Tecumseh: Tecumseh (/tɪ KɅMSƏ, Tɪ Kʌmsi/ Ti

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Tecumseh
Tecumseh (/tɪˈkʌmsə, tɪˈkʌmsi/ ti-KUM-sə, ti-KUM-see; c. 1768
– October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who Tecumseh
promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto
Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled
widely, forming a Native American confederacy and promoting
inter-tribal unity. Although his efforts to unite Native Americans
ended with his death in the War of 1812, he became an iconic folk
hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian popular history.
Tecumseh was born in what is now Ohio, at a time when the far-
flung Shawnees were reuniting in their Ohio Country homeland.
During his childhood, the Shawnees lost territory to the
expanding American colonies in a series of border conflicts.
Tecumseh's father was killed in battle against American colonists
in 1774. Tecumseh was thereafter mentored by his older brother
Cheeseekau, a noted war chief who died fighting Americans in
1792. As a young war leader, Tecumseh joined Shawnee Chief
Blue Jacket's armed struggle against further American
encroachment, which ended in defeat at the Battle of Fallen Painting of Tecumseh based on an
Timbers in 1794, and the loss of most of Ohio in the 1795 Treaty 1808 sketch[note 1]
of Greenville. Born c. 1768
Likely near present-

In 1805, Tecumseh's younger brother Tenskwatawa, who came to
day Chillicothe, Ohio,
be known as the Shawnee Prophet, founded a religious
movement, calling upon Native Americans to reject European U.S.
influences and return to a more traditional lifestyle. In 1808, Died October 5, 1813 (aged
Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa established Prophetstown, a village about 45)
in present-day Indiana, that grew into a large, multi-tribal Moraviantown, Upper

community. Tecumseh traveled constantly, spreading the Canada
Prophet's message and eclipsing his brother in prominence. He
proclaimed that Native Americans owned their lands in common, Cause of Killed in the Battle of
and urged tribes not to cede more territory unless all agreed. His death the Thames
message alarmed American leaders as well as Native leaders who Nationality Shawnee
sought accommodation with the United States. In 1811, when
Known for Organizing Native
Tecumseh was in the south recruiting allies, Americans under
William Henry Harrison defeated Tenskwatawa at the Battle of American resistance to
Tippecanoe and destroyed Prophetstown. U.S. expansion
Relatives Cheeseekau (brother)
In the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined his cause with the British,
recruiting warriors and helping to capture Detroit in August 1812. Tenskwatawa (brother)
The following year he led an unsuccessful campaign against the
United States in Ohio and Indiana. When U.S. naval forces took control of Lake Erie in 1813,
Tecumseh reluctantly retreated with the British into Upper Canada, where American forces engaged
them at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813, in which Tecumseh was killed. His death caused
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh 1/16
his confederacy to collapse; the lands he had fought to defend were eventually ceded to the U.S.
government. His legacy as one of the most celebrated Native Americans in history grew in the years
after his death, although details of his life have often been obscured by mythology.
Contents
Early life
From warrior to chief
Rise of the Prophet
Forming a confederacy
War of 1812
Brock and Detroit
Fort Meigs
Death and aftermath
Legacy
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
External links
Early life
Tecumseh was born in Shawnee territory in what
is now Ohio between 1764 and 1771; the best
evidence suggests a birthdate of around March
1768.[2][note 2] The traditional Shawnee
pronunciation of his name is "Tecumthé".[6][note 3]
He was born into the Panther clan of the Kispoko
division of the Shawnee tribe. Like most
Shawnees, his name indicated his clan:
translations of his name from the Shawnee
language include "I Cross the Way", and
"Shooting Star", references to a meteor associated
with the Panther clan.[6] Later stories claimed
that Tecumseh was named after a shooting star
that appeared at his birth, although his father and
most of his siblings, as members of the Panther
clan, were named after the same
meteor. [8][9][note 4]
Map of Shawnee towns in the Ohio region from 1768
to 1808, indicating where Tecumseh lived
Tecumseh was likely born in the Shawnee town of Chillicothe, in the Scioto River valley, near present-
day Chillicothe, Ohio, or in a nearby Kispoko village.[11][note 5] Tecumseh's father, Puckeshinwau, was
a Shawnee war chief of the Kispoko division.[13] Tecumseh's mother, Methoataaskee, probably
belonged to the Pekowi division and the Turtle clan, although some traditions maintain that she was
Creek.[13] Tecumseh was the fifth of eight children.[14] His parents met and married in what is now
Alabama, where many Shawnees had settled after being driven out of the Ohio Country by the
Iroquois in the 17th-century Beaver Wars. Around 1759, Puckeshinwau and Methoataaskee moved to
the Ohio Country as part of a Shawnee effort to reunite in their traditional homeland.[15]
In 1763, the British Empire laid claim to the Ohio Country following its victory in the French and
Indian War. That year, Puckeshinwau took part in Pontiac's War, a pan-tribal effort to counter British
control of the region.[16][17] Tecumseh was born in the peaceful decade after Pontiac's War, a time
when Puckeshinwau likely became the chief of the Kispoko town on the Scioto.[18] In a 1768 treaty,
the Iroquois ceded land south of the Ohio River (including present-day Kentucky) to the British, a
region the Shawnee and other tribes used for hunting. Shawnees attempted to organize further
resistance against colonial occupation of the region, culminating in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant,
in which Puckeshinwau was killed. After the battle, Shawnees ceded Kentucky to the colonists.[19][20]
When the American Revolutionary War between the British and their American colonies began in
1775, many Shawnees allied themselves with the British, raiding into Kentucky aiming to drive out
American settlers.[21] Tecumseh, too young to fight, was among those forced to relocate in the face of
American counterraids. In 1777, his family moved from the Scioto River to a Kispoko town on the Mad
River, near present-day Springfield, Ohio.[22] General George Rogers Clark, commander of the
Kentucky militia, led a major expedition into Shawnee territory in 1780. Tecumseh may have
witnessed the ensuing Battle of Piqua on August 8. After the Shawnees retreated, Clark burned their
villages and crops. The Shawnees relocated to the northwest, along the Great Miami River, but Clark
returned in 1782 and destroyed those villages as well, forcing the Shawnees to retreat further north,
near present-day Bellefontaine, Ohio.[23]
From warrior to chief

After the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the United
States claimed the lands north of the Ohio River by right of
conquest. In response, Indians convened a great intertribal
conference at Lower Sandusky in the summer of 1783. Speakers,
most notably Joseph Brant (Mohawk), argued that Indians must
unite to hold onto their lands. They put forth a doctrine that
Indian lands were held in common by all tribes, and so no further
land should be ceded to the United States without the consent of
all the tribes. This idea made a strong impression on Tecumseh,
just fifteen years old when he attended the conference. As an
adult, he would become such a well-known advocate of this policy
that some mistakenly thought it had originated with him.[24] The
United States, however, insisted on dealing with the tribes
individually, getting each to sign separate land treaties. In Black Hoof (Catecahassa) emerged
January 1786, Moluntha, civil chief of the Mekoche Shawnee in the 1790s as the principal
division, signed the Treaty of Fort Finney, surrendering most of spokesman for the Ohio Shawnees.
Ohio to the Americans.[25] Later that year, Moluntha was Most Shawnees followed his lead
murdered by a Kentucky militiaman, initiating a new border rather than Tecumseh's.
war.[26]
Tecumseh, now about eighteen years old, became a warrior under the tutelage of his older brother
Cheeseekau, who emerged as a noted war chief.[27][28] Tecumseh participated in attacks on flatboats
traveling down the Ohio River, carrying waves of immigrants into lands the Shawnees had lost. He
was disturbed by the sight of prisoners being cruelly treated by the Shawnees, an early indication of
his lifelong aversion to torture and cruelty for which he would later be celebrated.[29][30] In 1788,
Tecumseh, Cheeseekau and their family moved westward, relocating near Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
They hoped to be free of American settlers, only to find colonists moving there as well, so they did not
stay long.[31]
In late 1789 or early 1790, Tecumseh traveled south with Cheeseekau to live with the Chickamauga
Cherokees near Lookout Mountain in what is now Tennessee. Some Shawnees already lived among
the Chickamaugas, who were fierce opponents of U.S. expansion. Cheeseekau led about forty
Shawnees in raids against colonists; Tecumseh was presumably among them.[32] During his nearly
two years among the Chickamaugas, Tecumseh probably had a daughter with a Cherokee woman; the
relationship was brief, and the child remained with her mother.[33]
In 1791, Tecumseh returned to the Ohio Country to take part in the Northwest Indian War as a minor
leader. The Native confederacy that had been formed to fight the war was led by the Shawnee Blue
Jacket, and would provide a model for the confederacy Tecumseh created years later.[34] He led a
band of eight followers, including his younger brother Lalawéthika, later known as Tenskwatawa.
Tecumseh missed fighting in a major Indian victory (St. Clair's defeat) on November 4 because he was
hunting or scouting at the time.[35][36] The following year he participated in other skirmishes before
rejoining Cheeseekau in Tennessee.[37] Tecumseh was with Cheeseekau when he was killed in an
unsuccessful attack on Buchanan's Station near Nashville in 1792.[38] Tecumseh probably sought
revenge for his brother's death, but the details are unknown.[39]
Tecumseh returned to the Ohio Country at the end of 1792 and fought in several more skirmishes.[40]
In 1794, he fought in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, a bitter defeat for the Indians.[41][42] The Native
confederacy fell apart, especially after Blue Jacket agreed to make peace with the Americans.[43]
Tecumseh did not attend the signing of the Treaty of Greenville (1795), in which about two-thirds of
Ohio and portions of present-day Indiana were ceded to the United States.[44]
By 1796, Tecumseh was both the civil and war chief of a Kispoko band of about 50 warriors and 250
people.[45] His sister Tecumapease was the band's principal female chief. Tecumseh took a wife,
Mamate, and had a son, Paukeesaa, born about 1796. Their marriage did not last, and Tecumapese
raised Paukeesaa from the age of seven or eight.[46] Tecumseh's band moved to various locations
before settling in 1798 close to Delaware Indians, along the White River near present-day Anderson,
Indiana, where he lived for the next eight years.[47] He married twice more during this time. His third
marriage, to White Wing, lasted until 1807.[48]
Rise of the Prophet

While Tecumseh lived along the White River, Indians in the region were troubled by sickness,
alcoholism, poverty, the loss of land, depopulation, and the decline of their traditional way of life.[50]
Several religious prophets emerged, each offering explanations and remedies for the crisis. Among
these was Tecumseh's younger brother Lalawéthika, a healer in Tecumseh's village.[51] Until this time,
Lalawéthika had been regarded as a misfit with little promise.[51][52] In 1805, he began preaching,
drawing upon ideas espoused by earlier prophets, particularly the Delaware prophet Neolin.[53]
Lalawéthika urged listeners to reject European influences, stop drinking alcohol, and discard their
traditional medicine bags.[54][55] Tecumseh followed his brother's

teachings by eating only Native food, wearing traditional Shawnee
clothing, and not drinking alcohol.[56]
In 1806, Tecumseh and Lalawéthika, now known as the Shawnee

Prophet, established a new town near the ruins of Fort Greenville
(present-day Greenville, Ohio), where the 1795 Treaty of
Greenville had been signed.[57][58] The Prophet's message spread
widely, attracting visitors and converts from multiple
tribes.[59][60] The brothers hoped to reunite the scattered
Shawnees at Greenville, but they were opposed by Black Hoof, a
Mekoche chief regarded by Americans as the "principal chief" of
the Shawnees.[61][note 6] Black Hoof and other leaders around the
Shawnee town of Wapakoneta urged Shawnees to accommodate
the United States by adopting some American customs, with the
goal of creating a Shawnee homeland with secure borders in Tenskwatawa, Tecumseh's younger
brother, founded a religious
northern Ohio.[63][64] The Prophet's movement represented a
movement in 1805. (George Catlin,
challenge to the Shawnee chiefs who sat on the tribal council at
1832)[49]
Wapakoneta. Most Ohio Shawnees followed Black Hoof's path
and rejected the Prophet's movement.[65] Important converts
who joined the movement at Greenville were Blue Jacket, the
famed Shawnee war leader, and Roundhead (Wyandot), who became Tecumseh's close friend and
ally.[66]
American settlers grew uneasy as Indians flocked to Greenville. In 1806 and 1807, Tecumseh and Blue
Jacket traveled to Chillicothe, the capital of the new U.S. state of Ohio, to reassure the governor that
Greenville posed no threat.[67] Rumors of war between the United States and Great Britain followed
the Chesapeake incident of June 1807. To escape the rising tensions, Tecumseh and the Prophet
decided to move west to a more secure location, further from American forts and closer to potential
western Indian allies.[68][69]
In 1808, Tecumseh and the Prophet established a village Americans would call Prophetstown, north
of present-day Lafayette, Indiana. The Prophet adopted a new name, Tenskwatawa ("The Open
Door"), meaning he was the door through which followers could reach salvation.[70][71] Like
Greenville, Prophetstown attracted numerous followers, comprising Shawnees, Potawatomis,
Kickapoos, Winnebagos, Sauks, Ottawas, Wyandots, and Iowas, an unprecedented variety of Natives
living together.[72] Perhaps 6,000 people settled in the area, making it larger than any American city
in the region.[73] Jortner (2011) argues that Prophetstown was effectively an independent city-
state.[74]
At Prophetstown, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa initially worked to maintain a peaceful coexistence

with the United States.[75][76] A major turning point came in September 1809, when William Henry
Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, negotiated the Treaty of Fort Wayne, purchasing 2.5 to
3 million acres (10,000 to 12,000 km2) of land in what is present-day Indiana and Illinois. Although
many Indian leaders signed the treaty, others who used the land were deliberately excluded from the
negotiations.[77][78] The treaty created widespread outrage among Indians, and, according to
historian John Sugden, "put Tecumseh on the road to war" with the United States.[79]
Forming a confederacy
Before the Treaty of Fort Wayne, Tecumseh was relatively

unknown to outsiders, who usually referred to him as "the
Prophet's brother."[79] Afterwards he emerged as a
prominent figure as he built an intertribal confederacy to
counter U.S. expansion.[80] In August 1810, Tecumseh met
with William Henry Harrison at Vincennes, capital of the
Indiana Territory, a standoff that became legendary.[81][82]
Tecumseh demanded that Harrison rescind the Fort Wayne
cession, and said he would oppose American settlement on
the disputed lands. He said the chiefs who had signed the
treaty would be punished, and that he was uniting the tribes
In a famous 1810 meeting, Tecumseh
accosts William Henry Harrison when he
to prevent further cessions.[82][83] Harrison insisted the
refuses to rescind the Treaty of Fort land had been purchased fairly and that Tecumseh had no
Wayne. right to object because Indians did not own land in
common. Harrison said he would send Tecumseh's
demands to President James Madison, but did not expect
the president to accept them. As the meeting concluded, Tecumseh said that if Madison did not
rescind the Fort Wayne treaty, "you and I will have to fight it out."[84][85]
After the confrontation with Harrison, Tecumseh traveled widely to build his confederacy.[86] He
went westward to recruit allies among the Potawatomis, Winnebagos, Sauks, Foxes, Kickapoos, and
Missouri Shawnees.[87] In November 1810, he visited Fort Malden in Upper Canada to ask British
officials for assistance in the coming war, but the British were noncommittal, urging restraint.[88][89]
In May 1811, Tecumseh visited Ohio to recruit warriors among the Shawnees, Wyandots, and
Senecas.[90] After returning to Prophetstown, he sent a delegation to the Iroquois in New York.[91]
In July 1811, Tecumseh again met Harrison at Vincennes. He told the governor he had amassed a
confederacy of northern tribes and was heading south to do the same. For the next six months,
Tecumseh traveled some 3,000 miles (4,800 km) in the south and west to recruit allies. The
documentary evidence of this journey is fragmentary, and was exaggerated in folklore, but he
probably met with Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Osages, western Shawnees and Delawares, Iowas,
Sauks, Foxes, Sioux, Kickapoos, and Potawatomis.[92] He was aided in his efforts by two
extraordinary events: the Great Comet of 1811 and the New Madrid earthquake, which he and other
Indians interpreted as omens that his confederacy should be supported.[93] Many rejected his
overtures, especially in the south; his most receptive southern listeners were among the Creeks. A
faction among the Creeks, who became known as the Red Sticks, responded to Tecumseh's call to
arms, contributing to the coming of the Creek War.[94][95][96]
According to Sugden (1997), Tecumseh had made a "serious mistake" by informing Harrison he would
be absent from Prophetstown for an extended time.[97] Harrison wrote that Tecumseh's absence
"affords a most favorable opportunity for breaking up his Confederacy."[98] In September 1811,
Harrison marched toward Prophetstown with about 1,000 men.[99] In the pre-dawn hours on
November 7, warriors from Prophetstown launched a surprise attack on Harrison's camp, initiating
the Battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison's men held their ground, after which the Prophet's warriors
withdrew and evacuated Prophetstown. The Americans burned the village the following day and
returned to Vincennes.[100]
Historians have traditionally viewed the Battle of Tippecanoe as a devastating blow to Tecumseh's
confederacy. According to a story recorded by Benjamin Drake ten years after the battle, Tecumseh
was furious with Tenskwatawa after the battle and threatened to kill him.[101] Afterwards, it was said,
the Prophet played little part in the confederacy's leadership. Modern scholarship has cast doubt on
this interpretation. Dowd (1992), Cave (2002), and Jortner (2011) argued that stories of
Tenskwatawa's disgrace originated with Harrison's allies and are not supported by other
sources.[102][103][104] According to this view, the battle was a setback for Tenskwatawa, but he
continued to serve as the confederacy's spiritual leader, with Tecumseh as its diplomat and military
leader.[105][106][107]
Harrison hoped his preemptive strike would subdue Tecumseh's confederacy, but a wave of frontier
violence erupted after the battle. Indians, many who had fought at Tippecanoe, sought revenge, killing
as many as 46 Americans.[108] Tecumseh sought to restrain warriors from premature action while
preparing the confederacy for future hostilities.[109] By the time the United States declared war on
Great Britain in June 1812, as many as 800 warriors had gathered around the rebuilt Prophetstown.
Tecumseh's Indian allies throughout the Northwest Territory numbered around 3,500 warriors.[110]
War of 1812
In June 1812, Tecumseh arrived at Fort Malden in
Amherstburg to join his cause with the British in the
War of 1812. The British had few troops and scant
resources in the west, so Native allies were essential to
the defense of Upper Canada.[111] The British quickly
recognized Tecumseh as the most influential of their
Indian allies and relied upon him to direct the Native
forces.[112][113] He and his warriors scouted and probed
enemy positions as American General William Hull
crossed into Canada and threatened to take Fort
Malden. On July 25, Tecumseh's warriors skirmished
with Americans north of Amherstburg, inflicting the
first American fatalities of the war.[114]
Tecumseh turned his attention to cutting off Hull's

supply and communication lines on the U.S. side of the
Forts and battles in the Detroit region
border, south of Detroit. On August 5, he led 25
warriors in two successive ambushes, scattering a far
superior force. Tecumseh captured Hull's outgoing
mail, which revealed that the general was fearful of being cut off. On August 9, Tecumseh joined with
British soldiers at the Battle of Maguaga, successfully thwarting Hull's attempt to reopen his line of
communications. Two days later, Hull pulled the last of his men from Amherstburg, ending his
attempt to invade Canada.[115][116]
Brock and Detroit
On August 14, Major-General Isaac Brock, British commander of Upper Canada, arrived at Fort
Malden and began preparations for attacking Hull at Fort Detroit. Tecumseh, upon hearing of Brock's
plans, reportedly turned to his companions and said, "This is a man!"[117][118][note 7] Tecumseh and
Brock "formed an immediate friendship that served to cement the alliance."[119] Brock's high esteem
for Tecumseh likely contributed to a popular belief that Tecumseh was appointed a brigadier general
in the British Army, though this is a myth.[120][121][122]
Tecumseh led about 530 warriors in the Siege of Detroit.[123] According

to one account, Tecumseh had his men repeatedly pass through an
opening in the woods to create the impression that thousands of Indians
were outside the fort, a story that may be apocryphal.[124][note 8] To
almost everyone's astonishment, Hull decided to surrender on August
16.[125][126]
Afterwards, Brock wrote of Tecumseh:
He who attracted most of my attention was a Shawnee chief,

Tecumset [sic], brother to the Prophet, who for the last two
years has carried on, contrary to our remonstrances, an active
warfare against the United States. A more sagacious or a
more gallant warrior does not I believe exist. He was the Tecumseh's brief
partnership with Isaac
admiration of every one who conversed with him.[127][128]
Brock is celebrated in
Canadian history. (Meeting
Brock likely assured Tecumseh that the British would support Indian of Brock and Tecumseh,
land claims. He wrote his superiors that restoration of land "fraudulently Charles William Jefferys,
1915).
usurped" from the Indians should be considered in any peace
treaty.[129][130] News of Detroit's capture revived British discussion of
creating of an Indian barrier state to ensure the security of Upper
Canada.[131][128] After his short stay in the area, Brock returned to the Niagara frontier, where he was
killed in action several weeks later. Meanwhile, the British had negotiated a temporary armistice and
called off further offensives.[132] Tecumseh was frustrated by the unexpected British-American
armistice, which came at a time when his confederacy was attacking other American forts and needed
British support. In September 1812, he and Roundhead led 600 warriors to assist in an attack on Fort
Wayne, but the siege failed before they arrived.[129] Another siege against Fort Harrison also failed.
Tecumseh stayed in the Prophetstown region for the remainder of 1812, coordinating Indian war
efforts.[133]
Fort Meigs
I have with me eight hundred braves. You have an equal number in your hiding place.
Come out with them and give me battle; you talked like a brave when we met at Vincennes,
and I respected you; but now you hide behind logs and in the earth like a ground hog. Give
me your answer.
— Tecumseh's message to William Henry Harrison at Fort Meigs[134]
Tecumseh returned to Amherstburg in April 1813. Meanwhile, the Americans, having suffered defeat
at the Battle of Frenchtown in January 1813, were pushing back toward Detroit under the command
of William Henry Harrison. Tecumseh and Roundhead led about 1,200 warriors to Fort Meigs, a
recently constructed American fort along the Maumee River in Ohio. The Indians initially saw little
action while British forces under General Henry Procter laid siege to the fort. Fighting outside the fort
began on May 5 after the arrival of American reinforcements, who attacked the British gun batteries.
Tecumseh led an attack on an American sortie from the fort, then crossed the river to help defeat a
regiment of Kentucky militia.[135] The British and Indians had inflicted heavy casualties on the
Americans outside the fort, but failed to capture it. Procter's

Canadian militia and many of Tecumseh's warriors left after
the battle, so Procter was compelled to lift the
siege.[136][137][138]
One of the most famous incidents in Tecumseh's life

occurred after the battle.[139] American prisoners had been
taken to the nearby ruins of Fort Miami. When a group of
Indians began killing prisoners, Tecumseh rushed in and
stopped the slaughter. According to Sugden (1997),
"Tecumseh's defense of the American prisoners became a
Tecumseh (in white, arm upraised)
cornerstone of his legend, the ultimate proof of his inherent stopping the killing of American prisoners
nobility."[140] Some accounts said Tecumseh rebuked near Fort Meigs (John Emmins, 1860)
General Procter for failing to protect the prisoners, though
this might not have happened.[141]
Tecumseh and Procter returned to Fort Meigs in July 1813, Tecumseh with 2,500 warriors, the largest
contingent he would ever lead.[142] They had little hope of taking the strongly defended fort, but
Tecumseh sought to draw the Americans into open battle. He staged a mock battle within earshot of
the fort, hoping the Americans would ride out to assist. The ruse failed and the second siege of Fort
Meigs was lifted.[143][144][145] Procter then led a detachment to attack Fort Stephenson on the
Sandusky River, while Tecumseh went west to intercept potential American advances. Procter's attack
failed and the expedition returned to Amherstburg.[146][147]
Death and aftermath
Tecumseh hoped further offensives were forthcoming, but

after the American naval victory in the Battle of Lake Erie
on September 10, 1813, Procter decided to retreat from
Amherstburg.[148][149] Tecumseh pleaded with Procter to
stay and fight: "Our lives are in the hands of the Great
Spirit. We are determined to defend our lands, and if it is
his will, we wish to leave our bones upon them."[150] Procter
insisted the defense of Amherstburg was untenable now
that the Americans controlled Lake Erie, but he promised to
make a stand at Chatham, along the Thames River.[151][152] Nathaniel Currier's lithograph (c. 1846) is
Tecumseh reluctantly agreed. The British burned Fort one of many images that portrayed Richard
Malden and public buildings in Amherstburg, then began Mentor Johnson shooting Tecumseh.
the retreat, with William Henry Harrison's army in
pursuit.[152][153]
Tecumseh arrived at Chatham to find that Procter had retreated even further upriver. Procter sent
word that he had chosen to make a stand near Moraviantown. Tecumseh was angered by the change
in plans, but he led a rearguard action at Chatham to slow the American advance, and was slightly
wounded in the arm.[153] Many of Tecumseh's despairing allies deserted during the retreat, leaving
him 500 warriors.[153] Procter and Tecumseh, outnumbered more than three-to-one, faced the
Americans at the Battle of the Thames on October 5. Tecumseh positioned his men in a line of trees
along the right, hoping to flank the Americans.[154] The left, commanded by Procter, collapsed almost
immediately, and Procter fled the battlefield.[155][156] Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson led the
American charge against the Indians. Tecumseh was killed in the fierce fighting, and the Indians
dispersed. The Americans had won a decisive victory.[157][158][159]
After the battle, American soldiers stripped and scalped Tecumseh's body. The next day, when
Tecumseh's body had been positively identified, others peeled off some skin as souvenirs.[160] The
location of his remains are unknown. The earliest account stated that his body had been taken by
Canadians and buried at Sandwich.[161] Later stories said he was buried at the battlefield, or that his
body was secretly removed and buried elsewhere.[162] According to another tradition, an Ojibwe
named Oshahwahnoo, who had fought at Moraviantown, exhumed Tecumseh's body in the 1860s and
buried him on St. Anne Island on the St. Clair River.[163] In 1931, these bones were examined.
Tecumseh had broken a thighbone in a riding accident as a youth and thereafter walked with a limp,
but neither thigh of this skeleton had been broken. Nevertheless, in 1941 the remains were buried on
nearby Walpole Island in a ceremony honoring Tecumseh.[164] St-Denis (2005), in a book-length
investigation of the topic, concluded that Tecumseh was likely buried on the battlefield and his
remains have been lost.[165]
Initial published accounts identified Richard Mentor Johnson as having killed Tecumseh. In 1816,
another account claimed a different soldier had fired the fatal shot.[166] The matter became
controversial in the 1830s when Johnson was a candidate for Vice President of the United States.
Johnson's supporters promoted him as Tecumseh's killer, employing slogans such as "Rumpsey
dumpsey, rumpsey dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh." Johnson's opponents collected
testimony contradicting this claim; numerous other possibilities were named. Sugden (1985)
presented the evidence and argued that Johnson's claim was the strongest, though not conclusive.[167]
Johnson became Vice President in 1837, his fame largely based on his claim to have killed
Tecumseh.[168]
Tecumseh's death led to the collapse of his confederacy; except in the southern Creek War, most of his
followers did little more fighting.[169][170] In the negotiations that ended the War of 1812, the British
attempted to honor promises made to Tecumseh by insisting upon the creation of an Indian barrier
state in the Old Northwest. The Americans refused and the matter was dropped.[171][172] The Treaty of
Ghent (1814) called for Indian lands to be restored to their 1811 boundaries, something the United
States had no intention of doing.[173] By the end of the 1830s, the U.S. government had compelled
Shawnees still living in Ohio to sign removal treaties and move west of the Mississippi River.[174]
Legacy
Tecumseh was widely admired in his lifetime, even by Americans who had fought against him.[175] His
primary American foe, William Henry Harrison, described Tecumseh as "one of those uncommon
geniuses, which spring up occasionally to produce revolutions and overturn the established order of
things."[176] After his death, he became an iconic folk hero in American, Indigenous, and Canadian
history.[177] For many Native Americans in the United States and First Nations people in Canada, he
became a hero who transcends tribal identity.[178] Tecumseh's stature grew over the decades after his
death, often at the expense of Tenskwatawa, whose religious views white writers found alien and
unappealing. White writers tended to turn Tecumseh into a "secular" leader who only used his
brother's religious movement for political reasons.[179][180] For Europeans and white North
Americans, he became the foremost example of the "noble savage" stereotype.[180][181]
Tecumseh is honored in Canada as a hero who played a major role in

Canada's defense in the War of 1812, joining Sir Isaac Brock and Laura
Secord as the best-remembered people of that war.[182] John
Richardson, an important early Canadian novelist, had served with
Tecumseh and idolized him. His 1828 epic poem "Tecumseh; or, The
Warrior of the West" was intended to "preserve the memory of one of the
noblest and most gallant spirits" in history.[183] Canadian writers such as
Charles Mair (Tecumseh: A Drama, 1886) celebrated Tecumseh as a
Canadian patriot, an idea reflected in numerous subsequent biographies
written for Canadian school children.[183] The portrayal of Tecumseh as
a Canadian patriot has been criticized for obscuring his true aim of
protecting Native homelands outside of Canada.[182] Among the many
things named for Tecumseh in Canada are the naval reserve unit HMCS
Tecumseh and Tecumseh, Ontario.[184] In 1931, the Canadian
Tecumseh by Hamilton
MacCarthy (c. 1896), Royal
government designated Tecumseh as a person of national historic
Ontario Museum, Toronto significance.[185]
Tecumseh has long been admired in Germany, especially due to popular

novels by Fritz Steuben, beginning with The Flying Arrow (1930).[186]
Steuben used Tecumseh to promote Nazi ideology, though later editions of his novels removed the
Nazi elements.[187] An East German film, Tecumseh, was released in 1972.[187]
In the United States, Tecumseh became a legendary figure,

the historical details of his life shrouded in mythology.
According to Edmunds (2007), "the real Tecumseh has been
overshadowed by a folk hero whose exploits combine the
best of fact and fiction."[188] Only in the late 20th century
did academic historians begin to unravel fact from
fiction.[189] The fictional Tecumseh has been featured in
numerous poems, plays, and novels, as well as several
movies and outdoor dramas. Examples include George Ferdinand Pettrich, The Dying Tecumseh
Jones's Tecumseh; or, The prophet of the West (1844 (1856)
play),[190] Mary Catherine Crowley's Love Thrives in War
(1903 novel),[191] Brave Warrior (1952 film),[192] and Allan
W. Eckert's A Sorrow in Our Hearts: The Life of Tecumseh (1992 novel).[191] James Alexander
Thom's 1989 novel Panther in the Sky was made into a TV movie, Tecumseh: The Last Warrior
(1995).[193] The outdoor drama Tecumseh! has been performed near Chillicothe, Ohio, since 1973.
Written by Allan Eckert, the story features a fictional, doomed romance between Tecumseh and a
white settler woman, an example of the "vanishing Indian" scenario popular with white
Americans.[194][195]
William Tecumseh Sherman, a general for the Union during the American Civil War, was named after
Tecumseh.
See also
Curse of Tippecanoe
References
Notes
1. This 1915 painting is based on a black and white engraving published by Benson John Lossing in
1868. Before Lossing's was published, no authentic portrait of Tecumseh was known to exist.
Lossing said his portrait was based on a sketch of Tecumseh made in 1808 by Pierre Le Dru, a
French trader in Vincennes. Lossing altered the original by putting Tecumseh in a British Army
uniform, based on the erroneous belief that Tecumseh had been appointed a brigadier general.[1]
2. Tecumseh was not mentioned in contemporary historical documents for about the first forty years
of his life, so historians have reconstructed his early experiences based on later testimony.[3]
Interpretations vary in the dating of early events and the differentiation between legend and
history. Tecumseh first appears in historical documents around 1808.[4][5]
3. According to Sugden, Shawnees pronounce the s in Tecumseh as th, and noted that Tecumseh's
Shawnee friend James Logan gave his full name as "We-the-cumpt-te".[7] Gatschet (1895) gives
the name in Shawnee as Tekámthi or Tkámthi, which is derived from nila ni tkamáthka, meaning "I
cross the path or way (of an animate being)."[8]
4. In Tecumseh's the Shawnee were organized into five tribal divisions or septs: Kispoko,
Chalahgawtha (Chillicothe), Mekoche, Pekowi, and Hathawekela. Each Shawnee person also
belonged to a clan (m'shoma), such as Panther, Turtle, and Turkey. Each clan had a peace chief
(hokima) and war chief (neenawtooma). Each division often had a principal town named after the
division. Clan leaders sat on a town council, which made important decisions by consensus. The
town council sometimes appointed a clan leader to be the ceremonial hokima to speak for the
town. When a clan hokima died, the town leaders selected his successor from among his sons.
War chiefs were selected from successful war leaders. Shawnee chiefs had no coercive powers;
they led by persuasion and example.[10]
5. In 1777, many Shawnees moved away from the Scioto River to be less exposed to American
attacks, establishing a new Chillicothe on the Little Miami River (present-day Oldtown, Ohio). In
the early 20th century, people mistakenly identified this newer Chillicothe as Tecumseh's
birthplace, unaware the town did not exist when Tecumseh was born.[2] As a result, the official
Ohio historical marker designating Tecumseh's birthplace is 50 miles (80 km) from the actual
location.[12]
6. In Tecumseh's era, Shawnees lived in autonomous villages with no central government, but in the
1760s they began appointing a ceremonial leader from the Mekoche division to speak for them in
negotiations with Europeans and Americans, who often mistook this leader as the Shawnee
"principal chief" or "king." The ceremonial leader in Tecumseh's youth was Kisinoutha (Hard Man),
who was succeeded in the 1780s by Moluntha and then Black Hoof.[62]
7. This oft-quoted comment was reported by a member of Brock's regiment who was not present;
Sudgen writes, "perhaps it happened."[117]
8. This incident was reported by a Canadian militia officer who was not an eyewitness; American
accounts of the battle do not mention it.[124]
Citations
1. Sugden 1997, pp. facing 210, 402–03. 8. Gatschet 1895, p. 91.
2. Sugden 1997, p. 22. 9. Sugden 1997, pp. 14, 23.
3. Sugden 1997, p. 413 n1. 10. Lakomäki 2014, pp. 14–20, 36.
4. Dowd 1992, p. 328. 11. Sugden 1997, pp. 18–19, 22.
5. Antal 1997, p. 20. 12. Cozzens 2020, p. 445 n14.
6. Sugden 1997, p. 23. 13. Sugden 1997, pp. 13–14.
7. Sugden 1997, p. 415 n19. 14. Edmunds 2007, p. 17.
15. Sugden 1997, pp. 16–19. 59. Sugden 1997, pp. 143–48.

16. Sugden 1997, p. 19. 60. Edmunds 2007, pp. 85–86.
17. Edmunds 2007, p. 18. 61. Lakomäki 2014, p. 139.
18. Sugden 1997, pp. 20–22. 62. Lakomäki 2014, pp. 79–80, 115, 139.
20. Edmunds 2007, pp. 16, 18. 64. Lakomäki 2014, p. 140.
21. Sugden 1997, p. 30. 65. Lakomäki 2014, p. 147.
23. Sugden 1997, pp. 35–36. 67. Sugden 1997, pp. 3–8, 136.
24. Sugden 1997, pp. 42–44. 68. Sugden 1997, pp. 156–57, 160, 167.
25. Sugden 1997, pp. 45–46. 69. Willig 1997, p. 127.
26. Sugden 1997, pp. 46–47. 70. Sugden 1997, p. 168.
27. Sugden 1997, pp. 48–49, 75. 71. Cave 2002, p. 643.
28. Edmunds 2007, p. 21. 72. Willig 1997, p. 128.
29. Sugden 1997, pp. 51–52. 73. Jortner 2011, p. 145.
30. Edmunds 2007, p. 23. 74. Jortner 2011, pp. 145–47.
32. Sugden 1997, pp. 57–59. 76. Cave 2002, p. 647.
34. Sugden 1997, p. 81. 78. Owens 2007, pp. 200–06.
35. Sugden 1997, p. 63. 79. Sugden 1997, p. 187.
36. Edmunds 2007, p. 30. 80. Edmunds 2007, p. 111.
37. Sugden 1997, pp. 64–66. 81. Yagelski 1995, p. 64.
39. Sugden 1997, p. 76. 83. Edmunds 2007, pp. 118–19.
41. Sugden 1997, pp. 87–90. 85. Edmunds 2007, p. 121.
42. Edmunds 2007, pp. 36–37. 86. Sugden 2000, p. 167.
45. Sugden 1997, p. 94. 89. Edmunds 1983, p. 98.
47. Sugden 1997, p. 100. 91. Sugden 1997, p. 218.
49. Edmunds 1983, p. 186. 93. Sugden 1997, pp. 246–51.
52. Edmunds 2007, pp. 69–71. 96. Edmunds 2007, pp. 133–39.
55. Cave 2002, pp. 642–43. 99. Edmunds 1983, pp. 104–06.
56. Sugden 1997, pp. 127–28. 100. Edmunds 1983, pp. 111–14.
57. Sugden 1997, pp. 137–38. 101. Dowd 1992, pp. 324–25.
58. Jortner 2011, p. 100. 102. Dowd 1992, pp. 322–24.
103. Cave 2002, pp. 657–64. 147. Gilpin 1958, pp. 206–07.

104. Jortner 2011, p. 198. 148. Sugden 1997, pp. 356–57.
105. Dowd 1992, p. 327. 149. Gilpin 1958, pp. 214–16.
106. Cave 2002, pp. 663–67. 150. Sugden 1997, p. 360.
107. Jortner 2011, p. 199. 151. Sugden 1997, pp. 360–61.
108. Sugden 1997, pp. 258–61. 152. Gilpin 1958, p. 217.
110. Sugden 1997, p. 273. 154. Sugden 1997, p. 369.
111. Antal 1997, pp. 20–24. 155. Sugden 1997, pp. 372–73.
112. Sugden 1997, pp. 279–83. 156. Antal 1997, pp. 341–44.
113. Antal 1997, p. 72. 157. Gilpin 1958, pp. 223–26.
115. Sugden 1997, pp. 295–97. 159. Hickey 1989, p. 139.
116. Gilpin 1958, pp. 96–98, 100–04. 160. Sugden 1997, p. 379.
117. Sugden 1997, p. 300. 161. Sugden 1997, p. 380.
118. Gilpin 1958, p. 105. 162. Sugden 1985, pp. 215–18.
119. Antal 1997, p. 92. 163. Sugden 1985, p. 218.
120. Antal 1997, p. 106 n8. 164. Sugden 1985, p. 220.
121. St-Denis 2005, pp. 132, 247. 165. St-Denis 2005, pp. 141–42.
122. Edmunds 2007, p. 204. 166. Sugden 1985, p. 138.
124. Sugden 1997, p. 303. 168. Sugden 1997, p. 375.
125. Sugden 1997, pp. 303–05. 169. Edmunds 2007, pp. 197–98.
126. Antal 1997, pp. 96–102. 170. Sugden 1997, pp. 383–86.
128. Antal 1997, p. 105. 172. Calloway 2007, p. 153.
129. Sugden 1997, p. 311. 173. Allen 1993, p. 169.
130. Antal 1997, p. 123. 174. Calloway 2007, pp. 155–66.
132. Antal 1997, p. 104. 176. Edmunds 2007, pp. 205–06.
134. Antal 1997, pp. 222–23. 178. Sugden 1997, p. 390.
135. Sugden 1997, pp. 331–34. 179. Dowd 1992, p. 309.
136. Gilpin 1958, pp. 189–90. 180. Edmunds 2007, p. 207.
138. Edmunds 2007, p. 179. 182. Goltz 1983.
140. Sugden 1997, p. 338. 184. Sugden 1997, p. 391.
141. Sugden 1997, p. 337. 185. St-Denis 2005, p. 241 n71.
142. Sugden 1997, p. 347. 186. Sugden 1997, p. 393.
143. Gilpin 1958, pp. 204–05. 187. Sugden 1997, p. 394.
144. Hickey 1989, p. 136. 188. Edmunds 2007, p. 200.
145. Sugden 1997, pp. 347–48. 189. Sugden 1997, pp. ix–x.
146. Sugden 1997, p. 348. 190. Sugden 1997, p. 397.
191. Sugden 1997, p. 399. 194. Edmunds 2007, p. 201.

192. Sugden 1997, p. 395. 195. Barnes 2017, pp. 218–19.
193. Sugden 1997, p. 456.
Sources
Allen, Robert S. (1993). His Majesty's Indian Allies: British Indian Policy in the Defence of Canada
1774–1815 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Y11ibcJ184oC&pg=PA235). Toronto: Dundurn.
ISBN 9781554881895.
Antal, Sandy (1997). A Wampum Denied: Procter's War of 1812. Ottawa: Carleton University Press.
ISBN 0870134434.
Barnes, Benjamin J. (2017). "Becoming our Own Storytellers: Tribal Nations Engaging with
Academia". In Warren, Stephen (ed.). The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma: Resilience
Through Adversity. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 217–27. ISBN 9780806161006.
Calloway, Colin G. (2007). The Shawnees and the War for America. New York: Viking.
ISBN 9780670038626.
Cave, Alfred A. (2002). "The Shawnee Prophet, Tecumseh, and Tippecanoe: A Case Study of
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(4): 637–673. doi:10.2307/3124761 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3124761). JSTOR 3124761 (http
s://www.jstor.org/stable/3124761). Retrieved January 24, 2021.
Cozzens, Peter (2020). Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation.
New York: Knopf. ISBN 9781524733254.
Dowd, Gregory E. (1992). "Thinking and Believing: Nativism and Unity in the Ages of Pontiac and
Tecumseh" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1185795). American Indian Quarterly. 16 (3): 309–35.
doi:10.2307/1185795 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1185795). JSTOR 1185795 (https://www.jstor.or
g/stable/1185795). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
Edmunds, R. David (1983). The Shawnee Prophet (https://archive.org/details/shawneeprophet00edm
u). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803218508.
Edmunds, R. David (2007). Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership (2nd ed.). New York:
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Anthropologist. 8 (1): 91–92. doi:10.1525/aa.1895.8.1.02a00120 (https://doi.org/10.1525%2Faa.1
895.8.1.02a00120). JSTOR 658447 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/658447). Retrieved March 26,
2021.
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Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. V (1801–1820) (online ed.).
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2forgo00hick). Urbana; Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0252016130.
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American Frontier. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199765294.
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Owens, Robert M. (2007). Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of
American Indian Policy. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806138428.
St-Denis, Guy (2005). Tecumseh's Bones. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
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(hardcover ed.). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806119446.
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s://www.jstor.org/stable/1183838). American Indian Quarterly. 10 (4): 273–304.
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g/stable/1183838).
Sugden, John (1997). Tecumseh: A Life. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0805041389.
Sugden, John (2000). "Tecumseh's Travels Revisited" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/27792243).
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2243). Retrieved January 21, 2021.
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Northwest" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/20173677). Michigan Historical Review. 23 (2): 115–58.
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or.org/stable/20173677). Retrieved January 25, 2021.
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tps://www.jstor.org/stable/465661). Rhetoric Review. 14 (1): 64–77.
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External links
Media related to Tecumseh at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Tecumseh at Wikiquote
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10/5/21, 3:51 PM Tecumseh - Wikipedia

Likely near present-

in present-day Indiana, that grew into a large, multi-tribal Moraviantown, Upper

From warrior to chief

Rise of the Prophet

traditional medicine bags.[54][55] Tecumseh followed his brother's

In 1806, Tecumseh and Lalawéthika, now known as the Shawnee

At Prophetstown, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa initially worked to maintain a peaceful coexistence

Before the Treaty of Fort Wayne, Tecumseh was relatively

Tecumseh turned his attention to cutting off Hull's

Brock and Detroit

Tecumseh led about 530 warriors in the Siege of Detroit.[123] According

Afterwards, Brock wrote of Tecumseh:

He who attracted most of my attention was a Shawnee chief,

— Tecumseh's message to William Henry Harrison at Fort Meigs[134]

Americans outside the fort, but failed to capture it. Procter's

One of the most famous incidents in Tecumseh's life

Death and aftermath

Tecumseh hoped further offensives were forthcoming, but

Tecumseh is honored in Canada as a hero who played a major role in

Tecumseh has long been admired in Germany, especially due to popular

In the United States, Tecumseh became a legendary figure,

15. Sugden 1997, pp. 16–19. 59. Sugden 1997, pp. 143–48.

103. Cave 2002, pp. 657–64. 147. Gilpin 1958, pp. 206–07.

191. Sugden 1997, p. 399. 194. Edmunds 2007, p. 201.

Sugden, John (1985). Tecumseh's Last Stand (https://archive.org/details/tecumsehslaststa00sugd)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tecumseh&oldid=1048312130"

This page was last edited on 5 October 2021, at 09:58 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

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