Wabash 1791: St Clair's defeat

Description

The battle of the Wabash, or St Clair's Defeat, was the greatest ever victory of American Indians over US Army forces. In 1791, Revolutionary War commander Arthur St Clair led a hastily recruited American army into Ohio in an attempt to wrest control of the area from its Indian inhabitants. Hindered by geographical ignorance, difficult terrain, bad weather, and a lack of supplies, the Americans advanced slowly through the wilderness. After a month, they reached the Wabash River, where an Indian army awaited them. On a cold November morning, the Indians attacked at dawn and three hours later the Americans fled, having suffered more than 60 percent casualties. In this book, author John F. Winkler re-examines the US Army's frontier disaster, analyzing what they did wrong and how the Indians achieved their crushing victory.

After graduating from Yale in 1968, John F. Winkler returned to his native Ohio, where he is an attorney in Columbus. He has written many works on the history of Roman, early English, and American law. He also explores forgotten historical sites in Ohio and neighboring states. Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

"Author John F. Winkler expertly examines the Army's controversial calamity, analyzing what went wrong and how the Indians scored such a complete victory. Superb color plates by Peter Dennis depicting woodlands combat are complemented by period illustrations, maps and photos showing everything from artifacts and re-enactors to the present-day site of the clash. This concise, 96-page book is a fascinating look at a relatively little-known battle, especially considering how the Army suffered triple the number of casualties at the Wabash than were much more famously slaughtered by the Sioux and their allies at Custer's Last Stand in 1876." --Toy Soldier & Model Figure (April 2013)