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The Mirror (Maumee, OH)
3-09-00
The History Channel will come to Toledo on Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12 for the television production of The Battle of Fallen Timbers.
The visit will include the producer/director, frontier reenactors and expert commentators for the production.
The public is invited to meet them and to enjoy the premiere screening of The Battle of Fallen Timbers in a special fundraiser on Saturday evening, March 11, or in public screenings on Sunday, March 12.
Both events will be held at The Pinnacle in Maumee's Arrowhead Park.
The battle, which occurred in present-day Maumee, has been called one of the three most important battles in the development of the nation. At Fallen Timbers, an American Legion under the command of General Anthony Wayne, along with a contingent of Kentucky militia, met and defeated a confederation of Native Americans.
Wayne's victory in 1794 is sometimes referred to as the last battle of the Revolution because it resulted in securing the Northwest Territory, a five-state region that had not been ceded by the Indians.
The brief battle was decisive in bringing the Indians to sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, giving the United States control over portions of Ohio, Michigan, Indian, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Without the treaty, the area might have remained a buffer zone between Indian and settled territory or even become part of Canada.
The production, produced and directed by noted documentary maker Gary Foreman, is one of four programs in a series entitled "Frontier: The Decisive Battles," which will air on The History Channel sometime this summer.
The bulk of the production was taped last summer in Secor Metropark and at Fort Meigs State Memorial.
Two of the principal reenactors were local residents. Craig Fisher, of Sylvania, will portray General Wayne, and Jared McKenzie, of Whitehouse, will play William Wells, a white man raised as a Miami Indian.
Foreman, Fisher and McKenzie are expected to be present, along with historians who helped narrate the story, which include Dr. G. Michael Pratt, of Heidelberg College, and Dr. Larry Nelson, director of Fort Meigs State Memorial.
"We're excited to tell an important story that's never been told on national television," Foreman said. "Just as important, we're here to call attention to the effort to preserve the Fallen Timbers Battlefield."
The gala premiere showing will be on Saturday evening at a banquet sponsored by the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, of Toledo, and Congressman Mark Souder, of Fort Wayne, both of whom urged Congress to pass legislation designating the Fallen Timbers Battlefield as an affiliate unit of the National Park Service, are scheduled to appear.
Tickets, priced at $100 per person for the meal and program, are available by calling 874-6595 or 875-5155.
On Sunday, Metroparks will sponsor screenings at 1:30 and 3:00 p.m., which will also feature both screenings of the program and appearances by the director, reenactors and historians.
Tickets for the Sunday screenings are $5.00 each and $3.00 for Metropark members and associated organizations.
Ads are also in various publications and offer discounted tickets.
For additional information on the Sunday program, call the Metropark District at 535-3050.
Other programs in the "Frontier: The Decisive Battles" series will depict the Battle of King's Mountain, the Blackhawk War and the Battle of New Orleans. Actor Peter Coyote will narrate the action.
NOTICE: This article, which may be copyrighted, is reprinted with specific permission granted to Heidelberg College. Further reprint rights must be secured from the publisher.
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