The Madisonian., 1840-01-23
COMMUNICATIONS.
GEN. HARRISON INDICATED.
For Ae Madisoniaa.
CINcIss.ri, January ID, lo4O
RATTLE OF TIPPECANOE.


held conference with the Indians. whom they oane 70
no alarm the imposing force os,ofe
them. This fact was communicates 20 oo'e'no' -
rson Nevertheless, after some delay curing "heh 'n'
Indians were permitted to strengthen themselves aS
ca.s,ons 6o,a nelvhborinp tribes, Governor Harrison
WA. 10 enc smp on ground pointed out 10 him
by the Iud,aas, and most lel'elousy adapted 70 mo
purpuse for which they had chosen a. Va his spot the
whole force encamped IN sight oil WHY, deadly ana
.treaeherous foe They encamped without even the
cn.,onary precautlon of throwing up common log
brea,t,york which hours time might have accom-
.rl.hed The commander undressed aud retired 10 his
Ieoose; aud his entre corps, the common sentl-
nels followed his example. What the result OF
this utter neglect Of all the precautions against
attack Precisely what any one but Gen HARRISON
would have forescen.
An hour before day the Indians burst upon the en-
campment, and complete ,cas The surprise that many
Of ihe soldiers met the fomahalck Of the savage at The
earance 10 then tents. Oven and many other gallant
spirits fell at the onset All was confusion and dismay
A body Of Indians took shelter behrd some logs and
pouring IN deadly FIRE. Gov. HARRISON, with
characteristic folly ordered the chvarous Davess TO
charge them Maj Dayess was on foot, aud, com
mandng the Dragons was armed only with pistols ne
thus wanonly sacrificed TO the Incapacily ol
his commanding General Boyd and his regulars stood
their ground the GOODNESS which marks the well
trained soldier beat off the enemy until light, aud saved
the army from humiliation As the day dawned ihe
Indians retired having shed much Of the best blood OF
the West and almost destroyed the gallant body under
Gov HARRISON relreated as fast as the condition OF
the wounded would permit, and thus commenced the
Indian which for so long time dreoched our IRON,
tier blood and thus terminated the famed naltie oi
Tippe, anoe, which hes al the foundation ot all zen.
Hauison's military glory For want OF foresight IN
precautionary measures, and want OF judgment ia ac'
uon ii without parallel in the history OF our wars
yet for this General Harrison is dubbed hero" ne
Hero of TPpeeanoe"
have seldom seen so many falsehoods
crowded into the same space. Here, III the
West, such an article does no harm to the re-
putation of General Harrison. East OF the
mountains. those who have come upon the
stage of action since the time when the pat
tie Of Tippecanoe was fought, may be de-
ceived by it, That the writer ot this artlcie
may be branded with the odum which ne de-
serves, | ask Of you to publish the following
statements, touching the battle OF Ilppecanoe
They are from officers who participated IN
that conflict, and citizens and statesmen, VINO
were familiar with its details.
General Waller Taylor, now of Indiana,
was Colonel with General Harrison, m the
campaign which resulted in the battle OF lip
pecanoe. Under date of 22d February, Sl7,
in referring to this battle, he says
"The spot for the encampment was selected by
Col Clarke, (who acted as Brigade Major, TO Gene
-
vernon Harrison, to examine the country up and
down the creek until we should find suitable place
for an encampment. In a shontime, We discovered
the place on which the army encamped, and TO which
il was conducted by u.s. Nomination was given by
the Indians OF their wish that should encamp
there, nor could they possibly have known when the
army would encamp until ii took its position. 1t
has ever been my belief that the position we occu-
pied was the best that could be found any where near
us and believe that nine-tenths of the officers were
OF that opinion"
AS General Tayor* has been selected by
the present Administration TO conduct the
war against the Seminoles, he may be consi-
dered good authority.
Lieutenant j. Smelling, of The sixth infantry,
under date Of 2Sth February, 1877 in refe-
renee to this matter, says,
In my opinion, the ground on which the army
encamped, combined the advantages of wood, water,
and defensible position, in greater degree than
any other ground in thatsecon of the country"
Robert B. McAfee, in his g History Of
the Late War;" work of acknowledged cor
rectness, says, in reference to the spot chosen
for the encampment of Governor Harrison:
"When the army of General Hopkins was there
in the following year, they all united in the opinion,
that better spot to resist Indians was not to be found
in the whole country"
SO much for the calumny that Governor
Harrison encamped on ground pointed out
to him by the Indians, and most fecitously
adapted to the purpose for which they had
chosen it," The following document comes
from eleven of the officers who served under
Governor Harrison in this campaign
"The battle of Tippecanoc having terminated
campaign which led us to victory and honor ii is
with pain behold aspersions in the public prints
aiming 10 destroy the confidence OF our country in
our late Commander Chief
Governor Harrison having renquished the
command Of the army lately employed against the
Indians, and probably officer left US forever$
the present statement be attributed TO serve
fattery but to the and honest expression of our
real sentiments, in favor of General whose talents,
military science and ar:otism, ene him to high
rank among the worthless Of the Union; and whorH
we consider injured by the gross misrepresentation
of the ignorant and designing, who are alike mimi
cal TO the best of governments and the best of men.
We, therefore, deem it duy to state as incon-
testible facts, that the Commandern Chief through
out the campaign, and in the hour Of battle proved
himself the soldier I'D the General that on t. night
Of the action, by his order, slept arms and
rose our posts that notwithstanding the darkness
of the night, and the most consummate savage
ming OF the enemy, in euding our sentries, and
pdly IN rushing through the guards, not
found unprepared that few Of them were able TO
enter our camp, and those few doomed never 10 re-
turni that in pursuance of his orders, which
adapted 10 every emerg gency, the enemy de-
feated with slaughter almost unparalleled among
savages Indeed our sentiments of confidence,