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Death of Tecumseh,
Rotunda Frieze Scene.
Art in the Capitol,
Architect of the Capitol,
Office of the Curator. |
There are differing accounts of the death of Tecumseh. All
agree that he joined forces with the British in the War of 1812.
He and his British allies met with initial success capturing
Detroit. After Oliver Hazard Perry's victory on Lake Eerie,
however, they were forced to retreat into Canada, pursued by
an U.S. army under General William Harrison.
On October 5, 1813, the two armies met in the Battle of the
Thames. The British fled, but Tecumseh covered their retreat.
Here the accounts diverge. One widely repeated story is that
Tecumseh attacked Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky with
a tomahawk and was killed by a single shot from Johnson's pistol.
Johnson himself was severely wounded in the battle.
Johnson was a Kentucky Congressman who supported
the War of 1812 and raised his own troop of mounted Kentucky riflemen
in support of Harrison. His bravery in the Battle of the Thames
and his claim to have killed Tecumseh furthered his political
career. He became a U.S. Senator in 1819 and received the Democratic
nomination for the Vice Presidency in 1836. Martin Van Buren,
the Democratic nominee for President, won easily, defeating Harrison.
Johnson won a plurality, but not a majority, of votes in the Electoral
College. The election was decided by a vote of the Senate (as
provided for in the twelfth amendment) and Johnson was elected.
He is the only Vice President elected in this manner.
Today, Johnson's claim to have killed Tecumseh
is viewed with some skepticism. Nonetheless, his version of events
was believed by many and is depicted on the U.S. Capitol frieze.
A different version is told by Andrew J. Blackbird,
or Mack-e-te-be-nessy, son of the Ottawa Chief, Mack a-de-pe-nessy,
in his history of the Ottawa and Chippewa.
"…in the history of the United States…there
are some mistakes concerning the accounts of the Indians, particularly
the accounts of our brave Tecumseh, as it is claimed that he
was killed by a soldier named Johnson, upon whom they conferred
the honor of having disposed of the dreaded Tecumseh. Even pictured
out as being coming up with his tomahawk to strike a man who
was on horseback, but being instantly shot dead with the pistol.
Now I have repeatedly heard our oldest Indians, both male and
female, who were present at the defeat of the British and Indians,
all tell a unanimous story, saying that they came to a clearing
or opening spot, and it was there where Tecumseh ordered his
warriors to rally and fight the Americans once more and in this
very spot one of the American musket balls took effect in Tecumseh's
leg so as to break the bone of his leg, that he could not stand
up. He was sitting on the ground when he told his warriors to
flee as well as they could, and furthermore said, 'One of my
leg is shot off! But leave me one or two guns loaded; I am going
to have a last shot. Be quick and go!' That was the last word
spoken by Tecumseh. As they look back, they saw the soldiers
thick as swarm of bees around where Tecumseh was sitting on
the ground with his broken leg, and so they did not see him
any more; and, therefore, we always believe that the Indians
or Americans know not who made the fatal shot on Tecumseh's
leg, or what the soldiers did with him when they came up to
him as he was sitting on the ground."
(From the American
Memory Collection of the Library of Congress.)
All accounts agree that Tecumseh died bravely
and that with him died effective resistance to the U.S. settlement
of the Northwest Territory.
"When it comes your time to die, be not
like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so
that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more
time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing
your death song and die like a hero going home."
—Chief Tecumseh,
Shawnee Nation, quoted in Lee Sulzman,"Shawnee
History"
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