Legion of the United States
| Legion of the United States | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1792–1796 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | U.S. Army |
| Type | frontier army, recruited and formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Role | pacify the Native-American tribes and make the western frontier safe for settlement |
| Size | 5,120 total strength |
| Part of | composed of four sub-legions, each commanded by a lieutenant colonel. 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), a troop of dragoons and a battery of artillery. |
| Colors |
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 |
| Engagements | Siege of Fort Jefferson, June 5, 1792-1795, Siege of Fort Recovery, June 30, 1794, Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 3, 1795, in the Northwest Indian War |
| Disbanded | After 1796, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sub-Legions were reformed and designated the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Regiments of the United States Army |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major General Anthony Wayne |
| Ceremonial chief | Brigadier General James Wilkinson, second-in-command |
Unit Colors:
1st Sub-Legion: white and black
2nd Sub-Legion: red and white
3rd Sub-Legion: black and yellow
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.
The impetus for the legion came from General Arthur St. Clair's disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Wabash by Blue Jacket and Little Turtle's tribal confederacy in November 1791. The Founding Fathers had been suspicious of standing armies, believing that the militia would be suited to all the nation's defensive needs. However, the defeat of St. Clair and his predecessor, Josiah Harmar, whose forces were drawn principally from state militias, caused a shift in thinking. President 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 Wayne to lead the new professional army, although Washington originally considered him too vain. At the recommendation of Secretary of War Henry Knox, it was decided to recruit and train a "Legion" — i.e., 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 and agreed to augment the small standing army until "the United States shall be at peace with the Indian tribes."
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Wikipedia