GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE AND THE BATTLE OF
"FALLEN TIMBERS."
CENTENNIAL ORATION.
DELIVERED BY JUDGE SAMUEL F. HUNT, OF
CINCINNATI, ON THE BAT-
TLEFIELD, AUGUST 20, 1894, UNDER THE
AUSPICES OF THE MAUMEE
VALLEY MONUMENTAL ASSOCIATION.
APPOINTED TO THE COMMAND OF THE ARMY.
In April, 1792, Anthony Wayne was
appointed by President
Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the
Army of the United
States. The position to which he was
called, under the circum-
stances, required military and
diplomatic skill of the highest
order. It seemed that the Government was
about to become
involved in an interminable war with the
Indians of the north-
west, while hostilities with Great
Britain appeared inevitable,
because of the refusal to comply with
certain articles of the
Treaty of 1783, and especially that
which provided for the
evacuation of the forts in the territory
northwest of the Ohio
River.
The first step to be taken was the
re-organization of the
army, since the troops under St. Clair
had been almost annihi-
lated and completely demoralized. The
army was to be known
as the "Legion of the United
States," and was to consist of
one major-general, four brigadier
generals and their respective
staffs, the "necessary number of
commissioned officers," and
five thousand one hundred and twenty
non-commissioned offi-
cers and privates. The Secretary of War
at parting with General
Wayne, in May, 1792, "expressly
enjoined upon him," "that
another defeat would be inexpressibly
ruinous to the reputation
of the Government"; while the only
request made by the Com-
mander-in-Chief was that the campaign
should not begin until
the legion was filled up and properly
disciplined.
RECRUITING AND RE-ORGANIZING THE ARMY.
General Wayne went to Pittsburg in June,
1792, for
the
purpose of recruiting and organizing his
army. During the
(214)
Centennial Oration. 215
summer and winter efforts were made to
ascertain whether the
Indians were willing to negotiate, until
at last it was determined
that the only to protect the frontiers,
and make possible
the safety and security of the settler
was to advance into the
Indian country and bring them into
submission by the strong
arm of military power. Toward the close
of the summer he
moved his camp to a position on the Ohio
River about twenty-
seven miles below Pittsburg, and there
remained during the
winter in striving to conciliate the
Indians, but in the mean-
time giving strict attention to the
recruiting and disciplining
of his army. At the close of March the
force consisted of about
2,500 men; and he writes that "The progress that the troops have
made, both in maneuvering and as
marksmen, astonished the
savages on St. Patrick's Day; and I am
happy to inform you
that the sons of that saint were
perfectly sober and orderly,
being out of the reach of whisky, which baneful
poison is pro-
hibited from entering this camp except
as the component part
of a ration, or a little for fatigue
duty or on some extraordinary
occasion." In May, 1793, he moved
his camp to Fort Wash-
ington, the present site of Cincinnati.
In the preceding January
the general had been told by the
Secretary of War that the
"sentiments of the citizens of the
United States are adverse
in the extreme to an Indian war,"
and even a commission had
been named to treat with the Indians in
the hope of securing
peace. The Secretary of War again
assured him that it was
still more necessary than heretofore
that no offensive opera-
tions be taken against the Indians.
Still General Wayne spared
no effort in further securing the
efficiency of his army, and he
even sent too Kentucky for mounted
volunteers.
DISASTROUS EFFECT OF ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT.
The dreadful loss of life in St. Clair's
defeat of November
4, 1791, greater even than that in the
defeat of Braddock, did
not by any means represent the
disastrous results of that cam-
paign. It opened an unprotected frontier
of one thousand miles
from the Allegheny Mountains to the
Mississippi River to the
depredations of the victorious savages.
The settlers along the
borders were abandoning their homes, or
awaiting in helpless
216 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
despair the burnings and massacres and
cruelties of an Indian
war. This feeling of insecurity extended
even beyond the bor-
ders of Pennsylvania and Virginia and
the people petitioned their
governors for protection. The settlers
withdrew into their
strong places and kept watch as militia
for the protection of their
homes. Such agricultural pursuits as
were carried on required
men with guns at hand as well as axes
and hoes. Winthrop
Sergeant, commanding the militia in the
absence of Governor
St. Clair, felt called upon to issue an
order or proclamation
as to assembling for public worship
without arms. It is dated
Cincinnati, September 18, 1792, and
declares that the practice
of assembling for public worship without
arms may be attended
with most serious and melancholy
consequences. It presents
the opportunity to an enemy of the
smallest degree of enter-
prise to effect such fatal impression
upon an infant settlement
as posterity might long in vain lament.
The laws of the territory then provided
that every man
enrolled in the militia should, upon
such occasions, arm and
equip himself as though he were marching
to engage the enemy,
or in default should be fined in the sum
of one hundred cents,
to be levied upon complaint made to any
justice of the peace.
General Wilkinson, on the very day after
the engagement at
Fort St. Clair, wrote to Governor St.
Clair from Fort Wash-
ington, in which he alluded to the
impending storm. It may
well be said that when General Wayne
reached the Northwestern
Territory he was confronted with a
condition and not a theory.
THE GREAT COUNCIL AT AU GLAIZE.
In the same year, October, 1792,
a great council of all the
tribes of the northwest was held at Au
Glaize-now Fort De-
fiance. It was the largest Indian
council of the time. The chiefs
of all the tribes of the Northwestern
Territory were there, as
well as the representatives of the Seven
Nations of Canada.
Corn-planter was present-the same famous
chief who, at the
table of General Wayne, at Legionville,
in 1793, said: "My
mind is upon that river," pointing
to the Ohio. "May that
water ever continue to run, and remain
the lasting boundary
between the Americans and Indians on the
opposite side."
Centennial Oration. 217
The question of peace or war was long
and earnestly dis-
cussed. It was finally agreed that they
would lay the bloody
tomahawk aside until they heard from the
President of the
United States, when the message would be
sent to all the dif-
ferent nations. It was further agreed
that they would attend
the council at the Rapids of the
Miami-Maumee-next spring
to hear all that would take place.
This armistice or cessation of hostilities
which the Indians
then promised to respect until spring,
as will be observed, was
not faithfully kept. It must be said to
the credit of our Gov-
ernment that even the violation of the
armistice, with other
hostilities, did not prevent the United
States from taking meas-
ures to meet the hostile tribes "at
the Rapids of the Miami, or
Maumee," when the leaves were fully
out; and for this purpose
Benjamin Lincoln, Bevelry Randolph and
Timothy Pickering
were appointed as commissioners to
attend the proposed council,
which it was finally concluded should be
held at Sandusky.
WAR WITH THE INDIANS INEVITABLE.
The declaration of Corn-planter, that
the Ohio River should
be the boundary, rendered useless any
further attempts at pacifi-
cation by treaty. Indeed, the hostile
manner in which they were
received, as well as continued
depredations, made war inevitable.
Colonel Harden and Major Trueman, who
were the bearers of a
message of this character, were
barbarously murdered by the
Indians to whom they were sent, while in
the other the terms
of the Government were decidedly
rejected, after negotiations
had been protracted until the enemy felt
himself better pre-
pared for the conflict which must
follow. The correspondence
of General Wayne in the conduct of the
campaign from the very
beginning evinces great strength and
soundness of judgment,
as well as a knowledge of the people of
the frontiers whom
he was to defend and of the foes whom he
was commissioned
to subdue.
In September, 1793, the Secretary of War
writes to General
Wayne: "Every offer has been made
to obtain peace by milder
terms than the sword; the efforts have
failed under circum-
stances which leave nothing for us to
expect but war. Let it
218 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
therefore be again, and for the last
time, impressed deeply upon
your mind, that as little as possible is
to be hazarded, that your
force is fully adequate to the object
you propose to effect, and
that a defeat at the present time, and
under the present circum-
stances would be pernicious in the
highest degree to the interests
of the whole country."
General Wayne, in reply to the Secretary
of War, wrote
on the 15th of October, 1793, from his
camp, "Hobson's Choice,"
near Cincinnati: "I will advance
to-morrow with the force I
have, in order to take up a position in
front of Fort Washington,
so as to keep the enemy in check by
exciting a jealousy and
apprehension for the safety of their
women and children, until
some favorable circumstance or
opportunity may present to strike
with effect. I pray you not to permit
present appearances to
cause too much anxiety either in the
mind of the President or
yourself on account of this army.
Knowing the critical situa-
tion of our infant nation, and feeling
for the honor and repu-
tation of the Government (which I will
support with my last
breath), you may rest assured that I
will not commit the legion
unnecessarily. Unless more powerfully
supported than I have
reason to expect, I will content myself
with taking a strong
position in advance of Fort Jefferson,
and by exerting every
power to endeavor to protect the
frontier and secure the posts
and the army during the winter, or until
I am favored with your
further orders."
THE MARCH IN THE WILDERNESS.
The army of General Wayne, some
twenty-five hundred
strong, began its forward movement in
the wilderness on the
7th day of October, 1793. The army marched to Fort Ham-
ilton and finally encamped at a post six
miles in advance of Fort
Jefferson and eighty miles distant from
Cincinnati, which was
named Greenville, in honor of General
Nathaniel Greene, with
whom he served in the War of the
Revolution. General St.
Clair crossed the Big Miami at Fort
Hamilton, while General
Wayne crossed the river some distance
above the Four Mile
Creek. Lieutenant Lowry, in command of a
detachment to
secure a convoy of supplies, was attacked
October 17, 1793,
by Little Turtle, at Ludlow Spring,
about seven miles from
Centennial Oration. 219
Fort St. Clair. Lieutenant Lowry was
killed, with some thir-
teen non-commissioned officers and
privates, while not less than
seventy horses were taken off by the
Indians.
"THE TONGUE OF FAME."
The report of this engagement by General
Wayne is most
significant. It will be remembered that
the disaster to the
army on November 4, 1791, had filled the
whole country with
sorrow, and much criticism was provoked
by the result of the
campaign. The public mind was sensitive
and the commanding
general realized that hostile criticism
might magnify the attack
and its results. The Secretary of War,
too, was not without
some apprehension as to the result of
the campaign. General
Wayne, accordingly hastened to report
the action to General
Knox, Secretary of War, in a letter
dated "Camp, southwest
branch of the Miami, six miles advance
of Fort Jefferson,
October 23, 1793." He was then at
Fort Greenville and the
southwest branch of the Miami is
Greenville Creek. The report
says: "The greatest difficulty
which at present presents, is
that of furnishing a sufficient escort
to secure our convoy of
provisions and other supplies from
insult and disaster, and at
the same time retain a sufficient force
in camp to sustain and
repel the attacks of the enemy, who
appear desperate and de-
termined. We have recently experienced a
little check to our
convoys, which may probably be
exaggerated into something
serious by the tongue of fame, before
this reaches you. The
following, however, is the fact, viz.:
Lieutenant Lowry, of
the Second Sub-Legion, and Ensign Boyd,
of the First, with
a command consisting of ninety
commissioned officers and pri-
vates, having in charge twenty wagons
belonging to the quar-
termaster general's department, loaded
with grain, and one of
the contractor's wagons, loaded with
stores, were attacked early
in the morning on the 17th instant,
about seven miles advance
of Fort St. Clair, by a party of
Indians. These gallant young
gentlemen, who promised at a future day
to be ornaments to
their profession, together with thirteen
non-commissioned offi-
cers and privates, bravely fell, after
an obstinate resistance
against superior numbers, being
abandoned by the greater part
220
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
of the escort upon the first discharge.
The savages killed or
carried off about seventy horses,
leaving the wagons and stores
standing in the road, which have all
been brought into the
camp without any other loss or damage,
except some trifling
articles."
Those who fell in that engagement were
buried in Fort St.
Clair, when, after resting for more than
forty years, were taken
up and re-interred with the honors of
war on the 4th day of
July, 1846. The remains of this gallant
officer and his men
were afterwards removed to the mound in
the cemetery at
Eaton, where, as the inscription tells,
a monument "marks their
resting place, and will be a monument of
their glory for ages
to come."
THE WINTER OF 1793-4 AT FORT GREENVILLE.
General Wayne passed the winter of
1793-4 at Fort Green-
ville, and without any communication
with the Government at
Philadelphia for months. He was left to
his own resources.
Convoys of provisions for the camp were
frequently intercepted
as under Major Lowry, and their escort
murdered by the sav-
ages. In December, 1793, General Wayne
sent forward a de-
tachment to the spot of St. Clair's
defeat. The command ar-
rived on the ground on Christmas Day and
pitched their tents
on the battlefield. After the melancholy
duty of burying the
bones remaining above the ground, a
fortification was built
and named Fort Recovery, in
commemoration of the recovery
of the ground from the Indians, who had
held possession since
1791. One company of artillery and one
of riflemen were left
for the defense of the fort, while the
rest of the command re-
turned to Fort Greenville. In January,
1792, General James
Wilkinson, who then commanded at Fort
Washington, made
a call for volunteers to accompany an
expedition to the scene
of St. Clair's defeat for the purpose of
burying the dead. En-
sign William Henry Harrison was attached
to one of the com-
panies of the regular troops. It is said
that the body of Gen-
eral Richard Butler, the friend and
comrade of General Wayne
in the War of the Revolution, was
recognized where the car-
nage had been the thickest and among a
group of the slain.
Centennial Oration. 221
The bodies were gathered together, and
in the solitude of the
forest, and amidst the gloom of winter,
were given a last resting
place.
THE ENGAGEMENT AT FORT RECOVERY, JUNE 30, 1794.
While the army of General Wayne was
encamped at Fort
Greenville there was a severe and bloody
engagement under
the very walls of Fort Recovery. This
occurred on the 30th
of June, 1794, between a detachment of
American troops, con-
sisting of ninety riflemen and fifty
dragoons commanded by
Major McMahon, and a numerous body of
Indians and British.
The assaulting party was repulsed with a
heavy loss, but again
renewed the attack and kept up a heavy
and constant firing
during the whole day. The enemy renewed
the attack the
next morning, after the detachment of
Major McMahon had
entered the fort, and continued with
desperation during the day,
but was finally compelled to retreat
from the very field where
such a decisive victory had been
achieved by the Indians on
November 4, 1791. From the official
report of Major Mills,
adjutant general of the army, it appears
that twenty-two offi-
cers and non-commissioned officers were
killed, and among the
number was Major McMahon. The loss of
the enemy was
very heavy, but was not fully known
until disclosed at the
Treaty of Greenville. Burnet, in his
Notes on the Northwestern
Territory, says that there could not
have been less than fifteen
hundred warriors engaged, while it was
satisfactorily ascer-
tained that a considerable number of
British soldiers and De-
troit militia acted with the savages in
that engagement. Jona-
than Alden gives in his MSS.
autobiography an account of the
attack on the fort and says that Simon
Girty was in the action.
THE OVERTURES FOR PEACE FROM FORT
DEFIANCE.
General Wayne, having been re-inforced
by sixteen hun-
dred mounted men from Kentucky, on July
26, under the com-
mand of Major-General Scott, with whom
he had served at
the Battle of Monmouth, left the
encampment at Fort Greenville
on the 28th of July, 1794, and advanced
seventy miles north-
ward into the heart of the Indian
country. He built a fort
at Grand Glaize, the junction of the
Auglaize and the Maumee
222 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
(Le Glaize and the Miami of the Lakes)
rivers and proceeded
to build Fort Defiance. General Wayne
sent a message from
Fort Defiance to the Indians along the
Maumee on August 13,
1794. He offered them peace and invited
them to send repre-
sentatives to meet him in council and
negotiate upon such
terms as would protect their families
and themselves. Little
Turtle, who had always been first in
battle, counseled peace,
and advised the tribes, but his counsels
were rejected: "We
have beaten the enemy every time under
separate commanders,"
said Little Turtle, in a speech,
"but we cannot expect the same
good fortune always to attend us. The
Americans are now
led by a chief who never sleeps. The
night and the day are
alike to him, and during all the time he
has been marching on
the villages, nothwithstanding the
watchfulness of our young
men, we have never been able to surprise
him. Think well of
it. There is something whispers to me it
would be prudent to
listen to the offers of peace."
THE BATTLE OF "FALLEN
TIMBERS."
The army moved forward on the 15th of
August and on
the 18th took a position at the head of
the Rapids and there
established a magazine of supplies and
baggage, which was
called Fort Deposit. In the meantime,
August 16, the com-
missioner sent by General Wayne returned
with the message
that if General Wayne would remain at
Grand Glaize they
would decide for war or peace. Wayne was
well advised of the
movements of the enemy. Unlike St.
Clair, he knew full well
that Little Turtle with two thousand
dusky warriors was only
waiting for an opportunity to attack,
while his line of commu-
nication with the Ohio River was secure
by means of the com-
plete chain of forts-Fort Defiance, Fort
Adams, Fort Recov-
ery, Fort Greenville, Fort Jefferson,
Fort St. Clair, Fort Ham-
ilton and Fort Washington.
The day before the battle of
"Fallen Timber" a council of
war was called and a plan of march and
battle submitted by
Lieutenant William Henry Harrison was
adopted. This offi-
cer was then but twenty-one years of
age, and the military
Centennial Oration. 223
judgment of the subaltern manifested
itself as general-in-chief
nineteen years afterwards in the same
Maumee Valley.
Two thousand Indians and Canadian
volunteers, on the
twentieth of August, 1794, attacked the
advance of the army
of General Wayne from behind trees
prostrated by a tornado.
The troops pressed forward with great
energy and drove the
enemy toward the guns of Fort Miami and
the water of the
Maumee Bay. The victory was complete.
General Wayne re-
mained below the Rapids with his
victorious army for three
days, while he destroyed every product
of the field and garden
above and below the British Fort, and
even committed to the
flames the extensive store-houses and dwelling
of Colonel Al-
exander McKee, the British agent, who
had done so much to
incite the Indians to hostility. The
loss of the Americans in
the engagement was thirty-three killed
and one hundred
wounded, including five officers among
the killed, and nine-
teen wounded. General Wayne, after the
engagement of "Fallen
Timbers," was known among the
Potawatomies as "The Wind,"
because, as they said, at the battle on
the twentieth of August,
he was exactly like the hurricane which
drives and tears every-
thing before it. He was known as
"The Blacksnake" among
other tribes.
GENERAL WAYNE'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE.
The official report of the engagement by
General Wayne was
dated Grand Glaize, August 28, 1794. It
contains a detailed
account of the movements and is
interesting in that it contains
exact historical information. After
speaking of the march of
the army from Fort Defiance on the 15th
of August, and the
arrival at Roche de Boeuf on the 18th
instant, and the work of
the 19th in making a
temporary post for the reception of stores
and baggage and in reconnoitering the
position of the enemy,
the report proceeds: "At eight
o'clock on the morning of the
20th the army again advanced in columns
agreeably to the stand-
ing order of march; the legion on the
right flank covered by
the Miamis, one brigade of mounted
volunteers on the left under
Brigadier General Todd, and the other in
the rear under Briga-
dier General Barbee; a select battalion
of mounted volunteers
224 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
moved in front of the legion, commanded
by Major Price, who
was directed to keep sufficiently
advanced so as to give timely
notice to form in case of action-it
being yet undetermined
whether the Indians would decide for
peace or for war.
"After advancing about five miles
Major Price's corps re-
ceived so severe a fire from the enemy,
who were secreted in
the woods and in the high grass, as to
compel him to retreat.
The legion was immediately formed in two
lines, principally in
a close, thick wood, which extended for
miles on our left and
for a very considerable distance in
front, the ground being cov-
ered with old, fallen timber, probably
occasioned by a tornado,
which rendered it impracticable for
cavalry to act with effect,
and afforded the enemy the most
favorable covert for their
savage mode of warfare. They were formed
in three lines
within supporting distance of each other
and extending nearly
two miles at right-angles with the
river. I soon discovered,
from the weight of their fire and the
extent of their lines, that
the enemy were in full force in front,
in possession of their
favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn
our left flank. I
therefore gave orders for the second
line to advance and sup-
port the first, and directed Major
General Scott to gain and
turn the right flank of the savages,
with the whole of the
mounted volunteers, by a circuitous
route; at the same time
ordered the front line to advance and
charge with trailed arms
and rouse the Indians from their coverts
at the point of the
bayonet, and when up, to deliver a close
and well-directed fire
on their backs, followed by a brisk
charge, so as not to give
them time to load again.
"I also ordered Captain Campbell,
who commanded the
Legionary Cavalry, to turn the left
flank of the enemy next
the river, and which afforded a
favorable field for that corps
to act in. All these were obeyed with
spirit and promptitude;
but such was the impetuosity of the
charge by the first line of
infantry, that the Indians and Canadian
militia and volunteers
were driven from all their coverts in so
short a time that, al-
though every possible exertion was used
by the officers of the
second line of the legion, and by
Generals Scott, Todd and Bar-
bee, of the Mounted Volunteers, to gain
their proper positions,
Centennial Oration. 225
but part of each could get up in season
to participate in the
action; the enemy being driven in the
course of an hour, more
than two miles, through the thick woods
already mentioned,
by less than one-half their number. From
every account the
enemy amounted to two thousand
combatants.
"The troops actually engaged
against them were short of
nine hundred. This horde of savages,
with their allies, aband-
oned themselves to flight, and dispersed
with terror and dis-
may, leaving our victorious army in full
and quiet possession
of the field of battle, which terminated
under the influence of
the guns of the British garrison, as you
will observe from the
inclosed correspondence between Major Campbell,
the command-
ant, and myself upon the occasion."
"..........: The loss of the enemy
was more than that
of the Federal Army. The woods were
strewn for a consid-
erable distance with the dead bodies of
Indians and their white
auxiliaries, the latter armed with
British muskets and bayonets.
We remained three days and nights on the
banks of the Mau-
mee, in front of the field of battle,
during which time all the
houses and cornfields were consumed and
destroyed for a con-
siderable distance, both above and below
Fort Miami, as well
as within pistol shot of the garrison,
who were compelled to
remain tacit spectators to this general
devastation and confla-
gration, among which were the houses,
stores and property of
Colonel McKee, the British Indian agent,
and the principal
stimulator of the war between the United
States and the sav-
ages."
AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF INDIANS
ENGAGED IN THE
BATTLE.
The report of General Wayne states
"that from every ac-
count the enemy amounted to two thousand
combatants." It
has always been impossible to ascertain
with any degree of
accuracy the force of the Indians in any
battle. It is thought
by some that the force under Little
Turtle at St. Clair's defeat
greatly outnumbered the Americans, while
others held to the
contrary opinion. In the Western Annals
will be found a state-
ment by a Canadian taken prisoner in the
battle of the "Fallen
226 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Timbers," who gives the following
estimate of the strength of
the Indians: "That the Delawares have about five hundred
men, including those who live on both
rivers, the White River
and Bean Creek; that the Shawnees have
about three hundred
warriors, part of them live on the St.
Joseph's, eight leagues
from this place; that the men were all
in the action, but the
women are yet at that place, or Piquets
village; that a road
leads from this place directly to it;
that the number of warriors
belonging to that place, when
altogether, amounts to about
forty; that the Shawnees have about
three hundred warriors;
that the Tawas, on this river, are two
hundred and fifty; that
the Wyandots are about three hundred;
that those Indians were
generally in the action on the 20th,
except some hunting par-
ties; that a re-inforcement of regular
troops, and two hundred
militia, arrived at Fort Miami a few
days before the army ap-
peared; that the regular troops in the
fort amounted to two
hundred and fifty, exclusive of the
militia; that about seventy of
the militia, including Captain
Caldwell's corps, were in the ac-
tion; that Colonel McKee, Captain
Elliott and Simon Girty were
on the field, but at a respectable
distance, and near the river; that
the Indians have wished for peace for
some time, but that
Colonel McKee always dissuaded them from
it, and stimulated
them to continue the war."
THE DEATH OF TURKEY FOOT.
There is a tradition that Turkey Foot,
an Ottawa chief,
fell at the foot of Presque Isle Hill while endeavoring to
rally
the retreating warriors. He was pierced by a musket ball while
standing on a large rock and encouraging
his men. His tribe
entertained so much affection for him
that it is recorded that
long years afterward when any of the
tribe passed along the
Maumee trail they would stop at the rock
and linger for a time
with great manifestations of sorrow. The
stone is still there
within a few steps of the gently flowing
Maumee, with many
rude figures of a turkey foot carved on
it as a memorial of the
English name of the lamented Me-sa-sa,
or Turkey Foot.
Centennial Oration. 227
UNFRIENDLY DISPOSITION OF THE BRITISH
GOVERNMENT.
The guns of Fort Miami kept silent,
although the men under
Wayne's command followed the retreating
Indians under the
very embrasures.
The correspondence between General Wayne
and the
British officer is not without interest,
in view of the relations
existing between the United States and
Great Britain at that
time, and especially taken in connection
with the fact that Gen-
eral Wayne was told by Secretary Knox
that if in the course
of his operations against the Indian
enemy it should become
necessary to dislodge the party (the
English garrison at the
Rapids of the Miami), he was authorized
in the name of the
President of the United States to do it.
These Indians of the
northwest were the Shawnees and the
Delawares-generally
called the Miamis-who had taken refuge
in Ohio after the
capture of Fort De Quesne by Bouquet in
1763. With the
Wyandots, the Miamis, the Chippewas and
the Pottawatomies
they formed a powerful confederacy in
the northwest portion
of Ohio, near the River Maumee, then
called Miami of the
Lake, and Lake Erie. There was constant
communication with
the Indians further west and the
Canadians, as well as with
the English garrison at Detroit and at
certain smaller posts along
the borders of the lake. Not only did
the English Government
establish garrisons in the very midst of
these hostile Indians,
but the letters from Colonel McKee to
Colonel England, the
British commandant at Detroit, during
the campaign of Wayne,
and published in the National
Intelligencer in 1814, show the
feeling of Great Britain toward the
American arms. In a
letter dated at the Rapids, July 5,
1794, Colonel McKee alludes to
the attack on Fort Recovery on the 30th
of June preceding,
and says that "everything had been
settled prior to their leaving
the 'Fallen Timbers,' and it had been
agreed upon to confine
themselves to taking convoys and
attacking at a distance from
the forts, if they should have the
address to entice the enemy
out."
In a subsequent letter written from the
Rapids and dated
August 13, 1794, Colonel McKee advises
Colonel England that
"Scouts are sent up to view the
situation of the army (Wayne's),
228
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
and we now muster 1,000 Indians. All the
Lake Indians from
Saginaw downwards should not lose one
moment in joining
their brethren, as every accession of
strength is an addition
to their spirits."
The celebrated speech of Tecumseh to
Proctor after Perry's
victory shows, too, that the Indians had
regarded the British
as real allies and had relied upon their
assurances of friendship.
THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MAJOR
CAMPBELL AND GENERAL
WAYNE.
Fort Miami was built in the spring of
1794 by Governor
Simcoe, of Canada. One of the grievances
against the British
Government was the retention of the
posts held by English
garrisons within our territory in
violation of the Treaty of
Peace of 1783. When the battle of
"Fallen Timbers" took
place the negotiations which ended in
Jay's Treaty were in pro-
gress, but when the news of the victory
over the Indians reached
the British ministry an agreement was
soon reached by which
their posts were to be evacuated-the
principal of which were
at Detroit, Oswego, Niagara, Macinac and
Fort Miami. Major
Campbell, the next day after the battle,
addressed this note to
General Wayne: "An army of the
United States of America,
said to be under your command, having
taken post on the
banks of the Miami (Maumee), for upwards
of the last twenty-
four hours, almost within reach of the
guns of this fort, being
a post belonging to his majesty, the
King of Great Britain,
occupied by his majesty's troops, and
which I have the honor
to command, it becomes my duty to inform
myself, as speedily
as possible, in what light I am to view
your making such near
approaches to this garrison. I have no
hesitation, on my part,
to say that I know of no war existing
between Great Britain
and America."
General Wayne replied at once to this
demand: "Without
questioning the authority or the
propriety, sir, of your interro-
gation, I think I may without breach of
decorum, observe to
you, that were you entitled to an
answer, the most full and
satisfactory one was announced to you
from the muzzles of
my small arms yesterday morning, in the
action against the
Centennial Oration. 229
horde of savages in the vicinity of your
post, which terminated
gloriously to the American arms; but,
had it continued until
the Indians, etc., were driven under the
influence of the post
and guns you mention, they would not
have much impeded
the progress of the victorious army
under my command, as no
such post was established at the
commencement of the present
war between the Indians and the United
States."
Major Campbell prefaced his reply the
next day with the
statement that he had foreborne for the
past two days to resent
the insults which had been offered to
the British flag flying
at the fort. "But," continues
Major Campbell, "should you,
after this, continue to approach my post
in the threatening
manner you are at this moment doing, my
indispensable duty
to my king and country, and the honor of
my profession, will
oblige me to have recourse to those
measures which thousands
of either nation may hereafter have
cause to regret, and which
I solemnly appeal to God I have used my utmost endeavor to
arrest."
RECONNOISSANCE BY GENERAL WAYNE AND HIS
OFFICERS.
When this communication was received,
General Wayne,
in company with General Wilkinson,
Lieutenant William Henry
Harrison and other officers,
reconnoitered Fort Miami in every
direction. It was found to be a strong
work, the front covered
by the Miami of the Lake (Maumee), and
protected by four
guns. The rear had two regular bastions,
furnished with eight
pieces of artillery, the whole surrounded
by a wide, deep ditch,
about twenty-five feet deep from the top
of the parapet. It
is said to have been garrisoned by four
hundred and fifty sol-
diers.
General Wayne then sent a note to Major
Campbell, stat-
ing that the only cause he had to
entertain the opinion that there
was a war existing between Great Britain
and America was
the hostile act of taking post far
within the well-known and
acknowledged limits of the United
States, and erecting a forti-
fication in the heart of the settlements
of Indian tribes now at
war with the United States. "I do
hereby desire and demand,
in the name of the President of the
United States, that you
230 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
immediately desist from any further acts
of hostility or aggres-
sion by forbearing to fortify and by
withdrawing the troops,
artillery and stores under your order
and direction, forthwith,
and removing to the nearest post
occupied by his Brittanic
majesty's troops at the peace of 1783,
and which you will be
permitted to do unmolested by the troops
under my command."
Major Campbell instantly replied in
effect that he was
placed there in command of a British
post and acting in a
military capacity only, and that the
right or propriety of his
present position should be left to the
ambassadors of the dif-
ferent nations. He was much deceived if
his majesty, the
King of Great Britain, had not a post on
this river at and prior
to the Treaty of 1783. "Having said
thus much," continued
Major Campbell, "permit me to
inform you that I certainly will
not abandon this post at the summons of
any power whatever,
until I receive orders for that purpose
from those I have the
honor to serve, or the fortunes of war
should oblige me. I
must still adhere, sir, to the purport
of my letter this morning,
to desire that your army or individuals
belonging to it, will
not approach within reach of my cannon,
without expecting
the consequences attending it."
Within less than twenty years from the
very day that the
correspondence passed between these two
officers there was a
formal declaration of war between the
United States and Great
Britain, and within less than twenty
years the same William
Henry Harrison, then commanding the
armies of the United
States, heard the thunder of Perry's
guns as they proclaimed
that the American arms had undisputed
possession of the lake.
THE MARCH TO THE JUNCTION OF THE ST.
JOSEPH S AND ST.
MARY'S RIVERS AND THE BUILDING OF FORT
WAYNE.
The army returned to Fort Defiance on
August 27, laying
waste the villages and cornfields of the
enemy for many miles.
The Indians, defeated and utterly disheartened,
retired to the
borders of the Maumee Bay.
General Wayne moved from Fort Defiance
on September
14 in the direction of the Miami
Village, and reached the conflu-
ence of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary's
rivers on the 17th of
Centennial Oration. 231
the month. The site of a fort was
selected by General Wayne
himself on the 18th, and on the 22d of
October a strong fortifi-
cation was completed, which was
garrisoned by a detachment
under Major Hamtramck, who, after firing
a salute of fifteen
guns, gave it the name of Fort Wayne,
the site of the present
prosperous city of that name.
THE RETURN OF THE ARMY TO FORT
GREENVILLE.
The object of the campaign having been
fully accomplished,
the legion moved from Fort Wayne on the
28th of October
and reached Fort Greenville on the
evening of November 2,
1794, when it was saluted with
thirty-five guns from a six-
pounder. The army had marched from Fort
Greenville for
the campaign of the northwest on the
28th day of July, 1794,
and now returned to winter quarters
after an arduous and fatigu-
ing expedition of ninety-seven days,
during which time it had
marched and countermarched upwards of
three hundred miles
through the heart of the enemy's
country, cutting a wagon-
road the entire distance, besides
constructing three fortifica-
tions-Fort Adams, at the St. Mary's;
Fort Defiance, at Au
Glaize, and Fort Wayne, at the Miami
villages.
The Indians of the northwest had been completely
sub-
dued and a lasting peace had been
accomplished. The arms,
too, of the United States had been
vindicated from the shame
of defeat and disaster. It was the
beginning of an era of pros-
perity and the tide of immigration at
once set in for new homes
and new settlements. The future now lay
in the direction of
the cultivation of all the arts of
peace. The pioneers began
to find their way to the valleys of the
Miamis, the Scioto and the
Muskingum, so that the population of the
northwest, before the
close of the year 1796 was estimated at
five thousand souls.
ANTHONY WAYNE AND THE TREATY OF
GREENVILLE.
The Treaty of Greenville, negotiated by
General Wayne
on the part of the United States, was
concluded on the 3rd day
of August, 1795. There were eleven
hundred and thirty Sach-
ems and warriors present or parties to
this celebrated treaty.
By the treaty the Indians ceded to the
United States about
232 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
25,000 square miles of territory,
besides sixteen separate tracts,
including lands and forts. The Indians
received in considera-
tion of these cessions goods of the
value of $20,000 as presents,
and were promised an annual allowance of
$9,500,
to be equally
divided among the parties to the treaty.
It has been almost a century since that
eventful day in
August, 1795, when the Treaty of
Greenville was officially pro-
claimed. Every soul who participated in
the council has passed
away, and yet the influence of that
instrument lives in the pro-
gress and advancement of the great
northwest. It saved de-
fenceless settlements from the tomahawk
and scalping-knife of
the Indian, and supplanted the harsher tones
of strife and blood-
shed with the softer enactments of
charity and love. Anthony
Wayne will be remembered not less for
the Treaty of Green-
ville than for the battle of the
"Fallen Timbers."
THE LAST PUBLIC SERVICES OF GENERAL
WAYNE.
The last public service performed by
General Wayne was
to receive the surrender of the northern
posts by the British
Government in 1796, at the fort of the
Maumee Rapids, together
with the town of Detroit and the
military works both there and
on the Island of Mackinac ( ), in pursuance of the pro-
visions of the treaty negotiated by
Chief Justice Jay in 1783.
General Wayne was appointed by the
Government to conduct
this delicate and yet most important
commission. He was in-
vested with the powers of a civil
commissioner, as well as those
of a military commander. In every
instance he carried out the
formalities of the transfer to the
American Government with
rare judgment, but with official
courtesy. He visited Detroit
in September and remained at that post
for two months. The
Indians, who had gathered there in
numbers, welcomed him
with noisy demonstrations, and it is
said that he was a powerful
means in encouraging and perpetuating a
lasting influence be-
tween them and their former enemies.
It must have been a great satisfaction
to have received the
transfer of Fort Miami, under whose guns
he bade defiance to
its commandant, and the surrender of
which, with the other
posts, was hastened by his brilliant
campaign.
Centennial Oration. 233
The last post he was ordered to visit
was Fort Erie, and
on the 17th of November, 1796, he sailed
from Detroit to exe-
cute this commission. On the way he was
seized with an
attack of the gout, and was removed from
the vessel in a dying
condition. It is related that at the
beginning of the battle of
"Fallen Timbers," about ten
o'clock in the morning, he was suf-
fering the most intense pain from the
gout, so that not only
were his limbs swathed in flannels, but
it became necessary to
lift him on his horse. In the excitement
of the battle, however,
he became as active as any of his
officers. General St. Clair
was almost incapacitated for duty by a
similar attack on the
field of his defeat, while Little
Turtle, chief of the Miamis, and
who commanded on that day of Federal
disaster, died thirty
years after the Treaty of Greenville of
the gout at Fort Wayne,
and was accorded a soldier's burial,
with muffled drums and
a funeral salute.
THE DEATH OF GENERAL WAYNE.
General Wayne died December 15, 1796, in
his fitfy-second
year, and was buried, according to his
last request, at the foot
of the flag-staff at Fort Erie on the
borders of the lake. Per-
haps the dying hero saw in its turbulent
waves at times some-
thing of his own unconquerable will and,
at others, in its peace-
ful waters that quiet which would come
at last to his own rest-
less soul.
On July 4, 1809, his remains were
re-interred in the ceme-
tery of the Church of St. David's in
Radnor, Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, under the military escort
of the Philadelphia
City Troop. The funeral oration was
delivered by Reverend
David Jones, his chaplain, and who had
been with him in camp
and council and battlefield. The shaft
erected to his memory
bears this inscription on the north
front: "Major General An-
thony Wayne was born at Waynesborough,
in Chester county,
State of Pennsylvania, A. D. 1745. After
a life of honor and
usefulness he died in December, 1796, at
a military post on the
shores of Lake Erie, Commander-in-Chief
of the Armies of
the United States. His military
achievements are commemo-
234 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
rated in the history of his country and
in the hearts of his
countrymen. His remains are here
deposited."
On the south front it reads: "In
honor of the distinguished
military services of Major-General
Anthony Wayne, and as an
affectionate tribute of respect to his
memory, this stone was
erected by his companions-in-arms, The
Pennsylvania State So-
ciety of the Cincinnati, July 4, 1809,
thirty-fourth anniversary
of the independence of the United States
of America, an event
which constitutes the most appropriate
eulogium of an American
soldier and patriot."
"FALLEN TIMBERS" A DECISIVE
BATTLE.
One hundred years have passed since that
day in August
when this beautiful Maumee Valley echoed
with musketry and
resounded with the cry of the savage.
The harvests are now
being peacefully gathered to their
garners, and the songs of
home are uninvaded by the cries and
terrors of battle.
It is not, then, too soon to say that
history must declare
it a decisive battle. It is true that it
must pale before the
mighty achievements of the late Civil
War, when vast armies
were picked up on the banks of the
Potomac and dropped on
the banks of the Cumberland and Tennessee,
and when the
shouts of more than a million of men,
mingled with the roar
of the oceans as they passed on in the
serried ranks of war.
The results are scarcely less lasting,
for it ended in the com-
plete subjugation of the tribes of the
northwest, and enforced
for the first time the provisions of the
Treaty of Peace of 1783,
by which British power was forever
destroyed in the territory
northwest of the Ohio River. It opened
the solemn and mys-
terious forest, which extended in
melancholy wastes from the
Alleghenies toward the distant
Mississippi, to millions of free-
men, and the soil, which had been
gathering fertility from the
repose of centuries, began to bud and
blossom of the rose under
an intelligent husbandry. It gave birth
to a new era in Ameri-
can civilization, and five great
commonwealths bear witness
that education and morality are the
foundations of a good gov-
ernment. As we stand on this consecrated
ground, where the
Ordinance of 1787 was enforced by the
guns of Anthony Wayne,
Centennial Oration. 235
we hail the states of Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin,
children of the Great Ordinance and
shining stars in the crowded
galaxy of our flag. Ohio looks with them
to the Federal
Constitution as the covenant of a
perpetual union, and cher-
ishes their history as a common heritage
and their prosperity
as a common blessing. In the spirit of a
broader patriotism
Ohio feels an abiding affection for
every part of our common
country, and pledges to that government
which here fought
the battle for all the full measure of
devotion to every call of
duty.
GENERAL WAYNE AND THE WAR OF THE
REVOLUTION.
The services which General Wayne
rendered during the
War of the Revolution are a part of the
history of the country.
He had that strong will which often
governs with absolute
sway and bends men and circumstances to
one's purpose. It
was, perhaps, this characteristic that
marked him in council of
war and gave him the appellation among
the soldiers of "Mad
Anthony," not a term of derision,
but one indicating strength
of will and purpose. It is related that
when summoned to
councils of war he usually sat apart and
read "Tom Jones,"
or some interesting novel, while the
officers discussed the pro-
posed measures. When they had severally
given their opinion
the Commander-in-Chief would inquire of
Wayne, "Well, gen-
eral, what do you propose to do?"
"Fight, sir," is said to
have been the invariable response.
It was always his concern that the
interests of the country
should not suffer in his hands, and
whether as a young briga-
dier stationed at the ford at Brandywine
to oppose Knyphausen,
or selected to lead the attack at
Germantown, or at the head of
a column at Monmouth to stay the British
advance after the
retreat had been ordered by Lee, or in
the defense of Stony
Point, the most important fortified
point on the Hudson, which
was committed to him after Arnold's
treason had struck the
army and the country with consternation,
or whether entrusted
with an independent command to drive out
of Georgia a large
British force, aided by several tribes
of hostile Indians, or
whether the Army of the United States
was entrusted to his
236 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
command, after two disastrous defeats
west of the Ohio, he
courageously and fearlessly discharged
his whole duty.
PUBLIC GRATITUDE OF HIS SERVICES.
If the love of glory was the master
passion of General
Wayne, as stated by one of his
eulogists, then his sensitive
nature must have been overwhelmed by
plaudits and thanks
both public and private. He was thanked
by the Congress of
the United States and awarded a gold
medal for his successful
assault on Stony Point, and among the
many congratulatory
letters from his brother officers were
those of General Arthur
St. Clair and General Lee, with whom he
was not on friendly
terms. The President of the United
States conveyed to him
expressions of the warmest approbation
and the highest respect
for his victory against the Indians of
the Northwest, while the
Congress, then in session, unanimously
adopted resolutions
highly complimentary to General Wayne
and the whole army.
His visit to Philadelphia in February,
1796, after the Treaty
of Greenville, and an absence of more
than three years, was a
triumphal procession. He was met by
three troop of the Phila-
delphia Light Horse four miles from the
city and received a
salute of artillery on crossing the
Schuylkill. He was then con-
ducted through the streets amidst the
sound of martial music,
the ringing of bells, the roaring of
cannon and the acclama-
tions of a grateful people. There was
the highest evidence of
the universal sense entertained of the
important services he had
rendered.
A STATELY SHAFT-A PATRIOTIC DUTY.
The grateful citizens of Edinboro have
erected on Calton
Hill, overlooking the Scottish Capital,
a memorial of surpass-
ing proportions, to commemorate Lord
Nelson and the great
victory of Trafalgar. The inscription
recites that it is placed
there, not so much to express their
unavailing sorrow for his
death, nor to celebrate the matchless
glories of his life, but by
his noble example to teach their sons to
emulate what they
admire, and when duty requires, like
him, to die for their
country.
Centennial Oration. 237
In like spirit a stately shaft will rise
at no distant day
from this consecrated place, not only
erected by a grateful and
patriotic people to the memory of
Anthony Wayne and the
brave men who fought the battle of
"Fallen Timbers," but to
perpetuate as an example for the coming
generations the story
of their unselfish patriotism.