ST. CLAIR’S DEFEAT [Illustration: decorative glyph] Prepared by the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County 1954 [Illustration: Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County] One of a historical series, this pamphlet is published under the direction of the governing Boards of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL CITY OF FORT WAYNE _B.F. Geyer, President_ _Joseph E. Kramer, Secretary_ _W. Page Yarnelle, Treasurer_ _Mrs. Sadie Fulk Roehrs_ _Willard Shambaugh_ PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD FOR ALLEN COUNTY The members of this Board include the members of the Board of Trustees of the School City of Fort Wayne (with the same officers) together with the following citizens chosen from Allen County outside the corporate City of Fort Wayne: _James E. Graham_ _Arthur Nieneier_ _Mrs. Glenn Henderson_ _Mrs. Charles Reynolds_ FOREWORD Several survivors of St. Clair’s Defeat wrote vivid accounts of their experiences during that terrible battle. These personal reports detail one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army. Encouraged by victories over the forces of Generals Harmar and St. Clair, the Indians preyed upon the defenseless frontier. Therefore, the success of General Wayne’s expedition, undertaken in 1792 to subdue the redskins, was of primary importance to the development of the West. The first of the three articles in this pamphlet contains the accounts which Henry Howe included in his HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF OHIO, first published in 1847. Sources of quotations used in Howe’s COLLECTIONS are not always clear, but the material is considered of sufficient historical significance to warrant reprinting without exact citations. The second item appeared in the INDIANA HERALD on April 13, 1864. The third article is a brief newspaper report which was published in the INDIANA STATE JOURNAL on September 27, 1851. The Boards and the Staff of the Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County present this publication in the hope that it will prove interesting to the general public as well as to students of the history of the Old Northwest. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation have been changed to conform to current usage. The great objective of St. Clair’s campaign was to establish a military post at the Miami village (the site of the present city of Fort Wayne) at the junction of the St. Mary’s and St. Joseph rivers. Intermediate posts of communication were to be maintained from that place to Fort Washington at Cincinnati. This was felt to be the only way to prevent future hostilities.