11-03-2021, 02:12 PM
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.
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.