Indiana in the War of 1812
During the War of 1812, the Indiana Territory was the scene of numerous engagements which occurred as part of the conflict's western theater. Prior to the war's outbreak in 1812, settlers from the United States had been gradually colonizing the region, which led to increased tensions with local Native Americans and the outbreak of Tecumseh's War. In 1811, Tecumseh's confederacy, formed in response to encroachment by white American settlers, was defeated by U.S. forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe. After the conflict broke out, most Native Americans in the region joined forces with the British Empire and attacked American forces and settlers in concert with their British allies.
Numerous American citizens from Indiana enlisted in United States Army and militia units during the war, including the Indiana Rangers, and served in various theaters. In September 1812, months after the war's outbreak, British-allied Native Americans laid siege to two U.S. military forts in Indiana, Fort Harrison and Fort Wayne. Both sieges were unsuccessful as the besiegers were eventually forced to withdraw due to a lack of reinforcements. On November 1812, U.S. forces were defeated in Indiana by Native Americans at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek, but achieved a success next month at the Battle of the Mississinewa.
In 1813, violent skirmishes between U.S. troops and settlers and Native Americans increased, and in April the indecisive Battle of Tipton's Island occurred. William Henry Harrison, the unpopular governor of Indiana, led U.S. military efforts in the western theater. After the United States Navy defeated a smaller Royal Navy force at the Battle of Lake Erie in September 1813, British forces under the command of Henry Procter were forced to abandon Detroit and retreated into Upper Canada. American forces under Harrison's command pursued them and defeated a combined British-Indian force at the Battle of the Thames, killing Shawnee leader Tecumseh. The war resulted in the collapse of British proposals for an Indian barrier state and the solidification of U.S. control over Indiana.
Background
Beginning with the 1809
Henry Clay and his supporters in Congress attacked and denounced the British who had supplied firearms to the western tribes and the Battle of Tippecanoe further raised tensions between the United States and Great Britain.[2] Although Tecumseh publicly claimed to be at peace with the United States, he was privately encouraging his followers to prepare for war. He sent messengers to the British to attempt to stir them, reporting that the Americans were amassing troops for an invasion of Canada.[3]
War of 1812
1812
Just before the start of the war in June,
With the impending onset of hostilities, Harrison sought military assistance from neighboring Kentucky. After being appointed brigadier general of the Kentucky militia on August 22, Harrison went to attain the force in order to defend the Indiana territorial government at Vincennes.[4] Harrison had resigned his military commission in December 1811, but with the help of Kentucky governor Charles Scott, he was able to recruit Kentucky citizens to help defend Indiana; citizens in Ohio and Indiana had heard of the lack of camp provisions and chose not to be burdened by such hardships.[6][7] It is believed Harrison sought military command due to losing popularity in the territory, particularly for supporting slavery in the territory.[8] During September the Territorial Legislature met and Dennis Pennington introduced a bill to move the capitol from Vincennes because of its proximity to the Indians. The bill was passed and plans were put in place to begin selecting a new capitol and to evacuate the territorial records. The resolution stated: "Resolved: That the capitol be removed from Vincennes, because it is dangerous to continue longer here on account of threatened depredations of the Indians, who may destroy our valuable records."[9]
September saw additional attacks across the territory. On September 3 in northern
The American forces struck back in November. Prophetstown was
1813
To combat the threat of Native American attacks, several companies of mounted Indiana Rangers were organized. Each company was 100 men strong. The un-uniformed troops carried their own provisions, and carried a knife and long knives to fight. These forces sought out Indian villages to avenge previous Indian attacks.[12] There were several skirmishes between Native Americans and Rangers, such as the Battle of Tipton's Island, but they were smaller than the major clashes of 1812.
In July 1813, a large punitive expedition left
On May 1, 1813, the territorial legislature relocated the capitol to
Aftermath
From the American Revolutionary War to the end of the War of 1812, British agents operating from Canada had worked to instigate Native American tribes against the United States as part of an effort to create a pro-British Indian barrier state to block American expansion westward. In the Treaty of Ghent, Great Britain agreed not to arm nor trade with American Indians in the United States and dropped the proposal of a barrier state. The first decade of the 19th century was a time of relative peace between the white settlers in southern Indiana territory and the Native American nations in the rest of the territory. Although the United States hoped to acquire more of this land for settlement, it had an official policy of coexistence with the native tribes. Following the massacres and destruction of villages from 1811–13, however, the United States adopted a removal policy.[15] The punitive actions of the War of 1812 gave the United States firm control over Indiana Territory. This led to rapid settlement and development of the territory when peace was declared, and Indiana was admitted to the Union on December 11, 1816.
References
- ^ Langguth, pp. 165–168
- ^ Langguth, p. 169
- ^ Langguth, p. 171
- ^ a b c d "Indiana Territory — Timeline". Indiana State Government. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c "1812 Timeline". Mississinewa Battlefield Society. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
- ^ Mahon pp.63,64
- ^ Langguth, p. 237
- ^ Mahon p.64
- ^ Gresham, p. 25
- ^ Mahon p.67
- ^ Ferguson, Rich (March 3, 2008). "Indianapolis Tonight". WIBC. Retrieved January 15, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Dillon pp.523,524,527
- ^ Allison, 254-255
- ^ Western Sun, July 1813. Papers and Documents William Henry Harrison Indiana Historical Society
- ^ Wilson, 239
Sources
- Allison, Harold (1986). The Tragic Saga of the Indiana Indians. Paducah: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 0-938021-07-9.
- Dillon, John Brown (1859). A History of Indiana, from Its Earliest Exploration by Europeans to the Close of the Territorial Government, in 1816. Bingham & Doughty.
- Gresham, Matilda (1919). Life of Walter Quintin Gresham 1832–1895. Rand McNally & company.
- Langguth, A. J. (2006). Union 1812:The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-2618-6.
- Mahon, John K. (1991). The War of 1812. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80429-8.
- Wilson, George R.; Thornbrough, Gayle (1946). The Buffalo Trace. Indiana Historical Society Publications, volume 15, number 2. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society.