Who Was Colonel Crawford? Torture on the Ohio Frontier

Colonel William Crawford was a trapper, land surveyor, farmer, and judge. He survived Braddock's Defeat during the French and Indian War, then led men during the American Revolution, first as Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th Virginia, then as Colonel in command of the 7th Virginia. Crawford led his men across the Deleware River on Christmas Eve with Washington's Army, fought at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown, and was eventually transferred to the Western Department of the Continental Army to oversee actions on the frontier.

Colonel Crawford had retired from military service in 1781, but George Washington, an old friend from his days as a land surveyor, called on him to lead an expedition against Native Americans in the Upper Sandusky River region, in the heart of present-day Ohio. The expedition came to a bloody end when the American expedition was ambushed and whittled down in numbers until, during a forced retreat in the middle of the night, Crawford was separated from the main body of his men. His capture was followed by hours of brutal torture at the hands of the Deleware, until, finally, he was burned at the stake.

Today, the death of Colonel William Crawford is a reminder of the atrocities exchanged by American settlers and Native Americans in the hard-fought frontier state of Ohio.

Video Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:20 - Crawford's Early Life
00:41 - Adventures with George Washington
01:00 - Early Military Career
02:00 - Frontier Life & Military Service
03:16 - Revolutionary War Service
03:40 - Gnadenhutten Massacre
04:32 - Sandusky Expedition
05:23 - Crawford's Capture
06:03 - Account of Torture and Death
08:09 - Washington's Letter
08:51 - Preserving Crawford's Story
09:52 - Modern Significance
10:27 - Conclusion

Frontier justice like the events described here was being administered long before the rule of law applied to this land. During this time period, Native Americans fought bitterly as they were pushed from their homeland, using merciless cunning, strength, and skill in the wilderness as their weapons. They could not possibly foresee the arrival of white men who loved the land as much as they did; men who were willing to meet brutality for brutality to call the land their own. Given the massacre of women, children, and unarmed Deleware men at Gnadenhutten, do you feel that Crawford's torture was justified? Let me know in the comments section below.

The language set forth in this video, like the phrase "savages" or "Indians" reflects the sentiments of the time, not my own. As accredited in the video, this language is directly quoted from both Dr. John Knight and George Washington. I have the utmost respect for America's indigenous people and carry a genuine reverence for those who fought honorably against impossible odds during the period described in this video. Despite directly quoting antiquated- and offensive- phraseology, I believe I have accurately conveyed my respect both in this video and throughout the channel for those on all sides of the frontier conflicts of this time period, while maintaining the authenticity of the aforementioned original documents and the sentiments expressed therein.

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Видео Who Was Colonel Crawford? Torture on the Ohio Frontier канала Frontier Trading Company