Crawford expedition

Crawford expedition.
The Crawford expedition was a campaign on the western front of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the final operations of the conflict. Led by Colonel William Crawford (pictured), the campaign began May 25, 1782. Its goal was to destroy American Indian towns along the Sandusky River in the Ohio Country, with the hope of ending attacks on American settlers. The expedition was one in a long series of raids that both sides had conducted against enemy settlements throughout the war. Crawford led about 500 volunteer militiamen, mostly from Pennsylvania. The Indians and their British allies from Detroit gathered a force and surrounded the Americans. Seventy were killed, including Crawford, who was tortured and executed, probably in retaliation for the Gnadenhutten massacre two months earlier. Indian and British losses were minimal, and the rest of the Americans escaped and found their way back to Pennsylvania.