I don’t remember a lot from my history classes in grade school, but for some reason the saying “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” stuck in my brain. I had to stop at the Tippecanoe battlefield north of Laffayette and learn a little history and why the things I was taught in school were important. An 85-foot tall obelisk was erected at the site of the battlefield in 1908 to memorialize the importance of the battle that took place on November 7, 1811. The leader of the Shawnee, Tecumseh, opposed the 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne, which other tribal chiefs had agreed to, and vowed to fight for their land. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa were in the settlement of Prophetstown on the Wabash River where the Tippecanoe River flows into it.
A force of one thousand men led by William Henry Harrison set up camp near the Tippecanoe River. Tecumseh left Prophetstown in search of more warriors from other tribes and help from the British Allies. He told his brother not to attack until he returned. Tenskwatawa disobeyed his brother’s order and led a sneak attack of the camp in the early morning hours. The American forces were able to fend off the attack after two hours of battle. As the Native American warriors retreated, the Americans on horseback rode to Prophetstown and burned down the village. It was a major turning point in the battle between the new country and the Native Americans. The battle garnered great recognition for Harrison, and he was known as “Old Tippecanoe”. When John Tyler became his running mate, they adopted the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”.
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