USA > Ohio > The picturesque Ohio : a historical monograph > Part 12
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"'The enemy amounted to two thousand combatants; the troops act- ually engaged against them were short of nine hundred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet pos- session of the field of battle, which terminated within range of the guns of the British garrison. The loss of the enemy was more than double that of the Federal army.
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"'We remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn-fields were consumed and destroyed for a considerable distance.
"'The army returned to this place on the 27th, laying waste the villages and corn-fields for fifty miles on each side of the Maumee.
"' ANTHONY WAYNE. "' Dated, Grand Glaize, 28th August, 1794.'
"In this decisive action the whole of Wayne's army in killed and wounded amounted only to one hundred and seven men. The loss of the enemy was more than double the number. The victory of the 20th of Au- gust, so glorious to the American arms, and the subsequent movement of the army, produced the most decisive effects. The lofty spirit of the In- dians was broken, and the chiefs and warriors came forward and sued for peace."
Among the young soldiers who fought through their first campaign with "Mad Anthony" was a Virginian boy of twenty, whose gallantry won for him a place among the epauletted aides, and honorable mention in the order issued after the first battle. His people were "Colonial Virginians," his father had put his life in jeopardy by signing the Declaration of Independence. The boy was well born and well bred; but he carried the lightly filled purse which, of necessity, had to supply the wants of a younger son of a not over-rich country gentleman, whose estate had been taxed to provide for his servants and his family, while he faithfully filled the position of a delegate from Virginia in the Continental Congress.
In the olden-time generosity and hospitality were heavy task- masters ; and, when Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley died, all that could be done for his third son was to send him to his guardian in Philadelphia-Robert Morris, of Revolutionary memory-who placed him as a student of medicine with Dr. Benjamin Rush. The excitement on the frontier was so great that its echo dis-
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turbed the calm repose of Philadelphia. The pulses of the placid " Friends" beat a trifle faster at the coming in of the daily stage which brought ominous news from the new settlements and the little army posts on the border.
The medical student's position was a thing of duty, not of choice; and now, from the stand-point of a born fighter, he began to see that it was altogether a more attractive ca- reer-and one that could placate duty with the plea of a greater need-to make wounds than to heal them. He reasoned with his guardian, with that impetuosity of youth which wins reason with the reasonableness of the thing it desires; and, be-
sides, he pleaded the case with another old friend of his father's, who, caring for the service as well as for the boy, and having the power to serve his friend's son by serving the service, gave him an ensign's commission and sent him to Fort Washington to heat or cool his blood, according to the quality of his metal, with the sight of a routed army broken into fragments by a massacre unparalleled in the lesser horrors of all previous loss. Through sleet and snow the ensign's first march was back to the battle- ground of the dead, to bury the remains of the stricken-to gather the bloody harvest that cumbered the field of St. Clair's defeat.
In 1792 General Wayne was appointed to command the United States Legion, and young Harrison was promoted to a lieutenancy under that gallant soldier and rigid disciplinarian ; who was attracted to the energetic, prompt, fearless, yet atten- tively obedient young subaltern. In a general order after the battle of the 23d December, General Wayne publicly thanked Lieutenant Harrison for his gallantry and good conduct. Again, in the fight with "the Little Turtle," August 20, 1794, when
II
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Wayne won so signal a victory, Harrison was mentioned and thanked in the general orders. Upon the conclusion of the treaty with the Indians, Harrison was promoted to the rank of captain, and placed in command at Fort Washington.
At the death of General Wayne, in 1797, Captain Harrison left the army, and retired to his farm until he received his first civil appointment, that of secretary of the North-western Terri- tory, and, ex officio, lieutenant-governor. His conduct in the office of secretary, and his sincerity and courteous manners, won him the confidence and good-will of all with whom he came in contact; and when, in the following year, the North-western Territory entered into the second grade of government, and the people were about to elect a delegate to Congress, he was the first representative chosen to fill that office. In the year 1800 the North-western Territory was divided. The part included within the present boundaries of Ohio and Michigan retained its new name, and the country to the north-west received the name of Indiana, the governorship of which was conferred by Jeffer- son on William Henry Harrison.
The powers intrusted to Harrison as governor of Indiana, and the extent of the territory confided to his jurisdiction, greater than had ever been heretofore committed to the charge of any citizen of the United States, except General Washington, burdened him with an immense responsibility. Indiana had then the boundaries of an empire, and to its governor almost unlim- ited power had been given. Ohio, having been cut out of the North-west Territory-ceded by Virginia to the United States- with definite boundaries, the remainder of the territory beyond the Ohio and Mississippi fell within his jurisdiction, including the wide regions that now compose the States north-west of the
THE CHERUB'S ROOST.
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Ohio and east of the Mississippi; and, in fact, for a period of nearly two years the whole of Louisiana, which was attached to Indiana on its purchase in 1803, and was not erected into a sep- arate territory until July, 1805.
The intermediate country was in possession of the Indians, and was visited by hunters, who were almost constantly em- broiled with the savages. The tribes were restless and dissat- isfied. Between the distant settlements the roads were the paths beaten by the Indians, and which were without ferries or even the rude bridges of the frontier. The seat of government was at Vincennes, a village beautifully situated on the Wabash, which was inhabited chiefly by the descendants of the French, who had built the town in the seventeenth century; and who, although attached to the new authority recently placed over them, were entirely unacquainted with our language and laws, and much preferred the simple institutions under which they had hitherto lived. Numerous tribes of Indians inhabited the vast wilder- ness lying beyond these settlements; and the British traders from Canada carried on with them a constant and lucrative traffic, to keep which, and to prevent the competition of the enterprising American trader, they used every effort to preserve the favor of the Indians, to detach them from the Americans, and to prejudice them against both the people and the Govern- ment. Intrigues were rife, for the date preceded the second war with Great Britain.
In 1805 the territory of Indiana was erected into the second grade of government. By this change the people advanced one step towards the right of suffrage and self-government. They elected the members of the popular branch of the Legislature, and the latter nominated ten persons, from which number Con-
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gress chose five, who constituted the Upper House. The Assem- bly thus organized appointed a delegate to Congress, who repre- sented the Territory in that body, and was intrusted with the management of the business of the Territory. This change was urgently pressed by General Harrison, although it deprived him of much power and great patronage.
In the year 1806 the celebrated Indian, Ol-li-wa-chi-ca, the Prophet, called by some writers Els-kwa-taw-a, and his dis- tinguished brother, Tecumseh, began to threaten the frontier of Indiana by a series of intrigues which produced the most unexpected results. Tecumseh had matured a plan to unite all the western tribes in a league against the United States, with the hope and expectation that the combined tribes would be strong enough to capture all the western settlements, and drive the settlers out of the great valley of the Mississippi and the lands north of the Ohio. The daring warrior visited the different tribes, and appealed earnestly to their patriotism, recalling the recollection of their wrongs, using in this effort the subtle diplomacy with which he was so consummately gifted, and the terse, strong oratory which, in its effect upon the tribes, reminds the reader of the battle-kindling eloquence of Demosthenes.
The two brothers, born at the same birth, differed widely in character, but were admirably fitted to act in concert in the confederation of the Nations now divided by jealousies and feuds. Tecumseh was daring and sagacious, a persuasive speaker, an able military chief, and a successful diplomatist. He was de- voted to his people, and equally intense in his hatred of the white race, against whom he had sworn eternal vengeance. Pe- culiarly gifted with the firmness and tact which distinguishes all
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great leaders, full of enthusiasm, he appealed successfully both to the passions and convictions of the Indians.
The prophet had few of the manlier qualities of Tecumseh. He was not a warrior, as the Indian understood war, and was only an indifferent hunter. Haughty, crafty, and cruel, he was also indolent and selfish. Yet a variety of accidental circum- stances gave him an ascendency over the tribes which his own ability could not have achieved.
The superior mind of Tecumseh had obtained a complete mastery over that of the prophet; and in council the latter rarely spoke, although a more fluent speaker than the great warrior. His manner is said to have been exceedingly graceful. Without the dignity and sagacity of Tecumseh, he advocated a * more dangerous, because a more sinister, policy. Up to the year 1811 Tecumseh and his brother were engaged in constant intrigues to array the tribes against the United States. They were "in the opposition " at all the councils that were held, and earnestly endeavored to prevent every treaty that was made. Yet they carefully avoided an outbreak of hostilities before a combination could be effected. In 1808, while his brother was in Florida proposing an alliance with the Southern Indians, the prophet established his principal residence on the Wabash, near the mouth of the Tippecanoe. Here all the young warriors rallied around him, and the allies assumed a bolder and more threatening attitude. They sallied forth in greater or smaller parties, and under the pretense of hunting and visiting the neighboring tribes they were committing depredations upon, and threatening the settlers along the entire frontier.
Vincennes, the seat of government, was constantly exposed to attack; but the prophet, while he appealed to their traditions
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and played upon the superstition of his followers, was too indolent and too timid to enter vigorously into any aggressive action. His maladministration soon reduced the number of his adherents to less than three hundred; and these were so impov- erished by their long idleness and their excesses, that they would have starved had not Governor Harrison given them a supply of provisions. The return of Tecumseh restored order.
In 1809 Governor Harrison purchased from the Delawares, Miamis, and Pottawattamies a large tract of country on both sides of the Wabash, and extending up that river about sixty miles above Vincennes. Tecumseh was away upon one of his long embassies when this sale was made. His brother, not thinking himself interested, made no opposition to the treaty ; but on his return Tecumseh expressed great dissatisfaction, and threatened the chiefs who had made the treaty with death. Hearing of his displeasure, the governor invited him to come to Vincennes, and assured him " that any claims he might have to the lands which had been ceded were not affected by the treaty."
Having no confidence in the friendliness of Tecumseh, the governor insisted that he should not bring with him more than thirty warriors; but he arrived with four hundred armed followers.
The people of Vincennes were greatly alarmed, nor was the governor free from apprehension of intended treachery. The en- tire Territory consisted of three settlements, too far apart to rely upon each other for defensive support if the need should be sudden and imperative. In truth, if one were attacked, all were in jeopardy. The scattered population, from Kaskaskia to Kahokia, on the Mississippi; Clark's Grant, at the Falls of the Ohio; and the old French town of Vincennes, would not count quite five
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thousand inhabitants, all told. It is easy to reckon the number of fighting men that could be spared upon so exposed a frontier from either settlement, when all were assailable, and none had a sufficiently strong force to resist the combined tribes of the New Confederation, thickly scattered within and upon the bor- ders of the Territory. Add to the weakness of the defensive force the threatening attitude of the Indians, who were jealous of every movement of the Americans; the wanton provo- cation given to the tribes by hunters and traders, who, presum- ing upon an enforced peace, insulted and cheated them; and last, but by no means least, the intrigues of British agents, who did not scruple to go all lengths, when occasion offered, or the possible advantage was sufficiently tempting; and it will be easy to reckon the difficulties of the position.
It is true that Governor Harrison had been invested with un- limited powers ; but with "unlimited powers " very limited means had been provided for enforcing authority. The only certainty upon which the governor could count was his unlimited responsi- bility in event of failure. Such was the setting of the drama at Vincennes when the situation opened.
A large portico in front of the governor's house had been prepared for the reception. There were seats provided for the Indian leaders, as well as for the citizens who were expected to attend. Tecumseh came from his camp outside of the town, with about forty of his warriors; he stood in the grounds, refus- ing to enter, saying he "wished the council to be held under the shade of some trees in front of the house." As host, the gov- ernor consented to the wish of his guest.
At this council, held the 12th of August, 1810, Tecumseh, in the course of his speech, said: "Once there was no white man
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in all this country ; then it belonged to red men, children of the same parents, placed on it by the Great Spirit, to keep it, to travel over it, to eat its fruits, and fill it with the same race ; but these red men and their children have been driven from the great salt water, forced over the mountains into the prairies, away from the RIVER, which was a natural boundary; and now, if they do not resist, they will be pushed into the lakes. But they have determined to go no further. Each tribe can sell their lands, but all must join in the sale, for it requires all to make a bargain."
Governor Harrison replied : "The government had found the different tribes mentioned in the sale occupying the lands," add- ing that he "believed that they owned it; and it was useless to assert that the Indians were one nation, for if such had been the case, the Great Spirit would not have put six different tongues in their heads, but would have taught them all to speak one language ; that the Miamis had found it for their interest to sell a part of their lands, and receive for them a further annuity."
The interpreter had scarcely finished, when Tecumseh fiercely exclaimed, " It is false !" and giving a signal to his warriors, they sprang upon their feet from the grass upon which they were sitting, seizing their war-clubs and tomahawks. The gov- ernor rose, placed his hand upon his sword, at the same time directing those of his friends and suite who were about him to stand upon their guard. Tecumseh addressed the Indians in an impassioned, earnest tone, which at times changed to what every listener felt to be fierce and violent invective.
Major Floyd, who stood near the governor, drew his dirk; Winneneak, a friendly chief, cocked his pistol; and Mr. Winans, a Methodist preacher, ran to the governor's house, seized a gun, and placed himself in the door to defend the family. For a few
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moments all expected a bloody ending to this first scene. But the governor kept cool, and told Tecumseh he must leave the settlement immediately.
The next morning Tecumseh, having reflected on his impol- itic beginning, and, finding that he had to deal with a man as bold and vigilant as himself, apologized for the affront he had offered, and begged that the council might be renewed.
To this the governor consented, determining to leave no exer- tion untried to carry into effect the pacific views of the govern- ment. To prevent a repetition of the scene, he ordered two companies of militia to be placed on duty within the village. Tecumseh presented himself with the same undaunted bearing which always marked him as a chieftain; but he was now dig- nified and calm. The governor inquired whether he would forcibly oppose the survey of the purchase. He replied that he was determined to adhere to the OLD BOUNDARY, Then there arose a Wyandot, a Kickapoo, a Pottawattamie, an Ottawa, and a Winnebago chief, each declaring his determination to abide by Tecumseh's decision. The governor replied that "the words of Tecumseh should be reported to the President, who would take measures to enforce the treaty ;" and the council ended.
The governor, still anxious to conciliate the haughty chief, went the next day to Tecumseh's camp; but beyond the cool courtesy an Indian keeps for a parley which is intended to lead to a rupture, nothing was gained by the visit.
In 1811, the near approach of a war between the United States and Great Britain excited Tecumseh's hopes, and made him more daringly determined to try conclusions with the Americans. He began to assemble a new body of warriors at the Prophet's town; he then went south to draw their new
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allies northward; marauding parties roved more frequently than ever towards the settlements; and a number of people were murdered on the frontiers of Indiana and Illinois. These cir- cumstances warned the governor to place the Territory in the best attitude for defense which its limited resources would ad- mit. Very soon he was directed by the President to move with an armed force towards the Prophet's town.
When the news reached Kentucky that Governor Harrison was authorized to march against the Indians, the public mind was excited to enthusiasm. The name of Harrison begot confi- dence and provoked expectation. Volunteers all along the bor- der at once announced their readiness to follow his standard. The Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel Boyd, was placed under his orders. The army then consisted of about nine hundred men. On the 28th of October, 1811, the troops began their march from Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about sixty miles above Vincennes.
The advance to Tippecanoe was conducted with great pru- dence. The country through which the army passed was chiefly beautiful, open prairie, intersected by thick woods, overflowing creeks, and deep ravines.
To deceive the enemy, the governor caused a road to be " blazed " and partly opened, on the south side; he advanced upon it for a short distance, and then suddenly changed his route and threw his whole force across the river, to the right bank. The Indians were completely deceived by this maneuver, and their plans defeated.
On the 4th of November the army reached Pine Creek, and prepared to make the difficult crossing, which was successfully accomplished. The account of the engagement has been well
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described by McAffee, a gallant Kentuckian, and the following is his description, making some slight corrections from other authorities :
"On the evening of November 5th the army encamped at the distance of nine or ten miles from the Prophet's town. The traces of reconnoitering parties were very often seen; but no Indians were discovered until the troops arrived within five or six miles of the town, on the 6th of November. The interpreters were then placed with the advance guard, to endeavor to open a communication with them. The Indians only continued to insult our people by their gestures.
"Being now arrived within a mile and a half of the town, and the situa- tion being favorable for an encampment, the governor determined to remain there and fortify his camp, until he could hear from the friendly chiefs whom he had dispatched from Fort Harrison on the day he had left it, for the purpose of making another attempt to prevent hostilities. Whilst he was engaged in tracing out the lines of encampment, Major Daviess and several other field-officers urged the propriety of immediately marching on the town. But the governor wished to hear something definite from the friendly Indians whom he had dispatched front Fort Harrison. He was determined not to advance with the troops until the precise situation of the town was known; for, although it was his duty to fight when he came in contact with the enemy, it was also his duty to take care that they should not engage in an action when their valor would be useless. Major Daviess replied that, from the position of the dragoons, the openings made by the low grounds of the Wabash could be seen; that he had advanced to the bank, and had a fair view of the cultivated fields and houses of the town. Upon this information the governor said he would advance, provided he could get any proper person to go to the town with a flag.
"Captain T. Dubois, of Vincennes, having offered his services, he was dispatched with an interpreter to the Prophet, desiring to know whether he would now accept the terms that had been so often proffered. The army was moved slowly after in order of battle.
"In a few moments a messenger came from Captain Dubois informing the governor that the Indians were near him in considerable numbers, but that they would return no answer to the interpreter, although they were
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sufficiently near to hear what was said to them ; and that, upon his advanc- ing, they constantly endeavored to cut him off from the army.
"Governor Harrison could no longer hesitate to treat the Indians as enemies. He therefore recalled Captain Dubois, and moved forward with a determination to attack them. He had not proceeded far, however, be- fore he was met by three Indians, one of them the principal counselor of the Prophet. They were sent, they said, to know why the army was ad- vancing upon them; that the Prophet wished, if possible, to avoid hostili- ties ; that he had sent a pacific message by the Miami and Pottawattamie chiefs; and that these chiefs had unfortunately gone down on the south side of the Wabash.
"A suspension of hostilities was accordingly agreed upon; and a meet- ing was to take place the next day between Harrison and the chiefs.
" Upon marching a short distance further the army came in view of the town, which was seen at some distance up the river upon a commanding eminence. Major Davies had mistaken some scattering houses for the town itself. The ground below the town being unfavorable for an encamp- ment, the army marched on in the direction of the town. The dragoons being in front, soon became entangled in ground covered with brush and tops of fallen trees. A halt was ordered, and Major Davies directed to change position with Spencer's rifle corps, which occupied the open fields adjacent to the river.
"The Indians, seeing this maneuver, supposed they intended to attack the town, and immediately prepared for defense. The governor rode forward and assured them that nothing was further from his thoughts, that the ground below the town on the river was not fitted for an encampment, and that it was his intention to search for a better one above. He asked if there was any other water convenient besides the river, and was told that there was a creek two miles back to the north of the village.
" A halt was ordered, and officers sent to examine the creek returned and reported that they had found every thing that could be desirable in an encampment. The army now marched to the place selected, and en- camped late in the evening, on a dry piece of ground. The order given to the army, in the event of a night attack, was for each corps to maintain its ground at all hazards till relieved. The dragoons were directed in such case to dismount, with their swords in hand, their pistols in their belts, and wait for orders,
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