Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

INGTIAM COTUNTY NOTTES2

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tucky, where he died in 1798, and lies in an unknown grave in the
vicinity of Louisville.
During John Adams' administration when American commerce
was assailed upon the high seas, Gen. Washington was again
placed in command of the army, with Col. Harry Lee in charge of
the cavalry.
Knowing Champe's ability and courage they sought for him to
work with them, only to learn of his death. An American poet
wrote a poem of twenty-eight stanzas concerning the Revolution
and three of them were in commemoration of John Champe's
services, as follows:
"Come sheath your swords my gallant boys
And listen to my story,
How Sergeant Champe one gloomy night
Set off to catch a Tory.
"Lee found a sergeant in his camp,
Made up of bone and muscle,
Who never knew a fear and many a year
With Tories had a tussle.
"To Southern climes the shipping blew
And anchored in Virginia,
Where Champe escaped and joined his friends,
Among the Picaninni."
While John Champe is not buried in Ingham county, the county
is honored by having a monument erected in his name, and this
makes his story a part of the history of the county. After 1800
the family moved to Ohio, and there Nathaniel, the son of John
Champe, like his father, fought for American supremacy, and was
with the forces that went against the British in 1812, and also
like his father held the position of sergeant in his company. He
fought in the battle of Monguagon, on August 8th, 1812, in a company of Ohio volunteers. They were under Colonel Antoine
Dequindre's command, "and gallantly entered the enemy's work
at the point of the bayonet."
Nathaniel Champe was born in Virginia in 1793, and when