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Thanks you for the effort for this video. My wife is a direct descendant of Col. Crawford and his name will be continued on through our first son. Your video has disclosed the most comprehensive summary I’ve found so far of this man.
What a surprise to see a former student pop up when I was researching Colonel Crawford after reading “Disaster on the Sandusky.” Awesome work, keep it up!
Thank you so much! This comment made my day! I will have to read Disaster on the Sandusky. Hope all is well with you and your current students. They are lucky to have you!
@FrontierTradingCompany I recommend you read Disaster on the Sandusky, it tells alot about Colonel Granddads service and friendship/partnership with George Washington. He served in the French Indian War, Braddock Expedition, Lord Dunsmores War and the Revolutionary War. He was also in the boat with Washington when he crossed the river at Trenton on Christmas Eve.
I remember reading about the expedition and his horrific death in Allen Eckert's book The Frontiersmen (my all time favorite book). Truly the stuff of nightmares and the detail in which he described the torture has stayed with me many years later. Amazing book full of such stories of brutality on the frontier in that time (1760s-1790s) which has since been forgotten to the more iconic "pioneers" of the American west. People forget there was a time in American history when the "West" was considered Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, etc.
The Frontiersman got me into this hobby! I am currently reading A Sorrow In Our Heart, Eckert's book about Tecumseh, and I highly recommend it if you all are looking for another read! That Dark and Bloody River is on my list.
@@FrontierTradingCompany That's great! I just found your channel and you have a new subscriber. Keep up the great work! I also have A Sorrow in Our Heart and read that immediately after I read The Frontiersmen. Loved learning more about Tecumseh and his side of of the conflict. One day I'll have to head out to Ohio and Kentucky and visit some of the actual sites from Eckert's books.
@@USAR8888 After the frontierman there is 5 more books that are all part of the winning of America series by eckerts that I'd imagine you like,one thing just don't take everything you read by eckerts as facts.
Just remember when reading Eckert's work.Take it with a grain of salt,he was and is wrong on many historical points. Some small some big. Example Blue Jacket was not Marmaduke Van Swearingen. He was Shawnee all the way. Another the relationship between Tecumseh and Rebecca Galloway he was 42 years old she was 13 it never happened that they knew each other maybe but there was no romantic involvement.
Don't know how I missed this one..But very well done, sir! There is so much history in Ohio that folks just don't know about, anymore. Thank you, for bringing this bit to us!
Thanks for bringing this forgotten piece of history to life. I like the original paintings and from what I know your research is rock solid. Good primary source references!
Excellent research and presentation! Thank you for putting this together and taking the time to make such a high quality video. These bits of American history are extremely important and should not be forgotten.
Thanks so much, I appreciate the comment! I have a few other lecture-style videos like this one in the works, so keep an eye out for those sometime later this year!
Having been in the military and a firefighter for 27 years I’ve seen a lot of suffering. What this patriot suffered is unbelievable. I appreciate his sacrifice.
Thank you for your work in presenting this dark episode in American history and for keeping the memory of half-forgotten people and events! You've done it very well!
My 4th great uncle, then Captain Richard "Shawtunte" Sparks was a scout for Col Crawford and warned him of overwhelming hostile sign, suggesting that they turn back and live to fight another day. Sparks had been taken and adopted by the Shawnee in 1760 as a 3 yr old child and wasn't repatriated to his family until the age of 21. He knew all of the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami and Wyandotte, and other regional tribes' villages and customs and war planning. Col Crawford refused and my 4th great uncle was one of the few survivors, surviving by eating fledgling birds and eggs in the swamps and wetlands on the way back to Ft Pitt. It took him over a month eluding war parties to make it back to the safety of Ft Pitt.. General St Clair also would not listen to Sparks and he also met huge losses of officers and men in western Ohio. Finally, Gen Anthony Wayne listened to Captain Sparks advice and won a victory at Fallen Timbers. It is said that Col Crawford was afforded an end part way through the torture by a rifle ball to the head, purportedly fired by Sparks or Sam Brady. Brady later denied being on that mission. There is a war dept letter between Gen Anthony Wayne and Secretary of War Henry Knox, circa1792 - 1794 of a witnessed 400 yd Flintlock rifle sniper shot on a hostile by Captain Sparks at the Beaver Blockhouse, down river from Pittsburgh, so it could be possible for Captain Sparks to have made that shot.
Your account of Col. Crawford’s death reminds me of the circumstances that led to the disaster of St.Clair in western Ohio in 1791. All the signs were there there that St.Clair and his army were marching to their doom, but St.Clair was oblivious to them. The same would happen 85 years later at Wounded Knee. Custer had been advised that he was in a bad situation, but Custer would not heed them. Arrogance and pride in leadership can be a deadly thing.
@@olentangy74 Custer wasn't at Wiunded Knee. His battle was many years earlier at the Little Bighorn River. I won't debate the obviously ignorant but he did have many valid reasons for his actions that day.
Thanks very much for putting this out there in a clear and understandable way. Well done. Allen Eckhart's The Frontiersman introduced this story to me. This and other stories of the Ohio conflict are I think of great interest because of the fascinating individuals involved. Kenton and Tecumseh in particular seem to both be great men. Reading the book it was impossible to pick a side to back and I think that indicates what a good representation of history it is. The speech against torture in the book, attributed to Tecumseh is also of interest to me. It, if accurate, shows Tecumseh as a true leader of people, with an understanding that cruelty is not a necessity, nor a sport. And that his humanity was focused on helping his people as opposed to revenge. Very wise behavior IMO. If I'm remembering correctly, Kenton's treatment of Tecumseh at his death says a lot about Kenton as well. It's so easy to imagine wanting to support either of these men in their endeavors. Well done.
Thank you, I agree with all of what you have said here. There were honorable people on both sides of frontier conflict, and also greedy and cruel people. The often bloody history that unfolded as a result is riveting, I believe, because human nature remains the same, and many of the dynamics of honor, betrayal, respect, etc. are just as relevant today, though in other contexts. Thanks for watching, I appreciate the comment.
Valentine Crawford, William’s brother, was also a Surveyor with Washington and fought in the American Revolutionary War at Trenton, NJ. My family is directly descended from Col. Valentine Crawford.
Great presentation. My family lived that history. My 3rd great grandfather, Robert Warth was killed in May 1794 by 2 Shawnee in Marietta (Ohio) at Fort Harmar.
I passed by there heading north to see my buddy up in Michigan. I am from Harlan County, Kentucky. My family was one of those that crossed into Kentucky with Boone, and the other half are hideaway Cherokee, from the Trail of Tears, when they passed through western Kentucky, they saw the oppurtunity to run back east into the mountains. Papaw spoke Cherokee, and mamaw carried on alot of the traditional medicines and lived in the same cabin that was built in 1840 by my mamaws people, and they just now got running water in it the last 5 years. The side that came up with Boone that cabin has been there since 1820 but up in our mountains there are still the frames of alot of one room small cabins. I grew up learning the history and the old ways of the longhunters and Cherokee Shawnee warriors. Just moved into southern Ohio here last fall, and been looking for a group that does 18th Century living. If you all know any I am interested for sure
What an awesome family history! I had a distant relative fight in the American Revolution but cannot claim any native ancestry. As for living history groups, I'm not the greatest resource... while I am located in Ohio, I haven't been very active in formal reenacting groups because I am a college student. Some well connected resources might be the Smoke & Fire Co in Waterville, OH, or Fort Meigs, one of the largest wooden-walled forts in North America. Both are located outside of Toledo and have historical connections all over. Hope this helps!
Bloody Harlan, huh?! Wow! My family are from Owsley County. Booneville, just beyond Beattyville. Moving back to Owsley from Hamilton, Ohio at the end of summer. Can't wait to get back to the hollers and hills of the motherland! Life is simpler, there. Don't need a watch and able to wake up and piss off the front porch!
Wow! What a bloodline. I really love Ohio. Have lived here my entire 53 years. My uncle was a mountain man (reinactor). He was in a group called the ‘Seneca County Musket loaders’. I’m not sure if they still are around.
Excellent job! And thank you for your efforts to keep history alive, to keep almost forgotten stories alive so that we may learn from our past. Col. Crawford would be greatful to you for keeping his story alive.
Excellent. Just excellent. Well researched. Well narrated. Respectfully told. Keep teaching the past. It is who we are, and helps us navigate the future.
Thank you for producing and posting this video. My 5th great grandfather was a private in Captain Timothy Downing’s Company on the Sandusky Campaign. Glad to see the history of the Battle of Sandusky.
Very well done, young man. You did a good job of setting the history of Colonol Crawford, as well as the events that led to his horrific death. Allen Eckert covered Crawford’s capture and death very graphically in his book, The Frontiersman. It is a pity that the actual site is off limits.
I am from Upper Sandusky, Oh. I passed through Crawford countless times on my way to Carey, Oh. as well as other destinations in the area. Anyway, I have always known about the history of Col. Crawford and his brutal demise, but never knew the lesser known (but important) details of his life. Thank you for this interesting video of this part of history.
Great video essay. Col. Crawford is a great great uncle of mine. Some interesting facts about the disaster. Crawford’s brother Valentine Crawford is also listed as perishing in the expedition. There is a dispute in accounts regarding the behavior of the notorious Simon Girty (who played a part on the jury of traitors in The Devil and Daniel Webster). Some accounts I’ve read say Girty, who knew Crawford from the F&I War, warned him to retreat, and at the end, took no part in Crawford’s torture. Others allege Girty taunted Crawford during the torture. Very interesting. Well done report.
Very well done. You look like you are about 20 years old and I am impressed by your passion. I'm sending this link along to people who have no interest in history but will be interested to see how brutal things were on the frontier. Great work putting this all together and providing context. Not just a brutal video but actually why it took place and how it is remembered today. Could be used in history classes.
Human nature sucks. just when I think MANKIND has turned the corner to a higher degree of evolution, I am transported back in time to realize that man's cruel nature will never subside. We are, indeed, the most deadly species on the planet. Hard to believe that we are created "in God's image" ad the religious folks keep telling us. More likely the devil brought forth MANKIND. We are now in the threshold of NUCLEAR WAR. If nit this year, soon, in this Century for sure.
Thank you for covering this! I remember your posting on your community page that this was coming, but I never got the notification for some reason. It's already been said here, but I greatly appreciate your honest telling of history.
Hey thanks for this comment, I appreciate you watching! I'm just creating content that I would like to watch and I am so honored to see other people aligning with that vision.
great job on this vid.. first time ive seen your channel and was impressed with your delivery and knowledge provided ... this type of info is what makes youtube worth every penny imo
Nothing brings history home like finding a video like this and having the same name as its subject. Never knew about this William Crawford! Amazing video you have a new subscriber!
Simon Girty (aka the "white savage"), a white man who lived among the Indians was implicated in the death of Colonial Crawford (perhaps unfairly) and was known as the "Infamous traitor" for his alleged part in Colonial Crawford's death. In a seperate incident, Simon also freed a girl (Catharine Malott) and her mother who were taken as slaves by the Indians after their family was attacked by Indians on their way to Ohio. Simon Girty married Catharine. Meanwhile, the two woman were presumed dead and Mr. Mallot remarried. After Simon Girty freed Catharine and her mom, they returned home and discovered that Mr. Mallot had remarried. the two wives talked it out and agreed that wife #2 would stay with Mr. Mallot and wife #1 (Catharine's mom) left with Catharine and Simon to move to Canada. I am a direct descendant of the Mallots so this video about Colonial Crawford is a little bit of family history for me.
When I say I am HONORED to have you in my comments section, I truly mean it. This made my night. Or maybe my month. I’m flattered that a giant in this community took the time to watch! You are so right to be proud of your heritage and I LOVE to see that you are in tune with history from this period. I have long considered a video on Girty. Someday when I am a little better researched I will take a crack at it! Really appreciate the comment, thank you again!
I commend you on your excellent video! I’m very impressed and learned about something about our history that I had never heard of before. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!
thank you for the story. I had previously read about this in the book,"the frontiersmen". It's mainly about Simon Kenton. Wonderful book. Thanks again.
Thank you for the lesson. I have studied the lost battles of the colonies towards the natives but never saw this. I did study what Massachusetts was around that time, American history is very difficult to study once you go down rabbit holes like this one.
Yeah they'll have you believe they were all just a bunch of early hippies getting high killing deer wrestling around fighting and f****** oh no they were the most backstabbing brutal murderers of their own kind of anyone they just got mad when somebody better at it than them came along
Well done sir! I am re-reading Eckert’s ‘Winning of America’ series again and find the books just as captivating as I did as a much younger man. I have two books that Eckert signed for me that I treasure. I have a degree in early American history from Ohio State and grew-up fishing on the Olentangy River which was approximately 300 yards from my front door. Thank you for keeping the history of this great state alive for future generations. 👍🏼❤️🫡 Semper Fi
It's racist...racist... Lol. Let's just vandalize and demolish this moment (the leftist maniacs would say)... I am just kidding... Good history insight! 👍
I'm glad the algorithm brought me this video today! Just last night I finished reading zane Grey's Betty Zane. It's as hell of a Revolutionary War novel set on the frontier, and Crawford's death is a major incident in the narrative.
This sort of savagery was common among native Americans going back thousands of years. Ritual torture, enslavement, genocide, human sacrifice and cannibalism existed long before Europeans ever got to the Americas. The massacre of the Christian Delawares was a crime but this was not an uncommon occurrence between native tribes either.
Hopefully, posterity can relearn these truths. Not to hate the Natives, simply to understand that White Europeans were not the ones to bring all the evils to the new world.
Good videos, waiting for the one from Pricketts Fort. Good to meet you and Mason there. This hobby needs young men to get involved, young ladies as well.
As someone who has spent a great deal of time researching and personally exploring the landmarks related to the campaign, I think you did a great job with your overview. If you have any questions or want to discuss specific locations in Wyandot County feel free to reach out.
My last name is Crawford and I live in Ohio (near Greenville). Everytime we discussed this topic in high-school my history teacher would look me dead in the eye and say "COL. CRAWFORD" he definitely did not want me to forget this historical event.
@@FrontierTradingCompany I'm doubtful given my family lineage. I'm mixed and the Crawford last name comes from the African American side of my family which was brought from the south to this area by my grandfather who worked the rails as a young man but you never know. DNA testing could get me closer to the story.
Well you certainly have humility and that's a noble quality. You may very well be a descendant. Being "mixed" doesn't mean it's not possible! Everyone has a story no matter where they came from be proud of that! God bless
I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the story, it’s an interesting one if I’m ever in that part of Ohio I plan on visiting the site. Thank you for time and information
Excellent presentation! I've a newfound interest in the history of the 'Northwest', having recently finished reading David McCullough's 'The Pioneers'. I live in Newcomerstown, and am visiting these areas of historical significance.
There was a fellow named "Nelson" who was being chased by the Indians and was trapped, on a ledge . so he had to jump across a steep ravine as to escape the Indians .this event in history was know as Nelson's Leap" There is a monument in Ohio where this happened ,and know as Nelson's Ledges"
Ok, that is a little bit right. There is a place called Nelson’s ledges. It’s a quarry. You are confusing that with Brady’s leap, in Cuyahoga falls. Sam Brady was running from the Shawnee Indians and jumped a 20 foot wide raging river to escape.
@@bretgustafson3360 yes thank you. I’m pretty sure there’s a memorial. Checked it. There’s a Brady’s leap plaza. Sad. I actually did visit the site long ago as a young boy with my parents, I think. These days it’s a trickling creek, but in 1770, it was a raging river.
I read this story when I was about 22 yrs old and it has stuck with me ever since. And that was 40 years ago. This video only scratches the surface of the whole story and, understandably, leaves out some of the worst details.
I have recently traced back my lineage to Colonel William Crawford from my grandmother's side. He's a distant grandparents but it's crazy to think that this man is partially responsible for me being here. I'm very proud of that.
This is my first opportunity to watch one of your videos but I like the depth of the narration and accompanying visual material. I don't know if you've ever covered Daniel Boone but just over the Virginia state line north of me are markers and the location of where his nineteen years old son, James, was filleted by Indians. Also, his twenty-two years old son, Israel, was killed while helping Daniel defend Fort Boonesborough in Kentucky.
Actually, I was just doing a little research several weeks ago and realized that Boone's son Israel's death was related to Crawford's. After word of Crawford's death spread, especially as a result of Knight's account, which is recounted in this video, a large band of several hundred frontiersman got together to form the "Second Moravian Campaign." Their intention was to get vengeance for Crawford's death (along with others KIA in Crawford's campaign) but Simon Girty caught wind of this and began moving among the Shawnee gathering warriors to set an ambush. Girty struck out at the head of this force, which outnumbered the frontiersman, and cut along the frontier, coming within close proximity of the army of frontiersman. The army of frontiersmen caught wind of the force of Shawnee and began to pursue at a distance of 5-10 miles. This put Girty far enough ahead of the frontiersmen to cross the Licking River at Blue Licks and set an ambush before the frontiersmen caught up on the other bank. Girty had stationed several Shawnee on a bluff with instructions to feign being caught off guard by the group of several hundred frontiersmen. Boone apparently tried to stop the group from crossing the Licking in pursuit of the apparently startled Shawnee, who scurried off the top of the bluff, and pointed out that to cross the Licking here would put them looking up a large ravine - but hotter heads prevailed and the group charged across the river. Once in the ravine, Girty gave the order to open up, and Shawnee on both sides of the ravine unleashed an almost constant din of gunfire, unloading into the frontiersmen below, who had little good cover. Casualties were high and included Israel - Boone apparently found him amidst the smoke and chaos and called out that he should get onto a nearby horse and retreat, but Israel was shot as he leapt into the saddle. Based on that account, Boone saw him fall, realized that he personally had no further stake in the engagement, and given that he and his men were obviously outnumbered, was one of the first to begin calling out to others to retreat. There were few survivors and even more of the frontiersmen were picked off as they tried to go back across the Licking. Those who were wounded were brutally tortured on the banks of the River following the battle, and most all bodies were terribly mutilated throughout that afternoon and evening. Girty's popularity and influence among the Shawnee grew tremendously after this greatly successful ambush. Based on what I was reading, it was not apparent that Boone or other frontiersmen were aware that Girty had been behind the attack.
This torture of captives had been going on among native Americans long before European settlers arrived. Those captured knew their fate, as they carried out the same tortures upon those they had captured on previous occasions. Those tortured were supposed to show as much indifference to their plight as possible. It was their way of life.
"How do you like war now?" a torturer asked a captured Indian in King Philip's War. "I love war. It is as sweet to me as sugar is the the White man," came the answer. The barbarian warrior's code (like Conan) is to live a life in defiance of fear, pain and death. Torture allowed a warrior to show real class.
@@dhm7815 So which civilization would you want to live in? Must people did not choose the Stone Age because advanced civilization is a happier way of life. We have warriors in our advanced civilization today who exhibit thethe virtues of a true warrior - courage despite fear, self-sacrifice, prowess in battle, etc - but they fight to defend the helpless and innocent, not to terrorize, torture, murder, steal and rape without regard to age, sex, physical condition, which the stone age warriors did in the service of domination of their tribe and bravado.
Great Job - I grew up in Northeastern Ohio and the Western Frontier edged up against the county I lived in . Growing up , we found a lot of Arrowheads near water , especially moving water . Darn that bird .
Well that was about the most gruesome death I could ever imagine. Wonderful video young man well put together I really enjoyed it it was very informative. Thanks for sharing
Good video. I am going to follow this up now - so your video has had a positive effect on me - good teaching. What is that clothing you are wearing what is it called / style etc?
Glad it was helpful. This is a living history channel, this video just happens to be lecture-based rather than camping/how-to. There is another video discussing my outfit on my channel that I would encourage you to check out, although I was still relatively inexperienced at the time I presented it, so there are several content corrections pinned to the top of the comment section below that video. Hope that helps!
Good job young man ✌️😎 keep up the good works. I'm from Coshocton county Ohio. In 1781 General Washington sent the military into the Delaware village of Coshocton to punish and remove them . The Delaware had a piece agreement with the US and they broke it.. attacking settlers for the British. They Raised the village and marched them to gnadenhutten . None Cristian Delaware lived in present day Warsaw and moved north well before. Look up the story of Mary Harris and the story of newcomers town. I love history... and one day I'll have a wing of the Roscoe Village museum dedicated to my discoveries. Including a 1804 half cent I dug up this year .
Im currently reading a book called President Washington’s Indian War by Wiley Sword. Its a very well written, informative read; and honestly, this account of Crawford’s tortue-to-death pales in comparison to many of the fates of people captured by Shawnees, Wyandots etc. It’s honestly insane reading accounts of the brutal tortures and murders done by Indians to white captives and vice versa; some passages sound like scenes from Saw IV. Great read! Edit/add on: The full version of the soundtrack to this video, Maestro Tlakaelel by Jesse Gallagher, is something else
Nela shawanwa. I am Shawnee. Atrocities were committed on both sides. However, I will say this. The first English settlement was slaughtered. All colonists killed. Not a good way to start relations... That and my tribe were slavers. We captured and sold other tribes to the Spanish to work in the silver mines out west. Then the French came and convinced us to fight the English colonists. Given the bad blood, wasn't hard to convince my people to take up arms. Then the French did what they do best. Gave up and left. Left us to deal with the entire English empire while we had stone age weapons. Not good. I had family on both sides of fallen timbers. The bayonet is absolutely devastating in close combat.
Fascinating! Do you know where the Spanish mines were? I heard they had some mines in Arkansas or Alabama maybe? I know in Utah the Spanish took slaves and had them work in mines, and the Utes revolted and drove the Spanish out. But the Utes oddly enough kept selling slaves to the Spanish. It makes no sense. The gold mines are sacred because relative of them died there but then they continue to sell slaves up in the mid 1800s. Lookup on TH-cam terry carter. He interviewed tons of old guys and prospectors that had indian friends or lived on the reservation or married a Native American. It’s interesting cause some of the stories an older Native American would share stories but it seemed like they never passed everything on to the younger generation. With the tons of gold they have from when they killed the spanish and literally hid gold and have tons of gold mines the Ute reservation could have a huge like hundred million or billion dollar bank backed by gold and they could do lending. They say don’t touch the gold cause it’s cursed and greed does destroy but I think if used wisely it’d be very beneficial just like how some reservations have casinos. I just was reading how native Americans in New Mexico were pissed at the native on the interior land management job. She wants a ten mile ban on oil drilling but the reservation released a compromised of a 5 mile ban because tons of natives rely on oil royalties on their land to survive. If you’ve ever been to the four corners, or monument valley etc you’ll it’s desolate.
@@koltoncrane3099 Hiteto nekana! Most of the mines were located in New Mexico and Arizona, pretty much were the modern Navajo reservation is, where they used the "patio process" to reduce silver sulfide to silver chloride with mercury and salt. Had the slaves walk around in the slurry for weeks, barefoot, then load the slurry into mercury retorts. Gives a very pure product for the time. Utah had a Spanish trail but the Spanish didnt go much more north than modern day Cedar City. That was the Pueblo revolt iirc. The only real peaceful and innocent tribe were the Hopi Indians. Much respect to those people. I actually grow their blue corn variety myself in my 3 sisters garden. I actually live in southern Utah close to the Paiute reservation in Cedar City. My mom has a very strong Mormon heritage and my dad has the Indian. Here I am. You know your history and I am very impressed.
thank you for educating many of the history many should know,,,i have had a passion of american history most of my life and understand the importance of the knowledge.
This very nicely done, glad I found this channel! I might add that the gruesome and barbaric torture of Crawford wasn’t solely for revenge on Gnadehutten. That was certainly the excuse used, but it must not be misremembered that most of the frontier Indians engaged in this savage style of ritual torture by mutilation, burning, disembowelment, etc.; they more than likely would have done it anyway. This type of ritual bloodletting was as common among the Algonquian speaking tribes as it was among their Iroquoian enemies. Save for the occasional pacifist or “praying Indian” village, all of the natives on the frontier pretty much all did this to each other, to both Indian and European captive alike. I will say, though, that I do greatly appreciate how you acknowledge the atrocities committed by both the settlers as well as those carried out by the Indians. How easy it is to forget that the frontier back then was a lot like the Balkans. The violence was a lot more personal and embittered than other war-ravaged places. I think it a fair assessment to say that the frontier wars of the mid to late 18th century seem to be a repeat of the Anglo-Indian wars of the preceding century in New England; King Philip’s War certainly comes to mind. I invite you to look up the Massacre at Nine Men’s Misery in Rhode Island, if you haven’t already explored it. I’ve been to that site many times, as I live in the region where the southern theatre of that war broke out. The surrounding atmosphere of that site is still quite eerie and sombre.
Forgot to mention that I’d read that roughly twenty or so of the militiamen outright refused to partake in the massacre at Gnadehutten, after having cast votes against it. But for as unjustifiably cruel as it was, those who had bloodied their hands would have doubtless had previous atrocities fresh in their minds just as their victims did. Many settlers had lost family - men, women, children; even little babies were not spared - in massacres carried out by the likes of Mingo migrants and other bands of raiding parties. It was a never-ending back n’ forth of terror and tears for everyone that lived on the frontier. Settler or Indian, English or Algonquian, Iroquois or French, in eternal memory they are all equal now. 🙏
Charles Maximus, thank you. That is a very good insight into this period of history and those who lived it. I find many well-meaning but misinformed folks today who have trouble viewing such historical events through the lens of the time and place in which the event took place, attempting to shoehorn them into the perspective of the modern “enlightened” era, and thus warping the reality of the time with their own prejudices. Great to see the owner of this channel is dedicated to presenting an authentic account of these complex and conflicted events without bias. Kudos!
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So many Ohioans are unaware of the rich history of their home state. Thank you for diligent efforts in preserving this heritage. Well done!
Thank you, I really appreciate this!
100% agree
Thank you, young man, for your dedication to the honest preservation of history.
Thank YOU for watching! As a college kid, what I do would not be possible without the support of viewers and donors!
DITO
My thoughts exactly..
🤣🤣 how we know he talking the truth we know your kind lie about everything
Thanks you for the effort for this video. My wife is a direct descendant of Col. Crawford and his name will be continued on through our first son. Your video has disclosed the most comprehensive summary I’ve found so far of this man.
Well, looks like me and your wife are related in some way! He is a distant uncle of mine.
What a surprise to see a former student pop up when I was researching Colonel Crawford after reading “Disaster on the Sandusky.” Awesome work, keep it up!
Thank you so much! This comment made my day! I will have to read Disaster on the Sandusky. Hope all is well with you and your current students. They are lucky to have you!
Dang , it's a small world
@FrontierTradingCompany I recommend you read Disaster on the Sandusky, it tells alot about Colonel Granddads service and friendship/partnership with George Washington. He served in the French Indian War, Braddock Expedition, Lord Dunsmores War and the Revolutionary War. He was also in the boat with Washington when he crossed the river at Trenton on Christmas Eve.
I remember reading about the expedition and his horrific death in Allen Eckert's book The Frontiersmen (my all time favorite book). Truly the stuff of nightmares and the detail in which he described the torture has stayed with me many years later. Amazing book full of such stories of brutality on the frontier in that time (1760s-1790s) which has since been forgotten to the more iconic "pioneers" of the American west. People forget there was a time in American history when the "West" was considered Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, etc.
Eckert's book "That Dark & Bloody River" goes into great detail about Crawfords burning....
The Frontiersman got me into this hobby! I am currently reading A Sorrow In Our Heart, Eckert's book about Tecumseh, and I highly recommend it if you all are looking for another read! That Dark and Bloody River is on my list.
@@FrontierTradingCompany That's great! I just found your channel and you have a new subscriber. Keep up the great work! I also have A Sorrow in Our Heart and read that immediately after I read The Frontiersmen. Loved learning more about Tecumseh and his side of of the conflict. One day I'll have to head out to Ohio and Kentucky and visit some of the actual sites from Eckert's books.
@@USAR8888 After the frontierman there is 5 more books that are all part of the winning of America series by eckerts that I'd imagine you like,one thing just don't take everything you read by eckerts as facts.
Just remember when reading Eckert's work.Take it with a grain of salt,he was and is wrong on many historical points. Some small some big. Example Blue Jacket was not Marmaduke Van Swearingen. He was Shawnee all the way. Another the relationship between Tecumseh and Rebecca Galloway he was 42 years old she was 13 it never happened that they knew each other maybe but there was no romantic involvement.
Wonderfully written and delivered account of a tragic moment in our history. Thank you.
Thanks for watching, I appreciate the comment.
Don't know how I missed this one..But very well done, sir! There is so much history in Ohio that folks just don't know about, anymore. Thank you, for bringing this bit to us!
Glad you liked it, thanks for watching and I appreciate the comment!
Thank you for not letting this be forgotten
Thanks for bringing this forgotten piece of history to life. I like the original paintings and from what I know your research is rock solid. Good primary source references!
Thanks! I really appreciate that! I'm trying to build out a playlist of more informative, lecture-style videos 👍
@@FrontierTradingCompany
Excellent presentation! You did a great job.
Thanks, really appreciate the comment!
Excellent research and presentation! Thank you for putting this together and taking the time to make such a high quality video. These bits of American history are extremely important and should not be forgotten.
Thanks so much, I appreciate the comment! I have a few other lecture-style videos like this one in the works, so keep an eye out for those sometime later this year!
Having been in the military and a firefighter for 27 years I’ve seen a lot of suffering. What this patriot suffered is unbelievable. I appreciate his sacrifice.
No doubt you have insights... thank you for the comment and I appreciate you watching the video!
what sacrifice lmfao
Thank you for this great summary.
Alex, this was excellent. Thanks for all the hard work that went into this presentation.
My pleasure, thanks for watching!
Amazing work man. Thank you for how you handled this incident. There is a certain atmosphere in areas where these things have happened.
Thank you for your work in presenting this dark episode in American history and for keeping the memory of half-forgotten people and events! You've done it very well!
Thank you for watching, I do my best!
My 4th great uncle, then Captain Richard "Shawtunte" Sparks was a scout for Col Crawford and warned him of overwhelming hostile sign, suggesting that they turn back and live to fight another day. Sparks had been taken and adopted by the Shawnee in 1760 as a 3 yr old child and wasn't repatriated to his family until the age of 21. He knew all of the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami and Wyandotte, and other regional tribes' villages and customs and war planning. Col Crawford refused and my 4th great uncle was one of the few survivors, surviving by eating fledgling birds and eggs in the swamps and wetlands on the way back to Ft Pitt. It took him over a month eluding war parties to make it back to the safety of Ft Pitt.. General St Clair also would not listen to Sparks and he also met huge losses of officers and men in western Ohio. Finally, Gen Anthony Wayne listened to Captain Sparks advice and won a victory at Fallen Timbers. It is said that Col Crawford was afforded an end part way through the torture by a rifle ball to the head, purportedly fired by Sparks or Sam Brady. Brady later denied being on that mission. There is a war dept letter between Gen Anthony Wayne and Secretary of War Henry Knox, circa1792 - 1794 of a witnessed 400 yd Flintlock rifle sniper shot on a hostile by Captain Sparks at the Beaver Blockhouse, down river from Pittsburgh, so it could be possible for Captain Sparks to have made that shot.
Very interesting, thank you for the comment!
Your account of Col. Crawford’s death reminds me of the circumstances that led to the disaster of St.Clair in western Ohio in 1791. All the signs were there there that St.Clair and his army were marching to their doom, but St.Clair was oblivious to them.
The same would happen 85 years later at Wounded Knee. Custer had been advised that he was in a bad situation, but Custer would not heed them.
Arrogance and pride in leadership can be a deadly thing.
@@olentangy74 Custer wasn't at Wiunded Knee. His battle was many years earlier at the Little Bighorn River. I won't debate the obviously ignorant but he did have many valid reasons for his actions that day.
@@brianmccarthy5557 You are absolutely right about Little Big Horn, I got my locations mixed up. Thanks for the correction.
this post sounds a bit like the burning of the british officer in the film THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS with Daniel Day Lewis
Great video and lesson. Delivered masterfully. Makes me want to pick up a book and read about this period of Ohio history.
Thanks very much for putting this out there in a clear and understandable way. Well done. Allen
Eckhart's The Frontiersman introduced this story to me. This and other stories of the Ohio conflict are I think of great interest because of the fascinating individuals involved. Kenton and Tecumseh in particular seem to both be great men. Reading the book it was impossible to pick a side to back and I think that indicates what a good representation of history it is.
The speech against torture in the book, attributed to Tecumseh is also of interest to me. It, if accurate, shows Tecumseh as a true leader of people, with an understanding that cruelty is not a necessity, nor a sport. And that his humanity was focused on helping his people as opposed to revenge. Very wise behavior IMO.
If I'm remembering correctly, Kenton's treatment of Tecumseh at his death says a lot about Kenton as well. It's so easy to imagine wanting to support either of these men in their endeavors.
Well done.
Thank you, I agree with all of what you have said here. There were honorable people on both sides of frontier conflict, and also greedy and cruel people. The often bloody history that unfolded as a result is riveting, I believe, because human nature remains the same, and many of the dynamics of honor, betrayal, respect, etc. are just as relevant today, though in other contexts. Thanks for watching, I appreciate the comment.
I read that Tecumseh felt great shame when he saw his people torturing captives. The impression that I got is that it really troubled him.
I like eckerts books myself I have read a lot of them,but he is known for sticking with the legends more than the actual facts.
Thank you for the truthful information about America’s past…. Great job
Thanks for watching!
Valentine Crawford, William’s brother, was also a Surveyor with Washington and fought in the American Revolutionary War at Trenton, NJ. My family is directly descended from Col. Valentine Crawford.
I’m happy YT recommended your channel, I love how this is done. ✨🖤
Thank you! Really appreciate that, thanks for watching.
Great presentation. My family lived that history. My 3rd great grandfather, Robert Warth was killed in May 1794 by 2 Shawnee in Marietta (Ohio) at Fort Harmar.
Very interesting. I'm glad you have a connection to your heritage. Thank you for watching and I appreciate the comment!
I passed by there heading north to see my buddy up in Michigan. I am from Harlan County, Kentucky. My family was one of those that crossed into Kentucky with Boone, and the other half are hideaway Cherokee, from the Trail of Tears, when they passed through western Kentucky, they saw the oppurtunity to run back east into the mountains. Papaw spoke Cherokee, and mamaw carried on alot of the traditional medicines and lived in the same cabin that was built in 1840 by my mamaws people, and they just now got running water in it the last 5 years. The side that came up with Boone that cabin has been there since 1820 but up in our mountains there are still the frames of alot of one room small cabins. I grew up learning the history and the old ways of the longhunters and Cherokee Shawnee warriors. Just moved into southern Ohio here last fall, and been looking for a group that does 18th Century living. If you all know any I am interested for sure
What an awesome family history! I had a distant relative fight in the American Revolution but cannot claim any native ancestry. As for living history groups, I'm not the greatest resource... while I am located in Ohio, I haven't been very active in formal reenacting groups because I am a college student. Some well connected resources might be the Smoke & Fire Co in Waterville, OH, or Fort Meigs, one of the largest wooden-walled forts in North America. Both are located outside of Toledo and have historical connections all over. Hope this helps!
Bloody Harlan, huh?! Wow! My family are from Owsley County. Booneville, just beyond Beattyville. Moving back to Owsley from Hamilton, Ohio at the end of summer. Can't wait to get back to the hollers and hills of the motherland! Life is simpler, there. Don't need a watch and able to wake up and piss off the front porch!
@@jerroldgarrison6150 Sounds like heaven especially after being in Hamilton which is really going downhill. (Not an intended pun.)
Wow! What a bloodline. I really love Ohio. Have lived here my entire 53 years. My uncle was a mountain man (reinactor). He was in a group called the ‘Seneca County Musket loaders’. I’m not sure if they still are around.
I like your name on the post do you have any connection with that famous fued
Wow...that’s one hell of a retelling of history. This guy knows his stiff!. Great job.Definitely worth watching.
Really appreciate this, thank you!
Well done! Thank you, I didn't know about this.
Excellent video young man well researched and very well presented keep up the great work you are going places with your work
Appreciate it, thank you!
@@FrontierTradingCompanyMy pleasure your work is great
Very nice presentation, about an event I knew nothing about.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
Excellent job! And thank you for your efforts to keep history alive, to keep almost forgotten stories alive so that we may learn from our past. Col. Crawford would be greatful to you for keeping his story alive.
I sure hope so. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it.
Excellent. Just excellent. Well researched. Well narrated. Respectfully told. Keep teaching the past. It is who we are, and helps us navigate the future.
Thank you, I do my best! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the comment!
As a mixed blood, American History is a doubled edge sword for me! Thank you, for sharing this story...so much history is being lost or not told.
Thanks for the comment, I'm honored to have the ability to share as much as I can and planning to do much, much more in the future. Thanks again!
Thank you for this excellent presentation of the history of Coronal Crawford….I worked in Galon
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for the comment!
From an old history freak I gotta say, well done!
Great presentation, great information on the event, entertaining as hell.
Cool outfit.
Keep it up.
Really appreciate it, thank you!
Thank you for producing and posting this video. My 5th great grandfather was a private in Captain Timothy Downing’s Company on the Sandusky Campaign. Glad to see the history of the Battle of Sandusky.
Very interesting, thank you for watching, I appreciate the comment!!
Very well done, young man. You did a good job of setting the history of Colonol Crawford, as well as the events that led to his horrific death.
Allen Eckert covered Crawford’s capture and death very graphically in his book, The Frontiersman.
It is a pity that the actual site is off limits.
I enjoyed this video,(and all of your videos) a lot. Thanks for making them and sharing them.
No problem, I appreciate you watching! Thanks for the comment!
Me too.
You are very informative and compelling in your presentation.
Excellent presentation. There’s a wee village in Scotland called Crawford, also a Clan Crawford.
Interesting - I imagine there must be some connection.
just found this site . very well done Sir. I have been to that place, and it is a place of reverence. thank you for keeping this story alive.
Great to come across someone else who has been here. Thank you for the comment and the encouragement!
I am from Upper Sandusky, Oh. I passed through Crawford countless times on my way to Carey, Oh. as well as other destinations in the area. Anyway, I have always known about the history of Col. Crawford and his brutal demise, but never knew the lesser known (but important) details of his life. Thank you for this interesting video of this part of history.
Glad to hear that even a local was able to get something out of this video! Thank you for watching, and I appreciate the comment!
Great video essay. Col. Crawford is a great great uncle of mine.
Some interesting facts about the disaster.
Crawford’s brother Valentine Crawford is also listed as perishing in the expedition.
There is a dispute in accounts regarding the behavior of the notorious Simon Girty (who played a part on the jury of traitors in The Devil and Daniel Webster). Some accounts I’ve read say Girty, who knew Crawford from the F&I War, warned him to retreat, and at the end, took no part in Crawford’s torture.
Others allege Girty taunted Crawford during the torture.
Very interesting. Well done report.
Very well done. You look like you are about 20 years old and I am impressed by your passion. I'm sending this link along to people who have no interest in history but will be interested to see how brutal things were on the frontier. Great work putting this all together and providing context. Not just a brutal video but actually why it took place and how it is remembered today. Could be used in history classes.
Thank you!
Human nature sucks. just when I think MANKIND has turned the corner to a higher degree of evolution, I am transported back in time to realize that man's cruel nature will never subside. We are, indeed, the most deadly species on the planet. Hard to believe that we are created "in God's image" ad the religious folks keep telling us. More likely the devil brought forth MANKIND. We are now in the threshold of NUCLEAR WAR. If nit this year, soon, in this Century for sure.
Thank you for covering this! I remember your posting on your community page that this was coming, but I never got the notification for some reason. It's already been said here, but I greatly appreciate your honest telling of history.
Hey thanks for this comment, I appreciate you watching! I'm just creating content that I would like to watch and I am so honored to see other people aligning with that vision.
great job on this vid.. first time ive seen your channel and was impressed with your delivery and knowledge provided ... this type of info is what makes youtube worth every penny imo
Thank you, Excellent presentation.
Well researched and presented. One improvement might be is the audio.
Hi, William is my direct ancestor!!! There are actually 3 generations of George Washington Crawfords in our line following their friendship
Wow! Great tidbit there, thank you for sharing. Glad to hear you are in touch with your ancestry!
Excellent video. Thank you for the very important history. I've subscribed to future videos. Very well produced!
Nothing brings history home like finding a video like this and having the same name as its subject. Never knew about this William Crawford! Amazing video you have a new subscriber!
Simon Girty (aka the "white savage"), a white man who lived among the Indians was implicated in the death of Colonial Crawford (perhaps unfairly) and was known as the "Infamous traitor" for his alleged part in Colonial Crawford's death. In a seperate incident, Simon also freed a girl (Catharine Malott) and her mother who were taken as slaves by the Indians after their family was attacked by Indians on their way to Ohio. Simon Girty married Catharine. Meanwhile, the two woman were presumed dead and Mr. Mallot remarried. After Simon Girty freed Catharine and her mom, they returned home and discovered that Mr. Mallot had remarried. the two wives talked it out and agreed that wife #2 would stay with Mr. Mallot and wife #1 (Catharine's mom) left with Catharine and Simon to move to Canada. I am a direct descendant of the Mallots so this video about Colonial Crawford is a little bit of family history for me.
When I say I am HONORED to have you in my comments section, I truly mean it. This made my night. Or maybe my month. I’m flattered that a giant in this community took the time to watch!
You are so right to be proud of your heritage and I LOVE to see that you are in tune with history from this period. I have long considered a video on Girty. Someday when I am a little better researched I will take a crack at it!
Really appreciate the comment, thank you again!
@@FrontierTradingCompany a Simon Girty video would be awesome!
Thank you! Very well spoken. South africa 🇿🇦
Thanks for the comment, you are definitely my first comment from South Africa! Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching.
I commend you on your excellent video! I’m very impressed and learned about something about our history that I had never heard of before. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for the kind words!
thank you for the story. I had previously read about this in the book,"the frontiersmen". It's mainly about Simon Kenton. Wonderful book. Thanks again.
Thank you for the lesson. I have studied the lost battles of the colonies towards the natives but never saw this. I did study what Massachusetts was around that time, American history is very difficult to study once you go down rabbit holes like this one.
Brilliant! I'm from Australia but was really impressed with your presentation. The native americans always seemed to consistently pick the wrong side.
Yeah they'll have you believe they were all just a bunch of early hippies getting high killing deer wrestling around fighting and f****** oh no they were the most backstabbing brutal murderers of their own kind of anyone they just got mad when somebody better at it than them came along
They say that the Americans and British could both claim victory in the war of 1812 only the natives lost.
Well done sir! I am re-reading Eckert’s ‘Winning of America’ series again and find the books just as captivating as I did as a much younger man. I have two books that Eckert signed for me that I treasure. I have a degree in early American history from Ohio State and grew-up fishing on the Olentangy River which was approximately 300 yards from my front door. Thank you for keeping the history of this great state alive for future generations. 👍🏼❤️🫡 Semper Fi
Great presentation! Greetings from Northern Ireland
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!
I appreciate you bringing this history to us. You've really good at being an interpreter
Thanks, I appreciate that!
It's racist...racist... Lol. Let's just vandalize and demolish this moment (the leftist maniacs would say)... I am just kidding... Good history insight! 👍
I'm glad the algorithm brought me this video today! Just last night I finished reading zane Grey's Betty Zane. It's as hell of a Revolutionary War novel set on the frontier, and Crawford's death is a major incident in the narrative.
This sort of savagery was common among native Americans going back thousands of years. Ritual torture, enslavement, genocide, human sacrifice and cannibalism existed long before Europeans ever got to the Americas. The massacre of the Christian Delawares was a crime but this was not an uncommon occurrence between native tribes either.
Most definitely. Thank you for watching!
Excellent comment Mike !!! So true !
Im part choctaw. You are right. The white man needed to come and stop the evil practices of my people.
Hopefully, posterity can relearn these truths. Not to hate the Natives, simply to understand that White Europeans were not the ones to bring all the evils to the new world.
It's not PC to say but it's true
Have always wanted to stop and know more, thanks for this video!
Good videos, waiting for the one from Pricketts Fort. Good to meet you and Mason there. This hobby needs young men to get involved, young ladies as well.
Thank you, it was great meeting you, too! I put aside the video editing for a while as I get through final exams... it is coming though!
As someone who has spent a great deal of time researching and personally exploring the landmarks related to the campaign, I think you did a great job with your overview. If you have any questions or want to discuss specific locations in Wyandot County feel free to reach out.
Really appreciate that. You can email me anytime at emailfrontiertradingco@gmail.com
My last name is Crawford and I live in Ohio (near Greenville). Everytime we discussed this topic in high-school my history teacher would look me dead in the eye and say "COL. CRAWFORD" he definitely did not want me to forget this historical event.
There have been a few decedents of the Colonel in the comments section. Wonder if you all are related?
@@FrontierTradingCompany I'm doubtful given my family lineage. I'm mixed and the Crawford last name comes from the African American side of my family which was brought from the south to this area by my grandfather who worked the rails as a young man but you never know. DNA testing could get me closer to the story.
@@FrontierTradingCompany Wonderful presentation by the way
@@silentstryker1590 Very interesting. Regardless, thank you for watching and I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Well you certainly have humility and that's a noble quality. You may very well be a descendant. Being "mixed" doesn't mean it's not possible! Everyone has a story no matter where they came from be proud of that! God bless
A few months ago while returning from a visit at Shoenbrunn Village we stopped past Gnadenhutten to pay our respects at the burial mound.😔😔
I haven't been East to see it but someday I'll make the drive out to Gnadenhutten. Very cool that you made it there!
Great work. Love all the singing birds in the background too
I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the story, it’s an interesting one if I’m ever in that part of Ohio I plan on visiting the site. Thank you for time and information
Great! I highly recommend getting physically close to history, wherever you are!
Thank you for the very informative video.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
great video! stumbled on this video and have subscibed.
Welcome to FTC! Glad you liked the video, there are many more to come!
Excellent presentation! I've a newfound interest in the history of the 'Northwest', having recently finished reading David McCullough's 'The Pioneers'. I live in Newcomerstown, and am visiting these areas of historical significance.
Excellent presentation!!
Thanks for watching!
There was a fellow named "Nelson" who was being chased by the Indians and was trapped, on a ledge . so he had to jump across a steep ravine as to escape the Indians .this event in history was know as Nelson's Leap" There is a monument in Ohio where this happened ,and know as Nelson's Ledges"
Ok, that is a little bit right. There is a place called Nelson’s ledges. It’s a quarry.
You are confusing that with Brady’s leap, in Cuyahoga falls.
Sam Brady was running from the Shawnee Indians and jumped a 20 foot wide raging river to escape.
Actually Brady leapt across the Cuyahoga River in what is now Kent, Ohio to avoid capture.
@@bretgustafson3360 yes thank you. I’m pretty sure there’s a memorial. Checked it. There’s a Brady’s leap plaza. Sad. I actually did visit the site long ago as a young boy with my parents, I think.
These days it’s a trickling creek, but in 1770, it was a raging river.
I read this story when I was about 22 yrs old and it has stuck with me ever since. And that was 40 years ago. This video only scratches the surface of the whole story and, understandably, leaves out some of the worst details.
I have recently traced back my lineage to Colonel William Crawford from my grandmother's side. He's a distant grandparents but it's crazy to think that this man is partially responsible for me being here. I'm very proud of that.
This is my first opportunity to watch one of your videos but I like the depth of the narration and accompanying visual material. I don't know if you've ever covered Daniel Boone but just over the Virginia state line north of me are markers and the location of where his nineteen years old son, James, was filleted by Indians. Also, his twenty-two years old son, Israel, was killed while helping Daniel defend Fort Boonesborough in Kentucky.
Actually, I was just doing a little research several weeks ago and realized that Boone's son Israel's death was related to Crawford's. After word of Crawford's death spread, especially as a result of Knight's account, which is recounted in this video, a large band of several hundred frontiersman got together to form the "Second Moravian Campaign." Their intention was to get vengeance for Crawford's death (along with others KIA in Crawford's campaign) but Simon Girty caught wind of this and began moving among the Shawnee gathering warriors to set an ambush.
Girty struck out at the head of this force, which outnumbered the frontiersman, and cut along the frontier, coming within close proximity of the army of frontiersman. The army of frontiersmen caught wind of the force of Shawnee and began to pursue at a distance of 5-10 miles. This put Girty far enough ahead of the frontiersmen to cross the Licking River at Blue Licks and set an ambush before the frontiersmen caught up on the other bank. Girty had stationed several Shawnee on a bluff with instructions to feign being caught off guard by the group of several hundred frontiersmen. Boone apparently tried to stop the group from crossing the Licking in pursuit of the apparently startled Shawnee, who scurried off the top of the bluff, and pointed out that to cross the Licking here would put them looking up a large ravine - but hotter heads prevailed and the group charged across the river.
Once in the ravine, Girty gave the order to open up, and Shawnee on both sides of the ravine unleashed an almost constant din of gunfire, unloading into the frontiersmen below, who had little good cover. Casualties were high and included Israel - Boone apparently found him amidst the smoke and chaos and called out that he should get onto a nearby horse and retreat, but Israel was shot as he leapt into the saddle. Based on that account, Boone saw him fall, realized that he personally had no further stake in the engagement, and given that he and his men were obviously outnumbered, was one of the first to begin calling out to others to retreat. There were few survivors and even more of the frontiersmen were picked off as they tried to go back across the Licking. Those who were wounded were brutally tortured on the banks of the River following the battle, and most all bodies were terribly mutilated throughout that afternoon and evening.
Girty's popularity and influence among the Shawnee grew tremendously after this greatly successful ambush. Based on what I was reading, it was not apparent that Boone or other frontiersmen were aware that Girty had been behind the attack.
I didn’t know about this incident, you tell the story well. 📜🧐
Thanks! Very Interesting and informative!
DEO VINDICE! From Southern Ohio!
Thanks for watching!
Thak you for a very informative video, subscribed
Thank you, I appreciate that!
Great job. Very well spoken and thought out.
This torture of captives had been going on among native Americans long before European settlers arrived. Those captured knew their fate, as they carried out the same tortures upon those they had captured on previous occasions. Those tortured were supposed to show as much indifference to their plight as possible. It was their way of life.
"How do you like war now?" a torturer asked a captured Indian in King Philip's War.
"I love war. It is as sweet to me as sugar is the the White man," came the answer.
The barbarian warrior's code (like Conan) is to live a life in defiance of fear, pain and death. Torture allowed a warrior to show real class.
@@dhm7815 So which civilization would you want to live in? Must people did not choose the Stone Age because advanced civilization is a happier way of life. We have warriors in our advanced civilization today who exhibit thethe virtues of a true warrior - courage despite fear, self-sacrifice, prowess in battle, etc - but they fight to defend the helpless and innocent, not to terrorize, torture, murder, steal and rape without regard to age, sex, physical condition, which the stone age warriors did in the service of domination of their tribe and bravado.
Amazing history thank you , the background birdsong superb.
Glad you enjoyed it, most folks think it is annoying!
Damn good presentation.
Really appreciate it, thanks for the comment!
Ohio had a rich history of native tribes. As a kid growing up in Ohio I enjoyed learning about all the tribes
Likewise! Thanks for the comment!
Great Job - I grew up in Northeastern Ohio and the Western Frontier edged up against the county I lived in .
Growing up , we found a lot of Arrowheads near water , especially moving water .
Darn that bird .
Outstanding narration.
Appreciate it!
Fascinating, I had not heard of this before
Glad you got something out of it! Thanks for the comment.
Col. William Crawford was my 6xgreat grandfather. Dr. John Knight was also my 6xgreat grandfather. I'm beyond proud of both!
Great that you are connected to your ancestry! Thanks for the comment!
Well that was about the most gruesome death I could ever imagine. Wonderful video young man well put together I really enjoyed it it was very informative. Thanks for sharing
Really appreciate the comment, thanks for watching!
Good video. I am going to follow this up now - so your video has had a positive effect on me - good teaching. What is that clothing you are wearing what is it called / style etc?
Glad it was helpful. This is a living history channel, this video just happens to be lecture-based rather than camping/how-to. There is another video discussing my outfit on my channel that I would encourage you to check out, although I was still relatively inexperienced at the time I presented it, so there are several content corrections pinned to the top of the comment section below that video. Hope that helps!
Outstanding presentation.
Mike sent me to your channel after watching his school of the long hunter video.
Well thanks for coming over, I appreciate it!
Subbed, excellent research!
Much appreciated, thank you!
Good job young man ✌️😎 keep up the good works. I'm from Coshocton county Ohio. In 1781 General Washington sent the military into the Delaware village of Coshocton to punish and remove them . The Delaware had a piece agreement with the US and they broke it.. attacking settlers for the British. They Raised the village and marched them to gnadenhutten . None Cristian Delaware lived in present day Warsaw and moved north well before. Look up the story of Mary Harris and the story of newcomers town. I love history... and one day I'll have a wing of the Roscoe Village museum dedicated to my discoveries. Including a 1804 half cent I dug up this year .
A terrible fate, indeed. Well narrated.
Im currently reading a book called President Washington’s Indian War by Wiley Sword. Its a very well written, informative read; and honestly, this account of Crawford’s tortue-to-death pales in comparison to many of the fates of people captured by Shawnees, Wyandots etc. It’s honestly insane reading accounts of the brutal tortures and murders done by Indians to white captives and vice versa; some passages sound like scenes from Saw IV.
Great read!
Edit/add on: The full version of the soundtrack to this video, Maestro Tlakaelel by Jesse Gallagher, is something else
Nela shawanwa. I am Shawnee. Atrocities were committed on both sides. However, I will say this. The first English settlement was slaughtered. All colonists killed. Not a good way to start relations...
That and my tribe were slavers. We captured and sold other tribes to the Spanish to work in the silver mines out west.
Then the French came and convinced us to fight the English colonists. Given the bad blood, wasn't hard to convince my people to take up arms. Then the French did what they do best. Gave up and left. Left us to deal with the entire English empire while we had stone age weapons. Not good.
I had family on both sides of fallen timbers. The bayonet is absolutely devastating in close combat.
Fascinating! Do you know where the Spanish mines were? I heard they had some mines in Arkansas or Alabama maybe?
I know in Utah the Spanish took slaves and had them work in mines, and the Utes revolted and drove the Spanish out. But the Utes oddly enough kept selling slaves to the Spanish. It makes no sense. The gold mines are sacred because relative of them died there but then they continue to sell slaves up in the mid 1800s.
Lookup on TH-cam terry carter. He interviewed tons of old guys and prospectors that had indian friends or lived on the reservation or married a Native American. It’s interesting cause some of the stories an older Native American would share stories but it seemed like they never passed everything on to the younger generation.
With the tons of gold they have from when they killed the spanish and literally hid gold and have tons of gold mines the Ute reservation could have a huge like hundred million or billion dollar bank backed by gold and they could do lending. They say don’t touch the gold cause it’s cursed and greed does destroy but I think if used wisely it’d be very beneficial just like how some reservations have casinos.
I just was reading how native Americans in New Mexico were pissed at the native on the interior land management job. She wants a ten mile ban on oil drilling but the reservation released a compromised of a 5 mile ban because tons of natives rely on oil royalties on their land to survive. If you’ve ever been to the four corners, or monument valley etc you’ll it’s desolate.
@@koltoncrane3099 Hiteto nekana!
Most of the mines were located in New Mexico and Arizona, pretty much were the modern Navajo reservation is, where they used the "patio process" to reduce silver sulfide to silver chloride with mercury and salt. Had the slaves walk around in the slurry for weeks, barefoot, then load the slurry into mercury retorts. Gives a very pure product for the time. Utah had a Spanish trail but the Spanish didnt go much more north than modern day Cedar City.
That was the Pueblo revolt iirc. The only real peaceful and innocent tribe were the Hopi Indians. Much respect to those people. I actually grow their blue corn variety myself in my 3 sisters garden. I actually live in southern Utah close to the Paiute reservation in Cedar City. My mom has a very strong Mormon heritage and my dad has the Indian. Here I am.
You know your history and I am very impressed.
thank you for educating many of the history many should know,,,i have had a passion of american history most of my life and understand the importance of the knowledge.
This very nicely done, glad I found this channel! I might add that the gruesome and barbaric torture of Crawford wasn’t solely for revenge on Gnadehutten. That was certainly the excuse used, but it must not be misremembered that most of the frontier Indians engaged in this savage style of ritual torture by mutilation, burning, disembowelment, etc.; they more than likely would have done it anyway. This type of ritual bloodletting was as common among the Algonquian speaking tribes as it was among their Iroquoian enemies. Save for the occasional pacifist or “praying Indian” village, all of the natives on the frontier pretty much all did this to each other, to both Indian and European captive alike.
I will say, though, that I do greatly appreciate how you acknowledge the atrocities committed by both the settlers as well as those carried out by the Indians. How easy it is to forget that the frontier back then was a lot like the Balkans. The violence was a lot more personal and embittered than other war-ravaged places. I think it a fair assessment to say that the frontier wars of the mid to late 18th century seem to be a repeat of the Anglo-Indian wars of the preceding century in New England; King Philip’s War certainly comes to mind. I invite you to look up the Massacre at Nine Men’s Misery in Rhode Island, if you haven’t already explored it. I’ve been to that site many times, as I live in the region where the southern theatre of that war broke out. The surrounding atmosphere of that site is still quite eerie and sombre.
Forgot to mention that I’d read that roughly twenty or so of the militiamen outright refused to partake in the massacre at Gnadehutten, after having cast votes against it. But for as unjustifiably cruel as it was, those who had bloodied their hands would have doubtless had previous atrocities fresh in their minds just as their victims did. Many settlers had lost family - men, women, children; even little babies were not spared - in massacres carried out by the likes of Mingo migrants and other bands of raiding parties. It was a never-ending back n’ forth of terror and tears for everyone that lived on the frontier. Settler or Indian, English or Algonquian, Iroquois or French, in eternal memory they are all equal now. 🙏
Charles Maximus, thank you. That is a very good insight into this period of history and those who lived it. I find many well-meaning but misinformed folks today who have trouble viewing such historical events through the lens of the time and place in which the event took place, attempting to shoehorn them into the perspective of the modern “enlightened” era, and thus warping the reality of the time with their own prejudices. Great to see the owner of this channel is dedicated to presenting an authentic account of these complex and conflicted events without bias. Kudos!
Thanks for the insights, Charles, and I appreciate your kind words, Martin.
Great video. Good work!
Thanks, really appreciate it!