Episode 29: Colin Calloway, The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army

by Liz CovartMay 12, 2015

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Can you name the battle that took place between the United States Army and the Miami Confederacy on November 4, 1791?

This above is actually a trick question.

You can’t name the battle because the victory has no name.

Colin Calloway, Professor of History and Native American History at Dartmouth College, joins us to discuss how American settlement in the Ohio Valley led to The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with an historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

Colin Calloway, Professor of History and Native American History at Dartmouth College, joins us to discuss how American settlement in the Ohio Valley led to the Native American Defeat of the First American Army.

Using details from his book, The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army, Colin reveals information about the Old Northwest Territory, its location, its quick settlement after the American Revolution; Details about how Americans and Native Americans negotiated for land after the United States achieved independence; And, how the Native American warriors of the Miami Confederacy came to rout the first United States Army and the lessons that the United States took away from its colossal defeat.

What You’ll Discover

How Colin came to his interest in Native American and early American history
Overview of the “Victory with No Name” or Battle by the Wabash
Overview of the Old Northwest Territory, its location, and why Americans settled it so quickly after the American Revolution
Information about the Northwest Ordinance
How the United States’ victory in the War for Independence affected the lives of Native American peoples who once lived in the 13 former colonies
Information about the Native American History of the Ohio Valley
How and why so many Native American peoples settled in the Old Northwest Territory
How Americans negotiated with Native Americans for land after American independence
The views of Henry Knox and George Washington on American/Native American relations
The Native Americans’ use of confederating as a defensive tactic against Americans in the Old Northwest Territory
How land speculation fomented troubled in the Old Northwest Territory
Information about the Ohio Land Company
Arthur St. Clair’s plans for an offensive against the Miami Confederacy in the Ohio Valley in October 1791
Whether Henry Knox and George Washington wanted diplomatic relations with Miami Confederacy to fail
Problems that hampered St. Clair’s military efforts in the Ohio Valley
Native American preparations for an attack upon the invading Americans
Details of the November 4, 1791 battle on the Wabash River
Why the Americans underestimated Native American prowess and ferocity on the battlefield
How Native Americans and the United States government responded to the rout on the Wabash
Lessons that the United States took away from its defeat in the “Victory with No Name”
How divisions within the Miami Confederacy affected their stand at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794