River threatens graves of War of 1812 soldiers

SPENCERVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Soldiers from the War of 1812 are facing a modern-day battle.

Currents and seasonal high waters are eating away the west bank of the Auglaize River, threatening to undermine the graves and headstones of the warriors buried at the site of Fort Amanda near this western Ohio village.

The threat to the grave sites has become a major worry for the Ohio Historical Society and is getting the attention of one state lawmaker.

About 75 soldiers from the War of 1812 are buried at the site of Fort Amanda, which served as a major supply depot and a hospital fort.

Originally built in the fall of 1812 by Kentucky troops, the fort was enlarged to almost double the original size during the spring of 1813 by Ohio militia soldiers.

The war pitted U.S. troops against British and Indian forces and ensured that the young nation kept control of what was known as the Northwest Territory.

Fort Amanda is no longer standing, but the cemetery at the site — now a state park — remains, about 75 miles north of Dayton.

Erosion has brought the graves of as many as 15 soldiers within 20 feet of the river bank.

It’s a pretty steep drop-off from there — about 35 feet down, said George Kane, the society’s director of historic sites and facilities.

Heavy midwinter rainfalls the past couple of years have accelerated the problem, Auglaize County Engineer Doug Reinhart said.

“The worst erosion that I have seen these last couple of years has been when we had these February floods, when the ground is saturated and we have had these heavy rains,” Reinhart said.

The county and the historical society lack the funding to construct a barrier to fortify the hillside.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could help provide emergency stream bank and shoreline protection for public facilities, but the projects must be economically justified and environmentally sound.

The corps worked on a similar project — a cemetery that also had historical significance — in New York about 20 years ago, said Philip Berkeley of the corps’ Buffalo office.

But such a project would require a town, county or state representative to act as a sponsor and be responsible for 35 percent of the cost.

State Rep. Cliff Hite of Findlay said he’ll look into whether federal stimulus money could be used on the project.