During the Indian Wars of 1790-1795, the United States built a chain of forts in the contested area of what is today western Ohio after various tribes of the region attacked the encroaching American population moving north of the Ohio River. In October 1791, General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, began a mission to punish the tribes and on October 12 ordered his forces to build Fort Jefferson, the fourth link in the chain stretching north from Fort Washington in Cincinnati to Fort Deposit in Waterville. The forts were generally a hard day's march from each other, and this site was chosen for its nearby fresh water. The fort was named for Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. St. Clair left Fort Jefferson on October 24, 1791, on a mission to subdue Indian tribes that had attacked white settlers coming north of the Ohio River, but his forces advanced only about 28 miles before halting at the east branch of the Wabash River. On November 4, forces under Chief Little Turtle inflicted the worst defeat ever by Indians upon the United States army, killing over 600 soldiers and wounding 300. During the next 24 hours, survivors made their way back to Fort Jefferson. Within two years, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne assembled the Legion of the United States for another campaign against the Indians, and in October 1793 he used Fort Jefferson as a supply base during the campaign that led to the American victory at Fallen Timbers in August 1794. The subsequent August 1795 Treaty of Greenville assured peace in Ohio for the next decade.