Show N kit 4 4 november in overa b ad aim M nh at ti A R U 7 W N trw umar n P ina T I 1 by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE approach of november brings with it tho the anniversaries of two battles which are notable in the long history of our wars icv with the indians indiana on november 4 one hundred and forty years ago the indians scored one of their greatest successes against the white men and brought a sad ending to the tha cilita military y career of nn an officer who had made an honorable record I 1 in n the revolution twenty years later a t e r on nove november ber 7 the situation was reversed ve r sed this time time it was the white men who were triumphant and the victory started their leader on the road which lel led to the white house the two battles were e the defeat of gen arthur st clair on the headwaters on the wabash river in ohio near the indiana ohio boundary line november 4 1701 1791 and the alie victory of gen william henry harrison on the tippecanoe river in indiana on Noven ilter 7 1811 the st clair defeat wits the climax of a futile attempt by the newly and weak federal government to subdue the tribes of the old nor northwest Korth west who had ben been n tacking attacking immigrants along tho the ohio river and raiding settlements in ohio and kentucky an expedition of regulars and 1100 pennsylvania and kentucky militia led by gen loolah lindmar had been sent against the indians in 1700 1790 but had ended in failure next the united states tried to win peace in the northwest by treaty but this failed so another expedition was organized to proceed against the savages this time president washington gave the con command imand to gen arthur st clair who had bad served with him in the revolution st clair was then sixty years of age and so BO seriously ill that he was unable to ride upon his horse and had bad to be carried in a litter most of the time ile ho was totally inexperienced in indian fighting as were most of his officers and his men composed of two small regiments of newly organized regulars two regiments of six month levies and a large body of untrained militia who were no better for the stern stem taste task ahead of efthem thern than their leaders the arms and equipment of st clairs force ware of the poorest sort the commissary and quartermaster departments were inefficient and the outlook for the success of the expedition teemed seemed doubtful from the start when st clair arrived to take command and found the miserable stuff of ahe he army which he was to lead against the indians who had bad repulsed II armar he be protested vigorously to his superiors but they were either helpless to better conditions or indifferent so bo on october 4 1791 the army got under way from fort washington st clairs troubles increased as he advanced men straggled from the army despite warnings that they would be cut cat off by the indians who were hanging on the flanks of the army desertions were frequent and there was little if any discipline most of the time they had to cut their way through the dense damp woods or drag their weary feet ever lodden pr prairies airles sickness increased and the soldiers eold lers were greatly dis heartened by the constant sniping attacks of stray war part parties les by november 3 the army had reached the east forte fork of the wabash Wa basli they were now near the principal miami villages and it was st clairn plan to camp here and erect a small fort flere he would leave the sick and his extra baggage and push on to destroy the tha towns by now his army was reduced to less than 1400 men they were camped in a clearing on a narrow rise of gronne surrounded on every side by dense woods except for a narrow road which they had cut through the forest to get to this place A small email creek ran through their camp which was pitched in the form forin of a long hollow square pitched in the form of a long hollow square early the next morning the men were paraded as usual at sunrise it was a cold raw morning and they hurried through the parade to prepare their breakfast suddenly the sound of rifle shots was heard ahead and a few moments later the firing became general before st clair could form his line the advance party of the militia had been routed by the ind indians tans and came running back across the stream they dashiel das lieI liel through the camp throwing the regulars into diso iber st clars clairs leers jul ciff cera hastily rallied their men aen and poured in two quick volleys which croie thi indians back into the woods tit far it ft it 0 h T ST hut but the relief was only temporary for within a few moments st clairs men found themselves surrounded from every side the indians were pouring a hot tire fire in upon them st clair had two small batteries of light guns and these were immediately un limbered lut hut as they roared out their volleys they covered the army with dense clouds of smoke through which the men sred fired aimlessly at the bidden foe the soldiers were becoming more disorganized despite the efforts of st clair and his officers ceis to hold the line steady ordering one of his officers to lead a charge with the regiment of regulars he took advantage hd vantage of this diversion to begin his retreat but the moment that his undisciplined men started to retire along the narrow road panic struck them in a moment they lost all semblance of organization iza tion the retreat soon became a rout sad aad then a wild flight for safety As the soldiers ran through the woods the indians followed close on their heels whooping like demons they sprang upon the unarmed men with knife and tomahawk and cut them down with almost no resl tance for several miles the pursuit was continued the only thing that saved the army from annihilation was the tact fact that the indians indiana were in a hurry to return to st clairs camp tor for the rich booty which it contained As it was morer more than of the americans were killed and nearly were seriously wounded greatly encouraged by their success the tribes of the northwest continued their depredations and it was not until three years later that the vigorous campaign of mad anthony wayne culminating ng in the battle of fallen timbers broke the power of the indians and brought peace to the harried frontier in waynes army was a young virginian named william henry harrison who won the praise of wayne for his bravery and coolness at fallen timbers soon afterwards lieutenant harrlson harrison although he was only twenty three years old was made commander of fort washington and later the president appointed him secretary of the northwest territory later when the new territory of indiana was established harrlson was ma made deits its first governor and superintendent in of indian affairs by 1809 the indian situation had again become critical angered by white encroachments encroach ments upon their lands and by what they claimed were violations of treaties the indians were ripe for or revolt all they needed was waa a leader and this leader soon appeared he was tecumseh chief of the shawnees who dreamed again the dream of king phillip philllp and pontiac for a confederation of the indian tribes to resist the advance of the white man tecumseh was greatly aided lu in his project by his bis twin bf brother other the open door commonly known as the prophet het who to genius for leadership and organization added A religious appeal to influence the indians to join in their scheme tecumseh did not want war until the indians were strongly organized ind some assurance of success was certain early in 1811 however it became app apparent erent that hostilities would soon open the united states and great britain were on the verge of war british spies and agents were busy among the indians seeking to win them to the english cause and the savages were making numerous attacks on the frontier settlements in this emergency the president ordered harrlson harrison ta prepare IM for action militia from ohio and kentucky and indiana were called into service and placed under his bis command but he be was ordered not to assume the offensive unless it was absolutely necessary harrison however was inclined to disregard these orders tecumseh was waa then busy with his plans for the indian confederation mong the tribes of the south but large num bers bera of warriors from the various northern tribes had bad assembled at the prophets town on the banks of the tippecanoe river tn in indiana indian outrages were increasing and harrison decided that the time had bad come for him to act when it became known that he intended ta march against the tax prophets town volunteers from all over the west began pouring into darri BOBS camp at vincennes dy by the first of november his force consist edof nine companies compan lea of regulars eight companies of indiana militia and dragoons three companies of mounted riflemen mostly from kentucky and a small company of scouts to cover his advance harrlson harrison had learned well his lessons in indiana fighting from wayne and would not make the mistake that st SL clair did after a march of ave days harrlson harrison with hla his army of approximately 1100 men reached the vicinity of the tha prophets town not far from the present city of lafayette ind on the night of november 0 he pitched hla his camp on a piece of high ground surrounded by a swamp lie he intended to hold a conference with the prophet the next morning fearful of treachery by the shawna leader harrison posted a strong guard under experienced officers about his camp and ordered his men to sleep with their guns loaded and bayonets fixed experience in indian warfare had taught him that it was a wise precaution to awaken his men early in the morning so a as 8 to be prepared in case the indians indiana should attack ile he had jutt jut arisen at about four in the morning and was pulling on his boots when a shot broke the stillness of the early morning it was followed a moment later by a volley of shots one of the tee sentries had discovered a number of indian warriors creeping through the underbrush towards him lie he immediately fired and hla his shot opened the battle the indians immediately charged but men were ready for them the line of militia wavered and threatened to break and run but the regulars stood firm and soon there was fighting on every side harrison lson rode up and down the line on a white horse encouraging his men and giving them a fine example of coolness under ore the charge of the indians indiana was met by it a withering fire from the deadly squirrel rifles of the ken tuck tuc klans ians they fell back but came on again a few minutes later again men poured in a deadly de 4 adly volley and as the savages wavered and halted the americans charged with the bayonet the prophets braves broke and ran in every direction the fierce little battle had bad lasted less than two hours but in that time nearly of harrisons army were killed or wounded the losses of the indians indiana were never learned but they were probably equally heavy the battle of tippecanoe had bad far reaching results it not only broke up the confederacy which tecumseh had nearly completed bu it also which tecumseh had nearly completed but it also united force of indians indiana as their allies in the coming war with the americans had harrison suffered sulT ered abe fate of st clair the war of 1812 might have had a different ending but it la Is certain that another indian triumph would have delayed white settlement in this region many years the battle also had important political results it mado made harrlson harrison a popular hero and in 1840 when the whigs saw raw that they had bad a chance to win the presidency after the panic year of 1337 had bad weakened the democratic party they persuaded to become their candidate the slogan of tippecanoe and tyler too and the symbols of the lob cabin the coon skin and the hard cider barrel proved to be potent ones onea and harrison war wa swept into the white house on a wave of pop ular olar enthusiasm 0 III bi W t tern ru naw nsw fsr r |