St. Clair's Defeat
Encyclopedia
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
. It was a major American Indian victory and remains the greatest defeat of the United States Army
by American Indians.
The American Indians were led by Little Turtle of the Miamis
, Blue Jacket
of the Shawnee
s and Buckongahelas
of the Delawares (Lenape)
. The war party numbered more than one thousand warriors, including a large number of Potawatomis from eastern Michigan and the Saint Joseph. The opposing force of about 1,000 Americans was led by General Arthur St. Clair
, who had proved to be an able commander during the American Revolutionary War
. The American Indian confederacy was overwhelmingly victorious. In proportional terms of losses to strength, it was the worst defeat that United States forces have ever suffered in battle—of the 1,000 officers and men that St. Clair led into battle, only 48 escaped unharmed. As a result, President George Washington
forced St. Clair to resign his post and Congress
initiated its first investigation of the executive branch
.
, which ended the American Revolutionary War
(a war in which American Indian tribes were overwhemingly allied with the British and were treated as defeated powers, following the American victory over the British), recognized United States sovereignty of all the land east of the Mississippi River
and south of the Great Lakes
. The Indian tribes in the Old Northwest, however, were not parties to this treaty and many of them, especially leaders such as Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, refused to recognize American claims to the area northwest of the Ohio River
. During the mid and late 1780s, white settlers in Kentucky
and travelers on and north of the river suffered approximately 1,500 deaths during the ongoing hostilities, in which white settlers often retaliated against Indians. As a result of the continual violence, President Washington and his Secretary of War
, Henry Knox
, decided to use military force to pacify the region.
A force of 1,453 men (320 regulars
from the First American Regiment
and 1,133 militia
) under Brigadier General
Josiah Harmar
marched northwards from Fort Washington
on the Ohio River
at 10:00 a.m. on October 7, 1790. On October 22, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana
, Harmar committed only 400 of his men under Col. John Hardin
to attack an Indian force of some 1,100 warriors. When a courier informed Harmar (rumored to be drunk) of the size of the enemy force, out of fear he refused to come to Hardin's aid. Had he supported Colonel Hardin with the other 800-900 men, the Indian force might have been defeated. Instead, Harmar formed his portion of the Army into a hollow defensive square and did not move. Hardin, expecting reinforcements, put up a fight for over three hours, then fell back to the main army's encampment and Harmar ordered a retreat back to Ft. Washington. (See main article: Hardin's Defeat).
At least 129 of Hardin's soldiers (14 officers, 115 enlisted) were killed in action and another 94 wounded, for a total of 223 casualties. Estimates of total Indian casualties, killed and wounded, range from 120 to 150. President George Washington then ordered General Arthur St. Clair, who served both as governor of the Northwest Territory
and as a major general
in the Army, to mount a more vigorous effort by Summer 1791. Congress agreed to raise a second regiment of Regular soldiers for six months, but it later reduced soldiers' pay. The demoralized First Regiment was soon reduced to 299 soldiers, while the new Second Regiment was only able to recruit half of their authorized soldiers. St. Clair was forced to augment his Army with Kentucky militia as well as five battalions of six-month levies.
While Washington was adamant that St. Clair move north in the summer months, various logistics and supply problems greatly slowed his preparations in Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati, Ohio
). The new recruits were poorly trained and disciplined, the food supplies substandard and the horses, low in number, were of poor quality. The expedition thus failed to set out until October 1791. Building supply posts as it advanced, the Army's objective was the town of Kekionga
, the capital of the Miami tribe, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Army under St. Clair included 600 regulars, 800 six-month conscripts and 600 militia at its peak, for a total of around 2,000 men. Desertion took its toll and when the force finally got underway, it had dwindled to around 1,486 total men and some 200-250 camp followers (wives, children, laundresses and prostitutes). Going was slow and discipline problems were severe; St. Clair, suffering from gout
, had difficulty maintaining order, especially among the militia and the new levies. The force was constantly shadowed by Indians and skirmishes occasionally erupted.
By the end of November 2, through desertion and illness, St. Clair's force had been whittled down to around 1,120, including the camp followers. He had 52 officers and 868 enlisted and militia present for duty on November 3. The force camped on an elevated meadow, but did not construct any defensive works, even though Indians had been seen in the forest. While St. Clair's Army continued to lose soldiers, the Western Confederacy quickly added numbers. Buckongahelas led his 480 men to join the 700 warriors of Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, bringing the war party to more than one thousand warriors, including a large number of Potawatomis from eastern Michigan and the Saint Joseph.
, near the headwaters of the Wabash River
. An Indian force consisting of around 1,000 warriors, led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, waited in the woods while the men stacked their weapons and paraded to their morning meals. The natives then struck quickly and surprising the Americans, soon overran their perimeter.
Little Turtle directed the first attack at the militia, who fled across a stream without their weapons. The regulars immediately broke their musket stacks, formed battle lines and fired a volley into the Indians, forcing them back. Little Turtle responded by flanking the regulars and closing in on them. Meanwhile, St. Clair's artillery was stationed on a nearby bluff and was wheeling into position when the gun crews were killed by Indian marksmen
, and the survivors were forced to spike
their guns.
Colonel William Darke
ordered his battalion to fix bayonets and charge the main Indian position. Turtle's forces gave way and retreated to the woods, only to encircle Darke's battalion and destroy it. The bayonet charge was tried numerous times with similar results and the U.S. forces eventually collapsed into disorder. St. Clair had three horses shot out from under him as he tried in vain to rally his men.
After three hours of fighting, St. Clair called together the remaining officers and faced with total annihilation, decided to attempt one last bayonet charge to get through the Indian line and escape. Supplies and wounded were left in camp. As before, Turtle's Army allowed the bayonets to pass through, but this time the men ran for Fort Jefferson. They were pursued by Indians for about three miles before the latter broke off pursuit and returned to loot the camp. Exact numbers of wounded are not known, but it has been reported that execution fires
burned for several days afterward.
The casualty rate was the highest percentage ever suffered by a United States Army unit and included St. Clair's second in command. Of the 52 officers engaged, 39 were killed and 7 wounded; around 88% of all officers became casualties. After two hours St. Clair ordered a retreat, which quickly turned into a rout. "It was, in fact, a flight," St. Clair described a few days later in a letter to the Secretary of War. The American casualty rate, among the soldiers, was 97.4 percent, including 632 of 920 killed (69%) and 264 wounded. Nearly all of the 200 camp followers were slaughtered, for a total of 832 Americans killed. Approximately one-quarter of the entire U.S. Army had been wiped out. Only 24 of the 920 officers and men engaged came out of it unscathed. Indian casualties were about 61, with at least 21 killed.
The number of U.S. soldiers killed during this engagement was more than three times the number the Sioux
would kill 85 years later at Custer
's last stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn. The next day the remnants of the force arrived at the nearest U.S. outpost, Fort Jefferson (then Fort Hamilton), and from there returned to Fort Washington.
as well as the War Department
, the general asked for a court-martial
in order to gain exoneration and planned to resign his commission after winning it. Washington, however, denied him the court-martial and forced St. Clair's immediate resignation.
The House of Representatives
, meanwhile, began its own investigation into the disaster. This was the first investigation that Congress had ever undertaken, as well as the first investigation of the executive branch and as part of the proceedings, the House committee in charge of the investigation sought certain documents from the War Department. Knox brought this matter to Washington's attention and because of the major separation of powers
issues involved, the president summoned a meeting of all of his department heads (Knox, Secretary of State
Thomas Jefferson
, Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Hamilton
and Attorney General
Edmund Randolph
). This was one of the first meeting of all of these officials together and may be considered the beginning of the United States Cabinet
.
At this and subsequent meetings, the president and his advisers established, in theory, the concept that the executive branch
should refuse to divulge any papers or materials that the public good required them to keep secret and that at any rate they not provide any originals. This is the earliest appearance of the doctrine of executive privilege
, which later became a major separation of powers issue in matters such as Aaron Burr's
treason
trial, Watergate, the Iran-Contra affair and the impeachment
of President Bill Clinton
. In the end, though, Washington authorized the release of copies of the materials that the committee sought.
The final committee report sided largely with St. Clair, finding that Knox, Quartermaster General Samuel Hodgdon and other War Department officials had done a poor job of raising, equipping and supplying St. Clair's expedition. However, Congress voted against a motion to consider the Committee's findings and issued no final report. St. Clair expressed disappointment that his reputation was not officially cleared.
In March 1792, Congress voted to raise additional Army regiments. In May, it passed the Militia Acts of 1792, which set national militia standards and empowered the president to call up the militia. President Washington would utilize this authority in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion
. Also in 1794, a new U.S. force, the Legion of the United States
under Major General "Mad Anthony" Wayne
, built Fort Recovery
at the location of St. Clair's Defeat and defended it from an attack. Following the Legion's victory in the August 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers
, the 1795 Treaty of Greenville
brought an end to the Northwest Indian War.
A folk ballad, St. Clair's Defeat (or Sinclair's Defeat) was published in the 19th century. It was recorded by Bob Gibson
and Hamilton Camp
on their 1960 album Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. It was also recorded as St. Claire's Defeat by Apollo's Fire
in 2004.
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Western Confederacy
Western Confederacy
The Western Confederacy, also known as Western Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of North American Natives in the Great Lakes region following the American Revolutionary War...
of American Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, as part of the Northwest Indian War
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War , also known as Little Turtle's War and by various other names, was a war fought between the United States and a confederation of numerous American Indian tribes for control of the Northwest Territory...
. It was a major American Indian victory and remains the greatest defeat of the United States Army
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...
by American Indians.
The American Indians were led by Little Turtle of the Miamis
Miami tribe
The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...
, 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...
of the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
s and Buckongahelas
Buckongahelas
Buckongahelas was a regionally and nationally renowned Lenape chief, councilor and warrior. He was active from the days of the French and Indian War through the Northwest Indian Wars, after the United States achieved independence and settlers encroached on territory beyond the Appalachian...
of the Delawares (Lenape)
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
. The war party numbered more than one thousand warriors, including a large number of Potawatomis from eastern Michigan and the Saint Joseph. The opposing force of about 1,000 Americans was led by General Arthur St. Clair
Arthur 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...
, who had proved to be an able commander during 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...
. The American Indian confederacy was overwhelmingly victorious. In proportional terms of losses to strength, it was the worst defeat that United States forces have ever suffered in battle—of the 1,000 officers and men that St. Clair led into battle, only 48 escaped unharmed. As a result, President 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...
forced St. Clair to resign his post and Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
initiated its first investigation of the executive branch
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
.
Background
The 1783 Treaty of ParisTreaty 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...
, which ended 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...
(a war in which American Indian tribes were overwhemingly allied with the British and were treated as defeated powers, following the American victory over the British), recognized United States sovereignty of all the land east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and south of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The Indian tribes in the Old Northwest, however, were not parties to this treaty and many of them, especially leaders such as Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, refused to recognize American claims to the area northwest of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. During the mid and late 1780s, white settlers in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and travelers on and north of the river suffered approximately 1,500 deaths during the ongoing hostilities, in which white settlers often retaliated against Indians. As a result of the continual violence, President Washington and his 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....
, decided to use military force to pacify the region.
A force of 1,453 men (320 regulars
Regular Army
The Regular Army of the United States was and is the successor to the Continental Army as the country's permanent, professional military establishment. Even in modern times the professional core of the United States Army continues to be called the Regular Army...
from the First American Regiment
First American Regiment
The First American Regiment was the first peacetime regular army force authorized by United States Congress after the American Revolutionary War...
and 1,133 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...
) under Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
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....
marched northwards from Fort Washington
Fort Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio
Fort Washington was a fort in the early history of Cincinnati, Ohio. The location is marked by a plaque at the Guilford School building, at 421 E 4th St, Cincinnati, which now occupies the site...
on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
at 10:00 a.m. on October 7, 1790. On October 22, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, Harmar committed only 400 of his men under Col. John Hardin
John Hardin
John J. Hardin was a soldier, farmer, rancher, noted marksman and hunter. He was wounded fighting in Lord Dunmore's War; served as a Continental Army officer in the American Revolutionary War and as a Kentucky Co., Virginia militia commander in the Northwest Indian War...
to attack an Indian force of some 1,100 warriors. When a courier informed Harmar (rumored to be drunk) of the size of the enemy force, out of fear he refused to come to Hardin's aid. Had he supported Colonel Hardin with the other 800-900 men, the Indian force might have been defeated. Instead, Harmar formed his portion of the Army into a hollow defensive square and did not move. Hardin, expecting reinforcements, put up a fight for over three hours, then fell back to the main army's encampment and Harmar ordered a retreat back to Ft. Washington. (See main article: Hardin's Defeat).
At least 129 of Hardin's soldiers (14 officers, 115 enlisted) were killed in action and another 94 wounded, for a total of 223 casualties. Estimates of total Indian casualties, killed and wounded, range from 120 to 150. President George Washington then ordered General Arthur St. Clair, who served both as governor of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
and as a major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Army, to mount a more vigorous effort by Summer 1791. Congress agreed to raise a second regiment of Regular soldiers for six months, but it later reduced soldiers' pay. The demoralized First Regiment was soon reduced to 299 soldiers, while the new Second Regiment was only able to recruit half of their authorized soldiers. St. Clair was forced to augment his Army with Kentucky militia as well as five battalions of six-month levies.
The campaign
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
). The new recruits were poorly trained and disciplined, the food supplies substandard and the horses, low in number, were of poor quality. The expedition thus failed to set out until October 1791. Building supply posts as it advanced, the Army's objective was the town 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...
, the capital of the Miami tribe, near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The Army under St. Clair included 600 regulars, 800 six-month conscripts and 600 militia at its peak, for a total of around 2,000 men. Desertion took its toll and when the force finally got underway, it had dwindled to around 1,486 total men and some 200-250 camp followers (wives, children, laundresses and prostitutes). Going was slow and discipline problems were severe; St. Clair, suffering from gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
, had difficulty maintaining order, especially among the militia and the new levies. The force was constantly shadowed by Indians and skirmishes occasionally erupted.
By the end of November 2, through desertion and illness, St. Clair's force had been whittled down to around 1,120, including the camp followers. He had 52 officers and 868 enlisted and militia present for duty on November 3. The force camped on an elevated meadow, but did not construct any defensive works, even though Indians had been seen in the forest. While St. Clair's Army continued to lose soldiers, the Western Confederacy quickly added numbers. Buckongahelas led his 480 men to join the 700 warriors of Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, bringing the war party to more than one thousand warriors, including a large number of Potawatomis from eastern Michigan and the Saint Joseph.
Battle
At dawn on November 4, St. Clair's force was camped near the present-day location of Fort Recovery, OhioFort Recovery, Ohio
Fort Recovery is a village in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,273 at the 2000 census. The village is near the location of Fort Recovery, first established in 1793 under orders from General Anthony Wayne....
, near the headwaters of the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
. An Indian force consisting of around 1,000 warriors, led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, waited in the woods while the men stacked their weapons and paraded to their morning meals. The natives then struck quickly and surprising the Americans, soon overran their perimeter.
Little Turtle directed the first attack at the militia, who fled across a stream without their weapons. The regulars immediately broke their musket stacks, formed battle lines and fired a volley into the Indians, forcing them back. Little Turtle responded by flanking the regulars and closing in on them. Meanwhile, St. Clair's artillery was stationed on a nearby bluff and was wheeling into position when the gun crews were killed by Indian marksmen
Marksman
A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
, and the survivors were forced to spike
Touch hole
A touch hole is a small hole, through which the propellant charge of a cannon or muzzleloading gun is ignited. In small arms, the flash from a charge of priming held in the flash pan is enough to ignite the charge within...
their guns.
Colonel William Darke
William Darke
General William Darke was an American soldier. In 1740, he moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Virginia. He was in Braddock's army in the defeat in 1755, and was made a captain at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War...
ordered his battalion to fix bayonets and charge the main Indian position. Turtle's forces gave way and retreated to the woods, only to encircle Darke's battalion and destroy it. The bayonet charge was tried numerous times with similar results and the U.S. forces eventually collapsed into disorder. St. Clair had three horses shot out from under him as he tried in vain to rally his men.
After three hours of fighting, St. Clair called together the remaining officers and faced with total annihilation, decided to attempt one last bayonet charge to get through the Indian line and escape. Supplies and wounded were left in camp. As before, Turtle's Army allowed the bayonets to pass through, but this time the men ran for Fort Jefferson. They were pursued by Indians for about three miles before the latter broke off pursuit and returned to loot the camp. Exact numbers of wounded are not known, but it has been reported that execution fires
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
burned for several days afterward.
The casualty rate was the highest percentage ever suffered by a United States Army unit and included St. Clair's second in command. Of the 52 officers engaged, 39 were killed and 7 wounded; around 88% of all officers became casualties. After two hours St. Clair ordered a retreat, which quickly turned into a rout. "It was, in fact, a flight," St. Clair described a few days later in a letter to the Secretary of War. The American casualty rate, among the soldiers, was 97.4 percent, including 632 of 920 killed (69%) and 264 wounded. Nearly all of the 200 camp followers were slaughtered, for a total of 832 Americans killed. Approximately one-quarter of the entire U.S. Army had been wiped out. Only 24 of the 920 officers and men engaged came out of it unscathed. Indian casualties were about 61, with at least 21 killed.
The number of U.S. soldiers killed during this engagement was more than three times the number the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
would kill 85 years later at Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
's last stand at the Battle of Little Big Horn. The next day the remnants of the force arrived at the nearest U.S. outpost, Fort Jefferson (then Fort Hamilton), and from there returned to Fort Washington.
Aftermath
President Washington was having dinner with guests in Philadelphia when he was summoned from the table and told of the military disaster. Washington returned and finished his dinner, only to unleash his rage when the guests had left. In January 1792, St. Clair arrived in Philadelphia to report on what had happened. Blaming the quartermasterQuartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
as well as the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
, the general asked for a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
in order to gain exoneration and planned to resign his commission after winning it. Washington, however, denied him the court-martial and forced St. Clair's immediate resignation.
The House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
, meanwhile, began its own investigation into the disaster. This was the first investigation that Congress had ever undertaken, as well as the first investigation of the executive branch and as part of the proceedings, the House committee in charge of the investigation sought certain documents from the War Department. Knox brought this matter to Washington's attention and because of the major separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
issues involved, the president summoned a meeting of all of his department heads (Knox, Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
and Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Edmund Randolph
Edmund Randolph
Edmund Jennings Randolph was an American attorney, the seventh Governor of Virginia, the second Secretary of State, and the first United States Attorney General.-Biography:...
). This was one of the first meeting of all of these officials together and may be considered the beginning of the United States Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
.
At this and subsequent meetings, the president and his advisers established, in theory, the concept that the executive branch
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
should refuse to divulge any papers or materials that the public good required them to keep secret and that at any rate they not provide any originals. This is the earliest appearance of the doctrine of executive privilege
Executive privilege
In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government...
, which later became a major separation of powers issue in matters such as Aaron Burr's
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
trial, Watergate, the Iran-Contra affair and the impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
of President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. In the end, though, Washington authorized the release of copies of the materials that the committee sought.
The final committee report sided largely with St. Clair, finding that Knox, Quartermaster General Samuel Hodgdon and other War Department officials had done a poor job of raising, equipping and supplying St. Clair's expedition. However, Congress voted against a motion to consider the Committee's findings and issued no final report. St. Clair expressed disappointment that his reputation was not officially cleared.
In March 1792, Congress voted to raise additional Army regiments. In May, it passed the Militia Acts of 1792, which set national militia standards and empowered the president to call up the militia. President Washington would utilize this authority in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...
. Also in 1794, a new U.S. force, the Legion of the United States
Legion of the United States
The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the United States Army from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne.-Origins:The impetus for the Legion came from General Arthur St...
under Major General "Mad 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...
, built Fort Recovery
Fort 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...
at the location of St. Clair's Defeat and defended it from an attack. Following the Legion's victory in the August 1794 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 1795 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...
brought an end to the Northwest Indian War.
A folk ballad, St. Clair's Defeat (or Sinclair's Defeat) was published in the 19th century. It was recorded by Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson (musician)
Samuel Robert Gibson was a folk singer who led a folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade...
and Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
on their 1960 album Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. It was also recorded as St. Claire's Defeat by Apollo's Fire
Apollo's Fire
Apollo's Fire, The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra is a popular and critically acclaimed period-instrument ensemble specializing in early music based in Cleveland, Ohio. The ensemble unites a select pool of early music specialists from throughout North America and Europe...
in 2004.