07/18/2026
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: General Anthony Wayne’s troops did not conduct a genocide upon, nor otherwise “remove”, any native Americans, including the Miami Indians; nor did he force the Miami Indians out of the area near the first fort constructed in Fort Wayne. The first fort was constructed near what is now the Cinema Center parking lot in Fort Wayne, at Clay and East Berry Streets, near the confluence of the St. Joseph, St. Mary’s, and Maumee Rivers. This was Kekionga, the historic capital of the Miami Nation, but only for the previous 70 years or so. Following the 1790 attacks by General Josiah Harmar, the Native American confederacy moved their center away from Kekionga, to the Auglaize River. General Anthony Wayne led his well-trained Legion of the United States toward Kekionga, but turned and marched toward the British-held Fort Miami near modern-day Toledo, Ohio. There was a multi-tribal Northwest Confederacy of Midwest tribes, and they were defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers there in August, 1794. General Wayne’s forces arrived in September 1794, and completed construction of the Fort, at which time General Wayne left the area on or about October 21. It is believed that he didn’t even know that it was to be named and dedicated in his honor after he left, on October 22, 1794. Following General Wayne's victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, Kekionga's prominence began to diminish among the Miami, and there was no immediate “removal” of Native Americans. General Wayne negotiated the Treaty of Greenville a year later in August 1795. While the treaty extracted several large tracts of land from the native Americans, it also recognized Miami hunting grounds, and the Miami Tribe’s right to remain in the region, rather than ordering their immediate removal. General Wayne served under the Administration of the first President of the United States, General Washington, and westward expansion was a policy of that administration. However, the removal of the Miami people did not occur under General Wayne’s command. It occurred over the next several decades, under other Presidential administrations, through subsequent land-cession treaties. It was years later, after General Wayne’s death, before there were forced federal removal policies. General Wayne was an honorable and loyal soldier-statesman.
