Wayne County veteran witnessed Revolutionary War history

Born in February 1761 in Frederick, Maryland, Philip Henrich Smith entered a world already stirring with the tensions that would soon ignite the American Revolution. As a young man, Smith joined the frontier militia, serving not only against British forces, but also amid the unforgiving dangers of the western wilderness.

He is best remembered for his role in the ill-fated Crawford Expedition of 1782, also known as the Sandusky Raid, one of the final and most tragic campaigns of the Revolutionary War’s western theater.

In the summer of that year, Col. William Crawford led the Pennsylvania and Virginia militias into the Ohio country with the goal of destroying British-allied Native American towns along the Sandusky River. The expedition was intended to halt ongoing Native attacks against frontier settlements and deliver a decisive blow in the region. Instead, it unraveled into disaster.

Smith was among the men caught in the chaos when the militia encountered fierce resistance from Native warriors and British allies near the Sandusky plains. Compounding the danger was the betrayal of a turncoat patriot who revealed the Americans’ plans to the enemy.

After a day of bitter fighting, the militia was forced into retreat. Many soldiers were killed outright while others who fell behind were captured and slain. Crawford was taken prisoner, tortured and executed in one of the war’s most infamous episodes.

Smith survived, though not without lasting scars. During the retreat he was shot in the elbow, an injury he later said served to keep the memory of that battle with him for the rest of his life. Separated from the main body of troops with only one companion, he spent 10 harrowing days fleeing on foot through the wilderness while pursued by mounted warriors. By the time he finally reached the safety of his home, he was described as foot-sore, nearly naked and well-nigh perishing with hunger.

Despite the ordeal, Smith’s conduct during the campaign earned recognition for bravery. More importantly, he later published his recollections of the expedition, leaving behind a firsthand account of one of the Revolution’s darkest frontier conflicts.

After the war Smith joined the wave of veterans who looked westward for opportunity and a new beginning. After the war he married Agnes Waits, and together they raised four children. In 1799 they settled in Steubenville before eventually migrating to Wayne County within the developing Northwest Territory. Like many early settlers, the Smith family helped lay the foundations of the growing Ohio frontier, transforming wilderness into a permanent community.

Philip Henrich Smith died March 29, 1838, in Wayne County at the age of 77 and was buried in East Union Township. Today he is remembered not only as a Revolutionary War veteran, but also as a witness to history itself — a man who endured one of the conflict’s most desperate frontier campaigns and ensured its story would not be forgotten. His experiences in war likely shaped his later role within the Apple Creek community, as many veterans of the Revolution became steadying influences and respected pillars of the settlements they helped build.

Editor's note: The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Wooster-Wayne Chapter is submitting a series of articles about Revolutionary War patriots buried in Wayne County. This is the fifth of the series. Email Jolene Dyer at jolene.dyer@gmail.com with questions or comments.