was the most signal and disastrous ever sustained by the American army, in its battles with the warriors of the forest.

On the other hand, this defeat-the news of which fell like a thunderbolt upon the then struggling and distracted government,- -was retrieved by a most complete and decisive victory, under General Wayne, over these same tribes, collected together in a vast and powerful horde, at the rapids of the Maumee, in 1794; a victory which, taken in connection with the subsequent overwhelming triumph of General Jackson, in his campaign against the Creeks, gave the finishing stroke to the power of the Indian race in North America,

settling forever the long struggle that had been carried on between the white man and the red man, in favor of the former, though the warlike propensities of the savages occasionally broke out in subsequent years, as in 1811, under Tecumseh; the Creek war, of 1814, under Weatherford; the terrible Seminole campaign; the Cherokee contest; the hostilities of the Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagoes, under Black Hawk; the renowned Florida war, of 1835, under Micanopy and Osceola; etc. These later wars tasked, to the utmost, the military skill of such trained soldiers as Jackson, Harrison, Worth, Harney, Jessup, Clinch, Thompson, Dade, Atkinson, Gaines, Taylor. Red Jacket, and Cornplanter, were prominent chieftains in the wars of the Senecas.

In the month of September, 1790, General Harmer was intrusted with the important duty of looking after the fierce tribes on the Miami and Wabash, between whom and the Kentuckians there had long waged a relentless war. The general went forward with a body of three hundred and twenty regulars, who, being re-enforced by the militia of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, formed a corps of one thousand four hundred and fifty-three men. The Indians, on his approach, set fire to their villages; but this was nothing, unless they could be brought to an engagement. Harmer, however, instead of advancing himself, with the main body, sent forward Colonel

Hardin, with two hundred and ten men, of whom only thirty were regulars. They were attacked; the militia fled; the others were nearly cut off. The general then sent forward Hardin, with three hundred men, who speedily encountered another large body. After a brave contest, in which this party lost nearly half their number, they retreated on the main body. Thus disaster followed disaster, and the nation became sore and mortified under such repeated humiliations.

One of the last measures, therefore, adopted by the United States congress, the ensuing year, 1791, was to augment the national military force, to a suitable degree of power, and to place in the hands of President Washington more ample. means for the protection of the frontier, as the Indians on the north-west side of the Ohio still continued their hostilities. A new expedition against the belligerent tribes had, in consequence, been projected; and General St. Clair, then governor of the territory west of the Ohio, was appointed commander of the forces to be employed. Washington had been deeply chagrined by the mortifying disasters of General Harmer's expedition to the Wabash, resulting from Indian ambushes. In taking leave, therefore, of his old military comrade, St. Clair, he wished him success and honor, and added this solemn warning:

"You have your instructions from the secretary of war. I had a strict eye to them, and will add but one word,-Beware of a surprise! You know how the Indians fight. I repeat it-Beware of a surprise!

With these warning words sounding in his ear, fresh with Washington's awful emphasis, St. Clair departed.

On the fourth of November, while the main body of St. Clair's army were encamped in two lines on rising ground, some fifteen miles south of the Miami villages on one of the tributaries of the Wabash, and the militia upon a high flat on the other side of the stream, they were surprised and terribly attacked by an In

dian force which lay concealed in the woods. General St. Clair, who was suffering severely from gout, was unable to mount his horse, and had to be carried about in a litter, from which he gave his orders with discretion and the most perfect coolness. The battle raged fearfully for nearly three hours, and after nearly half of his army had been slaughtered, St. Clair beat a headlong retreat. Thus were all the plans, hopes and labors of President Washington, congress, and the cabinet, in reference to the Indian campaign, utterly and deplorably overthrown in a single day! This result is stated to have arisen thus: On the third of November, St. Clair formed his force into two lines; the first, under the command of General Butler, composed the right wing, and lay with a creek immediately in their front. The left wing, commanded by Colonel Darke, formed the second, and lay with an interval of about seventy yards between them and the first line. The militia were adcreek, about a quarter of a mile in front. About half an hour before sunrise the next morning, just after the troops had been dismissed from the parade, an unexpected attack was made upon the militia, who fled in the utmost confusion, and rushing into camp through the first line of regular troops, which had

been formed the instant the first gun was discharged, threw them too into disorder. Such was the panic, and so rapid and irregular the flight, that the exertions of the officers to recall the men to their senses and to duty were quite unavailing.

It was soon perceived that the American fire could produce, on a concealed enemy, no considerable effect, and that the only hope of victory was in the bayonet. At the head of the second regiment, which formed the left of the left wing, Darke made an impetuous charge upon the enemy, forced them from their ground with some loss, and drove them about four hundred yards. He was followed by that whole wing; but the want of a sufficient number of riflemen to press this advantage, deprived him of its benefit, and, as soon as he gave over the pursuit, the Indians renewed the attack. In the meantime, General Butler mortally

time,

was

wounded, the left of the right wing was broken, the artillerists almost to a man killed, the guns seized, and the camp penetrated by the enemy. Orders were given to again charge with the bayonet; this was done with spirit and momentary success, the Indians being driven out of the camp, and the artillery recovered.

To save the remnant of the army was all that now remained to be done; and, about half-past nine in the morning, General St. Clair ordered Colonel Darke, with the second regiment, to charge a body of Indians who intercepted their retreat, and to gain the road. Major Clarke, with his battalion, was directed to cover the rear. These orders were executed, and then a disorderly flight commenced. The pursuit was kept up about four miles, when, fortunately for the surviving Americans, the victorious savages, eager for plunder, stopped at the camp of their vanquished foes, to divide the spoils. The routed troops continued their flight to Fort Jefferson-some thirty miles, throwing away their arms along the road. At this place they met the detached regiment, and leaving their wounded at Fort Jefferson, the army continued its retreat to Fort Washington, the site of the present city of Cincinnati.

Poor St. Clair's defeat has been aptly paralleled with that of Braddock. No doubt, when he realized the terrible havoc that had been made, he thought sadly of Washington's parting words, "Beware of a surprise!" The manner in which the news of this disaster affected Washington is thus described by Mr. Rush :

Towards the close of a winter's day, in December, an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in front of the president's house in Philadelphia, and, giving the bridle to his servant, knock at the door of the mansion. Learning from the porter that the president was at dinner, he said he was on public business, having dispatches which he could deliver only to the commander-in-chief. A servant was sent into the dining-room to give the information to Mr. Lear, the president's private

secretary, who left the table and went into the hall, where the officer repeated what he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, as the president's secretary, he would take charge of the dispatches and deliver them at the proper time. The officer made answer that he had just arrived from the western army, and his orders were explicit to deliver them with all promptitude, and to the president in person; but that he would wait his directions. Mr. Lear returned, and in a whisper imparted to the president what had passed. General Washington rose from the table and went to the officer. He was back in a short time, made a word of apology for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it. He had company that day. Everything went on as usual. Dinner over, the gentlemen passed to the drawing-room of Mrs. Washington, which was open in the evening. The general spoke courteously to every lady in the room, as was his custom. His hours were early, and by ten o'clock all the company had gone. Soon Mrs. Washington left the room, and the general and Mr. Lear remained. The chief now paced the room in hurried strides, and without speaking, for several minutes. Then he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. He rose again, and, as he walked backward and forward, Mr. Lear saw a storm gathering. In the agony of his emotion, he struck his clenched hands with fearful force against his forehead, and in a paroxysm of anguish exclaimed

"It's all over! St. Clair's defeatedrouted; the officers nearly all killed-the men by wholesale-that brave army cut to pieces the rout complete! too shocking to think of-and a surprise in the bargain!"

He uttered all this with great vehemence. Then he paused, and walked about the room several times, agitated, but saying nothing. Near the door he stopped short and stood still a few seconds; then, turning to the secretary, who stood amazed at the spectacle of Washington in all his terrors, the general, in his wrath, again broke out, saying,