194 WAYNE SUPERSEDES ST. CLAIR. losses it was impossible to obtain a correct estimate. Shortly afterward Congress instituted an investigation of St. Clair's conduct, but he was exonerated from all blame,* the more readily, perhaps, since this enabled Congress to put part of the blame upon Hamilton and Knox for the inadequate supplies of the expedition. But so great was the indignation of the country against St. Clair that it was impossible to keep him in commission until the investigation should be completed. The President requested St. Clair to resign the major-generalship, promptly appointing Anthony Wayne in his place. St. Clair retained the office of governor, however, until 1802, when he was removed. In 1812 he published a Narrative of the Manner in Which the Campaign against be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked by a surprise-the very thing I guarded him again! O God! O God! he is worse than a murderer! How can he answer it to his country? the Indians in the year 1791 was Conducted under the Command of Maj. Gen. St. Clair, with his Observations on the Statements of the Secretary of War. St. Clair's last years were passed in poverty.* For some time the Indians continued to maintain a hostile attitude, and the government pushed preparations for prosecuting the war. As we have seen, General Wayne succeeded General St. Clair in command of the army; but so small were the inducements to enter the service- the ranks filled up very slowly and only with the worst class of recruits. Therefore the expedition could not be undertaken for some time.t Meanwhile the clamor against the war continued so loud and persistent that it was thought advisable to seek peace by negotiation, but the emissaries dispatched for this purpose (Freeman and Girard to the Miamis, April 7, and Captain John Hardin and The blood of the slain is upon him—the curse of Major Alexander Trueman to the widows and orphans - the curse of Heaven! See Moore, The Northwest under Three Flags, pp. 353-358; "Causes of the Failure of the Expedition against the Indians, in 1791, under the Command of Major-General St. Clair," American State Papers, Military Affairs, vol. i., pp. 36-41; Lodge, George Washington, vol. ii., p. 93 et seq.; Drake, Book of the Indians, book v., chap. iv.; Dawson, Battles of the United States, vol. ii., chap. ii.; Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 47; Stone, Life of Brant, vol. ii., p. 309; Winthrop Sargent's journal in American Historical Record, vol. i., p. 481; the diaries and other records in the American Pioneer, vol. i., p. 43; vol. ii., p. 135 et seq.; Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, vol. iii., p. 21; New England Historical and Geneological Register (1867), p. 339; Upham, Life of Pickering, vol. iii., p. 22; Western Review, vol. iii., p. 58. Northern tribes, May 20) were murdered by the savages. Rufus Putnam, who was sent on a similar mis * See Schouler, United States, vol. i., pp. 212213. Stillé, Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, pp. 322-323. Wayne said: "Men who are purchased from prisons, wheelbarrows and brothels at two dollars per month will never answer for fighting Indians." See also Spears and Clark, History of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 342-343. Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. i., pp. 53-54; Slocum, The Ohio Country, p. 82. Trueman's instructions are in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., pp. 229-230. See also Brant's letter in ibid, p. 245. WAYNE'S FRUITLESS NEGOTIATIONS. sion,* succeeded in closing terms of peace with 31 members of the Wabash and Illinois tribes at Vincennes,† but this availed nothing with the strong tribes, who claimed to be directly under the influence and command of the British. These, on the contrary, became more active and daring than ever, continuing their raids into the settlements and demanding the return of all the lands north of the Ohio and west of the Muskingum. The Mohawk Brant urged the Indians to stand together in behalf of their ancestral hunting grounds; and in this attitude they were encouraged by the British, who hinted at the possibility of creating a neutral zone, running from Lake Ontario through the upper Northwest to the Mississippi, in which the Indians were to be sovereign. But it was manifest that this buffer State would be under the influence of the British.t In the summer of 1793 the Indians began to grow still more restless and unruly. During 1792 General Wayne had endeavored earnestly to negotiate a peace, with the only result that the Maumees and the Wabash Indians agreed to attend a general council for this purpose the following year. This was held at Sandusky in His instructions are in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., pp. 234-236, and his reports, p. 238 et seq. † Slocum, The Ohio Country, p. 82. Bassett, Federalist System, p. 64. Stillé, Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, pp. 325-326. On the events leading up to the outbreak of hostilities, see Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. iv., p. 54 et seq. 195 the summer of 1793, but, though there were early indications of conciliation, the hopes for peace were dissipated through the unfriendly efforts of the British traders and of Simcoe, governor of Lower Canada. The council therefore proved futile.* Hence, in the autumn of 1793, the campaign against the Indians was vigorously resumed. As it was impossible to enter Indian territory and hold it, on account of the lateness of the season, Wayne established his troops for the Winter about six miles in advance of Fort Jefferson, took possession of the ground, and there erected Fort Recovery.† At this time Wayne's army consisted of 3,630 men, besides a small body of Choctaw Indians.‡ Meanwhile, under the pretext that they thought Wayne intended to attack Detroit, the Canadians sent a detachment of troops to the rapids of the Maumee, 60 miles to the southward, where a fort was erected and occupied. This was a violation of the treaty of 1783, since the spot was in no sense British territory, and therefore Washington ordered Wayne to attack the fort if it was in his way, driving the occupants from American territory. In February of 1794 a still * Slocum, The Ohio Country, pp. 86-91; Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 51. See also American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., pp. 351-361. Stillé, Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, pp. 327-328; Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. iv., p. 71; Slocum, The Ohio Country, pp. 96-97. Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 51 || Ibid, p. 52. 196 DORCHESTER'S SPEECH; WAYNE'S ARMY. more aggravating circumstance arose when Lord Dorchester, governor of Canada, made a speech to the Indians in which he said that the Americans had not adhered to the terms of the treaty, that the settlements in the Northwest territory were unauthorized, that undoubtedly within a year the two nations would be at war, and that if so "a line must then be drawn by the warriors." Being widely circulated, this speech deeply impressed the savages and caused much excitement in Philadelphia.* The British partisans among the Americans said it was absurd to think Dorchester had ever made such a speech, the British minister adding that, if the speech had been made, it was a private communication. The government held that it made no difference whether it was public or private, the effect in either case being the same. The British government viewed the matter in somewhat the same light, and privately rebuked Dorchester for his ill-advised action.† Spears and Clark, History of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 346–347; Slocum, The Ohio Country, pp. 100-101. British historians, however, think there was nothing in this speech indicating a desire for war. A. G. Bradley (The Making of Canada, p. 206, 1908) says that if American writers had read the tedious and protracted correspondence between the Canadian governments and the frontier officers, they would have seen how baseless such accusations were. † Bassett, Federalist System, pp. 66-67. See also note in Schouler, United States, vol. i., p. 283. On May 21, 1794, Washington sent to Congress the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the British minister respecting the conduct of the Governor-General. See American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. i., p. 461; Richard Wayne's troops were of the same nondescript character as those of St. Clair, but upon taking command Wayne had stipulated that the campaign should not begin until his ranks were full and his men thoroughly disciplined. During 1792, therefore, he contented himself with drilling officers and men with unwearied patience* until finally the officers were able to drill the recruits themselves and the men acquired the soldierly self-confidence of veterans. Wayne kept hard at work throughout the winter, and by the spring of 1793 had a body of 2,500 regular soldiers who could be trusted in a campaign.† The delays in transporting supplies through an uninhabited country postponed the opening of the campaign until near midsummer. Meanwhile several sharp skirmishes had taken place. Boats were attacked as they descended the Ohio; the remote settlements were mercilessly scourged; and bodies of rangers, spies or scouts, and trained Indian fighters were sent against these marauding bands, with varying son, Messages and Papers, vol. i., p. 155. Other testimony will be found in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., p. 795; Stone, Life of Brant, vol. ii., pp. 271, 366; Albach, Annals of the West, p. 542. * Montgomery, Life of W. H. Harrison, p. 51; Spears and Clark, History of the Mississippi Valley, p. 344. Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. iv., pp. 68-70; Hulbert, The Ohio River, pp. 184-185. A plan of Fort Greenville, built by Wayne in December of 1793, will be found in Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio, p. 142, and in Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, vol. vii., p. 451. * THE BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS. success. On June 30 a force of 1,000 Indians attacked Fort Recovery, at that time garrisoned by 200 men. After attacking and defeating a party of 200 troops and riflemen camped outside the fort, the Indians, trusting to their superior numbers, attempted to rush the fort and carry it by storm, but were beaten back with heavy loss. They maintained a desultory rifle fire against the fort during the next day, but finally retired. The loss of the Americans was 55 killed, wounded and missing, while the Indians lost more than in their battle with St. Clair.t On August 8, 1794, Wayne reached the confluence of the Glaize (or Auglaize) and Maumee rivers, where lay the largest settlements of the Indians. The mouth of the Glaize was 30 miles distant from the post then occupied by the British on the Maumee River, and near this post the enemy, to the number of about 2,000, under Little Turtle, were gathered. In size Wayne's army was not much inferior to the Indians, and on July 26 a force of 1,600 mounted riflemen under General Charles Scott came from Kentucky, bringing up his force to more than 3,000.|| On August 15 * Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. iv., pp. 63-65, 71 et scq. † American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., p. 487; Roosevelt, pp. 74-76; Slocum, The Ohio Country, pp. 102–106. Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 52, Wayne reports the total as given above, but others say more. Stillé, Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, p. 330; King, Ohio, p. 252. 197 the American army advanced, and on the 18th arrived at Roche de Bout, near the Maumee Rapids, there halting in order to erect a temporary work to protect the baggage, naming it Fort Defiance.* The Indians were found to be behind a thick wood and in the vicinity of the British fort.† At eight o'clock on the morning of the 20th the American army advanced in columns, the right flank being covered by the Maumee. On the left was a brigade of mounted volunteers under command of General Todd, and in the rear was the other brigade under command of General Barber. Major Price, with a select battalion, was in front, and, after proceeding about five miles, was attacked by the enemy and compelled to retreat.‡ The Indians had advanced into a thick wood in front of the British fort, a place made almost inaccessible to horses by fallen timber. Hence, this battle is known as the " Battle of the Fallen Timbers." || The Indians were drawn up in three lines extending about two miles at right angles to the river, and their greatest efforts were *Slocum, The Ohio Country, p. 111. Plars of the fort will be found in Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio, p. 144; Knapp, The Maumee Valley, p. 87; Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, pp. 330, 333; Harper's Magazine, vol. xxvii., p. 154; Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, vol. vii., p. 452. † King, Ohio, p. 255. A plan of the battle ground will be found in Howe, Historical Collections of Ohio, p. 319; Winsor, Narrative and Critical History, vol. vii., p. 454. Montgomery, Life of W. H. Harrison, p. 53; Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 54. Roosevelt, p. 84. 198 WAYNE'S VICTORIOUS CAMPAIGN. expended in an attempt to turn the left flank of the Americans. The Americans had been ordered to advance with trailed arms, to rout the Indians from their intrenchments at the point of the bayonet, and not to fire until they had reached the breastworks.* Perceiving that the Indians were attempting to turn the American left, a second line was ordered up and the cavalry under Captain Mis Campbell was ordered to penetrate between the Indians and the river, so as to charge their left flank, while General Scott, with the mounted volunteers, was to make a circuit and turn their right. These orders were promptly executed and with such impetuosity that the first line of infantry had completely routed the Indians before all of the second line and the mounted volunteers had gone into action.† The Indians were driven more than two miles back, and when the pursuit ended they were within gunshot of the British fort. The loss of the * Montgomery, Life of W. H. Harrison, p. 53. Wayne's report, August 28, 1794, American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., p. 491; Roosevelt, pp. 87-88; Montgomery, p. 53. See Wayne's report to the Secretary of War in Stillé, Wayne and the Pennsylvania Line, pp. 331-334; in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., p. 491; and in Dawson, Battles of the United States, chap. ii. See also American Pioneer, vol. ii., p. 388; H. N. Moore, Life of Wayne; the sketch of Wayne by J. W. DePeyster in Magazine of American History (February, 1886); the journal of David Jones, in Michigan Pioneer Collections, vol. viii., p. 392; the journal of Lieut. Boyer, in American Pioneer, vol. i., pp. 315, 351; the account by Brickell, in ibid, vol. i., p. 43; Albach, Annals of the West, p. 619; Knapp, Maumee Valley, p. 83; Stone, Life of Brant, vol. Americans in the battle was 33 killed and 100 wounded, of whom 113 were regulars, while the Indian loss was about two or three times as great.* General Wayne remained in the vicinity three days, during which time his troops reduced to ashes the houses and corn fields surrounding the fort. During these operations a correspondence took place between Wayne and Major William Campbell, the British commander, which shows that only the prudent acquiescence of the latter in the destruction of property within the range of his guns prevented hostilities between the troops On the 28th the of the two nations. army returned to the Glaize by easy marches, on the way destroying all the villages and corn within 50 miles of the river. The whole country was laid waste and a fort was erected in the heart of the Indian settlements, so as to prevent the return of the Indians.|| Thus the country was ii., p. 383; Bonney, Legacy of Historical Gleanings, chap. iv.; Burnet, Notes, chaps. vi.-viii. ; Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare; Spears and Clark, History of the Mississippi Valley, pp. 349-351. Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 54; Roosevelt, p. 88; Montgomery, p. 55. Roosevelt, pp. 89-90; Slocum, The Ohio Country, p. 115. See the correspondence in American State Papers, Indian Affairs, vol. i., pp. 493-494; Stillé, pp. 335-336; Montgomery, p. 56 et seq.; Dillon, History of Indiana, pp. 352-355. See also Cooley, Michigan, pp. 115-116. This was Fort Wayne on the Maumee, just below the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's rivers. It was completed October 22. (Lossing, Field-Book of the War of 1812, p. 56.) |