One of the most successful defeats of the U.S. military by Native Americans took place in a small village in the western part of Ohio.
A history exhibit sheds light on the complicated story for tribal communities following the battle.
What: Beyond the Battlefield
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 19 - 20
Where: Fort Recovery State Museum, 1 Fort Site, Fort Recovery, Ohio
See website for full details.
The exhibit at Fort Recovery Museum, "St. Clair’s Defeat Revisited: A New View of the Conflict," was initially constructed as a traveling exhibit. The exhibit details St. Clair’s Defeat — a battle between nine tribal nations and the U.S. military over two centuries ago. After a stay at the Mercer County museum, it was to move on to other locations.
But through an America 250 grant, it will stay permanently at the Fort Recovery Museum.
The museum will host a free two-day event this weekend called “Beyond the Battlefield” to celebrate this milestone. Members and leaders of the Eastern Shawnee, Ottawa, Wyandotte and Miami tribes will be represented at the event.
The exhibit is the product of an ongoing and sustaining relationship with these tribes, said Christine Thompson, an archaeologist with Ball State who worked on the exhibit.
“It really is a number of entities working for many, many years and many different people that allows us to do something like this,” Thompson said. “So I never lose sight of the fact that this is really an honor and privilege to be able to gather all these people here.”
Museum site manager Kim Rammel said she is grateful they can continue to share the information in this exhibit to the community.
The exhibit contains various illustrations, photos and accompanying historical information on the battle and the aftermath for the involved tribes.
“People were kind of saddened and shocked at what they learned from the exhibit. And knowing that it was only going to be there for so many months and only so many people are going to see it made me sad,” Rammel said.
An estimated 20,000 people will view the exhibit in the next year, Thompson said.
The grant funding also allowed the museum to create a traveling version of the exhibit, which will go to St. Clairsville, Akron and Chillicothe.
