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Fort Recovery
Native Americans inhabited and used much of the land in the Ohio valley as hunting grounds. As American settlers pushed west, conflicts resulted and attempts at peaceful settlement failed. Under political pressure, President George Washington resolved to subdue Indian resistance to American expansion in the Ohio country and appointed General Arthur St. Clair to lead the expedition.
St. Clair's troops camped on the Wabash River (just east of the Ohio-Indiana state line) after an exhausting two-month trek. The ill-prepared soldiers were no match for the forces of Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware Indians who attacked them at dawn of November 4, 1791. By the day's end, warriors led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket had killed or wounded nearly three-quarters of the American force-the worst-ever defeat of the U.S. Army by Native Americans in a single battle.
Following St. Clair's defeat, President Washington appointed General Anthony Wayne commander of the U.S. Army. Well organized and disciplined, Wayne's army left Fort Washington (now Cincinnati) and made its headquarters at Fort Greene Ville.
In December 1793, General Anthony Wayne ordered one United States artillery unit and eight infantry companies to the site of St. Clair's Defeat. The soldiers were to construct a fort on the former battlefield.
Wayne intended to use this fort as a staging area for his assault against Ohio natives in the spring of 1794. He named the stockade Fort Recovery. Wayne spent the remainder of the winter increasing the number of soldiers at the fort.
The Shawnee, Miami, and Delaware Indians all feared the presence of the Americans and sent representatives to Fort Recovery to ask for peace. Wayne demanded all native chiefs in the surrounding area attend a peace conference and that the Indians return any white captives that they currently held. The natives refused and prepared to isolate Fort Recovery from other American outposts by attacking the garrison's supply lines. They would starve the Americans, forcing them to abandon the fort.
On June 30, 1794, 1,500 Shawnee, Delaware, Ottawa, Miami, and Ojibwa Indians attacked a pack train returning from Fort Recovery to Fort Greene Ville. Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, and Simon Girty led the assault.
The attack was made less than 1000 feet from Fort Recovery. Of the 140 American soldiers escorting the wagons, the natives killed or wounded 15. They also seized 300 horses. Indian casualties amounted to 3 dead warriors. Soon after this attack, the Indians, emboldened by their earlier success, launched a night attack against Fort Recovery.
The 250 American soldiers succeeded in defending the fort but lost 22 men. The natives suffered 40 dead and 20 wounded. Wayne continued to use Fort Recovery in his operations against the Ohio natives.
Following the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794, most Indians realized they had little chance in stopping white settlement of their lands. In August 1795, many Native Americans reluctantly agreed to sign the Treaty of Greeneville. By signing this document, they officially gave up all claims to the land south and east of a line extending from Lake Erie south along the Cuyahoga River, to the Tuscarawas River, and then to Fort Laurens. From Fort Laurens, the line ran west to Fort Loramie, then northwest to Fort Recovery, and then straight south to the Ohio River. Anthony Wayne had secured from the natives the majority of modern-day Ohio with the exception of the extreme northwestern corner of the state. This land would later be taken at the conclusion of the War of 1812 when many of Ohio's Native Americans once again sided with the British / Canadians in an attempt to defeat the Americans. The Treaty of Greeneville opened the Ohio Country for peaceful settlement and lead to Ohio's statehood 8 years later in 1803.
The city of Fort Recovery, Ohio, stands today on the site of the frontier fort.
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