Frontier Tension Mounts

Before the end of 1811, the Prophet was back at Tippecanoe, the village was rebuilt, and the white settlers were once again in danger.  Tecumseh returned in early 1812 after a successful visit to the Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee.  He talked of his long-delayed visit to Washington to discuss peace.  Tecumseh claimed that had he been in Prophetstown there would have been no Battle of Tippecanoe.

By spring of 1812, ominous events began to happen.  Two settlers were murdered within three miles of Fort Dearborn and an entire family was massacred five miles outside of Vincennes.  The frontier was in a panic, as a general uprising was thought imminent.  Farmers abandoned their farms, taking refuge in temporary forts hastily built.  Many fled to Kentucky.

Tecumseh blamed the troubles on the Potawatomi who had not joined his confederation, and continued to talk of his friendship with his "white brothers."  Still, he made no effort to visit Washington to broker peace as promised, nor did he do much to restrain his allies.  Rumor had it that he was a British sympathizer.  The commander of Fort Wayne reported to Governor Harrison in Vincennes that "if the country should have a war with Britain, it must be prepared for an Indian war as well."  The year was 1812.

Governor Harrison immediately asked to raise an army which would "scour" the Wabash territory.  The War Department hesitated for fear of driving the Indians straight to the British side.  In no part of the country was war more popular and no where did the mass of able-bodied settlers show more desire to join the fight that in the Old Northwest.

There were only five garrisoned posts between the Ohio River and the Canadian border - Fort Harrison with 50 men, Fort Wayne with 85, Fort Dearborn with 53, Fort Mackinac with 88, and Detroit with 120.  A total force of less than 400 men to defend Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and the Ohio River! 

Next time...As war develops, so do the obstacles
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Today in Pioneer History: "On May 16, 1849, New York City finally establishes a hospital for cholera before the epidemic ends, killing 5,000 people.  The poor conditions of the rapidly growing city, along with the constant influx of immigrants from around the world would eventually lead to the first street-cleaning plan,  but not before the disease visited homes of all levels of society.