Arthur St. Clair

Arthur St. Clair
Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1783
1st Governor of the Northwest Territory
In office July 15, 1788 – November 22, 1802
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Charles Willing Byrd
4th Senior Officer of the United States Army
In office March 4, 1791 – March 5, 1792
President	George Washington
Preceded by	Josiah Harmar
Succeeded by	Anthony Wayne
7th President of the Confederation Congress
In office February 2, 1787 – November 4, 1787
Preceded by	Nathaniel Gorham
Succeeded by	Cyrus Griffin
Personal details
Born	(1737-03-23)March 23, 1737 Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, Great Britain
Died	August 31, 1818(1818-08-31) (aged 81) Greensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	St. Clair Park, Greensburg
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain United States
Branch/service	British Army (1757–1762) Continental Army (1775–1783) United States Army (1791–1792)
Rank	Lieutenant (Britain) Major General (U.S.)
Battles/wars	French and Indian War American Revolutionary War Northwest Indian War

Major General Arthur St. Clair (March 23, 1737^[1] [O.S. 1736] – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During the American Revolutionary War, he rose to the rank of major general in the Continental Army, but lost his command after a controversial retreat from Fort Ticonderoga.

After the war, he served as President of the Continental Congress, which during his term passed the Northwest Ordinance. He was then made governor of the Northwest Territory in 1788, and then the portion that would become Ohio in 1800. In 1791, St. Clair commanded the American forces in what was the United States' worst-ever defeat by the Native Americans, which became known as St. Clair's defeat. Politically out-of-step with the Jefferson administration, he was replaced as governor in 1802.