As a direct result of the Battle of the Wabash, the Legion of the United States was formed in 1792 with Major General Anthony Wayne appointed as the Commanding General. In 1793, Wayne led a third U.S. military campaign to control the Northwest Territory. On December 22, while at his headquarters in Greeneville, Wayne sent a letter to Major Henry Burbeck also at Greeneville. Wayne commanded Burbeck "You will march tomorrow morning" with infantry and artillery to the site of St. Clair's defeat. Once there "possess yourself of the most favorable ground on the south side of the Wabash which the battle was fought and immediately proceed to erect four blockhouses of twenty feet square in the clear, connected with pickets, agreeably to the enclosed plan or draught." Burbeck did as ordered, arriving at Fort Recovery on Christmas Eve. Before constructing the fort, the men had to clear the area of the bones of St. Clair's troops, burying them in a mass grave on the banks of the Wabash. Wayne was very concerned about further attacks from American Indians and gave explicit instructions regarding the building of the fort and blockhouses. "Let all your houses be underway at the same time: by which you can cover your detachment from all the Indians in the wilderness in the course of two hours after laying the ground bare."


You are standing



on the approximate site of the fort and where Burbeck's men would have camped for the night prior to building Fort Recovery