page_title: Battle of Tippecanoe
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Tippecanoe / Background
context_page_description: The Battle of Tippecanoe was fought on November 7, 1811 in Battle Ground, Indiana between American forces led by Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory and Indian forces associated with Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, leaders of a confederacy of various tribes who opposed European settlement of the American West. As tensions and violence increased, Governor Harrison marched with an army of about 1,000 men to attack the confederacy's headquarters at Prophetstown, near the confluence of the Tippecanoe River and the Wabash River.
  Tecumseh was not yet ready to oppose the United States by force and was away recruiting allies when Harrison's army arrived. Tenskwatawa was a spiritual leader but not a military man, and he was in charge. Harrison camped near Prophetstown on November 6 and arranged to meet with Tenskwatawa the following day. Early the next morning, however, warriors from Prophetstown attacked Harrison's army. They took the army by surprise, but Harrison and his men stood their ground for more than two hours. The Indians were ultimately repulsed when their ammunition ran low.
context_section_description: William Henry Harrison was appointed governor of the newly formed Indiana Territory in 1800, and he sought to secure title to the area for settlement. In particular, he hoped that the Indiana Territory would attract enough settlers to qualify for statehood. He negotiated numerous land cession treaties with American Indians, including the Treaty of Fort Wayne on September 30, 1809 in which Miami, Pottawatomie, Lenape, and other tribal leaders sold 3,000,000 acres (approximately 12,000 km²) to the United States.
  Tenskwatawa was known as the Prophet and had been leading a religious movement among the northwestern tribes, calling for a return to the ancestral ways. His brother Tecumseh was outraged by the Treaty of Fort Wayne, and he revived an idea advocated previously by Shawnee leader Blue Jacket and Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, which stated that Indian land was owned in common by all tribes, and land could not be sold without agreement by all the tribes.
  Tecumseh was not ready to confront the United States directly, and he found that he was opposed by the Indian leaders who had signed the treaty. He threatened to kill anyone and their followers who carried out the terms of the treaty, and he traveled widely, urging warriors to abandon their chiefs and join his resistance at Prophetstown, insisting that the Fort Wayne treaty was illegitimate. He met with Governor Harrison in 1810 and demanded that Harrison nullify the treaty, and he warned that settlers should not attempt to settle the lands sold in the treaty. Harrison rejected his demands and insisted that the tribes could have individual relations with the United States. Tecumseh warned him that he would seek an alliance with the British if hostilities broke out.
  Tensions had been high for several months between the United States and Britain as a result of British interference in American commerce with France. As early as 1810, British agents had sought to secure an alliance with Indians to assist in the defense of Canada should hostilities break out, but the Indians had been reluctant to accept their offer, fearing that they had little to benefit from such an arrangement.
  In August 1811, Tecumseh again met with Harrison at Vincennes, Indiana, and he assured Harrison that the Shawnee brothers meant to remain at peace with the United States. Tecumseh then traveled to the Southeast on a mission to recruit allies among the "Five Civilized Tribes".  Most of the southern tribes rejected his appeals, but a faction of the Creek people answered his call to arms and became known as the Red Sticks. They led the Creek War, an internal war among factions that were divided over adoption of some American ways. This became a part of the War of 1812, as the Red Sticks opposed the United States.
  Harrison left the territory for business in Kentucky shortly after the meeting with Tecumseh, and secretary John Gibson was acting governor. Gibson had lived among the Miami tribe for many years and quickly learned of Tecumseh's plans for war. He immediately called out the territory's militia and sent emergency letters calling for the return of Harrison. Most of the militia regiments had formed by mid-September and Harrison had returned, accompanied by a small force of army regulars, and he took command. He had already communicated with his superiors in Washington, D.C., and he was authorized to march against the confederacy in a show of force in the hopes that its members would accept peace.
  Harrison gathered the scattered militia companies at Fort Knox near a settlement on Maria Creek north of Vincennes. He was joined by a 60-man company called the Yellow Jackets from Corydon, Indiana, named for their bright yellow coats, as well as the Indiana Rangers.
  The force of about 1,000 men set out north towards Prophetstown, consisting of about 250 army regulars from the 4th US Infantry Regiment, 100 Kentucky volunteers, and nearly 600 Indiana militia, including two companies of the Indiana Rangers. They reached Terre Haute, Indiana on October 3, where they camped and built Fort Harrison while waiting
caption: William Henry Harrison as painted by Rembrandt Peale in 1814
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