The news of St. Clair's defeat along the Wabash River was not well received in the capital. St. Clair's reception in January, despite the President's- earlier venom, was cordial. He was not reauthorized by the President to command, however. Congress was not so willing to publicly forgive and forget. Senate hearings and a House committee were formed to look into the causes of the disaster, the first ever held by the legislature. The revelations of graft and corruption within the War Department, as well as Attorney General Alexander Hamilton's fears that a Congressional inquiry would erode the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches, resulted in a claim of "executive privilege" to keep the President's correspondence out of public view, perhaps the first instance of this being cited in United States political history. Regardless, few heads ended up rolling over the second defeat in as many years in the Ohio frontier. Congress did vote to drastically increase the size of the U.S. Army, up to 5,000 officers and men. Additional funds to levy more states' militias were also approved. To command the force, General Anthony Wayne, nicknamed "Mad" for his aggressive tactics and conduct during the Revolution, was put in command. Dubbing his command "the Legion", Wayne first put his force of regulars and militia through an intensive regime of drill and conditioning, first in Pittsburgh, later in a small purpose-built town dubbed Legionville outside of the city. The drill and practice was meant to cement the bonds between militia and regular units, particularly among their' officers. Discipline was severe, with executions and floggings among the punishments meted out. The Legion was subdivided into four "sub-legions," each a combined arms force of militia and regulars with small detachments of cavalry and artillery. Uniforms were modified to show this organization, with colored facings and trim indicating which sub-legion an officer or soldier belonged, white for the 1st, red for the 2nd yellow for the 3rd, and green for the 4th. While the Legion drilled in 1792, and new forts were constructed along the Ohio River and frontier, some attempts at peace were made by both sides. The Crown's Indian Agent, Alexander McKee, published in Philadelphia that year the notes from the Grand Council meeting of the Indian Confederacy that stated the grievances and violations by the US, and the willingness of the natives to come to a peaceful settlement. In the introduction McKee told the readers the "Correspondent begs leave to observe, that the Secretary of War has indeed, with great ingenuity, vindicated a cause in which many passions are interested.... That in all contentions between the native Indians and the white settlers, nineteen out of twenty, the latter were the aggressors!" [8] The United States formed a peace delegation. The three delegates, Timothy Pickering, Benjamin Lincoln and Beverly Randolph, met first with British officials in Niagara in May and June, later in July along the Detroit River with representatives of the Native American nations. Distrust on both sides, as well as among the Indians, prevented any breakthroughs for a genuine peace settlement. The Shewanese suspected the entire effort was an attempt to mislead them, citing the increased construction of forts and the Legion's formation as evidence of United States duplicity. Differences arose as to where any boundary line could be drawn, particularly from Joseph Brant of the Iroquois, who also suspected the British of deliberately sabotaging their efforts in order to keep the "proxy war" going. Regardless of the cause for blame, on August 21st the American delegates returned to Fort Erie in Pennsylvania, marking the end of the peace initiative. In March 1793 Wayne received permission from the Secretary of War to begin offensive operations in Ohio. The Legion was sent via a fleet of barges down the Ohio River to Fort Washington, near Cincinnati, completing its journey on May, 5th. The force was made up of 3,000 regulars and approximately 1, 500 militia from the territory and nearby states. More drill was followed by outbreaks of disease during the fall, all of which delayed the start of Wayne's offensive until late in October. The practice of short marches, followed by the construction of defensive works at the end of each day, made it impossible for the small raiding parties to impede or disrupt the army's progress. Soon groups of refugees, some numbering in the hundreds and mostly women, the elderly and children, were fleeing from the Legion's path. One Ottawa chief wrote later that, "all were fleeing Wayne's dreaded Long Knives, and the atmosphere was one of near panic." [9] Wayne halted the offensive; in December once they reached the Wabash at the site of St. Clair's defeat. There they constructed Fort Recovery to settle in for the winter. The new type of campaign waged by the Legion unsettled the Indian commanders and warriors. Rumors spread of how Wayne didn't need to sleep, and had magical powers that prevented his men from being surprised. At a grand council called by McKee in August, Little Turtle expressed his doubts about British aid, and counseled the others to explore peace with Wayne and the United States. This was greeted by stony silence or derision. At the end of the council Chief Tarhe of the Ottawa returned the tomahawk given him by McKee at Sandusky in 1783, the equivalent of a formal request for British intervention, to which there was no reply., In the spring the main body of warriors struck a supply caravan to Fort Recovery, but the Indians were repulsed. Blue Jacket then tried to assault the fort directly, but suffered a bloody defeat. Wayne's strategy of occupying the Indian's hunting and planting grounds, and not merely sending out raids, forced the Shewanese to either confront the Legion directly with an equally armed and massive force, or abandon their homelands. As Wayne's methodical offensive resumed in June, and the inability of the warriors to protect their tribal lands and families became apparent, the demands for British intervention from several Native American leaders became more strident. By August 1794 many of the remaining warriors and chiefs had gathered at British Fort Miami as the Legion bore relentlessly down upon them. Now within ten miles the army built another fort, called Deposit, to secure their supplies and baggage train. The stage was set for a climatic decision. A tornado swept through the area earlier, and many uprooted trees littered the landscape about the Miami River where the main force of approximately 1,300 warriors was located, and behind which they sheltered. On the morning of the 20th General Wayne deployed the 2nd and 4th Sub-Legions on the left, the 1st and 3rd on the right, with the small number of cavalry and dragoons on both wings. The warriors opposing them were tired and hungry(many had not eaten for days) as well as demoralized, The British fort refused to open its gates, and only a token group of about sixty Canadian volunteers were present to fight alongside them. The battle began with the cavalry, some militia, and the dragoons attempting attacks to turn the warrior's flanks, but these were repulsed or became entangled in the felled trees and rough terrain. Wayne then sent in the Legion with fixed bayonets to take the main central position. The bayonet assault proved to be too much, and the Indian's retreat soon turned into a rout. Some warriors fled back to Fort Miami, pounding on the gates to get inside to escape the Long Knives. Still the fort kept its gates closed and cannons masked, refusing any aid or succor. The battle of Fallen Timbers lasted only a couple of hours, and many of the Legion's officers could scarcely believe the speed or completeness of their victory. Both sides lost slightly more than 100-150 casualties, but most of the dead belonged to the Native Americans, among them many chiefs. The next day Wayne and several of his officers contemptuously rode past the British fort and burned McKee's trading post to the ground. The Legion then headed upriver on the Maumee and back to nearby Fort Defiance. Those warriors who survived fled the area, most never to return. VICTORY AND PEACE The winter of 1794-95 was calm, marked only by sporadic clashes. Without food or proper shelter for a second winter in a row, and following years of intense warfare, many clans and nations could no longer stay in the fight and fled north or further west. In the spring messages were sent by General Wayne announcing a peace parley would be held at Fort Greenville, located about midway between forts Defiance and Washington. As the season progressed groups of warriors, accompanied by their families and chiefs, arrived at the fort. One of the last to arrive was Blue Jacket, not out of spite, but because he spent a great deal of time traveling to the various Shawnee clans to convince them of the need to end the fighting and make peace, over -the vociferous objections of Tecumseh. Many of those who traveled to - Fort Greeneville were starving as well as ill. Anticipating this, Wayne had ordered large quantities of food, blankets, clothing, and medicines, and made a great show of how readily this aid was made available to his former enemies in contrast to that sold or withheld to them by the British. Although wary of being taken by surprise, Wayne also took care the proceedings took place with "mildness and a friendly manner." [10] The formal treaty talks began on June 15th. Wayne balanced tough demands for land with promises of financial support, food, and additional supplies that ranged from calico cloth and axes to brass thimbles, as well as the guarantee that he spoke on behalf of the President and US government, who he stressed would be more dependable than the British. In return the various nations would cede basically all but the northwest corner of the Ohio territory and pledge allegiance to the United States. Little Turtle objected the most to the treaty's terms, trying to retain more land, but eventually recognized that there was little he had to negotiate with. On July 29th, 1795, the treaty was signed by all of the chiefs from all of the warring nations, and ratified by Congress on December 22nd. Now faced with little to no support by the Native American nations and facing a victorious Legion just a day's march away, the British began evacuating their forts the following spring. On July 11th, 1796, General Wayne oversaw the surrender of the last British fort outside of Canada; Lernoult, later renamed by the Americans Detroit. The gunfire and cannon salutes by the sixty-five man American garrison as the US flag was raised were the last shots fired in campaign. CONCLUSION The war along the Ohio frontier in 1790-95 is a classic example of the violent clash of two cultures. The white settlers and the various governments in the colonial era had relations with the natives that while at times friendly and productive generally laid the foundation for war. Native Americans' lack of a centralized government or leader that could speak with a clear voice handicapped any efforts for a peaceful solution from the start. Those chiefs who did assume a leadership role, in the eyes of the US government, were all too likely to turn to the British for support or go on the warpath. Ultimately those nations that placed their faith in the Shemanase to the north found it misplaced. Those who took to the warpath found it a dead end. The United States emerged victorious from the Ohio war. The costs of victory were high, and not just in lives or treasure lost. Never again would the nation's defense be devoid of a standing army. The seeds of the present day "military-industrial complex" were first sown here. The impact of domestic affairs, in this case the insurrection of the native inhabitants in a US owned territory, on the conduct of foreign relationswas one that would not diminish. Great Britain's role in the region, though greatly tarnished, was not totally eradicated. It would take another twenty years and another war to permanently put this region beyond dispute between Great Britain and her former colony. Despite General Wayne's promises, and assurance that he spoke for the President, the erosion of all of the Treaty of Greenville's terms by the United States led to the formation of Tecumseh's Confederation of Indians, and the outbreak of outright war with them and the British in 1812. The US commitment to dealing with its native populace, or any nation for that matter, suffered a setback from which it, never fully recovered. Despite their democratic aspirations, Americans proved impatient or unwilling to implement compromises with the Indians or the treaty General Wayne finally arranged. In her work A Century of Dishonor, Helen Hunt Jackson chronicled the one hundred years of treaties made with the many nations of Native Americans, beginning with the Treaty of Greenville, all of which were ultimately broken by the United States. She wrote in her conclusion "the United States Government breaks promises now as deftly as then, and with an added ingenuity from long practice." [11] It is worth `noting at the beginning of the 1982 Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, ones that eventually resulted in the 1991 START Treaty, gifts were exchanged between the negotiators from both sides. The U.S. delegation presented their Soviet counterparts with cases of California wine. The Soviets presented each of the US delegates with a copy of A Century of Dishonor. The lessons learned through nearly five years of war in Ohio should not be forgotten. They are as relevant today as they were then. A Dark and Bloody Ground The Ohio Campaign 1790-1795 Introduction War in Ohio Wayne Takes Command Dramatis Personae US and Indian Forces Map of Battle of Fallen Timbers (very slow: 209K) Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 2 no. 3 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com * Buy this back issue or subscribe to Against the Odds direct from LPS.