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Re: Arthur St Clair



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Years ago I read all the Zane Grey books.  There were a couple that
contained somewhat true stories about Bettty Zane and Lewis Wetzel.  Then
last year I came across a book  called The Life and Times of L Wetzel by C.
B. Allman.  In it is a little information about Gen. Arthur St. Clair that
might interest people. pg. 141
"...This of course did not lull the fears of the settlers, while it
encouraged the Indians to go out and whoop things up some more.  In fact
they got so bad something had to be done, so Arthur St. Clair, then governor
of the Ohio Territory, was chosen as the man to strike the blow that would
take the wind out of them.
    Like General Harmar, Gen. St. Clair had good intentions but a poor army.
It was underfed and ill-equiped and the 2,300 men composing it had a large
assortment of inferior persons as far as soldiering is concerned.  St.
Clair's plan was to build a line of forts or stockades up through Ohio and
thus awe the red men by the white man's powers.
    St. Clair's force proceed slowly.  First went scouts to spy out the
land.  Following them were the advance guard and then the army in two
columns ending with four pieces of artillery. In the lead were horses with
tents and provisions and cattle.  Cavalry marched in file on the flanks and
outside of the horsemen ranged riflemen and scouts.  Such a cavalcade must
have seemed to the watching Indians something like a circus parade.
Movements of this army of course could not be kept secret.
    After much hardship a fort or two were put up and then one cold morning
when the men were huddled around the campfires Indians appeared in swarms
and virtually exterminated them.  The Americans lost 677 killed and 271
wounded, while the Indians' death toll was estimated at 150.  And there were
only about half as many Indians as whites in the fray.
    The Indians continued to have the best of the argument until General
"Mad Anthony" Wayne thoroughly defeated them in the Battle of Fallen
Timbers..,..."
    ====
    Now I found a web site RHand75832@aol.com of a Bob Hand who doesn't
think much of some of the the other information in the above book.  He seems
to have done his own research on this era and might have more information to
contribute on Gen. St. Clair since Lewis Wetzel's brother served under him.
So you better check out all the research before accepting one author over
the other.

===========================
>I would love to get all the info I could on the General. My address is 8322
>Old Meadow. Houston, Tx 77064. I have been finding lots of interesting
stuff
>on him the last couple of days. The more the Merrier.
>Kim St.Clair Davenport
>[
.

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