Disaster at Prophetstown

Tecumseh arrived back at Prophetstown in late January 1812 but there was no warm welcome awaiting him. To his bitter amazement the Shawnee town at the junction of the Tippecanoe and Wabash Rivers lay in ruins. When told the details of the disaster he was furious. He had left specific orders with his brother not to engage the Big Knives but to appease them at all cost. He had told Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, that time would come, but not now. It was too early. It is reported that he was so enraged that he grabbed his brother by the hair, shook him and threatened to kill him.

The summer of 1811 was one of fear and apprehension all along the frontier. The summer of unrest was caused by a few young warriors loyal to Prophetstown but nevertheless hotheads acting on their own. They had been raiding settlers farms, stealing their horses and a few had been killed.

William Henry Harrison, the governor of Indiana, met with Tecumseh at Vincennes in July. Tecumseh tried to convince him that the confederacy he was building was not for war but for peace. He was not successful. They had met in council before and although they had respect for each other they disagreed strenuously. The year before their council almost ended violently.

Winamek, a Potawatomi chief loyal to the Big Knives suggested the warriors at Vincennes raise a large war party and attack Prophetstown but Black Hoof convinced him otherwise. Black Hoof and The Wolf two Shawnee chiefs loyal to the Americans attended several councils with settlers in Ohio convincing them that they and their three hundred warriors were peaceful. Black Hoof took this opportunity to set all the blame for all the troubles at the foot of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa.

Meanwhile, in June some of Tecumseh’s entourage were busy recruiting followers from the Wyandotte of Sandusky. They encountered some resistance so they handled it by preying on the Wyandotte’s fear of witchcraft. They accused their opposition of it and three were burned alive as sorcerers including the old village chief Leather Lips. American officials called for conferences with their First Nation allies at Fort Wayne and Brownstown on the Detroit River. They came from eastern Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and all denounced the Shawnee brothers. The  Shawnee delegation to Brownstown was led by George Bluejacket and Tachnedorus or Captain Logan the Mingo chief. Although the affirmed their loyalty to the Big Knives they took the opportunity to visit British Agents across the river at Amherstburg.

Harrison was convinced that all the turmoil on the frontier emanated from Prophetstown. There was more trouble perpetrated by the young hot head warriors. Three of these warriors believed to be Potawatomi had stolen horses on the White and Wabash Rivers terrorizing the settlers there. While Tecumseh was on his three thousand mile sojourn building the confederacy Harrison began to assemble a large army at Vincennes. He was determined to disperse the First Nations who had congregated at Prophetstown.

Harrison made his plans public telling Black Hoof to keep his Shawnee followers in Ohio so they would not be connected to the coming conflict. He also gave the same advice to the Miami and Eel River Wea but his words did not sit well with some of the Miami. Prophetstown was situated across the boundary in Miami territory and they did not appreciate having their sovereignty impinged upon. Word of the military buildup quickly traveled up the Wabash to Prophetstown.

Tenskwatawa hurriedly call a council to decide what to do. The decision was made to send a Kickapoo delegation to Vincennes. Probably led by Pamawatam the war chief of the Illinois River Kickapoo the delegation was not successful. They had tried to negotiate that a settlement of the troubles with the settlers be sorted out in the spring.

The news they returned with was not good. Harrison had assemble an army of one thousand soldiers and they were about to march up the Wabash. The only thing that would deter them was the return of stolen horses and for those who had committed murders along the frontier be handed over for punishment. Harrison also demanded the dispersal of Prophetstown.

The Prophet had to decide whether to comply or fight. They were not in good shape for a major battle. The little lead and powder they had they needed to get them through the upcoming winter. They were outnumbered. The congregation at Prophetstown consisted of mostly Kickapoo and Winnebago warriors that had camped there to hear Tenskwatawa preach along with a sprinkling of Potawatomi, Ottawa, Ojibwa, Piankeshaw, Wyandotte and Iroquois. There were also a small number of Shawnee followers that lived there permanently. In total they could only muster four to five hundred warriors. Tecumseh was right. The time for a fight with the Big Knives had not yet arrived.

Harrison started the long, lumbering 180 mile journey up the Wabash on the 29th of October. One third of the army he commanded were regulars from the 4th Regiment of the U.S. Infantry. The rest was made up by 400 Indiana Militia, 120 mounted Kentucky volunteers and 80 mounted Indiana riflemen. Harrison had hoped that his show of American military might would force Prophetstown to capitulate but he underestimated First Nations tenacity. The Prophet decided to disregard Tecumseh’s orders and stand and fight.

Prophetstown scouts monitored Harrison’s progress up the eastern side of the Wabash while the warriors prepared spiritually for the upcoming battle. Tenskwatawa pronounce the Master of Life was with them and the spirits would assist in the battle by making them invisible. He prophesied that he had the power to turn the American’s powder to sand and their bullets to mud.

When Harrison’s army arrived the warriors had worked themselves into a frenzy. The Americans made camp about a mile north of Prophetstown on a patch of high ground at Burnett’s Creek. They sent a delegation to give The Prophet one last chance to sue for peace but the three chiefs they met with refused the offer. Harrison planned to attack the next day.

The Prophet and his council of war chiefs determined that being outnumbered 2 to 1 and low on ammunition the only real chance for success was to take the fight to Harrison that night. Before dawn about 4 a.m. on the 7th of November 1811 the warriors surrounded the American encampment. They could see the silhouettes of the sentries outlined by their campfires. Harrison and his officers were just being aroused for morning muster. The surprise attack began.

The Winnebago led by Waweapakoosa would attack from one side while Mengoatowa and his Kickapoo would strike from the other. The warriors crept stealthily into position and just as they were about to commence the assault an American sentry saw movement in the underbrush that surrounded the encampment. He raised his rifle and fired and the battle was on!

Blood curdling shrieks and war whoops filled the air accompanied by volleys of gunfire from the darkness all around. The warriors rushed forward and the American line buckled. Others scrambled to form battle lines. The volleys of musketry from the warriors was intense and some of the new recruits as well as the riflemen protecting the far left flank broke for the center. However, the main line of regulars held and the warriors were unable to break through.  The right flank now came under a tremendous assault of gunfire from a grove nearby. Officer after officer, soldier after soldier was felled. The line was about to collapse when a company of mounted riflemen reinforced it.

The warrior’s surprise attack was now in trouble. The American army was badly mauled but managed to hold. Ammunition was running low and daylight was breaking. The war party that had been so successful from the grove were now uprooted by a company of riflemen and were in retreat. Harrison turned from defense to offense routing the warriors who were out of ammunition. They began a full retreat back to an empty Prophetstown. When they arrived there with ammunition spent they decided to disperse.

Harrison spent the rest of the 7th and some of the 8th of November waiting for the warriors to commence a second assault. When they didn’t he marched to Prophetstown  only to find the towns inhabitants consisted of one wounded man and one old woman who had been left behind. They were taken prisoner but treated well. Harrison burned Prophetstown to the ground including the granary. It was going to be a long, hard winter.

Harrison and his army limped back to Vincennes where he would claim a great victory. But his badly mauled forces told another story. American casualties amounted to 188 including 68 killed. First Nation estimates range from 25 to 40 killed. The warriors had given a good account of themselves having assailed a superior force on its chosen ground and inflicting higher casualties on them.

NEXT WEEK:  War Clouds on the Horizon