Military officer; born in Thurso,
Caithness, Scotland, in 1734; was a grandson of the
Earl of
Roslyn, and was educated at the
University of Edinburgh.
He studied medicine under the celebrated
Hunter, of
London, but inheriting a large sum of money from his mother, he purchased an ensign's commission in a regiment of foot (May 13, 1757) and came in
Boscawen's fleet to
America in 1758.
He was with
Amherst at the capture of
Louisburg, and, promoted to lieutenant in April, 1759, distinguished himself, under
Wolfe, at
Quebec.
In May, 1760, he married, at
Boston, a half-sister of
Governor Bowdoin; resigned his commission in 1762, and in 1764 settled in Ligonier Valley, Pa., where he established mills and built a fine dwelling-house.
Having held, by appointment.
several civil offices of trust, he became a colonel of militia in 1775, and in the fall of that year accompanied
Pennsylvania commissioners to treat with the
Western Indians at
Fort Pitt.
As colonel of the
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2d Pennsylvania Regiment, he was ordered to
Canada in February, 1776, and in the early summer aided
Sullivan in saving his army from capture.
In August he was made a brigadier-general, and joined
Washington in November.
St. Clair was actively engaged in
New Jersey until April, 1777, when he took command of
Ticonderoga, which he was compelled to evacuate (July 4-5), by the presence of
Burgoyne in overwhelming force.
After that he was a member of
Washington's military family, acting as his aide at the battle near the
Brandywine.
He was with
Sullivan in the
Seneca country in 1779.
St. Clair commanded the light infantry in the absence of
Lafayette, and was a member of the court that condemned
Major Andre.
He was in command at
West Point from Oct. 1, 1780, and aided in suppressing the mutiny of the
Pennsylvania line in January, 1781.
Joining
Washington in October, he participated in the capture of Cornwallis, and afterwards led a body of troops to join
Greene in
South Carolina, driving the
British from
Wilmington on the way. He was afterwards a delegate in Congress; president of that body (February to November, 1787) ; appointed governor of the
Northwestern Territory (February, 1788) ; fixed the seat of government at
Cincinnati, and, in honor of the Cincinnati Society, gave the place that name.
Made commander-in-chief of the army (March 4, 1791), he moved against the Indians on the
Wabash, while so lame from gout that he was carried on a litter.
The
Indians, encouraged by the defeat of
Harmar (October, 1790), had spread terror over the frontier settlements in the
Northwestern Territory.
In May, 1791,
Gen. Charles Scott, of
Kentucky, led 800 men, and penetrated to the
Wabash country, almost to the present site of
Lafayette, Ind., and destroyed several Indian villages.
At the beginning of August
General Wilkinson, with more than 500 men, pushed into the same region to
Tippecanoe and the surrounding prairies, destroyed some villages of Kickapoos, and made his way to the
Falls of the
Ohio, opposite
Louisville.
These forays caused the Indians to fight more desperately for their country.
Congress then prepared to plant forts in the
Northwestern Territory, and in September there were 2,000 troops at
Fort Washington, under the immediate
|
Map of the Northwestern Territory. |
command of
Gen. Richard Butler.
With
General St. Clair as chief, these troops marched northward.
They built
Fort Hamilton, on the
Miami River, 20 miles from
Fort Washington, and garrisoned it. Forty-two miles farther on they built
Fort Jefferson, and, when moving from that post, late in October, there were evidences that Indian scouts were hovering on their
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flanks.
The invaders halted and encamped on a tributary of the
Wabash,
in Darke county, O., 100 miles north from
Fort Washington (now
Cincinnati). There the wearied soldiers slept (Nov. 3), without suspicion of danger near.
During the night the sentinels gave warning of prowling
Indians, and early the next morning, while the army were preparing for breakfast, they were furiously attacked by the barbarians.
The slaughter among the troops was dreadful.
General Butler was killed, and most of the other officers were slain or wounded.
The army fled in confusion, and it was with great difficulty that
St. Clair escaped on a pack-horse, after having three horses killed under him. Among the fugitives were 100 women, wives of soldiers, most of whom escaped.
St. Clair lost nearly half of his army—over 800 men killed and wounded.
The remainder returned to
Fort Washington.
Blamed severely, a committee of Congress vindicated
St. Clair; but he resigned his commission, March 5, 1792, and in November, 1802,
Jefferson removed him from the governorship in the
Northwest.
He was then broken in health, spirits, and fortune, and, retiring to a log-house on the summit of
Chestnut Ridge, among the
Alleghany Mountains, he there passed the remainder of his days in poverty, while he had unsettled righteous claims against the government.
Five years before his death the legislature of Pennsylvania granted him an annuity of $400, and, a short time before his death, a pension from the government of $60 a month was awarded him. He published a narrative of his unfortunate campaign against the Indians.
He died in
Greensburg, Pa., Aug. 31, 1818.