This Month in the War of 1812

From the American Battlefielld Trust 2022 calendar.

NOVEMBER 11, 1807

**  Great Britain passes the 1807 Orders of Council restricting international trade with France.

NOVEMBER 11, 1811

**  The Battle of Tippecanoe.

NOVEMBER 11, 1813

**  Battle of Crysler's Farm

NOVEMBER 21, 1806

**  Napoleon issues his Berlin Decrees.

NOVEMBER 27, 1812

**  Skirmish at Fort Erie

NOVEMBER 29, 1813

**  Battle of Autossee

--Brock-Perry

Henry A Burchstead, Class of 1811, Killed in Creek Campaign

From "For What They Gave On Saturday Afternoon."

HENRY A. BURCHSTEAD

Born New York.  Appointed USMA from New York.

Cadet of Military Academy, Feb. 16, 1809, to Mar. 1, 1811, when he graduated and was promoted to the Army as Ensign, 2nd Infantry, Mar. 1, 1811.

Served:  on the Northwestern Frontier, 1811; in General Harrison's (2nd Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry, March 13, 1811) Campaign of 1811 in Indiana Territory, being engaged in the Battle of Tippecanoe, Nov. 7, 1811, where he was wounded; on frontier duty in the Gulf States, 1811-1812;  and in the War of 1812-1815 with Great Britain, (First Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry, May 5, 1813) being engaged in the Campaign of 1813 against the Creek Indians, in which he was killed, November 30, 1813, on the Alabama River.

--Brock-Perry

Toasting the War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 1: To Washington, 1776 and Veterans

After all the speeches, most very flowery and after the huge banquet, the wine was passed around at the 1872 War of 1812 Reunion in Monroe, Michigan, and toasts were made.

Every toast also featured a response.

1.  "The Day We Celebrate"  --Response  by J.J. Adams of Lenawee,

2.   "Washington"  --  The  world honors the man who conquered his own  ambition to give freedom to the continent.  --Response by Judge Patchin of Detroit.

3.  The Statesmen and Heroes of 1776"  The founders of a system of government that makes ours a powerful continental Republic for the good of the world, if in our political advice we imitate their integrity.   --Response by B.G. Morton of Monroe.

4.  "The Veterans of 1812"  Their march to victory was not by Pullman palace cars, but through the dense forests, dragging their cannons with weary marches; yet they conquered at Tippecanoe, Fort Meigs, and the Thames, and said to the world at Lake Erie, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."    --Response by General Leslie Combs, of Kentucky.

And, They Aren't Through Yet With the Toasts.  --Brock-Perry

Battle of Wildcat Creek (Spur's Defeat)-- Part 3: To Tippecanoe Again

Samuel Hopkins withdrew to Vincennes in Indiana Territory where he angrily discharged his Kentucky militia and raised a new army, consisting of three regiments of Kentucky infantry and one company of the 7th United States Infantry under Major Zachary Taylor and several other groups.

He left Vincennes on November 11, 1812, in search of Indians.  Reaching the site of the Tippecanoe battlefield, he burned an Indian village and a Winnebago village was found at the nearby Wildcat Creek and Hopkins decided to attack it.


--Brock-Perry

William McHenry, McHenry County (Illinois) Namesake-- Part 2: Fought the Indians

In 1811, William McHenry served in the Illinois militia during Tecumseh's War, which culminated in the Battle of Tippecanoe in the Indiana Territory.  In the War of 1812, he participated in the attack on the Indian village at Peoria, which was allied with the British.

After the war, he was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention in 1818, which led to statehood in 1819.  Then he was elected to the first Illinois House of Representatives.

During the Blackhawk War in 1832, he was a major of the Mounted Spies.  He became ill during the campaigning and was mustered out at age 61.  Immediately, he was elected to the Illinois Senate.

He died in 1835 in a boarding house in Vandalia, Illinois, which was then the capital of Illinois.

When McHenry County was formed in 1836 out of Cook (Chicago) and LaSalle counties and it was named after him.

What's In a Name.  --Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames: War Along the U.S.-Canadian Border-- Part 8: Impact of the Battle of Tippecanoe

To many, the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 was the first battle of the War of 1812, though the war was not to be declared until June of the following year.  Historians differ on the impact the battle had on Tecumseh's confederacy.  Some say it weakened the alliance, while others say that this was propaganda spread by Harrison who lost twenty percent of his force.

In any event, attacks on American settlers intensified rather than decreased after the battle, which was immortalized in the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!" when Harrison ran for president in 1840.

--Brock-Perry

A Frontier in Flames: War on the U.S.-Canadian Border-- Part 7: The Battle of Tippecanoe

In November 1811, William Henry Harrison led a force of about 1,000 regular troops and militia  against Prophet's Town.  Tecumseh was not there as he was in the American South trying to rally the Creek and Choctow tribes to his cause.

The Americans camped near the town on the night of November 6 when the Prophet launched a surprise attack.  There was bitter fighting, but the Americans held their ground and eventually repelled the attack.

Harrison counter-attacked the next day and  captured Prophet's Town.  Supplies of food and weapons were destroyed and the town torched.  Reports had the Americans scalping the dead warriors in revenge for the scalping of Americans the night before.

--Brock-Perry

Last Survivor of the Battle of Fort Stephenson: -- Part 1

From the Proceedings at the Unveiling of the Soldiers Monument on the Site of Fort Stephenson, 1885.

Sgt. William Gaines is the only surviving soldier from the Battle of Fort Stephenson 72 years ago.  He later became a sergeant in the Army and now lives at Wilson Station, Ellsworth County, Kansas.  An invitation was offered for him to attend the dedication but he declined because of age and infirmities.

William Gaines was born in Frederick, Maryland, on December 25, 1799.  His parents were natives of Virginia.  In 1810, he went with his uncle, Col. Davis, to Lexington, Kentucky, where the uncle raised a regiment in the Indian War of 1811.  They joined General William Henry Harrison.

William went with his uncle to take care of the uncle's horse.  His uncle, unfortunately, was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Pretty Young to Be Without a Guardian.  --Brock-Perry

George Croghan-- Part 3: Hero at Fort Meigs

From the Wild Geese Site: Exploring Heritage of the Irish Worldwide "George Croghan: Irish-American "Boy major,' Hero of the War of 1812" by Joe Ganna.

Born at Locust Grove in Louisville Kentucky on November 15, 1791.  He gave up his law studies at the College of William and Mary shortly before his graduation and enlisted in the Army and in November 1811 fought Tecumseh  at the Battle of Tippecanoe.  He served as a private on Gen. William Henry Harrison's staff and so impressed the general that he was promoted to captain.

In May 1813, Croghan was part of the American forces under William Henry Harrison besieged at Fort Meigs in Ohio.  There, he showed his bravery in combat while leading a raiding party out from the fort against a British battery.  As a result he was promoted to major.

--Brock-Perry

George Croghan, "Boy Major" of War of 1812-- Part 2: War Service

George Croghan soon saw action and was at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe with General William Harrison fighting Tecumseh and his Indians.  During the War of 1812, he fought with distinction at Fort Meigs, again under command of Gen. William Henry Harrison.

For his defense of Fort Stephenson in Ohio, he was promoted to colonel and later led American troops at the loss of the Battle of Mackinac Island, Michigan Territory.

After the war, he resigned from the Army and became the postmaster in New Orleans.  In 1825 he became one of two inspector generals in the Army and fought at Monterrey as a colonel during the Mexican War.

He is buried at Fort Stephenson, Ohio (now Fremont).  The village of Croghan, New York is named after him, as is the street in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

--Brock-Perry

Josiah Bacon Gets Gravestone-- Part 2

While in Indiana with the 4th U.S. Infantry, he served as quartermaster and became a friend of William Henry Harrison.

Six months after the Battle of Tippecanoe, the 4th U.S. was at Detroit during the War of 1812 and Josiah Bacon and his wife were taken prisoner by the British when General Hull surrendered.  Later he was freed and returned to Boston

He served a few terms as representative from Sandwich in the state assembly.  In 1841, he was appointed by President William Henry Harrison to the Marine Hospital in Chelsea and led that hospital for eleven years.

In 1852, he took $1,000 of his money and helped create Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston to help old and infirm sailors.

Quite a Life.  --Brock-Perry