Friday, November 04, 2005

Great Indian Battles - St Clair's Defeat 1791

On this day in 1791 almost 700 American troops were killed to the loss of about 40 indians near Fort Recovery Ohio. This battle, sometimes known as the Battle of the Wabash was the worst any American army suffered at the hands of a Native foe, so big a defeat it has probably helped it stay in obscurity. It left Washington's fledgling country with an army of 300 to defend itself and was the subject of the country's first congressional enquiry. It's a little spooky that I was going to write about this battle for my blog before I realised today was the anniversary. Anyway, there are no epic paintings of this battle to put up but here are some links to find out a bit more about this great victory of Little Turtle and his confederacy.
Info about the Song - and the background - if you go to this page you'll hear the tune and see all the lyrics at the bottom of the page. Page on Blue Jacket - info on St Clair.
Sadly it didn't feature in a 'Remember the Wabash' type battlecry but it did spur on the formation of a disciplined fighting force known as the Legion of the United States - aka Wayne's Legion.

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