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Summer Cain
Ms. Heather McIntosh
Pre-AP English 10
23 May 2014
A Tension between Two Ethnic Groups
Some battles go completely unknown, the Battle of Fallen Timbers is most likely one of those battles; to keep it from being one, explore your history horizons. Between August of 1794 and August of 1795, the Battle of Fallen Timbers occurred, and the Treaty of Greenville was signed (“Battle of Fallen Timbers”, History.com). The Battle of Fallen Timbers included the United States, Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware: Lennai Lenape, Indians (“Battle of Fallen Timbers”, History.com). When the Treaty of Greenville was signed the Indians ceded much of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan to the U.S. (“Battle of Fallen Timbers”, History.com). There have been quite a few battles between the United States and the Native Americans; the Battle of Fallen Timbers is one of the many. These three people, Major-General Anthony Wayne, Hon. D. W. H. Howard, and Chief Little Turtle, experienced it first hand; their perspectives provide multiple ways to interpret the battle.
Major-General Anthony Wayne was chosen to be commander of the U.S. Army, NW, by former President George Washington in 1792. He was also chosen to protect the settling U.S. Americans from Native American attacks (“Battle of Fallen Timbers”, Ohio History Central); furthermore, leading the U.S troops in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. In a letter from Anthony Wayne describing the battle he says, the battle started at 8 a.m. on the 20th; the Indians were hidden in tall grass in the woods when they started shooting at
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the Americans (Stillé 332). It was most likely a struggle for Wayne to fight in the battle while being shot at and not be able to clearly see where the shots were coming from. Wayne had to quickly direct the troops in what to do to be able to have any chance at winning the battle. Some of the orders Wayne gave are in the letter he wrote. In Wayne’s letter about Fallen Timbers he wrote that he realized, the native’s line was in “full force” by how heavily they were firing; he ordered a second line to go and support the front line, and at the same time, he ordered the front line to attack with their bayonets (Stillé 332). Wayne was a brave leader; even though he knew it would be dangerous to send his troops into a “full force” battle, it was done for the “greater good”: his country. Because of Wayne’s quick thinking, his troops were able to adequately fight in the battle with few casualties (compared to other battles against the natives). Wayne was a highly trusted figure in U.S. history; we see this because he was given the job of leading U.S. troops into a fierce battle. Wayne fought in the battle with many...
