St. Clair's defeat 1791

About the battle

St. Clair's defeat, also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was a battle fought on 4 November 1791 in the Northwest Territory of the United States. The U.S. Army faced the Northwestern Confederacy of Native Americans as part of the Northwest Indian War. It was "the most decisive defeat in the history of the American military" as well as the most substantial victory ever by Native American combatants against European-Americans.

The Native Americans were led by Little Turtle of the Miamis, Blue Jacket of the Shawnees, and Buckongahelas of the Delawares (Lenape). The war party numbered over 1,000 warriors, including many Potawatomis from eastern Michigan. The opposing force of about 1,000 Americans was led by General Arthur St. Clair. A surprise Native American attack at dawn overwhelmed the Americans. Of the 1,000 officers and men under St. Clair, only twenty-four escaped unharmed. As a result, President George Washington forced St. Clair to resign his post, and Congress initiated its first investigation of the executive branch.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article St. Clair's defeat (revision 1379988476), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Nearby battles

• Battle of Fort Recovery 1794 · 6 km
• Siege of Fort Wayne 1812 · 86 km
• Battle of Piqua 1780 · 88 km
• Battle of Chillicothe 1779 · 99 km
• Siege of Dunlap's Station 1791 · 119 km
• Lochry's Defeat 1781 · 148 km

Other battles of the Northwest Indian War

• Big Bottom massacre 1791
• Siege of Dunlap's Station 1791
• Battle of Fallen Timbers 1794

All 4 battles of the Northwest Indian War →

Browse more: battles in United States · North America · Early modern battles

Further reading

• Wikipedia: St. Clair's defeat
• Wikidata Q962450