The Tippecanoe text-book

Introduction

The compiler of the following pages wa^ for nearly twenty years connected with "Niles' Register," either as associate or principal editor of that work. In October last he retired from it; but since GENERAL HARRISON'S nomination for the presidency, numerous applications have been addressed lo him from different sections of the country, by individuals seeking official information illustrative of the character and services of that veteran soldier-statesman. Such information as is embraced in the pages of the "Register"* has always been promptly and cheerfully given. But he thought he could relieve himself from the necessity of answering every individual applicant, and perform an acceptable service to the friends of general Harrison, by making a synopsis of all the documents, &c, in the "Register," and publishing it in the whig newspapers. He had not, however, advanced far in that task, before he discovered that it would be utterly impracticable to compress within the limits of a newspaper the vast mass of testimony which is necessary to do full justice to his character, and to satisfy the reasonable curiosity of the public; especially that younger portion, who were not actors in the busy scenes of the late war with Great Britain. He, therefore, made an arrangement with general Duff Green for the publication of the following compilation; for which he claims no credit, and is fully sensible that it abounds with evidences of the haste with which it was prepared for the press. But he has kept it free from all comments which might reflect upon general Harrison's former associates, and confined himself exclusively to documentary evidence, which no one can dispute.

Neither is it submitted in the spirit of proselytism ; but with a sincere desire to do justice to a pure patriot, whose well-earned fame has been shamelessly traduced for the most vile and selfish purposes ; and whether he is, or is not elected president of the United States, it is due to his character that the evidences of his devotion to the interests of his country should be more widely diffused among the people. The compiler must remark, however, that every document from the pen of general Harrison affords conclusive proof of his ability to do his own " writing" as well as his own "Jighting," for they are characterized by a bold, manly, and vigorous style, and abound with those graceful and well-turned periods which mark the practised writer and accomplished scholar. It will also be seen, in the notices of the enthusiasm of the people during the late war, that he was hailed as "The Washington of the West," and was the first American, since the death of the "Father of his Country" whose services in the cause of civil liberty were compared with those of that great benefactor of the human race. The compiler believes that a " Second Washington" will not appear among mankind ; and with a sentiment of general Harrison, (which contains an admonition to the American people that should be inscribed on every ballot-box in the country in letters of gold,) offered in reply to a toastf drunk in his honor at Cincinnati, in September, 1828, he submits the "Text-Book to the sober judgment of the people.

Br general Harrison : — Electioneering tricks, designed by the great enemy of mankind for the destruction of free governments, by preventing a free expression of the public will.

* It may be well to state, that the "Register" is admitted to be good authority by all parties, and that it is admitted as evidence in the courts of law. i " That he dared to be honest in the worst of times."

•

THE

TIPPECANOE TEXT-BOOK.

Chapter I. Biographical Memoirs Of General William Henrt Harrison.*

To the catalogue of those who have distinguished themselves by an early victory over sloth, sensuality, and ease, and by a magnanimous oblation of life and personal services at the shrine of patriotism and military glory, it becomes our pleasing task to add the conqueror of Tippecanoe and the hero of the Thames.

Major-general WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON is descended from one of the oldest and most respectable families in Virginia. Through the earliest records of the colonies, the name of Harrison may be traced in the highest order of office ; but our particular information respecting it goes no farther back than the great-grandfather of our present subject, who, though he died young, filled the chair of the house of delegates of that province. His son, too, the grandfather of our William Henry, was a man of considerable wealth, and of vast influence in the colonies ; and at his death left several sons, of whom some held considerable rank afterwards, not only in the legislative assembly of the state, but in the provincial army during the revolutionary war. Benjamin, the eldest of these, and the father of our hero, rendered himself particularly conspicuous by his prompt adoption of the cause of the colonies, in defiance of the suggestions of self-interest, which, at that period, would have dictated an adherence to the cause of the mother country. His possessions in the country were large, his personal influence was extensive and commanding, and the consideration in which he was held by the royal government, was of a nature to secure to him every advantage he could reasonably hope to derive from the favor of the crown. Insensible, however, to every personal solicitation, he, on the first breaking out of the revolutionary troubles, without hesitation or delay formed the generous resolution to cling to the cause of his country ; in defence of her rights and independence, to put his property, his life, and all his hopes on the hazard of the die ; nay, if it should be necessary, to lay them all down as a sacrifice in the struggle ; and, in a word, to rise or fall with the fortunes of America. Zeal so very disinterested naturally inspired the people with confidence in his fidelity, while of his talents he had already given such ample proofs, as evinced his qualifications for offices of the highest trust; he was therefore elected by his countrymen to represent the state of Virginia in the continental congress, during the successive sessions of 1774, 1775, and 1776; and in 1777, declining a re-election to congress, was chosen speaker of the lower branch of the state legislature, in which office he continued to act till the year 1782, when he was appointed governor of Virginia in the room of governor Nelson, who had resigned. In all these dignified stations, his conduct was so decided and beneficial to the country, and he on every occasion evinced so much spirit, patriotic zeal, and wisdom, that, with each successive gradation of office, he rose in the esteem, affection, and confidence of his fellow-citizens, till at length he reached the high form graced with the Washingtons, the Henrys, the Randolphs, and the other illustrious men who formed that splendid constellation of worthies, which will immortalize the new world.

In the unwearied discharge of these most important duties, we find him employed during the whole of the revolutionary war. Looking to the journals of congress, we see them filled with repeated testimonials of the implicit trust reposed in his talents and fidelity by that august body. There he appears as one of the three members

* This memoir is chiefly extracted from a memoir published in "Niles' Register" of 1816, and copied from the "Port Folio." The events subsequent to 1816are taken from a very interesting biography of general Harrison, from the pen of I. R. Jackson of Philadelphia, and recently published in that city. 3 nominated to proceed to Washington's camp in the year 1775, in order to persuade the army to extend their term of service : again, one of the committee appointed to determine whether New York should be burned or defended : after that, chairman of that celebrated committee styled ' the board of war ;' and, lastly, chairman of the no less dignified than memorable assembly, in which that momentous subject, the Declaration of Independence, was debated.

Thus honored and deserving of honor, lived the father of general Harrison to the year 1791 ; when, at the age of sixty-five, he was gathered to his forefathers, leaving behind him three sons, the youngest of whom is the gentleman of whose exploits we are now to speak, and who was born at the family seat in Virginia, on the ninth of February, 1773.

Though the property of Mr. Benjamin Harrison was large, it was not sufficient to place every branch of a numerous offspring in a state of opulent independence suitable to their wonted standing, and according to the customs of the society in which they lived. In his own talents, had they been exclusively devoted to the improvement of his fortune, he had a perennial spring of wealth ; but those were so entirely bestowed upon public concerns, and his time was so engrossed by the official duties which he had to periorm at a distance from home, that his private affairs were neglected by him, and of course impaired. Office, which in all other times and countries has tended to enrich the possessor, brought nothing but glory to our patriots of that day ; and Mr. Harrison, while he was asserting his country's independence, was consuming his family's patrimony. Not that he was addicted to any of those wasteful sports, much less to any of those degrading vices, on which splendid fortunes are too often lavished away in that state. His establishment at Berkley is represented as a model of elegant comfort, and liberal but correct hospitality ; in which, however, plain good sense presided ; yet, owing to the causes already mentioned, his fortune began to fall to waste ; and this suggested to him the expediency of giving his sons such an education as would qualify them for lucrative as well as honorable pursuits in life.

William Henry, who entered upon his education after his elder brothers had finished theirs and been settled in business, was at an early age placed at a grammar-school, from which in due time he was sent to Hampden College, where he remained till he completed his fourteenth year, when he was removed to an academy in Southampton county. There he remained till he entered his seventeenth year; at which time, being pronounced by the principal well qualified to commence the study of physic, for which he was destined by his father, he was placed for a short period under the tuition of doctor Leiper, a practising physician of respectable standing in Richmond, and, in the spring of 1791, was sent to Philadelphia to finish his medical studies.

It was while he was on his journey to Philadelphia that his father died ; and this event determined him to abandon altogether a profession which he had consented to enter upon merely to gratify that gentleman. The reception he met from all the eminent professors of that day, — Rush, Shippen, Wistar, &c, particularly from the first of these, — on account of the services rendered by his father dunng the progress of the revolution, was insufficient to shake his purpose. But what profession to choose in lieu of the medical, was the question which demanded the most prompt decision, as his brother had given him to understand by letter, that the personal property left by his father fell short of what would be necessary to the successful prosecution of his original scheme of life.

The connexions of this gentleman, however, were respectable ; the family influence was great. Besides president Washington's having a warm interest in his welfare, he was related to attorney-general Randolph, to colonel Bassett, and to Mrs. Washington ; and Mr. Randolph, on being appointed secretary of state, offered him a situation in his office. General Henry Lee, of Virginia, however, having about the same time proposed to him to take a commission in the army, he without hesitation agreed to accept of it, as infinitely more congenial with his taste and active disposition, than any other situation that he could hope to acquire: yet justly apprehensive that his choice would not meet the approbation of his connexions, he settled it that general Lee should solicit the commission at the war-office without communicating the matter to either of his friends, Mr. Randolph, or Mr. Morris ; but the president happening to mention the affair to Mr. Morris, the latter immediately required our young gentleman's attendance at his house ; upon which our young soldier, suspecting that the object of the summons was to dissuade him from going into the army, flew to the war-office, received his commission in the first regiment of United States infantry, thence hastening to judge Wilson, took the necessary oaths before him, and then proceeded with those documents in his pocket to the house of his patron and friend, who expressed his entire disapprobation of the step he had taken, but said that he would no longer oppose it ; and added, " You are going to a fine country, where, if you should leave the army, you may establish yourself to advantage." The regiment in which he was commissioned was then employed on the western waters, under general St. Clair ; and from subsequent events it would seem as if Mr. Morris had spoken in the spirit no less of the prophet than the friend ; for that very country soon after became the scene of his fame, and the high-road to his fortune and honor.

After spending in Philadelphia a few weeks, during which he was employed in the recruiting service, he proceeded to join his regiment, and arrived at Fort Washington in the north-western territory, a few days after the defeat of general St. Clair's army by the Indians. His arrival is yet remembered by several persons at Cincinnati, who, when he became a man of consequence and popularity in that country, took pleasure in describing his person. The ensign might have been forgotten, but the governor and the major-general buoyed up all the minute circumstances which would have sunk with the poor subaltern officer to the bottom of oblivion. Accordingly, we are told that ensign Harrison, when he joined his corps, was a stripling of nineteen years of age ; tall, thin, puerile in his person, and to all appearance but wretchedly qualified for the hardships to which a soldier is liable in the wilderness. Yet with such a frame, softened by all the comfort and delicacy in which the wealthy families of the southern states rear up their children, was our military novice at once exposed to the most trying circumstances.

The broken remains of general St. Clair's army were every day arriving at the fort, naked, broken down* and dispirited. The period of service of the militia had expired : the detachment of the second regiment of regulars that was in the action under St. Clair, was entirely cut up, and thus the task of maintaining the line of posts that had been erected, or establishing new ones, and of affording convoys for provisions, devolved upon an inconsiderable body, composed of between three and four hundred of the first regiment, and the miserable fragments of general St. Clair's shattered army. The situation of our young soldier was now such as might well have discouraged the stoutest heart, and disposed him to listen to the admonitions of his friends in Philadelphia — nay, so formidable was the prospect before him, that a friend whom he met by accident at the fort, after giving him a lively picture of the excessive hardships to which he must necessarily be exposed, with a frame and constitution so wholly unequal to it, exhorted him to resign his commission and return home again, assuring him that even though he should be able to sustain those hardships, it was scarcely possible he should resist the seductive habits of intemperance which at that time prevailed in the army. All these remonstrances were unavailing. Taking counsel partly from his own private inclination, and partly from a nice sensibility to shame, which suggested, in exaggerated colors, the impropriety of retreating from his purpose in such a crisisy'and perhaps a little too from the apprehension of being ridiculed by his former associates, he determined to persevere, and was soon after appointed to the command of a detachment of twenty men ordered to escort a number of pack-horses to Fort Hamilton ; a duty which, though it was attended with singular difficulties, distresses, and privations, and with all the hardships incident to Indian warfare, such as lying out unsheltered and exposed to the inclemency of the weather, to rain and snow, and wind by night as well as by day, he accomplished to such perfect satisfaction, that he received the public thanks of general St. Clair for his conduct.

Soon afterwards general St. Clair set out for Philadelphia, and early in January, 1792, general Wilkinson being appointed colonel of the second regiment, took the command of the army. Of this event general Harrison always speaks with pleasure, as making a very interesting era in his life.

The successive defeats of Harmar and St. Clair pointed out to government the necessity of adopting a more effectual mode of repressing the Indians, or in other words, of calling into action against them a larger force and a more cautious system of operations. Negotiations for peace, therefore, were set on foot, in order, if possible, to

a 2 bring the savages to reason, at the same time that an act of congress was passed for raising a considerable army ; and in order to provide against that error which had occasioned the two past defeats, viz. the want of discipline in the troops. The whole of the year 1792, and the winter and spring of 1793, were employed in raising men, and instructing them in military discipline. The new troops were stationed under general Wayne, at first a few miles below Pittsburg, and then descending the Ohio, were encamped upon its banks below Cincinnati, where' Harrison joined them, in June, 1793, and was appointed second aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, having been in the preceding year raised to a lieutenancy in the first regiment.

In September, it being understood that the negotiations with the Indians had failed of effect and were broken off, the army, consisting of four thousand five hundred effective regulars, including some troops of dragoons, and of an auxiliary force of two thousand mounted militia under the command of general Scott, marched to Greenville; but an early setting in of the frost rendered it advisable to put the troops into winter quarters, huts were built, and a system of discipline, calculated for the kind of warfare in which they were to be employed, was diligently put in practice. Here young Harrison devoted himself to the study and practice of his profession with such success, that he obtained the confidence of his commander and the attachment of his associates.

It was not, however, till the latter end of June, 1 794, that general Wayne was enabled to march from Greenville, the enemy retreating before him as he advanced. He took and destroyed the town of the Indians, and advanced upon the British fort lately built at the foot of the rapids of the Miami river. The Indians had collected in that neighborhood, and on the 20th of August opposed the march of the American army, who soon routed them, and driving them to within a short distance of the British fort, encamped in full view of it. In this battle Harrison's conduct received the warmest applause from general Wayne. He had been appointed by the general to assist in forming the left wing of- the regular troops ; a task of extreme difficulty, owing to the thickness of the woods in which they were posted, and he accomplished it with great skill and effect.

Thus completely vanquished and humiliated, the Indians sued for peace ; in the winter an armistice was granted to them, and in the August following a treaty terminated all their differences, and, with those, the war.

In the autumn of 1795, Mr. Harrison, now a captain, was married to the youngest daughter of John Cheeves Symmes, esq., one of the judges of the north-western territory ; and on the departure of general Wayne for the Atlantic states, was continued by him in his post of aid-de-camp, and left in the command of Fort Washington. In the former of these offices he remained till the death of general Wayne, which happened in the course of the following year.

In 1797 captain Harrison finding the country reposed in peace, left the army, and was in a few weeks afterwards appointed secretary of the north-western territory in the room of W. Sergeant, esq., who was raised to the office of governor of the Mississippi territory. In the year 1799, he was sent as a delegate to congress from the north-western territory, and had an active share in bringing through congress the law for changing the defective system that had been in use for the sale of public lands, and in introducing the plan now in operation. He was in fact the person who originated that measure, the happy effects of which upon the treasury of the United States are now acknowledged by every one; for it has been ascertained, that the immense growth of population which enabled that territory in a short time after to become one of the states, and at this time not one of the smallest, arose altogether from that plan.

When the Indiana territory was formed out of a part of the north-western, Mr. Harrison was appointed, by Mr. Adams, the first governor of it; and in the year 1.801, removed to the capital of it (Vincennes) with his family. At the expiration of three years, for which he had been appointed, he was again nominated to that office by Mr. Jefferson, and continued to retain it under Mr. Madison till he was called to the command of the north-western army after the fall of Detroit.

During his administration he directed his attention to the disciplining of the militia, and exerted himself in endeavoring to civilize and better the condition of the Indian tribes that fell under his superintendence. In his letters to governor Scott of Kentucky, which have been published, and in his speeches to the Indiana legislature, he strenuously recommended the system of the old republics, under which military instruction was commenced at school. In consequence of that recommendation, the United States gave a section of each township of Indiana for the use of schools, and an entire township near Vincennes towards the establishment of a college, for the express purpose of military instruction.

Of his anxiety to secure the Indians from inquietude and the aggressions of the whites, to promote their civilization, and to induce them to raise domestic animals as a substitute for the wild game which was rapidly decreasing, his speeches and messages to the legislature of Indiana bear abundant testimony ; while the many advantageous treaties he made with them, prove his popularity with that singular race of beings. But a still stronger proof is this: — A few of the party attached to the prophet, gave out that the tribes who signed the treaty at Fort Wayne in 1809, were overawed by a large force into that measure, contrary to their inclination. This was a foul aspersion ; for the truth has been established beyond controversy, that at the time of negotiating there were no more than thirty soldiers along with governor Harrison, while the Indians amounted to more than eighteen hundred — and he was entirely in their power, having slept at a house half a mile from the fort surrounded by a multitude of Indians.

The civil administration of general Harrison as governor of the territory, though not attended with such splendid circumstances as his military achievements, do him no less credit. A minute detail of his conduct in that high office would be out of its place in such an article as this, and could not be very interesting to the reader. For the present purpose it is sufficient to state that his management of the territory obtained the universal applause of the people, and the unqualified approbation of the general government. One event of it, however, merits particular description, as well on account of its important effects upon the public concerns, as of its serving to illustrate the character of general Harrison — we mean the expedition on the Wabash, in the autumn of 181 1, which ended in the victory of Tippecanoe.

[Official details of the battle of Tippecanoe, the defence of Fort Meigs, and the victory over Proctor at the Thames, &c. are inserted in subsequent chapters, and it is not necessary to give them here. They were, indeed, glorious achievements, and reflected the highest honor upon the victorious general, who was greeted as " the Washington of the West.1']

On receiving the news of the victory of the Thames, the thanks of congress were expressed to general Harrison in the warmest manner. Among many others, whose grateful feelings found utterance on that occasion, the hon. Langdon Cheves observed, on the floor of congress, that — ' The victory of Harrison was such as would have secured to a Roman general in the best days of the republic, the honors of a triumph.' A sentiment which was fully responded to, in the complimentary notices which he received from every part of the union. I

Having entirely defeated the enemy in Upper Canada, general Harrison advanced with a part of his army, to the Niagara frontier, and thence to Sackett's Harbor, where he left the troops, and proceeded to the seat of government. On his way thither, he passed through New York, and Philadelphia; in which cities he was received with the most flattering marks of public honor and distinction. After the necessary delay of a few days at Washington, general Harrison proceeded to Ohio, where important duties required his presence.

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and regret of the public, general Harrison was designated for a service, far inferior to that which he had a right to expect. Regardless of the memorable victories which this gallant and experienced officer had won, and unmindful of the various and important services which he had rendered to his country, the secretary of war saw fit to assign to him the command of a district, where he would be compelled to remain inactive, while others were appointed to those more arduous duties, which he had heretofore fulfilled with so much honor to himself, and to the nation. As if still unsatisfied with the insult which he had offered to general Harrison, the secretary of war, on the 25th of April, 1814, appointed a subordinate officer to a separate command within his district, and notified him to that effect. On the receipt of this notification, general Harrison instantly addressed a letter to the secretary, tendering his resignation, with a notification thereof to the president. 'As soon as governor Shelby heard of the resignation of general Harrison, he lost no time in addressing the president in his usual forcible terms, to prevent his acceptance of it ; but unfortunately for the public interests, the president was then on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from general Harrison and governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of the latter was not received until after the secretary, Armstrong, without the previous consent op the president, had assumed to himself the high prerogative of accepting the resignation. The president expressed his great regret that the letter of governor Shelby had not been received earlier, as in that case the valuable services of general Harrison would have been preserved to the nation in the ensuing campaign.'

Soon after his resignation, in the summer of 1814, Mr. Madison evinced his unabated confidence in the abilities and integrity of general Harrison, by appointing him to treat with the Indians, in conjunction with his old companions in arms, governor Shelby, and general Cass. And in the following year, he was placed at the head of another commission, appointed to treat with the north-western tribes. The advantageous treaties made in both these cases, afforded new instances of the unfailing success, that has always attended general Harrison's negotiations with the Indians.

In 1816, he was elected, by a large majority, a member of the house of representatives in congress, from Ohio. In this station he served, greatly to his own honor and to the satisfaction of his constituents, until 1819 ; when, on the expiration of his term of service, he was chosen to the senate of the state legislature.

In 1824, he was elected a senator of the United States from Ohio. While serving in this high station, he commanded universal respect. His views as a statesman were liberal and extended ; his remarkable readiness in debate soon rendered him a prominent member ; and the nervous and impassioned eloquence, and classical felicity of illustration, with which he enforced his arguments, gained him much influence.

In 1828, he was appointed by Mr. Adams, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotertlfciry to the Republic of Colombia. He accepted this appointment, and repaired, without delay, to the scene of his duties, where he was received with every demonstration of respect. He found this unhappy country in a deplorable condition — the people ignorant of their rights, and almost in a state of anarchy, and Bolivar apparently about to assume the despotic power of a military dictator. Shocked at this state of things, with the frankness of an old soldier, he wrote his celebrated letter to Bolivar, which is inserted at length in subsequent pages.

General Harrison remained in Colombia but a short time, having been recalled by general Jackson, soon after he came into power.