This account is rendered impossible from the fact that Ostrander acted as commandant from the time of Rhea’s departure in disgrace, until the arrival of Captain Moore. As late as January 5, 1813, Lt. Ostrander was a member of a court martial, which found Alexander Scott guilty of contemptuous conduct to one of the officers, possibly Ostrander himself. After that date his name does not appear in the record until April 27, 1813, the day prior to his arrest, when the same Alexander Scott was tried and acquitted on a charge of traducing Lt. Ostrander’s character.[32] In what manner Scott supposedly slandered Lt. Ostrander is not stated in the proceedings of the trial; however, it is possible to surmise that there was some connection between the charge and Lt. Ostrander’s arrest the following day. During the year 1813, Fort Wayne became the natural center for supplies used by the American armies operating in northern Ohio and eastern Michigan. In May of that year, Harrison addressed the Secretary of War, saying: “I am persuaded that a demonstration in the direction of Fort Wayne by a body of mounted men would be attended by very happy effects. I am not entirely at ease on the subject of the garrisons in that direction. The enemy, if they understood their business will certainly make an attempt to carry some of our weak posts where we have large deposits ... I have always been partial to the assembling a body of Troops in the Vicinity of Fort Wayne. It is in the immediate line of communication between the Indians of the Wabash, Illinois, Mississippi, and the South and West sides of Lake Michigan and Malden.”[33] Following this logic, Harrison ordered Colonel Richard M. Johnson to proceed to Fort Wayne and from thence to scour the northwestern frontiers. After a difficult journey over the swollen St. Mary’s river and flooded countryside, Johnson’s men reached Fort Wayne on June 7. Grim excitement greeted their arrival. One of the ten flatboats bringing provisions to Fort Wayne had struck on a bar within sight of the fort. Before help could arrive, the three crewmen were killed by Indians lurking near the fort. Johnson’s cavalry pursued the red men, but nightfall and rain ended their endeavor. Leaving their heavy baggage at Fort Wayne, the regiment moved across the St. Mary’s and established their camp in the present Spy Run district of Fort Wayne. After a day’s rest, Johnson’s men began a march two hundred miles in the region to the northwest of Fort Wayne. They returned to the fort on June 14. The result of this excursion was important, for never before had this land been traversed by such a large body of white men. The knowledge gained at this time, together with the information published by Capt. McAfee, played a significant part in the development of the northwestern part of Indiana.