The second war between the United States and Great Britain was the last conflict where the support or opposition of Native Americans played a significant role, though it broke the military power of nations east of the Mississippi River forever. The Indian conflict in the War of 1812 (1812-15) helped to build the reputation of future American presidents such as Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, and Zachary Taylor.
The republic’s expansion after the American Revolution (1775-83) put most Native Americans under pressure. Indian leaders tried a number of different strategies to deal with the ever-increasing demands for more land for white American settlers. Some of the Iroquois sold off their holdings and moved west or north into Canada. The Shawnee, under Tecumseh, wanted to put aside old tribal feuds and unite to stop the advancing Americans. In the South, Native peoples tried several solutions. The Creek Confederacy fought among themselves, with those who wanted to accommodate the United States pitted against those who thought they could best protect their people by allying with the British.
Before the United States entered hostilities with Great Britain, an army commanded by William Henry Harrison dispersed many of the warriors based around Prophet-stown at the Battle of Tippecanoe (November 7, 1811). Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, better known as the Shawnee Prophet, had spent the previous few years preaching a political and religious revival to the nations west of the Appalachians. Many Native peoples flocked to the town in northwestern Indiana to practice their traditional lifestyles free from the corrupting influence of whiskey and manufactured trade goods.
Harrison used his position as the territorial governor of Indiana to persuade the federal government to allow him to strike at the town. A series of raids on Ohio and Indiana settlements launched from Prophetstown gave Harrison the evidence he needed to convince President James Madison to retaliate. The American government feared that the
British in Canada were encouraging the Native Americans to fight, since everybody was sure war was coming. Harrison’s victory at Tippecanoe neutralized the threatened alliance between Native Americans and the British. Many warriors lost faith in Tenskwatawa’s message and returned to their villages.
When the United States declared war on Great Britain in June 1812, the British quickly seized Mackinac in the northern Michigan Territory. The Americans responded by invading Canada across the narrow straits at Detroit. The American army commanded by General William Hull fumbled the opportunity and found itself facing a well-led British and Native American force. Hull and his subordinates were not up to the job and were chased back into Michigan, where the British captured them.
Throughout the winter, the British and their allies raided the southern shores of the Great Lakes. At Fort Dearborn, many American prisoners met their deaths at the hands of their captors. Lurid tales of massacres helped to stir widespread support among the backwoods communities throughout the Ohio Valley and Tennessee. Harrison received a general’s commission and raised an army. By spring 1813, the Americans stood ready to push into Canada once more.
Harrison’s command was temporarily besieged at Fort Meigs in that spring. The attack was repulsed, and many of the Native Americans who followed Tecumseh during the siege deserted him. In a series of battles around Detroit, Harrison defeated the British forces and pushed them back into Canada. He followed them into British territory and defeated 800 Native Americans and 450 British troops at the Battle of the Thames (October 5, 1813). Tecumseh died in the fighting, and the dreams of his great confederacy died with him.
Only a small number of Native Americans fought on for the British in the North after the battle. Some Mohawk led by John Brant (son of Joseph Brant) fought around Fort Niagara. Most other nations stayed out of the conflict or threw their lot in with the Americans. The Iroquois left on American territory followed the advice of Seneca chief Cornplanter and fought for the United States. The nations that had followed Tecumseh left the Indiana Territory and went back home to await the end of the war.
In the South, the War of 1812 sharply divided some of the nations. Many stayed neutral while others supported the United States against Britain. The Spanish in Florida helped the British supply Native Americans who wanted to fight the Americans.
Tecumseh had visited the southern nations in October 1811 (at the same time Harrison was marching on Tippecanoe). He did not succeed in rallying the Choctaw or the Cherokee into supporting the confederation of Native peoples. However, he did convince many of the Northern Creek (Muskogee) to take up arms in defense of their homes. Tecumseh was reported to have given red sticks, or rods, to the Creek warriors who followed his advise to resist the Americans. The warriors were to throw away one stick each day until the last stick was gone; the last stick marked the day when they were to attack the white settlers in their part of the country. The practice gave rise to the name “Red Sticks” for those Creeks who took up the hatchet. Most of the southern Creek towns disagreed with Tecumseh and did not go to into battle along with the northerners; this faction was called the “White Sticks.”
The northern Creek carried out a series of isolated raids on settlements in lower Tennessee in 1812. The raiders attacked individual homesteads, which often resulted in the deaths of entire families. The American inhabitants of Tennessee reacted with threats to retaliate. Creek leaders caught and executed many of the raiders to keep the white settlers from seeking revenge against the entire nation. Far from solving the problem, though, this enraged the families and friends of the Red Sticks, who threatened to kill the White Stick leaders who had ordered the executions. The Creek Nation soon found itself divided into two camps, those who favored peace with the Americans and those who wanted bloodshed. The situation soon deteriorated into civil war between the two factions. Before long the entire region between the Mississippi and the Appalachians burst into guerrilla warfare.
The Cherokee wanted to stay neutral at first. Although some of their warriors favored siding with the British, most wanted to steer clear of any fighting; memories of the devastating American invasions during the Revolutionary War ran deep. The Cherokee also had a long and bitter rivalry with their neighbors, the Creek, and few wanted to see them grow stronger. When a band of Northern Creek murdered a Cherokee woman, the debate ended and the Cherokee joined the Americans in the Creek War.
Settlers and traders all over the Mississippi Territory feared for their lives. They stockaded themselves into small forts for protection. On the Alabama River, some settlers huddled behind the walls of Fort Mims. On August 31, 1813, more than 1,000 warriors under Creek leaders attacked and took the fort; almost all of the surviving whites were put to death. News of the disaster traveled fast. When Andrew Jackson heard the reports on Fort Mims, he left his sickbed to organize a counterattack. The Choctaw also agreed to fight against the Creek.
In autumn 1813, Jackson attacked the Northern Creek at Tallussahatchie and inflicted heavy casualties on them. Another column of Georgia volunteers under General John Floyd successfully stormed a Creek stronghold at Eccanachaca. Both Jackson and Floyd harassed the Creek for several months. After some inconclusive fighting, Jackson surrounded the Red Stick stronghold at Tohopeka on
March 28, 1814, with 2,000 men. General Jackson’s force included 500 Cherokees. A thousand Creeks trapped in the fortified town refused to surrender; their religious leaders had assured them they would beat the Americans. Jackson and his men wiped out the entire village, sparing only the women and children in what came to be called the Battle OF Horseshoe Bend.
After Tohopeka, some of the surviving Creek warriors slipped into Florida. The British arranged to help them with the permission of the Spanish government. General Jackson invaded Florida and defeated the British and Spanish at Pensacola. He threatened to make war on the Seminole in the interior of Florida if they dared to help the Creek. Meanwhile, the Americans defeated a British invasion of Mobile Bay aimed at aiding the Creek. The Creek’s ability to resist was shattered. After the war, Jackson not only demanded territory from the warring Northern Creek, he also wanted land from his own allies the Southern Creek in order to prevent any more assistance from England or Spain.
The War of 1812 effectively ended the military power of all the Native peoples east of the Mississippi except for the Seminole deep in the forests and swamps of Florida. It also set the stage for the removal of all Native Americans to the Indian Territories in the Great Plains.
Further reading: Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Short History (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995).
—George Milne
World History
