Military Wiki
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar by Raphaelle Peale
Born (1753-11-10)November 10, 1753
Died August 20, 1813(1813-08-20) (aged 59)
Place of birth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Place of death Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Allegiance US flag 13 stars – Betsy Ross United States
Service/branch Gadsden flag Continental Army
U.S. Army
Years of service 1775 - 1783, 1784 - 1792
Rank Brigadier General
Commands held First American Regiment
Battles/wars American Revolutionary War
Northwest Indian War
FortHarmar

Fort Harmar

Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753 – August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolution War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for seven years.

Biography[]

Harmar was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and educated at a Quaker school. He started his military career during the American Revolutionary War, receiving a commission as a captain in 1775. He served under George Washington and Henry Lee during the war, and at its conclusion, by then a colonel, was chosen by Congress in 1784 to relay the ratified Treaty of Paris (1783) to commissioner Benjamin Franklin in Paris.

Harmar was the senior officer in the United States Army, from 1784 to 1791, and was given command of the First American Regiment in 1784. He signed the Treaty of Fort McIntosh in 1785, the same year that he ordered the construction of Fort Harmar near Marietta, Ohio. He also supervised the construction of Fort Steuben near present-day Steubenville, Ohio. Harmar was promoted to brigadier general in 1787. General Harmar directed the construction in 1789 of Fort Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio, which was built to protect the settlements in the Northwest Territory. The fort was named in honor of President Washington. In 1790, Harmar was sent on expeditions against Native Americans and remaining British in the Northwest Territory. After a few initial military successes, his force of Federal troops was defeated by a tribal coalition led by Little Turtle, in an engagement known as the "Harmar's defeat", "Battle of the Maumee", Battle of Kekionga", or "Battle of the Miami Towns". Later, Harmar returned with a somewhat larger force and engaged the coalition, but fought to a draw. Consequently, he was relieved of this command and replaced by General Arthur St. Clair. Harmar was subsequently court-martialed, at his own request, on various charges of negligence, and exonerated by a court of inquiry.[1]

After his retirement from the Army in 1792, Harmar served as adjutant general of Pennsylvania (1793–1799). He died near Philadelphia at his estate, "The Retreat." He is buried at the Episcopal church of St. James, Kingsessing, in West Philadelphia.

See also[]

  • Trans-Appalachian Wars

Notes[]

  1. Keenan, Jerry (1997). "Harmar, Gen. Josiah". Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars: 1492-1890. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. http://ebooks.abc.clio.com/print.aspx?isbn=9781576073971&id=AIWAR.167. Retrieved 18 Nov 2010. 

References[]

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by
Joseph Doughty
Senior Officer of the United States Army
1784–1791
Succeeded by
Arthur St. Clair


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Josiah Harmar and the edit history here.