Much of the Western Reserve’s history coincides with the Northwest Indian Wars, fought in modern-day Ohio from 1786-1795. While the major battles did not occur within Connecticut’s Western Reserve, the resulting treaties and resolutions encompass much of the region’s military history. While the Northwest Indian Wars had several important clashes, its most crucial battle was its final one, the Battle of Fallen Timbers. This battle, fought by Daniel Bissell and the Legion of the United States, was under the leadership of Major General Anthony Wayne, while the Natives were led by Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket. Fortunately for Wayne and his forces, the Battle of Fallen Timbers proved to be a decisive victory, as, in less than an hour, Wayne had soundly defeated Blue Jacket’s forces while suffering limited casualties. Wayne’s victory proved to be hugely significant, as it signaled a United States victory in the Northwest Indian Wars, which led to the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Greenville.
The Treaty of Greenville was significant in the history of the Western Reserve, as it forced the Shawnees and their allies to give up their control on much of modern-day Ohio and parts of Indiana. Consequently, this treaty opened up much of Connecticut’s Western Reserve to settlement, as along with being soundly defeated in the Northwest Indian Wars, the articles of the treaty also guaranteed safety for settlers moving into the area. Additionally, with complete control over the region, the U.S. military was able to construct a multitude of forts around Ohio in order to protect and supply the settlers. With such a strong military presence, the Native Americans had no sense of recourse.
Despite agreeing to the Treaty of Greenville, colonists started to break the terms of the agreement by encroaching and establishing settlements on Native land. One of the most notable cases surrounding land encroachment had to do with “the Firelands,” a part of Ohio country that was under the control of the Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot Peoples. Despite being under Native control, between 1790-1792, the state of Connecticut began to divide out a series of plots within the Firelands as compensation for civilians who had their homes and properties destroyed by the British in the Revolutionary War. In an attempt to quell tensions and avoid even more bloodshed, the Treaty of Fort Industry was signed in 1805, an agreement that saw the Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot Peoples concede the Firelands over to the United States, losing another 2.7 million acres of land.
In addition to campaigns against America’s Indigenous Peoples, the military history of American western expansion also included conflicts between Connecticut settlers and the settlers of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennamites. These conflicts, collectively known as the Pennamite-Yankee Wars, had begun in the 1760s over a stretch of land in Pennsylvania called the Wyoming Valley, which stretched between the Susquehanna River and the mouths of Nanticoke Creek and the Lackawanna River. Throughout the 1760s and 1770s, there was constant violence between settlers of both colonies, with bloodshed and property loss being suffered on both sides. By 1782, however, a national court under the Articles of Confederation ruled that the territory was under Pennsylvania’s control. This sparked the third Pennamite-Yankee War, as Connecticut settlers, afraid they would be kicked off their lands, started to resist the state of Pennsylvania’s attempts to dispose of their farms and properties. By the 1790s, with westward expansion in full swing, the war between the Connecticut Yankees and Pennamites continued, with Pennamite pioneers and land speculators being victims of attack by guerilla bands of Yankees. Hostilities between the two groups continued until the spring of 1799 when Pennsylvania’s state assembly passed the Compromise Act, which granted legal land rights to Connecticut settlers.
The United States military was crucial in establishing and developing Connecticut’s Western Reserve, especially in Ohio. In addition to winning significant territories in their victory in the Northwest Indian Wars, the military also acted in a prominent capacity when it came to the Treaties of Greenville and Fort Industry. While they may not have written the treaties themselves, they were critical in assuring that said treaties would be followed. Overall, this role as an enforcer also represented a shift in the military’s responsibilities. Rather than just being a source of defense for the United States, the creation of the Western Reserve and westward expansion demonstrated how the army soon became a powerful arbitrator of settler colonialism. By this point, much of America’s military campaigns had shifted to ones of conquest rather than defense, as in addition to their role in enforcing treaties, the military was also tasked with establishing forts all across Ohio to ensure the protection of the settlers. With such a significant military presence in the area, the United States was easily able to subjugate and dispossess Indigenous Peoples of their land.