From 1811 to 1814 was an exciting war period in the his­tory of this country. Union County was then on the frontier and near to the seat of war of the Northwest.

The territory which now comprises Union County was but sparsely settled. The settlements were along the Southern border on Big Darby Creek and Sugar Run, and comprised the families of the Robinsons, Mitchells, Currys, Ewings, Sagers, Kents, Snodgrasses, Shovers and a few others.

From the close proximity of these settlements to the seat of hostilities it would be expected that there would be ample material for an extended chapter on the services of the citizens of this county during the war of 1812. But the early history of this territory is very* meager from which to obtain any data of the stirring events of that period. There are but few rolls now on file at the Adjutant General's office, and from these can be gleaned but little history, save the names of the mem­bers of the companies.

Almost every citizen within the limits of the county who was a military subject at that time was in the service at some time during the war.

The first military company organized in the county was recruited during the year 1813, by Captain James A. Curry. He was appointed enrolling officer of the district, including all the settlements along Darby Creek and Sugar Run, and or­ganized a company of which he was elected Captain, Samuel Mitchell First Lieutenant, and Adam Shover Second Lieuten­ant.    Strange as it may seem, but very little can be learned of the other members of this company, although they were re­cruited from the old families of Robinsons, Mitchells, Ewings, Kents, Sagers and others.

After a diligent search among the records and inquiring among the oldest of the descendants now living, the following named citizens are known positively to have been members of this company:

James A. Curry, Captain; Samuel Mitchell, First Lieuten­ant; Adam Shover, Second Lieutenant; James Buck, Calvin Carey, Ewing Donaldson, David Mitchell, Andrew Noteman, Clark Provins, Christian Sager, George Sager, Abe Sager and William Taylor.

They were attached to a regiment the number of which cannot be ascertained. They first rendezvoused at Delaware, where orders were received to join General Harrison's army in the Northwest. They marched by way of Upper Sandusky and the Falls of St. Mary's to Fort Meigs, then returned by Wapakoneta and Piqua. The majority of them were called out the second time  to build and garrison blockhouses on the frontier. The names of several citizens of this county appear on the rolls of Captain McClellan's company, among which are those of four brothers, James, William, Samuel and Robert Snodgrass.

Captain James A. Curry first enlisted in June, 1812, at Urbana, in a company of light horse from Highland County, and was attached to Colonel Carr's regiment, composed mainly of Kentucky troops, and served in this campaign under General Tupper on the Maumee and River Raisin. He was detailed as a scout during that summer, and being an experienced woodsman, was kept constantly in service. I have heard him say he never performed a day's camp duty during this cam­paign. He was a fine horseman, was splendidly mounted on his own horse "Jack." He and the scouts serving under him were constantly on the move examining the streams for Indian signs and watching the movements of the enemy.

A company was organized at Plain City during the summer of 1812 or 1813, of which Jonathan Alder was elected Captain and Frederick Loyd First Lieutenant. They were directed to march north toward the lakes, about twenty miles beyond the settlements of Darby, and erect a blockhouse for the protec­tion of the settlements. They marched to the banks of Mill Creek, and after working three or four days a blockhouse was completed. Mr. Alder says: "There were seventy in all, and one, Daniel Watkins, was made Colonel and Commander-in-Chief."

Mr. Alder, who had been a captive among the Indians for fifteen years and well knew their mode of warfare, condemned this as a very unwise move in the Governor to order so many men from the settlements, for he claimed the tactics of the Indians would be to "attack the women and children in the settlements and avoid the forts."

They remained at the blockhouse only a few weeks. There being a false alarm, it was not possible to keep men from re­turning to the settlements. This blockhouse was situated on the west bank of Mill Creek, about three miles northwest from Marysville.

Thomas Killgore, who died at the residence of his son, Simeon Killgore, in Mill Creek Township, a few years ago, was a member of the company that erected this fort and was the last one left of the company. A short time before his death he gave a detailed account of this campaign and the building of the blockhouse, which was transmitted by Judge Cole to the Pioneer Association of Union County. So far as can be learned, this is the only fort ever erected within the borders of this county, and this is probably known to but few of our citizens. Of the company that erected this blockhouse it has not been possible to learn the names of any except those already mentioned.

A number of the young men in the settlements enlisted in companies outside of the county and saw hard service during the war. Simon Shover, who lived on Darby near the old Sager mill, in Jerome Township, enlisted in and was Orderly Sergeant of Captain Langhams company, of Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a brave and gallant soldier, and had many hair-breadth escapes. At one time he was taken prisoner by the Indians and saved his life by imitating a rooster crowing, by jumping up on logs or stumps, and flapping his arms and hands. This seemed to please the Indians very much, as they laughed im­moderately at his antics. Simon always claimed that this saved his life. He was taken prisoner at Winchester's defeat, and often expressed his indignation at the treatment of Gen­eral Winchester, who was abused and insulted by the Indians, without any check from the British. Simon Shover was one of fifty picked men, who made a sortie from Fort Erie, and spiked the guns of the British during the night; and was, per­haps, the most distinguished soldier that went from the county. He was of a good family, and honorable and brave to a fault. He learned many of the traits of the Indians, and was ac­customed to entertain large crowds of citizens at all kinds of gatherings, such as "log-rollings," "huskin'-bees," "house and barn raisings" and "musters," with many interesting incidents of his adventures, both thrilling and ludicrous. Wherever "crowds were wont to assemble," Simon could always be counted as one of the number, and furnished much amusement by giving the "Indian war whoop."

His voice was as clear and shrill as a trumpet, and he could give a genuine war whoop that would have caused old Tecumseh to have marshaled his warriors for the field. Many anec­dotes might be related of his efforts to amuse the crowd during court term and on "training day." He was anxious to live a hundred years, and on meeting or parting with old friends he was wont to exclaim:    "Hurrah for a hundred years!"

The territory now comprising the county of Union was but thinly populated in 1812, yet many of her citizens left their homes in response to the call to arms with the full knowledge that their women and children were at the mercy of the Indians prowling along the northwestern border, and not a few of them rendered good service to the government in her hour of need. Ever may our citizens hold in grateful remembrance the serv­ices of the patriotic veterans of Union County in the War of 1812.

The names of twenty-three soldiers who served in the War of 1812 are given in the attached roster. Of this number, Christian Adams, Elijah Hoyt, F. Hemenway and Titus Dort and Simon Rickard did not enlist from Jerome Township, but were old residents and buried in the different cemeteries of the township. Major Edward Barlow lived on the border of the township and was a well-known prominent citizen, member of the old red-brick Presbyterian Church congregation. He was an officer and participated in the battle of New Orleans under General Andrew Jackson.

A number of other residents along Darby Creek in Darby and Union Townships, served during the war, among whom may be named James and Samuel Mitchell, George, Robert and James Snodgrass, James, Thomas, John and Samuel Rob­inson.

In 1812-13 Colonel James Curry, a soldier of the Revolu­tionary War, was called to Delaware to assist in organizing a regiment of soldiers in which his oldest son, James A. Curry, was a Captain, leaving his wife with several small children, the oldest of which was but eleven years of age, in the cabin on the banks of Sugar Run, with no neighbor nearer than John Kent and family, one mile distant through the dense forest. One day, during Colonel Curry's absence, the horses were at­tacked by the wolves, and stampeded with such a noise as to make Mrs. Curry believe the Indians were going to attack their home. Young Stephenson, then a boy of but eleven years, but with the coolness of an old backwoodsman, took down the two rifles, and, loading one, placed his younger brother, Otway, as a sentinel at the fence, in rear of the cabin, and while he attempted to load the other, the charge became fastened in the barrel. The two boys stood on guard for some time, ready to meet the invasion of the redskins. When night came on they, with their mother, went to John Kent's house and spent the night. The next morning, on their return with some of the neighbors, they found that the wolves had attacked the horses, badly injuring one of them, but that no Indians, or traces of them, were to be found.   One of the old flint-lock rifles used on this occasion is still in possession of W. L. Curry, son of Stephenson Curry.

Sugar Run Falls, on the land of Colonel Curry, now owned by his great-grandson, Thomas H. Curry, was in the early days a beautiful and attractive place. The stream wound its way through a little valley, shaded by burr oaks and black wal­nut timber, and, surrounded as it was by good hunting and fishing grounds, it was a favorite place for the Indians in the early years of the present century. The old Indian trace, lead­ing from the Wyandot nation south, ran past the Falls, and the Indians continued to travel this route after there was quite a settlement along Sugar Run.

The last Indians who visited this vicinity came about the year 1816-17. In the early spring, four Indians came from the north, and encamped at the falls for a few days. They visited Colonel Curry's house, and, as usual, were supplied from his table, as he was well known to the Indians passing along this route, and he was one in whom they had great con­fidence. When they left the falls they separated, two following the old trail and two traveling in a southwesterly direction. In a few weeks two of them again reached the falls, and had with them an Indian pony. They remained a day or two, and their two companions not arriving (it is supposed this was to be their place of meeting), they then stripped the bark from a burr oak tree, and taking yellow keel, which was in great abun­dance along the stream, traced on the trunk of the tree in rude characters an Indian leading a pony, while another In­dian was in the rear with a gun on his shoulder-and the ram­rod in his hand, as if in the act of driving the pony, traveling northward. This done, they covered their camp fire and took the old Indian trail north. A few evenings after their de­parture, their two comrades arrived from the south, and learn­ing by the drawings on the tree that their companions had preceded them, they remained over night and the next morning took the trace and moved rapidly north. And thus the last Indians ever seen on the southern border of Union County took their departure from their once happy hunting grounds.