Let's See Who Blinks First

 

Fallen Timbers Battlefield

Most history buffs are familiar with the Battle Of Fallen Timbers in 1794.  What they may not be as familiar with is an incident that took place immediately after the battle, one that could have easily resulted in a second war with England. It also created a situation that marked the beginning of the end for the Indian/British alliance in North America.

Third Times a Charm

During a ten-year period (1780 -1790) over 1500 settlers living along the Ohio river had been murdered by Indians. In an effort to stop the carnage, President Washington ordered Gen. Josiah Harmar to assemble an army, march north and destroy the Indian stronghold at Kekionga (Fort Wayne Indiana). His campaign was a miserable failure. The following year (1791) Washington gave the same order to Gen. Arthur St. Clair.  St. Clair's army was obliterated on Nov. 4th with a defeat recognized as the worse defeat of an American army at the hands of Native Americans (St. Clair's Defeat). 

Still intent on destroying Kekionga, Washington next ordered Gen. Anthony Wayne to complete the mission. Wayne spent 1792 and 1793 training troops to fight on the frontier and negotiating with contractors to assure his supply chain was in place. He was not about to make the same mistakes as his predecessors. Wayne was a micro-manager, a man Chief Little Turtle called, "the chief who never sleeps."

Gen. Anthony Wayne 

 

"Oh Oh......Here he comes.”

The British were well aware of the 2 previous campaigns against Kekionga and that a 3rd attack was on its way. What they feared most was that once Kekionga was in American hands, the Americans would attack the British stronghold at Detroit.  As a precaution and seeing themselves as a first line defense for Detroit, in the Spring of 1794 Major William Campbell and his 200-man force began construction of a fort in on the north bank of the Maumee River and named it Fort Miami.  

    

Fort Miami  (Scale Comparison)

What they didn't know was Wayne had no intention of attacking Detroit, his sole focus was on gaining control of the Indians along the Maumee River.  What they also did not know was that Wayne had been authorized by the Secretary of War to "dislodge" the British from the fort if in the course of his operation he felt it was necessary. The instructions were:

"If in the course of your operatiopns against the Indian enemy, it should become necessary to dsislodge the party [the British garrison], you are hereby authorized in the name of the president of the United States to do so.

 

August 20, 1794

 

On the morning of August 20, 1794, Wayne's army advanced along the northside of the Maumee River and arrived at a clearing littered with fallen trees apparently felled and uprooted by a tornado or huge windstorm that had passed through the area.    Wayne’s force of 3000 regulars, militia, and Indian spies immediately engaged the enemy force of 1500 being led by Blue Jacket, Buckendahls and Tecumseh.

Rule #1 - Never Go Into Battle With an Empty Stomach

Aside from being outnumbered 2 to 1, the enemy was under another distinct disadvantage, hunger.  It was common practice among the Indians to fast before a battle because if shot in the stomach with food in it, there was a danger of infections.  Thinking Wayne’s army would arrive on the 19^th the Indians had not eaten for two days. They also thought the fallen trees would hinder the armies advance, instead, Wayne flanked them with his cavalry while his infantry pushed on with fixed bayonets.  The ensuing fight lasted only a few minutes.  Wayne’s losses were 33 killed and 100 wounded.  The enemy losses were 30 to 40 Indians and Canadians killed.   The number of enemy wounded remains unknown as those able to leave the field either swam across the Maumee River or retreated along with the river back toward Ft. Miami, the British fort 4 miles to the east. 

Major William Campbell, the British commandant at Fort Miami, could hear the cannon and small arms fire 4 miles to his west.    Fearing Wayne was on his way to attack his fort,  Major Campbell ordered that his defensive obstacles, abatis and Che Vaux de Frise be put into place.

   
                  Abatis                                                  Che Vaux de Frise

Arriving back at Ft. Miami, the retreating Indians were met with a very unpleasant surprise.  The gates were locked, and they were told to hide somewhere else. Angry and disgusted, many ran into the nearby woods while others jumped into the river and swam to the opposite side.  Meanwhile, Wayne was rushing headlong toard the British post. 

 

Meanwhile at the battlefield, the smoke and chaos had ended, and the Indians and their allies had fled the field,  General Wayne reassembled his troops, tended to the wounded and began burying the dead. The following day he marched his army 4 miles to the east and set up camp less than a mile from the British fort.  

Aug. 21, 1794 - Seeing the American army camped withing shouting distance from his fort, Major Campbell sent a messenger with a white flag with a letter for General Wayne.   

 NOTE:  The following chain of letters exchanged between General Wayne and Major Campbell is written in the language of the day and as you'll see, "very flowery and wordy."  I transcribed them using modern day vernacular and included them at the end of the chain.

Major Campbell’s letter to Gen. Wayne:    

"Sir: An army of the United States of America, said to be under your command, having taken post on the banks of the Miami for upwards of the last twenty-four hours, almost within the reach of the guns of this fort, being a post belonging to His Majesty the King of Great Britain, occupied by his Majesty's troops, it becomes my duty to inform myself as speedily as possible in what light I am to view your making such near approaches to this garrison. I have no hesitation on my part to say that I know of no war existing between Great Britain and America."

General Wayne’s response back to Major Campbell:  

"Sir: I have received your letter of this date requiring from me the motives which have moved the army under my command to the position they at present occupy, far within the acknowledged jurisdiction of the United States of America. Without questioning the authority, or propriety, sir, of your interrogatory, I think I may, without breach of decorum, observe to you that, were you entitled to an answer, the most full and satisfactory one was announced to you from the muzzles of my small arms yesterday morning in the action against the horde of savages in the vicinity of your post, which terminated gloriously to the American arms; but had it continued until the Indians, &c., were driven under the influence of the post and guns you mention, they would not have much impeded the progress of the victorious army under my command, as no such post was established at the commencement of the present war between the Indians and the United States the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your most obedient and humble servant."

In the early morning of August 22 General Wayne slowly approached the fort alone on horseback. When he was within pistol range, he dismounted and walked around the entire perimeter of the fort all the while hurling insults at the soldiers behind its walls and making unflattering comments about their flag.

Major Campbell’s reaction to General Wayne.   

"Although your letter of yesterday's date fully authorizes me to any act of hostility against the army of the United States of America in this neighborhood under your command, yet, still anxious to prevent that dreadful decision which, perhaps, is not intended to be appealed to by either of our countries, I have forborne, for those two days past, to resent those insults you have offered to the British flag flying at this fort, by approaching it within pistol shot of my works, not only singly, but in numbers, with arms in their hands. Neither is it my wish to wage war with individuals; but should you, after this, continue to approach my post in the threatening manner you are at this moment doing, my indispensable duty to my King and country, and the honor of my profession, will oblige me to have recourse to those measures which thousands of either nation may hereafter have cause to regret, and which, I solemnly appeal to God, I have used my utmost endeavors to arrest."

 General Wayne’s response to Major Campbell:   

"taking post far within the well-known and acknowledged limits of the United States, and erecting a fortification in the heart of the settlement of the Indian tribes now at war with the United States. Hence, it becomes my duty to desire, and I do hereby desire and demand, in the name of the President of the United States, that you immediately desist from any further act of hostility or aggression, by forbearing to fortify, and removing to the nearest post occupied by his Britannic Majesty's at the peace of 1783, and which you will be permitted to do unmolested by the troops under my command. 

 Major Campbell’s response to General Wayne.   

"I certainly will not abandon this post at the summons of any power whatever, until I receive orders from those, I have the honor to serve under or the fortunes of war should oblige me. I must still adhere, sir, to the purport of my letter this morning, to desire that your army, or individuals belonging to it, will not approach within reach of my cannon, without expecting the consequences attending it." 

The letters exchanged between Wayne and Campbell were written in the language of the day and contained 633 words.  Written in a modern language, the exchange would contain 237 words.   

 Campbell - "Your army set up a camp close to my fort. We're not at war with the United States so what's that all about?  

Wayne - "First of all our camp is within the jurisdiction of the United States.  Secondly, one would think the sounds of a battle yesterday would have been a clue as to what's going on and thirdly, had you given the Indians shelter in your post, we've would have attacked you."

Campbell - "If you had attacked our post, I had the authority to take action against you.  By the way, I really resent you riding around my post with some of your men   shouting insults at my men and insulting our flag.  If you keep this up and do it again, I'll have no choice but to take action, that both our countries would want to avoid."  

  Wayne - "Not only did you build your fort on United States property, but you also built it in the center of villages of the very people we're at war with.  That said, in the  name of the United States, I demand you to avoid any aggressive actions against my army and abandon the post and go to the nearest British post.   You will not be harmed."  

 Campbell -  "I will not abandon this post under threats by you or anyone unless I'm ordered to do so.   I want to remind you if anyone from your army should approach my fort, they should expect consequences."    

The Absolute Genius of Anthony Wayne

With an army of approx. 2000, General Wayne could easily have "dislodged" Major Campbells force of approx. 200 from the fort but he chose not to for these reasons.  

1)  If Wayne had attacked the post and Campbell retaliated it could have led to war with the United States, something England could not afford.  England was already at war with France and fighting two wars on  two continents was something it simply could not afford.   

3)  If Wayne attacked the fort, and Campbell retaliated, Wayne's force would have prevailed and would have forced Major Campbell and his men to surrender the fort.  

Important:  The Indians watching events unfold from nearby woods would have seen their brave British allies fighting the Americans to the bitter end, heroes in their eyes.   Instead, they had been locked out of the fort and watched as General Wayne and his men paraded around the British fort hurling insults, taunting them and mocking their flag while the British doing nothing. To the Indian this was cowardice on the British part, something they absolutely detested. It also sent a clear signal that the British could no longer be counted on for support.    

Scorched Earth  

Wayne's attempt to provoke Major Campbell into a response had fallen short so on August 23 he broke camp and headed west toward his original objective, Kekionga.  Before leaving he set fire to everything with view of the fort "even under the muzzles of his (Campbell's) guns."  The marched west using the military strategy of scorched Earth,  "destroying everything that allows an enemy force to be able to fight including deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and infrastructures."   

Waynes troops destroyed all the cornfields, orchards, cabins and shelters for miles  on both sides of the Maumee River, including Indian agent Alexander McKee's trading post.  

The Long Cold Winter 

 With their food sources destroyed and their cabins and shelters burned to the ground, the Indians knew they faced a long cold winter.  No doubt, there was much discussion among the various tribes that winter as to what their next course of action should be.  While the younger warriors wanted to continue their fight against the Americans, older warriors, most who had been fighting the Americans for many years knew it was time  to stop.  On August 3, 1795, almost a year after the battle at Fallen Timber, General Wayne and various tribal leaders met at Fort Greenville and signed the Greenville Treaty.

  

A Personal Note

  In 1996 I volunteered to use my metal detecting services to help with the archaeology work being done at the Fallen Timbers battlefield.  I drove from Lima everyday for a week.  We were given a tube of flags with instructions to place them where we got a strong signal.  We were also instructed not to dig anything up.  On my last day there I got a very strong signal and I thought, "Heck, I've been doing this for years and I'm going to see what this thing is."  I stuck my bayonet down into the ground and up popped a 69 caliber Charleville musket ball.  I stood there in amazement thinking this was fired during the Battle of Fallen Timbers.  To me this was like finding an arrow head at Custers Little Big Horn battle field.  When I got home I told my buddy Darrel Young what I had found and he said, "let me see it,"  I hesitated and he said, "You put it back in ground didn't you."  I said, "Yeah."  We both knew why.  

Finding the musketball was, and still is, one of the most exciting finds of my life and taking it home would have been so easy, but to this day I still remember the feeling I had pushing it back down into the dirt.  In that instant I remeinded myself that that simple musketball was part of a major event in American HIstory and taking it, in my minds eye, would have been akin to minimizing or soiling the history of all that took place that day in August 1794.  I think I was smiling as I did it because in my own way I had helped preserve a piece of history.   

BTW,  I have a button from one of Anthony Waynes soldiers I found near Fort Amanda.  Even thought it's only one of dozens found in northwest Ohio, would I take $10,000 for it.  What do you think?