General Anthony Wayne's Expedition into the Indian Country

by Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County

In this dire emergency, President Washington chose General Anthony Wayne to re-organize the American forces and to bring the Indians to terms.

LEGEND
Wayne’s journey from Pittsburg into the Indian Country

Pittsburg Legionville Ohio River Wheeling Marietta Gallipolis Scioto River Hobson’s Choice Cincinnati Ft. Hamilton Ft. St. Clair Ft. Jefferson Ft. Greenville Ft. Recovery St. Mary’s River Au Glaize River Ft. Defiance Maumee River Ft. Deposit Fallen Timbers Ft. Miamis Detroit St. Joseph River Kekionga Ft. Wayne Lake Erie Sandusky

Anthony Wayne, born in 1745, left his business as the leading American tanner in 1775 to join the Pennsylvania line. He served through the American Revolution with the rank of Brigadier-General and was our leading hand-to-hand fighter. He was engaged in the battles of Trois Rivieres, Paoli, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Green Springs; was commandant at Ticonderoga; led the surprise attack on Stony Point; was actively engaged in the campaign of Yorktown; and commanded the American army in the Georgia campaign against the Indians. He was wounded a number of times in battle. Likewise he suffered as did more than 5,000 other Americans at Valley Forge.

General Wayne proceeded westward toward Pittsburgh in the spring and summer of 1792. There he was commissioned to recruit and organize an American army. Some twenty-three miles from Pittsburgh at Legionville he drilled his forces and taught them the use of the sabre, pistol, bayonet, and espontoon. On April 30, 1793, his army embarked down the Ohio for Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, where they arrived on May 8, 1793. Outside that village of 1,100 persons he established headquarters at a point which he called Hobson’s Choice.

General Wayne continued to recruit additional forces and to drill his men. By early fall the American forces seemed ready to meet the enemy, and on October 7, 1793 General Wayne led his army northward into the Indian country toward Kekionga. He rehabilitated the American forts previously established at Hamilton (Fort Hamilton) and at Eaton (Fort St. Clair) and advanced to Fort Jefferson six miles south of Greenville, Ohio. Thence he advanced as far northward as the present site of Greenville, on November 6, 1793. Wayne was now only a few miles from the site where St. Clair was defeated two years previously. On December 24, 1793, he began the building of a fort at that point which he called Fort Recovery. The Indians had made many attempts to surprise and ambush Wayne’s forces but always found them well-guarded and invincible. From this circumstance the Indians referred to Wayne as “the chief who never sleeps”.

Wayne left a strong garrison at Fort Recovery and then returned to Fort Green. In the spring of 1794 overwhelming Indian forces under Little Turtle, Buckongehelas, Blue Jacket, and others made a surprise attack on Fort Recovery. They killed a number of Americans and stole several horses. However, the fortifications held, and Fort Recovery remained in American hands. After a great feast on horse meat the Indians retired, and many of them returned to their homes at a distance. This for them was a tactical defeat, for many warriors did not return to the conflict.

General Wayne now felt that he could safely advance into the Indian country. On July 28 his army moved forward via Fort Recovery to the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. Arriving there on August 8, 1794, he erected fortifications which he called Fort Defiance. When this redoubt was completed he was in a dominating position. One large Indian force was located at Kekionga at the confluence of the St. Mary’s and the St. Joseph Rivers, just forty-eight miles southwest of him. Another large force of Indians had assembled at Fort Miamis some 30 miles northeast near Toledo. He spread false rumors of his intentions and thus kept his enemy divided. Because they were uncertain of his future movements they did not dare to combine against him. There was, however, daily skirmishing. The Indians were plainly seeking a weak point in Wayne’s defense.

Turning eastward General Wayne swiftly moved toward Fort Miamis. He stopped eight miles from Fort Defiance and erected a redoubt which he named Fort Deposit. This fort served as storage for military equipment. Thereafter the legion marched with lightened burdens, ready for instant combat. On their route they reached a point near the present town of Maumee, Ohio where a large part of the forest had been uprooted by a storm. Here on August 20, 1794, the Indians attacked but were overwhelmingly defeated. The engagement is known in history as the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The Indians fled to Fort Miamis a few miles away expecting succor from their British friends, but on their arrival the gates of the fort were closed against them. This indicated to them that they had no hope of substantial British aid at this time. For a week Wayne deployed his forces near the British fort, but when no action occurred, he returned to Fort Defiance. He spent two weeks strengthening the fortifications here, and then, on September 14 he advanced toward Kekionga. After a three-days’ march he arrived at the capital of the Miami Indians but the inhabitants had fled. Here he built a fort which was named for himself—Fort Wayne. On October 22, 1794, to the accompaniment of the roll of drums and the discharge of fifteen cannon, the American soldiers marched into the fort and the authority of the American Government was formally established at the confluence of the Rivers. General Wayne left a strong garrison here and returned with most of his forces to Greenville for the winter. Thus he completed the conquest of the northwest Territory and at the same time destroyed the strong alliance between the Indians and the British.