Description
The road to the battle of the Wabash began when Arthur St. Clair was appointed to lead an army into the heart of the Ohio Indian Confederacy while building a string of fortifications along the way. He would face difficulties in recruiting, training, feeding, and arming volunteer soldiers. From the moment St. Clair's shattered force began its retreat from the Wabash the men blamed the officers, and the officers in turn blamed their men. For over two centuries most historians have blamed either the officer corps, enlisted soldiers, an entangled logistical supply line, poor communications, or equipment. The destruction of the army resulted in a stunned Congress authorising a regular army in 1792.
This book, the result of 30 years' research, puts the battle into the context of the last quarter of the 18th century, exploring how the central importance of land ownership to Europeans arriving in North America resulted in unrelenting demographic pressure on indigenous tribes, as well as the enormous obstacles standing in the way of the fledgling American Republic in paying off its enormous war debts.
This is the story of how a small band of determined indigenous peoples defended their homeland, destroyed an invading American army, and forced a fundamental shift in the way in which the United States waged war.
About the Author
Steven P. Locke is a retired curator of history for the Ohio Historical Society. He served in the US Army National Guard, then taught history in the Granville, Ohio, Exempted School District. He studied at both undergraduate and graduate level at the Ohio State University.
Reviews
War Along the Wabash is an excellent introduction to the Washington Administration's Indian policy as well as that of the post-revolutionary United States and a guide to a significant, but often overlooked battle of the early Indian Wars. * War History Network *
Rescuing from an undeserved obscurity one of the great triumphs of 18th Century Native Americans over the U. S. Military, War Along the Wabash is a seminal work of meticulous research and scholarship. * Midwest Book Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9781636242682
Author Steven P. Locke
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers