Series: 7 U (Volume 7)
Scope and Content Note: Papers, 1812-1875, pertaining to the War of 1812 in the Old Northwest and to two participants in particular, William Oliver, Fort Wayne trader; and Captain Jim Logan, a Shawnee chief. Opening the volume are several descriptive original letters written from camps during Harrison's campaigns in the autumn of 1812: James Simrall (Simroll) to Isaac Shelby; Martin D. Hardin to Mark Hardin and to Henry Clay; Jock Bickley to Thomas T. Barr; and John Allen to Henry Clay and George Bibb. Oliver's successful efforts to secure Harrison's aid in breaking the Indian siege of Fort Wayne are further discussed in a group of articles and letters, and most notably in the manuscript of Oliver's own recollections (probably written about 1839), in which he described the organization of the expedition, his arrival at Fort Wayne, and the subsequent death of Logan. Material on this Shawnee chief composes more than half of this volume. A nephew of Tecumseh and a son of Joshua Renick, a white adopted by the Indians as a young lad, Jim Logan gave his allegiance to the Americans in 1812 and was killed during a scouting mission in November. Correspondence, clipped articles, and Draper's notes not only provide biographical details and personal reminiscences about Logan but also include discussion of Renick family genealogy and accounts of the Indian attack on the Robert Renick family in the late 1750s or early 1760s and the experiences of Joshua and his sister Nancy in years of captivity.