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William Henry Harrison, 1773-1841
William Henry Harrison, who came from a family of Virginia aristocrats, made his career in the West, at first as a soldier and later as governor of the Indiana Territory, charged with keeping settlers safe from angry Indians, who had many grievances against the white interlopers. Alarmed by the growing power of the Shawnee brothers Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh, and suspicious of British influence, Harrison marched an army to Prophet's Town on the Tippecanoe River and in October 1812 won a battle that would provide the rallying cry ("Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!") for his campaign for the presidency in 1840.
After the outbreak of the War of 1812, Harrison was appointed a brigadier general. At the fight along the Thames River in Canada, on October 5, 1813, he routed the British and the Indians, whose chief, Tecumseh, was killed in battle.
Rembrandt Peale, c 1813 |