Legion of the United States
Encyclopedia
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
.
Origins
The impetus for the Legion came from General Arthur St. ClairArthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
's disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Wabash
St. Clair's Defeat
St. Clair's Defeat also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was fought on November 4, 1791 in the Northwest Territory between the United States and the Western Confederacy of American Indians, as part of the Northwest Indian War...
by Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket
Blue Jacket or Weyapiersenwah was a war chief of the Shawnee people, known for his militant defense of Shawnee lands in the Ohio Country...
and Little Turtle's tribal confederacy in November 1791.
The Founding Fathers had been suspicious of standing armies, believing that the militia
Militia (United States)
The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
would be suited to all the nation's defensive needs. However, the defeat of St. Clair and his predecessor, Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolution and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for seven years....
, whose forces were drawn principally from state militias, caused a shift in thinking. President Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
picked his old lieutenant, Wayne, to lead a new professional army. At the recommendation of Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Henry Knox
Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
, it was decided to recruit and train a "Legion" — i.e., a force that would combine all land combat arms of the day (cavalry, heavy and light infantry, artillery) into one efficient brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
-sized force divisible into stand-alone combined arms teams. Congress agreed with this proposal and agreed to augment the small standing army until "the United States shall be at peace with the Indian tribes."
Structure
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
. These sub-legions were self-contained units with two battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, a rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
battalion (light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
skirmishers armed with Pennsylvania long rifles to screen the infantry), a troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
of dragoons and a battery
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
The Legion received training at Legionville
Legionville
Legionville was the first formal United States military basic training facility, established by Major General Anthony Wayne, in 1792, near present-day Baden, Pennsylvania to train the soldiers of the Legion of the United States.-History:...
, a frontier fort built by General Anthony Wayne in western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. General Wayne also established various forts along his line of march to ensure adequate re-supply, and garrisoned these forts with freshly trained legionnaires.
Battles
The Legion of the United States was engaged in several attacks on their convoys as the expedition pushed further into Native American strongholds chiefly towards the Maumee Rapids. On June 30, 1793, just outside the gates of Fort RecoveryFort Recovery
Fort Recovery was a United States Army fort begun in late 1793 and completed in March 1794 under orders by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. It was located on the site of the present-day village of Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States, on the Wabash River within two miles of the boundary with...
(built on St. Clair's battlefield, present Fort Recovery, Ohio) a pack-horse train led by Major William Friend McMahon (of Yellow Springs, Ohio) was attacked by 2,000 Indians. After Major McMahon was killed and the rest of the survivors fled into the fort, a general attack was made on the fort. Fortunately for the defenders, most of the men (about 125) were expert riflemen. The fort also had artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
to back them. The battle raged for two days but Fort Recovery was not taken. Some scholars believe there were more Indians at the attack of Fort Recovery than at Fallen Timbers.
The most notable engagement in which the Legion participated was the Battle of Fallen Timbers
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
near present-day Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. As the Legion's front was attacked by the Indians, the troops closed quickly and pressed with the bayonet. The Indian forces could not hold the force of the Legion's attack and broke and ran. The British in Fort Miami
Fort Miami (Ohio)
Fort Miami was a fort built on the Maumee River at the eastern edge of the present-day city of Maumee, Ohio, and southwest of the present-day city of Toledo, Ohio. It was built by the British on territory disputed between Britain and the USA; according to the U.S. interpretation of the terms of the...
refused to open the gates and the survivors were basically on their own. Although a short battle, Fallen Timbers was the culmination of an arduous campaign and owes its success to the intense training and discipline of the Legion of the United States.
The Legion by its very concept was formed and trained from its early days in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
to fight in a woodland environment. Each Sub-Legion had its own attached artillery, dragoons and riflemen, light and heavy infantry. Officers, sergeants and enlisted personnel were trained to fight in small units and were used to being geographically separated and fighting on their own. General Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne
Anthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
's tactics were to fire and move quick with the light infantry being his front line forces supported by heavy infantry. The Legion was taught to move quickly on the enemy thus not allowing him to re-load and to then attack with bayonets. This was the whole design and concept of the Legion. By August 20, 1794, the Legion of the United States had trained for over 25 months for this battle and was a finely honed machine. The success of the Legion is owed mostly to Major General Anthony Wayne but also to George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Henry Knox
Henry Knox
Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....
.
On August 3, 1795, as a direct result of the Battle of Fallen Timbers
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy and the United States for control of the Northwest Territory...
, the Native Americans signed the Treaty of Greenville
Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 3, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans & Frontiers men, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...
, ending the war with the United States.
In 1796, Major General Anthony Wayne accepted surrender of all the British forts, including Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
and Fort Miami
Fort Miami
Fort Miami was the name of several forts in what is now the United States.*Fort Miami *Fort Miami *Fort Miami...
that were located illegally within the United States in violation of the Treaty of Paris (1783)
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
. The Legion also entered the Native American stronghold of Kekionga
Kekionga
Kekionga, also known as Kiskakon or Pacan's Village, was the capital of the Miami tribe at the confluence of the Saint Joseph, Saint Marys and Maumee rivers on the western edge of the Great Black Swamp...
, which was the goal of the ill-fated St. Clair campaign. The Legion built strong fortifications in the town and named it Fort Wayne
Forts of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne in modern Fort Wayne, Indiana, was established by Captain Jean François Hamtramck under orders from General "Mad" Anthony Wayne as part of the campaign against the Indians of the area. It was named after General Wayne, who was victorious at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Wayne may have...
, in honor of their commanding general.
Thus ended the mission of the Legion which had begun in June of 1792.
Legacy
It is a common misbelief that the Legion was abandoned in 1796. After the death of General Anthony Wayne in Erie, Pennsylvania on December 15, 1796, his second-in-command, Brigadier General James WilkinsonJames Wilkinson
James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...
(later found to be a spy for the Spanish government) tried to rid the army of everything Wayne had created including the Legionary structure of the army. Thus the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sub-Legion became the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Regiments of the United States Army.
The device worn on the epaulette of the 3rd US Infantry (The Old Guard) shows a black hat with white plume. These are the colors of the 1st Sub-Legion.
The Coat of Arms for the 1st US Infantry shows part of the shield in red in honor of the 2nd Sub-Legion.
The Coat of Arms of the 4th US Infantry is green and white in honor of the 4th Sub-Legion.
Unit Colors:
- 1st Sub-Legion: White and Black
- 2nd Sub-Legion: Red and White
- 3rd Sub-Legion: Buff and Black
- 4th Sub-Legion: Green and White
See also
- Coats of arms of U.S. Infantry RegimentsCoats of arms of U.S. Infantry RegimentsCoats of arms of US Infantry Regiments are heraldic emblems associated with infantry regiments in the US Army. By Army regulation, all regiments of the US Army organized under a Table of Organization and Equipment are authorized a coat of arms to be displayed on the organization's standard, called...
- Combined armsCombined armsCombined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...