approached the principal village of the
Miamis. The Indians did not await an attack, but set fire to the
village and fled to the woods. The destruction of the place, with that
of large quantities of provisions, was completed.

An Indian trail being discovered, Colonel Hardin, a continental
officer who commanded the Kentucky militia, was detached to follow it,
at the head of one hundred and fifty of his men, and about thirty
regulars, under Captain Armstrong and Ensign Hartshorn. They followed
the trail for about six miles, and were crossing a plain covered by
thickets, when suddenly there were volleys of rifles on each side,
from unseen marksmen, accompanied by the horrid war-whoop. The trail
had, in fact, decoyed them into an ambush of seven hundred savages,
under the famous warrior Little Turtle. The militia fled, without
firing a musket. The savages now turned upon the little handful of
regulars, who stood their ground, and made a brave resistance with the
bayonet until all were slain, excepting Captain Armstrong, Ensign
Hartshorn, and five privates.

The army, notwithstanding, effected the main purpose of the expedition
in laying waste the Indian villages and destroying their winter's
stock of provisions, after which it commenced its march back to Fort
Washington. On the 21st of October, when it was halted about ten miles
to the west of Chillicothe, an opportunity was given Colonel Hardin to
wipe out the late disgrace of his arms. He was detached with a larger
body of militia than before, and sixty regulars, under Major Willys,
to seek and bring the savages to action. The accounts of these Indian
wars are very confused. It appears, however, that he had another
encounter with Little Turtle and his braves. It was a bloody battle,
fought well on both sides. The militia behaved bravely, and lost many
men and officers, as did the regulars; Major Willys fell at the
commencement of the action. Colonel Hardin was at length compelled to
retreat, leaving the dead and wounded in the hands of the enemy. After
he had rejoined the main force, the whole exhibition made its way back
to Fort Washington, on the banks of th