In 1791, after experiencing a smaller defeat to Indian warriors in the Northwest Territory (lands north of Ohio river) and losing 183 men, Congress authorized a second regiment and provided for the enlistment of six-month militia men. President Washington appointed Governor St. Clair to the rank of major general and gave him command of this new expedition. A series of missteps and miscalculations led to America's greatest defeat. While St. Clair's troops were preparing breakfast, they were hit be a carefully coordinated attack of some 1000 Indians under Little Turtle. The poorly trained volunteer militia broke and fled, while the regulars attempted a stand. In the end, the victory of the Indians was unprecedented. The casualty rate was 97.4%, with 657 US soldiers dead and 271 wounded. It was a devastating defeat for America and would be the greatest win ever for an Indian army fighting against a US force. One-fourth of the entire American army was wiped out.
When President Washington heard of the defeat, he was enraged and demanded the immediate resignation of St. Clair. Congress formed a committee consisting of seven house members to investigate the matter. Washington assembled his cabinet to seek advice, and the President's men unanimously concluded that the house had every right to conduct its inquiry and to request papers from the president. The cabinet also recommended that the President give the House only the papers what would not harm the public. St. Clair was largely exonerated by the House investigating committee, as they placed primary blame on the Quartermaster General Hodgen and his contractors. they also indirectly blamed Secretary of War Henry Knox for most of the problems of the expedition. They found that contractor fraud was at the heart of the matter. "Repeated complaints were made," said their report, "of fatal mismanagements and neglects, in the quartermaster's and military stores department, particularly as to tents, knapsacks, camp kettles, cartridge boxes, packsaddles &c. all of which were deficient in quantity and bad in quality."
President Washington addressed the defeat and the investigation in his annual address to congress. He would not reject the goals of the expedition, but lamented that some valuable citizens have fallen victims to their zeal for public service (that is they volunteered to fight a war and died in battle). He pleaded that the blame not be placed upon the soldiers, but that there families be honored.
"A detail of the measures which have been pursued and of their consequences, which will be laid before you, while it will confirm to you the want of success thus far, will, I trust, evince that means as proper and as efficacious as could have been devised have been employed. The issue of some of them, indeed, is still depending, but a favorable one, though not to be despaired of, is not promised by anything that has yet happened.
In the course of the attempts which have been made some valuable citizens have fallen victims to their zeal for the public service. A sanction commonly respected even among savages has been found in this instance insufficient to protect from massacre the emissaries of peace. It will, I presume, be duly considered whether the occasion does not call for an exercise of liberality toward the families of the deceased."
Of interesting note here, is that in response to this inquiry, Washington and his advisors established the concept of "executive privilege", that the executive branch should refuse to divulge any papers or materials that the public good required them to keep secret and that at any rate they not provide any originals. This would later become a major separation of powers issue in matters such as Aaron Burr's treason trial, Watergate, the Iran-Contra affair and the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29434
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair's_Defeat
The First Congressional Investigation: St. Clair's Military Disaster of 1791 by James T. Curie (December 1990)
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