Last Revolution Battle Fought In Ohio

The first settlers of Ohio would swear bitterly when visitors from the east coast spoke of Lord Cornwallis' surrender that "ended" the War for Independence.

It was true that on Oct. 19, 1781, British troops at Yorktown had turned their caps backward and laid down their muskets to the music of their own band playing "The World Turned Upside Down."

But the early Buckeyes were aware that the British still held strong forts at Detroit, Mackinac and Niagara and regularly supplied the Indians for attacks against American settlements.

For the frontiersmen - American and British - the Revolutionary War had not diminished.  If anything, action in the Ohio Country had intensified as the British sought by force of arms and occupation to contain the upstart confederation of colonies on the east coast.

Americans suffered the Indian raids for a decade then impatiently demanded protection from Congress.  National leaders, likewise, had grown weary of trying to persuade the British to vacate the Northwest Territory as agreed to in the treaty supposedly ending the Revolutionary War.

Congress first assigned the task of subduing the Indians and driving out the British to General Josiah Harmar (1790), then to General Arthur St. Clair (1791).  Both were repulsed by the Indians with British support.

Finally, Congress called General "Mad" Anthony Wayne from retirement to secure the western lands for the United States.

General Wayne had acquired his nickname during the Revolution for his daring exploits at the head of his troops.  Yet, he was a careful tactician.

He collected 2,500 men at Fort Pittsburgh and proceeded in the spring of 1793 to Cincinnati where he spent the entire summer drilling the troops in frontier warfare.  The winter was spent in further drill at the newly erected Fort Greene Ville.

That same year the British moved boldly into Ohio Country and constructed Ft. Miamis on the Maumee River near present day Toledo.

The spring of 1794 found General Wayne's troops on the move northward, building Fort Recovery and Fort Defiance as they progressed.

It was mid August before the cautious Wayne made contact with the enemy.  He sent one of his scouts to offer friendship with the Indian forces that he had learned were gathering to oppose him.

The Indians asked Wayne to wait ten days for their answer.  The general suspected - rightfully, as it was later learned - that the Indians and their handful of Canadian white allies were stalling for time so reinforcements could come up.

The general thought the matter over four days before deciding the delay was a ruse.  The Indians, however, had expected Wayne to see through their excuse and attack immediately.

As was their custom, the Indians fasted and ate sparingly as they prepared for battle.  For three days they crouched behind fallen timbers leveled two years previously by a tornado, waiting for Wayne.  On the morning of the fourth day their bellies overcame the Indians, and they broke their fast to cook breakfast.

It was at this moment on Aug. 20, 1794, that General Wayne moved his troops toward the battle ground.  He caught the enemy off guard, eating their first meal in three days.  His well trained, eager soldiers slaughtered the Indians and captured 70 Canadians.  Only 33 Americans were killed and 100 wounded out of a force of 900 that took part in the engagement.  It is estimated that the Indian force numbered about twice that number.

As the Battle of Fallen Timbers was about to get underway, Wayne's aide, Major Harrison, said to him with concern, "General, I'm afraid you'll get into the fight yourself and forget to give me the necessary field orders."

"Perhaps I may," replied Wayne, "and if I do, recollect the standing order for the day is: charge the damned rascals with the bayonets?"

General Wayne did just that, pursuing the fleeing Indians up to the very gates of Fort Miamis.  The British commander recognized the delicate position in which the American victory had placed him.  He refused to allow the defeated Indians to enter the safety of the fort - to the outrage of his former allies - and watched quietly for three days while Wayne's men burned villages and fields.

After devastating the country side, General Wayne gathered a small force and marched back to the British fort, circling and reconnoitering it "with great deliberation."  This greatly provoked the British, but they dared not fire.

General Wayne withdrew to the head waters of the Maumee River and built Fort Wayne, now the city of that name, while he arranged the Treaty of Greene Ville in 1795 which finally ended the Revolutionary War.

The following year, General Wayne was invited to Detroit to participate in the final transfer of that British strong point to American control.  In gratitude for his service, Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the Northwest Territory,"arranged" a petition by the new citizens at Detroit to name a huge county in his honor.

The county encompassed northern Ohio, all of Michigan and parts of what later were three other states.

On his way home from these triumphal events that winter, General Wayne became ill with pneumonia and died at the Presque Isle military fort near present day Erie, Pennsylvania.

He was buried - for a time - at the foot of the post's flag pole.  The following spring General Wayne's son arrived on horseback, exhumed the body, boiled it and packed the bones in his saddle bags to be taken home and reburied.  The "residue" was returned to the original grave.

Though the remains of General Wayne were roughly handled, all was accomplished in reverence as befitted the hero who fought and won the last battle of the Revolution.

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