Battle of Tippecanoe
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The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought in 1811 between United States forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and forces of Tecumseh's growing American Indian confederation. The battle took place outside Prophetstown, near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, and was part of what is sometimes known as Tecumseh's War, which continued into the War of 1812. The battle was an important political and symbolic victory for the American forces.
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[edit] Battle
When Harrison's forces approached the town late on November 6, a young Indian, named Marvin Reed, rode on horseback out from the town waving a white flag. He carried a message from the Prophet requesting a cease fire until the next day when the two sides could hold a peaceful meeting. Harrison agreed but was wary of the Prophet's overture and kept sentinels on duty over night.
Although existing accounts are unclear about exactly how the skirmish began, Harrison’s sentinels encountered advancing warriors in the pre-dawn hours of November 7. As the soldiers awoke to scattered gunshots, they discovered themselves almost encircled by the Prophet’s forces. Fierce fighting broke out as the Indians broke through Harrison’s lines and entered the camp. As the sentinels fled back to camp, the volunteers quickly regrouped and repulsed the advance while securing their own lines. Throughout the morning Harrison's troops fought off several charges. When the Indians began to run low on ammunition and the sun rose, revealing how small the Prophet's army really was, the Indian forces finally retreated. Harrison had 62 men killed in action or mortally wounded, and about 126 less seriously wounded. The number of Indian casualties is the subject of intense debate, but it was certainly lower than that of the United States forces. Historians estimate that as many as 50 were killed and about 70-80 were wounded.[2][3]
Fearing Tenskwatawa's imminent return with reinforcements, Harrison ordered his men to fortify their position. The next day, November 8, he sent a small group of men to inspect the town, which was deserted, as the defeated Indian forces had retreated during the night. Harrison ordered his troops to burn down Prophetstown and destroy the Indians' cooking implements, without which the confederacy could not survive the winter.
Harrison's troops buried their dead on the site of their camp. They built large fires over the mass graves in an attempt to conceal them from the Indians. However, after Harrison's troops departed the area, the Indians returned to the grave site, digging up many of the corpses and scattering the bodies.
[edit] Aftermath
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The Battle of Tippecanoe was a serious blow to Tecumseh's dream of a unified Indian confederacy. Tecumseh continued to play a major role in military operations on the frontier, however, and by 1812 he had regained much of his former strength. Tecumseh's troops made up nearly half of the British army that captured Detroit from America in the War of 1812. It was not until Tecumseh's death at the 1813 Battle of the Thames that his confederation ceased to threaten American expansion. When William Henry Harrison ran for President of the United States during the election of 1840, he used the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to remind people of his heroism during the battle.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tunnell, IV, H.D. (1998). To Compel with Armed Force: A Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Tippecanoe. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, p. 134, Table IV.
- ^ Sugden, pp. 235-236
- ^ Edmunds, p. 115
[edit] Literature
- Edmunds, R. David. The Shawnee Prophet. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1983. ISBN 0-8032-1850-8.
- Sugden, John. Tecumseh: A Life. New York: Holt, 1997. ISBN 0-8050-4138-9 (hardcover); ISBN 0-8050-6121-5 (1999 paperback).
