Legion of the United States

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This article is about the early United States land force called the Legion of the United States. See Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States for information on the post-Civil War fraternity of loyal service members.

The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the United States Army in 1791 under the command of General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.

1 Origins
2 Structure
3 Battles
4 Legacy
5 See also

[edit] Origins

The impetus for the legion came from General Arthur St. Clair's disastrous defeat at the hand of Blue Jacket and Michikinikwa's tribal confederacy in the Northwest Indian War.

Many of the Founding Fathers had been suspicious of standing armies, believing that the militia would be suited to all the nation's defense needs. However, the defeat of St. Clair and his predecessor, Josiah Harmar, whose forces were drawn principally from state militias, caused a shift in thinking. President Washington picked his old lieutenant, Wayne, to lead a new professional army. At the recommendation of Secretary of War Henry Knox, it was decided to recruit and train a "Legion" — i.e., a force that would combine all land combat arms of the day (cavalry, heavy and light infantry, artillery) into one efficient brigade-sized force divisible into stand-alone combined arms teams. Congress agreed with this proposal and agreed to augment the small standing army until "the United States shall be at peace with the Indian tribes."

[edit] Structure

The Legion was composed of four "sublegions," each commanded by a brigadier general. These sublegions were self-contained units with two battalions of infantry (musketeers), a rifle battalion (light infantry skirmishers armed with longrifles to screen the infantry), a troop of dragoons and a company of artillery.

The legion received training at Legionville, a frontier fort created by General Wayne in western Pennsylvania. Wayne also established various forts along his line of march to ensure adequate resupply, and garrisoned these forts with freshly trained legionnaires.

[edit] Battles

The most notable engagement in which the Legion participated was the Battle of Fallen Timbers near present-day Toledo, Ohio. While the troops did not perform perfectly, and in some cases fled from the attacking tribesmen, they were able to hold together in the end and avoid the fate of St. Clair's expedition. The British garrison at Fort Miamis refused the confederation warriors sanctuary after the battle. While Natives did not suffer catastrophic casualties, they soon realized that they would not receive substantial British support, and faced a determined and capable foe in General Wayne. The battle was in the end a strategic loss for the native tribes, although they had acquitted themselves well tactically. Consequently, the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 can in some part be attributed to the performance of the Legion.