Tippecanoe, Battle of

(Nov. 7, 1811) Victory by U.S. troops over the Shawnee.

Gen. William H. Harrison led a U.S. force in pursuit of the Shawnee to destroy an intertribal alliance promoted by Tecumseh and his brother, The Prophet. At the Indian capital of Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe River in Indiana, the Indians attacked the troops but were repulsed. Both sides suffered equal losses, but the battle was considered a victory for Harrison and helped establish him as a national figure.

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▪ United States history

      (Nov. 7, 1811), victory of a seasoned U.S. expeditionary force under Major General William Henry Harrison (Harrison, William Henry) over Shawnee Indians led by Tecumseh's brother Laulewasikau (Tenskwatawa), known as the Prophet. The battle took place at Prophetstown, the Indian capital on the Tippecanoe River and the site of the present town of Battle Ground, near Lafayette, Ind. Harrison, who was on a mission to destroy the power of an intertribal defensive alliance being promoted by Tecumseh and his brother, repelled the Shawnee attack and burned the village. Discredited, Laulewasikau fled to Canada.

      Although the two sides suffered equal losses, the battle was widely regarded as a U.S. victory and helped establish Harrison's national reputation. In the presidential election of 1840, he successfully used the slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!”

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