June 28th, 1792:
While meeting with leaders of some of the tribes of the Western Lakes Confederacy, fighting breaks out. The American camp, nearby, gears up for war while the Indians do the same. The Legion, with one and a half thousand strong, is able to easily defeat the Indians, numbering just over one thousand. Among the casualties are Indian Chiefs Little Turtle and Tecumseh, and most noteworthy, General George Washington. He is sixty years old. A decisive blow has been struck in what will be called the
North-Western Indian War, but at what cost?
George Washington (February 22nd, 1732-June 28th, 1792)
June 29th, 1792:
Troops from the Legion of the United States begin bearing Washington's body back to Virginia. Scouts and pages are ordered ahead to spread the news throughout the country that Washington has died.
July 1st, 1792:
With news reaching New York of Washington's death, President Adams is interrupted in the middle of Sunday Mass with the sad tidings. "I wept" he would write to Martha Washington, "And I prayed for the soul of dear George, who will rightly be known as the Father of his Nation."
July 2nd, 1792:
The burial of George Washington is held in haste at Mount Vernon. Having died so far from his home, there hasn't been much time for people like President Adams to attend. However, for weeks after there will be lines wishing to see the Father of the Nation, and people will wear mourning clothes for months. Among the speakers are Senator Thomas Jefferson and Governor Henry Lee III. Lee delivers a memorable line when he states "George Washington, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
July 4th, 1792:
President Adams’ Independence Day Address to Congress is dominated by what amounts to a stirring eulogy to George Washington who died only a week earlier. Adams recounts one of his first encounters with Washington, in the days of the Continental Congress, where Adams had nominated the General to lead the Continental Army.
July 9th, 1792:
President Adams appoints General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, a friend of Washington and the man mainly responsible for the training of the victorious Legion of the United States, to head the Legion. "Finish the job", a tired and apparently vicious President Adams tells Wayne. With America's most famous hero dead, the country is ready for a swift and final "revenge" upon the Western Lakes Confederacy.
July 26th, 1792:
General Wayne officially takes command of the troops at Legionville. In the next few days, the troops will prepare to set out once more. This time, having struck a major blow at the WLC, they plan to put in place a permanent outpost in the North-West, to be titled Fort Washington.
August 3rd, 1792:
Following various trips around the country collecting ideas and opinions, Thomas Jefferson, in a meeting with various political allies including Congressman James Madison, Senator Aaron Burr, Governor George Clinton, and former Treasury Secretary Samuel Osgood, declares the official creation of the Republican Party. Devoted to States’ Rights, Individual Liberty, Constitutionalism, and an agrarian economy, it is in opposition to Northerners and New Englanders such as Alexander Hamilton who seem more bent on protecting the Aristocracy. Adams himself feel caught up between two opposite poles. A farmer by nature, he nonetheless welcomes the prosperity of a growing industry. A strictly non-partisan man, Adams does not like the path the country seems to be taking in regards to political partisanship.
August 10th, 1792:
In France, following nearly a year of legislative struggles and disagreements with the King in the Constitutional Monarchy, insurgents and militiamen—backed by the revolutionary group the Paris Commune—attack the Tuileries Palace, killing the Swiss Guards and taking the royal family, including Kind Louis XVI, prisoner.
August 21st, 1792:
Construction of Fort Washington begins on the Wabash River in the North-West Territory. Serving as a permanent outpost and supply base, it will as well serve to house troops. It shall hopefully be completed in the next few months and before winter officially sets in.
September 11th, 1792:
A caucus of members of the new Republican Party, led by Congressman James Madison, nominates Senator Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and Governor George Clinton of New York as their two nominees. Jefferson, however, in accordance with political tradition of the day, denies the rumors of Presidential aspirations. Madison keeps his mentor as removed from the process as possible, knowing that in order to make Jefferson a candidate, Jefferson himself must not know that he is running, or at least convince himself so.
September 20th, 1792:
The French National Convention convenes, tasked with crafting yet another constitution. In doing so they become for all intents and purposes France’s new government. On the same day, French forces defeat Austrian ally Prussia at the Battle of Valmy, forcing Prussia to withdraw.
September 21st, 1792:
The French National Convention abolishes the monarchy once and for all.
October 2nd, 1792:
In a letter to every major newspaper in the country, President Adams confirms that he will be running for re-election despite rumors that he might choose to instead step down.
November 5th, 1792:
After nearly three months of continuous construction, the most basic structures of Fort Washington, including walls, barracks, an armory, and others, are complete. The troops are ready to set in for the winter as they prepare for the likelihood of more Indian attacks.
December 5th, 1792:
Presidential electors arrive at their individual state capitols to decide how they shall vote for President. President Adams, in his hometown of Braintree, Massachusetts, goes into depression, believing he will lose.
December 28th, 1792:
Just days after Christmas, rumors are abounding that President Adams will win re-election, despite earlier ones claiming that the President was doomed to lose. The President is quite happy as he becomes productive again, writing correspondence to Jefferson, Hamilton, his dear friend and Post-Master General Cotton Tufts, and others.