Across The Fence: Battle of the Wabash – St. Clair's Defeat

The Harmar campaign against the Native Americans of the Northwest Territory, in the autumn of 1790, resulted in the highest casualties of any previous battle of the U.S. Army.

After the final skirmish of that campaign, General Josiah Harmar and the remaining rag-tag force under his command retreated from the field of battle and returned to Fort Washington. During the two-week march, horses starved and members of the volunteer militia continued to desert.

The Indian victory established the Miami chief, Little Turtle, as a heroic leader and gave the Native Americans the incentive to continue their resistance against the United States. The Miami – under Little Turtle – and the Shawnee – under Blue Jacket – continued their attacks on white settlements all across the Northwest Territories.

Gen. Harmar faced a court martial but was exonerated of any wrongful actions contributing to the defeat. It was generally accepted that the defeat was the result of inexperienced and poorly equipped troops.

Angered by the embarrassing defeat, President Washington declared, "my mind... is prepared for the worst; that is, for expense without honor or profit."

My personal 21st century interpretation of this 18th century choice of words is that President Washington was prepared to spare no expense in retaliation against the Native Americans, even at the risk of failure. In response, Congress financed a second regiment for the Regular Army but later reduced soldier's pay so drastically that the First Regiment was reduced to less than 300 soldiers and the Second Regiment was only able to recruit half the number of authorized men.

President Washington called upon St. Clair to take command of the next military expedition against the Miami and Shawnee. At the rank of Major General, St. Clair began preparations for a combined objective to build supply posts and, more importantly, punish and subdue the Indians in the territory. Washington was insistent that St. Clair begin his campaign during the summer, just as he had encouraged Harmar to do the same. Unfortunately, like Harmar, St. Clair was delayed in preparations and also, like Harmar, did not leave Fort Washington until October, almost exactly one year after Harmar's failed campaign. The delayed departure would not be the only similarity to his expedition.

The military strength of St. Clair's troops consisted of 600 soldiers of the Regular Army, 800 paid levies who had been drafted for six months of duty and 600 militia, a total combined force of 2,000 men. By the time the expedition was ready to move north into the Territory, desertions had already taken a toll and fewer than 1,500 soldiers remained. Besides the fighting men, camp followers consisting of wives, children, servants and prostitutes added nearly 250 people to the numbers.

From the very beginning the expedition was fraught with controversy and difficulties. St. Clair was virtually incapacitated by a severe case of gout. The illness kept him frequently confined to his tent, a situation that seriously impaired his ability to maintain order and discipline, especially with the volunteer militia and the drafted levies. St. Clair's issues with discipline were further complicated by the unfortunate fact that he was at odds with Major General Richard Butler, his second in command, and the two were not on speaking terms.

Progress was slow and the advancing troops frequently observed Indians who followed. Although minor skirmishes between troops and the Indian scouts would occur at times, St. Clair dismissed the confrontations as inconsequential and was of the opinion that the Indians as a group would flee rather than fight, an opinion that was also held, 85 years later, by a general named Custer.

By the first of November, due to continued desertions, the expeditionary force had dwindled to less than 1,000 men, half the original number, and about 200 camp followers.

On the evening of November 3rd, St. Clair's expedition camped near the headwaters of the Wabash River. The camp was located on a high meadow and despite the fact that numerous Indians had been spotted in the surrounding timber, a defensive perimeter was not established. St. Clair's fighting force now consisted of 52 officers and 868 soldiers consisting mostly of enlisted men and some militia, more than 1,100 men had deserted.

While St. Clair was losing men, Little Turtle and Blue Jacket's forces were increasing. Chief Buckongahelas of the Delaware brought nearly 500 warriors to join Little Turtle and several warriors from the Potawatomi of eastern Michigan joined the ranks. Numbering more than 1,200 warriors, Little Turtle and his followers surrounded St. Clair's camp while the unsuspecting U.S. Army slept.

The autumn sky turned a dusty gold in the early morning of November 4th 1791 while Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and Buckongahelas watched St. Clair's troops stack their weapons in jumbled cones of disorder and amble to the mess tent for breakfast. The signal was given and the Confederacy of Northwest Territory Indians attacked.

At the first rush of battle, the militia abandoned their weapons and fled across the stream. Little Turtle's warriors pursued. The regulars scrambled to their rifle stacks, set up battle lines and fired an effective volley into the advancing Indians. The barrage drove the attacking Indians back but other warriors closed in on the flanks of the regulars. The artillery, located on a nearby bluff, was never brought into action, the artillerymen being killed by Native snipers before the cannon could be loaded.

Colonel William Darke, in command of a battalion of regulars, ordered his men to fix bayonets and mount an offensive charge against the primary Indian position. The Natives yielded to the charge, surrounding the Regulars as they passed through then attacked and destroyed the entire battalion. The bayonet charge tactic was attempted several times with similar results and the U.S. forces scattered in chaos and disorder. St. Clair attempted to rally the troops by riding among them while repeatedly shouting, "Cowards, cowards, cowards!" During the battle, St. Clair had three horses shot from under him.

After nearly three hours of fighting, St. Clair gathered together those able men and officers that remained and organized one last bayonet charge to break the Indian's line of attack. In the same fashion as the previous charges the Indians allowed the charge to pass through their lines then engaged them in a running battle that covered three miles over a two hour period. At last the Indians gave up the pursuit and returned to loot the abandoned camp. St. Clair and those who joined in the final bayonet charge had abandoned the wounded and the camp followers. The exact numbers of those still alive at the camp was unknown, however it is told that execution fires burned for several days.

When the battle had ended nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. Army lay dead. Of the 52 officers under St. Clair's command 39 were killed and seven wounded. Some camp followers had joined the regulars and fought beside them in the final stages of battle. Of about 920 combatants 632 were killed and 264 wounded. All the unarmed camp followers, servants, women and children, nearly 200 were slaughtered. Only 24 combatants escaped without serious injury. Among the Shawnee, Miami and Potawatomi, 21 Native Americans were killed.

The number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Battle of the Wabash was more than three times greater than those killed under Custer's command at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

St. Clair arrived in Philadelphia in January of 1792 to make his official report on the events at the Wabash River. He requested that he be court-martialed in order to argue his position and gain exoneration of his actions after which he would tender his resignation. St. Clair blamed the War Department and the quartermaster for his failure. President Washington refused the request and demanded an immediate resignation.

A later review by the war department determined that the primary fault lay with inadequate military training of enlisted soldiers and insufficient provisions in terms of quality and quantity from the U.S. Army Quartermaster.

Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, emboldened by their decisive and deadly victory continued to strengthen the Confederacy and battle against the continued encroachment of white settlers on their lands. President Washington called upon Major General Anthony Wayne to take command of the Army and continue the fight to defeat the Confederacy and take possession of the Territory.

General Anthony 'Mad' Wayne, after nearly two years of preparations in training of troops, establishing the necessary discipline and insuring adequate support from the War Department, launched his campaign against the Confederacy in 1794.

At the Battle of Fallen Timbers on Aug, 20 of that year, Wayne defeated Blue Jacket and Little Turtle with a superior force of infantry and cavalry and the Northwest Territories were secured. Casualties in that battle were about 30 men killed on each side.

M. Timothy Nolting is an award winning Nebraska columnist and freelance writer. To contact Tim, email: [email protected]