Map of the Battle of the Thames

From Lossing's "Pictorial Fieldbook of the War of 1812"

lodging and capturing a savage army, Colonel Johnson had adopted the heroic device of leading forward a small band of twenty picked men, to draw the fire of the hidden enemy, and thus render safe the advance of his main body of troops.

As this "Forlorn Hope" moved steadily forward, they were conscious that the guns of fifteen hundred savages were covering them with a sure aim, but the fighting blood of the Kentucky pioneers burned in their veins, and they neither wavered nor shrank from the sacrifice. Then came the clear voice of savage command from the edge of the great marsh "Fire!"

When the smoke of the terrific cannonade had cleared, fifteen of the twenty heroes of the "Forlorn Hope" lay in their death throes. Their leader, by some miracle of grace, still sat erect, although pierced by a dozen wounds;1 while, in the rear, the remainder of the battalion was pressing forward, eager to make the most of the advantage given them by the heroism of their slaughtered comrades.

At the edge of the great swamp the horses became useless, and Colonel Johnson ordered his men to dismount,2 and charge the savages. Behind them the Kentucky infantry advanced to their aid, but Tecumseh held his braves to their work, and, for a quarter of an hour, the result remained in doubt. Then the gallant Tecumseh, the soul of the savage hosts, fell, pierced by a ball from the pistol of Colonel Johnson himself, as tradition declares. At the

1 The "Forlorn Hope' was led by William Whitley, a private of Lincoln County, Kentucky, but Colonel Johnson himself rode with it. The names of other members are given by Young, p. 81. See also Ibid., p. 144.

2 Col. Johnson, however, remained mounted upon his white mare, which picked her way with difficulty through the mud and underbrush of the great

swamp.

3 Schouler, II, p. 385; Young, pp. 87-88, gives details of a personal combat Kentucky-23

news of the death of their chief, whom they had been taught to regard as immortal, the savages gave way, and escaped as best they could from the scene of disaster.

The victory of the Thames was decisive, so far as the war in the Northwest was concerned. The British-Indian alliance was broken: Detroit, Michigan, and all that Hull had so ignominiously surrendered was regained; and a large part of upper Canada passed under American control, while, "among American generals in this war, Harrison enjoyed the rare felicity of having fully accomplished his undertaking." This he had done with an army composed almost entirely of Kentucky volunteers.1

General Harrison, in his official report of the battle,2 thus expresses his appreciation of the heroism of his Kentucky army.

". . . In communicating to the President through you sir! (Secretary of War) my opinion of the conduct of the officers who served under my command, I am at a loss how to mention that of Governor Shelby, being convinced that no eulogium of mine can reach his merits. The governor of an independent State, greatly my superior in years, in experience and in military character, he placed himself under my command, and was not more remarkable for his zeal and activity than for the promptitude and cheerfulness with which he obeyed my orders. Major

between Johnson and an Indian leader, whom he seems inclined to identify with Tecumseh. Lossing's "Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812," p. 555. Johnson's monument in the cemetery at Frankfort contains a relief representing the general in the act of firing the fatal shot. A picture of the monument will be found on p. 496 of this same volume. M'Afee, p. 394, also tends to favor the story.

1 Schouler, II, pp. 385-386; M'Afee, pp. 398-399.

2 "Lexington Reporter," October 30, 1813. M'Afee, p. 397, prints a part of this report.

Generals Henry and Desha and the Brigadiers Allen, Caldwell, King, Childs, and Trotter, all of the Kentucky volunteers, manifested heroic zeal and activity. Of Governor Shelby's staff, his adjutant General Col. M'Dowell, and his quarter master General, Col. Walker, rendered great service, as did his aids de camp, General Adair, and Majors Barry, and Crittenden. The military skill of the former was of great service to us, and the activity of the two latter gentlemen could not be surpassed.

This was the last campaign in which General Harrison engaged during the war. His services and those of Kentucky's venerable chief magistrate, Isaac Shelby, were fully appreciated by Congress which, in a resolution of April 6, 1818,1 declares that thanks, "are hereby presented to Major General W. Henry Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky, and through them to the officers and men under their command, for their gallantry and good conduct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major General Proctor, on the Thames in upper Canada, on the 5th day of October 1813, capturing the British army with their baggage, camp equipage and artillery; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to General Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky." With the remaining campaigns which took place before

1 It passed the House on March 30, 1818. See "Annals of Congress." 2 Shelby's "Autobiography." An attempt to secure the passage of this resolution had been made at an earlier date, but, owing to the activity of certain enemies in Congress, Harrison's name had been stricken out, and Shelby had promptly instructed his friends to refuse, in his name, any honorable recognition of his services at the battle of the Thames in which Harrison did not share. Young's "Battle of the Thames," p. 122.