Harmar Campaign The Harmar Campaign was an attempt by the United States to subdue Native Americans in the Northwest Territory in the Autumn of 1790 . It was led by General Josiah Harmar and was part of the Northwest Indian War . The campaign featured a series of battles that were all overwhelming victories for the Native Americans , and the losses are sometimes referred to as Harmar ' s Defeat . Prelude to battle . From 1784 to 1789 , there was considerable violence between American settlers and the Shawnee and Miami Indians in Kentucky , along the Ohio River , and at the few settlements north of the Ohio , with some 1 , 500 settlers killed by the Indians . However , there was no general war . In 1789 , President George Washington wrote to the Governor of the Northwest Territory , Arthur St . Clair , and asked him to determine whether the Indians living along the Wabash River and Illinois River were inclined for war or peace with the United States . St . Clair decided the tribes wanted war , and called for militia forces to be assembled at Fort Washington ( now Cincinnati , Ohio ) and Vincennes , Indiana . President Washington and Secretary of War Henry Knox ordered General Harmar to lead these forces on a punitive expedition into the Shawnee and Miami lands as retaliation for the killings noted above , and to deter the tribes from further attacks . The primary objective of the campaign was the destruction of the large , main Miami village of Kekionga ( present - day Fort Wayne , Indiana ) , where the St . Joseph and St . Mary ' s River s join to form the Maumee River . St . Clair and Harmar had also planned to build a fort there But when St . Clair presented his plan to Washington at New York in August 1790 , the President decided that a fort would be too vulnerable and too expensive . At this time , British forces still occupied Fort Detroit in violation of the Treaty of Paris ( 1783 ) . St . Clair wrote to the British at Fort Detroit to assure them that the expedition was only against Indian tribes , and expressed his confidence that the British would not interfere . General Harmar gathered 320 regulars of the First American Regiment and 1 , 133 militia from Kentucky and Pennsylvania , for a total of 1 , 453 men . The force also had three horse - drawn 6 - pounder cannon s . Few experienced frontiersmen took part in the campaign ; many instead paid recent immigrants to take their place . Lt . Ebenezer Denny wrote that the militia " appear to be raw and unused to the gun or the woods . " The troops were assembled in September , and the campaign had to be completed before winter set in . This was because the pack horses which carried the troops ' supplies were fed by grazing , and would starve in winter . This meant there was no time to train the militia . The campaign was launched from Fort Washington on 7 October 1790 . General Harmar began the march north , along the Great Miami River . A smaller army led by Jean François Hamtramck marched north from Vincennes to distract the Wabash Indians . Hamtramck ' s force was delayed , and returned to Vincennes . By 14 October , Harmar ' s force had marched to within of Kekionga . On that day , Kentuckian scouts captured a Shawnee . After some intense interrogation , the Indian said that the Miami and Shawnee were gathering at Kekionga to meet Harmar ' s army . Before dawn on 15 October , Harmar dispatched 600 men under Colonel John Hardin was north on a forced march to " surprise " the Indians at Kekionga . When Colonel Hardin ' s detachment reached Kekionga , they found the village abandoned , burned it , and camped south of the destroyed town . Harmar reached other Miami villages near Kekionga on 17 October . The Miami had warning of the attack , and had evacuated their villages with as much food as they could carry . There were some British - affiliated traders among the Miami ; they fled to Fort Detroit with their families and goods . All arms and ammunition were distributed to Miami warriors . The Miami were well informed of the size and movements of Harmar ' s force , and even of Harmar ' s inclination towards drunkenness . The Americans seized the food that was not carried away . Battle of Heller ' s Corner . On 19 October , near modern Churubusco , Indiana , Harmar sent out a scouting party under Colonel Hardin , consisting of 180 militia , a troop of cavalry under Major James Fontaine , and 30 regulars under Captain John Armstrong . It was to estimate the strength of the Indians and attack the village of Chief Le Gris . The party came within a few miles of Kekionga , where they encountered an Indian on horseback , who fled along a minor trail leading away from the village . Hardin ordered his force to pursue , but sent Major Fontaine ' s cavalry back to bring up a company that had been left behind . The Indian was a decoy , and led Hardin into a swampy lowland by the Eel River , where he could neither pursue nor easily retreat . Indians led by Little Turtle attacked Hardin ' s force from three sides . Most of the militia fled , warning Major Fontaine ' s cavalry to get out . The regulars stood their ground with some of the militia . Only 8 of the 30 regulars survived . 40 militia were killed , and 12 Americans had been wounded . Captain Armstrong hid in the marsh and escaped with his life . He blamed Hardin and the militia for the defeat , and claimed that only about 100 Indians had been involved . This was the approximate number of warriors available from Kekionga and Le Gris ' Village . The battle also sometimes referred to as " Hardin ' s Defeat " . Hartshorn ' s Defeat . On 20 October , General Harmar arrived at the camp outside Kekionga . He sent a detachment of 300 men under Ensign Phillip Hartshorn northward to scout for Indian movements . Eight miles above Kekionga , Hartshorn was ambushed by a large Indian force , which killed him and 19 of his men . Instead of advancing immediately to attack the Indians , Harmar pulled back several miles south of Kekionga . He did not even have a burial detail to bury the twenty dead . Morale by now had plummeted , and the men were enraged at the cowardice of their commander . Hardin then demanded that he be allowed to attack the Indians with 400 men , or at the very least , bury their fallen comrades . Battle of Pumpkin Fields . On the night of 21 October , Colonel Hardin advanced with 300 militia and 60 regulars of the First American Regiment , under regimental commander Major John P . Wyllys . At dawn on 22 October , they found about 1 , 000 Indians encamped at Kekionga . Hardin immediately sent to Harmar requesting reinforcements . When the courier told Harmar ( who was rumored to have been drunk ) about the size of the enemy force , he became visibly shaken . He ordered his 800 - 900 remaining men into a hollow defensive square and refused to come to Hardin ' s aid , leaving him alone to face an enemy more than twice his number . Colonel Hardin , expecting reinforcements at any time , divided his command into four groups under Major Wyllys , Major Hall , Major Fontaine , and Major McMullen . He planned to flank the Indians on all sides . The Indians at Kekionga , who were led by Little Turtle , attacked first , however . Little Turtle sent small parties to fire on the militia and retreat . The militia gave chase in many instances , until the regulars were left isolated . Little Turtle then attacked Major Wyllys ' s detachment , with results as devastating as Heller ' s Corner . Major Fontaine , meanwhile , led a cavalry charge into a wooded area and was ambushed . Soon the Shawnee and Miami attacked Hardin from three sides . Still expecting reinforcements from Harmar , Hardin ' s men put up a valiant defense , holding the Indians at bay for over three hours before finally falling back to join the rest of the army . The battle came to be known as the Battle of the Pumpkin Fields because the steam from the scalped skulls reminded the Indians of squash steaming in the autumn air . 180 men were either killed or wounded . The army forces reported 129 men killed in action ( 14 officers , including Major Wyllys and Major Fontaine , and 115 enlisted men ) and 94 wounded ( including 50 of the Regulars ) . Estimates of Indian casualties range from 120 to 150 total . Aftermath . After such high casualties from these engagement , General Harmar determined that he could not attack . The approaching winter further threatened his command , as militia deserted and horses starved . The retreating force reached Fort Washington on 3 November 1790 . It was the worst defeat of U . S . forces by Indians up to that time , and was later surpassed only by St . Clair ' s Defeat and the Battle of the Little Bighorn . It established Little Turtle as an Indian hero , and encouraged the Indians in the Northwest Territory to resist the United States . Indians attacked settlements all across the Northwest Territory , including the January 1791 Big Bottom massacre and Siege of Dunlap ' s Station . A court martial in 1791 cleared Harmar of any wrongdoing during the campaign . President Washington was furious at the news of the defeat , and lamented " my mind . . . is prepared for the worst ; that is , for expence without honor or profit . " The news persuaded Congress to raise a second regiment of Regular soldiers for six months , but it later reduced the soldiers ' pay . The First Regiment was soon reduced to 299 soldiers , while the new Second Regiment recruited only half of their authorized number . When Governor St . Clair led a similar expedition the next year , he had to call out the militia to meet the required manpower . His campaign would end in the worst defeat by Indians the Army ever received .