Elisha Gates - Not the Only Volunteer

Elisha Gates (1789-1863)

     After the Raisin River Massacre, Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby called for 1500 volunteers to avenge the deaths of the Kentuckians.  On July 31, 1813 over twice as many volunteers showed up near Cincinnati, Ohio.  Some Kentuckian showed up with knives and no guns.  Some were on foot and others on horseback.  
     Governor Shelby had a big task ahead to organize, arm, and feed over three thousand men.  The first few weeks of August 1813 were spent in southern Ohio organizing the army.  The task of organizing and outfitting the militia actual consumed a significant portion of the scheduled enlistment period.
     Elisha Gates became a Private in the Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia¹. He was assigned to serve in Captain Presley C. Smith's Company, commanded by Colonel James Simrall.



1. Clift, G. Glenn. Kentucky Soldiers of the War of 1812. Frankfort, Kentucky: Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Kentucky, 1891