the morning and fought well, repulsing the Indians and finally forcing
them to withdraw. They then marched slowly back to the Miami towns,
gathered their wounded, arrayed their ranks, and rejoined the main army.
The Indians had suffered heavily, and were too dispirited, both by their
loss, and by their last repulse, to attempt further to harass either
this detachment or the main army itself on its retreat.

Practical failure of the expedition.

Nevertheless, the net result was a mortifying failure. In all, the
regulars had lost 75 men killed and 3 wounded, while of the militia 28
had been wounded and 108 had been killed or were missing. The march back
was very dreary; and the militia became nearly ungovernable, so that at
one time Harmar reduced them to order only by threatening to fire on
them with the artillery.

The loss of all their provisions and dwellings exposed the Miami tribes
to severe suffering and want during the following winter; and they had
also lost many of their warriors. But the blow was only severe enough to
anger and unite them, not to cripple or crush them. All the other
western tribes made common cause with them. They banded together and
warred openly; and their vengeful forays on the frontier increased in
number, so that the suffering of the settlers was great. Along the Ohio
people lived in hourly dread of tomahawk and scalping knife; the attacks
fell unceasingly on all the settlements from Marietta to Louisville.




CHAPTER VIII.