2.32 America: a.d. 1801 to 1900  (Page 7/31)

But the Prophet began to have trouble feeding his hordes at his "holy city" and when the Ottawas and Chippewas near Lake Michigan defected, Harrison thought that the Shawnee leader was slipping and he made plans for further land encroachment. In September 1809 he signed a Treaty of Fort Wayne with Miamis, Delawares and some Potawatomis, obtaining over 3,000,000 acres of land in Indiana and Illinois. The Shawnees were incensed and Tecumseh set out south to try to gather more of his scattered kinsmen for a final confrontation. He also visited the British at Malden and, as we noted on page 1139, the British, foreseeing possible war with the United States, began to court these Indians, sending them food, arms and ammunition. Finally in the fall of 1811, after several unsuccessful conferences, Harrison started north from Vincennes with an army to put an end to Prophetstown. The famous Battle of Tippecanoe began in the early morning of November 7, 1811.

"Harrison described the battle as a 'complete and decisive' American victory, and three decades later he would gain the presidency as 'Old Tippecanoe', a military hero who had soundly beaten the Indians on the Wabash. But a closer examination of the battle and its outcome indicates that Harrison's claims were exaggerated. Both white and Indian losses were much the same. The American force numbered close to 1,000 officers and men. They suffered 188 casualties, of which at least 62 were fatal. The number of Indians engaged in the contest is much more difficult to ascertain, but there were probably between 600 and 700 warriors. Reports of Indian casualties also vary widely, but probably at least fifty were killed and seventy were wounded.''

The war of 1812

War was declared on the basis of the impressment of American seamen, repeated violations of American territorial rights and alleged blockading of the American coast. Although New England, where 3/4 of the American shipping was owned and which supplied most of the seamen, wanted no part of the war