Fallen Timbers

Resentment by Indians against white encroachment reached a peak in the 1790s. Encouraged by the British, they began raiding settlements. Two poorly organized American military campaigns, led by General Josiah Harmar in 1790 and Governor Arthur St. Clair in 1791, were soundly defeated by Indians. President Washington then turned to Anthony Wayne to crush Indian resistance. Wayne assembled troops at Cincinnati, then moved to Fort Greene Ville, where he spent many months creating a disciplined, well-trained army. By summer 1794, he was ready to move. On the march to the Maumee Valley, Wayne met nearly 2,000 Indians at a grove of trees felled by a tornado. After hard fighting, Wayne drove them to the gates of nearby Fort Miamis, where he defeated them. In the Treaty of Greene Ville, signed in 1795, Indians surrendered their claims to most of Ohio. The treaty pacified the frontier for fifteen years and opened Ohio to peaceful settlement.

Ohio · United States