"Standards used by midwestern Native Americans" Topic

I am putting together a game of the Battle of Tippecanoe, 1811. This is between US Regulars with various Indiana and Kentucky militia versus warriors from a confederation of Native Peoples put together by Shawnee leader Tecumseh. Tecumseh was not at the battle and told his brother Tenskwatawa not to fight, but he did so anyway. A unique "colonial" battle in that the native peoples were slightly outnumbered by the colonial forces.

I plan to use a modified version of the Ganesha ACW game, 61/65. This game allows for company level battles, with squads rather than individual figures being activated. One rule allows drummers and standard bearers to permit certain re-rolls.

To my question. I am making leader bases for the Native People and can do the Chief and drummer but what would do for a standard. Did these people carry any sort of pole mounted signaling device or standard?

Thanks

I have been studying and reading about many of the Indian wars and other than some of the military societies on the plains I have not found anything which would lead me to believe that they used standards or signaling devices as we understand the terms.

A croupier rake?

My default standard for "savages" is a head on a pike.
It has served me well in Ancients.

Indians did not carry standards. Have the "special" figure be a shaman or a war leader.

You may know this.

At Prophetstown/Tippecanoe, Tenskwatawa promised the warriors that his drumming and singing would defeat the Americans. He concealed himself in a place of vantage, and began singing to signal the start of the pre-dawn attack on the American camp. The True Believers among his warriors attacked with unusual recklessness, because they had been told that half the Americans would be dead and the other half insane and unable to resist, from the power of Tenskwatawa's spiritual attack.

The Americans did not panic, made a good stand, but the Indians kept up their attack as long as their Prophet continued to drum and sing. Towards mid-morning Tenskwatawa, seeing the battle going from bad to worse, fell silent and ran away. His warriors did the same, and Tippecanoe became the first famous victory for William Henry Harrison.

You really have to include Tenskwatawa and his medicine attack in a Tippecanoe scenario: morale boost to the Indians while he keeps the drumming up, with an increasing chance of Tenskwatawa packing it in if the Americans make a good stand.

In general, woodland Indians didn't carry standards into battle, or use musicians to signal orders. The only exception to the lack of field muisic that I know of is Tenskwatawa's drumming at Prophetstown. At Point Pleasant in 1775, the Shawnees brought a war bundle and carried it into battle on a pole. It boosted their morale initially, so that they made a fairly reckless attack, but this passed when the bundle-bearer was shot.

Thanks all. Zippy, really nice commenets. I forgot about Tenskwatawa drumming. I will have him on a command stand, with drum, and another figure holding wampum belt.

I will use a rule like I do for the Boxer Rebellion. The true believers will be immune to bullets due to magic. In this case from the Prophet. If a true believer is shot, he rolls three dice. All sixes, he lives.

One game report I have read for this battle gives the natives a sliding scale morale. Best morale until one of group is hit, then -1 level for each following hit. Pretty soon, 0 morale.

Another ploy used by Tenskwatawa was to send in a hit team to kill Harrison. He was to be the officer on the white horse, but he gave that one to another officer and so escaped the hit. Also the natives were sneaking up on the camp and almost got inside. A guard heard a noise and shot. The native cried out and the alarm was given. A report by one of the natives later was very critical of his colleague who, he said, should have been silent in his pain.

Maybe all apocryphal but make good game aspects.