Ravine, November 4, 1791. Ordered by President Washington to stop the British and Indians from killing settlers, General Arthur St. Clair's army arrived late in the afternoon on November 3, 1791, at a location approximately 60 miles southeast of present-day Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He had nearly 1000 soldiers, accompanied by approximately 250 camp followers. Exhausted from weeks of forward movement, a decision was made to wait until the following day to build fortifications. Kentucky's 260 member militia, which had been greatly reduced by desertions during the march north, was ordered to camp on higher ground across a tributary of the Wabash River, approximately 300 yards west of the main body of the army.
At daybreak, as soldiers stacked their weapons and paraded to their morning meals, hundreds of Indians began attacking. The Kentucky militia was hit first. Many of the militiamen were inexperienced and froze without fighting or fled across the river without their weapons.
The army was surrounded by a staggering alliance of Indians, possibly as many as 1400. Over the next three hours, a fierce battle continued. Colonel William Oldham was killed, as was General Richard Butler, St Clair's second in command. The Indians were described as "fighting like the hounds of hell." Sensing the imminent loss of his entire arm General St Clair ordered a retreat.
Exact numbers are unknown. Of the near 1250 Americans present, about 632 soldiers were killed or died later from wounds. Another 264 soldiers were likely wounded, but survived. And, of the camp followers— wives, children, laundresses and wagon drivers, more than 200 were also killed.
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Fort
Recovery, Ohio. Following the defeat along the Wabash River, President Washington ordered General Anthony Wayne to return to the Ohio Country with another army and succeed where General St. Clair had failed.
Wayne's army, called the Legion of the United States, returned on Christmas Day 1793, and began building a new fort at the exact location of the 1791 battle. They also continued the grim process of recovering the remains of the dead. After debating several choices, Wayne chose the name Fort Recovery to signify the army's intent to recover from its crushing defeat in 1791.
In 1794, Wayne's legion easily defeated the Indian alliance at The Battle of Fallen Timbers, ending the Northwest Indian Wars.
Colonel William Oldham was the second highest-ranking officer killed at St. Clair's Defeat. His name, along with that of 31 other officers, is inscribed around the base of an obelisk authorized by Congress and erected in 1912 at Fort Recovery, Ohio. The remains of Will Oldham, along with other soldiers who died under the commands of Arthur St. Clair and Anthony Wayne, are buried in the memorial.
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