Fort Recovery in Mercer County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Prologue to 1791
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, July 15, 2019
1. Prologue to 1791 Marker
Inscription.
Prologue to 1791. . For over ten thousand years, American Indian tribes called the land east of the Mississippi River their home. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War with Britain ceding to the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Canada. The subsequent Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 further established the surveying and settling of land in the Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota). American Indians living in the Northwest Territory, including the Miami, Shawnee, Delaware, Illinois, Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Huron, did not consent to U.S. control of the area, leading to years of conflict and violence between settlers and the American Indians. The time period from 1785-1795 is known as the Northwest Indian War, pitting the U.S. against an alliance of numerous American Indian tribes who called the area their home. In 1790, President George Washington ordered Brigadier General Josiah Harmar to lead U.S. forces on a "punitive expedition" into Shawnee and Miami territory near Kiihkayonki (present-day Fort-Wayne, Indiana). In October 1790, Harmar burned the evacuated Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware communities at Kiihkayonki and took any food that over 3,000 community members left behind. A series of battles followed, all resounding victories by the American Indian alliance led by Mihšihkinaahkwa (Little Turtle, Miami) and Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket, Shawnee). Harmar retreated in defeat to Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati) on November 3, 1790. Harmar's campaign only increased the anxiety among American Indian tribes over the further loss of their sovereignty and lands. Increased tension and conflict as Native groups sought to defend their homelands., "The army having burned five villages, besides the capital town, and consumed abd destroyed twenty thousand bushels of corn in ears, took up their line of march back to Fort Washington, and encamped eight miles from the ruins." --From Major Ebenezer Denny's diary, dated October 21, 1790 recounting Harmar's troops burning the Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware villages at Kiihkayonki
For over ten thousand years, American Indian tribes called the land east of the Mississippi River their home. The 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War with Britain ceding to the U.S. all land east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of Canada. The subsequent Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787 further established the surveying and settling of land in the Northwest Territory (now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota). American Indians living in the Northwest Territory, including the Miami, Shawnee, Delaware, Illinois, Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Huron, did not consent to U.S. control of the area, leading to years of conflict and violence between settlers and the American Indians. The time period from 1785-1795 is known as the Northwest Indian War, pitting the U.S. against an alliance of numerous American Indian tribes who called the area their home. In 1790, President George Washington ordered Brigadier General Josiah Harmar to lead U.S. forces on a "punitive expedition" into Shawnee and Miami territory near Kiihkayonki (present-day Fort-Wayne, Indiana). In October 1790, Harmar burned the evacuated Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware communities at Kiihkayonki and took any food that over 3,000 community members left behind. A series of battles followed, all resounding victories
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by the American Indian alliance led by Mihšihkinaahkwa (Little Turtle, Miami) and Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket, Shawnee). Harmar retreated in defeat to Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati) on November 3, 1790. Harmar's campaign only increased the anxiety among American Indian tribes over the further loss of their sovereignty and lands. Increased tension and conflict as Native groups sought to defend their homelands.
"The army having burned five villages, besides the capital town, and consumed abd destroyed twenty thousand bushels of corn in ears, took up their line of march back to Fort Washington, and encamped eight miles from the ruins."
--From Major Ebenezer Denny's diary, dated October 21, 1790 recounting Harmar's troops burning the Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware villages at Kiihkayonki
Erected by National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program and the State of Ohio. (Marker Number 2.)
Location. 40° 24.827′ N, 84° 46.837′ W. Marker is in Fort Recovery, Ohio, in Mercer County. Marker is on Fort Site Street south of West Boundary Street, on the right
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, July 15, 2019
2. Prologue to 1791 Marker
A close-up view of the 1789 to 1790 map of the states and territories of the United States that is displayed on this marker.
when traveling south. This marker is located along the "Fort Recovery Battlefield Walking Tour." More specifically, it is situated along the walking path that is found behind the Fort Recovery Museum, in the park that is part of the state historic site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Fort Site Street, Fort Recovery OH 45846, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Close-up view of three features that are displayed on this marker. The captions read as follows: Left: American Indian trails and towns circa 1776. Center:Scene on the Wabash by George Winter, 1848. Right: Sketch map of the villages of Kiihkayonki from Major Ebenezer Denney's diary, dated October 1790.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, July 15, 2019
4. Prologue to 1791 Marker
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, July 15, 2019
5. Prologue to 1791 Marker
View of the marker looking east along the park walking path, with a partial view of the southwest end of the Fort Recovery Museum in the background of the picture.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington, July 15, 2019
6. Prologue to 1791 Marker
A more distant view of the marker looking east along the park walking path, with a partial view of the southwest end of the Fort Recovery Museum in the left background of the picture.
Photographed By Craig Doda, May 18, 2019
7. Prologue to 1791 Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 1, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 230 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 1, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 7. submitted on January 28, 2021, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio.