The Treaty of Fort Wayne, 1809

The Treaty of Fort Wayne, also known as the Twelve Mile Line Treaty or the Ten o’clock Line Treaty, was signed in 1809. It was an agreement between primarily the Delaware nation along with the Miami and Potawatomie nations and the U.S. government. Represented by Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison, the goal for the treaty was to leverage those nations who were refusing to sell land around the Wabash River. After some initial resistance from the Miami, the treaty was signed on September 29, 1809. Over 3,000,000 acres of land, mostly along the Wabash River and north of the territorial capital of Vincennes were sold to the US government. Another section extended further west extending the Treaty of Greenville line, connecting it south towards the Treaty of Grouseland line. In exchange the signing Native nations were given differing amounts of annuity payments. The Delaware and Miami nations received yearly $500 payments (about $13,000 in 2025).

The Treaty of Fort Wayne would quickly become a flashpoint that led directly to the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1812. The Shawnee nation lived on some of the lands sold in the Treaty of Fort Wayne. No Shawnee representative was present at negotiations. This was a common practice used by U.S. negotiators. They would use the agreements of the other nations who lived on the land as justification to remove those who didn’t agree to sell. In this instance it led to open conflict and fighting, as influential Shawnee leader Tecumseh argued this sale was illegitimate. The other nations had no rights to sell the land. Tecumseh would create a Native village, nicknamed “Prophetstown”, and invite many nearby nations to come and settle there to bring Native peoples together to resist U.S. expansion. U.S. forces would march on the village in 1812. After a short battle they burned it to the ground and scattered the inhabitants.

This treaty also serves as an example of how military force was used as an implied threat to Native nations to convince them to sell land. The treaty was negotiated at Fort Wayne, a military fort that would have housed soldiers and been an extension of military strength in the region. It would have been a very clear implied threat to those Native leaders who were negotiating the treaty not to resist U.S. demands by showcasing the strength of the military that would be sent against them if they tried to resist.