Tecumseh, incensed, refused to respect the treaty. He approached the British in Canada, assuring them he was ready for war. The British were not. He recruited more tribes to join his confederacy. He assured Governor Harrison that he was only defending his tribes’ concerns in traveling to speak to the Creek Nation. Harrison brought the issue to a head. Harrison and 1,100 troops encamped near Tecumseh’s headquarters on Tippecanoe Creek. Tenskwatawa, the prophet, urged his brother not to engage Harrison. Egged on by a few youthful warriors, Tecumseh ignored his twin, and invaded the encampment.[1]
The Americans fought back. In two hours they subdued the attack, and burned Tecumseh’s headquarters. Harrison was hailed as a hero, especially on the western frontier, where settlers were convinced that the British were behind the attacks. In fact, they were not. The twin brothers sought only to defend their united tribes from American policies that threatened their existence.[2]
Next: Who were these War Hawks?
[1] Samuel Eliot Morison and Henry Steele Commager, The Growth of the American Republic, V. I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962) 406.
[2] Morison and Commager, Growth of the American Republic, 406.
