st. clair

The Miami were not naïve to the European invaders. They had a long history of resistance of any domination, starting with the French. Pressure from the misplaced Iroquois in the East had moved many bands to the shores of Lake Michigan. In the middle seventeenth century, French traders and missionaries made contact with the Miami. By the end of the seventeenth century, the French openly traded with the Miami. The British victory over the French in the Seven Years’ War created a British presence in the Miami area and the tribes benefited from the British trade.
Native Americans were seasonal warriors. With no supply structure, they were could only sustain themselves for short periods in battle and each warrior was responsible for individual supplies. Native Americans fought only a few days from any food source. Even in a coordinated battle, tribes fought for individual formations and independent victory. Victory meant inflicting more casualties and captured than the tribe fighting. The battle would continue only if the casualty count meant the enemy sustained greater losses.
A council of leaders met prior to St. Clair’s arrival and decided the tactics of the battle. Maneuvering into a crescent shape formation prior to the attack, individual tribes had the advantage of surrounding the Americans. Knowing they could only be a few days away from a food supply and limited on the ability to form a large force, the Americans played into the hands of the Native Americans. The Indians had tested their tactics in centuries of war with one another and learned from the forty years of war against the British, French, and Americans when planning the attack against St. Clair.
St. Clair’s army attempted to train during the travel and many ha...

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