In 1790 , President George Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox ordered General Josiah Harmar to launch the Harmar campaign , a major western offensive into the Shawnee and Miami country . General Harmar 's ultimate goal was Kekionga , a large Native American city that was important to the British trade economy , and that protected a strategic portage between the Great Lakes Basin and Mississippi watershed . His forces of about 1,453 militia and regulars departed Fort Washington on 7 October 1790 . From 19 – 21 October 1790 , General Harmar lost 3 successive skirmishes near Kekionga ( present-day Fort Wayne , Indiana . On 19 October , a scouting party of about 400 mixed forces under the command of Colonel John Hardin was lured into an ambush near the village of Le Gris , losing 129 soldiers in one of two defeats that has been called Hardin 's Defeat . The following day , another scouting party under Ensign Phillip Hartshorn was ambushed , but Harmar did not move to assist them or recover their remains . Finally , on 21 October 1790 , a mixed party of militia and regulars under Colonel Hardin established attack positions on Kekionga and awaited reinforcements from General Harmar , which never came . Instead , forces under Little Turtle overwhelmed Hardin and compelled the U.S. forces to retreat in the second battle known as Harmar 's Defeat . With 3 consecutive losses , more than 300 casualties , and low morale , Harmar retreated to Fort Washington . It was largest Native American victory over US forces until the following year , and emboldened Native Nations within the Northwest Territory . Within months , Indian forces attacked settlements at Big Bottom massacre and Siege of Dunlap 's Station
Big Bottom massacre
Big Bottom massacre
Northwest Indian War