[Illustration: _GEORGE CROGHAN A SKETCH OF AN ILLUSTRATION IN THE PAGEANT OF AMERICA. COPYRIGHT AND BY PERMISSION YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS_] GEORGE CROGHAN Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County 1953 [Illustration: Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County] One of a historical series, this pamphlet is published under the direction of the governing Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County. BOARD·OF·TRUSTEES·OF·THE·SCHOOL·CITY·OF·FORT·WAYNE _Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs_ _Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary_ _B.F. Geyer, President_ _W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer_ _Willard Shambaugh_ PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees of the School City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers) together with the following citizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate City of Fort Wayne. _James E. Graham_ _Arthur Niemeier_ _Mrs. Glenn Henderson_ _Mrs. Charles Reynolds_ FOREWORD George Croghan, an officer in the War of 1812, typifies the patriotism, the bravery, and the gallantry of the young American of that period. At the age of twenty-one, he was in temporary command of the garrison at Fort Wayne for a brief time. His excellent record in the defense of Fort Defiance and Fort Meigs earned him the command of Fort Stephenson (the present site of Fremont, Ohio). His intelligent and valorous defense of the fort against overwhelming odds touched the imaginations and thrilled the hearts of the American people. His later life was uneventful; he served as United States postmaster at New Orleans and as inspector general in the regular army. He saw action under General Taylor in the Mexican War and died of cholera in New Orleans in 1849. The following account of Croghan’s early life, compiled by a woman who had known him as a boy, appeared in the supplement appended to Volume VII of the NILES’ WEEKLY REGISTER. The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County reprint this biographical sketch in the hope that it will prove interesting and entertaining to students of local history. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation have been changed to conform to current usage. Frankfort, Kentucky July 22, 1814 Sir: Upon receiving the letter which you addressed to me, I immediately took such measures as were necessary to procure the information you requested. I now transmit to you the result of my inquiries, regretting that it was not in my power to do it sooner.