The Right Stuff: President Washington Needed a General in 1792

In early 1792, President George Washington was in search of a general. For the last six years, the United States had been battling Native American forces of the Western Confederacy in the modern state of Ohio, and the Americans were losing the war. Led by Little Turtle (Miami), Blue Jacket (Shawnee), and Buckongahelas (Lenape), Native resistance to western expansion had reached its high-water mark.

In both 1790 and 1791, President Washington sent a nascent form of the US Army to confront the confederated tribesmen, and in each instance, they were annihilated. In his fourth year as commander-in-chief, Washington took the drastic step of creating a true standing army.

At over five thousand men, this “Legion of the United States” would combine the attributes of a traditional army into one concentrated strike force. Artillery, cavalry, heavy infantry, and skirmishers rolled into one neat package . . . tailor made for the frontier. This fighting force was designed to be fast and responsive, and the President believed it needed a commanding officer that was its equal.

Ten years after the Revolution, Washington had a long list of commanders to choose from, but most were past their prime. In the end, he selected the Pennsylvanian Anthony Wayne for the task, but only after a serious consideration of many other leaders. His unedited notes in all their bitter, humorous, envious, petty glory offer a key insight into George Washington’s decision-making process, and his critical opinion of his revolutionary peers. Washington recorded his thoughts on March 9, 1792:[1]