The battle of the Wabash, or St Clair's Defeat, was the greatest ever victory of American Indians over US Army forces. In 1791, Revolutionary War commander Arthur St Clair led a hastily recruited American army into Ohio in an attempt to wrest control of the area from its Indian inhabitants. Hindered by geographical ignorance, difficult terrain, bad weather, and a lack of supplies, the Americans advanced slowly through the wilderness. After a month, they reached the Wabash River, where an Indian army awaited them. On a cold November morning, the Indians attacked at dawn and three hours later the Americans fled, having suffered more than 60 percent casualties. In this book, author John F. Winkler re-examines the US Army's frontier disaster, analyzing what they did wrong and how the Indians achieved their crushing victory.
