The Battle of Chillicothe was part of the western theater

Western theater of the American Revolutionary War

The Western theater of the American Revolutionary War was the area of conflict west of the Appalachian Mountains, the region which became the Northwest Territory of the United States as well as the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri...

 of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

In May 1779, Colonel John Bowman

John Bowman (pioneer)

John Jacob Bowman was an 18th century American pioneer, colonial militia officer and sheriff, the first appointed in Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1781 he also presided as a justice of the peace over the first county court held in Kentucky...

 of the Kentucky County militia, accompanied by Benjamin Logan

Benjamin Logan

Benjamin Logan was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Shelby County, Kentucky. As colonel of the Kentucky County militia of Virginia during the American Revolutionary War, he was second-in-command of militia in Kentucky. Logan was a leader in Kentucky's efforts to become a state...

 and Levi Todd

Levi Todd

Levi Todd was an 18th century American pioneer who, with his brothers John and Robert Todd, helped found present-day Lexington, Kentucky and were leading prominent landowners and statesmen in the state of Kentucky prior to its admission into the United States in 1792.He was also the grandfather of...

, led between 160 and 300 militiamen against the Shawnee town of Chillicothe

Chalahgawtha

Chalahgawtha was the name of one of the five divisions of the Shawnee, a Native American people, during the 18th century, as well as the name of the principal village of the division. The other four divisions were the Mekoche, Kispoko, Pekowi, and Hathawekela...

. Dividing their forces, Bowman and Logan attacked the town from two sides but were eventually repulsed.

Unable to draw the Shawnee from their single blockhouse, Bowman burned much of the town and left with between 30 to 300 horses valued at $32,000. Although initially blamed for a defeat, as well as the eight or ten casualties suffered, Bowman and Logan were eventually credited by some with a major victory for the Kentuckians. With the destruction of a major Shawnee settlement and the death of Chief Blackfish

Chief Blackfish

Blackfish , known in his native tongue as Cot-ta-wa-ma-go or Mkah-day-way-may-qua, was a Native American leader, war chief of the Chillicothe division of the Shawnee tribe.-Biography:...

, additional war parties were discouraged from moving against Kentucky colonists. According to Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

in The Winning of the West, "the expedition undoubtedly accomplished more than Clark's attack on Piqua next year."