The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the United States Army from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne. It represented a political shift in the new United States, which had recently adopted the United States Constitution. The new Congressional and Executive branches authorized a standing army composed of professional soldiers rather than relying on state militias.
The Legion was primarily formed in reaction to multiple defeats in the Ohio country in 1790 and 1791 and to assert U.S. sovereignty over U.S. borders in the western territories and Great Lakes regions. The Legion comprised four sub-legions, each with infantry, cavalry, riflemen, and artillery. The Legion is best known for its victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794. Following the 1795 Treaty of Greenville with the Western Confederacy of Native American nations and the Jay Treaty with Great Britain, the Legion was reduced in size and rechristened the Army of the United States in 1796.
The modern 1st, 3rd, and 4th United States Infantry Regiments of the United States Army trace their lineage to the Legion of the United States.
Origins
After the American Revolutionary War in 1783, Congress decided to disband the Continental Army. By 1784, all Continental Army regiments had been disbanded, and the new United States Army consisted of two detachments to guard military supplies. By 1785, however, a cash-strapped Congress authorized 700 recruits to form the First American Regiment, which served in the Western territories, both to expel illegal settlers and to protect those who had purchased their lands from the United States. Many in the nascent United States still feared a standing army at this time, so the U.S. relied primarily on volunteer state militias.
A new government under the United States Constitution created the Department of War in 1789 and named Henry Knox as the first secretary. While Knox worked to organize the new department, he ordered the First American Regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, to lead an offensive against "banditti" Native Americans in the Northwest Territory. Harmar's force consisted of about 300 federal regulars and 1,000 militia, and suffered from a lack of equipment and provisions. The Harmar Campaign departed Fort Washington in September 1790 and marched to Kekionga, where they were defeated with heavy losses.
Washington ordered a follow-up expedition led by territorial governor, General Arthur St. Clair. His initial force was roughly the same size as Harmar's, so Congress authorized a second infantry regiment of 2,000 soldiers, but only for six months. St. Clair's total force was only 2,400, and he could not overcome logistics problems, but with the six-month levies expiring, he set out in September 1791. This newly recruited and inexperienced force was attacked in camp on the morning of 4 November 1791 by forces of the Western Confederacy led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket. St. Clair's defeat remains one of the worst in U.S. Army history, with over half of St. Clair's combined force killed or wounded. Three-quarters of the new Second Infantry Regiment, including their commander Richard Butler, were lost, as was all artillery.
The defeat of Harmar and St. Clair caused a shift in thinking. Congress recognized that it needed a more significant, professional army, and authorized a federal force strength of 5,190. President George Washington drafted a list of sixteen general officers from the American Revolutionary War to lead an expanded Army in the Northwest, including Benjamin Lincoln, Daniel Morgan, and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. After consulting with his cabinet, he picked Anthony Wayne to lead the new professional army, although Washington initially considered him too vain. Influenced by treatises from both Henry Bouquet and General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, and at the recommendation of Secretary of War Henry Knox and General von Steuben, it was decided to recruit and train a "Legion", 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 to augment the small standing army until "the United States shall be at peace with the Indian tribes." Congress also passed the Militia Acts of 1792, giving President Washington authority over state militias in a national emergency.
The Legion Organization and structure The Legion was formed from the remnants of the First and Second Regiments and filled with recruits. Recruiting was difficult following the military disasters of 1790 and 1791; though over 4,000 troops were to be enlisted, only 2,631 served in the legion. From June 1792 to November 1792, the Legion remained in cantonment at Fort LaFayette in Pittsburgh. It was composed of four sub-legions; each was originally authorized a brigadier general, but was commanded by a lieutenant colonel. These sub-legions were self-contained units with two battalions of infantry, a rifle battalion (light infantry skirmishers armed with Pennsylvania long rifles to screen the infantry), and a troop of Light Dragoons. The Army had previously raised four companies of artillery under battalion commander Major Henry Burbeck; each company was attached to one sub-legion. Each sub-legion was also authorized to have their own medical personnel. In that the sub-legions were composed of different unit types, some have compared them to modern combined arms organisation, thereby viewing them as remote forerunners to the Brigade Combat Teams of the modern United States Army.
Major General Wayne commanded the entire legion, with Brigadier General Wilkinson acting as a second-in-command. Under Wayne's command was the 1st sub-legion commanded by Jean François Hamtramck, the 2nd sub-legion commanded by David Strong and the 3rd sub-legion commanded by Henry Gaither, and the 4th sub-legion, which was first commanded by Jonathan Clark, and then by Thomas Butler from 1 July 1794 to 1 November 1796.
Uniforms
General Wayne insisted that each sub-legion have a distinctive cap. The 1st sub-legion wore a cap of black hair with white binding and plumes, the 2nd wore a cap of white hair with red binding and plumes, the 3rd wore a cap of black hair with yellow binding and plumes, and the 4th wore a cap of white hair with green binding and plumes. Each sub-legion also carried a regimental standard with their unit colors: 1st Sub-Legion: White and Black 2nd Sub-Legion: Red and White 3rd Sub-Legion: Black and Yellow 4th Sub-Legion: Green and White By 10 March 1794 Wayne altered the caps to round hats with bearskin crests, although the sub-legions retained their distinctive binding and plume colors.
Officers wore cocked hats with no distinctive marks except for the plumes of their respective sub-legions. However, previous battles had shown that Native Americans would target officers, so Wayne ordered his officers to wear the caps as the enlisted men in actual service or action. Officers also commonly buttoned their coats across the chest.
Appearance was emphasized. Soldiers could receive 20 lashes for a dirty uniform, and soldiers on guard duty had to be clean-shaven with powdered hair.
Capabilities Commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel were trained to fight in separate small units. General Wayne's tactics were to fire and move quickly with the light infantry as his front-line forces supported by heavy infantry. Additionally, the Legion was taught to move quickly on the enemy so they could not reload, then attack with bayonets. The infantry were armed with smoothbore muskets from the Revolutionary War, mostly 1763 or 1777 models of the Charleville musket. They were trained to fire a paper cartridge consisting of "one ball and three heavy buckshot," and to aim at the waistband to maximize lethality. Wayne even experimented with the touchholes of the muskets to allow fine powder to fall from the breech and fill the pan, allowing his soldiers to reload faster. These were issued to the 200 soldiers of the light infantry, which Wayne called "improved infantry," who were taught to take careful aim at individual targets. By contrast, regular infantry were trained to form in open order and merely point their weapons towards their enemies to maneuver and fire more quickly. Wayne requested copies of General von Steuben's Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, which was out of print; he complained that officers from the Revolution were "rather rusty."
The Legion's 360 riflemen were organized into six companies; two companies were placed at the front and rear of the Legion, and two companies each were assigned to the 3rd and 4th sub-legions to guard the Legion's left and right. Wayne required soldiers to be able to hit targets at 200 yards before they could be assigned to a rifle company. They were armed with varieties of the long rifle, and dismounted officers were issued light muskets. To mitigate the lack of bayonets on rifles, they were also issued bayonet-tipped sticks, which could be unfolded and locked to form spears.
The artillery consisted of 120 soldiers and 16 guns. Since their artillery slowed St. Clair's campaign, Wayne insisted that heavy canons be left at Fort Washington. Instead, he ordered 2.75 and 2.85 caliber howitzers that could be carried on horseback with special saddles. These guns could fire an iron ball, an explosive shell, or grapeshot against infantry at short range. Gun crews were trained to fire every 15 seconds. In addition, the Legion recovered artillery lost at St. Clair's defeat and used these guns at Fort Recovery.
A squadron of light dragoons, consisting of about 200 soldiers organized into four troops, was authorized for the Legion. The four troops were labelled Bey Troop, Black Troop, Grey Troop, and Sorrell Troop, each with four squads of 15 horses and soldiers. The squadron was originally under the supervision of Major Michael Rudolph, an infantry officer from the 1st American Regiment. Rudolph resigned in July 1792; he was replaced by Major William Winston. They were armed with pistols and sabres, as well as Charleville carbines, although supplies could be scarce. When the squadron was ordered north to Fort Greenville, some troopers did not have boots, having had to relinquish them to infantry soldiers who had previously departed. They had to guard their horses carefully, which were prized in the frontier wilderness.
Nearly 1,500 mounted Kentucky militia augmented the Legion's campaign into Ohio territory. Although organized into formal militias, Wayne preferred to use them as auxiliaries to the dragoons. The militias were not issued uniforms and performed more as mounted infantry than dragoons or cavalry. They were armed with rifles and carried only knives or tomahawks for close combat. However, many of them had previous experience in the territory.
The Legion had a detachment of rangers under Captain George Shrim. This was an elite force primarily used for intelligence gathering. They were superseded by a new detachment of 90 scouts and spies organized into three companies under the command of Captain William Wells, a son-in-law of Miami war chief Little Turtle who unexpectedly joined the Legion. Wells reported directly to General Wayne. Additional scouting capabilities were added in May 1794 when Captain James Underwood arrived with 60 Chickasaw allies. James Robertson also arrived with 45 Choctaw warriors.
Junior officers and non-commissioned officers were issued espontoons and light muskets.
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