History Isn’t Boring

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Oh, those boring history lessons in school. The ones they got around to, anyway. When it came to the War of 1812, it was basically, “It started in 1812 and ended in 1815. We won. Next subject.” One of the precursors to the War of 1812 was a single battle fought in Indiana and involved NO British troops. It was the Battle of Tippecanoe, between American forces led by territorial governor (and future president) William Henry Harrison and Shawnee Indians ordered into battle by Tenskwatawah, who was the “medicine man” of the tribe, NOT the leader (the actual chieftain of the tribe was his brother, Tecumseh) on November 7, 1811. A confederacy of tribes, including the Creek, Fox, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and Wyandot, were being assembled by Tecumseh to oppose the Americans’ push westward. While he was away gathering troops, Harrison showed up. Tribal representatives came with a white flag for a truce (to buy Tecumseh time to return with warriors to fight the soldiers). Harrison agreed; however, he was skeptical of the prospects of no attacks by the tribe. Rightfully so: about 4 AM on the morning of November 7, 1811, the tribe warriors attacked. Although a number of troops were killed or wounded, they were able to successfully repel the attack and drive the Indians back to Prophet’s Town (named for Tenskwatawah, who was known as “The Prophet”). The Prophet took a major blow in his role as a “prophet,” however: he had assured the warriors that they would be able to assassinate Governor Harrison, and that spells he had chanted would make both the Indians immune to the white man’s bullets AND cause the troops to fall in utter confusion. When that didn’t happen, he became an outcast in the tribe (despite the fact that his brother was the chief). The town of Prophet’s Town was immediately abandoned by the tribe. They left one old woman to fend for herself. The troops assure her that no harm would come to her, and they built her a tent to live in before razing the settlement. So…what does all of this have to do with the War of 1812? Well, things were found in a number of abandoned Indian settlements that were British made. To the “War Hawks” (the nickname for the war-hungry congressional members), this “proved” that Britain was undermining American existence. So, on June 1, 1812, President James Madison addressed Congress, and they voted to declare war on Great Britain. (“Across the Pond,” British prime minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated about a month before the war began, which caused England, already worn out from the long war against Napoleon, to want to reach a non-violent resolution with America. I will say that I had far more fun walking in the museum and along the battlefield and the creek over which the Shawnee retreated than reading this in a boring history book. Maybe that’s the only place where history IS boring. The photo is the monument dedicated to the Battle of Tippecanoe. It features the names of the officers and soldiers who were killed during the battle, as well as a statue of William Henry Harrison.