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Tecumseh
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The great warrior-statesman of the Shawnee, Tecumseh fought against the intrusion of settlers into the Ohio Valley all of his adult life. First he fought under the great Miami leader, Michiquinikek (Little Turtle). Then when the great Miami chieftain considered war against the whites hopeless, Tecumseh became the leader of the Wabash and Ohio Valley warriors. A noted orator as well as a warrior, Tecumseh faced off with William Henry Harrison in front of Grouseland, the future President's estate. Few Native American leaders are so widely respected as Tecumseh. Warrior-Statesman of the Shawenese He would unite the tribes of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes as no other leader had before. His prophesies became legendary among native peoples. Many believe that he accurately predicted the New Madrid Earthquake. That quake was so powerful that even though the epicenter was near present-day Cape Girardeau, Missouri, church bells rang a thousand miles away in Philadelphia. For a day, the Mississippi River ran south to north. His Indian coalition utterly defeated well-armed armies sent out from the fledgling United States. Who was this man, this legendary leader, this Tecumseh? In the Beginning In the dark and bloody year 1768, a woman born Tsalagi but captured by the Shawenese named Methotase gave birth to a healthy boy. At the moment of his birth, a comet flashed low across the sky. This boy's father, a highly respected veteran Shawenese warrior named Puckesinwa, himself the grandson of a famous chief, named his son "Tecumseh" or "Panther crossing the Sky." Because of this great sign, Puckesinwa knew that this man-child was destined for greatness. A national hero had been born into the Kispotho sept. Tecumseh grew up in the company of six siblings. History has associated him with his infamous brother Laulewasika ("Makes a loud Noise" because he was an ill-tempered infant; later known as Tenskwatawa, or "The Prophet"), one of three triplets. However, Tecumseh was closer to his older brother Chiksika, and his older sister, Tecumapese, whom he deeply loved. Laulewasika had few friends and was blinded in one eye in an accident at an early age. This caused Tecumseh to pity his brother and to keep him close to him. This later came back to haunt both Tecumseh and the Shawenese. The White Man and Death As Tecumseh grew, the Shawenese came into more frequent contact with whites. Settlers came through the Cumberland Gap into what is now Kentucky. Others crossed the Appalachians into what is now West Virginia. The fact that these lands belonged to the Shawenese did not seem to matter. The ring of the steel ax became an all too familiar sound to Shawenese hunters. As the Shawenese sought to turn these settlers back, conflict followed. When Puckeshinwa, Tecumseh's father, was killed in by whites in the Battle of Point Pleasant, the boy's heart began to harden. Then Tecumseh's mentor, the famous Shawenese chieftain Cornplanter was also shot and killed by whites shortly after Virgina invaded Shawnee lands (in Lord Dunsmore's War). Tecumseh then lost his older brother Chiksika as they fought together along side the Tsalagi against whites. This gave Tecumseh a justifiable distrust and suspicion of whites that would last all his days. Tecumseh the Warrior Although Tecumseh's bravery was beyond question, he abhorred the traditional practice of torture. After watching a Shawnee war party burn a white captive to death on the banks of the Splay-lay-wi-thipi (Ohio) River, Tecumseh blasted them for the unmanly act. Kill when you must, Tecumseh said, but to torment a helpless prisoner to death was despicable. From that point on, Tecumseh would not tolerate torture in his presence. A Cry for Unity Tecumseh fought against those who invaded the Ohio Valley lands of the Shawnee, but came to realize that alone, the Shawenese could not defeat the numberless whites. Tecumseh dreamed of a confederation of Indians where each saw himself first as Indian and only then as a member of tribe, clan or sept. Pucksinwa, Tecumseh's father, had approached the Tsalagi about such a union earlier but had been unsuccessful. And Cornplanter had sought a confederation with the Miami, Delaware, and Mingos, but these had sent only token forces to fight Lord Dunmore's army. To that same end, Tecumseh set off in 1811 on a journey that took him west of the Mississippi, south to the Gulf of Mexico, and across the southeast, seeking to warn the Indian peoples of the dangers of militant tribalism and the need to unify against the whites. He predicted that on a certain day, there would come an unmistakable sign. On the appointed day, the New Madrid Earthquake rocked the eastern half of the North American continent. The sign had come. Before Tecumseh set off to the south to organize his confederacy, he had left command of his warriors with Tenskwatawa, the Prophet. Tecumseh cautioned Tenskwatawa to do everything--anything!--to avoid a war with the whites while he was gone. The time was not yet right; the Indian forces were not yet strong enough. Everything depended on patience. Having thus instructed Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh set off to visit the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek nations. The Battle of Tippecanoe Tenskwatawa was not a patient man. In the absence of Tecumseh and in spite of the latter's warning, Tenskwatawa attacked William Henry Harrison's forces at a place called Tippecanoe. Although casualties were roughly even, the Indians could not afford to waste the life of a single warrior. As for the whites, they had men without number. Tenskwatawa's impetuosity had ruined the grand design. When Tecumseh returned, he found all of his carefully laid plans in disarray. He somehow restrained himself and Tenskwatawa was allowed to live. Unable to make peace with honor with Harrison, Tecumseh alligned himself and his followers with the British shortly thereafter in the War of 1812. He had no other choice. The War of 1812 Initially Tecumseh and the British enjoyed success. When a combined force of Indians and British captured Fort Meigs, Tecumseh arrived on the scene just in time to see Indians killing prisoners. This has' been referred to as "Dudley's Massacre." Tecumseh immediately chastised the Indians and halted the bloody sport. He then turned on the British commander and denounced him as a coward for permitting the murders to occur in the first place. This incident served to strengthen the great man's reputation among Indians and whites alike. Tecumseh's Indian coalition, together with the British under Major General Brock, captured Detroit, which even Pontiac had not been able to accomplish. But Oliver Hazard Perry won a great naval victory in the Great Lakes on Lake Erie and opened the way for Harrison to re-take Detroit. On October 5, l813, the American forces under Harrison caught up with the British and Indians near present-day Chatham, Ontario, and fought the Battle of the Thames. Before the battle, Tecumseh is said to have predicted his own death. In fact he was killed shortly after that prediction. His body was carried from the field and secretly buried in an unmarked grave to prevent its desecration. The Legacy Tecumseh was truly a visionary man. Not only did he see into the future, he saw the need of all Indians to unite as one. He realized that their differences, no matter how deeply rooted, were petty quarrels compared to the threat posed by the Euro-Americans to the Indian way of life. Although Tecumseh was an incredibly brave warrior, he retained his humanity and opposed torture and murder of the helpless until his death. But for the bungling of his brother Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh might have altered the course of history in North America. As it is, he remains one of the most respected and best-loved Native American leaders. Ευχαριστώ πολύ τον Bob Fester (Coordinator of Academic Advisement) ο οποίος πολύ ευγενικά μου παραχώρησε αυτές τις πληροφορίες. |
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