Natives versus Settlers, Little Turtle's War, 179-1794

We've devoted posts to Little Turtle of the Miami (1747-1812), a renowned war leader of the same caliber as Dragging Canoe, Buckongahelas, Blue Jacket and others whom we've already met.  We've also covered the Northwest Indian War (1785-1794).  Now it's time to drill down on a specific subset of that war known as Little Turtle's War.  That he had an entire portion of the larger war named after him shows just how effective a leader Little Turtle was, particularly at capturing the attention of his enemies.

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 which ended the American Revolutionary War did not deal with any land claims by the original inhabitants of the Ohio River Valley.  It only specified that the British would surrender their forts there and leave, which they had no intention of doing.  Native leaders, particularly White Eyes of the Delaware, conceived of the Ohio Valley as being a Native buffer state, where Natives could live without any encroachment by Settlers.  But it was not to be.  Even before the Revolution ended, Settlers were pouring into Ohio and skirmishes with local Natives were inevitable.  Little Turtle was already a renowned war leader by 1785 and led several war parties against American settlers, often cooperating with Blue Jacket of the Shawnee, with whom he is most closely associated.  By 1790, he would command a share of fame of his own with two ambushes against columns led by Josiah Harmer. 

In 1791, Little Turtle's daughter was captured in a raid led by James Wilkinson.  More on him later, because he was one of the more disreputable men ever to live on the frontier or just about anywhere else.  Little Turtle made getting his daughter back a priority.  He was one of the Native commanders at the Battle of Wabash, on November 4, 1791, when a combined force of Miami, Wyandot, Delaware and others inflicted a defeat on General Arthur St. Clair that was far worse than that suffered by Custer.  For comparison, the loss at Little Big Horn (Greasy Grass) was 268 killed and 46 wounded.  The Battle of the Wabash saw 632 killed/captured, along with 264 wounded.  Civilian casualties were 24 killed, 14 wounded, bringing the total to approximately 933. 

Little Turtle would add to his record with a raid in 1792 on Fort St. Clair, in present-day Preble County, Ohio, that would make American military planners wonder if holding onto the Ohio Valley was even feasible.  The Washington Administration turned to one commander whom George Washington knew from Revolutionary days and believed he could trust, Anthony Wayne.  Like George Rogers Clark before him, Anthony Wayne garnered a reputation among the Natives as a formidable enemy.  On June 30, 1794, Little Turtle's contingent of Miami participated in an attack on Fort Recovery, near the present-day town of Fort Recovery, Ohio.  The fort held out and Little Turtle knew that they faced an enemy of a more skilled caliber than Arthur St. Clair or Josiah Harmer.  Prior to the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794, he counseled caution and that perhaps their best course lay with negotiating with Wayne rather than fighting him.  Nevertheless, when the consensus was to give battle, he led his Miami warriors with his usual skill.  This time, it was not enough.  Wayne inflicted a resounding defeat on the Natives.

Little Turtle was a signatory to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.  During the gathering for the treaty signing, his wife died and was given a military funeral out of respect for this formidable adversary. 

 

Settlers v. Natives: The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794

The Northwest Indian War saw some of the finest Native commanders in the history of warfare in North American.  We've already met Little Turtle, Buckongahelas and Blue Jacket in other posts and seen some of their work in other battles.  At this battle, which ended the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795), they would meet their match.

Mad Anthony Wayne (1745-1796) was born in Easttown Township in what is now Chester County, Pennsylvania.  A tanner and surveyor by trade, he became a soldier during the American Revolutionary War when, in 1775, he raised a regiment of militia that became the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment.  A quick learner with a natural knack for all things military, he was a stern disciplinarian, a hard marcher who didn't back down to anybody in battle.  Hence his well-known nom de guerre of mad.  After the Revolution, he retired a wealthy man and married the widow of Nathanael Greene.  He tried politics but when the Northwest Indian War broke out Washington knew who to call back into service.  Wayne was named commander of the Legion of the United States, as the reorganized Army was then known.

During the Northwest Indian War, Native leaders had scored impressive victories against American commanders who were less than skilled in fighting on the frontier.  Men like Arthur St. Clair, Josiah Harmer and James Wilkinson, all trained officers with impressive Revolutionary service, lost careers and reputations fighting in against men who could and did run circles around them every time they met up.  The frontier was the place where reputations went to die.  They would discover a different opponent in Mad Anthony (great-grandfather of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman if you're into superheroes).  Rather than lunge at the Natives, Wayne spent two years drilling his force of militia into an army.  These men may have heard of a mutiny on the Pennsylvania Line during the final months of the Revolution where Mad Anthony had not been afraid to shoot men of his own county for insubordination. 

When he felt he was ready, Wayne marched his force from Fort Washington in what is now Cincinnati, with 2,000 men.  Choctaw and Chickasaw auxiliaries served as scouts and forward skirmishers.  Blue Jacket selected his ground on the Maumee River near present-day Toledo.  A recent storm had blown down a stand of trees that would serve as a defense position, hence the name of this battle, Fallen Timbers.  The Native command team consisted of he most feared triumvirate on the frontier, Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, and Buckongahelas composed of Shawnee, Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Potawatomi, Mingos and many others.  They were supported by a band of Canadian militia led by Captain Alexander McKillip. 

On August 20, 1794, Mad Anthony opened the battle quickly enough.  He ordered his cavalry to flank the Native positions and attack from the rear, while his infantry conducted a bayonet charge straight at the improvised breastworks.  The Natives finally broken and headed for the safety of a nearby British fort, Fort Campbell, where the British commander decided he waned nothing to do with Anthony Wayne and closed the gates against them.  Wayne finished his decimation of the Native force within sight of the British fort.  Casualties for the Americans included 33 killed and 100 wounded, the Natives lost 25-40 killed and unknown numbers of wounded. 

The American victory prompted the British to speed up their evacuation of the Ohio River Valley, depriving the Natives of a crucial ally.  With a new general in the field who could match them in skill and ability, many native leaders saw the wisdom of signing the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, ceding most Native land in Ohio to the United States.  Among the few Natives who refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville was a young Shawnee named Tecumseh whose brother Cheeseekau had been killed in other fighting in 1794.  He would be back to fight another day.  Mad Anthony decided after this battle to hang up his gear again and return, this time to Pennsylvania where he died he following year.  The site of the Battle is now a National Historic Site with federal and state monuments to Wayne, his men, the Native commanders and their men.  Fort Wayne, once a military garrison and now the city in Indiana, is named for Mad Anthony.