Tecumseh takes control

            “If the information which I have heretofore given you on the subject of the designs of the Prophet and his followers has been vague and in some respects contradictory the consequence of my having derived it from various sources not always the most intelligent, that which I have now the honor to communicate has at least the advantage of authenticity, coming from the brother of the Prophet who as I have before informed you is the great man of the party.  This personage, who is called Tecumseh, arrived here on the 12th Inst, and expecting the intervening Sunday and one bad day I have been constantly engaged with him until the last evening…
            “The facts avowed by Tecumseh in the broadest manner are:  That it was the object of his brother and himself from the commencement to form a combination of all the Indian Tribes in this quarter to put a stop to the encroachments of the white people and to establish a principle that the lands should be considered common property and none sold without the consent of all, that it was their intention to put to death all the chiefs who were parties to the late Treaty, and never more to suffer any village chiefs to manage the affairs of the Indians, but that everything should be put into the hands of the warriors.  That the Americans had driven them from the sea coast, and would shortly if not stopped, push them into the Lakes, that they were determined to make a stand, where they were.  He still however with strange inconsistency, asserted that it was not his intention to go to war, and that the persons who had given me that information were liars.”  From a letter by Governor William Henry Harrison at Vincennes to the Secretary of War, August 22, 1810.
            During the first decade of the 1800s, it had become clear that the United States was on a collision course with the Indians west of the Appalachians, particularly in the region north of the Ohio River.  Facing an increasing tide of American settlers and continuing demands for additional lands, the tribes of this region saw their way of life and very existence in jeopardy.  Although some of the older chiefs seemed resigned to their fate and counseled compliance, many of the younger warriors were greatly attracted to the charismatic leadership of two Shawnee brothers, the Prophet and Tecumseh.  While the Prophet’s emphasis was primarily a religious one, Tecumseh stressed military and political concerns and by 1809 he had become the principal Indian figure.
            After Governor William Henry Harrison successfully negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne with the more malleable chiefs in 1809, Tecumseh and the Prophet vowed that the Americans would never occupy the land north of Vincennes that they had obtained on paper.
            As the consequences of the Fort Wayne Treaty began to be fully realized by the tribes, Tecumseh’s message of resistance fell on receptive ears.  Conversely, the influence of the nonbelligerent chiefs that had agreed to land cessions now went into further decline among the Indians.
            By the spring of 1810, hundreds of warriors from several tribes were gathering at Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe River near present-day Lafayette, Indiana.  Having received information of the warlike atmosphere in the village, Harrison sent a messenger to invite the Prophet and his advisers to make a trip to Washington. Tecumseh, acting in his new role as the principal leader, instead decided that he would visit Harrison at Vincennes.
            Arriving in Vincennes on August 12, 1810, Tecumseh was accompanied by a considerable number of warriors.  In a council conducted outside Grouseland, the Governor’s mansion, Tecumseh described past American encroachments on Indian land.  Harrison defended American actions and remained determined to implement the treaty.  Although the initial session became so heated that it almost ended in bloodshed, subsequent discussions were conducted in a calmer manner.  Still, the conference ended on August 21 without resolution of the basic impasse.
            Following his visit to Vincennes, Tecumseh traveled to Canada to meet with the British.  The English, viewing war with the United States as likely, were anxious to keep the friendship of the Indians without prematurely precipitating actual hostilities.
            Tecumseh returned to Prophetstown with British supplies and the assurance that more of the same would be forthcoming.  True to their word, the British sent a large amount of goods to Prophetstown during the ensuing winter.
            Events in the spring of 1811 revealed even greater unrest among the tribes.  Warriors raided farms and settlements in southern Illinois, while to the east other Indians forced surveyors on the Fort Wayne Treaty lands to flee.
            Alarmed, Harrison requested the Secretary of War to send Regular Army reinforcements from the east.  At the same time, he sent a message to Tecumseh which made clear his displeasure.  Suggesting that Tecumseh and the Prophet travel to Washington, he also invited Tecumseh to visit Vincennes again.
            Arriving at Vincennes on July 27, 1811, with approximately 300 warriors, Tecumseh entered into a week of discussions with Harrison which once more were unproductive.  Accompanied by a smaller number of warriors, Tecumseh then continued his southward journey to try to enlist the southern tribes in his cause.  Traveling through present-day Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, Tecumseh met little success with the Chickasaws and Choctaws, but gained some recruits among the Creeks.
            In the meantime, events were moving toward a major confrontation on the Tippecanoe River at Prophetstown.