Fort Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio

Fort Washington was a fort in the early history of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1789, Fort Washington was built to protect early settlements located in the Northwest Territory. The fort was located near modern-day Cincinnati, Ohio and was used to protect settlers of that city in its early years. Gen. Josiah Harmar described it as "one of the most solid substantial wooden fortresses. . .of any in the Western Territory." The stockade's walls were two stories high with lockhouses located at each corner. The fort was named in honor of President George Washington. [ [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=719 Fort Washington - Ohio History Central - A product of the Ohio Historical Society ] ]

Fort Washington provided military protection for the surrounding territories. Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the Northwest Territory by vote of Congress on October 5 1787; he filled the office until November 22 1802. When Governor St. Clair arrived at Losantiville [Cincinnati] the settlement consisted of two small hewed log houses and several cabins. Maj. Doughty, under orders from Gen. Josiah Harmar, was engaged with a small military force in finishing the construction of Fort Washington. The population of the rude village, exclusive of the military, probably did not exceed one hundred and fifty. [ [http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Hamilton/HamiltonChapI.htm History Of Cincinnati And Hamilton County, Ohio ] ] Three days after Gen. Harmar took up his quarters at Fort Washington, on January 1 1790, Governor St. Clair was received with due ceremony by the troops and citizens of Losantiville.

In 1790, Harmar used Fort Washington to launch an expedition against Native Americans in northwest Ohio, especially the Miami Indians, whose principal city was Kekionga (modern-day Fort Wayne, Indiana). The fort was used as a staging point and to supply all the northern forts. The fort would serve similar purposes for the remainder of the 1790s until the United States military moved its operation to the Newport Barracks.

On October 22 1790, Gen. Harmar's army was ambushed and soundly defeated by Indians led by Chief Little Turtle. The Indians of the Ohio Territory were in open revolt aided by the British. Indian raids came close to Cincinnati, despite the presence of the nearby Fort Washington. On June 1 1791, John Van Cleve, a blacksmith of Fort Washington was stabbed in five places, killed and scalped by the Indians in an outlot of Cincinnati (near the present site of Music Hall). [ [http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Montgomery/MontgomeryChapV.htm Montgomery County, Ohio History ] ]

General "Mad" Anthony Wayne was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army by President George Washington to subdue the Indians in the Northwest Territory. Wayne began at once to reorganize the army. In July of 1792 he began training his men. He moved his forces to the Cincinnati area in the summer of 1793 and waited for orders to attack. Washington was still trying to resolve problems through negotiation. He also established other Posts, a camp, Greenville, Ohio, in honor of his friend, Nathanael Greene, and another fort, Fort Recovery. After fighting for some time a treaty of peace was signed, on August 3 1795, known as the Treaty of Greenville. [ [http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/greenville/text.html The Treaty of Greenville - Full Text Version ] ]

In 1803 the smaller Fort Washington was replaced by the Newport Barracks. It was opened just across the Ohio River in Newport, Kentucky. James Taylor Jr. an influential resident of Newport, Kentucky had lobbied his cousin James Madison to place the post in Newport.

Fort Washington's name is retained as Fort Washington Way, a corridor of Interstate 71 that runs through downtown Cincinnati.

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* [http://www.cincinnatimemory.org/gsdl/collect/greaterc/archives/HASH53ec/bab0bcab.dir/ocp000499slide.jpgFort Washington monument]