"William Henry Harrison and the Conquest of the Ohio Country" Topic

"In his study of William Henry Harrison, David Curtis Skaggs sheds light on the role of citizen-soldiers in taming the wilderness of the old Northwest. Perhaps best known for the Whig slogan in 1840—"Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"—Harrison used his efforts to pacify Native Americans and defeat the British in the War of 1812 to promote a political career that eventually elevated him to the presidency.

Harrison exemplified the citizen-soldier on the Ohio frontier in the days when white men settled on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains at their peril. Punctuated by almost continuous small-scale operations and sporadic larger engagements, warfare in this region revolved around a shifting system of alliances among various Indian tribes, government figures, white settlers, and business leaders.

Skaggs focuses on Harrison's early life and military exploits, especially his role on Major General Anthony Wayne's staff during the Fallen Timbers campaign and Harrison's leadership of the Tippecanoe campaign. He explores how the military and its leaders performed in the age of a small standing army and part-time, Cincinnatus-like forces. This richly detailed work reveals how the military and Indian policies of the early republic played out on the frontier, freshly revisiting a subject central to American history: how white settlers tamed the west—and at what cost…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks, that is a good find Armand.

Harrison is on of the few successful American generals who managed to achieve his objective in a very well organized and executed campaign in the western areas (Detroit and western Upper Canada). He resigned in frustration in 1814 due to Armstrong's deviously undermining of Harrison's authority. This book is definitely on my want list.

Skaggs is a decent historian. Graves is better.

Could you please cross post this to the War of 1812 board?

Eric

Happy you like it my friend. (smile)

It was crossported my friend.

Amicalement
Armand

I wonder why the reference to the Ohio territory when Harrison was the governor of the Indiana territory which began at the Ohio line went north a ways to just the bottom of Michigan and west to Illinois Wisconsin?

He had a well organized expedition against the native peoples who were based Prophets Town , Leading a regiment of US federal regulars and a mixed regiment of militia. About 1000 troops, against the force of native peoples that were told by their leader Tecumseh not to fight. Feeling divine inspiration, the Prophet, tecumseh's brother, sent his troops against the Euro-Americans, in a night attack. The Prophet, of course had blessed them so they would not be hurt by the bullets of the United States troops. 7 to 800 native peoples attack but were spotted before they entered the US troops camp. Natives get beat up pretty bad next day Harrison burns the peaceful town and so pretty much ends any chance of Native American Confederacy forming in the Indiana territory. Some follow up during the war of 1812 and Tecumseh is killed at the battle of the Thames.

Tecumseh had an interesting concept that the land that Harrison was buying from individual tribes actually belong to the total Native American people and could not be sold off by any splinter group. This was another example of how the euros were able to divide and conquer the native peoples. I guess it's okay with me I like living here.