Little Turtle His Achievements & Losses
Battle of Wabash
The Battle of Fallen Timbers
Also known as Michikinokwa, Little Turtle lead the first and last massacre against the USA military that killed more than half American Soldiers this was know as the Battle of Wabash. Little Turtle live from 1747-1812 and his native language was Algonquian. Through out his time in command he was named War chief and know as one of the best Indian military strategist. He was born in present day Ohio or back then know as Pickawillany village. Little Turtle, died on July 14, 1812 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is believed to have died from gout and rheumatism. Gout is pain and inflammation occur when too much uric acid crystallizes and deposits in the joints.
Although he lead the Americans to there defeat in Wabash his Native American army was later defeated in the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timber. The battle was given its name based on the fact that a tornado had traveled through the the battle grounds right before the war so little turtle and his men camouflaged into it. Less than 100 men on each side died in the brief Battle of Fallen Timbers, but the American Legion’s victory marked a major turning point in the fight for the western frontier. Little Turtle being the intelligent military strategist notices early on before The Battle of Fallen Timbers even starts that the United States far outnumbered the Native Americans and had many more weapons, and more resources. Other American Indian war leaders, such as Shawnee war chief Blue Jacket, refused to listen, and insisted that General Wayne's approaching army must be fought. Shortly after rejecting Little Turtle's call for peace, the American Indians specifically Little Turtle who had to go against his best judgment to listen and follow orders from Blue Jacket. The American victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the signing of the Treaty Greenville in 1795.
The Americans Indians present, 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 people of the United States. He visited many eastern cities and even met George Washington in 1797. He urged his fellow American Indians to keep the peace and also encouraged them to give up consumption of alcohol.
Sydney - I really thought your blog post was really interesting. I had no idea that he died such a bizarre death, let alone specific inflammation within his joints, if it is true. What amazes me the most about Little Turtle was that he always maintained his patriotism for his native people, through their loss of modern-day Ohio and decided to give up arms against the US. One thing that I found interesting about Little Turtle was that he was successful in preventing Native Americans from joining the nation state that Tecumseh was trying to establish. By doing so, he was attempting to work hard on achieving peace between natives and Americans.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Little-Turtle
I thought your blog post was incredibly interesting because it investigated a famous name but we don't really know anything beyond the Battle of Wabash and the Battle of Fallen Timber. It was interesting to hear how he discouraged drinking because we hear about how the native American tribes were ravaged with alcoholism when the "gift" was bestowed on them. To have such a different experience with alcohol makes him an incredibly interesting figure. He was willing to comply with the American people and while in history we hear about his defeating them, he actually seemed to look out for what was best for all, rather than becoming consumed by such power.
ReplyDeleteI like your focus on a specific battle of Little Turtle, even though he had much more to do with the Northwest Indian War than just that single battle. In the Northwest Indian War, known as "Little Turtle's War", the Americans suffered the worst defeat to Native Americans in a battle around the Wabash River on November 4, 1791. In this battle, Little Turtle and a force of 1,000 men killed and wounded 881 American soldiers, more than any other single American defeat to Native American troops. I appreciate your viewpoint on Little Turtle and specifically his role in the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Michikinikwa