Two years after, when a detachment of Wayne’s army camped upon the scene
of the carnage, they had to scrape away the heaps of bones and carry
them out of their tents before they could make their beds, and they
buried six hundred skulls on the field. Such is war, and we cannot look
too closely on its hideous face, which is often so alluringly painted
that we forget it is the face of a pitiless demon.
XII. THE INDIAN WARS AND WAYNE’S VICTORY.
The Indians who had been so well generaled and had fought so ably,
failed as usual to follow up their victory by moving on the American
settlements in force. They kept on harassing the pioneers in small war
parties, but gave the country time to send an army, thoroughly equipped
and thoroughly disciplined, against them. They made a second attack on
the Americans on the old battle ground where General Wayne had built
his Fort Recovery, but they were beaten off with severe loss, though in
their attack they had the aid of many white Canadians and even of some
British officers, or at least of men wearing the uniform of British
officers.
By the treaty of 1783 Great Britain agreed to give us the whole West
below a certain line, but when the time came for the surrender, she
refused to yield the forts south of this line. With the bad faith
of wanton power she kept her posts at Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, and
Mackinaw, because we were weak and she was strong; and from these points
her agents abetted the savages in their war upon the American frontiers.
Just before the battle of Fallen Timbers, where Wayne won his victory,
the Lieutenant Governor of Canada marched a force of Canadian militia
and British regulars into the Ohio country, and built a fort on the
Maumee, near the battle ground, which he held until 1796, when Great
Britain at last gave up all the places she had unrightfully kept. The
Indians expected this fort to open its gates to them, when they fled
before Wayne’s men, and were astonished and indignant at the behavior of
then-British friends in denying them refuge. This was not from want of
ill will toward the Americans, who taunted them as they passed, and
whom the garrison wished to fire upon for approaching the post in
force. Sharp letters passed between the American general and the British
commandant, but it ended in nothing worse, and our jealous army,
which remained in the neighborhood laying waste the Indian fields and
villages, could not perceive that the British gave any aid or comfort to
the savages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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