FIRST WAR OF 1812 BATTLE IN OHIO! HISTORY!

Ohio was at the forefront of a large part of the action of the War of 1812. Important battles took place in Ohio not only on land, but also large-scale naval battles on the Lake Erie. Militiamen from Ohio first saw action in the war at the Battle of Brownstown and the Battle of Oakwoods in early August of 1812, but those battles both took place in the Michigan Territory. However just about a month and a half later, the Battle of Marblehead Peninsula took place. It was the first battle of the War of 1812 to take place on Ohio soil.

Recently we visited the historic location of part of the Battle of Marblehead Peninsula, and we wanted to share its amazing history with you. A group of eighteen Ohio militiamen were transporting supplies on four boats from the Portage River Stockade to Camp Avery, which was located in modern day Milan, Ohio. On the evening of September 26, 1812, heavy storms set in, and the group stopped for the night at Bull’s Island, which today is known as, Johnson’s Island. The next morning a local farmer, Valentine Ramsdell and his son showed up at the militia’s camp and told them that their farm had been attacked by Indians and that they had barely escaped the eight miles to meet up with the militia. 

A few of the militia accompanied Ramsdell and his son back to the farm and witnessed forty-seven Potawatomi warriors still encamped at there. The men returned to the rest of their party and decided to go to Cedar Point and send a messenger about the situation to Camp Avery which was about ten miles away. Yes, that Cedar Point, the current location of the famous amusement park.

When the messenger reported the situation to the camp’s commander Joshua T. Cotton, he ordered sixty-four of his men to finish their meal, and they headed to Cedar Point. Some sources say that Cotton had seventy-two men. The next morning the men rowed across to the peninsula and hid their boats in the reeds and left eight men to guard the boats. The militiamen split up and hoped to drive the Potawatomi warriors into an ambush on both sides. When they arrived at the Ramsdell farm, the enemy was no longer there but they had killed most of the family’s livestock. The fires were warm so Cotton decided to give them chase. Ten men were left behind to gather the harvested wheat and return to Camp Avery with it. 

As the militia pursued the Potawatomi’s, they entered an area field of tall grass about as tall as a man’s waist. The waiting warriors rose from the grass and fired upon the militia as the militia returned fire. The first battle of the War of 1812 on Ohio soil was officially on! Small skirmishes took place over the rest of the day and early the following morning. Cotton being unsure of the true strength of his enemy decided to retreat back to Cedar Point. The fighting was thick on the retreat because the Potawatomi had circled behind them to block their access back to the bay. The American Militia managed to break through the lines and made it back to Lake Erie, but when they arrived they discovered that two of their boats had been found and destroyed. The men that were left to guard the boats had escaped with the other two. They were trapped with the lake to their back and an unknown number of enemies to their fronts. It is now thought that the Potawatomi had a force of one hundred thirty warriors. 

The militia found an abandoned cabin and fortified it to hold off the enemy in hopes that they would be rescued. Two days later reinforcements arrived and rescued the hungry, but alive thirty-seven Americans. Thus, ended the first battle of the War of 1812 on Ohio soil. The militia suffered eight men killed, and varying reports say thirty to forty Potawatomi were killed. The battle is considered a draw.

Sometime much later after the battle, the bones of the eight Americans killed were gathered by Horace Ramsdell, and he buried them near the sight of the cabin that was used as a fort. Horace’s younger brother Valentine was killed in the battle. A monument was erected in 1857 by United States Senator Joshua Giddings, who at age sixteen, had fought as a private in the battle. You can visit the monument and graves today.

Another interesting story related to the battle is the cabin that the militia took shelter in. For many years it has been thought to be the cabin of Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran who first came to the area in 1806 with a party to survey a five-hundred-acre plot called, “The Firelands”. The Firelands were used to give land to settlers from Connecticut whose homes were burned by the British in the Revolutionary War. Wolcott retuned to settle in the area in 1809 and became a successful farmer. In 1822, he was sixty-years-old he had his stone house built on the site of his original log cabin. The house still stands today about five hundred feet from the battle monument and graves. It is said that it is the oldest still standing house in Ottawa County, Ohio. 

Also, in 1922, Wolcott was named the first keeper of the Sandusky Light, now known as the Marblehead Lighthouse. Still in use today, the lighthouse is the oldest continuously operated lighthouse on the American side of the Great Lakes. It is also the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes to have a female keeper. When Wolcott died in 1832, his wife Rachel took over the duties. It is said that the Marblehead Lighthouse is the most photographed building in Ohio. 

Like many things in history, there is some debate of if the cabin fort was the cabin of Benajah Wolcott. Some scholars today say that the cabin was owned by a man named Patterson, which stood on a plot that Wolcott didn’t own until after the battle took place. 

The Battle of Marblehead Peninsula was a small group of skirmishes in the beginning of a largely forgotten war in our American history, but it should definitely be remembered because it was the first in that war to be fought on Ohio soil. The area was of extreme importance and just a little shy of a year later the Battle of Lake Erie, also sometimes called, the Battle of Put-In-Bay took place right off the shores in this same area. That naval battle commanded by Oliver Hazard Perry was a major win for the Americans that directly led to victory in the war. 

So, what do you think? Had you ever heard of this battle before? Do you know much War of 1812 history at all? Would you like to see more articles about the War of 1812, or is this a boring subject to you? We’d love for you to leave us a comment below of your thoughts. We are proud to share the history of the Battle of Marblehead Peninsula with you and be sure to see our video from here below. 

-Col. Russ Carson, Jr., Founder, Family Tree Nuts