Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1852-09-08

you ever expect 10 be apything but q act Of
sneakiag. iloaGng. rascally, cut>thfoaied.
branded small ends of humanity, whitfield
down 10 iadistinctibility-- my client
and save your. counlry!'"a The prisoner
was acquitted -sasIs-. ~ sessssf sa;sg
Incidents OF The Battle OF the Thames.
s{yWao KILLED TEcuMsEH2--Gen.C Case,
during his discussion in the Senate, ON the
5th inst, on the Indian appropriation. bill,
in advocating the payment of certain
amount Of ntoney due the Shawness, tribe
with which be had much Official iintercoprse
and Of which the celebrated warrior TE>
ouMsEH, was the chief, took occasion. to
vindicate the truth Of. history" rs follows:
There are two historical points which
have been much debated, about which I
wish to say few words; both are connect-
ed with Colonel JoHNsoN and the Shawnees.
TIE question has been often mooted as, TO
who was the ,aGthor Of The movcmens by
which ,be mounted regiment commenced
tie, attack upon the British at The battle
Of the Thames, s.l- .5- .E..-.r.
Probably l know as much upon that
subject as any other man liviog, and the
facts are these Gen. Harrison had prescribs
ed the order Of battle, and promulgated it
in the usual manner that order directed
that the army should move, infantry in
front, with portion Of the force placed in
right angles TO the main body to prevent the
enemy from turning the flank. The cayal-
ry were to remain in the rear, to follow up
the movements Of the Iufantfy.. They were
posted with the Thames ON the flank and
an almost impossible marsh on the other.
Just as the arrangement was completed,
aud the British forces were almost in sight,
1 was sitting on my horse, when Gen. Har-
rison rode up and said to me, Il have a
great mind to change my order OF battle.
feel very strongly inclined 10 let Colonel
Johns on's regiment attack the British firstas
| replied, You have undoubtedly consider.
ed the difficulty atte aiding tile charge; the
mounted men are brave but nndisciplined,
and their horses unused to service. If de.
featcd they may be upon our line and do
us irrepsrable injury" His answer was,
.sCol. Johnson says he can break the Bri-
tish line, and I will let him try. !" Well,
the movement was made and was success.
ful; and never, from that day TO this, had I
any douh, that Col. Johnson proposed The
movement to Gen. Harrison. -. ~
Mr., .Butler.-Did Col Johnson's regiment
charge the enemy with swords or ridesf
Mr. Cass.-Tbe men were all on horse.
back, armed with rifles; few Of them had
swords; they rode down the British forcest
broke their line. almost without impediment.
I saw the whole operation myself, being
there rather as a spectator, for r was mol
ia command. talked about 1t afterwards
with some Of the British captured officers.
and having suppressed my surprise at the
little opposition the movement me: with,
asked why they allowed their lines 10 be
broken, and their men rode down? They re-
Piled that their men had become alarmed,
for they had heard our bugles in the
swamp on the left" where they supposed
that we had heavy force of regular cav
airy. The bugles, Mr.. President, were
some old tin horns. and we had no force
there at all.
had some conversation on the subject,
the other day, at Lexington, with a very
intelligent gentleman Captain iohnson-a
younger brother Of Colonel Johnson, who
was there, and we compared notes, and
agreed in our recollection.
Now, as to the other historical but dis.
puted point: Who killed Tecumsehg
tLaughter.] | will tel you what know.
Techmseh fell in the battle, as we are all
aware; but in the following year the Proph.
ct, Tecumseh's brother, and his son, young
Tecumseb, very intelligent young man,
often came 10 see me, and we had several
conversations respecting the series Of events
in which bis father was engaged. The
young man was near his fathers side in
the battle, but bis uncle, the Prophet, was
in the Greek country. The young man
described the battle very graphically-the
persons, the parties present, aud the inci-
dents, without hesitation from the beginning
to the end, and have no more doubt from
his narration than have that l am here
that Colonel Johnson was The person who
killed his father. There were three of the,
] ohnsons in the battle, and they were as
brave men as ever followed the standard Of
their country to war. .5s
Gen. Cass continued his remarks, and
referred to many incidents TO show the SER
vices rendered the United States during the.
war, by the Shawnees. Gen. Harrison
and myself, in 1914 at the direction Of
the President held,an interview witha large
number Of them a. Greenvile, Ohio, when
they agreed to JOIN our standard, and SUBJ
did render TO us efficient service.
A party Of them accompanied Gen. Cass
to the northwest frontier, whore he had an ?
engagement with hostile Indians, who were
urged on by The British, within two piles
Of Detroit; and, in this connection, Gen.
Cass referred 10 the fact that a white man,
named Parks, vns sitting in The gallery Of
the Senate, whom he had known aimee 49,,
ii, aud Who, whena boy, was taken pris.
oner and brought up among the Wyandots
and Shawnees. Parks, at the time Of the
engagement, although bu, boy. and Black.
boof, the principal chief Of the tribe, whose
son was also 10 the gallery, with q party
,f their people came TO the rescue, and /
,aved Gen. Cass and his men perhaps from /:
destruction. There being another Shaw !
n u III.