Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/123

Rh assent to this scheme was received with joy, and volunteers flocked to Vincennes. Harrison marched from that town on 26 Sept., with about 900 men, including 350 regular infantry, completed Fort Harrison, near the site of Terre Haute, Ind., on 28 Oct., and, leaving a garrison there, pressed forward toward Tippecanoe. On 6 Nov., when the army had reached a point a mile and a half distant from the town, it was met by messengers demanding a parley. A council was proposed for the next day, and Harrison at once went into camp, taking, however, every precaution against a surprise. At four o'clock on the following morning a fierce attack was made on the camp by the savages, and the fighting continued till daylight, when the Indians were driven from the field by a cavalry charge. During the battle, in which the American loss was 108 killed and wounded, the governor directed the movements of the troops. He was highly complimented by President Madison in his message of 18 Dec, 1811, and was also thanked by the legislatures of Kentucky and Indiana. On 18 June, 1812, war was declared between Great Britain and the United States. On 25 Aug., Gov. Harrison, although not a citizen of Kentucky, was commissioned major-general of the militia of that state, and given command of a detachment that was sent to re-enforce Gen. Hull, the news of whose surrender had not yet reached Kentucky. On 2 Sept., while on the march, he received a brigadier-general's commission in the regular army, but withheld his acceptance till he could learn whether or not he was to be subordinate to Gen. James Winchester, who had been appointed to the command of the northwestern army. After relieving Fort Wayne, which had been invested by the Indians, he turned over his force to Gen. Winchester, and was returning to his home in Indiana when he met an express with a letter from the secretary of war, appointing him to the chief command in the northwest. "You will exercise." said the letter, "your own discretion, and act in all cases according to your own judgment." No latitude as great as this had been given to any commander since Washington. Harrison now prepared to concentrate his force on the rapids of the Maumee, and thence to move on Maiden and Detroit. Various difficulties, however, prevented him from carrying out his design immediately. Forts were erected and supplies forwarded, but. with the exception of a few minor engagements with Indians, the remainder of the year was occupied merely in preparation for the coming campaign. Winchester had been ordered by Harrison to advance to the Rapids, but the order was countermanded on receipt of information that Tecumseh, with a large force, was at the head-waters of the Wabash. Through a misunderstanding, however, Winchester continued, and on 18 Jan. captured Frenchtown (now Monroe, Mich.), but three days later met with a bloody repulse on the river Raisin from Col. Henry Proctor. Harrison hastened to his aid, but was too late. After establishing a fortified camp, which he named Fort Meigs, after the governor of Ohio, the commander visited Cincinnati to obtain supplies, and while there urged the construction of a fleet on Lake Erie. On 2 March, 1813, he was given a major-general's commission. Shortly afterward, having heard that the British were preparing to attack Fort Meigs, he hastened thither, arriving on 12 April. On 28 April it was ascertained that the enemy under Proctor was advancing in force, and on 1 May siege was laid to the fort. While a heavy fire was kept up on both sides for five days, re-enforcements under Gen. Green Clay were huiTied forward and came to the relief of the Americans in two bodies, one on each side of Maumee river. Those on the opposite side from the fort put the enemy to flight, but, disregarding Harrison's signals, allowed themselves to be drawn into the woods, and were finally dispersed or captured. The other detachment fought their way to the fort, and at the same time the garrison made a sortie and spiked the enemy's guns. Three days later Proctor raised the siege. He renewed his attack in July with 5,000 men, but after a few days again withdrew. On 10 Sept. Com. Perry gained his victory on Lake Erie, and on 16 Sept. Harrison embarked his artillery and supplies for a descent on Canada. The troops followed between the 20th and 24th, and on the 27th the army landed on the enemy's territory. Proctor burned the fort and navy-yard at Maiden and retreated, and Harrison followed on the next day. Proctor was overtaken on 5 Oct., and took position with his left flanked by the Thames, and a swamp covering his right, which was still further protected by Tecumseh and his Indians. He had made the mistake of forming his men in open order, which was the plan that was adopted in Indian fighting, and Harrison, taking advantage of the error, ordered Col. Richard M. Johnson to lead a cavalry charge, which broke through the British lines, and virtually ended the battle. Within five minutes almost the entire British force was captured, and Proctor escaped only by abandoning his carriage and taking to the woods. Another band of cavalry charged the Indians, who lost their leader, Tecumseh, in the beginning of the fight, and afterward made no great resistance. This battle, which, if mere numbers alone be considered, was insignificant, was most important in its results. Together with Perry's victory it gave the United States possession of the chain of lakes above Erie, and put an end to the war in uppermost Canada. Harrison's praises wore sung in the president's message, in congress, and in the legislatures of the different states. Celebrations in honor of his victory were held in the principal cities of the Union, and he was one of the heroes of the hour. He now sent his troops to Niagara, and proceeded to Washington, where he was ordered by the president to Cincinnati to devise means of protection for the Indiana border. Gen. John Armstrong, who was at this time secretary of war, in planning the campaign of 1814 assigned Harrison to the 8th military district, including only western states, where he could see no active service, and on 25 April issued an order to Maj. Holmes, one of Harrison's subordinates, without consulting the latter. Harrison thereupon tendered his resignation, which, President Madison being absent, was accepted by Armstrong. This terminated Harrison's military career. In 1814, and again in 1815 he was appointed on commissions that concluded satisfactory Indian treaties, and in 1816 he was chosen to congress to fill a vacancy, serving till 1819. While he was in congress he was charged by a dissatisfied contractor with misuse of the public money while in command of the northwestern army, but was completely exonerated by an investigating committee of the house. At this time his opponents succeeded, by a vote of 13 to 11 in the senate, in striking his name from a resolution that had already passed the house, directing gold medals to be struck in honor of Gov. Shelby, of Kentucky, and himself, for the victory of the Thames. The resolution was passed unanimously two years later, on 24 March, 1818, and Harrison received the medal. Among the charges that were made against him was that he would not have pursued Proctor