Description: Portrait of Arthur St. Clair (1734-1818). St. Clair served as governor of the Northwest Territory from 1788 to 1802. As Ohio moved towards statehood, St. Clair actively opposed Ohio's admittance to the United States. He hoped that what is now Ohio would not become a single state but rather two states. Thomas Worthington, Nathaniel Massie, Michael Baldwin, and several others urged President Thomas Jefferson, the founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, to make Ohio a state. Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Congress responded by issuing the Enabling Act of 1802. This act called on the people of Ohio to form a constitutional convention and to fulfill the other requirements of the Northwest Ordinance to become a state. St. Clair denounced the Enabling Act. Jefferson responded by removing St. Clair as governor. Ohio became the seventeenth state of the United States on February 19, 1803. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC4029_001
Subjects: Governors; Northwest Territory--Politics and government; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818;
Places: Northwest Territory; Ohio
 

Description: This photographic reproduction in color shows a handwritten receipt from early 1791 that documents partial payment of a fine paid in Cincinnati, Ohio. The paper is yellowed, and the handwriting is partially illegible; however, it is possible to decipher certain words and phrases: “Received of ___ McMillan [sic] Two Doll__ in ___ of a moiety [half or part] of a fine from William Kelley Yeoman of Cincinnati.” The next line is mostly illegible except for the word “intoxicating.” The date of the offense seems to have been January 7, 1791. Receipt, dated February 2, 1791, was “received by me Wm. [illegible].” William McMillian was judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions in Hamilton County, then part of the Northwest Territory. A year earlier, on January 2, 1790, Arthur St. Clair (1734-1818), governor of the Northwest Territory, visited Fort Washington (Cincinnati) and organized the county of Hamilton. He also created the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions. He named three men to that office: McMillian, William Goforth, and William Wells. On January 5, a law was enacted that required the court to meet four times a year: on the first Tuesday of February, May, August, and November. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL05840
Subjects: St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Ohio. Court of Common Pleas (Hamilton County); Courts--Ohio--History; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows a memorial to the soldiers who served at Fort St. Clair in Eaton, Ohio. Fort St. Clair is just west of Eaton, Ohio. It was built in 1792 during the Northwest Indian War under the direction of Arthur St. Clair, to serve as a supply depot. The plaque on the monument reads "Erected October 1922 by Wm. H. Ortt. Sacred to the memory of the soldiers who fought and died in the battle with the Indians at Fort Saint Clair November 6, 1792." The fort was entered on the National Register of Historic Places on August 16, 2010. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06451
Subjects: Fort St. Clair (Ohio); St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; State parks & reserves
Places: Eaton (Ohio); Preble County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image depicts a cannon used at Fort St. Clair in Eaton, Ohio. Fort St. Clair is just west of Eaton, Ohio. It was built in 1792 during the Northwest Indian War under the direction of Arthur St. Clair, to serve as a supply depot. The man pictured in the photograph is standing next to a replica of a cannon and some cannonballs. The fort was entered on the National Register of Historic Places on August 16, 2010. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06452
Subjects: Fort St. Clair (Ohio); St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; State parks & reserves
Places: Eaton (Ohio); Preble County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows a monument dedicated to William H. Ortt at Fort St. Clair in Eaton, Ohio. The monument reads: "Wm H. Ortt, erected by Wm. H. Ortt , sacred to the memory of the comrades of the Civil War from Preble County Ohio." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06450
Subjects: Fort St. Clair (Ohio); St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; State parks & reserves
Places: Eaton (Ohio); Preble County (Ohio)
 

Description: Men searching for relics at the grounds of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_001
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: Men searching for relics at the grounds of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_002
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: Men searching for relics at the grounds of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_003
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: Men searching for relics at the grounds of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_004
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: Men searching for relics at the grounds of Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_005
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: Memorial marking the site of Fort Jefferson in Darke County, Ohio. This monument was constructed in 1907, prior to the site becoming a property of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society (now the Ohio History Connection). Fort Jefferson was built about six miles south of Greenville, Ohio, on the order of General Arthur St. Clair in October 1791. The purpose of the fort was to serve as a supply garrison for St. Clair's campaign against the area’s American Indian population, hence its original name of Fort Deposit. In November 1791, St. Clair attacked the area's tribes, but under the leadership of Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), a large alliance of seasoned volunteer warriors from nine different American Indian tribes easily defeated St. Clair and his troops. This loss, which was one of the worst defeats of the American military at the hands of the American Indians, came to be known as "St. Clair’s Defeat." During the battle, well over half of St. Clair’s 1,400 men were killed or wounded. After the battle, St. Clair’s men fled to Fort Jefferson, but found little in the way of supplies and quickly moved south to Fort Washington. Later, Fort Jefferson was used during the campaign of General Anthony Wayne before being abandoned in 1796. The location is now the site of the Fort Jefferson Memorial Park, one of the Ohio History Connection's network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC283_006
Subjects: Forts & fortifications; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Northwest Territory--History; American Indians--Warfare; Monuments & memorials; Fort Jefferson
Places: Greenville (Ohio); Darke County (Ohio);
 

Description: This broadside, printed in 1791, commemorates the Columbian Tragedy, a reference to the Battle of the Wabash, also known as "St. Clair's Defeat." The battle occurred on November 4, 1791, near several Miami villages along the Wabash River in what is now Mercer County, Ohio. At daybreak that morning, a large alliance of American Indians, led by Shawnee chief Weyapiersenwah (Blue Jacket) and Miami chief Mishikinakwa (Little Turtle), surprised and overwhelmed an American army of about 1,600 men under Major General Arthur St. Clair, wounding or killing over half of the unprepared troops. The conflict is known as the greatest Indian victory over American military forces in the nation's history. 39 officers, whose names are listed on this broadside, were killed, along with over 900 soldiers. Also included on the broadside are engravings of Major General Richard Butler, who was killed in the battle, and a scene titled "Bloody Indian Battle Fought at Miami Village, Nov. 4, 1791," as well as a lengthy funeral elegy.. The location of the Columbian Tragedy is now the site of Fort Recovery State Memorial and the village of Fort Recovery. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: OVS2500
Subjects: American Indians--Warfare; St. Clair, Arthur, 1734-1818; Battlefields; Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Little Turtle, 1747?-1812
Places: Fort Recovery (Ohio); Mercer County (Ohio)