Many leaders in the Continental Army had experience in the British Army, and some of them proved quite controversial. Foremost among these was Charles Lee (General Washington’s second-in-command), who allowed himself to be captured by the British and was relieved at the Battle of Monmouth. (see blog post A General Disaster). Another was General Horatio Gates, who was victorious at Saratoga but fell into disgrace at the Battle of Camden. Our profiles of Richard Montgomery (see blog post, First to Fall) and Hugh Mercer (see blog post, Surgeon General from Scotland) demonstrate that these men had no lack of courage under fire – giving the last full measure.
General Charles Lee - one of many former
British officers to serve in the Continental Army
But this edition highlights a man whose legacy of service to his new nation is complex and, in some ways, tragic. Arthur St. Clair was a man of intelligence and industry whose inconsistent military talents mask a career of dedication, patriotism, and considerable frustration.
From Medicine to Military
Born in Truro, Scotland, in 1736 to a relatively well-off family, St. Clair attended the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. In 1757, he shifted his career by buying a commission as an ensign in the 60th Foot (Royal American Regiment) and traveled to America in the same year to fight in the French and Indian War.
Private - 60th Regiment of Foot
French and Indian War
Ensign St. Clair served under famed General Jeffrey Amherst, helping with the capture of the massive French fortress at Louisburg in July 1758. The following spring, he was promoted to lieutenant and served under General James Wolfe at Quebec and during the fighting on the Plains of Abraham, the war's decisive battle. Lieutenant St. Clair was mentioned in the dispatches for his heroism when he seized the regimental colors from a fallen soldier and carried them to victory. No piker in the courage department.
Fall of Louisburg
Husband, Settler & Public Servant
His regiment was later based in Boston, where Cupid’s arrow struck deeply. Our lovesick war hero married Phoebe Bayard (from the prominent Bowdoin family) in May 1760. Now settled into marriage with a well-known family, the life of a British officer held less promise. So he resigned his commission in 1762 and moved to Pennsylvania to seek his fortune as a surveyor. Two years later, he made his home permanently in Ligonier Valley in the colony’s western frontier, where land was inexpensive and easy to acquire. He eventually became the largest landowner and one of the most influential men in the colony’s western region.
18th Century Pennsylvania
Like many prominent men of his era, he started to build an impressive record of public service, which included roles such as surveyor of Cumberland County, justice of the court of quarter sessions and of common pleas, member of the proprietary council, recorder, clerk of the orphans’ court, and chief clerk of Bedford County courts. At the time, Bedford County encompassed what would later become Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington, Greene, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. For quite some time, he was essentially the law in a land that was practically the wild west, filled with hunters, Indian traders, backcountry settlers, transients, and all kinds of unsavory characters. He was especially noted for dealing fairly with the local Indians.
Political Winds
St. Clair was caught in the territorial disputes between Pennsylvania and Virginia, which claimed a large part of the western colony. When Virginian John Connolly seized the area near today’s Pittsburgh for Virginia and tried to undermine Pennsylvania’s settlers, St. Clair had him arrested. Virginia’s governor had Pennsylvanians detained and complained to Governor Penn about St. Clair. The governor supported his magistrate, but the border dispute between the two colonies was not resolved until Congress intervened years later.
Militia Leader
Like many prominent colonial leaders, Arthur St. Clair played a key role in the local militia. In January 1776, he was appointed a colonel of a regiment, which he raised over the winter and then force-marched north to join the invasion of Canada, reaching Quebec on April 11. However, the campaign was already lost with Montgomery's defeat and death while storming Quebec, along with the American loss at Chambly. All he could do was assist General John Sullivan’s retreat.
The campaign in Canada was lost by the time
St. Clair arrived at Quebec
Cool Under Pressure
But his knowledge of the area from the last war and his military experience helped save a large part of the routed army. St. Clair himself was injured and barely made it back after being cut off by advancing British forces.
Major General Arthur St. Clair
He was promoted to Brigadier General in August in recognition of his service and talents, and he was ordered to join General George Washington’s army in New Jersey, where he took command of a couple of militia regiments. The campaign also turned into a rout, and Washington’s forces disbanded as they retreated from Brunswick to make a narrow escape across the Delaware River.
Trusted Counsel
St. Clair went to work recruiting men for the beleaguered Continental Army and was rewarded with a brigade command, which he led capably during the critical American victories at Trenton, Assenpink Creek, and Princeton in the rapid counterattack of December 1776 – January 1777. Some accounts say that St. Clair devised the brilliant night maneuver from the Assenpink to cut off the British and threaten Princeton. Most other commanders recommended retreat, but Washington followed St. Clair’s advice, leading to the American victory at Princeton and possibly saving the rebellion from collapse. This explains Washington’s continued support for St. Clair during later controversies.
Assenpink Creek
Return to the North
By the spring of 1777, tensions were rising again in the northern colonies. A significant force led by General John Burgoyne (see blog post, Gentleman Johnny) was assembling north of Lake Champlain. The Continental Congress President John Hancock ordered the newly appointed Major General Arthur St. Clair to take command of the strategically important but understaffed fortress – Fort Ticonderoga. However, when St. Clair arrived in early June, he found the fort in a dire state. Situated on the southern bank of Lake Champlain, the fort was the first target in a British invasion plan aimed at capturing Albany and splitting the colonies. Everyone hoped the fort would serve as a barrier to halt Burgoyne’s advancing forces.
General John Burgoyne
Fort of Futility
But as the Americans should have learned from the debacle at Fort Washington the previous year, a powerful fort that is undermanned becomes a liability, not an asset. Ticonderoga was undermanned, with men who were ill-fed and ill-equipped. Powder and provisions of all kinds were scarce. There were barely 2,500 men in a fort that needed 10,000 for a proper garrison. Burgoyne had over 8,000 British and German troops along with plenty of artillery and supplies.
Fort Ticonderoga
Outflanked and Outgunned
The British soon moved into the area and quickly seized control of Mount Defiance, where they installed a battery that commanded Ticonderoga. Concerted fire would soon break through the defenses and damage the defenders with ease. During a war council, St. Clair chose to evacuate the post and preserve the army for another day. A wise but debated decision.
British guns on Mount Defiance would dominate the area
around Ticonderoga
Flight by Night
The night retreat in the face of a overwhelming enemy was a huge risk. St. Clair managed it, but not without a major mistake when French-born General Fermoy’s unexplained fire at his quarters warned the British. With redcoats and Germans close behind, the beleaguered Americans ran through the woods; a water route was avoided except for the wounded. St. Clair aimed not only to save his army but also to draw the British away from their path of advance, slow them down, and extend their supply lines.
Retreat, Divide and Conquer?
He split his forces, and the rear guard delayed the British pursuers, who were chasing them like hounds after a rabbit. St. Clair hoped to divide the British and herd them into the deep northern woods rather than let them sail effortlessly down Lake George. They were barely ahead of the enemy. General Simon Fraser’s advance guard – the elite of the British army – collided with some of St. Clair’s forces at Hubbardton. It was a hard-fought victory for Fraser. Another British force – Germans, in fact – was defeated when they tried to ease a worsening supply situation by taking livestock at Bennington in today's Vermont.
Hubbardton - a defeat, but also a diversion
Ignominy
Regardless of the wisdom of St. Clair’s successful retreat, which diverted and slowed the British, split their army, extended their supply lines, and kept a valuable field force from being captured, St. Clair was condemned from all sides, especially by those who favored General Horatio Gates over Washington as commander in chief. Although the valuable 2,500 men he managed to save formed the core of Gates's forces at Saratoga that ultimately defeated the British, St. Clair was stripped of all command.
General Horatio Gates
Yet General Washington continued to support him and recalled him to the main army, where he stayed at the commander-in-chief’s side and served as an aide at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. At St. Clair's request, a court-martial was held in 1778. St. Clair was acquitted, “with the highest honor, of the charges against him.” But any hope of battlefield command was over.
Selfless Service
He continued serving, however, and was with Washington when General Cornwallis’s army surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. The war in the south was still ongoing, and St. Clair was assigned to lead a column of troops into the Carolinas to support General Nathanael Greene, who was working to clear out British garrisons from Ninety-Six to Charleston and Savannah. St. Clair's Pennsylvania reputation proved valuable when a serious mutiny broke out among the Pennsylvania Line regiments in 1783. He was called upon to appeal to his fellow Pennsylvanians, and he helped to calm the mutineers, who had planned an armed march on Congress.
Yorktown Surrender
Post War Politics
St. Clair returned to Pennsylvania and began a distinguished career in political service to the new nation. He joined the Pennsylvania Council of Censors in 1783. Later, St. Clair was elected as a delegate to the Confederation Congress. During his term from November 1785 through November 1787, he helped establish the new national government. It was a time of firsts and a time of challenges. In February 1787, the members met and elected St. Clair as President of the Confederation Congress (essentially the leader of the federal government). He faced many responsibilities during his one-year term.
Confederation Congress
Shays's Rebellion erupted in 1787 due to tax disputes. Disgruntled farmers, mostly war veterans, marched against their state government. Despite the disruptions caused by the political crisis over Shays's rebellion, Congress managed to pass a key piece of legislation during his presidency – the Northwest Ordinance. This set the pattern for western expansion, governance, and the admission of new lands into the United States. Most importantly, during St. Clair's presidency, the Philadelphia Convention was drafting a new United States Constitution, which would replace the old Confederation Congress with a stronger federal system made up of three branches.
Shays's Rebellion
Frontier Governor
With the creation of the new Northwest Territory, Congress appointed Arthur St. Clair as its first governor. The Northwest Territory included what are now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Establishing his seat of government in the settlement he named “Cincinnati,” he began his work. His accomplishments were significant in helping settle and develop the land, as well as preparing it for eventual incorporation into the United States. As a former magistrate, he established the territory's first set of laws, known as Maxwell’s Code. He also invested personal funds to help clear land for settlement.
Northwest Indian War
St. Clair’s western achievements were not without controversy. He initiated the construction of forts to protect settlers and defend against tribes. He negotiated the Treaty of Fort Harmar – pushing the Indians off their tribal land. Instead of settling Indian claims, the treaty sparked outright conflict.
Fort Harmar
The tribes took up the tomahawk and went on the warpath - sending panic among the western settlers. Chief Little Turtle and Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket led the coalition aided by former British Loyalists Alexander McKee and Simon Girty. The tribes defeated a 1,500-strong militia force under General Josiah Harmar in October 1790.
Chief Blue Jacket
The following spring, St, Clair was promoted to major general of the army of the United States and led the response himself. Once more in uniform, he took to the field in October 1791 at the head of two Regular Army regiments and militia – a column of 1,400 men who marched deep into the Ohio wilderness to the headwaters of the Wabash River. Meanwhile, thousands of Miami, Delaware, and Shawnee braves were gathered in the dense forests just waiting for a chance to wreak havoc on the hated enemy.
St. Clair was appointed major general a second time
Massacre
The trap was sprung on 4 November – the warriors unleashing terrific sheets of lead into the Americans, who fell in scores. Down to last than half his force, St. Clair led a desperate bayonet attack to hold off the warriors who were closing in for the final kill. He managed to extricate the survivors but at the cost of over 600 killed and 300 wounded. The Battle of the Wabash stands as the greatest disaster in what would become a long series of conflicts between the oncoming Americans and the Indian tribes.
St Clair's defeat at the Wabash
More Ignominy
St. Clair was severely condemned by all, including his long-time ally, President Washington who launched an investigation into the causes of the disaster – the first investigation of the executive branch under the new United States Constitution. The inquiry exonerated St. Clair of wrongdoing but he was forced to resign from the army.
President Washington launched an inquiry
Politics & Policy
St. Clair was able to stay on as governor of the Ohio Territory – a tribute to a mix of politics (he was a staunch Federalist in a Democratic-Republican west) and his acknowledged administrative capacity. The republic had devolved into rabid partisan politics and the frontier was not excluded. St. Clair wanted to carve two Federalist-leaning states out of the Ohio Territory. He hoped that would bolster Federalist power in Congress. To that end he made vast personal investments in the region but the always cash-strapped federal government failed to reimburse him.
Northwest Territory - St. Clair's Legacy
The Democratic-Republicans in Ohio opposed him and accused him of partisanship, duplicity, and arrogance. He did not help his case – pushing back on direction from the new capital in Washington and its now Democratic-Republican administration. An 1802 statement eschewing Congress’s control over the territory led to President Thomas Jefferson removing St. Clair from the office he held for well over a decade.
President Thomas Jefferson removed St. Clair
Home to Ligonier
Losing his western investments and bereft of funds, St. Clair retired to western Pennsylvania. He and his wife lived with their daughter, Louisa St. Clair Robb, and her family in a cabin situated between Ligonier and Greensburg. Arthur St. Clair died in poverty in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on 31 August 1818. He was 81. His wife Phoebe died shortly after and is buried beside him under a Masonic monument in St. Clair Park in downtown Greensburg.
St. Clair's final home
Frustrated Founder
Despite being frustrated by two controversial military defeats, St. Clair was a good officer, a capable general, and most importantly, an adept military thinker. Why else would Washington keep him at his side after Fort Ticonderoga? He was a very good administrator and his efforts helped not just win a nation but build one both at the seat of government and its wild -frontier. This makes the little-known medical student from Scotland among our nation's founders in every sense of the word.
St. Clair's Grave