On August 20, 1794, General “Mad Anthony” Wayne led American troops to victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, there were no Native American representatives at the negotiations. So, they were left out of consideration when Britain ceded the Northwest Territory to the US.
Around 1790, different Native American nations formed an alliance – called the Northwestern Confederacy – against the United States (with some of the British soldiers still in the area) to defend their lands. At first, the Northwestern Confederacy defeated the US forces that fought against them, which began to worry President George Washington.
Washington commissioned General Anthony Wayne to lead an army to deal with the Northwestern Confederacy. Wayne had earned the name “Mad Anthony” through his acts of reckless bravery during the Revolutionary War.
After studying the results of previous battles, Wayne discovered the US failure was likely due to poor training and leadership. Wayne put together and trained his army, and on August 20, 1794, they faced the Native American leader Little Turtle and his ally Blue Jacket.
Wayne had recruited and trained 5,000 soldiers, and also found Choctaw and Chickasaw Native Americans to act as scouts. At the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the Northwestern Confederacy was outnumbered, and Wayne’s victory came quickly. When the Northwestern Confederacy fled, they hoped the British at Fort Miami would protect them. But, unlike other British commanders who had supported the Native American cause, William Campbell at Fort Miami didn’t want to start a war with the United States, so he refused to help the Northwestern Confederacy.
In Europe, John Jay had been trying to negotiate a treaty to convince the British to abandon their forts in the Northwest Territory completely. Wayne’s victory helped move the treaty along. A year after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Wayne and Little Turtle signed the Treaty of Greenville, handing over the Ohio Territory to the United States.
Click here to view the National Park website dedicated to this battlefield and its history.
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The article has me going to the library once again to learn more
Again, stamps opening the door to US history that is not prominent in the text books.
Stamps are a wonderful way to learn about our country and our world. It promotes further investigation to some very obscure events that actually are significant in our life and heritage. I really appreciate Mystic for their efforts in bringing this to those of us who are open to learning more about these events. Great work Mystic.
Ooh, big surprise…the Native Americans lose again. This had been going on since the mid 1600s and would continue for the next hundred years.