The man the Americans
initially chose to exact
these measures was Gen.
Josiah Harmar, who had
assembled a force of 1,100
poorly trained Pennsylva-
nia and Kentucky militia,
stiffened by 300 army reg-
ulars. Little Turtle by this
time was principal war
chief of the Miamis, and
he ordered his braves to
feign retreat, luring the
Americans deeper and
deeper into the country-
side. Harmar met no oppo-
sition until he reached Lit-
tle Turtle’s village, where
the Indians ambushed and
mauled two reconnais-
sance expeditions in Octo-
ber 1790. Having lost 262
men and accomplished
nothing, the Americans
withdrew back to Kentucky. This victory en-
sured Little Turtle’s subsequent leadership over
the Maumee Valley tribes, and they united in
time to face an even greater onslaught.
In September 1791, the government dis-
patched Gen. Arthur St. Clair with a force of
2,300 raw regulars and 300 Kentucky militia
against the Indians. Little Turtle commanded a
force of similar size, assisted by the Shawnees
Blue Jacket andTecumseh. Desertion soon re-
duced St. Clair’s force to 1,500 men; encour-
aged by this weakness, Little Turtle abandoned
his usual defensive tactics in favor of a direct
assault. This was something that Native Ameri-
cans had never tried before. On the morning of
November 4, 1791, his warriors stormed the
American encampment while the soldiers were
breakfasting and routed them. St. Clair, gravely
ill, roused himself from bed and attempted to
rally the survivors before the entire army was
annihilated. A bayonet charge enabled 500 men
to escape destruction but at tremendous cost,
with more than 600 soldiers killed and 300
wounded. Little Turtle’s losses appear to have
been negligible, and in
November 1792 he also
defeated a party of Ken-
tuckians led by John
Adair. However, fearing
the dreaded “long knives”
would attack again, Little
Turtle spent the next two
years shoring up tribal
solidarity and soliciting
help from the British.
As feared, the Ameri-
cans appeared once more,
this time with Gen. An-
thony Wayne at their
head. Wayne spent almost
two years training and
equipping his force of
2,000 men and advanced
carefully, building forts
along the way. Little Tur-
tle respected his profes-
sional and energetic
preparations, calling him
“the chief who never sleeps.” The Indians ha-
rassed his line of supply with impunity, but
when they rashly attacked Fort Recovery in
July 1794 and were rebuffed, many grew sullen
and returned home. Little Turtle took stock of
“Mad Anthony” Wayne and counseled other
chiefs to seek peace. “We have never been able
to surprise him,” he warned. “Think well of it.
Something whispers to me, listen to peace.”
Little Turtle was ridiculed and lost command
of the Indians to Blue Jacket. On August 20,
1794, Wayne crushed the confederation at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers, in which Little Turtle
commanded a few Miamis and played a small
role. The following year Little Turtle was a sig-
natory to the Treaty of Greenville, wherein the
Indians gave up most of the land that com-
prises present-day Ohio. Containing his bitter-
ness, he declared, “I am the last to sign the
treaty; I will be the last to break it.”
From that time on, Little Turtle remained a
friend of the United States, and in 1797 he trav-
eled to Washington, D.C., to meet with George
Washington and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who pre-LITTLETURTLE
Little Turtle
Ohio Historical Society