Ohio frontier battles in the Northwest Indian War – Ohio Ag Net

By Mike Ryan, OCJ field reporter

The Northwest Indian War (1785-1795), also known as the Little Turtle War, was fought for European hegemony and control of the Northwest Territory north of the Ohio River in what is now the state of Ohio. The Northwest Indian War played a significant role in the white settlement of the United States frontier and the displacement of the indigenous tribal population of the region. Ohio lands hosted the largest and most significant battles in this small series of armed skirmishes that pitted allied Native American tribes against white settlers and the United States Army.

After the Revolutionary War, the land ceded to Britain in the Northwest Territories had yet to be fully settled and governed. After a series of tribal attacks against pioneer settlements such as the Big Bottom Massacre in 1791 which left about 11 settlers dead and the attempted Shawnee/Wyandotte siege of Dunlap Station that same year, it became clear from the European perspective that settlement north of the Ohio River would only occur with great defeat and subjugation. the original people.

Thus, the Northwest Indian War was fought to establish “rights” for white pioneers to settle in the Ohio Territory. And the enemies of the government and the settlers were formidable, as the Native American combat forces were led and organized by legends in Native American history and traditions: Chief Miami Little Turtle and Blue…