Osprey's Campaign title for the battle that marked Major General Arthur St. Clair's downfall in the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795). In 1791, the US Army conducted its first important operation. St. Clair led an American army of about 2,000 into what now is Ohio. On 4 November 1791, the campaign ended in what was, in proportion to the size of the US Army at the time, by far the greatest disaster in American military history. At the battle of the Wabash, also known as St. Clair's Defeat, more Americans died than in any prior battle, more than would fall on any field prior to the Civil War. In the tactical masterpiece of their military history, an Indian army destroyed a force that was larger, encamped on high ground, supported by artillery, and led by many of the best American officers of the Revolutionary War. This highly illustrated and detailed title illuminates all aspects of this historic campaign.

Finalist, 2023 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Awards On November 4, 1791, a coalition of warriors determined to set the Ohio River as a permanent boundary between tribal lands and white settlements faced an army led by Arthur St. Clair—the resulting horrific struggle ended in the greatest defeat of an American army at the hands of Native Americans. The road to the battle of the Wabash began when Arthur St. Clair was appointed to lead an army into the heart of the Ohio Indian Confederacy while building a string of fortifications along the way. He would face difficulties in recruiting, training, feeding, and arming volunteer soldiers. From the moment St. Clair’s shattered force began its retreat from the Wabash the men blamed the officers, and the officers in turn blamed their men. For over two centuries most historians have blamed either the officer corps, enlisted soldiers, an entangled logistical supply line, poor communications, or equipment. The destruction of the army resulted in a stunned Congress authorizing a regular army in 1792. This book, the result of 30 years’ research, puts the battle into the context of the last quarter of the 18th century, exploring how the central importance of land ownership to Europeans arriving in North America resulted in unrelenting demographic pressure on indigenous tribes, as well as the enormous obstacles standing in the way of the fledgling American Republic in paying off its enormous war debts. This is the story of how a small band of determined indigenous peoples defended their homeland, destroyed an invading American army, and forced a fundamental shift in the way in which the United States waged war.

"A balanced and readable account of the 1791 battle between St. Clair's US forces and an Indian coalition in the Ohio Valley, one of the most important and under-recognized events of its time"--

After the American Revolution, land speculators in the United States desired the bottom portion of the current state of Ohio, with the full Northwest Territory being the ultimate prize. Encompassing approximately 200 million acres, gaining this territory became a priority for the developing United Colonies. This land was ceded to the United Colonies, now the United States, when the British government signed the Treaty of Peace in 1783. Focusing on the first decade after the Revolution, this book explains the United States' seizure of territory in Ohio from the Native People who had no desire or intention of parting with their land. The Northwest Ordinance is discussed as a key event influencing how the United States would develop since this act created the desirable Northwest Territory. How the young republic faced the challenge of gaining this territory from the Natives determined exactly what kind of nation it would become.