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+--- Thread: St. Clair's Defeat - 230th Anniversary (/showthread.php?tid=20)
St. Clair's Defeat - 230th Anniversary - mingusboodle - 08-16-2021
Is anyone interested in taking a trip to Fort Recovery this Autumn?
On 4 November 1791, the United States Army suffered one of their worst defeats in history near the present-day Indiana/Ohio border. The infantry and militia under General Arthur St. Clair were conducting a punitive campaign against the Native Nations in the region, when those nations- led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket- decided to bring the campaign to a premature conclusion. 70% of the U.S. force and support personnel were killed on site, many of them Revolutionary War veterans. The overall casualty rate was more than 97%, among the worst in U.S. Army history.
General Anthony Wayne would later build Fort Recovery at the site of St. Clair's defeat. The battle is largely forgotten, except among military historians.
The Fort Recovery museum is planning a battlefield walk on Sunday, 24 October 2021, to commemorate the 230th anniversary. It is a two hour walk led by historians. This might be an opportune time to visit, but we must register for the event, and no one has yet been able to tell me how to register. If we have a group that would like to attend, I could let them know we're coming. We could also pick another date and simply explore the area on our own.
http://www.fortrecoverymuseum.com/
RE: St. Clair's Defeat - 230th Anniversary - mingusboodle - 09-09-2021
(08-16-2021, 12:24 PM)mingusboodle Wrote: Is anyone interested in taking a trip to Fort Recovery this Autumn?
On 4 November 1791, the United States Army suffered one of their worst defeats in history near the present-day Indiana/Ohio border. The infantry and militia under General Arthur St. Clair were conducting a punitive campaign against the Native Nations in the region, when those nations- led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket- decided to bring the campaign to a premature conclusion. 70% of the U.S. force and support personnel were killed on site, many of them Revolutionary War veterans. The overall casualty rate was more than 97%, among the worst in U.S. Army history.
General Anthony Wayne would later build Fort Recovery at the site of St. Clair's defeat. The battle is largely forgotten, except among military historians.
The Fort Recovery museum is planning a battlefield walk on Sunday, 24 October 2021, to commemorate the 230th anniversary. It is a two hour walk led by historians. This might be an opportune time to visit, but we must register for the event, and no one has yet been able to tell me how to register. If we have a group that would like to attend, I could let them know we're coming. We could also pick another date and simply explore the area on our own.
http://www.fortrecoverymuseum.com/
I got an answer on registration. You simply need to send an email to let them know you're coming. The address is:
Fortrecoverystatemuseum@yahoo.com
RE: St. Clair's Defeat - 230th Anniversary - mingusboodle - 11-03-2021
I was able to attend the event, hosted by author John Winkler, who has written about St. Clair's defeat, Fort Recovery, Fallen Timbers, and the Battle of Tippecanoe. It was a great day despite the rain. The battleground includes a walking tour through the city park with signs that explain the Native American attack and the U.S. collapse. The last U.S. defense was at the top of the hill, where the main street through town now runs. This is a great tour, especially for anyone already living near the northern border of Ohio.
A couple of takeaways:
The battle is very close to the Ohio/Indiana border, and indirectly defined the border in later years due to the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. But it's an eerie thing to stand on top of the hill where so many Soldiers died and look towards our home state, knowing that this is the "land of the Indians." That surely meant something different to Soldiers facing annihilation in the late 18th century than it does to us, today.
The guide, John Winkler, insisted that the disaster was not due to a lack of leadership. He insists that the officers leading this campaign were very capable, but they simply had no chance against the superior numbers and tactics of Native Americans on their own soil. In the following years, General Wayne would adapt his strategy by advancing more slowly, fortifying more thoroughly, and by spreading out his forces so that they could not be easily surrounded.
The carnage was so complete that residents of modern Fort Recovery, Ohio were still finding bones 60 years later. There is a large monument in town where the unidentified remains of Soldiers, suttlers, women, and even children received their final resting place in the 19th century. Many of these officers and enlisted Soldiers were veterans of the American Revolution. Others are still unnamed.