What Tecumseh Fought For-- Part 4: The Impact of the Death of Tecumseh and Aftermath

Somewhere in the smoke and fury, Tecumseh went down.  Col. Richard Mentor Johnson, severely wounded himself, recounted pulling out his pistols and shooting an Indian -- maybe Tecumseh?  In later years, Johnson built his political career on the claim that he had slain the mighty Tecumseh himself.

Tecumseh's death put in motion a series of events and consequences.    Furious about the British failure, many of Tecumseh's allies quickly signed an armistice with Harrison, who then sought  o enlist them to fight the British.

Even as many American settlers  spoke explicitly   about the "extermination" of  Indian people, their leaders  negotiated a series of treaties with confederacy tribes.  The British confirmed their faithlessness in the 1814 Treaty of Ghent, which  ended the war, but sold out their Indian allies.

Without Tecumseh, his brother, Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, floundered, and he eventually helped the Americans to persuade the Shawnees to leave their lands and relocate in Kansas.  There, in 1828, he set up a sad little Prophetstown of four remote cabins, where he faded away to a lonely death less than a decade later.

--Brock-Perry

John B. Campbell and the War in Indiana-- Part 4: Indian Threat

NOVEMBER 15, 1812--

Informed of General Samuel Hopkins' defeat in Illinois and the growing confidence of the Indians in attacking the Army's supply lines, Harrison advises Eustis that he command Colonel John B. Campbell to direct an expedition against the Indian town of Mississinewa.

It will be the rendezvous where the Indians are certain to receive provisions and assistance in launching attacks on every military convoy in Ohio between St. Mary's and the Miami rapids (present-day Mau Mee).

NOVEMBER 22, 1812--

General Hopkins' force destroys Prophetstown along with deserted Winnebago and Kickapoo villages along the Tippecanoe River.

The Indians ambush and kill sixteen of Hopkins' force on Wildcat Creek, northwest of present-day Kokomo.

--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

A Frontier in Flames, Confrontation On the U.S.-Canadian Border-- Part 5: Tensions and Treaty of Fort Wayne

In 1808, Tecumseh and his brother, "The Prophet" established "Prophet's Town," a settlement at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers in Indiana.  As tensions between the Indians and Americans continued to mount, they attracted a large following to their new village.

Tecumseh and his brother were preaching resistance.  At the same time, Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison was pushing for expansion just as hard.  In 1809, Harrison negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne where a number of tribes, including the Delaware, Shawnee, Potawatomi, Miami and Kickapoo transferred some 3 million acres of tribal land to the United States.

--Brock-Perry