| In September 26, 1811, General William
Henry Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory and future ninth president
of the U. S. , led an army of 910 officers and men up the Wabash River.
His destination was Prophet's Town, the Shawnee capital on Tippecanoe Creek.
The Shawnee chief Tecumseh was away, having traveled south to unite the
scattered tribes there into a confederacy that could halt the continuing
encroachment of foreigners on their land. Relations between Tecumseh and
Harrison had been heading for a showdown ever since the governor had persuaded
several tribes to sell three million acres of land in Indiana for less
than one cent an acre. Tecumseh's Shawnees had not agreed to this sale,
and the chief demanded that the land be returned to the people who sold
it.
In Tecumseh's absence, affairs at Prophet's
Town had been placed in the hands of his brother, who claimed to have attained
supernatural powers as the result of a vision. The Americans referred to
him as The Prophet. On November 6, 1811, a Shawnee delegation met Harrison
and accompanied him into their camp. Fully expecting trouble, Harrison
detailed 120 men for guard duty. That night, after brewing a "hell broth,"
The Prophet decided
to attack
Harrison the following morning. His plan was to creep through the woods,
tomahawk the sentinels
and pounce on the sleeping Americans.
On the morning of November 7, Private Stephen
Mars of Kentucky spotted the Shawnees and fired a warning shot. Mars was
killed instantly, but his vigilance saved the army. Harrison rushed from
his tent and mounted a bay horse belonging to his aide, Colonel Abraham
Owen. Then Owen dashed out and, unable to find his horse, located and mounted
Harrison's. Owen was immediately killed from ambush by Shawnees who had
been ordered to shoot an officer riding a gray horse. Harrison's escape
probably saved the army from disaster. Riding along the lines, he rallied
his troops while The Prophet stood on a hill and chanted for supernatural
aid.
When dawn came the Shawnees retreated.
Harrison had lost 61 men killed and 127 wounded, while the Shawnees counted
40 dead and many more carried away. On November 8 the army marched to Prophet's
Town, burned it to the ground, and left. The victory at Tippecanoe helped
win Harrison the presidency of the United States in 1840.
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