Tecumseh attacked near Big Rock by some whites under Robert
M'Clelland--severe battle with some Kentuckians on the East Fork of
the Little Miami--attack upon Tecumseh in 1793, on the waters of
Paint creek--Tecumseh present at the attack on fort Recovery in
1794--participates in the battle of the Rapids of the Maumee, in
1794.
From the period of his return, until August of the following year,
1791, Tecumseh spent his time in hunting. In the autumn of this year,
when information reached the Indians, that general St. Clair and his
army were preparing to march from fort Washington, into their country,
this chief headed a small party of spies, who went out for the purpose
of watching the movements of the invading force.[A] While lying on
Nettle creek, a small stream which empties into the Great Miami,
general St. Clair and his army passed out through Greenville to the
head waters of the Wabash, where he was defeated. Tecumseh, of course,
had no personal participation in this engagement, so creditable to the
valor of the Indians, and so disastrous to the arms and renown of the
United States.
[Footnote A: Stephen Ruddell.]
In December, 1792, Tecumseh, with ten other warriors and a boy, were
encamped near Big Rock, between Loramie's creek and Piqua, for the
purpose of hunting. Early one morning, while the party were seated
round the fire, engaged in smoking, they were fired upon by a company
of whites near treble their number. Tecumseh raised the war-whoop, upon
which the Indians sprang to their arms, and promptly returned the fire.
He then directed the boy to run, and in turning round a moment
afterwards, perceived that one of his men. Black Turkey, was running
also. He had already retreated to the distance of one hundred yards;
yet such was his fear of Tecumseh, he instantly obeyed the order to
return, indignantly given him, and joined in the battle. Two of the
whites were killed--one of them by Tecumseh--before they retreated.
While pursuing them Tecumseh broke the trigger of his rifle, which
induced him to give up the chase, or probably more of the whites would
have fallen. They were commanded by Robert M'Clelland. Tecumseh lost
none of his men; two of them, however, were wounded, one of whom was
Black Turkey.[A]
[Footnote A: Anthony Shane.]
In the month of March, 1792, some horses were stolen by the Indians,
from the settlements in Mason county, Kentucky. A party of whites to
the number of thirty-six, was immediately raised for the purpose of
pursuing them. It embraced Kenton, Whiteman, M'Intire, Downing,
Washburn, Calvin and several other experienced woodsmen. The first
named, Simon Kenton, a distinguished Indian fighter, was placed in
command. The trail of the Indians being taken, it was found they had
crossed the Ohio just below the mouth of Lee's creek, which was reached
by the pursuing party towards evening. Having prepared rafts, they
crossed the Ohio that night, and encamped. Early next morning the trail
was again taken and pursued, on a north course, all day, the weather
being bad and the ground wet. On the ensuing morning twelve of the men
were unable to continue the pursuit, and were permitted to return. The
remainder followed the trail until eleven o'clock, A.M., when a bell
was heard, which they supposed indicated their approach to the Indian
camp. A halt was called, and all useless baggage and clothing laid
aside. Whiteman and two others were sent ahead as spies, in different
directions, each being followed by a detachment of the party. After
moving forward some distance, it was found that the bell was
approaching them. They halted and soon perceived a solitary Indian
riding towards them. When within one hundred and fifty yards, he was
fired at and killed. Kenton directed the spies to proceed, being now
satisfied that the camp of the Indians was near at hand. They pushed on
rapidly, and after going about four miles, found the Indians encamped,
on the south-east side of the east fork of the Little Miami, a few
miles above the place where the town of Williamsburg has since been
built. The indications of a considerable body of Indians were so
strong, that the expediency of an attack at that hour of the day was
doubted by Kenton. A hurried council was held, in which it was
determined to retire, if it could be done without discovery, and lie
concealed until night, and then assault the camp. This plan was carried
into execution. Two of the spies were left to watch the Indians, and
ascertain whether the pursuing party had been discovered. The others
retreated for some distance and took a commanding position on a ridge.
The spies watched until night, and then reported to their commander,
that they had not been discovered by the enemy. The men being wet and
cold, they were now marched down into a hollow, where they kindled
fires, dried their clothes, and put their rifles in order. The party
was then divided into three detachments,--Kenton commanding the right,
M'Intire the centre, and Downing the left. By agreement, the three
divisions were to move towards the camp, simultaneously, and when they
had approached as near as possible, without giving an alarm, were to be
guided in the commencement of the attack, by the fire from Kenton's
party. When Downing and his detachment had approached close to the
camp, an Indian rose upon his feet, and began to stir up the fire,
which was but dimly burning. Fearing a discovery, Downing's party
instantly shot him down. This was followed by a general fire from the
three detachments, upon the Indians who were sleeping under some
marquees and bark tents, close upon the margin of the stream. But
unfortunately, as it proved in the sequel, Kenton's party had taken
"Boone," as their watch-word. This name happening to be as familiar to
the enemy as themselves, led to some confusion in the course of the
engagement. When fired upon, the Indians instead of retreating across
the stream as had been anticipated, boldly stood to their arms,
returned the fire of the assailants and rushed upon them. They were
reinforced moreover from a camp on the opposite side of the river,[A]
which until then, had been unperceived by the whites. In a few minutes
the Indians and the Kentuckians were blended with each other, and the
cry of "Boone," and "Che Boone," arose simultaneously from each party.
[Footnote A: M'Donald, in his interesting "Biographical Sketches," of
some of the western pioneers, says this "second line of tents" was on
the lower bottom of the creek and not on the opposite side of it.]
It was after midnight when the attack was made, and there being no
moon, it was very dark. Kenton perceiving that his men were likely to
be overpowered, ordered a retreat after the attack had lasted for a few
minutes; this was continued through the remainder of the night and part
of the next day, the Indians pursuing them, but without killing more
than one of the retreating party. The Kentuckians lost but two men,
Alexander McIntire and John Barr.[A] The loss of the Indians was much
greater, according to the statements of some prisoners, who, after the
peace of 1795, were released and returned to Kentucky. They related
that fourteen Indians were killed, and seventeen wounded. They stated
further, that there were in the camp about one hundred warriors, among
them several chiefs of note, including Tecumseh, Battise, Black Snake,
Wolf and Chinskau; and that the party had been formed for the purpose
of annoying the settlements in Kentucky, and attacking boats descending
the Ohio river. Kenton and his party were three days in reaching
Limestone, during two of which they were without food, and destitute of
sufficient clothing to protect them from the cold winds and rains of
March. The foregoing particulars of this expedition are taken from the
manuscript narrative of general Benjamin Whiteman, one of the early and
gallant pioneers to Kentucky, now a resident of Green county, Ohio.
[Footnote A: The father of the late Major William Barr, for many years
a citizen of Cincinnati.]
The statements of Anthony Shane and of Stephen Ruddell, touching this
action, vary in some particulars from that which has been given above,
and also from the narrative in McDonald's Sketches. The principal
difference relates to the number of Indians in the engagement, and the
loss sustained by them. They report but two killed, and that the Indian
force was less than that of the whites. Ruddell states that at the
commencement of the attack, Tecumseh was lying by the fire, outside of
the tents. When the first gun was heard he sprang to his feet, and
calling upon Sinnamatha[A] to follow his example and charge, he rushed
forward, and killed one of the whites[B] with his war-club. The other
Indians, raising the war-whoop, seized their arms, and rushing upon
Kenton and his party, compelled them, after a severe contest of a few
minutes, to retreat. One of the Indians, in the midst of the
engagement, fell into the river, and in the effort to get out of the
water, made so much noise, that it created a belief on the minds of the
whites that a reinforcement was crossing the stream to aid Tecumseh.
This is supposed to have hastened the order from Kenton, for his men to
retreat. The afternoon prior to the battle, one of Kenton's men, by the
name of McIntire, succeeded in catching an Indian horse, which he tied
in the rear of the camp; and, when a retreat was ordered, he mounted
and rode off. Early in the morning, Tecumseh and four of his men set
off in pursuit of the retreating party. Having fallen upon the trail of
McIntire, they pursued it for some distance, and at length overtook
him. He had struck a fire and was cooking some meat. When McIntire
discovered his pursuers, he instantly fled at full speed. Tecumseh and
two others followed, and were fast gaining on him, when he turned and
raised his gun. Two of the Indians, who happened to be in advance of
Tecumseh, sprung behind trees, but he rushed upon McIntire and made him
prisoner. He was tied and taken back to the battle ground. Upon
reaching it, Tecumseh deemed it prudent to draw off his men, lest the
whites should rally and renew the attack. He requested some of the
Indians to catch the horses, but they, hesitating, he undertook to do
it himself, assisted by one of the party. When he returned to camp with
the horses, he found that his men had killed McIntire. At this act of
cruelty to a prisoner, he was exceedingly indignant; declaring that it
was a cowardly act to kill a man when tied and a prisoner. The conduct
of Tecumseh in this engagement, and in the events of the following
morning, is creditable alike to his courage and humanity. Resolutely
brave in battle, his arm was never uplifted against a prisoner, nor did
he suffer violence to be inflicted upon a captive, without promptly
rebuking it.
[Footnote A: Or Big Fish, the name by which Stephen Ruddell, then
fighting with Tecumseh, was called.]
[Footnote B: John Barr, referred to in a preceding note.]
McDonald, in speaking of this action, says:
"The celebrated Tecumseh commanded the Indians. His cautious and
fearless intrepidity made him a host wherever he went. In military
tactics, night attacks are not allowable, except in cases like this,
when the assailing party are far inferior in numbers. Sometimes in
night attacks, panics and confusion are created in the attacked party,
which may render them a prey to inferior numbers. Kenton trusted to
something like this on the present occasion, but was disappointed; for
when Tecumseh was present, his influence over the minds of his
followers infused that confidence in his tact and intrepidity, that
they could only be defeated by force of numbers."
Some time in the spring of 1793, Tecumseh and a few of his followers,
while hunting in the Scioto valley on the waters of Paint creek, were
unexpectedly attacked by a party of white men from Mason county,
Kentucky. The circumstances which led to this skirmish were the
following. Early in the spring of this year, an express reached the
settlement in Mason, that some stations had been attacked and captured
on Slate creek, in Bath county, Kentucky, and that the Indians were
returning with their prisoners to Ohio. A party of thirty-three men was
immediately raised to cut off their retreat. These were divided into
three companies, of ten men each;--Simon Kenton commanding one,--Baker
another, and James Ward the third. The whole party crossed the Ohio
river at Limestone, and aimed to strike the Scioto above the mouth of
Paint creek. After crossing this latter stream, near where the great
road from Maysville to Chillicothe now crosses it, evening came on, and
they halted for the night. In a short time they heard a noise, and a
little examination disclosed to them that they were in the immediate
vicinity of an Indian encampment. Their horses were promptly taken back
some distance and tied, to prevent an alarm. A council was
held,--captain Baker offered to go and reconnoitre, which being agreed
to, he took one of his company and made the examination. He found the
Indians encamped on the bank of the creek, their horses being between
them and the camp of the whites. After Baker's report was made, the
party determined to remain where they were until near daylight the next
morning; and then to make an attack in the following manner. Captain
Baker and his men were to march round and take a position on the bank
of the stream, in front of the Indian camp: captain Ward was to occupy
the ground in the rear; and captain Kenton one side, while the river
presented a barrier on the fourth, thus guarding against a retreat of
the Indians. It was further agreed that the attack was not to commence
until there was light enough to shoot with accuracy. Before Kenton and
Ward had reached the positions they were respectively to occupy, the
bark of a dog in the Indian camp was heard, and then the report of a
gun. Upon this alarm, Baker's men instantly fired, and captains Kenton
and Ward, with their companies, raising the battle cry, rushed towards
the camp. To their surprise, they found Baker and his men in the rear,
instead of the front of the Indians, thus deranging the plan of attack,
whether from design or accident is unknown. The Indians sent back the
battle cry, retreated a few paces, and treed. It was still too dark to
fire with precision, but random shots were made, and a terrible
shouting kept up by the Indians. While the parties were thus at bay,
Tecumseh had the address to send a part of their men to the rear of the
Kentuckians for the horses; and when they had been taken to the front,
which was accomplished without discovery, the Indians mounted and
effected their escape, carrying with them John Ward, the only one of
their party who was shot. This individual, a white man, had been
captured when three-years old, on Jackson, one of the tributaries of
James river, in Virginia. He had been raised by the Indians, among whom
he had married, and reared several children. He was the brother of
James Ward, one of the leaders of this expedition, and died of his
wound a few days after the engagement, as was subsequently ascertained.
No Indian was killed in this skirmish, and but one of the Kentuckians,
Jacob Jones, a member of Baker's detachment. No pursuit of the Indians
was made from this point, nor did they prove to be the same party who
had been engaged in the attack upon the Slate creek station.[A]
[Footnote A: For the foregoing details of this little expedition, the
author is indebted to captain James Ward, of Mason county, Kentucky,
who commanded one of the detachments on this occasion.]
In McDonald's Sketches, it is stated that "three Indians were killed in
this action; and that when fired upon by their assailants, they dashed
through the creek, and scattered through the woods, like a flock of
young partridges."
On these points, the worthy author of the "Sketches" has undoubtedly
been misinformed. The Indians lost but one man, John Ward; and after
having treed, maintained their ground until they had adroitly obtained
possession of their horses, and then succeeded in making their escape,
carrying off not only the wounded man, but also the women and children
who were with them when attacked. This we learn from authorities before
us, on which reliance may be placed.[A] By one of these, it appears
that there were but six or seven warriors in the party; and, that when
the attack was made, Tecumseh called out to them that the women and
children must be defended, and it was owing to his firmness and
influence that the assailants were kept at bay until the horses of his
party were secured, and the necessary arrangements made for a hasty
retreat.
[Footnote A: Anthony Shane. Stephen Ruddell.]
After this engagement, it is not known that Tecumseh was a party to any
warlike movement, until the summer of the following year. He returned
to the waters of the Miami, and spent his time in hunting, for which he
had a great fondness, and in which he was generally more successful
than any other member of his tribe.
After general Wayne assumed the command of the north-western army, he
caused a fort to be built on the spot where the unfortunate defeat of
his predecessor, general Arthur St. Clair, had occurred. This fort was
named Recovery.
In the summer of 1794, an attack was made upon it by a numerous body of
Indians, among whom was Tecumseh. They were accompanied by a British
officer, and some artillerists, furnished with fixed ammunition, suited
to the calibre of some field pieces which the Indians had taken from
general St. Clair, at the time of his defeat.[A] In referring to this
attack and the movements of general Wayne, Withers, in his "Chronicles
of Border Warfare," says:
"Before the troops marched from fort Washington, it was deemed
advisable to have an abundant supply of provisions in the different
forts in advance of this, as well for the support of their respective
garrisons, as for the subsistence of the general army, in the event of
its being driven into them, by untoward circumstances. With this view,
three hundred pack horses, laden with flour, were sent on to fort
Recovery; and as it was known that considerable bodies of the enemy
were constantly hovering about the forts, and awaiting opportunities of
cutting off any detachments from the main army, major McMahon, with
ninety riflemen under captain Hartshorn, and fifty dragoons under
captain Taylor, was ordered on as an escort. This force was so large as
to discourage the savages from making an attack, until they should
unite their several war parties, and before this could be effected,
major McMahon reached the place of his destination.
"On the 30th of July, as the escort was about leaving fort Recovery, it
was attacked by a body of one thousand Indians, in the immediate
vicinity of the fort. Captain Hartshorn had advanced only three or four
hundred yards, at the head of the riflemen, when he was unexpectedly
beset on every side. With the most consummate bravery and good conduct,
he maintained the unequal conflict, until major McMahon, placing
himself at the head of the cavalry, charged upon the enemy, and was
repulsed with considerable loss. Major McMahon, captain Taylor and
cornet Torrey fell, upon the first onset, and many of the privates were
killed or wounded. The whole savage force being now brought to press on
captain Hartshorn, that brave officer was forced to try and regain the
fort; but the enemy interposed its strength to prevent this movement.
Lieutenant Drake and ensign Dodd, with twenty volunteers, marched from
the fort, and forcing a passage through a column of the enemy, at the
point of the bayonet, joined the rifle corps at the instant that
captain Hartshorn received a shot which broke his thigh. Lieutenant
Craig being killed, and lieutenant Marks taken prisoner, lieutenant
Drake conducted the retreat; and while endeavoring for an instant to
hold the enemy in check, so as to enable the soldiers to bring off
their wounded captain, himself received a shot in the groin, and the
retreat was resumed, leaving captain Hartshorn on the field.
"When the remnant of the troops came within the walls of the fort,
lieutenant Michael, who had been detached at an early period of the
battle by captain Hartshorn to the flank of the enemy, was found to be
missing, and was given up as lost; but while his friends were deploring
his unfortunate fate, he and lieutenant Marks, who had been taken
prisoner, were seen rushing through the enemy from opposite directions,
towards the fort. They gained it safely, notwithstanding they were
actively pursued, and many shots fired at them. Lieutenant Marks had
got off by knocking down the Indian who held him prisoner; and
lieutenant Michael had lost all of his party but three men."
[Footnote A: For this fact see general Harrison's Address on the 50th
Anniversary of the first settlement of Ohio.]
The official letter of general Wayne giving an account of this action,
places the loss of the whites at twenty-two killed and thirty wounded.
"The enemy," continues the report, "were soon repulsed with great
slaughter, but immediately rallied and reiterated the attack, keeping
up a very heavy and constant fire, at a more respectable distance, for
the remainder of the day, which was answered with spirit and effect by
the garrison, and that part of major McMahon's command that had
regained the fort. The savages were employed during the night (which
was dark and foggy,) in carrying off their dead by torchlight, which
occasionally drew a fire from the garrison. They nevertheless succeeded
so well, that there were but eight or ten bodies left on the field, and
those close under the influence of the fire from the fort. The enemy
again renewed the attack on the morning of the first inst., but were
ultimately compelled to retreat with loss and disgrace from that very
field, where they had upon a former occasion, been proudly victorious."
Tecumseh fought in the decisive battle between the American troops
under general Wayne, and the combined Indian forces, which occurred on
the 20th of August, 1794, near the rapids of the Miami of the lakes. It
is not known whether he attended the council, the evening previous to
the engagement, in which the advice of Little Turtle, the Miami chief,
was overruled by the influence of the Shawanoe chief, Blue Jacket. The
former was opposed to giving battle on the following day; the latter in
favor of it. As a _brave_ of distinction, Tecumseh took the command of
a party of Shawanoes in the engagement, but had no participation in the
plan of the attack, or the mode of carrying it into execution. At the
commencement of the action, he was in the advance guard with two of his
brothers. After fighting for some time, in attempting to load his
rifle, he put in a bullet before the powder, and was thus unable to use
his gun. Being at this moment pressed in front by some infantry, he
fell back with his party until they met another detachment of Indians.
Tecumseh urged them to stand fast and fight, saying if any one would
lend him a gun, he would show them how to do it. A fowling-piece was
handed to him, with which he fought for some time, until the Indians
were again compelled to give ground. While falling back, he met another
party of Shawanoes, and although the whites were pressing on them, he
rallied the Indians, and induced them to make a stand in a thicket.
When the infantry pressed close upon them, and had discharged their
muskets into the bushes, Tecumseh and his party returned their fire,
and then retreated, until they had joined the main body of the Indians
below the rapids of the Miami.[A]
[Footnote A: Anthony Shane.]
In this memorable action, which gave victory to the American arms, and
humbled the north-western Indians, William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh
were for the first time opposed to each other in battle. They were both
young, and indeed nearly the same age, and both displayed that courage
and gallantry which ever afterwards signalized their brilliant and
eventful lives.