Description: Photographic reproduction of a print depicting Fort Harmar in 1790. The original print was published in the American Pioneer, volume 1, 1842. Colonel Josiah Harmar was sent to the Ohio frontier to discourage illegal settlers from moving into Ohio. He ordered Fort Harmar to be built in October 1785. The fort was built near present-day Marietta on the north side of the Ohio River by the mouth of the Muskingum River. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02986
Subjects: Land settlement--Ohio; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Fort Harmar (Ohio); Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image is an engraved portrait of Major Ebenezer Denny (1761-1882), Revolutionary War soldier and first mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this portrait, Denny is wearing a ruffled shirt and a high-collared waistcoat and coat. This engraving appears opposite the title page of his book "Military Journal of Major Ebenezer Denny, An Officer in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars" (1859), published in Philadelphia. Denny was born March 11, 1761, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and joined the Continental Army in 1778. He witnessed the British surrender at the 1781 Siege of Yorktown (Yorktown, Virginia) and wrote a description of that event in his war journal. It is one of the most frequently quoted accounts of the event. After the Revolutionary War, Denny also witnessed two of the worst military defeats of U.S. military forces by American Indians: Harmar’s Campaign and St. Clair’s Defeat. Both events occurred in the Northwest Territory, in present-day Ohio. In fall 1790, Josiah Harmar, commander of the U.S. army in the Northwest Territory, was stationed at Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati). He received orders from Secretary of War Henry Knox to end the threat of American Indian attack in western Ohio. Harmar marched from Fort Washington with 320 regular soldiers and roughly 1,100 militiamen, primarily from Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The militiamen were poorly trained and badly equipped, and the U.S. forces were soundly defeated in a series of battles with the American Indian forces led by Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle). Following Harmar's defeat, native attacks against settlers increased. In 1791, Major-General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, led another campaign against the American Indian tribes in western Ohio, hoping to succeed where Harmar had failed. Lieutenant Ebenezer Denny was St. Clair’s aide-de-camp. St. Clair ordered the construction of forts in what is now western Ohio. He and his men left Fort Washington in September 1791. After a two-day journey, the troops stopped and built Fort Hamilton. Then they advanced forty-five miles northward and built Fort Jefferson. From the beginning of his campaign, St. Clair had trouble with his poorly trained and demoralized troops. Although it was still early fall, his men faced cold temperatures, rain, snowfall, and insufficient food. Despite these problems, St. Clair continued to advance against the Miami natives. By November 3, his men had arrived on the banks of the Wabash River, near some of the Miami villages. The next day Little Turtle, along with Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket), led a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes against the U.S. troops and soundly defeated them. In his account of the day’s events, Denny wrote, “The ground was literally covered with the dead.” The battle known as “St. Clair’s Defeat” remains the worst defeat of the U.S. Army at the hands of American Indians. On November 19, Denny left for Philadelphia, where he had the unenviable task of informing President George Washington and Secretary of War Knox of the defeat. Washington demanded that St. Clair resign from the army. St. Clair did so on April 7, 1792, but remained governor of the Northwest Territory. In 1794, Washington dispatched General Anthony Wayne to succeed where St. Clair had failed. Wayne defeated the Native Americans at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794. In 1795, most natives in modern-day Ohio signed the Treaty of Greeneville, relinquishing all of their land holdings in Ohio except what is now the northwestern corner of the state. Denny continued his military service until 1794, when he resigned his commission and settled near Pittsburgh. He entered local politics and held several offices before being elected the city’s first mayor in 1816. He resigned the office in 1817 because of ill health. He died in July 1822. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07028
Subjects: American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783; Kekionga, Battle of, Ohio, 1791; American Indians--Warfare; Northwest Territory--History; Veterans; Mayors
Places: Carlisle (Pennsylvania); Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania);
 

Description: This image is a reproduction of a print depicting the courthouse and jail in Marietta, built in 1798. The structure was built at the southeast corner of today's Second and Putnam Streets. (Original print is in "American Pioneer," opposite page 163, call number V 977.05 Am35 v. 1.) The caption reads: "Court House and Jail at Marietta, Ohio, Built in 1798." The two-story structure is surrounded by a fence. Three human figures are standing near the fence; a fourth figure and a horse and wagon are visible in the street. In the distance, several hills form a backdrop for other buildings. Originally known as Adelphia, meaning "brotherhood," Marietta was the first permanent settlement of the United States of America in the territory north and west of the Ohio River. It also was the first settlement founded by the Ohio Company of Associates in the Northwest Territory in 1788. The company's investors renamed the community after Queen Marie Antoinette of France, in honor of France's contributions to the U.S. victory in the American Revolution. The first settlers were led by Rufus Putnam, who was one of the Ohio Company's early investors. He chose a site along the Ohio River at its junction with the Muskingum River, not far from Fort Harmar. Originally, settlers from New England made up the population of Marietta. People from Virginia and Kentucky later moved to the area as well. On July 9, 1788, the Northwest Territory's first governor, Arthur St. Clair, came to Marietta. The territory was officially established, as was Washington County; Marietta became the county seat. As the population of the Northwest Territory grew, the people of Marietta hoped that their community would become the capital of the future state. They supported St. Clair's plan to divide the territory in a different way than the Northwest Ordinance had originally planned. They believed that the governor's plans would make Marietta more prominent. But in the end, St. Clair's plan was not accepted by Congress. Because of its location along the Ohio River, Marietta became a major trading center in the Northwest Territory and later in the state of Ohio. The community became one of the earliest settlements in Ohio to have a state-chartered bank in 1808. In addition to agriculture and trade with the East, Marietta was also known for its shipbuilding industry. Ships, barges and flatboats moved from Marietta down the Ohio River to the Mississippi River and then to New Orleans and to ports in the East. In spite of its early growth, Marietta was surpassed by other towns as other forms of transportation came to Ohio. Canals, the National Road, and the railroads made all parts of the state accessible. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05767
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government; Marietta (Ohio); Courthouses--Ohio--History
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: This is a photograph of an illustration of the Campus Martius in Marietta, Ohio, located on the east side of the Muskingum River, upriver from its confluence with the Ohio River. Situated directly across the river from Fort Harmar, construction on the Campus Martius began in 1788 and was completed in 1791. It was home to Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Arthur St. Clair, and other settlers during the Northwest Indian War. The Campus Martius site is now occupied by the Campus Martius Museum and is an Ohio History Connection site. The Rufus Putnam House, part of the original Campus, is enclosed in the museum. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F01_007_1
Subjects: Marietta (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Pictorial works; Campus Martius (Marietta, Ohio); Forts & fortifications--1770-1800
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: Print depicting Fort Washington. Construction of the fort began in 1789. Its purpose was to protect early settlements near modern-day Cincinnati. In 1790, Josiah Harmar used Fort Washington to launch an expedition against the Native Americans tribes in northwest Ohio. The fort would serve similar purposes for the remainder of the 1790s. The United States military abandoned it in 1803. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02988
Subjects: Fort Washington (Ohio); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This appears to be a photograph of a painting. The place on the bottom reads "Marietta Ohio as it was in [1840]. It is near the site of Fort Harmar which was built in 1785 and demolished in 1791. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F06_004_001
Subjects: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio); Architecture--Ohio--Pictorial works.;
Places: Marietta (Ohio); Washington County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption on reverse reads: "Indian Trail Marker (Silhouette). Central Pky. and Sycamore Str." This photograph shows a plaque with the silhouette of soldiers and a covered wagon on top, held between two concrete pillars. It used to stand somewhere near the intersections of Reading Road, Central Parkway and Sycamore Street, in Cincinnati. Inscription reads: "Approximately at this point two Ohio military trails branched. Reading Road follows the marches of Bowman, Clark, Harmar, Harrison, Clay and Shelby, 1779 - 1812. Central Parkway follows the route of St. Clair and Wayne, 1791 - 1793." A historical marker, erected under the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission's plan, stands at Central Parkway and Sycamore where the two Ohio trails branched. Reading Road following the marches of Bowman, Clark, Harmar, Harrison, Clay and Shelby; and Central Parkway folloing the route of St. Clair and Mad Anthony Wayne - brave names in those days of pioneer drumbeat and marching soldiers and frontiersmen in buckskin. The Daughters of the American Revolution placed at the Central Parkway and Ludlow Avenue intersection a bronze tablet in memory of Major General Arthur St. Clair, who was an officer in the Revolutionary War, first governor of the Northwest Territory, and the man who gave Cincinnati its name. Major General Arthur St. Clair left Fort Washington, in present day Cincinnati, on September 17, 1791, following the aforementioned trail north, in order to build a fort at the head of the Maumee River. An large group of Indians led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, as well as army deserters and prisoners, left Kekionga in Indiana, heading south. The Indians had been receiving information about the army's movements from warrior scouts and deserters, and a large group led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket headed south to intercept St. Clair's army. A battle ensued near what is now Fort Recovery in which most of St. Clair's officers were killed, causing him to lose his post and his reputation.General Anthony Wayne returned in 3 years with properly trained, well-equipped army, and defeated the Indians at Fallen Timbers near Toledo. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F10_021_1
Subjects: Historical markers--Ohio--Cincinnati; Indian trails--Ohio; Central Parkway Area (Cincinnati, Ohio); Memorials--Ohio; Wayne, Anthony, 1745-1796; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Fort Washington monument, East Third Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Federal Writers' Photographer, District #12. June 10, 1937." The Fort Washington Monument was originally erected on June 14, 1901 by the Patriotic Societies of Ohio to commemorate Fort Washington, a bulwark against the Indian menace during the 1790's. From Fort Washington, Generals Harmar and St. Clair planned expeditions against the Indians that ended in disaster; not until "Mad Anthony" Wayne defeated the Indians at Fallen Timbers was the Indian danger allayed. Ini 1803 the garrison moved to Newport, Kentucky on the south side of the Ohio River. In 1808 Fort Washington was torn down, as it was no longer needed, and the reservation divided into town lots. The monument 9' tall memorial, made from Ohio stone, was made to look like one of the old fort's blockhouses, and was placed at the center of East Third Street, near the intersection with Ludlow Street. The monument was surrounded with a chain railing, with four old cannons serving as fence posts. The west face of the monument displayed two bronze plaques, the lower of which was an outline map of the main portion of the fort, showing the streets which intersected it and the immediate area. The upper tablet bore an inscription, surrounded by 13 stars, which read: "This Tablet erected by the Patriotic Societies of Ohio, Marks the Location of Fort Washington, Built 1789, Demolished 1808, MDCCCC." Though much effort was taken in 1900 to determine the exact location of the old fort before the monument was placed, in 1952 construction workers found actual remains from the fort's powder magazine a short distance away, and archeologists determined that this was the true location of Fort Washington. In 1998, partially due to the expansion of Interstate 71, the monument was moved to this new found site on Arch Street, just south of East Fourth Street. A new plaque, placed on the monument for the re-dedication reads: "Forth Washington, 1789 - 1808. This monument stands at the site that served as a major military base for the Northwest Territory. The stone replica of a blockhouse was originally dedicated on June 14, 1901. Rededicated at present site November 11, 1998. Cincinnati Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F02_33_01
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Fort Washington (Ohio); Monuments--Ohio
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Original description reads: "Cinci., O., Sept. 1937 Fort Washington Monument." In 1789, Fort Washington was built to protect early settlements located in the Symmes Purchase in the Miami Valley of what is now southwestern Ohio. The fort was located in modern-day Cincinnati and protected settlers of that city in its early years. The stockade's walls were two stories high with blockhouses located at each corner. The fort was named in honor of President George Washington. In 1790, Harmar used Fort Washington to launch an expedition against the Miami Indians, whose principal city was Kekionga (modern-day Fort Wayne, Indiana). The fort would serve similar purposes for the remainder of the 1790s until the United States Army abandoned it in 1803. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B04F02_14_01
Subjects: Fort Washington (Ohio)--Monuments; Cincinnati (Ohio)
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reproduction of a portrait of Mishikinakwa, also known as Little Turtle, a war chief of the Miami Tribe, ca. 1790-1812. Little Turtle and Shawnee chief Tecumseh led the Miami and Shawnee people in their resistance against white settlers in the western part of Ohio. They successfully defeated United States soldiers led by Josiah Harmar in October 1790, and soldiers led by Arthur St. Clair in 1791. After an attack on Fort Recovery failed in 1794, Little Turtle recommended negotiation with the settlers while other chiefs wanted to continue fighting. The American Indians lost at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and in 1795 they signed the Treaty of Greeneville, ceding most of the territory of Ohio to the settlers. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02985
Subjects: Little Turtle, 1747?-1812; Miami Indians; American Indian history and society; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood;
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Color portrait of Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle). Little Turtle was a war leader of the Miami tribe. He was born in about 1752, twenty miles northwest of modern-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. Little is known of his life before the 1790s, although he did help the British in the American Revolution. With the Treaty of Paris (1783), England gave up all claims to the Ohio Country. Settlers rapidly came across the Appalachian Mountains to the Northwest Territory. Little Turtle played a leading role in American Indian resistance to the encroaching European populations. In 1790, General Josiah Harmar led 1,400 soldiers into land claimed by the Miami and the Shawnee. In October of that year, Little Turtle and his followers, including the future Shawnee chief Tecumseh, succeeded in driving out Harmar's men. This battle became known as Harmar's Defeat. In 1791, General Arthur St. Clair led 2,000 U.S. soldiers against the American Indians in western Ohio. Once again, Little Turtle, along with Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket), led a large alliance of American Indians to victory at a battle known as St. Clair's Defeat--one of the worst defeats ever sustained by the U.S. military in their conflicts with Americans Indians. After failing to to seize Fort Recovery in 1794, Little Turtle encouraged his followers to negotiate with the United States. Other native war leaders refused to listen, and insisted that Wayne's army must be fought. Shortly after rejecting Little Turtle's call for peace, American Indian forces lost the Battle of Fallen Timbers. In 1795, American Indians living in western Ohio sent representatives to Fort Greene Ville where they met in council with the U.S. After lengthy discussion, they signed the Treaty of Greenville. The natives, including Little Turtle, agreed to give all but the northwestern corner of modern-day Ohio to the United States. Little Turtle refused to take up arms against the United States ever again. He became a celebrity among the United States public, visiting many eastern cities and even meeting George Washington in 1797. He urged his fellow American Indians to keep the peace and also encouraged them to give up alcohol. He died on July 14, 1812, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL07056
Subjects: Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; American Indian tribal leaders; Miami Tribe
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Close-up view of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) from the painting "The Signing of the Treaty of Greene Ville, 1795," as depicted by Howard Chandler Christy. The painting was created in 1945 and is hanging in the rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse. During the early 1790s, Weyapiersenwah of the Shawnee and Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), chief of the Miami, were the major leaders of the American Indians in the Ohio Country. They led their people against American settlers in western Ohio as the whites moved into the area. A large alliance of American Indians, led by Weyapiersenwah and Mishikinakwa defeated an army led by General Josiah Harmar in 1790 and another one led by Arthur St. Clair in 1791. Following St. Clair's Defeat, Little Turtle called for negotiations between the Indians and the Americans. Blue Jacket then assumed control over native attempts to stop the influx of settlers. In 1794, he led the American Indians against an army led by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Wayne emerged from the battle victorious while Blue Jacket's men fell back to Fort Miamis, a British stronghold. The British refused to assist the American Indians, at which point Blue Jacket and his followers agreed to negotiate with the Americans in what was known as the Treaty of Greeneville (1795). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02712
Subjects: Greenville, Treaty of, 1795; American Indian history and society; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Christy, Howard Chandler, 1873-1952