ST. CLAIlt's CAMPAIGN. 137 



and garrisoned it, St. Clair marched some twenty miles north- 

 ward and erected Fort St. Clair, and marching twenty miles 

 or more, farther, due north, he established another military 

 post, and called it Fort Jefferson. It is some six miles south 

 of the present town of Greenville in Darke county. Having 

 garrisoned this post, on the 24th day of October 1791, St. 

 Clair's force^ was reduced to less than two thousand men with 

 whom he marched, in the direction of the Indian villages on 

 the Maumee, which Indian towns it was his object to destroyj 

 This march was slow, over a wet country, covered with a 

 dense forest, which had to be cleared, for his baggage wag- 

 gons and artillery trainsi The Indians began to hover about 

 his army, and skirmishes became more and more frequents 

 To increase his difficulties, desertions took place daily, and 

 finally, sixty men deserted in a body, and returned on theil' 

 way to Cincinnati. To bring back those deserters, and pro- 

 tect the provisions^ which were behind the army moving for- 

 ward slowly^ St. Clair despatched Major Hamtramack, with a 

 sufficient force. By this time, the main army was only four' 

 teen hundred strong, which moved forward to where, after- 

 wards Fort Recovery was erected, within the limits of Mer- 

 cer county, or on the line, between it and Darke county. 



Here, on the head waters of the Wabash river, among a 

 number of small creeks, thirty feet in width, on the third day 

 of November 1791, Governor St. Clair, who was sick at the 

 time, encamped with the remaining troops. The right wing 

 of the army, under the command of General Butler lay in 

 front of a creek, twelve yards wide, and this force formed the 

 first line. The second line, seventy yards behind the first, 

 was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Darkei 

 iThere were two rows of fires between these lines, and there 

 was snow on the ground. The right flank was supposed to be 

 protected by a small creek, with high steep banks, and a 

 small body of troops. The left flankj was covered by a body 

 of cavalry, and by piquets. The militia crossed the creek, 

 and advanced about eighty rodsj in front of the main army, 

 18 



