BONE BURYING DAY OF 1851

In 1851, boys playing along the Wabash river bank found some human bones and reported their findings.  The people of Fort Recovery started a search and found many of the skeletons of the people that died in the bloody massacre of 1791 and the Battle of Fort Recovery in 1794.  Many of the bones were found to be well preserved and showed where tomahawks and scalping knives had been used.

After meeting with people from many neighboring states, a memorial celebration was planned for September 10, 1851.  At that time Fort Recovery was a very small town of only 200 citizens.  On the day of the celebration, called Bone Burying Day, an estimated 5,000 visitors attended!

Thirteen caskets were used to carry the bones; one casket to represent each state in the union at that time.  An additional large chest was needed to hold the remaining skeletons.  The burial took place at Milligan Cemetery, (now called the Pioneer Cemetery), in one large grave.  The spot was marked by a low circular mound of earth and stones.  Nearby was the grave of a comrade (and local hero) from the battle of 1791, Samuel McDowell.

The remains of these dead soldiers stayed in the Pioneer Cemetery until 1891 when they were removed to Memorial Park to commenorate the Centennial of the battle.  They lay in state for three days and were then buried on site until the Monument was erected.  The bones of the slain soldiers now lay in a crypt in the foundation of the Fort Recovery Monument.

Sources:    Rohr, Martha, Historical Sketch of Fort Recovery, Journal Publishing Company, Fort Recovery, OH, 1932

For more information about the Fort Recovery Pioneer Cemetery, check the following websites.

-  Demographic Data of the people buried in the Pioneer Cemetery

-  Pioneer Cemetery:   a poem written by Fort Recovery 5th grade students