Indiana’s Timeless Tales - 1805 - 1811

Book excerpt: The conflict between the American Indian tribes in the Indiana Territory increased in the years leading up to the War of 1812. The three dominant personalities, William Henry Harrison, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, came to a head at the November 7, 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. Tenskwatawa Also called the Prophet, Tenskwatawa's vision while awakening from a drunken stupor foretold two paths for the Indians. One path was to adopt White man's ways and endure lives of pain and torment; the other to forsake their ways and return to their own customs and lifestyles. Preaching to the natives, his following grew and helped strengthen his brother Tecumseh's dream of a wider confederacy of tribes to resist White encroachment into their territory. Tecumseh The great Shawnee leader arose in the turbulent years before the War of 1812. Tecumseh worked incessantly to unite the tribes of the Eastern United States into a great confederacy to resist White encroachment into the native lands. He and his brother Tenskwatawa established a great village on the banks of the Wabash called Prophetstown, which became a collection point of warriors that worked to resist the Whites. His efforts brought him into direct conflict with the Governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison. William Henry Harrison The son of a Founding Father and Virginia planter, Harrison used an army career to advance to his position to the powerful governorship of the Indiana Territory. His desire to acquire more Indian land and increase White settlement in the Indiana Territory put him at odds with Tecumseh and the Prophet. Indian War The strife between the three men led to increased Indian raids on the populace of the Indiana and Illinois Territories. As the threat of war increased and the population of Indians grew at Prophetstown, Harrison feared an outbreak of war. To stifle Tecumseh's confederacy, he gathered an army and marched on Prophetstown, leading to the Battle of Tippecanoe and the crippling of Tecumseh's dream. Indiana territory, Battle of Tippecanoe, Tenskwatawa, Prophet, Tecumseh, William Henry Harrison, Indian war