The Battle of Fallen Timbers

The Battle of Fallen Timbers

Land in Question• Under the articles of the Confederation the

government couldn’t tax

• So it sold land to make money

Land Ordinance of 1785

• Established a procedure for surveying and selling land north of the Ohio River (page 182)

• What territory did this Ordinance pave the way to settle?

Northwest Territory

Where was this land that was being purchased?

• In the Northwest Territory

• Land west of the Appalachian Mts and east of the Mississippi River

What was the only problem with this Ordinance?

• The land in question was already occupied by the Native Americans.

• The Native American tribes were told by the British after the French and Indian War that they had sovereign rights to this land.

• They were also told that whites would not settle there.

• The Ordinance of 1765 had stated this in writing

There was only one problem

• America didn’t recognize and follow laws made by the British

• So according the Americans the Ordinance of 1765 wasn’t valid and didn’t have to be followed

What conflict did Ordinance this create?

• The conflict was over land

• Settlers ignored treaties and moved into land promised to Indians

• Fighting broke out between the two

What was Washington’s response?

Washington responded by;

• Saying ‘in peace if I can, and to be prepared for war if I can not”

• Sends General St. Clair to restore order in the Northwest territories

Battle outside Fort Recovery

• St. Clair and his 2000 troops are defeated by Little Turtle

• 600 US American Troops die by the Wabash River one of heaviest loses by US forces ever against Indians

• Little Turtle Defeated General Harmer and his 1600 forces months before

Little Turtle was the war chief of the Miami people

Indians were encouraged by British, especially the governor of Canada, to

attack American settlements

• Wabash River

The British still had forts in America even though the Revolution War

was over.

The Native Americans thought that the British would have their backs if they attacked the Americans. They

were wrong

General Wayne defeats Blue Jacket

• Blue Jacket, Chief of the Shawnee, was defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers

Wayne uses his knowledge of Indian customs to defeat Miami and Shawnee

• Aware that Native American warriors fasted before a battle, Wayne spread rumors that he was going to attack on August 17th then delayed the battle for several days. Weak with hunger after fasting for 4 days Blue Jacket’s warriors were defeated

Predicting the Future

• Little Turtle realizing that the British were not going to aide him decides to negotiate

with the Americans

Treaty of Greenville

• What were the conditions of the treaty?

• Native Americans gave up most of their land in Ohio and moved further west

• America government would make sure they wouldn’t trespass on the native American land.

• Native Americans had sovereign rights over their new land