“Colonel William Crawford” presented by Dennis Mattix
The Morrow County Genealogical Society met for a history lesson and potluck lunch at the Owens Station Opera House on Saturday, August 23, 2014. Eleven people attended.
Our host, Dennis Mattix, presented a program detailing the capture, horrific torture and burning at the stake of Colonel William Crawford. In June of 1782, Crawford and a Dr. Knight were separated from their small army following the Battle of the Olentangy and captured by a band of Delaware Indians. Crawford’s death was retaliation for the massacre of nearly 100 Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten in March of that year. Dr. Knight was able to escape and made his way south through the forests of what is now Marion County. Dennis displayed a rifle and Indian relics he had found in the area. He concluded his talk with a summary of events in the War of 1812, including the burning of the nation’s capital.