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Description

Broadside printed by E. Russell of Boston, Massachusetts, for Thomas Bassett, of Dunbarton, New Hampshire, commemorating the Columbian Tragedy, also known as "St. Clair's Defeat." The battle occurred on November 4, 1791, near several villages of the Native American Miami people along the Wabash River in what is now Mercer County, Ohio. At daybreak that morning, Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, along with their warriors, surprised and overwhelmed an American army of about 1,600 men under Major General Arthur St. Clair, wounding or killing over half of the unprepared troops. The massacre is known as the greatest Native American victory over American military forces in the nation's history: 39 officers, whose names are listed on the broadside, were killed, along with over 900 soldiers. Also included on the broadside are engravings of Major General Richard Butler, who was killed in the battle, and a scene titled "Bloody Indian Battle Fought at Miami Village, Nov. 4, 1791", as well as a lengthy funeral elegy for the massacre.

The broadside is reinforced on the back by the front page of the Eastern Argus newspaper of Portland, Maine, dated May 4, 1809.

Identifier

sc.0477.os_001.001

Date

1791

Keywords

Indians of North America--Wars—Ohio.; Ohio History -- Settlement and Early Statehood.

Columbian tragedy broadside, 1791

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