On Wednesday September 6th at the Montgomery Inn, we returned to our monthly meetings after our summer recess.
Our meeting was busy with the induction of four new members to our chapter.
We started out with our speaker Ms. Kathy Creighton who is the Executive Director of the Butler County Historical Society.
Kathy Creighton presents the early history of Indian conflicts in the Ohio Valley
Her Topic: Tomahawks and Guns: The Indian Wars and Leaders
Kathy walked us through the history of the Indian events from the early 1600’s through after the Revolutionary War. She explained the dilemma the Indians faced as the new settlers persistently moved west into their ancestral homelands. They succumbed to overwhelming odds and could not stem the flow, eventually losing ground and moving or ceasing to exist.
Kathy also shared that much of Ohio was not permanently occupied by any of the various tribes in the Ohio valley. Ohio for the most part was used as a hunting ground, with no permanent Indian settlements in this area. I found that surprising and very interesting!
We learned about the various Indian leaders, the Military leaders of the colonies who pursued the Indians, the various treaties which were crafted and for the most part abandoned when convenient.
There were a number of questions from the SAR participants which Kathy graciously answered and the discussion was very interesting.
President George Stewart awarded Kathy a Certificate of Appreciation and a Cincinnati SAR Challenge coin for her presentation, knowledge and Q&A efforts.
History is not always clean, however it happened and must be acknowledged.
Anthony Wayne and Native Americans at Greenville Ohio
We learned more about the principal players on both sides of this fighting, including Indian Chiefs Cornstalk, Little Turtle, and Blue Jacket. Also discussed are American Major Generals Arthur St. Clair & Anthony Wayne.
Shawnee Indian Chief Cornstalk
Miami Tribe Chief Little Turtle
Shawnee leaders Blue Jacket (l) and Tecumseh (r)
Arthur St. Clair – Under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which created the Northwest Territory, General St. Clair was appointed governor of what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, along with parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. He named Cincinnati, Ohio, after the Society of the Cincinnati and it was there that he established his home.
“Mad” Anthony Wayne was recalled by President Washington from civilian life to command of U.S. forces in the Northwest Indian War, where he defeated the British-backed Northwestern Confederacy, an alliance of several Native American tribes.
