In October 1784 a treaty was drawn at Fort Stanwix, New York, between the Americans and the Six Nations of the Iroquois in which the Indian Nations were to forfeit all claims to a small portion of Western New York as well as to the Ohio Country lands lying north of the Ohio River. With the Revolutionary War over and the country deeply in debt, Pennsylvania needed a clear title to her western lands so that the soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line could be given Donation Lands, based on their ranks, as compensation for their military service. Other lands would be set aside as Depreciation Lands that would be sold at auction to pay down the war debt. Neither the Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandot nor any of the other western tribes who actually occupied the land were present at far-away Fort Stanwix, and thus a second treaty was needed. This took place in January 1785 at Fort McIntosh. Since the Continental Army had been disbanded, it was necessary to raise a new army to protect and enforce the new treaty. Colonel Josiah Harmar was directed to enlist a regiment not to exceed 700 men to reactivate Fort McIntosh. Pennsylvania was the only state to provide troops. Late in 1784 when the regiment arrived at Fort McIntosh, their first permanent post, Harmar named them the First American Regiment. The soldiers were charged with guarding the Treaty Commissioners who met there with 400 chiefs and braves from the Indian Nations. The Treaty of Fort McIntosh was imposed by right of conquest and required the Indians to forfeit all prior claims to the lands north of the Ohio River, including all of the Northwest Territory. The First American Regiment survives today as the Presidential Honor Guard, the Old Guard of the Third Infantry Division, and is recognized as the first and oldest regular unit in the United States Army.
