This tablet was erected by the General Arthur St. Clair Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1938 on the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of government in Indiana under the Northwest Ordinance. Indianapolis’ St. Clair St. is named after him; however, he never lived in Indiana.

Born in Scotland and originally a British army officer, Arthur St. Clair switched sides and served in the Revolutionary Army and afterward, as a representative of Pennsylvania, was elected President of the Continental Congress (and therefore of the United States).  He served in that role for nine months, particularly during the framing of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established processes for settling and governing the area including what is now Indiana.  He then served as the commander of the US Military and as the Governor of the Northwest Territory (including what is now Indiana) from 1788-1802. As Governor he sought to eliminate Native American claims to the territory, and his one-sided proposed treaty provoked the combined Indiana resistance known as Little Turtle [Mihšihkinaahkwa]’s War.  At what became known as “St. Clair’s Defeat” in 1791–a battle that involved fighters from many Indigenous peoples including the Miami, Potawotami, Shawnee, Delaware (Lenape), Ottawa, Ojibwe, and others at what is now Fort Recovery on the Ohio-Indiana border–the American forces were roundly defeated.  Although he was exonerated from responsibility, St. Clair resigned his military commission in 1792 at the request of President Washington.  He continued as the governor of the Ohio Territory and in that role, with Federalist leanings, he argued for the complete independence of the Territory from the control of Congress; this opinion led President Jefferson to remove him from his position in 1802. He retired from public life to run an iron business, which was not successful.  He died impoverished in 1818 at age 81. St. Clair is often considered a “forgotten Founding Father.”

For more information visit the website dedicated to his life and work.