Jessica Crabtree

November 7, 1811: Battle of Tippecanoe

The Battle of Tippecanoe was one of the most pivotal events in the history of North America. An alliance of Native American forces led by Shawnee medicine man Tenskwatawa (“The Prophet”) confronted American militia under Gen. William Henry Harrison near modern-day Lafayette, Indiana in an ad hoc preemptive strike that determined the fate of Native American resistance east of the Mississippi.

The confederacy, representing nations as far away as the Lakota, had formed at the instigation of Tecumseh in reaction to the massive losses of Native American land obtained in the fraudulent Treaty of Fort Wayne. The devastated societies of the Shawnee and other nations of the Old Northwest faced an existential threat from the expansion of American settlement , spurring a movement to reclaim their shrinking homelands and boost national sovereignty. After numerous failed attempts to appeal the outrageous treaty, Tecumseh spent the year of 1811 traveling the length of the continent, from the Creek nation of Georgia to the Ojibway of Michigan, urging solidarity among the tribes. He left his allies stationed at the command nexus at Prophetstown, Indiana under the supervision of his brother Tenskwatawa. But the American forces under Harrison took advantage of his absence to provoke the tense allies into an attack.

With the Native defeat at Tippecanoe, the confederacy suffered a blow from which it never recovered. The defeat of allied British and Indian forces in the War of 1812 further ensured American hold on the continent, and Tecumseh’s death in 1813 deprived Indian nations throughout the Midwest of their most proficient leader. It remained for Tecumseh’s southern allies – among them the Cherokee and Choctaw – to realize the accuracy of his warnings; the defeat at Tippecanoe was followed by the Trail of Tears no less than 20 years later. As for his Western allies, their initial encounters with the American military in the Midwest set the stage for the Indian Wars of the Great Plains that lasted the duration of the century.

PBS American Experience: We Shall Remain – “Tecumseh’s Vision”

For anyone who is more interested in the subject I highly recommend the second episode of American Experience’s We Shall Remain docudrama series. “Tecumseh’s Vision” is probably the best show on Native history I’ve seen to date. It’s very compelling both with its accuracy (and brilliant portrayals) its handling of a significant chapter in history that is given far too little regard.

The companion site has a load of information and media about the background and making of the film as well as resources for researchers.

Below: Tecumseh as played by Michael Greyeyes