Greene Day

working copy in Greenville

The 20th-century painter Howard Chandler Christy was born on January 10th 1872 in Morgan County Ohio east of Columbus. I'm not going to go into a biography of him, you can look to Wikipedia for that, but you are familiar with his work and don't know it. Christy's most famous painting is a depiction of the Signing of the US Constitution which has been reproduced in countless history books and publications. He has many other notable works but the one I want to focus on here is his 1945 Signing of the Treaty of Greene Ville, or simply, The Signing. Christy, a native Ohioan, was commissioned for the work to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the treaty which technically ended the Northwest Indian Wars and formed most of the future state of Ohio. Again this post is mostly about the painting and not Christy, the preceding events, or the treaty itself.

the final in Columbus

I'd originally seen the painting in person at the Garst Museum in Greenville Ohio (formerly known as Greene Ville) but I was a bit confused as it didn't look exactly like the one I'd seen in print. Then I learned the "real" painting was located in the Ohio Statehouse. I thought maybe the one in the museum was a reproduction. It turns out that there are two versions of the artwork. The painting above the fireplace in the Garst Museum is what is known as the working copy, which is basically a practice version. The painting in the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda stairway is the final version. Both were painted by Christy and there are a few obvious differences. Don't let the difference in colors in my examples fool you. That isn't really an accurate representation. Both are pretty muted when you see them in person.

The working copy measures 6' x 7' whereas the final is a whopping 22' x 17' and the largest painting exhibited in the Ohio Statehouse. I got to lay my eyes on the final when I visited Columbus last month.

The central figures are Little Turtle (Miami) on the left with outstretched arms presenting the wampum, interpreter William Wells in the center, and General Mad Anthony Wayne to the right. On each side are various individuals representing Indian and American figures that signed the treaty. In the background of the Indian side, we see Fort Greene Ville. The council house appears behind the Americans.

One major difference between the two is the 15 star US flag at the top. It seems more faded in the working copy and not as prominent as in the final. It often gets cropped out of reproductions of the working copy. I was hard-pressed to find an uncropped version suitable for this post but it can be seen here. The postcards sold at the Garst Museum show this cropped version as illustrated in the photo at the top. As you can see there is a lot of space between the subjects and the flag so I can see why this is done.

a couple of areas of key differences

There are other reproductions around the town of Greenville. One is a very large uncropped reprint in the lobby of the Wayne HealthCare Hospital. It appears to be nearly as large as the final version. This is something I wouldn't have known about but an old friend of mine was partially responsible for this reproduction and installation and tipped me off. Another is etched on a granite monument at Elm and Main near the location of the proceedings at Fort Greene Ville.

Several individuals have slightly different appearances in the two paintings. The one I noticed right away is with 22-year-old William Henry Harrison, aide de camp to General Wayne. It's probably the best way to tell the difference between the two versions in print. Harrison is standing behind the General and one person over to his left. In the working copy, he looks straight ahead, breaking the 4th wall of the scene. He doesn't resemble Harrison much and has bright ruddy cheeks. In the final, we see him facing to his right and toward Wayne and looking much like the Rembrandt Peale painting of him from 1813. Chaplain David Jones is standing immediately to Harrison's left and whispering to him in the working copy. Perhaps he has some divine knowledge and is saying to Harrison, "when you give your inaugural address in 46 years don't forget to wear your hat and coat". Jones is seated away from the future President in the final and not whispering to him. Perhaps that explains why things turned out the way they did with Harrison.

Lieutenant William Clark (of later Lewis and Clark fame) stands to the right of Harrison and looks more toward his left in the final. Meriwether Lewis is there too by the way. He is behind The Sun (Potawatomi) signing the treaty at the table. It's not that noticeable of a difference but it gives me an excuse to mention that this is where the duo met.

Black Hoof (Shawnee) and Bad Bird (Chippewa), in the foreground to the left and right of standing Little Turtle (Miami), appear to have mohawks in the working copy and instead have horns and feathers adorning their hair in the final.

The treaty itself has had markings added to it in the final.

As I researched this work I came across an interpretation of the painting that felt the scene represented the growth of civilization. For example, as we move from left to right, we have half naked crouching Indians while Little Turtle stands. In the shadowy center, there is William Wells, a white captive raised by the Miami, who went back and forth between the two societies. Wells served as the interpreter here. He was also married to Little Turtle's daughter.  So that's his father in law to his right. Further right in the scene, we see well dressed and seated men with literate scribes representing civilization. I think it's a good theory whether Christy intended it or not.

granite version in Greenville

This painting, like the Signing of the Constitution painting, is a romanticized scene and the events took place over a period of time. In Greeneville's case, these negotiations occurred over the first eight months of 1795 and then signed by representatives on August 3rd. So it is possible that many of the men depicted here were never present together and certainly not like this.

Incidentally, there is a less idealized contemporary oil painting of the 1795 events that was created by an unknown artist but believed to be one of Wayne's officers present at the proceedings. This one is displayed at the Chicago History Museum. This depiction is certainly much more barren than Christy's.

Happy birthday 146th birthday Howard Chandler Christy. Thanks for giving back some of your talents to represent Ohio.

Additional info:
- Christy at the unveiling
You can zoom in on these to get a better look:
- Working copy info in Garst Museum

- Final version info in Ohio Statehouse

Tippecanoe and Trivia too!

WHH and the horse he rode in on in Cincinnati

Up until a few years ago, thanks to Trivial Pursuit and rushing from the Mayflower to the American Revolution and then on to the Civil War in history classes, (as if nothing really happened in between) I always thought William Henry Harrison was just some nobody who stumbled into the presidency, died 30 days later and that was pretty much it. End of story. I didn't even know he has a fantastic tomb just to the west of the city I call home, Cincinnati.

William Henry Harrison, Ohio's adopted son born February 9th, 1773 in the Virginia territory, the man I love to hate, the man I hate to love, one of Ohio's unsung founding fathers. He would have been 240 years old had he lived. The 9th President's life was cut short by a common ailment at the tender age of 68. The standard treatment of opium and leeches could not save him and he died of pneumonia 30 days later on April 4th, 1841.  In fact, the "cure" is probably what hastened his death and while he may have had pneumonia, typhoid is likely the real culprit.

1st photo of a sitting President

WHH's achievements tend to get overshadowed by the trivia surrounding his legacy but it is impressive trivia nonetheless:

• first President to have a campaign slogan (Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!)
• oldest elected President until Reagan (68 years, RR was 69)
• the first sitting President to have his photograph taken
• longest inauguration speech of any President (1 hr 45 min, 8,445 words)
• first President to die in office
• shortest term President (30 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes)
• last President born as a British subject before American Independence
• only President to have a grandson follow him to the White House (Benjamin Harrison)
• his Dad signed the Declaration of Independence (Benjamin Harrison V)
• two states claim Harrison as their own. He was born in the Virginia colony before the American Revolution but he spent most of his life in the Ohio Valley as a military and political leader and had a home there.
• supposedly he caused "Tecumseh's Curse" that caused the presidents elected or re-elected in years divisible by twenty to die in office...until Reagan broke the curse. The list of presidents who died includes 3 Ohio born presidents....hmmm. It should be noted that no mention of any curse appeared until 1931.

that's WHH at the Treaty of Greenville

But he was not a mere footnote in history as Trivial Pursuit and history class would lead you to believe. Prior to the Presidency, he had an impressive resume:

• Present at the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 as an aide to Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne
• Secretary of the Northwest Territory (modern OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN from 1798-1799)
• Governor of the Indiana Territory (modern IN, IL, WI and parts of OH, MI and MN from 1801-1812)
• Expanded US territory by 60 million acres*
• Won the Battle of Tippecanoe against the Indian confederacy led by Tecumseh in 1811**
• helped defeat the combined British and Indian forces in the War of 1812
• Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio (1816-1819)
• US Senator from Ohio (1825-1828)
• Ambassador to Columbia (1828-1829) 

Harrison's tomb in North Bend OH

I realize that this list is not as fun as the trivia list but he seemed as suited, if not more than any other for the Presidency. He wasn't just some schmuck that fell off the turnip truck.
He did do some bad stuff too and some of the good stuff is dependent on how you look at it. For example, as Governor he played around with the wording of the law to keep slavery alive in the Indiana Territory as indentured servitude when slavery was supposed to be illegal there. *The thirteen land treaties with Native Americans were at best on shaky legal grounds. He knew full well that these treaties made him look very good so he obtained many of them on flimsy terms sometimes for personal gain. **The 1811 Tippecanoe battle that helped him get elected? This was considered a draw at best after it happened. In fact, it was originally considered a defeat for the US because of the number of casualties.

Much has been written about his engagements with Tecumseh. Tecumseh nearly killed him once at a meeting when Tecumseh uncharacteristically lost his temper out of frustration. That event certainly would have altered history. WHH  finally helped end the life of Tecumseh at the Battle of Thames during the War of 1812. I sometimes wonder if as Tecumseh laid there dying he regretted not killing Harrison when he had the chance.

Marysville OH (he never lived in a log cabin)

In life and in death he was portrayed as a simple man who was born in a log cabin. This, however, is not true. Harrison was born on a Virginia plantation to a wealthy prominent family and was well known for making long drawn out speeches that referenced and quoted Roman Emperors and military leaders. He really saw himself and wanted others to see him, in this light. Even the home he had built in the Indiana wilderness, Grouseland was a mansion for that time period. He was an American aristocrat who married Anna Symmes, the daughter of land speculator Judge John Cleves Symmes who at first was opposed to Harrison, whom he considered only a mere military man with no future. The myth of his humble beginnings was created to get him elected President. Ironically it was originally used as a slur by his political enemies, Harrison's team ran with it and transformed their man into a "real" man of the people. Sound familiar? Presidential candidates have been doing it ever since. Happy Birthday Mr. President.

Mad Anthony Stew

Recipe for Mad Anthony Stew:

You will need:
several gallons of fresh well water
1 large cauldron or kettle
1 butcher knife
1 boning knife
1 saw
1 shovel
1 13-year-old oak casket-aged, well-preserved corpse of General Mad Anthony Wayne
2 quarts of bourbon
serves one

Fill the cauldron with water and place over a fire. You want a nice rolling boil.

Drink all of the bourbon, you will need it to complete the next steps.

While the water is coming to a boil, dig up the corpse of Mad Anthony Wayne with your shovel.

Remove the uniform. You will want this later!

Next, remove the head using a saw to sever the spinal cord.

Divide the body into equal quarters with the butcher knife. 

Using the boning knife, separate and remove as much meat from the bone as possible and set aside.

Boil the bones in the cauldron until the clingy bits of tendon and meat fall off easily.

Cook down until it is a thick broth. About 30 minutes.The bones should be nearly clean by then.

Remove the boiled bones and pat dry. Place them into a large box and give to Issac Wayne.

Return the remaining broth, raw fillets of organ meat, uniform and utensils to the original grave. Pour the broth over this and reseal.

Enjoy!

Perhaps you would like a little background...

General Mad Anthony Wayne, after Gen. Harmar and Gen. St. Clair failed, was the heroic frontier General who finally defeated the Indians in the Old Northwest Territory at the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers. The resulting 1795 Treaty of Greenville he negotiated ceded most of Ohio to the Americans and ended major hostilities in the region until Tecumseh came along and stirred things up again in the early 1800s.

Fallen Timbers monument in Maumee OH

Born January 1st, 1745 in Pennsylvania to Irish immigrant parents, Wayne served in the American Revolution and became a good friend of President Washington as a result. However, his legacy will always be his service in the Old Northwest Territory. Countless, cities, counties, townships, businesses, parks, roads and schools are named after him all across the US but predominantly in PA, OH, and IN. He essentially saved the US Army and the country from ruin at a pivotal time for our young country. Remember, most of the standing US Army had been wiped out at St Clair's Defeat just a few years earlier. Despite all this, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone that really knows anything about him these days. I suppose over time his status diminished giving way to new heroes.

Mad Anthony was a nickname given to him for his strict disciplinary military methods. One time Wayne sentenced five Army deserters to death. He carried this out by having the hair and eyebrows shaved off of one of the deserters, had him lashed 100 times and a "D" branded on his forehead. Then he had this man execute the other four. Tough love. The Shawnee referred to him as "the chief who never sleeps" and nicknamed him Black Snake. Up until then, the Native Americans could usually predict the methods and patterns of their foes but this General even marched at night. It was these things that earned him fear and respect of friend and foe. A man of his stature would surely be given proper respect even in death. You would think.

do NOT park in Wayne's spot. He will mess you up.

Wayne died at the age of 51 in PA on December 15, 1796, unexpectedly after a painful gout attack which was a fairly common ailment in those days. This was just over a year after the events that made him a legend. He was buried in Erie PA near where he died. In 1809, his son Isaac claimed that his Father's wish was to be interred in the family plot in Radnor PA. He rode up on his horse and buggy, had the body exhumed and expected to only find bones. Everyone was surprised to find a fairly well-preserved body. No one at the time was really sure why the body was in good shape after 13 years in an oak casket but Issac wasn't prepared to take a whole body back. So they did what made sense. They got a bigger buggy, right? Not quite.

They dismembered Wayne's body and boiled the flesh off in a big cauldron. Yes, you read that correctly. They cooked Mad Anthony's corpse, took the bones out, put them in a box and reburied in the original grave, the remaining flesh, his uniform and the instruments used to dismember the body.

Issac then took the bones on a 400-mile journey back home. But the horror doesn't end there. Along the way, the box fell off the cart several times spilling the bones everywhere. In the process, many of the bones were lost along the way and were never recovered. What remained of the bones were reburied in Old Saint David Church Cemetery in Delaware County PA on July 4th, 1809. There is a legend that Wayne's ghost haunts Route 322 in search of his bones.

The blockhouse that was constructed at the original grave in Erie PA burned down in the mid 19th century. The grave site was pretty much lost until 1878 when it was rediscovered. The blockhouse was then rebuilt and the items that were buried in 1809, his uniform and the dissection tools were buried once again. Maybe there is a little Mad Anthony Stew left there too.

sources:
- USHistory.org
- Weird US
- Roadside America

The rise and fall of Little Turtle

LT on the Ohio River

Born of a Mahican mother and a Miami father, Michikinikwa (Me-she-kin-no-quah) or Little Turtle was born in Indiana around 1752. Not much is known of his early life until he fought against the Americans during Revolutionary War as a British ally. He could never be the principal Miami Chief because of his lineage but he led the Miami to several victories during that war and became the War Chief of the Miami. After the American win over the British in the Revolutionary War the Miami continued resisting American settlement in the Ohio Valley and Little Turtle emerged as one of their primary leaders.

So what's with the name anyway? "LittleTurtle" does not sound like the name of a fierce warrior and brilliant military strategist. Little Turtle was not a small man either. In fact, he was six feet tall by all accounts. The name, per historical author J.P. Dunn, comes from a literal translation of his Miami name by English interpreters. His name in Miami, Michikinikwa, was the word for the painted terrapin which is a small colorful turtle. The turtle figured prominently in Algonquin symbolism and generally represented the Earth. The English interpreters had no word for this particular type of turtle so they just started referring to him as Little Turtle. You have to admit that Michikinikwa is a bit of a mouthful to say, especially for a bunch of white people who likely didn't finish 8th grade.

LT on a piano

In the years following the Revolutionary War, America was intent on expanding its borders into this ceded territory per the terms of Treaty of Paris with the British. The problem was, people lived there. Generally, Indians then allowed whites to hunt or occupy some of this land. But now Americans were building forts and permanent towns. Little Turtle and other leaders saw the permanent settlement as encroachment since there was no Indian treaty with the Americans to occupy this land. In fact, the series of battles we know as the Northwest Indian Wars from 1785-1795 was originally called Little Turtle's War. It was during this time period that Little Turtle led his own confederation of Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware to major wins over General Harmar in 1790 and General St Clair in 1791. These catastrophic American losses emboldened the Indians in the Ohio Valley and influenced a young Tecumseh in his more famous confederation during the early 19th century.

This boosted morale was short-lived and Little Turtle knew that the odds were against his people as the wave of American settlers increased and direct British support waned. Outright extinction of his people was a real possibility. He grudgingly negotiated peace with the Americans. Some of the other tribes led by the Shawnee Blue Jacket went on to fight and lose at Fallen Timbers against General Wayne.  This battle resulted in the confederation of Indians signing the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 which gave most of Ohio to the Americans.

The vanquished Little Turtle promised to remain peaceful and encouraged cooperation with the Americans and convinced some of the older war-weary tribal Chiefs to join him. However, this was far from over and a rising new star named Tecumseh was making waves. Ironically it was Little Turtle who kept most of the Miami from joining Tecumseh's confederation which infuriated the new young leader. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were building their own support and continued resistance. In fact, they were waging a fundamentalist religious war against these older placated leaders accusing them of witchcraft and holding executions. Chief Leatherlips of the Wyandot was a victim of one of these very witch hunts. There were many schisms within the various Nations and tribes at this time who were forced to choose sides.

LT in a painting

Little Turtle became a celebrity with European-Americans in his later years and traveled East where he met Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Adams. It was his 1808 meeting with Jefferson, an expert in agriculture himself, where he was encouraged to introduce Western farming methods to his people. The famous lithograph of Little Turtle and only known likeness of him is based upon a lost portrait by Gilbert Stuart, at the request of President George Washington. The original was destroyed when the British burned Washington, D.C. in 1814 during the War of 1812.


On the surface, these new developments sounded promising. However, Native Americans could change their religion, way of life and their style of clothing but they could not change their skin color or distinct features and were still Indian savages as far as most Americans were concerned. Little Turtle signed several more land treaties over these years that proved to be unpopular with the Miami and the neutrality of the Miami tribe still did not protect his tribespeople from American attacks. As a result of this his respect within his tribe diminished and in 1809 lost his status as war chief while Miami leadership went to others.

early 19th-century lithograph of LT

Little Turtle died on July 14th day 1812 near his place of birth in present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was staying at the home of his son-in-law William Wells, his daughter's white husband. Little Turtle was given full American military honors at his funeral.

His grave location was neglected and lost to time until a home builder in the early 20th century discovered a bunch of skeletons along with some artifacts. Among the recovered artifacts was the very sword that was presented to Little Turtle by George Washington which is now in a museum.

"Where Paddock meets Vine at the big Indian sign"

Chief "Pontiac" at Paddock and Vine

Cincinnati folks all know the 50' Chief Pontiac sign from the old car dealer slogan “where Paddock meets Vine at the big Indian sign”. The sign was built in 1954 by Jake Sweeney and was the place to go if you wanted to buy a brand new Pontiac sedan. The car lot changed hands over the years. Keeping with the Indian theme, it was Cherokee Motors then later Miami Motors. The sign used to light up with neon (broken now) & the arm waved a bit (not allowed anymore this close to the road). The current owner, Motor Time, has the sign repainted annually to keep this Cincinnati landmark looking nice. Thanks!

A geocache led me to the iconic location again.  I did a bit of research after I noted the signs of history all around me in this older somewhat disheveled Cincinnati suburb called Carthage. Here is what most long-time Cincinnatian's may not know:

Technically, Vine St, which comes up all the way from the Ohio River (sort of) and becomes Anthony Wayne Ave while Paddock (Rt 4) becomes Vine for a short jog until it continues North as Springfield Pike (Rt 4). Or you could say Paddock and Vine join here and Wayne begins...It's confusing and you really have to look at a map.

1928 Pontiac Indian Head Mascot

About 1000' from Chief Pontiac, where Wayne Ave crosses the Mill Creek, there is an historical marker for White’s Station.  This was a 1790 stockaded settlement that took on a big Indian attack in October 1793. Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne (note the street intersection here above) camped here later in 1793 on the way to the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers near Toledo. This was the final major battle of the Northwest Indian War that resulted in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. Settlers then flooded the area and Ohio became a state in 1803.

The historical marker was sponsored by the National Distillers Producers in 1953 (1 year before the big Indian sign was here). They built a new distillery nearby to produce Gilbey's Gin in 1935 right after Prohibition ended. There is sad irony here in that that Native Americans have a propensity toward alcoholism. This was a significant factor capitalized on by traders and negotiators in gaining the upper hand in negotiations. Alcohol pretty much destroyed the Indian family structure as well.

1950's Pontiac logo

The automaker Pontiac had a popular car line called the Chieftain during the 1950s. They'd been using Native American imagery in its logo since their beginning in the1920s. One wonders if Jake Sweeney was aware of the nearby historical connection or if the sign just seemed like a good attention grabber? This was a time when The Lone Ranger was the biggest show on TV. The Pontiac headdress logo was discontinued in the late 1950's. It was replaced by the red arrowhead design used until they stopped making Pontiac cars in 2010.

Mad Anthony Wayne slept here

There was a real Chief Pontiac. He was an Ottawa who led Pontiac's Rebellion from 1763 to 1766. This was the first known confederacy of American Indian tribes to fight Europeans. This would inspire Little Turtle in the late 18th century and later inspire Tecumseh in the early 19th century. I wonder if the car maker ever considered naming a model the Rebellion? Might be a good SUV name...anyway...
Finding themselves with no European ally after The French and Indian War, when the Brits booted the French, Pontiac's Confederation struck British settlements, forts, and posts across the Great Lakes region on their own.  It was during Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763 when the British infamously gave smallpox infested blankets during a negotiation at Fort Pitt to intentionally infect the Indians. Germ warfare.
This resistance ended as a military stalemate but considered successful for the Indians. The war resulted in British policy changes toward the Indian land claims and required colonists to stay east of the Appalachians. That part kind of helped cause the American Revolution. 
Chief Pontiac was murdered in Cahokia, Illinois in1769 by another Indian with an unclear motive, possibly a revenge killing. Some historians suspect he was bribed by the British who still saw him as a troublemaker. Times would change and treaties would get ignored and the British would find themselves allied with the Indians for the next round, this time to fight the Americans during their rebellion. That would continue throughout the rest of the 18th century until the end of the War of 1812.
Oh. The sign. There have been recent efforts to remove old signs like this as some feel it is derogatory or racist toward Native Americans. I won't get into that here. I go back and forth. Sometimes I think it does belong in a museum. More folks may see it that way and appreciate it for what it is. On the other hand, I would miss it as I drove by and maybe I never would have discovered all the great history that day. Also, this Pontiac looks like a white man playing Indian dress up to me.

Pontiac from 1950-1959 - I took the 1928 mascot photo from this site, great pics of early use of Indian imagery and themes by Pontiac

Note: some edits and revisions were done to this post on 07/24/2015

The Battle of Fallen Timbers

Wayne, an Indian and a militiaman overlook the battlefield

With history, it's important to gain perspective on specific events or they don't really make much sense. Like many battles, this didn't just spontaneously erupt one day. So with that in mind, the first half of this post is to give some background on what led up to this important but overlooked conflict. I did my best to be brief so it is certainly not all-encompassing and just covers what I feel are the major points. The second half concerns the actions just before the battle, the battle and its result which was ultimately the State of Ohio.

The prelude:
In the late 18th century, the newly formed United States was trying hard to eject the Shawnee, Miami, Delaware and other Indians from the Ohio country and open it for further settlement per the terms of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War. It seems the British gave away this territory to the Americans with nary a mention of the Indian claims to that land. The idea was that the British surrendered and since the Indians were allies of the British they were just included by proxy. The Brits back then had a problem with this concept it seems. As a result, the Americans felt they had a legal claim to this territory and began settling the area in droves. This did not sit well with the Indians currently living there and they fought back with somewhat covert British assistance. Yep, the same Brits who betrayed them at the Treaty of Paris! Ya see the Indians didn't have much choice but to trust the British again. It was either that or go at it alone but that would be disastrous since the British could provide much-needed supplies and intelligence from nearby Canada. The British would also benefit from this somewhat strained relationship by allowing them to keep a foothold in the territory they lost without really sacrificing any troops of their own. In a sense, the British really funded a long guerrilla war against the Americans after the end of the Revolutionary War. Sore losers.

Fallen Timbers Monument

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the US had already been badly defeated twice in 2 years by the Indians. At Harmar's Defeat in 1790, a campaign of a series of losses to the Indians in Ohio and again at St. Clairs Defeat in 1791 near present day Fort Recovery, where the Indians wiped out 1/4 of the US Army with a 97% casualty rate and minimal losses for the Indians. It was a slaughterhouse. No...really. This was the worst military defeat per capita ever in US history, much worse than the more famous Battle of Little Big Horn.  These victories buoyed the spirits of the Native Americans in Ohio and they held on to most of Ohio for another couple of years without much major resistance.

the Great Spirit over the battlefield after a downpour

The problem with these first two major US campaigns was that the soldiers were mostly undisciplined militia and not regular Army. It didn't help that Harmar and St Clair were not very skilled in the ways of frontier fighting and ignored warnings on Indian tactics by President Washington himself who had fought in the French and Indian War. It also didn't help that the Western Confederacy of Indians led by the Miami Chief Little Turtle, the Shawnee Blue Jacket, and the Delaware Buckongahelas were pretty skilled and knew the lay of the land more than the Americans. There were peace talks between the various Indian Chiefs and the Americans during 1792 where the US simply tried to buy the land to avoid more bloodshed. It was well known to the Indians that these new settlers were the poorest of the poorest whites and one observant Chief said that they didn't want the money and suggested that the US government just give the money to the poor whites and let the Indians keep their hunting grounds! Win-Win right? Eventually, the talks broke down and everyone went home. Some speculate that there was never really a serious attempt on the Americans behalf to settle this peacefully and peace talks were just a time killing ruse since while the talks were going on a new Army was being raised to finish what St Clair and Harmar had failed. President Washington appointed General "Mad" Anthony Wayne who had studied his predecessor's mistakes and included more disciplined regular soldiers.

my historical assistant Kelsey

The Battle:
In 1793 Wayne set out from Cincinnati's Fort Washington, building new forts, posts, and camps along the way and training his 4,600 men well in the ways of frontier battle. He also utilized some Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians serving as scouts that provided crucial information.

Wayne also knew the Indians well and played upon the fact that per tradition that the 1,500 Indian warriors would fast before the upcoming battle so he intentionally delayed the expected battle that was to be August 19th by one day which weakened his enemy.

just a sign at nearby British Ft Miamis

The area where the battle took place was already referred to as Fallen Timbers due to a large number of trees that had been uprooted from a tornado. The battle itself on August 20th, 1794 near present-day Toledo lasted about an hour and casualties were low, roughly 30 for each side but it was evident to the Indians that they would be overrun with this large organized force so they decided to retreat back 5 miles Northeast up the Maumee River to the British fort of Ft Miami which was being used as a supply post. The British, still supporters of the Indians against the Americans, were not eager or authorized to engage in battle with the US and refused to lend support or let them into the fort. The demoralized Indians decided to continue north while Wayne's men slashed and burned the crops and villages left behind which resulted in a very harsh winter for the Indians. This demoralized them even further over the next year and although skirmishes still occurred in Ohio many felt there was little choice to continue fighting. Over the next year, Wayne and many the various Chiefs negotiated the resulting 1795 Treaty of Greenville which ceded most of Ohio to the Americans.
It's important to note that one young Shawnee warrior named Tecumseh who was at the Battle of Fallen Timbers did not sign the treaty and would lead a resistance movement to reclaim this land 10 years later culminating in the War of 1812 on the side of the British with his own confederation inspired by Little Turtles confederation and Pontiac's before that. Tecumseh's confederation gets more attention in the history books but Little Turtles confederation actually enjoyed a longer, larger and more successful run.

Turkey Foot Rock

For many years the exact site of this important battle was lost to time and was thought to have been to the Southeast between where The Battle of Fallen Timbers Monument sits and the Maumee River but archaeology evidence in the 1990's was able to help determine the location is actually to the Northeast of the monument about a quarter mile away.
Fallen Timbers Battlefield was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960. The main monument and statue placed in 1962 at the site of the battle in Maumee OH is unique because it honors both sides of this battle and depicts Wayne, a militiaman, and an Indian fighter. Nearby is a plaque honoring and listing the soldiers slain here. Another marker placed in 1994 by the American Indian Intertribal Association commemorates the 200th anniversary of the battle and honors their ancestors and the site of Ottawa Chief Turkey Foot's battlefield's death as well.

Fallen Timbers Battle Monument

(Front)

The Greenville Treaty

To General Anthony Wayne who organized the “Legion of the United States” by order of President Washington and defeated Chief Little Turtle’s warriors here at Fallen Timbers August 20, 1794. This victory led to the Treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795. Which opened much of the present state of Ohio to white settlers.

(Right Side)

Indian Warfare

In memory of the white 

settlers massacred 1783-1794

(Left Side)

Onward in peace

To the pioneers of Ohio

And the great northwest

(Back)

The Battle of Fallen Timbers

To Chief Little Turtle and his brave Indian warriors

Treaty of Greenville

Today is the 216th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Greenville. It was a visit to Greenville, OH that sparked my interest in this time period. I have visited there several times my kid's gymnastics meets but also again to see the Garst Museum and some geocaching in this historical area.

I will save those stories for a proper blog post at another time but I couldn't let this day go by without acknowledging this very important event in Ohio and US history.

A brief introduction to the Treaty of Greenville