William Henry Harrison to John Armstrong, 18 March 1814
William Henry Harrison to John Armstrong
Head Quarters Cincinnati 18th. March 1814
Sir,
I have the Honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favours of the 3rd and 4th instant.1 Previously to the arrival of the arrangement from the Office of Coll Walback designating the Officers to superintend the recruiting service, I had ordered Colonel Miller to take command of Sandusky and Put in Bay being at that time under some apprehensions for the safety of the latter. The Colonel received my order and that from Colonel Walback on the same day and wrote to me for further instructions at the same time informing me that Colonel Campbell was directed to assist him. I was somewhat embarrassed by this information as I had no field Officer near me who could be sent to that important point and I knew that the Troops now at Put in Bay as well as those on the march thither were not well commanded. I was however relieved by the arrival of the Adjutant General’s arrangement as I found that Colonel Campbell was not ther[e]in designated for the Recruiting Service. I have therefore ordered him to Sandusky and Put in Bay from which he is to go, as soon as he has made the necessary arrangements, to Detroit to relieve Lieut Colonel Croghan to whom Colonel Butler has or will soon give up the command that he may come in and attend to the recruiting of his own Regiment. I have the Honor to be very Respectfully your Obedient Servant
Willm. Henry Harrison
RC (DNA: RG 107, LRRS, H-336:7). In a clerk’s hand, signed by Harrison. Docketed as received in the War Department in March 1814, with Armstrong’s note: “For the President’s inspection.”
1. In his 3 Mar. 1814 letter to Harrison, Armstrong stated his support for a proposed treaty with the Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot Indians that would move those tribes westward, and requested Harrison’s opinion on the subject (DNA: RG 107, LSMA; printed in Esarey, Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison, Indiana Historical Collections, 2:631). For the proposal, see Thomas Worthington and others to JM, 18 Mar. 1814. Armstrong’s 4 Mar. 1814 letter to Harrison has not been found.