War along the Wabash : the Ohio Indian Confederacy's destruction of the U.S. Army, 1791

Author / Creator

Locke, Steven P., author

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Summary

"On November 4, 1791, a coalition of indigenous warriors, determined to set the Ohio River as a permanent boundary between their lands and white settlements, destroyed an American army led by Major...

"On November 4, 1791, a coalition of indigenous warriors, determined to set the Ohio River as a permanent boundary between their lands and white settlements, destroyed an American army led by Major General Arthur St. Clair. The road to the battle of the Wabash began when St. Clair was appointed to lead an army into the heart of the Ohio Indian Confederacy, building a string of fortifications along the way. He would face difficulties in recruiting, training, feeding, and arming volunteer soldiers. From the moment the remnants of the shattered force began its retreat from the Wabash, the men would blame the officers for the catastrophe, and the officers in turn blamed their men. For over two centuries most historians have blamed either the officer corps, enlisted soldiers, an entangled logistical supply line, poor communications, or equipment. The destruction of St. Clair's army resulted in a stunned Congress authorizing a regular army--the Legion of the United States--in 1792. In 1776, it had taken the might of the British Empire with its fleets of ships, professional regular army, and Hessian allies to effect such a change. In 1791 the drastic decision was brought about by the prowess of the Ohio Indian Confederacy: a coalition of disaffected warriors supplied by the British that was unable to sustain 1,000 men in the field for more than two weeks. The result of 30 years' research, this book puts the battle into the context of the last quarter of the 18th century, exploring how the central importance of land ownership to Europeans arriving in North America resulted in unrelenting demographic pressure on indigenous tribes, as well as the enormous obstacles standing in the way of the fledgling American Republic in paying off its enormous war debts. This is the story of how a small band of determined indigenous peoples defended their homeland, destroyed an invading American army, and forced a fundamental shift in the way in which the United States waged war."--Book jacket.

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