General Arthur St Clair Battle Analysis

Intelligence information has been integrated and used when preparing for battle for centuries. Depending on the accuracy of the information and how the information is used, it can lead to a victory or a battle of defeat. The decisions made by the commander during The Battle of Wabash significantly affected the outcome due to the commander ignoring reported intelligence of value. No other battle was more devastating for the United States Army in terms of the casualty to combat strength than The Battle of Wabash. Major General Arthur St. Clair was the commanding officer ultimately responsible for the overall casualty rate of 97.4 percent (Hickman, 2016). The result of St. Clair’s misuse of intelligence reporting resulted in 24 of 920 soldiers

Clair and his troops began October 1791 only one year after Harmar’s defeat. St. Clair and roughly 2,000 soldiers departed Fort Washington, located present day Cincinnati, Ohio. Of the roughly 2,000 soldiers, only 600 were regular men (soldiers who had fought in previous battles), 800 were recruits (draftees), and 600 were local militia (also known as camp followers). Due to the vast amount of troops by numbers who were not regular soldiers, St. Clair’s men were unequipped and not properly trained. As St. Clair and his troops progressed in the campaign, many troops deserted for various reasons. The desertion resulted in St. Clair retaining a mere 920 soldiers and around 200 militia left to fight the Western Confederacy. St. Clair and his troops were suffering from many problems during the campaign march. Problems ranged from the desertion of mass troops to severe logistic

Clair and his troops. The sightings of the Native Americans were reported up to St. Clair and where they were disregarded (Hickman, 2016). St Clair ignored the sightings of the Western Confederacy allowing the Native Americans to continue to stalk the movement of St. Clair and his soldiers. St. Clair assumed that the enemy would submit when the face of his army was upon them. This assumption would ultimately cause St. Clair to lose a devastating amount of troops on the battlefield. On November 3, 1971, St. Clair and his troops made a camp along the Wabash River. St. Clair decided to camp in this location despite intelligence reporting of Native Americans following his soldiers. St. Clair dismissed the advice of President Washington and did not fortify the camp by nightfall. The Native Americans approached the camp before dawn on 4 November 1791. The Native Americans were positioned in the nearby woods to launch a surprise attack. The Native Americans waited until St. Clair 's men had stacked their arms for before eating breakfast to launch an ambush. St. Clair 's regulars grabbed their muskets laid in position prepared to fight. With the troops firing they briefly halted the Native American attack while the American artillerymen began firing from a nearby location. In an effort to turn the battle, the soldiers charged