VAN WERT, Ohio (WANE) — George Washington, the Father of America, was largely lauded for his decisions as a military general and president. The voters showed as much—the only president to have been unanimously elected by the Electoral College still has his fingerprints all over the nation, but it was one of his mistakes that still lives on today in northwest Ohio. "It's fascinating stuff that most of the locals probably don't know," said Thad Lichtensteiger, Van Wert County Commissioner. Lichtensteiger's job is a constant reminder of Washington's mistake. Read his title again: "Van Wert County Commissioner." If it weren't for a typo in 1780, his title would most likely read "Van Wart County Commissioner." When being acknowledged for an award in the Revolutionary War, Militiaman Isaac Van Wart's name was misspelled with an "e" as "Wert" instead of "Wart" and it was entered into the congressional record incorrectly. The typo can be traced to several letters, including one from General Washington.  I omitted acknowledging Your Excellency's favor of the 8th respecting Van Wert, Paulding & Williams—The recompence is ample—it is an evidence of the generosity of Congress, a flattering tribute to the virtue of those Citizens, and must prove a powerful incitement to others to imitate their example.General George Washington in a letter to Samuel Huntington, 1780 "Washington or someone in that crew misspelled it and that's how it became Isaac Van Wert," said Larry Webb, a former member of the Van Wert County Historical Society. Years later, when the city and county were formed officials, they wanted to name it after an American hero and settled on the misspelled Van Wert without knowing the actual hero's name. "We might have been the Isaac Van Wart Warthogs instead of the cougars," mused Webb. A hero by another name Last names aside, Van Wart's heroics may have shifted the tides of the war itself. He and two other militia members (John Paulding and David Williams) broke up Benedict Arnold's treasonous plot to help the British in the Revolutionary War. Arnold conspired with British officer John André, giving him documents that the British could use to overrun West Point. A sign explaining the name "Van Wert" at the Van Wert County Historical Society. But before he could use them, André was apprehended and discovered to be carrying the documents in his boot. He was captured by Paulding, Williams and Van Wart—all three of which now have counties named after them in northwestern Ohio. "If André gets through we lose some very sensitive documents about West Point, we lose our very formidable fort," Lichtensteiger said. "Perhaps the outcome of the Revolutionary War is quite different." After André's capture in Tarrytown, New York, he was executed and the three men who captured him went on to receive a newly minted award, The Fidelity Medallion. It's considered the oldest decoration in the US Military, and the precursor to the Purple Heart. Only Paulding, Williams and Van Wart ever received it. "The continental congress only did three medals," Lichtensteiger said. "Interestingly, they were also awarded a stipend of $200 a year for the rest of their life (equivalent of about $6,843 in 1790)." The actual medal that Van Wart received is currently at the New York State Museum - Van Wart's descendants handed it over in 2023. Van Wart's original musket resides at the Van Wert County Historical Society, and the county is always trying to get more historical items related to its namesake. Take it back! The misspelling, though noticed for some time, drew the attention of Van Wart's descendants. In a 1999 article, the Washington Post followed the Van Warts' fight to amend the long-standing error. "For more than a decade, Jeffrey Van Wart has tirelessly waged a quixotic--but so far fruitless--campaign to correct a trivial spelling error transcribed into a declaration by Gen. George Washington over 200 years ago," wrote William Claiborne. "Little wonder it has been an uphill battle since his effort would change the name of a fair-sized city in Ohio and plunge it into bureaucratic confusion." When asked about it today, Lichtensteiger laughed it off as just an odd wrinkle adding to the story of Van Wert. "One of the Van Wert family members came to Van Wert and said you need to change this back," Lichtensteiger recounted. "We're going to change the name of our county seat and our county back to Van Wart because you don't like it? God love you, but no we're not going to do that." The Van Wert County Historical Society has an entire exhibit dedicated to Van Wart and his legacy.