BATTLE OF TIPPECANOE Upon receipt of the above letter, the secretary of war ordered Colonel Boyd, commanding the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, composed mainly of Massachusetts and New Hampshire men, to "report to Gen. William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana Territory, at Vincennes." At the same time Kentucky was called upon to furnish three regiments of volunteer mounted riflemen. As soon as these troops arrived at Vincennes, General Harrison moved up the Wabash River towards Prophets Town, where a large body of Indians was assembled. Prophets Town, the home of Tenkswatawa, was situated on the Tippecanoe River, near the point where it empties into the Wabash about six miles above the present city of Lafayette, Indiana. On the evening of November 6, 1811, Harrison went into camp on the high ground near the Indian village, hoping the presence of the troops would overawe the Indians and they would return to their villages. A strong guard was set and the men slept on their arms. About 4 A. M. on the 7th, the camp was aroused by the war-whoop and the firing of the pickets. Most of Harrison's men had been engaged in Indian fights before and knew what was going on. Although the camp was nearly surrounded, they formed with the coolness of veterans and poured a heavy fire into the ranks of savages. As it grew lighter Harrison turned the defense into an attack and in a short time the Indians were flying in all directions, pursued by the Kentuckians until their officers ordered them to desist. Harrison's loss in killed and wounded was 188 men. The Indian losses were not ascertained, but they were much heavier. At the time this battle was fought, Tecumseh was absent, trying to enlist the cooperation of other tribes in his project. When he learned what had occurred, he hurried to Prophets Town, cursed his brother for his fanaticism, and even threatened to kill him for precipitating a battle when their plans were nearly ripe for action. But his wrath could not undo his brother's mischief. Harrison's victory broke the backbone of Tecumseh's conspiracy, though the peace that followed was of short duration, for before another year had passed Congress declared war against Great Britain and many of the tribes allied themselves with the English. ALARM IN DETROIT The hostility of the Indians created an alarm in Detroit which was not even calmed by the defeat of Tecumseh's men at Tippecanoe. A town meeting was held December 8, 1811, which was sort of a home defense meeting. Solomon Sibley was chairman of the meeting and Judge Woodward secretary and the result was the appointment of a committee of five-Sibley, Woodward, James Witherell, George McDougall and Col. Daniel Baker-to collect money and ammunition. A thirty-day night watch was also organized. Witherell and Baker declined to act and H. H. Hickman and Richard Smythe were appointed in their place. Two days later another meeting was held and a memorial to Congress was adopted, appealing to the national body for additional posts in the western country and military reinforcement for Detroit. The memorial went to Congress on the 27th, but no action was taken. CHAPTER XXXIX THE WAR OF 1812 CAUSES OF WAR-RIGHT OF SEARCH-THE EMBARGO ACT-WAR DECLARED TROIT THE DAY OF THE SURRENDER-BROCK'S PROCLAMATION SUMMARY OF TROOPS ENGAGED-HULL'S GUILT OR INNOCENCE-HULL'S TRIAL-DEARBORN'S CAREER: HIS MISTAKES-BEGINNING OF THE TRIAL-HULL'S CAREER AFTER THE TRIAL-INSUBORDINATION OF HULL'S OFFICERS-DETROIT UNDER BRITISH RULE THE ARMY REORGANIZED-MASSACRE AT THE RAISIN-CONDITIONS IN DETROIT IN 1813-PROCTOR'S UNSUCCESSFUL OFFENSIVE AMERICAN COUNTER OFFENSIVE AND PERRY'S VICTORY-BRITISH EVACUATION AND BATTLE OF THE THAMES-DEATH OF TECUMSEH-CONCLUDING EVENTS OF THE WAR-PRIVATIONS IN DETROIT. During the quarter century following the Revolution, the people of the United States were socially and commercially dependent upon Europe, particularly England. No one was more aware of this fact than the British statesmen and diplomats, who questioned the ability of the Americans to maintain a republican form of government. They not only doubted, but they also committed many overt acts to break down that which President Lincoln, many years later, aptly termed a "government of the people, by the people, for the people". British men-of-war, without so much as a "by your leave", made free use of American bays and harbors and patrolled the United States coast. They followed French ships and captured them within the three-mile limit, regardless of treaty stipulations; connonaded and burned a French man-of-war off the coast of Carolina; anchored inside the entrance of Chesapeake Bay while lying in wait for French vessels farther up the bay, and treated with contumely all American protests against such a course. For weeks at a time, singly or in groups, these armed vessels would anchor off the bar at Sandy Hook, at the request of Thomas Barclay, for several years the British consul-general at New York, under the flimsy pretext of protecting American shipping. Says Channing: "Thomas Barclay was an American loyalist, a man of ability, and, from the language of his letters, appears to have thought that the British had been successful in the Revolutionary war. The captains of the British war vessels likewise looked upon America as under their protection, or as helpless". The Americans were helpless to the extent that they were not in a position to resent the insult offered by the presence of armed vessels in their harbors in time of peace. RIGHT OF SEARCH British naval officers of that period were often brutal, the food furnished seamen was of poor quality, little attention was given to the sanitary condition of quarters and desertions were frequent. Conscription was resorted to in order to maintain the navy, and commanders of vessels were authorized to board ships upon the high seas, to search for British deserters-every seaman born in the British Empire and serving under the flag of another power was regarded as a deserter. One of the aggravating results of this "right of search" was the abduction of persons whom they claimed to be British subjects, but who had renounced that citizenship by taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. However, the English adhered to the rule that "once a British citizen, always a British citizen" and in this way many American sailors were impressed into the British naval service. In 1798 Timothy Pickering, then secretary of state, made a report to Congress, in which page after page was filled with the names of American seamen then in the English navy through the activities of the "press gang". This custom was highly distasteful to the American people, but Congress was powerless to obtain redress. THE EMBARGO ACT The capture of the Chesapeake by the British frigate Leopard on June 22, 1807, the latter's captain claiming that the American boat harbored deserters from the British navy, further aggravated conditions. The English Government disclaimed the act, but showed no disposition to make reparation, and the relations between the two nations became more and more strained. President Jefferson's message of December 18, 1807 "set fire to Congress". Provisions were made for arming American vessels and the Embargo Act, prohibiting commercial intercourse with Great Britain, was passed. The act was unpopular with the merchants of New England and it was repealed, to be followed by the Non-Intercourse Act, slightly less rigid in character. A precedent for these acts was found in the administration of President Washington, more than a decade earlier. In 1793, when war with England was threatened, Jefferson, then secretary of state, and James Madison, leader of the house of representatives, sought to put pressure on England by commercial restriction. A bill to that effect, introduced by Madison, passed the house, but was defeated in the senate by the vote of Vice President Adams. WAR DECLARED England well knew that restrictive measures were unpopular with a great many Americans and at every opportunity added fuel to the flames, hoping to cause a division serious enough to disrupt the union of states. In the political campaign of 1808, English influence was exerted secretly in favor of George Clinton, the son of a former tory governor of New York, but James Madison was elected by an overwhelming majority. Thus matters stood until the early part of the year 1812, when President Madison issued a proclamation ordering British vessels away from American waters. English sea captains paid no attention to the President's proclamation and |