Legionville Legionville ( or Legion Ville ) was the first formal basic training facility for the military of the United States . The camp , which was established in 1792 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne , was near present - day Baden , Pennsylvania . It was used to train the soldiers which would become the Legion of the United States . Throughout the winter of 1792 - 93 , existing troops along with new recruits were drilled in military skills , tactics and discipline . The following spring the newly - named Legion of the United States left Legionville for the Northwest Indian War , a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy in the area south of the Ohio River . The overwhelmingly successful campaign was concluded with the decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20 , 1794 . The training the troops received at Legionville was seen as instrumental to this victory . Background . The United States military realized it needed a well - trained standing army following St . Clair ' s Defeat on November 4 , 1791 , when a force led by General Arthur St . Clair was almost entirely wiped out by the Western Confederacy near Fort Recovery , Ohio . The plans , which were supported by U . S . President George Washington and Henry Knox , Secretary of War , would lead to the creation of the " Legion of the United States " . The command would be based on the 18th - century military works of Henry Bouquet , a professional Swiss soldier who served as a colonel in the British army , and French Marshal Maurice de Saxe . In 1792 Anthony Wayne , a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War , was encouraged to leave retirement and return to active service as Commander - in - Chief of the Legion with the rank of Major General . The Legion , which was recruited and raised in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , was formed around elements of the 1st and 2nd Regiment s from the disbanded Continental Army . These units then became the First and Second Sub - Legion s . The Third and Fourth Sub - Legions were raised from additional recruits . From June 1792 to November 1792 , the Legion remained cantoned at Fort LaFayette in Pittsburgh . Establishment . By October 1792 , Major General Wayne had been seeking a suitable place to winter and train his army away from the distractions of the city . Wayne eventually found the perfect site 22 miles from Pittsburgh on the western bank of the Ohio River near the modern town of Baden , Pennsylvania . The site was either on or near a former Indian village called Logstown ( circa 1744 - 1761 ) . On November 9 , an advance party arrived and began preparing the camp for the arrival of the main army . On November 28 , 1792 , Wayne left Pittsburgh by boat with a fanfare and good wishes from its citizens . Within four hours , he disembarked at the new cantonment that he dubbed Legion Ville . The camp , which was laid out on an east - west axis , had steep ravines to the north , east and west . Four redoubt s , numbered 1 - 4 , ringed the cantonment . Each redoubt garrisoned 36 men with an additional 120 men stationed at guard posts around the perimeter . The defensive ditch surrounding the entire garrison area was more than a mile long . In total 260 men , guarded the camp seven days a week , twenty - four hours a day . In less than a month , Legion Ville had grown to more than 500 buildings and had a population five times larger than the city of Pittsburgh . Single story wooden barracks were built for the enlisted men of the dragoon s , infantry , artillery and rifle - corps . Officers of the dragoons and artillery had two - story buildings . Major General Wayne ' s house and the hospital were two - story log cabins with chimneys on both sides . The total area of the cantonment was about . Estimates of the personnel at Legion Ville vary , but 2 , 500 is the popular figure . History . After all Wayne ' s forces had been properly quartered , training started in earnest . The troops fired at targets every day as Wayne wanted marksmen . Bayonet drills , hand - to - hand combat , mock battles and overnight encampments outside the installation were also common . The dragoons ( cavalry ) under the command of Captain Robert MisCampbell built an obstacle course south of Legion Ville . The artillery lieutenants and captains built an artillery range . An auxiliary rifle range was built a half - mile west of the site . Troops were marched continually and battle formations and tactics taught to new officers . Discipline was harsh as courts martial were common ; even minor infractions were dealt with severely ( often lashing with a Cat o ' nine tails ) . Captain William Eaton who would lead the U . S . Marines ashore at Tripoli in 1804 was often a presiding judge . During the winter , 16 private soldiers died at Legion Ville and were buried in an unmarked cemetery outside the camp . Its location is still being determined by historians and archaeologists . Among the dead were : Henry Dundalo , William Perry , James White , Randolph Hutchins , William Williamson , John Patterson , John Fry and Jarrett Rogers . An officer duel between Lieutenant Daniel Jenifer and Ensign William Pitt Gassaway resulted in the ensign being killed . He was buried in the unmarked military cemetery . Colonel Thomas Proctor visited the camp and stayed for months helping the artillery become proficient . On February 26 , 1793 , Dr . Joseph Strong of Connecticut climbed the western bank of the hill and drew a picture of the site in a letter to a friend , Dr . Mason Cogswell . This letter , the only known depiction of the site , is kept within the archives at Yale University . With Spring , Seneca leaders Guyasuta and Big Tree met Wayne at Legion Ville in March 1793 to discuss peace terms . When the talks failed , George Washington gave the go - ahead for the campaign against the Indians . On April 30 , 1793 , the largest flotilla of military barges ever assembled on the Ohio River departed Legion Ville for Fort Washington , Cincinnati , Ohio . On August 20 , 1794 , the Legion of the United States defeated the Indian Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers . The Treaty of Greenville was signed on August 3 , 1795 opening the Northwest Territory to settlement . The discipline and intense training at Legion Ville was a critical factor in one of the most brilliant campaigns in United States history . Site legacy . In 1824 the Harmony Society purchased the property on which Legion Ville stood . The site was later bought by the A . M . Byers Ironworks Company who in turn sold it to National Tire and Rubber Company of Akron , Ohio . In 1973 , the Anthony Wayne Historical Society was formed to preserve the site however repeated attempts to purchase the site failed . Republican senator John Heinz from Pennsylvania wanted to make the site a national park but the Bill was pocket - vetoed due to a clerical error by President Jimmy Carter . National Tire and Rubber eventually sold the site . Although there are ongoing efforts to preserve the site , by the 2010s developers from New York were interested in purchasing the site for commercial development .