- Fort Recovery
Fort Recovery was a
United States Army fort begun in late 1793 and completed in March 1794 under orders byGeneral "Mad" Anthony Wayne . It is located in the present-day village ofFort Recovery, Ohio on theWabash River within two miles of the boundary withIndiana .Wayne purposely chose as the location for his new fort the spot where
Arthur St. Clair had been defeated in 1791 by a Native American confederacy under Miami ChiefMichikinikwa (Little Turtle) and Shawnee ChiefWeyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket). That humiliating battle, called theBattle of the Wabash , ended St Clair's military career and prompted theUnited States Congress to undertake a full investigation of the loss. Wayne hoped to demonstrate that the United States Army could recover from this crushing defeat and emerge victorious in what is now termed theNorthwest Indian War or "Little Turtle's War."Fort Recovery was a reference point used to define the boundary line established in the
Treaty of Greenville in 1795, following Wayne's victory in theBattle of Fallen Timbers . In 1800, it was used as a reference point in defining the initial boundaries of theIndiana Territory when that was first set off from the originalNorthwest Territory . When Ohio was admitted as a state in 1803, the boundaries had been adjusted and Fort Recovery was not mentioned as a reference point for the boundaries of the state.In 1891, the battlesites were excavated, and the remains of some 1200 people were buried in a memorial park downtown. In 1910, President
William Howard Taft gave Fort Recovery $25,000 to build a monument. Today that monument is a historical landmark.The town of Fort Recovery has kept its historical roots to this day. Along with Monument Park, visitors can enjoy touring a replica of Wayne's fort, a museum of Indian artifacts, and the original opera house built in 1891.
External links
* [http://www.fortrecovery.org/ Historic Fort Recovery]
* [http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/ftrecovr/#info Fort Recovery] on Ohio Historical Society site
* [http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/ihb/resources/docinterr.html Act creating Indiana Territory]
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