Legionville
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Legionville
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Overview of the site
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| Nearest city | Harmony Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 40°37′16″N 80°13′42″W / 40.62111°N 80.22833°WCoordinates: 40°37′16″N 80°13′42″W / 40.62111°N 80.22833°W |
| Area | 20 acres (8.1 ha) |
| Built | 1792 |
| Architect | Legion of the United States |
| NRHP Reference # | 75001617 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 27, 1975 |
| Designated PHMC | September 25, 1946 |
Legionville (or Legion Ville) was the first formal basic training facility for the military of the United States. The camp, which was established in 1792 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne, was near present-day Baden, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It was used to train the soldiers which would become the Legion of the United States.
Throughout the winter of 1792-93, existing troops along with new recruits were drilled in military skills, tactics and discipline. The following spring the newly named Legion of the United States left Legionville for the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between American Indian tribes affiliated with the Western Confederacy in the area north of the Ohio River.
The overwhelmingly successful campaign was concluded with the decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. The training the troops received at Legionville was seen as instrumental to this victory.
The United States military realized it needed a well-trained standing army following St. Clair's Defeat on November 4, 1791, when a force led by General Arthur St. Clair was almost entirely wiped out by the Western Confederacy near Fort Recovery, Ohio. The plans, which were supported by U.S. President George Washington and Henry Knox, Secretary of War, would lead to the creation of the Legion of the United States. The command would be based on the 18th-century military works of Henry Bouquet, a professional Swiss soldier who served as a colonel in the British army, and French Marshal Maurice de Saxe.
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Wikipedia