St. Clair’s defeat left Indians in control of the lands north of the Ohio River and interrupted the United States’ western movement. The president needed several years to reorganize, recruit, and intensively train a larger army that was capable of defeating the Pan-Indian Confederacy. Washington’s shift from confrontation to peace was political posturing, a way of playing it safe until a larger, well-trained army could ensure U.S. victory. Washington appointed Rufus Putnam to negotiate with Indians and to formulate a “peace policy.” To do so, Putnam released the Indian women from U.S. captivity and held a peace conference at Vincennes. The Vincennes treaty negotiations were unique because of the large number of Indian women who attended the conference. Women far outnumbered men. Despite their harsh year of imprisonment, these Indian women refused to cede any additional lands to the U.S. Orators reinforced their message, demanding that peace be secured by the U.S. and that the federal government ensure that the Ohio River remain the boundary line between the United States and Indian people. Speakers at this conference repeatedly linked women to the land, invoking the extreme grief, or “weeping,” associated with land loss.