[Illustration: ··_THE WOUNDED WERE TREATED BY HIM WITH THE GREATEST TENDERNESS_··] In July, 1810, he graduated at William and Mary College, and soon afterwards he commenced the study of law. He continued to visit that institution until the fall of 1811, when he volunteered his services for a campaign up the Wabash. A short time before the action at Tippecanoe, he was appointed aid-de-camp in General Harrison’s headquarters. Although in his situation he was unable to evince that activity which later distinguished him, he exhibited an undaunted soul in one of the most sanguinary conflicts of the present day and received the thanks of the commanding general. In consequence of his services on the Wabash expedition, he was appointed a captain in the provisional army which was directed to be raised and organized in the spring of 1812. In August of that year he marched with General Winchester’s Kentucky detachment, which was to relieve General Hull in Canada. In the movements of that gallant but unfortunate little army, the caution, zeal, and military capacity of Captain Croghan were conspicuous. Both before and after the attack on Fort Wayne, the ground occupied by Captain Croghan was easily noticed because of the judicious fortifications erected in his areas. On the march of the army toward Detroit, he was entrusted with the command of Fort Defiance, at the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers. There he manifested his usual excellent military arrangements. After the defeat at Raisin River, he joined General Harrison at Maumee Rapids before the erection of Fort Meigs. It is a credit to the discernment of General Harrison that he relied with the utmost confidence on Captain Croghan’s judicious defenses during the difficult siege of Fort Meigs by the British. In a sortie under the gallant Colonel Millar on May 5, the companies led by Captains Croghan, Laghan, and Bradford were given the task of storming the British batteries. These positions were defended by an English force and a body of Indians; both were superior in number to the assailants. Here Captain Croghan’s gallantry was again noticed in general orders. At a very critical period in the last campaign of 1813, young Croghan, now a major, was appointed to the command of Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. The official documents of the time and the applause of a grateful country are the most honorable commentaries available concerning his conduct in the defense of that post. The entire campaign was changed from a defensive to an offensive operation. The eventual outcome of the war was very materially influenced by the achievements of that single battle. For his valor and good conduct on this occasion, Major Croghan was breveted a lieutenant colonel. Transcriber’s Notes —Silently corrected a few typos. —Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.