Rosters of the Officers and Men Who Fought at the Battle of Tippecanoe

The Battle of Tippecanoe, which was fought in the Territory of Indiana on 7 November 1811, was a decisive victory for the territory’s Governor William Henry Harrison and his brigade of U.S. troops and volunteer militiamen from Kentucky and the Territory of Indiana. The purpose of this military campaign was to eliminate Tecumseh’s Native American confederacy by destroying his headquarters at Prophetstown, which was on the banks of the Wabash River where the Tippecanoe River joined the Wabash in present-day Indiana.

This battle did not destroy the confederacy of the Great Lakes Indian tribes which was formed by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (also known as the Prophet), but it did prevent the Five Civilized Tribes from what is now Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi from joining this confederacy.

The Shawnee leader had asked his brother to avoid any conflicts while he was away in the south, but Governor Harrison forced Tenskwatawa’s hand in attacking the American forces. Harrison had left Vincennes, Indiana with a force of approximately 250 U.S. troops and 800 militiamen. The confederacy had between 500 and 700 warriors available during this battle.

The exact number of men who fought in this battle on both sides is not known. There is no list of men from the U.S. forces who actually participated in this battle, only the casualty report of the men killed, who had died from wounds, who were wounded, and those who were sick. Many soldiers were left behind to guard the two forts and a blockhouse that was used during this campaign. The sick men were also left behind at these facilities.

The purpose of this publication is to accurately reproduce the muster and payroll reports, and to create a chronological list of events leading up to the battle and shortly after the battle. It is a work of military genealogy and it is not intended to give the readers a complete history of the actual battle. The bibliography of this publication lists the books which highlight the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Mr. Johnson is a Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society and a Registrar-General Emeritus for the General Society of the War of 1812. He also is a lineal descendant of seven veterans of the War of 1812, and he is currently the District Deputy President General for the Great Lakes Region for the General Society of the War of 1812.

Eric Eugene Johnson

2026, 8.5" x 11", paper, 100 pp.

ISBN: 9780788456367

101-J5636