General Wayne now felt that he could safely advance into the Indian country. On July 28 his army moved forward via Fort Recovery to the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers. Arriving there on August 8, 1794, he erected fortifications which he called Fort Defiance. When this redoubt was completed he was in a dominating position. One large Indian force was located at Kekionga at the confluence of the St. Mary’s and the St. Joseph Rivers, just forty-eight miles southwest of him. Another large force of Indians had assembled at Fort Miamis some 30 miles northeast near Toledo. He spread false rumors of his intentions and thus kept his enemy divided. Because they were uncertain of his future movements they did not dare to combine against him. There was, however, daily skirmishing. The Indians were plainly seeking a weak point in Wayne’s defense. Turning eastward General Wayne swiftly moved toward Fort Miamis. He stopped eight miles from Fort Defiance and erected a redoubt which he named Fort Deposit. This fort served as storage for military equipment. Thereafter the legion marched with lightened burdens, ready for instant combat. On their route they reached a point near the present town of Maumee, Ohio where a large part of the forest had been uprooted by a storm. Here on August 20, 1794, the Indians attacked but were overwhelmingly defeated. The engagement is known in history as the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The Indians fled to Fort Miamis a few miles away expecting succor from their British friends, but on their arrival the gates of the fort were closed against them. This indicated to them that they had no hope of substantial British aid at this time. For a week Wayne deployed his forces near the British fort, but when no action occurred, he returned to Fort Defiance. He spent two weeks strengthening the fortifications here, and then, on September 14 he advanced toward Kekionga. After a three-days’ march he arrived at the capital of the Miami Indians but the inhabitants had fled. Here he built a fort which was named for himself—Fort Wayne. On October 22, 1794, to the accompaniment of the roll of drums and the discharge of fifteen cannon, the American soldiers marched into the fort and the authority of the American Government was formally established at the confluence of the Rivers. General Wayne left a strong garrison here and returned with most of his forces to Greenville for the winter. Thus he completed the conquest of the northwest Territory and at the same time destroyed the strong alliance between the Indians and the British. Anthony Wayne is the only leader who served in any of the opposing armies of the Revolutionary War who enhanced his military reputation after that war ended. Transcriber’s Notes —Silently corrected a few typos. —Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.