20 August 1794 and aftermath
Fallen Timbers and destruction of Indigenous subsistence
Ohio; confederated Indigenous nations
Anthony Wayne’s army defeated an Indigenous confederacy at Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. In his August 28 report to Henry Knox, Wayne described burning houses and cornfields near Fort Miamis after the battle and laying waste villages and crops along roughly fifty miles of the river during the return march. He planned further destruction of settlements and food supplies.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
The battle and the subsequent destruction of homes and crops were distinct actions. The destruction and distance are Wayne’s own report; his estimates of enemy numbers and casualties are not adopted here. Zinn’s chapter 5 printed date of 1798 is incorrect.
Sources
- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (2014), chapter 5
- Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, chapter 5, pp. 87–88; supplied print pages, edition/year unidentified
- Anthony Wayne to Henry Knox, August 28, 1794, letterbook copy, especially the paragraphs on the three days after battle and return march; William L. Clements Library ↗