Tecumseh Biography

Tecumseh was born in March of 1768 and died on October 5, 1813.  He was a Native American leader of the Shawnee tribe as well as a large confederacy of tribes that was against the United States during the War of 1812 and Tecumseh's War.  Tecumseh spent his early years in the Ohio Country while the American Revolutionary War was ongoing and the Northwest Indian War was occurring.  As a young Indian, he was exposed to much warfare. 

Tecumseh had a younger brother named Tenskwatawa, who was a religious leader who wanted the tribes to go back to the old ways of life of the tribes.  He had a large following who believed in his teachings.  His religious doctrine caused problems with settlers on the frontier, so the group of Indians moved to Prophetstown, Indiana in 1808.  Tecumseh confronted William Henry Harrison, governor at the time in order to demand lands back that had been given up in treaties.  He also wanted to expand the tribal confederacy into the southern portion of the United States.  While Tecumseh was away, his brother, the Prophet, was defeated int he Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.  During the War of 1812, Tecumseh and his confederacy joined with the British in Canada in order to capture Fort Detroit, but the Americans, who were led by William Henry Harrison at the time, started a counter assault and invaded Canada.  Tecumseh was killed in the battle, called the Battle of the Thames.  Later Tecumseh became a legend and is today remembered by many, especially Canadians.

How it All Started

It was September of 1809, and William Henry Harrison, who was the governor of the Indiana Territory, negotiated a treaty that had the Indians ceding 3 million acres of lands to the United States.  This was called the Treaty of Fort Wayne.  The facts surrounding the treaty made the treaty questionable, as it was not authorized by the President, and there was reportedly bribery given in order to get the Native American chiefs to agree to the deal, along with a distribution of liquor to the Native Americans prior to the signing of the treaty.  Tecumseh was very much in opposition to the treaty.  Tecumseh and the Shawnees did not have any claim on the land, but he believed that Indian land was owned in common by all of the tribes, and therefore, no land could be sold without an agreement by all involved.  While Tecumseh was not ready to confront the United States in a direct manner at the time, Tecumseh did begin to travel and urge warriors to join him in resisting the treaty.  He believed that the treaty was illegal and he asked Harrison to nullify the treaty. 

In August of 1810, Tecumseh decided to confront Harrison at his home.  He had about four hundred armed warriors with him at the time.  The situation was dangerous as Harrison rejected the demand by Tecumseh and said that individual tribes could have a relationship with the United States, thereby making the treaty legal.  Tecumseh began to encourage his warriors to kill Harrison, and Harrison pulled out his sword.  Harrison was quickly protected by a small garrison of the town.  The Pottawatomie Chief Winnemac countered the arguments that Tecumseh made and urged the Native American warriors to leave peacefully.  Tecumseh warned Harrison that if he did not rescind the treaty, Tecumseh would seek out an alliance with the British people. 

In 1811, Tecumseh was summoned due to the murder of settlers on the frontier, so he met with Harrison at his home.  Tecumseh informed Harrison that both the Shawnee and their Native American brothers only wanted peace with the United States, but the differences involved needed a resolution.  The meeting was probably an attempt on Tecumseh's part to put off a conflict until he could build a stronger group of warriors and the meeting left Harrison believing that hostilities were coming.  Tecumseh left and went to the south in order to recruit more allies from the Five Civilized Tribes.  The majority of the southern nations rejected his attempts, but some of the Creeks, known as the Red Sticks, followed him, which eventually led to the Creek War. 

Meanwhile, Governor Harrison marched with over 1,000 men up the Wabash River in order to intimidate the Prophet and the Prophet's followers and to force them to make peace.  His army arrived outside of Prophetstown on November 6, 1811, and the Prophet sent a messenger to Harrison and requested a negotiation meeting on the following day.  Harrison then set camp on a nearby hill, but during the early hours of November 7, the confederacy launched a sneak attack on the camp.  In the Battle of Tippecanoe, the men of Harrison were able to keep their ground, and so the Indians had to leave the village following the battle.  The Americans then burned the town.  This battle was a big blow for the Prophet, who lost the confidence of his brother and prestige within the tribe. 

Tecumseh got his confederacy together and led his forces to join the British Army.  In Detroit, Tecumseh had his four hundred men or so parade out of a nearby forest and circle around, making it seem like there were more Native American warriors than there actually were.  They won the battle.  Then next British commander, Major General Henry Procter, did not have as good of a relationship with Tecumseh as General Sir Isaac Brock had, so Procter preferred to withdraw into Canada while the Americans were suffering from winter.  Tecumseh wanted to fight immediately so his men could go back to their homes soon.  Procter did not show up at Chatham, Ontario as he said that he would.  Tecumseh's men moved again to meet with Procter and told him that he would not withdraw any farther, so if the British wanted his assistance, then they needed to fight.  Harrison went into upper Canada and in the Battle of Thames, near Moraviantown, Tecumseh was killed, and his confederacy tribes surrendered to Harrison in Detroit.