The adventures of Ohio Militia soldiers who enlisted in the War of 1812 is not always well known. The obituary of James Miller of Crawfordsville, Ohio, (Wyandot Union August 31st, 1882) who died at the age of 96 years gives a glimpse of his life and the trials and tribulations of his War of 1812 service.
Born in Philadelphia in 1787, James Miller left Pennsylvania at the age of 12, making his way through the unbroken forests until he arrived at old Chillicothe, Ohio. James "helped clear up the wilderness" on the lands of Duncan McArthur, who owned extensive property on Paint Creek.
Governor McArthur, much beloved by Chillicothians, raised a regiment to fight the British in 1812. James Miller was one of the first to enlist. On the march north through the pathless wilderness to Detroit, McArthur's regiment stopped 17 miles west of Carey, Ohio. The men constructed a fort or blockhouse. They named it Fort Findlay.
Courtesy Ohio Historical Society
Miller remained with the regiment until it was surrendered to the British by General Hull. At that time, he saw the famous Chief Tecumseh. Later men from Chillicothe were taken by boat to a point on Lake Erie where Cleveland is now located. They were put ashore without provisions and left to find their way south through the forests to the Ohio River. As Miller described it, there were "many perils and a great number fell out by the way and died in the forests." Miller was one of the fortunate number who "triumphed over starvation and constant tramping for two weeks." He entered Chillicothe one morning just as the sun was rising.
In 1813, he married Rhoda Howard and continued working for Duncan McArthur. In 1824, he, along with others from the Ross and Pike County area, headed north to permanently settle along the Tymochtee Creek in Wyandot County, Ohio. "Only a few white people" then lived in the northern wilderness.
Courtesy Crawfordsville, Ohio
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