Fallen Timbers and Fort Miamis

Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site are affiliate units of the National Park Service. The British defeat in the American Revolution left them with a problem: what to do with their vast holdings in the Old Northwest Territory, which stretched from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. At first, they attempted to keep the area off-limits to American settlers, but the rich farmland and abundant natural resources proved too tempting. In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, which provided for the surveying and sale of land in the territory. The British responded by tightening their grip on the area, constructing a series of forts to protect their interests. This only served to heighten tensions, and in 1794, those tensions erupted into violence. The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the culmination of this conflict, and it resulted in a resounding victory for the Americans. The events resulted in the dispossession of American Indian tribes and a loss of colonial territory for the British military and settlers.