The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-10
A Far Echo From the
Battle of the Thames
Transcription from
Newly-found Notes
Me- de by the Late DIR.
Ezra w. Fisk. Of
Greencastle - - -

paniOns got the most excited and moved
right out. He rode out through the front
rank. cheering for Kentucky and victory
/ He leaned forward in his saddle and yelled
I for the British To get out OF the way. His
mad antics spurred the rest Of US on and We
F., went at the enemy like a WhirlWind Inc
| British were amazed and parted. letting the
whole column right through them.
The man who led the charge against the
/ bride was John Denny, then Of Mercer
county, Kentucky. He was only twenty
| years old at the time OF the attack on
| Proctor This Mr.. Denny was an uncle of
/ James 7. and Elan Denny, of Green
castle. He moved here in 1922, went to
| Knox county. Illinois, in 1895, and moved
! publican candidate for Governor after the
| territory was made a State. His death
| that the main conflict of the whole bat
| tie occurred within five minutes from the
time these Kentuckians struck the British
| line. The Kentuckians rode all over the
British and then doubled back on them,
completely breaking up their resistance, ac-
cording to history.)
Yes, Tecumseh was undoubtedly killed
in that battle continued Major Black
'Tecumseh was ranked English Of
| ffcer, second in command under Proctor.
l was told that he tried to get Proctor mad
so that he could kill him, when he would
be chief commander of the combined Brit
| ish and Indian forces. L and twenty-five
| other Kentuckians were standing in
square by ourselves, when Colonel johnson
rode up. Just then large Indian ran out
| OF a clump OF willow bushes and fired at
| Johnson. The shot took effect on the col
onel's horse and in his pistol arm. He
| tried to get his pistol out of his belt, but
| ii was exploded into the ground, his arm
being too weak to hold ii properly. Johnson
| didn't hit the Indian, but all of us fired
a moment later and he was riddled with
| bullets. It was a lieutenant who ordered
US TO fire at the Indian and not the col
onel. One two of the men said the
| Indian was Tecumseh. l got his whang
awi. Five Indians that were killed in
| but none of them was the chief. Indian
| prisoners that day told us that white
man saw Tecumseh after he fell.
IMPRESSIONS OF HARRISON.
Dr.. Fisk probably first saw General
! Harrison in 1898, when the former lived at
| Coshocton, Dat least that is his first
mention of seeing him. General Harrison
was at that time clerk of Hamilton county,
| Ohio, and was compelled to make occa-
sional trips to Cleveland on official bust
ness. according to DIR. Fisk Coshocton was
the halfway point for the stages, where
the passengers always had to wait. The
| first stop General Harrison made at CO.
| shocton, DR.. Fisk recalled IL, was on
| a Saturday, and he remained over Sunday
rather than travel on that day. This neces-
STATED his staying over Monday, also, as
the stage ran the wrong way for him that
I day, and the Coshocton people were given
| the very pleasant pleasure of hearing the
/ famous warrior speak. The news of his
arrival fired the people with enthusiasm.
lone farmer frantic to get his dead
ripe wheat put into the barn on the Sunday
Immediately following the generals ar
rival" DR.. Fisk said, land 1 remember
| hearing one man that he asked to help him
say, You take your own wheat TO your
granary. Old Tips in town, and I'm going
to see him. General Harrison was one of
| the happiest speakers L have ever heard.
He was almost six feet high, not very
stoutly made; he had a large nose, and /
would call him a homely man. But he had
the most wonderful lynx eyes, and there
was no man who would not feel thrill
clear through him when Tip looked at
him"
In speaking of this first visit of General
Harrison TO Coshocton. DR.. Fisk says:
1.-THE people got up big meeting for him.
! Our congressman introduced him, and there
were a number of noted men present,
among them Gen. Leslie Coombs, of Ken
lucky, and Tom Corwin, candidate for Gov
| ernor, who was In Congress at that time.
When General Harrison was presented he
| arose, took a pinch of snuff and began his
address by saying:
| when Il was a CnllQ Il was Taught Dy
my dear and venerable mother that my
first duty L owed TO my God. At the same
tender age, from a source equally veneer
| able, 1 was taught by my father that my
second duty owed to my country Not a
syllable has faded from my memory For
half hour he continued to speak in
striking parallels There was big dinner
after the meeting, and in the dining hall
| got myself introduced to the general, and
listened TO him talking to his friends, some
of them formerly officers and soldiers un-
4 n i'm his CaSl1 IGN nGf . n
dams and British.
General Harrison came several times on
Saturday and remained through Sunday
| and Monday. In 1910, in the early part OF
| the summer, he came, l remember when he
! was canvassing the country for the nomi-
| nation TO the presidency. L was watching
| for him and met him on the street He
took my arm and talked to me as we
walked along. Then he said Now let me
! show You something, and held up his cane,
! which he told me made from splinter
| knocked from the ship Constitution in her
| fight with the French ship Guerrero. He
! told me that the cane-head was made from
| a bucks horn, sent him by Simon Bolivar
the South American hero. Then he showed
! me small curious looking glass case and
| in explanation said:
"'Outside the city of Warsaw, in Poland
there is a ridge OvergrOwn with alders
where the Poles made their last stand fol
| their liberty. There was not a single stem
of all those alders but that was wet with
| the blood of brave Poles. The stain on this
| piece of bark, showing me the interior OF
| the case, was from the blood OF a cousin OF
| KosciuskO-sent TO me by the Poles as q
testimonial of their appreciation of what
! did for them in the United States Senate.
. The box was Theoretically sealed. Benja-
| min Harrison said to me that he never saw
| IL, but was much interested in Ii. The
| general was then on his way 10 the home OF
one of the leading families of CoshoctOn
| where twenty-siX young ladies were gath
| cred TO meet him. He made me accom-
| pany him. in spite of my bashfulness. He
and l were the only men who were present
| and IL was the most delightful afternoon
| have ever spent He gave us fine talk
| and l remember one of his remarks was:
| - You young folks have little idea of the
lprivations of frontier life. The people
| around Vincennes I'm those early days when
/ was fighting the Indians in Indiana were
| of low order of people and the few of us
| who cared for il could seldom have church
| Sometimes a rowing shepherd brought us
an armful of fodder into the wilderness
| We used to take turns reading sermons
| from volume of sermons published by Til
| litson which my mother gave me-
| This is all the information which the
notes of DIR. Tfsk's recollections give con-
| corning General Harrison, but he used to
| talk of him very much and seemed to place
him on a par with the greatest men. he had
ever met. if not above them.
| Greencastle. Ind.