By Bay Mills History Dept.
For Bay Mills News
"He was no less an orator than a soldier and by persuasive power of his eloquence formed one of the most powerful confederacies which had been attempted by the Indians within the last century. His watchful mind was ever on the alert....Such was Tecumseh." (Henry Rowe Schoolcraft "Narrative Journal of Travels", 1820)
Despite the desire for peace, if left unmolested, of both Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, General William Henry Harrison continued pressing for more and more land.
"Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?" (Tecumseh to Harrison, 1810)
In six months time, Tecumseh had managed to travel three thousand miles. 1808 brought him to the Great Lakes State where at Bawating he picked up many recruits. Included among them were Crane Chief Shingabawossin, and his brothers, War Chief Sassaba and Waabjiijaak.
He then headed south to the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee territories. While he was away he left his brother "The Prophet" in charge, with strict instructions to avoid war at all costs until his return and the Alliance had grown stronger.
Meanwhile, The Prophet got wind that General Harrison was planning to attack his village and so on September 7, 1811 he attacked him instead and The Battle of Tippecanoe ensued. The Americans forced the Shawnee to withdraw and, while they were absent, proceeded to burn Prophetstown. This ruined The Prophet's credibility and weakened the alliance as well. Tecumseh was now forced to join up with the British, with which he was commissioned a Brigadier-general.
He shortly convinced Major General Isaac Brock that he should attack Fort Detroit even though Brock's men were against it. Tecumseh marched his 600 men three times through a clearing in sight of the fort to give American General William Hull and his men inside the impression that there were many more of them than there actually were. His strategy worked and on August 16, 1813 General Hull surrendered Fort Detroit to General Brock. This was the only time a city in the United States has ever been surrendered to a foreign invader. Brock received Knighthood as a result of it.
Newly elected President James Madison made it his primary focus to recapture Fort Detroit. He chose 40-year-old Governor of the Indian Territory William Henry Harrison for the job.
When the Americans destroyed the British fleet on Lake Erie, General Henry Proctor abandoned Detroit altogether. Although Tecumseh protested, Proctor planned to retreat to western Canada. On September 27, 1813 Proctor left Detroit and began his long journey up the Thames River. Tecumseh pursued him, furious at his inaction, all the while trying to get him to stand and fight. General Harrison with an army of 8,000, which included General Lewis Cass, was close behind.
On the evening of October 4, 1813, Tecumseh told those gathered with him at the fork of the Thames, "Brother warriors we are about to enter into an engagement from which I will never return. My body will remain on the battle field." He was 45 years old at the time.
On the morning of October 5, he finally talked General Proctor into fighting. He positioned himself and his men in a swamp near the river while Proctor and his men took the middle ground between the swamp and the river.
The bugles sounded the beginning of the attack. Colonel Richard Johnson led his squad into the swamp after Tecumseh and his men. All 20 of Johnson's men were killed or wounded.
What Tecumseh didn't know was that the British had all either surrendered or turned and ran shortly after the first attack began! Proctor himself abandoned his men and fled! The cavalry then turned all its attention on the swamp. A soldier present at that battle said that he heard "the loudest yell I ever heard from human beings and that ended the fight." When Tecumseh fell, a yell from his warriors signaled that the Great Leader was dead and all his men disappeared into the forest.
Waabjiijaak of the Crane dodem from Bawating, and brother to Shingabawossin and Sassaba, was also killed that day.
General Henry Proctor was later court-martialed for cowardice and relieved of his command.
There are more than 45 accounts of how Tecumseh died and who killed him that day. One account was from a warrior who fought alongside him that day, Abtaageeshig or "Noonday." He said that he, along with Chief Saginaw, saw Col. Johnson shoot Tecumseh and kill him and they then carried his body from the battlefield.
Tecumseh became more famous than William Henry Harrison himself. There are many towns throughout the country named after him, including one in Michigan. Many people bear his name. Thousands of books, papers and articles tell of his life. Paintings, sculptures and artwork can be found around the world dedicated to him as well.
Seven years after this battle, on June 16, 1820, Lewis Cass visited Bawating along with several soldiers and armed men. He came to establish an American fort there on the banks of the St. Mary's River. Ogimaa (Chief) Shingabawossin and War Chief Sassaba were there to greet him. They were not very happy to see the arrival of the one who had fought and killed their brother Waabjiijaak as well as Tecumseh.
He proposed to claim four square miles, which included their ancient burial ground, for the site of this fort. Shingabawossin and Sassaba opposed this, saying that it was the site of their ancient burial ground. Sassaba stormed off, gathering his warriors while preparing for war.
Cass told them that if they resisted he would put his boot to their necks and kill every last man, woman, child and dog among them. The women and children jumped into their canoes and headed across the river.
After several hours of high tension, Sassaba was calmed and a treaty was signed conceding four square miles on the south side of the river. This was the first treaty with the local Ojibweg.
Find out how this relates to Bay Mills in the next issue of Bay Mills News.
