Battle
of the Fallen Timbers
After
General Harmar's Defeat in 1790 and General St. Clair's
Defeat in 1791, the Indians of the Ohio country seemed
invincible. But the United States Army learned valuable
lessons from these defeats.
General
Anthony Wayne took command of the Legion of the United
States in 1792. He trained his men hard and waited until
his army was ready before marching against the Ohio Indians.
The great chief Little Turtle
called General Wayne the "chief who never sleeps" and
said the Indians should make peace. The other Indian leaders
did not agree. Blue Jacket
took over as war chief.
On
28 July 1794, General Wayne's army marched northward
from Greenville. The army had 2,000 men of the Legion
of the United States and 1,500 mounted volunteers.
On 20 August 1794 they met a force of about 1,100
Indians including Wyandots,
Miamis, Ottawas,
Delawares, Mingoes,
Shawnees, Potawatomis,
Chippewas, and some Canadian
militia disguised as Indians. There was a fierce battle
through a part of the forest where a recent storm
had knocked down many trees. These "fallen timbers"
gave the battle its name. The American army lost about
30 men and another 100 were wounded. The Indian losses
are hard to count because they carried most of their
dead and wounded away from the battlefield. Probably
more than 200 warriors were killed and more than double
that number were wounded.
General
Wayne's army defeated the Indians and chased them
to the British Fort Miamis. The British would not
help the Indians. The Indians felt betrayed by the
British. One year later, the Indians came to Greenville
to surrender formally. They signed the Treaty of Greenville
opening all of Ohio to white settlers.
from the Ohio
Historical Society Site
