The Plight of the Frontier Militia

As soon as the hostilities began, Tecumseh joined forces with the British just as predicted.  In fact, he even wore a British uniform.  Congress was still considering a declaration of war when President Madison requisitioned 1200 miles along the Ohio, and in early summer the Governors of Indiana and Illinois called up hundreds of volunteers into the service.  Guns and ammunition, and tents, were in desperate quantities, but enthusiasm was high. Also lacking was capable leadership to train those settlers to be a winning army.

Like most frontier wars, the volunteer militia were untrained and raw.  The men could shoot well, were brave, and could endure well, however, there was little or no systematic training.  They had little patience with waiting on command and shunned discipline.  Drill duty was not taken seriously and many didn't even bother to report.  Those that did enjoyed horse races, wrestling matches and shooting contests along with drinking and brawling.  In those times when there were drill exercises, there were few guns, so men put cornstalks over their shoulders.  This became a frontier derision known as "cornstalk drills." 

Officers were chosen by the men - mostly for political and community standing .  The officers were as untrained as the men.  The men threatened and ridiculed their officers, claiming equality rather than subordination.  Not until later in the war when Harrison took over command did they become a true fighting force.

Nothing was more costly than the lack of transportation to the war effort.  Even in Ohio, the oldest settled region, the roads were few and poor, if they existed at all.  Other regions were too sparsely populated to be able to furnish supplies or food.  Materials had to be shipped from the East by river, lake or wilderness trail.

One of the tragedies of the war was the suffering of the troops while waiting for supplies of clothing, tents, medicine and food, mostly stuck in swamps or frozen in lakes and rivers.  Men became ill with pneumonia, pleurisy, or rheumatism in winter, fevers in summer - always vulnerable to Indian attacks.

Next time...The War from the words of a volunteer
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Today in Pioneer History: "On May 20, 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss, along with Nevada tailor, Jacob Davis, were given a patent to create work pants with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's famous pieces of clothing - the blue jean.

The Final Goodbye

While Walker was busy organizing his next expedition, Bonneville applied for a passport for Joseph R. Walker and a Visa from the Mexican counsel which gave Walker and his men papers to enter California legally.  

Did Walker and Bonneville discuss this beforehand? Since Bonneville did not apply for his own passport or Visa (or anyone else's for that matter) it is thought that they had agreed that Walker would go on alone.

It was probably the only reason Walker joined Bonneville in the first place was for his help with the government.  Thus concludes the partnership between Captain Walker and Benjamin Bonneville.

It is interesting to note that when Bonneville returned to MO in 1835 he left the mountains for good and found the government administration completely changed, in addition no one knew about his "project" so he had been dismissed from the army for unauthorized leave of absence.

Bonneville appealed to Andrew Jackson and was reassigned, but it was a long time debate whether a frontier army captain should have been granted a leave to pursue private commercial interests, not even complete it and overstay his leave.   It remains one of the unsolved mysteries of the 19th century American military.  Many concluded, as Walker did, that there was more to it than just trading - perhaps a covert assignment to gather information which the government wanted to move against the British or the Mexicans.  We will never know for sure.

Next Time...the Choice of Men