The life of William Henry Harrison, (of Ohio,) the people's candidate for the presidency : with a history of the wars with the British and Indians on our north-western frontier

Front matter

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an In'diana State Library LSTA Grant

THE LIFE

Preface

The principal aim and object of the following biography, is to place before its readers a fair and impartial narrative of the life of one of our most eminent fellow-citizens, the history of whose public services, both civil and military, is, for many years, closely and inseparably interwoven with that of our country. The many responsible offices held by General Harrison, the numerous important treaties made by him with the Indians, and the prominent part he took in all the wars and negotiations on our North-western frontier, during one 1* {^

VI PREFACE.

of the most exciting and eventful periods of our national existence, render his hfe one of general and absorbing interest. Indeed we look upon the political and moral history of such a man as belonging to his country, and as constituting one of those bright beacon-lights destined to shine as long as the annals of our nation endure. To the character of such a man, justice is rarely done during his life-time. The carpings of envy or jealousy, and the misrepresentations of poHtical opponents taint the public mind to a certain degree, and cast a shadow over the most brilliant actions and the purest and most virtuous motives. But long after the stormy waves that now agitate the great ocean of political strife shall have subsided, when all personal opposition shall have

PREFACE. VJl

shared the fate of its originators and have sunk into a merited oblivion, the page of history will still record, with perennial fame, the good deeds and noble actions of the patriot, the hero and the statesman ; and grateful generations shall point to his example as a bright and unclouded load-star to guide them in the true course to honest and honourable distinction.

The author of this little work has made no attempt at a eulogiurn. From a long personal acquaintance with General Harrison, and a knowledge as well as admiration of his character, he has certainly felt at liberty to express himself on some points relating to his private life, more fully than he would otherwise have ventured. Still his sole endeavour has been to dis-

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charge his duty faithfully to his fellow-citizens, and render them at the present time an acceptable service by offering within as brief a space as possible, a clear, candid, and comprehensive narrative of the life of General Harrison, and of the wars and negotiations on our North-western frontier, in which he took so active a part, from the date of St. Clair's defeat to the close of our last contest with Great Britain — a period embracing a portion of our general history, full of exciting and thrilling interest, and yet but little known to the great mass of the people.

Many of the materials for this biography have been derived from " Dawson's Narrative of the Civil and Military Services of General Harrison," a large octavo pubhshed in Cincinnati, in 1824,

PREFACE. ix

but long since out of print ; from " Butler's History of Kentucky;" and from " M'Afee's History of the Late War in the Western Country." "Hall's Memoir of the Public Services of William Henry Harrison" has likewise occasionally been consulted. And to ensure the necessary accuracy on many leading points of history, a due reference has also been made to our public documents and state papers connected with the events here recorded.

Chapter I

Harrison's birth and parentage. — Sketch of his father's public life and services, — Harrison's education. — His determination to enter the army. — Situation of our North-western frontier at that time. — British intrigues. — Defeat of General Harmar --- Page 15

CHAPTER n.

Harrison enters the United States' army with the commission of an ensign. — Defeat of St. Clair. — Appointment of General Wayne. — Organization of the United States legion. — Harrison is promoted to a lieutenancy. — Is appointed aid to the commander-in-chief. — Wayne's campaigns.— Battle of the Maumee Rapids, and final defeat of the Indians. — Harrison's appointment to the command of Fort Washington. — His marriage -" 22

Chapter III

Harrison resigns his commission in the army. — Is appointed Secretary and Lieutenant Governor of the North-western Territory. — Is elected Delegate to Congress. — Introduces a bill to regu-

XU CONTENTS.

late the disposal of the public lands. — Its justice and true policy. — Its success. — The Northwestern Territory divided. — Harrison resigns his seat in Congress. — Is appointed Governor of Indiana Territory 42

Chapter IV

Condition of Indiana Territory. — Harrison is appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs and Commissioner for treating with the Indians. — His extensive jurisdiction and powers. — Harrison's address to the territorial legislature. — The cession of Louisiana to the United States - - 48

Chapter V

Intrigues of Tecumthe and the Prophet. — The Prophet's visit to Vincennes and interview with Harrison. — Treaty of Fort Wayne. — Dissatisfaction of Tecumthe. — Tecumthe's interview with the Governor. — The Governor's firmness and intrepidity. — Harrison's Message to the Legislature.— Triumphant refutation of slander - - - 62

Chapter VI

Commencement of hostilities. — Harrison assembles the Militia and Volunteers. — He organizes his forces. — March to the Prophet's town. — Battle of Tippecanoe. — Its results - - 81

Chapter VII

Declaration of War with Great Britain. — Measures adopted to defend our North-western frontier.— Governor Harrison is appointed Major

CONTENTS. XIU

General in the Kentucky militia. — He receives the commission of Brigadier General in the service of the United States. — He is made Commander-in-chief of the North-western army. — His extensive powers and arduous duties. — Plan of the Campaign. — Massacre at the River Raisin. — Expedition against the Indian towns - 104

CHAPTER Vni.

Opening of the second Campaign. — Siege at Fort Meigs. — Its gallant Defence. — Brilliant sortie. — Defeat of Colonel Dudley. — The Siege abandoned.— Second Siege of Fort Meigs. — Attack on Fort Stephenson 133

Chapter IX

Harrison advises the construction of a fleet on Lake Erie. — Perry's Victory. — Embarkation of the army. — Invasion of Canada. — Pursuit of the enemy. — Battle of the Thames and capture of the British army. — Close of the campaign. — Resignation of General Harrison 149

Chapter X

Appointment of General Harrison as Commissioner to treat with the Indians. — His election to Congress.— Is chosen a Senator of the State Legislature.— His election to the Senate of the United States. — Is appointed Minister to Colombia. — His Letter to Bolivar. — His recall. — His personal appearance and private Character. — His Letter to Harmar Denny 170

LIFE

OF

WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.

Chapter I

Harrison's birth and parentage. — Sketch of his father's public life and services. — Harrison's education. — His determination to enter the army. — Situation of our North-western frontier at that time. — British intrigues.— Defeat of General Harmer.

William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, on the ninth day of February, 1773, at Berkeley, an estate on the James River, in the county of Charles City. The family from which he is descended settled in Virginia in the year 1640. At an extremely early period in the history of that province, the name of Harrison appears among the most prominent mentioned in their public annals, and the honourable station which it then held has descended unsullied to our own times.

Benjamin Harrison, the father of the subject of this memoir, was one of the foremost and most conspicuous patriots of our country. Before he had attained his twenty-first year, he was elected to the provincial legislature, and took his seat in the House of Burgesses, where he continued to represent his native district, with much honour, for many years. He, on every occasion, manifested a sincere devotion to the interests of the province, and was one of that patriotic band of members who united, heart and hand, in opposing the oppressive measures of the mother country. On the fourteenth of November, 1764, he was appointed with several other distinguished members of the house, to prepare an address to the king, a meniorial to the lords, and a remonstrance to the house of commons, in opposition to the odious Stamp Act — a bill in favour of which had already been proposed to parliament by George Grenville, the British minister of finance. These papers were accordingly prepared by this committee, and Mr. Harrison thus evinced, several years before the date of our revolution, his determination to side with the people in their struggle to defend their sacred rights, and in their resistance to the rapacious tyranny of the crown.

In August, 1774, Mr. Harrison was appointed one of the delegates frona Virginia to the first Continental Congress, which assembled in Philadelphia, on the first of the ensuing September : and on that day, he had the gratification of seeing his colleague and brother-inlaw, Peyton Randolph, placed in the presidential chair by the unanimous choice of the assembled delegates.

At the Congress of the following year, 1775, after the death of Mr. Randolph, it w^as the wish of nearly all the southern members, that Mr. Harrison should succeed him in the presidency ; but as the patriotic John Hancock of Massachusetts had likewise been nominated, Mr. Harrison, to avoid any sectional jealousy or unkindness of feeling between the northern and southern delegates, at so momentous a crisis, with a noble self-denial and generosity relinquished his own claims, and insisted on the election of Mr. Hancock, who accordingly had the honour of being unanimously chosen to that high office. Mr. Harrison still, however, continued one of the most active and influential members of the Continental Con- . 2* gress. On the tenth of June, 1776, as chairman of the committee of the whole house, he introduced the resolution which declared the independence of the colonies, and on the following ever-memorable fourth of July, he reported the more formal Declaration of Independence, to which celebrated document his signature is annexed.

The Legislature of Virginia returned Mr. Harrison four times as a delegate to Congress. On the expiration of his last term of congressional service, he was immediately elected to the House of Burgesses from his own county, and was at once chosen speaker of that body ; an office which he held uninterruptedly until the year 1782, when he was elected governor of Virginia-, and became one of the most popular officers that ever filled the executive chair. This eminent patriot died in the year 1791.

William Henry Harrison was left by his father under the guardianship of his friend, Robert Morris, the distinguished financier of our revolution. He was educated at Hampden Sydney College ; and, by the advice of his friends, turned his attention to the study of medicine. But about the period when he had completed his education, soon after the death of his father, the increased and barbarous hostihties of the Indians on our northwestern borders, began to excite a feehng of indignation throughout the whole country. In this general excitement our young student participated so warmly, that he resolved to relinquish his professional pursuits, and join the army destined to the defence of the Ohio frontier. The service was then neither popular nor inviting, but on the contrary was exceedingly toilsome and fraught with great danger and hardships ; and nothing but high courage and elevated motives, could have induced him to form such a resolve at so gloomy a period. This determination was warmly opposed, too, by many of his friends as well as by his prudent guardian. But his generous design was cordially approved and encouraged by one whom he thought entitled to even more influence — by General Washington, who had been his father's intimate friend, and who was, at that time, president of the United States.

The war in our western country was then assuming a very alarming aspect. But few of the warlike Indians on the frontier had at that time declared in our favour, while the powerful tribes of the Miamies, the Hurons, or Wyandots, the Delawares, the Shawnees, the Kickapoos, the Potowatomies, the Ottaicas, and the Winnebagoes, who occupied all the borders of our northern lakes, and were scattered through'the whole immense extent of our northwestern territory, were engaged in active hostility against the United States.

Most of these Indian tribes had been in the service of Great Britain during our revolutionary struggle ; and they were no doubt urged to the course they now pursued, in some measure,, by their own savage love for war, but still more by the instigations of the British authorities, in Canada, who, contrary to the provisions of the treaty of peace, still held forcible possession of Detroit, Mackinac, Niagara, and other forts in our acknowledged territory, and continued to tamper with the Indians wdthin our limits, and to supply them freely with arms and ammunition to carry on the war against our country. Thus incited, they still persisted in their barbarous hostilities, and accounts were almost daily received of their having perpetrated some ruthless aggression or outrage of unexampled ferocity. From the year 1783, when Great Britain acknowledged our independence, and war "with the mother country ceased, up to the year 1791, it was estimated that more than fifteen hundred of our hardy borderers had fallen victims to the rifle and scalping-knife of their savage foes. Our north-western frontier presented an appalling scene of rapine, conflagration, and wanton destruction of life and property. Many of our border settlements had been crushed in their infancy, and all had been retarded in their grow^th. Expedition after expedition, fitted out to oppose them, had met with the most disheartening losses; and finally a gallant army under Brigadier General Harmer, which had been sent expressly to chastise these savages, after destroying some of their towns, had been signally defeated by them, and almost annihilated. Of the few experienced oflicers who escaped from Harmer's defeat, nearly all, worn out with the fatigues of a service so harassing, and shrinking from a warfare of so dangerous and barbarous a nature, had resigned their commissions ; and a general feeling of dismay began to pervade the whole of our exposed frontier.

Such was the gloomy aspect of aflfairs, when the ardent and generous patriotism of young Harrison prompted him to give up the comforts and luxuries that surrounded him at home, and enter his country's service in defence of his fellow-citizens.

Chapter II

Harrison enters the United States' army with the commission of an ensign. — Defeat of St. Clair. — Appointment of General Wayne. — Organization of the United States legion. — Harrison is promoted to a lieutenancy.— Is appointed aid to the commander-in-chief. — Wayne's campaigns.:— Battle of the Maumee Rapids, and final defeat of the Indians. — Harrison's appointment to the command of Fort Washington. — His marriage.

In the autumn of the year 1791, Harrison received the commission of an ensign in the United States artillery, from the hands of the president. General Washington, whose warm approval had greatly cheered him in his design. He hastened immediately to' join his regiment, which was then stationed at Fort Washington, which occupied the present site of the city of Cincinnati, where he arrived a few days after the unfortunate defeat of General St. Clair, near the Miami villages, by the confederated Indians, under the command of Meshecunnaqua, the Little Turtle, a celebrated Miami warrior, and Buckongelas, head chief of the Delawares. This disastrous defeat, in which St. Clair's army was destroyed, with the loss of nearly a thousand men, killed or taken prisoners, left the whole of our north-western frontier exposed to the ravages of a merciless enemy, and added greatly to the general consternation before existing.

The whole defence of our extensive frontier now devolved on the broken fragments of an army panic-struck and dispirited by their recent defeat, while the Indians, flushed with victory, had grown still more daring and audacious than ever. Winter was approaching, and the privations to be anticipated by those who were stationed at our remote posts were so great, that Harrison, young, slender, and apparently of a delicate constitution, was advised by his friends to resign his commission, and avoid hardships which he seemed but little fitted to encounter. But he rejected this advice without hesitation, and by an almost reckless exposure of his person to danger and fatigue, soon proved himself well qualified for the arduous service he had chosen.

Not long after his arrival at Fort Washington, his courage and good conduct were put to the test, by his being appointed to the command of an escort having in charge a supply of provisions and munitions of war, destined for Fort Hamilton. The perilous duty of conducting this escort through a wilderness infested by hostile Indians, required an uncommon degree of personal exposure, as well as constant watchfulness, and a greater share of prudence and military sagacity than is usually found in so young an officer. But he acquitted himself of this duty with so much skill and success as to elicit the warm approbation and encomium of his commander, General St. Clair.

At this time, the degrading vice of intemperance was unhappily but too common among the officers of our army. Removed from the wholesome restraints of civihzed society, and deprived of the comforts of domestic life, the extreme hardships they were often' compelled to endure, predisposed the young officers, in their moments of relaxation, to indulge in debasing excesses, to the great injury of their reputation and the frequent destruction of their health. But Harrison had the good sense to see the danger to which he was exposed, and^ the firmness of character to resist the enticements of dissipation. And in the midst of these temptations, he laid the foundation of those habits of temperance, which subsequentlyenabled him to support so well the severe fatigues and hardships of a border warfare, andwhich have adhered to him through life, givinghim, even to the present day, a remarkabledegree of health and vigour.

In the unfortunate state of things existing^ after St. Clair's defeat, our government saw the necessity of adopting immediate and efficient means to put an end to this savage conflict. Another army was promptly raised, and the command given to General Anthony- Wayne of Pennsylvania, a gallant and skilful officer, who had earned a brilliant reputation? in the revolutionary war. The United States- Legion, as Wayne's army was called in the= new organization, assembled at Pittsburgh, inthe summer of 1792 ; and in the ensuing montb of November, they left that place, and went into winter quarters, at an eligible position on 3 the Ohio, 22 miles below Pittsburgh. This place they called Legionville.

Our illustrious President, Washington, guided by his customary humanity, had instructed General Wayne to endeavour, if possible, to conciliate the Indians, and prevent the further effusion of blood. In pursuance of these instructions. General Wayne invited several distinguished chiefs of some of the principal tribes to visit him at Legionville. Accordingly, in March, 1793, Cornplanter, a noted warrior, Guasthua, an aged chief, JVeio Arrow, Big Tree, and several others, made their appearance at the encampment. But after a council with these chiefs, it soon became evident that no honour-able terms of peace could be established with the Indians. Excited by their recent yictories, and stimulated by the intrigues of the British, they had become exceedingly unreasonable in their demands. They now insisted that the American government should relinquish all claim to the immense extent of territory north-west of the Ohio river, notwithstanding it had been obtained by open and repeated treaties and by fair purchase, and had already been partially disposed of to actual settlers, whose rights, emanating from our government, we were, in common justice, bound to protect. They further declared that nothing would now satisfy them but the establishment of the Ohio river as a permanent boundary, beyond which our settlements should never be permitted to extend.

Terms so haughtily demanded, and so sternly opposed to our national honour and good faith, as well as to our interest, were,- of course, wholly inadmissible ; and General Wayne was now compelled to prepare for the only alternative offered him, a savage and desolating war. This was, therefore, on our part, strictly a war of self-defence — since we had no other honourable means of defending our border settlements from the fierce aggressions of the Indians, or of uprooting the influence of the British authorities, who, in defiance of the declaration of peace, were still warring against us through their former savage auxiharies.

On the 30th of April, 1793, General Wayne broke up his winter quarters at Legion ville, and conveyed his army in boats down the Ohio to Fort Washington. At this place Harrison, having been promoted to a lieutenancy, joined the Legion. His fearlessness and energy, with his strict attention to discipline, soon attracted the notice of his commander-in-chief, himself a bold and daring soldier and a rigid disciplinarian ; and General Wayne, not long after his arrival, selected him as one of his aids-de-camp.

It will thus be seen at how early a period, and in what trying times, young Harrison was thought worthy of honourable distinction ; and how soon, too, he attracted the attention and especial notice of a man and a soldier Hke Wayne, whose well-known independence of character w^as such, that no influence savje that of intrinsic merit was ever with him of any avail, and whose daring and almost reckless intrepidity had won him, in our revolutionary war, the lingular appellation of " Mad Anthony."

The ensuing summer was occupied by General Wayne in disciplining his troops, and in obtaining reinforcements and supplies, preparatory to the next campaign. Having at length received instructions from the Secretary of War to commence active operations, early in October he left Fort Washington, and advanced with* his army eighty miles along the south-western bank of the Miami. But as the season was now too far advanced to^ permit him to carry the plans he had formed into execution, he strongly fortified a position which was called Greenville, where his army went into quarters for the winter.

But the winter was not suffered to pass in idleness. On the 23d of December, the com- ^mander-in-chief sent a detachment of eight companies of infantry and a battalion of artillery, to take possession of the ground on which St. Clair's army had been defeated. A strong post, called Fort Recovery, was built on this mournful battle-field, and the bones of our gallant soldiers, who were there slain, were carefully collected and interred with military honours. The artillery used on this interesting occasion, to pay the last tribute of respect over the graves of those who fell on the bloody 4th of November, 1791, were the same that were lost on that fatal day, but which were now recovered by this detachment.

In the general order issued by the commander-in-chief, on the return of these troops, he particularly notices Lieutenant Harrison, who accompanied the expedition — and tenders him " his best thanks for his voluntary aid and services on this occasion." We thus find Harrison, though at an early age, and young in 3* the service, foremost in volunteering his aid on every occasion where danger was to be encountered or duty performed.

On the 30th of June, 1794, Fort Recovery was fiercely assailed by a large body of Indians, aided by British and Canadian auxiliaries. But though their assaults were unusually bold and daring, and repeatedly renewed, they were each time bravely, repulsed, and were finally compelled to retreat with great loss. About two weeks subsequent to this attack on Fort Recovery, General Wayne was reinforced by a body of mounted volunteers from Kentucky, under the command of General Scott. On the 8th of the following August, having, by a rapid movement, advanced seventy miles beyond Greenville, he encamped at Grand Glaise, in the very heart of the Indian country. In hi^ dispatch to the War Department on this occasion, the commander-, in-chief says, — " We have thus gained possession of the grand emporium of the hostile Indians in the west, without loss of blood. The very extensive and highly-cultivated fields and gardens show the work of many hands. The margins of those beautiful rivers^ the Miami of the Lake, and Au Glaise, appear lik^ one continued village for a number of miles above and below the place ; nor have I ever before beheld such immense fields of corn in any part of America, from Canada to Florida."

A strong vs^ork, called Fort Defiance, was immediately erected by our troops at the confluence of the rivers mentioned in the above despatch. General Wayne now felt himself fully prepared for decisive operations ; but before striking the final blow, he, in .compliance with his instructions, renewed his endeavours to conciliate and effect some amicable nesjotiation with the Indians. " I have thought proper," he said, " to offer the enemy a last overture of peace ; and as they have every thing that is dear and interesting at stake, I have reason to expect they will listen to the proposition mentioned in the inclosed copy of an address dispatched yesterday by a special flag, under circumstances that will insure his safe return, and may eventually spare the effusion of much human blood." " But should war be their choice, that blood be upon their own heads. America shall no longer be insulted with impunity. To an all-powerful and just God, I therefore commit myself and gallant army."

The Indians haughtily rejected this overture, contrary to the advice of Little Turtle, the celebrated warrior who had commanded the combined forces of the Indian tribes at the defeat of St. Clair's army. This sagacious chief, at a council held by the Indians on the night of the 19th of August, a few hours only before the battle, strongly recommended the acceptance of the offered terms of peace. " We have beaten the enemy," said he, " twice, under separate commanders. We cannot expect the same good fortune to attend us al- ■ways. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps : the night and the day are alike to him. And during all the time he has been marching upon our villages, notvidthstanding the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers me it would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace."

General Wayne had, in the meantime, left Fort Defiance, and advanced within. a short distance of the Rapids of the Mianpi, (now generally known as the Maumee,) where the British had recently erected a strong fort for the purpose of encouraging and controlling the neighbouring Indians.

On the 19th of August our troops were employed in making a temporary fortification, which they called Fort Deposite, for the protection of their military stores and baggage, and in reconnoitring the position of the Indians who were encamped behind a thick, bushy wood, and near the British fort. On the following day w^as fought that memorable battle, which we cannot better describe tlian by quoting a portion of the graphic account of General Wayne himself, in his official letter to the Secretary of War.

" At 8 o'clock on the 20th," said General Wayne, " the army advanced in columns, agreeably to the standing order of march ; the legion on the right flank, covered by the Miami,— one brigade of mounted volunteers on the left, under Brigadier General Todd, and the other in the rear, under Brigadier General Barbee : — a select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front of the legion, commanded by Major Price, who was directed to keep sufficiently advanced — so as to give timely notice for the troops to form, in case of action — it being yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war. After advancing about five miles, Major Price's corps received so severe a fire from the enemy, who were secreted in the woods and high grass, as to compel them to retreat.

" The legion was immediately formed in two lines, principally in a close, thick wood, which extended for miles on our left ; and for a very considerable distance in front, the ground being covered with old fallen timber, probably occasioned by a tornado, which rendered it impracticable for cavalry to act with effect, and afforded the enemy the most favourable covert for their savage mode of warfare, they were formed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extending nearly two., miles, at right angles with the river.

"I soon discovered, -from the weight of the fire, and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in possession of their favourite ground, and endeavouring to turn our left flank. I therefore gave orders for the second line to advance, to support the first, and directed Major General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages, with the whole of the mounted volunteers, vby a circuitous route : at the same time I ordered the front line to advance with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet; and, when up, to deliver a close and well directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again. I also ordered Captain Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, which afforded a favourable field for that corps to act in.

" All these orders were obeyed with spirit and promptitude ; but such was the impetuosity of the charge of the first line of infantry, that the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from all their coverts in so short . a time, that although every exertion was used by the officers of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd, and Barbee, of the mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, yet but a part of each could get up in season to participate in the action ; the enemy being driven, in the course of one hour, more than two miles, through the thick woods already mentioned, by less than one-half their numbers.