Autumn of the Black Snake: George Washington, Mad Anthony Wayne, and the Invasion That Opened the West

by William Hogeland

The forgotten story of how the U.S. Army was created to fight a crucial Indian war

When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the newly independent United States savored its victory and hoped for a great future. And yet the republic soon found itself losing an escalating military conflict on its borderlands. In 1791, years of skirmishes, raids, and quagmire climaxed in the grisly defeat of American militiamen by a brilliantly organized confederation of Shawnee, Miami, and Delaware Indians. With nearly one thousand U.S. casualties, this was the worst defeat the nation would ever suffer at native hands. Americans were shocked, perhaps none more so than their commander in chief, George Washington, who saw in the debacle an urgent lesson: the United States needed an army.

Autumn of the Black Snake tells the overlooked story of how Washington achieved his aim. In evocative and absorbing prose, William Hogeland conjures up the woodland battles and the hardball politics that formed the Legion of the United States, our first true standing army. His memorable portraits of leaders on both sides--from the daring war chiefs Blue Jacket and Little Turtle to the doomed commander Richard Butler and a steely, even ruthless Washington--drive a tale of horrific violence, brilliant strategizing, stupendous blunders, and valorous deeds. This sweeping account, at once exciting and dark, builds to a crescendo as Washington and Alexander Hamilton, at enormous risk, outmaneuver Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other skeptics of standing armies--and Washington appoints the seemingly disreputable Anthony Wayne, known as Mad Anthony, to lead the legion. Wayne marches into the forests of the Old Northwest, where the very Indians he is charged with defeating will bestow on him, with grudging admiration, a new name: the Black Snake.

Autumn of the Black Snake is a dramatic work of military and political history, told in a colorful, sometimes startling blow-by-blow narrative. It is also an original interpretation of how greed, honor, political beliefs, and vivid personalities converged on the killing fields of the Ohio valley, where the United States Army would win its first victory, and in so doing destroy the coalition of Indians who came closer than any, before or since, to halting the nation's westward expansion.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Military Fiction, Politics, War, Military History

464 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2017

Reviews

[Breck Baumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Hogeland delivers a captivating and groundbreaking narrative of the events that lead up to the Battle of Fallen Timbers and its aftermath, including its kindling of the Westward Expansion movement. He meticulously covers each gripe from the Native perspective, in which many of their predictions and concerns come to fruition in a depressing yet sadly almost inevitable turn of events.

The timeline follows the budding Early U.S. Republic and its struggle with its status as a world power to be contended with, as well as the internal semantics of a Federalist administration contending with a nation unused to that of obtaining a viable Standing Army. It begins with the shocking American defeat of Arthur St. Clair’s forces—himself a revered Revolutionary War hero—whom both Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox had deliberately told to “Beware of a Surprise!”. Hogeland moves forward and pays due respect to the Native Americans’ feared adversary, the “Black Snake”, more commonly known both then and now as General Mad Anthony Wayne. He also pairs in the backstabbing machinations of his then commanding rival in arms—the spy James Wilkinson—an agreeable yet hostile counterpart, whose treachery knew no bounds in his quest for greed and ambition:

Wilkinson had begun writing from Fort Washington to the anti-army faction in Congress with lurid tales of Wayne’s supposed erratic behavior, incompetent command, and drunken irascibility. Worst of all for Wayne, Wilkinson used his own popularity with junior officers to form a faction in the army that mocked the commander behind his back and complained bitterly about what they saw as his draconian measures of cultivating discipline.

This is interestingly mirrored on their enemies side at almost the same exact point in time, as the two Native American leaders Blue Jacket and Little Turtle eventually find themselves apart on both speaking terms and collaboration. Hogeland has the ability to put well-cited research into an exciting narrative flow, and by the end of the book the reader has not only a near-biographical account of Anthony Wayne’s life, but a scope and bird’s-eye view of Fallen Timbers and all of the in-between guts and glory. This epic portrayal easily allows for an interest in further study for all of the actors accounted for, not to mention Hogeland’s other histories involving the birth of the cause for Independence, and the Whiskey Rebellion. Detailed maps are provided throughout, as well as illustrations on the battles and soldiers discussed.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Vast right-wing conspiracy" remember those words as you read the opening chapters of this work. While not generally factually incorrect, Hogeland takes license to imagine secret motives within persons 250 years dead and conversations no one else heard, as he weaves a modernist, dog-whistle politics, take on the Founders in the Revolution and the ensuing war in the Northwest Territory. While it is easy reading one will note the utter lack of detailed notes or bibliography, necessary with the freedoms Hogeland grants himself to reimagine the narrative to fit a modern, socialist-bent, anti-corporatist bent as he, admittedly deftly, weaves his story. It is an important work, as most Americans know nothing of this vitally important period in American history- but it's important to take care with the limitations of the author's narrative framework.

[Amy H. Sturgis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review appeared in Reason Magazine and is now available online here.

[Sandra Soli · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a loud thump, William Hogeland removes Washington, Jefferson, and even Patrick Henry from the pedestals we were taught to admire in grade school and introduces us to the Six Nations, Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, and Mad Anthony Wayne, among other fascinating characters in the tale of early America. George Washington's nasty politics and disgraceful land grab drops him from hero lists forever. Historian Hogeland provides a page turner I could not put down. Great book for history lovers and those who want to understand not only how this nation's army came to be formed, but also how the Indian nations were robbed of their land as whites moved ever westward.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autumn of the Black Snake by William Hogeland

This history is largely focused on Mad Anthony Wayne and Little Turtle, the leader of the Miami, and their arcs that lead up to and include the penultimate American victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in Ohio in 1794. George Washington also figures prominently in the book along with the Shawnee leader Blue Jacket who was allied with the Miami. Blue Jacket was the most militaristic of the two Native American leaders.

This battle was significant because it was the beginning of America's first standing military which was known then as the American Legion. The standing army was first conceived by Washington a few years earlier after Little Turtle and Blue Jacket's overwhelming victory over General Arthur St. Clair and his men at the Battle of the Wabash. The victory was so overwhelming that nearly 1,000 Americans were left on the battlefield. Most of their remains were not recovered for many years. President Washington was deeply affected by news of the defeat and very angry with St. Clair but he never betrayed his friend.

Little Turtle was clear eyed about his people's prospects after General Anthony Wayne entered the northern Ohio. He knew Anthony Wayne was a revered hero from the Revolutionary War and had an even larger force at his disposal than his predecessors. He also suspected that the British who were still occupying forts in the region would betray the Miami rather than start a war with the U.S. He was right on both accounts as Wayne's forces routed the Miami and Shawnee at Fallen Timbers and the British refused to open the fort to let them in.

Little Turtle survived the battle and lived out the rest of his years in northwest Ohio. Blue Jacket also survived and after signing the Treaty of Grenville went on to business ventures in Detroit. Wayne was bestowed the name Black Snake by his foes. After the battle he was honored by Washington and his country with a great ceremony back in Philadelphia which was then the seat of the United States. Wayne only lived for a few years after the battle. It is not clear if the last campaign contributed to his ill health. He had suffered massive leg injuries when a tree fell on him shortly before that last battle.

The scholarship and information content in this book get high marks. While the writing is not at a David McCullough level, it is still pretty good. The author is a little opinionated for a historian but I agree with his conclusions so it didn't bother me. Be forewarned that this book is not so much about the military but rather the leaders involved in these Northwest Territory wars of the 1790s

4.5 stars. I am glad I read it.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another provocative history by Hogeland, examining George Washington's Indian Wars and their role in creating the first United States Army. This book is a bit meandering, especially in its early chapters when it wafts between examining colonial land disputes with Britain and the Native tribes in Ohio and government debates over whether the United States should have an army, but eventually comes together when Washington authorizes Anthony Wayne's "Legion of the United States" to crush the Shawnee at Fallen Timbers. Hogeland views the creation of an army as cementing Federalist power, less about defending the country than ensuring that Washington could now assert Federal authority over the states, which has more than a grain of truth (see: Rebellion, Whiskey) but again seems like overstating his case. Namely, he doesn't address whether an America surrounded by indifferent-to-hostile empires could have relied on militia to defend itself (at which they failed spectacularly in the Revolution, myth notwithstanding); though it's easy to buy that Hamilton and Washington viewed the Army as a convenient means to an end. When Hogeland finally condenses his disparate analytic strands together, he delivers a fabulous narrative account of Wayne's campaign and how his victory not only crushed a major Indian threat but ensured that the United States Army, for better or worse, was here to stay. Another excellent, provocative read.

[Todd N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've checked out a lot of bookstores in my day, and I have a list of areas that I will look through, especially if it's a used bookstore and it doesn't seem too picked over. One of the areas I will be sure to check for is books about the Midwestern Indian Wars, especially the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

The main reason for my interest is that my mom's house was on the edge of that battlefield, though this wasn't proven definitively until after I left Ohio. If the map in the Osprey Publishing book about the battle is correct, the American right flank marched right through our pony barn.

Fortunately we now have this most excellent book covering the time between St. Clair's Defeat to Fallen Timbers with flashbacks on young George Washington the land speculator.

These Midwestern Indian Wars or whatever they are called -- they don't really have a name -- are a weird blind spot of US history. I didn't learn much about them in school, and I grew up pretty much in the middle of them. Ohio history is taught in 7th grade, so I learned a lot about stupid canals and how townships are laid out. If they had at least mentioned the battle was fought with muskets I wouldn't have wasted so much time looking for arrowheads.

But I digress. The United States did some kinda important stuff during this period: (1) formed The US Army, which Internet commenters seem to be big fans of though not all founding fathers were, (2) took physical claim of the Northwest Territory, which was basically paper wealth at the end of the Revolution, (3) more ignominiously, came up with its official policy for the indigenous population.

As much as we like to pin that last one on Jackson, the US policy of negotiating in bad faith, breaking treaties, making new treaties, displacement, and reservations all started under the guidance of Washington and Hamilton. Though not all contemporaries agreed. One cabinet member hilariously recommends a series of forts in the Northwest Territory to keep an eye on the white settlers and protect the Indians. Jefferson probably had some dopey idea but I forget what it was.

The big surprise (for me) is that George Washington did not divest himself of his vast land holdings in western Pennsylvania and Ohio when becoming President. Not to make too much of this comparison, but Trump and Washington have at least this much in common. The book makes clear how much Washington stood to gain from the whole Wayne campaign and how much it was a clear conflict of interest. If the Huffington Post was around back then would they have covered Washington in their Politics section?

Of course, Anthony Wayne, the titular Black Snake, is the best character in the book. Single minded, beset by every difficulty yet prevailing in the end, ornery, competent only at being a general, Gen. Wayne embodies a manliness virtually guaranteeing that in today's society he would have been medicated by age ten if he were middle class or incarcerated by twenty if he were lower-middle class. Fictional characters John Wayne and Bruce Wayne both took their names from him as a shorthand for manliness and virility, but sadly today he has been banished to obscure non-fiction history books.

However his nickname lives on. I was watching United Shades Of America on CNN, and a Native American protestor was being interviewed. She said she would protest until "the Black Snake is gone," which startled me. This is a name from 1794 for a general who was rumored never to sleep, who broke the back of The Confederation Of Tribes, and who was still on the lips of a Native American almost two and a quarter centuries later.

Highly recommended. FWIW, many bodies were left on the battlefield, so my soul is haunted with the characters of this book.

[Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overreaching Revisionist History

In this and in previous books, author William Hogeland has carved out as his specialty the 1790s, years that, arguably, have been less fully covered by historians than other periods of American history. But in Autumn of the Black Snake, Hogeland fails to enlighten readers about less well-known events of the period and indeed offers up an overreaching revisionist history substantiated neither by fact-based argument nor clear writing.

This book is billed as “the creation of the US Army” which seems a somewhat exaggerated assertion, although the challenge of Native American opposition to westward expansion certainly did require a military force better trained and better led than the state militias that preceded a successful expedition of regulars led by “Mad Anthony” Wayne in 1793.

The opening chapters are devoted to the Indian defeat in 1791 of militia forces under the command of Arthur St. Clair, deployed to protect the white settlers who were expanding into the Ohio Valley. The author is critical of George Washington. But Washington’s responsibility for this defeat is never established by Hogeland and indeed the author’s chronicle of this battle deals with the misjudgments of St. Clair himself.

Among Hogeland’s other assertions that are debatable:

George Washington started the Seven Years War between Britain and France in 1754 as a result of his confrontation of the French occupying Pittsburgh and the killing by Indians allied with Washington of a French diplomat. France and England were on a collision course and the idea that a skirmish in the Western wilderness led to the larger war is like the tail wagging the dog. Historians of the Seven Years War point to European causes, not American.

Washington was a crass land speculator, a “land hustler”. True, in Colonial times Washington had filed a number of claims and, in competition with British aristocracy had sought Royal land grants. But why were there never vast Washington estates in what is now western Pennsylvania and Ohio — no Mount Vernon West? The answer is that Washington’s claims, under the Crown, were not enforceable given the American independence that Washington had such a critical role in achieving. 

By the 1790s white American settlers were crossing the Appalachians and establishing farms in the wilderness, occupying land that Washington had surveyed and claimed in 1773. In effect, Washington’s fellow Americans were creating “facts on the ground”. A dictator, as president, would have used force to move such squatters off his claimed land. Washington did no such thing, but rather accepted the fact of western settlement and turned his attention to his beloved Mount Vernon estate.

Hamilton, asserts Hogeland, did not share the concern of other founding fathers that “unless very carefully managed, professional armies might be turned against the citizenry. That meant nothing to Hamilton; if anything such uses of military power inspired him.” This provocative characterization is left unsupported.

Hogeland seeks to pull both Washington and Hamilton off their pedestals, and in one passage employs an egregious metaphor to try to do that literally. In the context of blaming Washington for St. Clair’s defeat by the Indians the author says, “[Washington] seemed made for statuary…however St. Clair’s defeat had to feel like a ludicrous disfigurement. Where the nose should be, the dry gash. A regally raised forearm lacking a hand.” Eh?

Indeed, Hogeland seems loathe to use straightforward prose when convoluted syntax will do. One example: “Because intellectual and communications disarray ruled all efforts of the king’s ministers and their staffs when it came to the West, interplay between policy and action amounted only to a gaping vacuum into which many a murky scheme might rush.” In other words, the British never had a clear and well-articulated policy or plan of action when it came to westward expansion.

In summary, this book is disappointing in terms of thesis, organization, and writing style. Someone else will have to write an engaging history of events of the period.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually an excellent book and my favorite book by Hogeland so far. He tells a complex story with a commitment to neutrality, cheerleading for neither side but simply trying to paint them as human. Many of the characters on both sides are multi-layered, unusual people who are far more fascinating than the one-dimensional idealism we imagine from our Founding Fathers. The most interesting part of this story, though, is not any specific battle but how thoroughly it has been whitewashed out of our history. The entire period between 1781 and the late 1790s is zipped through in American history classes, but it is precisely this time when America abandoned the decentralized, non-interventionist "libertarian" government that many of its founders fought for and replaced it with an explicitly centralized, imperial and expansionist program, and it's a story that deserves to be thoroughly explored.

4 star rating is only because Hogeland's severe commitment to neutrality can make it easy to get lost at times, but his writing style has definitely improved from previous books.

[Corin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important perspective on the birth of the US. Not what they taught us in highschool.

[Naum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I have read every title by Mr. Hogeland, even the short title *Inventing American History*, which introduced me to the author. So I guess I'm a fan so some might view these words with chagrin, but this title, like all his others, does not disappoint. While many historians (even the ones that bellow about the political slant in other historians while weaving hagiographies or blind to their own narrative crafting in the "glorious America" story), Hogeland just tells the story. And this is the story of the creation of the post-Revolutionary War army. In a climate where many of the country's founding fathers disdained standing armies, and believed the existence of such to be a recipe for tyranny. But there was this problem with the Indians in the Northwest Territory (known today as Ohio & parts just due west). And the militias weren't getting the job done. So Washington & Hamilton & others sympathetic to this cause pulled the strings & finagled Congress to give them authorization for an army. And then they made "Mad" Anthony Wayne general. And so the story goes to tell how Wayne & his forces (spoiler!) quelled the native American uprising in Ohio. A few of the early chapters were awkwardly presented, but all in all, the book is a gem.

[Terence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A balanced narrative of the first years of the republic and highly recommended:

That the more decisive war, and thus the more important people, has lapsed into obscurity points to a vacancy in American memory when it comes to what is perhaps the longest-lasting legacy of George Washington's career, and to the political, moral, and existential burden his career, and its national indispensability, will forever carry. That legacy is the formation of a permanent military establishment, via the conquest of indigenous people, in pursuit of the industrial and imperial power that, with victory in its first war, the United States did go on to achieve. (p. 375)

[Jack Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Obviously well-researched, but a most offputting writing style makes it tough going.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purported to be a history of the US Army the book is also a history of American development and westward expansion as well as the wars and failed treaties with the Indians. It also examines the political and economic motivations of American leaders. Definitely a different viewpoint on early American history.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this time in history is not of particular interest to me, the "New Republic" era, Lewis and Clark and a recent trip to Fort Snelling outside Minneapolis, plus being an Army veteran, I was glad I picked up this story.
President Washington was still the " Commander in Chief" and his idea of a national, professional, standing army instead of a local militia was central to the story. The book was well written and kept your interest throughout. A little word,of warning about the politics of the time (which I guess is necessary for the story), and the "political correctness" of indigenous people can be a little distracting, but the overall story of how we have the military we have today is a fascinating story. Very well worth the time.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were enjoyable. The wars between the Americans and all these Indian tribes were fascinating. I actually live in Ohio (am not a native though) and enjoyed learning about the history of Richard Butler, Anthony Wayne, and the various forts that are now remembered through town names. However, William Hogeland's analysis was often tedious and overbearing and the structure was at times confusing. He tends to get ahead of himself and then has to go back and continue the story at different points. It's not a terrible book, but it is not a great one either. I had to force myself to finish it.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A war so important in American history that gets such little representation in Indian Wars history, here told as an entire story of competing great powers, native resistance, and the various reasons the first lurch westward for the new USA was more controversial in its time than usually thought. Hard not to tilt towards Little Turtle's side of things in the end.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers a lot more ground than just Anthony Wayne's campaign in the Northwest Territory (now Ohio) in the 1790's. The author covers the roles of land speculators in the region west of the Appalachians, including George Washington and several of the founding fathers. You read about the struggle to create a national standing army rather than rely on militias. You also read about efforts to unify Indian tribes in this region.

Arthur St. Clair's expedition in the Northwest Territory met a disastrous defeat at the hands of two Shawnee Chiefs, Blue Jacket and Little Turtle. Blue Jacket and Little Turtle had very different personalities. After their initial success, they had a falling out. At the same time, other power struggles were going on. The Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant, met increasing resistance from the Shawnees when the Iroquois Confederacy tried to reassert its dominance over the Ohio River country. Meanwhile, the British in Canada, and still occupying forts in what is now United States' territory, are trying to stir up Indian attacks against the United States without being seen as an active aggressor.

Washington selects Mad Anthony Wayne, a successful commander during the American Revolution but lately disgraced, to replace St. Clair and defeat the Indians. Wayne slowly builds his force, dubbed the Legion of the United States. He's determined to avoid being surprised like St. Clair was. Meanwhile he struggles against a traitorous subordinate and superiors who hold him back from taking offensive action while peace overtures (which everyone knows are doomed to fail) are made with the Indians for political reasons.

The Indians call Wayne "Black Snake" and say that he never sleeps. That's because Wayne's forces march slowly and build fortifications around their campsites in an effort to avoid ambushes. The action climaxes in the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the subsequent Treaty of Greene Ville.

I recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about a key period in American history.

[William J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Good Read! William Hogeland has written a very thorough history of the early expansion of America and the struggle against Native Americans in accomplishing that expansion. He presents a very different picture of some of our Founding Fathers, including President Washington, as land speculators searching for the best lands in the western expansion of America today what is the Midwest, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan. The author starts before the French and Indian War and explains the relationships between the Native American Tribes and the French, British and the American Colonists. He also explains the relationship between the Native Tribes and the establishment of the Indian Confederation. The reader learns of leaders such as Blue Jacket, Little Turttle, Alexander McKee, John Simcoe, Arthur St.Clair, U.S. Brigadier General James Wilkinson, second in command of the newly created Army, who was actively spying for Spain, and Major General Anthony "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the first Commanding General of the permanent Army. President Washington faced much political opposition to creating a permanent army. Mr. Hogeland covers that opposition well and the efforts of President Washington, Secretary of War Knox and Secretary of the Treasury Hanilton and Secretary of State Jefferson to overcome the opposition. I do wish the author had included more maps of the areas he discussed but those he includes are helpful in locating the areas today. I recommend this book to those interested in American history, military history and Native American history. The title comes from the name the Indians gave to Mad Anthony and his Army who, like the Black Snake, never slept. Mad Anthony was relentless and thorough and ensured that his Army was never surprised and was well trained to counter the enemy.

[Steven Mott · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic insight into the founding fathers of the USA & how they got lucky to win a relatively early resounding defeat of First Nations after the War of Independence.

At so many points the American ruling class seemed at the verge of failing to get rich on their greedy land-grab/theft of what had been agreed to be First Nations land.

surprising : this author's evidence strongly suggests that George Washington had similar levels greed, self-interest, luck and being in the right place to benefit as others' personal gains could be tied to his own that President Trump's face definitely belongs on Mount Rushmore.

the British were hopelessly ineffective and short-sighted and dispicable allies for the First Nations leadership. lies and half-truths to encourage the FN to fight for what would benefit British Interests, but abject failure to arm and supply the FN to fight effectively.

Brant, I had not realised how deminished his position had become amongst FN immediately following the War of Independence.

FN leadership, author laments the poor decisions made of which of the competing leaders to trust and follow.

despite assertions of a FN multi-nation joint collaboration in resisting the Westward expansion of the new USA, never armed nor tightly bond to a strong leadership.

the "defense" they were able to mount reminds me of the history of Germanic Tribes unable to be effective to defeat the Roman Legions. unable to act as a team, and seemingly leaders hopeful that the Romans would weaken their local enemies.

the rise of the US Army. truly developed as a Department of War, and the enemy was established to be the First Nations. genocide was the goal from the start. and "fear" that the British would do the right thing and give FN support to hold their territory

[Charles Inglin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author presents, in a very entertaining style, a significant period in the early development of the United States. The end of the Revolution left a very unsettled situation in the area north and west of the Ohio River. The old power structures had been disrupted. The Iroquois Confederacy was no longer the power it had been. The Indians in the Northwest Territory, led primarily by the Shawnee, were violently resisting encroachment by American settlers. The British were refusing to abandon forts on American territory at Niagara and Detroit, and were actively supporting the Indians. The book opens with the destruction of an American militia army under General, and governor of the territory, St. Clair. At the time, there was a strong resistance to the idea of a standing army, with many politicians as well as the general public opposing the idea, favoring instead reliance on state militias. A main theme of the book is how Washington, Hamilton and others managed to get Congress to grudgingly permit the organizing of a small regular federal army, which under general "Mad Anthony" Wayne defeated the Shawnee led Indian confederacy at the battle of Fallen Timbers, enabling settlement of the Old Northwest. The author also presents the background of the major characters involved, some of which is not altogether savory. Many, including Washington, were involved in land speculation and had vested interests in further expansion westward, while opposing them were factions that wanted to concentrate the US on the eastern seaboard. An interesting period of US history where things could have turned out very differently.

[Jeffwest15 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relying mostly on biographies and monographs from the last twenty years along with archival texts, Hogeland weaves a compelling narrative on the origins of the U.S. army and the largely forgotten first war it fought to invade the Ohio/Indiana territory and militarily crush its indigenous inhabitants.

Hogeland details the political deals, machinations, political feints, half-truths necessary to bring together the nationalists and regionalists, anti-militarists and militarists among the political elite to agree on the creation of the standing army. What ultimately unites them with minor exceptions (Secretary of War Henry Knox of all people!) was the desire to take the land from the indigenous inhabitants (and British) and cash in on the super-profits from their personal land speculation. Everyone on the take, gentlemen all.

The narrative tensely pulses back-and-forth between the politicians, the military commanders on the front, and the Indian tribe leaders: the Shawnee Blue Jacket, the Miami Little Turtle, the Mohawk Joseph Brant, the half-Shawnee British agent Alexander McKee. The suspense builds even tho you know how it all ends.

No Founders Chic here. George Washington is an avaricious land speculator and astute politician, Alexander Hamilton is the unbridled militarist, General Mad Anthony Wayne is a whiny, self-aggrandizing egoist and brilliant strategist. Blue Jacket and Little Turtle come across as rich, complicated leaders who manage to inflict the biggest military defeat of the U.S. military in the Indian wars yet are unable to stem the ongoing tide of western expansion.

Ah, for more history like this one!

[Ryan Hathaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying account of a long-forgotten yet watershed moment for the United States. The most important debate among the fledgling nation: To be or not to be Federal (I.E. with a standing army or not) as played out so dramatically among our nation's founders caught between Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian camps.

For me this has a special significance as I was born in Greenville Ohio -- a central locale for these events. In fact, I spent most of my childhood living on Fort Recovery Road, just miles from where the inciting incident, General St. Clair's Defeat occurred in 1791. This proved to be the worst defeat in the history of the U.S. Army and was prosecuted at the hands of The Shawnee under Blue Jacket and the Miami under Little Turtle where they left over 1000 U.S. Soldiers dead, including over 600 officers.

The fledgling nation had much at risk in these early years of the first Western republic in thousands of years. The debate that raged around these events helped to decide for all-time what this new nation would become.

William Hogeland fills in the gaps and seeks to place the significance of these important events among our contemporary times. Ultimately General Anthony Wayne's commission to pacify the tribes to the Ohio Valley pushed the greater debate of States Rights versus Nationalism and Federal and Anti-Federalism into action and decided it for all time: We would be a Federalized Nation. This was the moment where we truly became UNITED States.

[David Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book will tell you most of what you will learn from this book - the political struggles and machinations to create the first standing U.S. Army, and how it performed and justified its existence under its commander, "Mad" Anthony Wayne. The narrative surrounding the political contests between those who opposed a federal army in favor of state militias takes the reader pretty deep into the weeds, but it was a major turning point in the direction which was finally taken and exists today. And the narrative concerning the meticulous building of a new army and the brilliant way in which it opened the "West" (now referred to as "The Old Northwest" or Midwest) is fast-paced and well told. Unfortunately, that army's purpose and accomplishment was the illegal taking of land from the Native inhabitants. What the title of the book doesn't tell you is that you will learn how evil, how calculating, how manipulative and genocidal that purpose was, as conceived by our founding fathers; Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and others. George Washington emerges as the evil-doer in chief; his duplicity, sham negotiations in treaty negotiations, and willingness to pursue the total warfare in pursuit of his greedy goals will make you forget whatever you learned about him in grade school. I've read enough American History in my life not to be shocked. This book shocked me.

[J. David Knecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. Well researched with an excellent narrative. The book will challenge many from all sides in the history debates going on in our culture today. The naked self interest of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and others is laid bare. The gem of the book are the portraits of Mad Anthony Wayne, Blue Jacket, Little Turtle and John Simcoe.

I did not give the book 5 stars because I felt that his thesis was only partially maintained by his research. That the US Army was created to in response to the Indian Confederation of the North West's victory over the militia is clear. That the experiment that is the USA's national government was mainly founded for the purposes of land speculation and that white settlement West of the Appalachians was the primary cause of both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution can only be maintained by very narrow reading of the sources. They were indeed part of the calculation but there were other reasons as well. I am not prepared to relegate the founding generation to complete synicism but am willing to see them as flawed human beings just like those of our generation. This book does help do that and is worth reading even if the author goes to far at times.

[Todd Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hogeland is an interesting author. He clearly understands this period of American history. The works he cites throughout would be familiar to anyone who extensively studied the early Federal period of the United States, in the wake of the writing of the Constitution. I would never debate his knowledge. However, I do debate his intentions. The common themes of the work are to demonstrate that acquisition of land was the sole driving cause among the Founding Fathers in declaring independence from Great Britain. It surely played a prominent role, but Hogeland attempts to isolate it as the sole motivation of early United States political leaders. I also think the subject of the work is somewhat misleading. The Northwest Indian War of the late 1780’s and early 1790’s is not the focus, it simply provides background and offers narrative cohesion. Hogeland’s focus is clearly to promulgate his academic beliefs on why the United States fought this war. While in some ways I agree with him, I find it an oversimplification of reality. Actually, and enjoyable read, as the information presented is great and insightful. I simply caution readers here to challenge subtle suppositions presented by the author as incontrovertible fact.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful companion to the biographies of the Founding Fathers. Not only does it show the less palatable sides of these powerful men and expose the workings of the companies they built, but it fills in some rather sizeable gaps in the story of how the U.S. came to snatch the Northwest Territory from the hands of the tribes who inhabited that land (after already being forcibly removed from their prior land). As terrible as I believe the actions of our leaders of this time to be when it comes to their "Indian policy", it cannot be denied that Anthony Wayne was a genius as a strategist and military commander. His name isn't one that I would think of as an influential person of early American history, but that has changed after reading this book.
I loved the way the narrative covered what was happening in the various Indian tribes, what was happening in the Capitol, and the reality of everyday American lives on the frontier. Where there was debate on a particular person or action, Hogeland offers up the various viewpoints which is refreshing in a history book. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in early American history, U.S. military history, or the saga of the Eastern Native Americans.

[Gilda Felt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been hard enough recently to feel any sort of pride in what the US is doing...or has done. This book didn’t do me any favors as far as helping that in any way. The American leaders, especially Washington and Hamilton, are portrayed as greedy land speculators, who were more concerned with the British not allowing them to take more of the Natives’ land, rather than being too terribly concerned with “taxation without representation.” His analysis is backed up by notes at the back of the book, but they aren’t terribly detailed.

The Native Americans biggest blunders seemed to have been to believe anything an white man told them, and then not completely joining together to halt the threat, rather being more concerned with their gripes against each other. They didn’t come off in a very good light.

But my biggest problem with the book is how Hogeland creates conversations between people that no one else could possibly have heard. Perhaps more padding? Because he does quite a bit of that. Also, his jumping back and forth in time can be disconcerting.

It’s an interesting book, but I couldn’t help being put off by the author’s writing style.

[Samuel Z Beam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye-opening detailed history of the beginning of American expansion just after the war, the conflicts with the British in the Ohio River valley and the Great Lakes, and the complex and fascinating interactions with the Native tribes and leaders which set the pattern for all the tragedy to come. Made it seem like a very interesting, chaotic, and cruel time, which it was. The decisions of Washington, Hamilton and Anthony Wayne in regards to the institution of a standing army, and the first decisive battles in western PA and at the end of Lake Erie have been overlooked in most history books, but were at least as pivotal to the subsequent course of history as anything that happened between Yorktown and Ft Sumter. This book provided what I like in historical non-fiction: a keyhole through time that brings out the complexity and richness of a moment in history, where events no doubt seemed just as uncertain, dangerous, and enraging as they do to us today. It also changed how I look at the the independence movement, and the conflicted, contradictory motivations that gave rise to this nation, almost despite itself.

[Mark Luongo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was tedious and a bit of a chore to read in places. But duplicity, corruption, scandal, "dirty dealings" and outright bald-faced lies are what you come away with when considering the quest for land/empire (in the guise of nationhood) in the Northwest Territory at the end of the 18th Century. Doesn't speak well of many of our Founding Fathers and their participation in all of this. And that Wilkinson punk... The same came be said of the Native peoples who were also beset by the same duplicity, corruption, scandal, etc. Little Turtle, Blue Jacket and Joseph Brant among others were overwhelmed at times by indecision which cost them dearly.
An interesting tidbit emerges at the end in praise, in a way, of "Mad" Anthony Wayne. I don't recall at the moment, it may have been Raoul Walsh, but it was decided in the beginning of the 1930s that a young actor needed a better stage name. Marion Morrison wasn't going to look good on a marquee. So he was re-named "John Wayne" by someone with admiration for the general who commanded "The Legion of the United States" in its victory at Fallen Timbers. (385)