Jackson sends two representatives from Washington, D.C.,…
April 1835 CE
Jackson sends two representatives from Washington, D.C., Richard Rush of Pennsylvania and Benjamin Chew Howard of Maryland, to Toledo on April 3, 1835, to arbitrate the conflict and present a compromise to both governments.
The proposal, presented on April 7, recommends that the re-survey to mark the Harris Line commence without further interruption by Michigan, and that the residents of the affected region be allowed to choose their own state or territorial governments until the Congress could definitively settle the matter.
Lucas reluctantly agrees to the proposal, and begins to disband his militia, believing the debate to be settled.
Three days later, elections in the region are held under Ohio law.
However, Mason refuses the deal and he continues to prepare for possible armed conflict.
During the elections, Ohio officials are harassed by Michigan authorities and the area residents are threatened with arrest if they submit to Ohio's authority.
On April 8, 1835, the Monroe County, Michigan sheriff arrives at the home of Major Benjamin F. Stickney, an Ohio partisan.
In the first contact between Michigan partisans and the Stickney family, the sheriff arrests two Ohioans under the Pains and Penalties Act on the basis that the men had voted in the Ohio elections.
Following the election, Lucas believes that the commissioners' actions have alleviated the situation and he once again sends out surveyors to mark the Harris Line.
The project goes without serious incident until April 26, 1835, when the surveying group is attacked by fifty to sixty members of General Brown's militia in what is now called the Battle of Phillips Corners.
The battle's name is sometimes used as a synonym for the entire Toledo War.
No one is killed or injured, but nine members of the attacking party are arrested in the ensuing chase.
While the details of the attack are disputed—Michigan claims it fired no shots and had only discharged a few musket rounds in the air as the Ohio group retreated—the battle further infuriates both Ohioans and Michiganders and brings the two sides to the brink of all-out war.