La Balme's Defeat
| La Balme's Defeat | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
 Historical marker commemorating the battle | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Miami |
 France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Little Turtle |
La Balme † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 104 irregulars | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 5 killed[1] | 30-40 killed | ||||||
LaBalme's Defeat was a military engagement which occurred on November 6, 1780, between a force of Canadien settlers under the command of French officer Augustin de La Balme and British-allied Miami warriors led by chief Little Turtle during the American Revolutionary War. La Balme had led the hastily recruited force of irregulars to attack British-held Fort Detroit, but was ambushed by a group of Miami warriors after sacking their town of Kekionga on the way. The victory led Little Turtle to become well known on the American frontier, a reputation which would develop during the Northwest Indian War.
Background
Former cavalry officer
He coordinated a diversionary attack against
Battle
The Miami Indians, learning of the invasion, destroyed the small group of 20 men left at Kekionga, who were all killed.[2] Little Turtle, who lived in a village along the Eel River, received permission from the Kekionga Miami to lead an attack.[2] He gathered available warriors and attacked La Balme's camp at dawn on 5 November, before he reached the Eel River trading post[13] and just 3 miles from Little Turtle's village.[2] The first casualty of the attack was a French soldier named Antoine Rembault who was serving as a "look out" for La Balme's forces. As Rembault alerted the rest of the French soldiers about the presence of the Miami, Little Turtle struck Rembault in the head with a tomahawk hard enough to have the tomahawk "buried in (Rembault's) brain."[14] La Balme and his men fortified themselves on the banks of the river but were only able to fire one volley before being overwhelmed.[2] The ensuing battle was entirely one sided, only a few survivors managed to escape. Multiple French soldiers were heard begging to surrender while they were scalped alive by Little Turtle's men.[15]
La Balme also died in the battle, which became known as "La Balme's Defeat". A group of French officers were deliberately taken alive by Little Turtle. Three of the captured officers were burnt alive at the stake, another one of them had his hands and feet cut off before being executed by having his face struck with a tomahawk. The remaining four were then set free as a warning to the rest of the French.[16] When French forces allied to the Americans attempted to scout out the location a few days later, they saw that the path was blocked by the heads of several French soldiers impaled on pikes. After seeing this, they turned back.[17] These events occurred near modern-day Columbia City in Whitley County, Indiana.[18] In another subsequent operation a small detachment under earlier orders from La Balme was defeated by Miami forces on December 5, 1780, at Petit Fort, Indiana.
Aftermath
For his leadership in this battle, Little Turtle gained a reputation that initiated a successful career as a military commander in the Northwest Indian War.[2] 11 years later, almost to the day, he led an attack that remains one of the worst defeats in U.S. Army history. Although La Balme's expedition resulted in failure, it did cause the British considerable concern. Major de Peyster subsequently deployed a detachment of Butler's Rangers to protect Kekionga. The Miami, some of whom had favored the United States or wished to remain neutral, were enraged at the attack on Kekionga and united in an alliance with the British.[2] Fort Detroit would remain under British control until the Jay Treaty was ratified in 1796 (Detroit was again surrendered to the British in the War of 1812, but was returned at the conclusion of the war).
In a log entry dated 13 November, Major Arent DePeyster, in command of the British garrison at Detroit, recorded that "A detachment of Canadians from the Illinois and Post Vincennes arrived Kekionga about 10 days ago, and entered the village, took the horses, destroyed the horned cattle and plundered a store I allowed to be kept there for the convenience of the Indians, soon after assembled and attacked the Canadians, led by a French colonel... The Miami resisting the fire of the enemy, had five of their party killed, being, however, more resolute than savages are in general, they beat off the enemy, killed 30 and took La Balme prisoner with his papers … I expect the Colonel in every hour … [19] The Spanish Governor at St. Louis, Francisco Cruzat, wrote that "I am very sorry for what has happened to Monsieur La Balme ... [he] having, perhaps, attempted with imprudence an undertaking which needed more time, more strength and better circumstances..."
Memorials
- In northeast Indiana, near the Allen – Whitley County line, along the Eel River, A brass and stone marker placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1930, reads: "In memory of Col. Augustin de La Balme and his soldiers who were killed in battle with the Miami Indians under Little Turtle at this place, November 5, 1780."
- 5 November 2005, the Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution erected a bronze marker and commemorated the event's 225th anniversary. The ceremony involved descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers and Miami Indians.
- 6 November 2010, the Indiana Society Sons of the American Revolution erected a bronze historical marker commemorating the event.
References
Citations
- ^ Griswold, Bert Joseph; Taylor, Mrs. Samuel R. (1917). The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana: a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River. Vol. 1. Robert O. Law Co. p. 78. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hogeland (2017), p. 88-9.
- ^ Allison (1986), p. 45.
- ^ See letter of John Hancock to George Washington, 12 Oct 1777. Available online at the Library of Congress.
- ^ Keiper (2010), p. 48.
- ^ a b Birzer (2000), p. 139.
- ^ English (1896), p. 695.
- ^ Allison (1986), p. 49.
- ^ Birzer (2000), p. 137.
- ^ Seineke (1981), p. 36, fn.
- ^ Barnhill (2006).
- ^ Hogeland (2017).
- ^ Gaff (2004), p. 84-85.
- ^ Greene, G.E. (1911). History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, Indiana. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 217.
- ^ Notes on Old Cahokia: Part Two: Fort Bowman (1778-1780) Charles E. Peterson Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Vol. 42, No. 2 (Jun., 1949), pp. 194
- ^ Notes on Old Cahokia: Part Two: Fort Bowman (1778-1780) Charles E. Peterson Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Vol. 42, No. 2 (Jun., 1949), pp. 199
- ^ French Imperial remnants on the middle ground: The strange case of August de la Balme and Charles Beaubien - Birzer, Bradley J. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society; Springfield Vol. 93, Iss. 2, (Summer 2000)
- ^ Gaff, Alan D. (2004). Bayonets in the Wilderness. Anthony Waynes Legion in the Old Northwest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3585-9.
- ^ Major DePeyster believed Colonel de La Balme had been captured alive.
Sources
- Allison, Harold (1986). The Tragic Saga of the Indiana Indians. Turner Publishing Company, Paducah. ISBN 0-938021-07-9.
- Barnhill, John (2006). "Mottin de La Balme, Augustin (1740–1780)". In Richard Alan Ryerson, Gregory Fremont-Barnes (ed.). The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
- Birzer, Bradley J. (Summer 2000). "French Imperial remnants on the middle ground: The strange case of August de la Balme and Charles Beaubien" (PDF). Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- Carter, Harvey Lewis (1987). The Life and Times of Little Turtle: First Sagamore of the Wabash. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-01318-2.
- Ferreiro, Larrie D (2016). Brothers At Arms. American Independence and the Men of France and Spain who saved it. New York: Knopf. LCCN 2016007136.
- Gaff, Alan D. (2004). Bayonets in the Wilderness. Anthony Waynes Legion in the Old Northwest. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-3585-9.
- English, William Hayden (1896). Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio 1778-1783 and Life of Gen. George Rogers Clark, Vol II. The Bowen-Merrill Company. Indianapolis, Ind., and Kansas City, Mo.
- Hogeland, William (2017). Autumn of the Black Snake. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. LCCN 2016052193.
- Keiper, Karl A. (2010). "10". Land of the Indians - Indiana. ISBN 978-0982470312.
- Magnin, Frédéric (2005). Mottin de la Balme, cavalier des deux mondes et de la liberté. L'Harmattan, Paris. ISBN 2-7475-9080-1.
- Ryerson, Richard Alan; Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2009). "Mottin de La Balme, Augustin (1740-1780)". The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- Seineke, Kathrine Wagner (1981). George Rogers Clark: Adventure in the Illinois and Selected Documents of the American Revolution at the Frontier Posts. Polyanthos. ISBN 99920-1-653-1.