"Crawford’s Defeat by the Indians" is an early American folk ballad principally written by Doctor John Knight,[1][2] survivor of the 1782 Crawford Expedition. The expedition was intended to destroy American Indian towns along the Sandusky River and was one of the final operations of the American Revolutionary War. The ballad, "Crawford's Defeat," contains a great deal more history than poetry, however. It was long after a favorite song upon the frontier[3] and was sung to various tunes.[4] In fact, Doctor Knight's narrative was an immediate success. Its depiction of a brave officer's death at the hands of fiendish savages drew wide admiration and scenes of a rolling landscape delighted eastern land speculators. Though a year elapsed before Indian Atrocities: Narratives of the Perils and Sufferings of Dr. Knight and John Slover was printed, the delay apparently did nothing to reduce its appeal. If anything, the delay probably increased public interest, for all the while the ballad, "Crawford's Defeat," was being sung.[5] Another ballad, titled "Saint Clair's Defeat", was later based on "Crawford's Defeat". It depicts the Battle of the Wabash, which was fought on November 4, 1791, in the Northwest Territory between the United States and the Western Confederacy of American Indians.
- ^ Cowan, Frank. "Southwestern Pennsylvania in Song and Story: With Notes and Illustrations", p. 353.
- ^ Brown, Parker B. "Crawford's Defeat: a Ballad." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Vol 64 (Mar 1981) pp. 311–327
- ^ Brown, Parker B. "Along the Trail of History: the Crawford Expedition." Herald Standard (Uniontown), 14 June 1987, Page F1
- ^ Butterfield, Consul Willshire. "An Historical Account of the Expedition Against Sandusky Under Col. William Crawford in 1782", pp. 76-77, 212.
- ^ Brown, Parker B. "The Historical Accuracy of the Captivity Narrative of Doctor John Knight". Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, Vol 70 (Jan 1987) pp. 53–67.