Gustavus Heinrich de Rosenthal (1753–1829) was a Baltic German soldier and member of the

Baltic nobility Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of today's Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously since the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana. Most of the nobility were Baltic Germans, but ...

born in Vaimõisa, present-day

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, with the Title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and last name of von Wetter-Rosenthal, a junior line of the von Wetter-Tegenfeldens. He came into conflict with another man and was forced to flee the country after killing him in a duel. He came to North America, where he served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

using the name John Rose.

American Revolution

At the time of his departure from Europe, the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

was under way. Rosenthal adopted the name John Rose and joined a unit from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. While stationed at Fort Ticonderoga, he befriended William Irvine who was an officer in the

. He was part of the American invasion of Quebec and was present at the Battle of Trois-Rivières. He had much experience in the military which assisted him in establishing a reputation as a competent commander.

Crawford expedition

When William Irvine was transferred to the Western Department, Rose accompanied him. Irvine assigned him to the Crawford expedition under the command of Colonel William Crawford against the Upper Sandusky villages of the

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

s and

Delawares The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

in 1782. Irvine ordered Rose to keep a detailed account of the expedition and record all the events. During the election of officers, Rose was elected adjutant with the rank of Major. Upon nearing the destination of the campaign, Rose was selected to lead an advance company of men to scout the area ahead and attempt to determine the location of the enemy. It was Rose who discovered and determined that the grove of trees known as "Battle Island" should be the point of defense for the army during the Battle of Sandusky. Shortly after leaving the grove, the detachment spotted several Indians. After pursuing them some distance they were ambushed by the hidden force of Native Americans under the Wyandot chief Half King, the Delaware chiefs

Captain Pipe Captain Pipe (c. 1725? – c. 1818?) ( Lenape), called Konieschquanoheel and also known as Hopocan in Lenape, was an 18th-century Head Peace chief of the Algonquian-speaking Lenape (Delaware) and War Chief 1778+. He succeeded his maternal u ...

and Wingenund and the British Indian agent Simon Girty. Rose led the company in a fighting retreat while sending back runners to alert the main army that they had engaged the Indian force. With the advance company retreating and the main army advancing, they met at the grove earlier discovered by Rose. During the day of June 4 and the following day of June 5, the Indian force surrounded and attacked the army within the grove. Several attempts were made to penetrate the army's perimeter with little success; however, numerous parties of warriors continued to arrive to augment the numbers of the attackers and following the arrival of a number of Butler's Rangers and a party of

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

numbering near 200 under the Chief Black Snake, the battle began to go against the Americans.

Retreat and the Battle of the Olentangy

Following the arrival of the British and Indian reinforcements, Colonel Crawford and Colonel David Williamson, the second in command, agreed that a retreat should be attempted on the night of June 5. As the men were preparing to leave the woods, small groups began to leave on their own causing the organized retreat to degenerate into a rout. A large body of men remained together under the leadership of Col David Williamson and Major Rose. The following day, Rose was again selected to lead an advance company to scout the terrain ahead. Later in the day, as the remains of the army approached the Olentangy River to water the horses and rest, the Indians and British attacked initiating the Battle of the Olentangy. After fierce fighting, the Americans were able to push the Indians and British back. Realizing that the enemy would harass the rear of the army, Rose led the defense of a rear guard which kept the enemy at bay long enough to allow the army to leave the Olentangy River camp. On June 13 the remaining American army crossed the Ohio River into American territory. Rose delivered his report to General Irvine.

After the war

Following the American Revolution John Rose returned to Estonia and married. He raised a family and died in 1829. The journal which he had kept on the Crawford Expedition was part of his estate when he died. A family member later sent a copy to the Pennsylvania Historical Society giving Americans an excellent account of the campaign."Journal of a Volunteer Expedition to Sandusky, From May 24 to June 13, 1782." Reporting by Baron George Pilar von Pilchauin St. Petersburg, Russia. The Pennsylvania Journal of History and Biography, Vol.18 ( No. 2 pp. 129-157; No. 3 pp. 293–328), 1894, (New York: Ayer Publishing, 1969, Google Books)

References

History of Ohio: the rise and progress of an American state, Volume 2

American Revolution

Crawford expedition

Retreat and the Battle of the Olentangy

After the war

References

Further reading