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Welcome to the Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site is managed by Metroparks of the Toledo Area. It is also an Affiliated Unit of the National Park Service.
Fallen Timbers is actually three sites, two of which are open to the public. This collection of historical places is still in the planning stages and offers little in the way of visitor services and interpretation.
Passport stamps: Until the Battlefiled is open, visitors can have their National Parks Passport stamped at the Maumee Branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, located on River Road [Directions].
The Three Sites
Fallen Timbers Battlefield - The Battlefield is not yet open to the public. The property is located in Maumee Ohio at the intersection of US23/I-475 and US24 (Anthony Wayne Trail). There is currently no access to the Battlefield except during special events. [Directions]
Fallen Timbers Monument - This impressive monument to the important battle is across the Anthony Wayne Trail from the actual battlefield. A bike/pedestrian bridge connects the two sites. The monument is situated on a bluff overlooking Side Cut Metropark and the beautiful Maumee River. [Directions]
Fort Miamis - The British fort, located several miles away on River Road, played a role in the Battle of Fallen Timbers and, later, the War of 1812. The park is open, and much of the earthworks used to create the fort are still visible. [Directions]
About The Battle
The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794, has been called the “last battle of the American Revolution” and one of the three most important battles in the development of our nation. The decisive victory by the Legion of the United States over a confederacy of Indian tribes opened the Northwest Territory, a five-state region unceded by the native inhabitants, for westward expansion and led to Ohio’s statehood in 1803!
The battle took place amid trees toppled by a tornado just north of the Maumee River in the present-day city of Maumee.
The legion was commanded by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, a veteran of Valley Forge handpicked by President Washington to oversee the new nation’s first professional army. Wayne’s force, made up of 1,600 to 1,700 “regulars” and 1,500 members of the Kentucky Militia, marched north from Cincinnati to build a series of forts between the Ohio and Maumee rivers. Among Wayne’s officers was 21-year-old General William Henry Harrison, who would become the ninth president of the United States.
Waiting for Wayne and his men were about 1,000 warriors representing the native confederacy and led by Miami war chief Little Turtle, an old nemesis of the United States. Other leaders of the confederacy included Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket and Delaware Chief Buckongahelas. One of the most famous leaders of the native resistance, Tecumseh, also took part in the battle.
Fewer than 100 men on each side died in the brief battle, but the Legion’s victory marked a major turning point in the battle for the western frontier. The victory led to the signing the Treaty Greenville in 1795. Without the treaty, portions of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin might have remained a buffer zone between Indian and settled territory, or even become part of British-controlled Canada. |
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