USA > Indiana > Marshall County > Tippecanoe in Marshall County > The Tippecanoe battle-field monument; a history of the association formed to promote the enterprise, the action of Congress and the Indiana legislature, the work of the commission and the ceremonies at the dedication of the monument > Part 8
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
ADDRESS BY THE HON. ALVA O. RESER. (Tippecanoe Battle-field Memorial, June 19, 1904.)
Ladies and Gentlemen-Ninety-three years ago on this spot the sentinel, Stephen Mars, fired what was really the first shot in the War of 1812. Here was fought the Battle of Tippecanoe-a bat- tle of national importance. As Senator Turpie said to me the other day, "If all the people interested in that battle would give a dime, you could have here one of the grandest monuments in the world."
Tecumseh was at that time seeking to form a confederation among the Indians, with the ostensible purpose of retaining to the Indians their hunting grounds. Spain, indignant and malignant, because of the Burr Conspiracy and loss of territory, was encour- aging the Indians. Napoleon Bonaparte at that time was endeav- oring to ride rough shod over Europe, and hoping to dominate the world, and by the cession of the Louisiana Territory, and in other ways, was trying to bring on war between America and England. England, yet smarting under her defeat in the Revolution, was impressing American seamen on American ships on the high seas, and had her agents at work among the Indians, stirring up discord and furnishing them arms. Every Indian in that battle was armed with a rifle, with a scalping knife, with a tomahawk, and most of them with a spear. The white men were armed only with rifles. Most of the arms the Indians had were obtained from the English. General Harrison and his men were fighting to preserve their homes.
The greatest battle ever fought on the soil of the present State of Indiana, was the Battle of Tippecanoe. This battle was fought largely by Indiana people. In General Harrison's army there were two hundred and fifty regulars, sixty Kentuckians, and six hundred Indiana men. In this battle, thirty-seven were killed, one hundred and fifty-one wounded, of which fifteen afterwards died. The his- tory of the march and the battle have been told on this platform many times, and I shall not weary you with a repetition. I shall not take up the time to tell you about Harrison's march from Vin- cennes, about the battle in the early morning of November 7, 1811, about the Prophet and his magic bowl and beads, of the gallant con- duct of that little army, of the victory, of the burning of the Prophet's town ; or the return to Fort Harrison. That is history familiar to you all. We are here today to honor the memories of these heroes. Their gallant deeds were recognized by President
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HON. ALVA O. RESER.
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Madison in a message to Congress on the 18th of December, 1811. It was recognized by resolutions passed by the legislature of Indi- ana Territory, of Kentucky and of the Territory of Illinois. It became the unwritten law of the State of Indiana, in after years when new counties were organized, that they should be named after some hero who fought at this battle.
Tippecanoe County is rich in its history. In 1719, nearly one hundred years before the Battle of Tippecanoe, there was formed three and one-half miles south of Lafayette, by the French, a post called Fort Ouiatenon, and this was the first white settlement in the State of Indiana, antedating the settlement at Vincennes almost a decade. Afterwards the English captured this post from the French and finally, in the Pontiac conspiracy, about 1764, that old fort was captured from the English by the Indians. Ouiatenon means "Wea Town." At the time the Indians captured this post at Ouiatenon from the English, there were three French Canadian traders outside of the post. These French traders persuaded the Indians to release the sergeant, and two or three of the English soldiers who had been captured. The French traders then went up along the Wabash to a point just east of the village of Battle Ground, on property now owned by Mrs. Fisher, and established a trading post there. I took a walk the other evening out to where the trading post was. It is marked by a stone, a haw tree, and the stump of an old apple tree. Many of the old citizens of this com- munity remember the old chimney that stood for many years where that trading post was. In the early days the Weas had a village here. Here it was the Prophet came and established the "Prophet's Town," so familiar in history. The Prophet's Town probably ex- tended for several miles along the Wabash and the Tippecanoe. Senator Turpie tells me that in his early boyhood, he found burned sticks on the high grounds along the Tippecanoe. John Graves tells me he found burned corn there, which was probably burned by Harrison on the morning after the battle.
It was well that this battle was fought here when it was. The defeat of the Indians here broke up the designs of Tecumseh, and if the battle had not been fought, and the designs of Tecumseh had been fully carried out, it might have jeopardized the success of the Americans in the War of 1812. Tecumseh is considered by many to have been the greatest Indian that ever lived, with the possible exception of Little Turtle, the Miami chief. When en- engaged in war he allowed no murder of prisoners, no violence against women or children. He conducted his campaigns according
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GENERAL JOHN TIPTON.
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to the rules of civilized warfare, in so far as an Indian chief, com- manding Indian warriors, could. He was something of an orator. In the Vincennes conference with Harrison, when he was offered a chair, Tecumseh said haughtily, "The sun is my father, the earth is my mother, and I will recline on her bosom," and he sat down on the ground. He said further to Harrison, "Your women and chil- dren are safe. My warriors are against your men." Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames, a few miles from Detroit, on October 15, 1813. At that battle General Harrison was Com- mander-in-chief of the Western army. Tecumseh said the Thames reminded him of the Wabash. Richard Johnson, of Kentucky, was elected Vice-President of the United States, along with Van Buren, largely because of the fact that he claimed to have killed Tecumseh.
The Indians were very superstitious. At one time the Prophet learned from some white men there was to be an eclipse. With great ceremony he proclaimed to the Indians this fact. When the eclipse came he said to them in a loud voice, "Behold my prophecy has come true. The sun is shrouded in darkness." Tecumseh was down in Mississippi when the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought. He told the Indians of Mississippi that when he got back to Indiana they would hear something and they must march to Indiana. Along in 1811 there was an earthquake in the Mississippi Valley. These Indians when they were visited by the earthquake, thought this was the warning Tecumseh was to give them, and started north and got as far as Tennessee when they learned of the Battle of Tippecanoe.
The Indians claimed the land because they were here first. At the time of the Battle of Tippecanoe it is said there were one hun- dred and eighty thousand Indians between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River. That would be thirty-eight hundred and forty acres of land for each man, or over nineteen thousand acres for each Indian family. The Indian claimed that this land, which today between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River, sup- ports fifty millions of people, with its schools, and churches, and railroads, and manufactures, should be forever maintained as his hunting ground. I do not believe this claim can be justified. Gen- eral Harrison burned logs over the graves of those who fell at this battle, but the Indians unearthed the remains. General Harrison visited this spot in 1836.
I once heard Henry Ward Beecher say that families travel in circles, oftentimes the father traveling up one side, and the son down the other. I remember that of the students who attended Pur- due University with me a quarter of a century ago, those who
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seemed to have the best opportunities in life, in many cases have been outstripped in the world's broad field of battle, by those who did not seem to have any opportunities at all. The Harrison family has been an anomalous one in that respect. The father of William Henry Harrison was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and there were two presidents from that family in the short space of fifty years. It was claimed by some that General Harrison was surprised by the Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The internal evidence satisfies me that he took all precautions. In the first place he had fought with Mad Anthony Wayne, the man whom Little Turtle described ás "the man who never sleeps"; he was in sight of a hostile Indian village, whose chief had refused to talk to his interpreter, and his little army was in camp on ground selected by the Indians for them. Surely any commander under such cir- cumstances would have been on the alert, and especially one who so thoroughly understood Indiana warfare. I have a letter from J. S. Pfrimmer, of Corydon, Indiana, whose father was in this battle. He says, "My father often told me he had a messmate by the name of Bayard. On the evening before the battle Bayard said to my fa- ther, 'Sam, sleep with your moccasins on, for them red devils are going to fight before day.' When the fighting began, Bayard says, 'Sam, there they are!'"
Outside of General Harrison, who was only temporarily in In- diana, and George Rogers Clark of an earlier day, Gen. John Tip- ton impressed himself more upon the early history of Indiana than any other man. Captain Spencer's company occupied the point at the south end of the battle-field. When Spencer fell and his first lieutenant fell, Tipton, who was an ensign, took charge of the com- pany. General Harrison rode down to the point and said to the young ensign, "Where is your captain?" "Dead, sir," replied the young ensign. "Where is your lieutenant?" "He is also dead, sir." "Who is in command of this company ?" "I am, sir," replied the young ensign. "Hold your own, my brave boy," said General Har- rison, "and I will send you reinforcements." After the battle Gen- eral Tipton served in the legislature, and it was largely through his influence that so many counties in the State of Indiana were named after men who fought here. Tipton became an Indian agent. In 1829 he rode all night on horseback from Logansport to Crawfordsville, where he bought the land on which the battle was fought. In 1831 Tipton became United States Senator. The home of Tipton was in Logansport. I visited his grave three weeks ago, and on the tombstone is the following simple inscription :
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
GENERAL JOHN TIPTON.
Died April 5, 1839; Age 53 years.
On December 28, 1833, the following joint resolution was passed by the Indiana legislature :
WHEREAS, Immemorial usage has sanctioned the custom of perpetuating the memories of departed heroes and patriots by monumental honors; and,
WHEREAS, The land on which was fought the memorable Battle of Tippe- canoe, in 1811, contains the bones of many a brave man and pure patriot, whose sacred relics the State of Indiana is bound, by every consideration of the honor to herself and respectful and decent regard for their memories, to pre- serve them from the rude hand of the disturber; and,
WHEREAS, That consecrated spot is the property of an individual who shared in the dangers and honors of that battle, and who, it is believed, is awaiting only a respectful request from the State for an opportunity of ceding or selling at a normal price the land on which the battle was fought, or so much thereof as has been set apart as a repository or burying place of those who fell in the engagement. The legislature, feeling that it is the duty to the memories of the dead, as well as the feelings of their friends and relatives who survive them, and to the character of the State, that a cession shall be pro- cured, or purchase made of the battle-ground, do adopt, for the purpose of carrying into effect the above object, the following joint resolution :
Resolved, By the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, that the gov- ernor be requested, on the part of the State, to procure by cession so much land as he may deem necessary to meet the intention of this resolution, and, in case a cession cannot be obtained, to ascertain at what price, and under what condition, the purchase can be made, and report the same to the next legislature.
In compliance with that resolution on the first day of Novem- ber, 1834, seventy years ago, Abel C. Pepper, of Ohio County, who was then an Indian agent and who was afterwards a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, carried a letter from Governor Noble to General Tipton at his home in Logansport. I read about this letter in the proceedings of the Constitutional Con- vention of 1850. I could find no trace of it in the state house. I went to Logansport and interviewed Matilda Tipton, the grand- daughter of General Tipton, in her modest home on Broadway street. She searched for it among the General's papers, and at the bottom of his box, neatly folded and tied with a faded red tape, was the letter of Governor Noble, and a copy of the answer of General Tipton, in his own handwriting, by which he agreed to transfer the grounds on which the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought to the State of Indiana.
These letters read as follows :
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Paranapolis Mor- 19. 184
The Man John Ston
D. The last Sigstatue of our black, by a Sound Resolution, mucle it the duty of Um Governar to acer tain the times when which you would sun encher the ground, on which was fought, the mennalle Bath & Teppercance mote the events of that struggle honorable mention has been frequently made if you nine, of your fellow officers and Soldiers who survived it by the have General who commandes, as well as of those who were slaw; and Isnowing your high estimate of the courage cui furate ventures of your companions who fell and phase remains rencher What a sacred sport, I wir sung but letter to induce you to appreciate the motive which provides the measure, Chat q a pust seguro for the memory q ta lamentão deco. sh Allow zu to refer qu orthe resolution ano request ano Aslower as early in your convenience inte Gerer .
miete quat esteum,
M. Noble
(Psolution to la Rouno in caso volume y no laws,
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
[Indianapolis, Nov. 1st, 1834
The Hon John Tipton
Sir.
The last Legislature of our State, by a Joint Resolution, made it the duty of the Governor to ascertain the terms, upon which, you would surrender the ground, on which was fought, the Memorable Battle of Tippecanoe With the events of that struggle honorable mention has been frequently made of your name, of your fellow officers and soldiers who survived it by the brave General who commanded, as well as of those who were slain; and knowing your high estimate of the courage and private virtues of your companions who fell and whose remains render that a sacred spot, I need say but little to induce you to appreciate the motive which prompts the measure, that of a just regard for the memory of the lamented dead. Allow me to refer you to the resolution and request and answer as early as your convenience will permit.
I am Sir With great esteem, Your obt svt N. Noble
(Resolution to be found in last volume of our laws) ]
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Fall of the mebosh yt nov 1834
His Bory on Mobile 500
I have the henover to acknowledge the receipt of your favour of the fent of This month informing me that by a Resolution of The last Legislation of it was made the duty of the Governor to fsesteri open what. temas I now y to the state the ground Susandel ufrom which we bought the memorable bottle of Inference, am in reality I have to inform you Has in purchasing the bottle grown I was actuated by no other mative Than that of property T that sound in order to preserve the bones of m. who fell There, and that it will offer me grote pleasure to convey the battleground to the state of Indiria force of any change, when ever it is signifie to me that the stile mike 50 In convey for that purpose.
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
[Falls of the Wabash 7th Nov 1834
His Excy N Noble Sir
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the first of this month informing me that by a resolution of the last Legislature it was made the duty of the Governor to ascertain upon what terms I would sur- render to the state the ground upon which was fought the memorable battle of Tippecanoe, and in reply I have to inform you that in purchascing the battle ground I was actuated by no other motive than that of possessing it in order to preserve the bones of my companions in arms who fell there, and that it will afford me great pleasure to convey the battleground to the state of Indi- ana, free of any charge, when ever it is signafied to me that the state wishes it so conveyed for that purpose.]
This communication of General Tipton was transmitted to the legislature by Governor Noble, and on the 7th day of February, 1835, the legislature passed a joint resolution resolving among other things that :
"His Excellency be, and he is hereby, authorized to receive from Hon. John Tipton a deed of conveyance, in fee simple of the Tippecanoe battle- ground, to and in the name of the State of Indiana.
"That the Governor on receiving the conveyance aforesaid, shall, by him- self, or a proper sub-agent to be by him appointed, take charge of the said battle-ground, and, if he shall deem it expedient, have the same enclosed with a suitable fence, and that he make report of the proceedings in the premises to the next General Assembly, as also his views and opinions relative to the erection of a suitable monument or memorial on the said battle-ground."
Here is an action of the legislature of Indiana seventy years ago favoring the erection of a monument on the Tippecanoe battle- ground. In accordance with this resolution, John Tipton, and Matilda, his wife, on the 7th day of November, 1836, the twenty- fifth anniversary of this battle, deeded to the State of Indiana the land on which the battle was fought. The deed is recorded in the recorder's office of Tippecanoe County.
On February 4th, 1837, the following joint resolution was passed by the legislature :
"The Governor is hereby further authorized and requested to offer and pay a proper premium for a design for a suitable monument hereafter to be erected upon the Tippecaoe battle-ground, for the erection and completion of which at such time as the legislature may determine, and the finances of the State will permit, the faith of the State is hereby plighted."
Here we find again, nearly seventy years ago, the faith of the State plighted to erect a monument on this spot. Governor Noble went out of office in 1837, in poor health and died in 1844. John
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GOVERNOR NOAH NOBLE.
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
Tipton died in 1839. The monument project was forgotten. The grounds were not taken care of. Cattle roamed over the graves of the heroes here buried. Vandals chopped down the trees; and finally, the Constitutional Convention of 1850 met, and on Satur- day morning, December 21, 1850, John Pettit, who was a member of that convention from Tippecanoe County, introduced a resolu- tion to incorporate a section into the constitution making it incum- bent on the legislature forever afterward to preserve these grounds. Mr. Pettit made an eloquent speech on this measure. So did Robert Dale Owen and others, and as a result, upon the motion of Mr. Bryant, of Warren County, there was incorporated into the Con- stitution of this State, Art. 4, Section 10, which reads as follows:
"It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to provide for the perma- nent enclosure and preservation of the Tippecanoe battle-ground."
On Saturday, December 28, 1850, Mr. Gregg, a member of the Constitutional Convention, offered a resolution to "inquire into the expediency of inserting in the new Constitution a section providing for the erection of a suitable monument on the Tippecanoe battle- ground to commemorate the valor of those who fought, and to per- petuate the memories of those who fell upon this bloody battle- field. The resolution was not adopted but shows that the Con- stitutional Convention of 1850 realized that the great State of In- diana had been derelict in its duty.
Senator Turpie tells me that he is sure an appropriation was once made by Congress for a monument here, that before the State acted, the time expired and the appropriation reverted back to the United States treasury. The chief bibliographer of the Congres- sional Library writes to Mr. Crumpacker that he can find no record of an appropriation having been made by Congress.
In 1873 an appropriation of $24,000 was made by the legisla- ture to build a fence and otherwise take care of the ground. Only $18,000 of this money was spent, and $6,000 reverted back to the State treasury. In 1887 there was an appropriation of $3,500 made for painting the fence and other expenditures. There is now a permanent appropriation of $300 by the State each year for the care of these grounds, to be expended by the couny commissioners of Tippecanoe County .
Mr. Crumpacker has introduced a resolution in Congress, ap- propriating $25,000 for the purpose of erecting a monument or memorial at the Tippecanoe battle-ground. He writes me that the members of Congress from Kentucky have agreed to heartily sup-
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port the measure. He thinks that within the next year or two, if not next winter, he will secure the appropriation. He writes me in these words, "I have my heart set upon securing the appropria- tion for the Tippecanoe monument." As I have said, of so much importance was this battle, that it became the unwritten law of the State in its early history that when new counties were to be named they should be named after men who fought in this battle.
White County, organized in 1834, was named after Isaac White, a Kentuckian, who was killed in the Battle of Tippecanoe.
Wells County was named after Capt. Wm. H. Wells, who had been brought up among the Miami Indians, and who gave the set- tlers at Vincennes the first information that the Indians intended to attack them. In 1812, Captain Wells was stationed at Fort Dear- born, near Chicago, and was induced by the Indians to have a coun- cil with them under a flag of truce, and was lured by them into an . ambush, and Captain Wells and his whole party were massacred.
Tipton County, of course, was named after John Tipton. In an early day he made a speech near Tipton, under an old elm tree, and made a treaty with the Indians. They had a great hunt and black bear and other wild game were killed and a great feast was had. It was in commemoration of this event and the distinguished services of Tipton to the State that this county was named after him.
Parke County was named after Capt. Benjamin Parke, who fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was afterwards a member of Congress from the Territory of Indiana, and was the first United States judge for the District of Indiana. In the latter part of his life he became financially embarrassed, and unhesitatingly gave up all his property for the benefit of his creditors. So completely did he deny himself that the family at their meals drank from tin cups. The wife of Captain Parke was named Betsey, and she was held in such high esteem that more baby daughters were named after her than after any other lady in southern Indiana. Chas. Lasselle, of Logansport, has a soup bowl given to Lasselle's mother by Captain Parke after his return from the Battle of Tippecanoe, and which he got at the Prophet's Town the day after the battle. It is as large as a punch bowl, and was scraped out of the heart of an old oak tree by the Indian squaws. It is an interesting relic, and if a memorial hall is ever established here, this old soup bowl should be in it.
Bartholomew County was named after Joseph Bartholomew, who commanded the infantry at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was a descendant of a Puritan family. He was formerly a citizen of
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Tippecanoe Battle-field Monument.
GENERAL JOSEPH BARTHOLOMEW.
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Clark County. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Tippe- canoe. He was a member of the legislature in 1821 and 1824. In January, 1821, a new county was formed out of Delaware County, and it was named Bartholomew County, on motion of General Tip- ton. There is a portrait of General Bartholomew in the court house at Columbus. He died in 1840.
Spencer County was named after Spier Spencer, who com- manded the company called "The Yellow Jackets," which company occupied the ground at the southern point of the battle-field, and upon this company fell the brunt of the battle. More men were killed in that company than any other. During the battle Captain Spencer was wounded. J. S. Pfrimmer, of Corydon, writes me : "After Spencer was wounded, he was being carried to the rear by my father and comrade, and while in their arms, was struck by a ball in the shoulder, which ran lengthwise of his body, and killed him outright." In 1842, thirty-one years after the battle, Captain Saunderson, of New Albany, organized a military company and called it the "Spencer Grays," in honor of Captain Spencer, and he and his company made a visit to the widow of Captain Spencer at Corydon.
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