St. Clair's DefeatPublic Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
History
St. Clair's Defeat
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County
St. Clair's Campaign, 1791
“The late Governor George Madison of Kentucky, who afterward commanded
the troops who defended themselves so honorably at Raisin River, was a
man of amiable temper and unconquerable courage. At that time, he was a
subaltern in St. Clair’s army. His health was poor; and now, totally
exhausted by the exertions of the morning, he was calmly sitting on a
log awaiting the approach of his enemies. Kennan hastily accosted him
and inquired the cause of his delay. Madison, pointing to a wound which
had bled profusely, replied that he was unable to walk any farther and
that he had no horse. Kennan instantly ran back to a spot where he had
seen an exhausted horse grazing and caught it without difficulty. Having
assisted Madison to mount, he walked beside the animal until they were
out of danger. Fortunately, the pursuit soon ceased, as the plunder of
the camp presented irresistible attractions to the enemy. The friendship
thus formed between these two young men endured without interruption for
the rest of their lives. Kennan never entirely recovered from the severe
exertions which he had been compelled to make during this unfortunate
expedition. He settled in Fleming County where he was a leading member
of the Baptist church for many years. He died in 1827.”
The number of Indians engaged in this action can never be ascertained
with any degree of certainty. Estimates have varied from one to three
thousand. Colonel John Johnston, long an Indian agent in this region,
had many opportunities to form a correct opinion on this subject. His
statements in a letter of 1846 are worthy of consideration.
“The number of Indians at the defeat of St. Clair must have been large.
At that time game was plentiful, and a large number of Indians could
have subsisted easily. Wells, one of our interpreters, was there and
fought for the enemy. To use his own language, he tomahawked and scalped
the wounded, dying, and dead, until he was unable to raise his arm. The
principal tribes in the battle were the Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot,
Miami, and Ottawa. A few Indians of the Chippewa and Potawatomi tribes
were also present. I had no accurate means of knowing the total number,
but it could not have been less than two thousand.”
Some time after the defeat of St. Clair, General Wilkinson, who had
become commander of Fort Washington, ordered an expedition to visit the
battleground. Captain Buntin, who was with the party, afterward wrote a
letter to St. Clair from which the following is extracted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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