About This Book

FINALIST FOR THE ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED WRITING AWARD

A Comprehensive History of the Most Important Native American Resistance Movement

The Shawnee leader Tecumseh came to prominence in a war against the United States waged from 1811 to 1815. In 1805, Tecumseh’s younger brother Lalawethika (soon to be known as “the Prophet”) had a vision for an Indian revitalization movement that would restore Native culture and resist American expansion. Tecumseh organized the growing support for this movement, which came from Indigenous peoples across the Old Northwest and parts of the Great Plains, into a loose but powerful military alliance.

In late 1811, while Tecumseh was away on a recruiting mission in the South, General William Henry Harrison led an army to the center of Native resistance at Prophetstown in present-day Indiana. In the early morning hours of November 7, in what came to be known as the Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison’s men fought off an Indian attack, which marked the beginning of Tecumseh’s War. Seven months later, when the United States declared war on Britain, thus initiating the War of 1812, the British and Tecumseh forged an alliance against the United States. Initially, the Anglo-Indian alliance enjoyed considerable success at Detroit, Chicago, Mackinac, and elsewhere, exposing much of the Old Northwest to border warfare, but the tide turned in 1813 when Harrison invaded Canada. On October 5 the American army defeated a much smaller Anglo-Indian force in the climactic Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh was killed in this battle, and although his confederacy disintegrated, British support ensured that the Indian war would continue for another two years with the Sauk chief Black Hawk now providing the inspiration and leadership. Tecumseh’s War ended only in late 1815 after the British made peace with the United States and abandoned their native allies.

Tecumseh’s War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America is the first complete story of this major conflict. Distinguished historian Donald R. Hickey detaches it from the War of 1812, moving Tecumseh’s confederation to center stage to tell the sweeping and engrossing story of this last great Indian War—the last time that Indigenous Peoples had a powerful European ally to oppose United States expansion and thus the lastchance they had of shaping the future of the continent.

Donald R. Hickey is an award-winning author and historian. Called “the dean of 1812 scholarship” by the New Yorker, Don has written twelve books, including the highly-acclaimed The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict. He received the Samuel Eliot Morison Award from the USS Constitution Museum and has done extensive consulting work for historical parks, museums, and government agencies.

Praise for Tecumseh’s War:

“Hickey’s Tecumseh’s War offers an extraordinarily detailed account of the western theater of what is commonly known as the War of 1812. . . Hickey’s work challenges conventional understandings of the War of 1812 in the Old Northwest as a mere sideshow to the continent-wide conflict between the United States, Native Americans, and the British. . . Hickey’s cogent and coherent narrative connects the continental interior, allowing reader to easily understand distant but related events such as Tippecanoe, the capture of Mackinac, and the decisive American victory at Moraviantown. . . . To his credit, Hickey resists now dated framings of Native peoples as auxiliaries under British control, instead repositioning Native peoples as active agents pursuing their own objectives. . . . Historians of the U.S. and British militaries, Early American and Native American history, and warfare studies will learn much from Hickey’s work.”—Journal of Military History

“Hickey vividly relates the many battles and engagements of the war adding interesting background material on native, British, and American leaders. He skillfully analyzes key events, painting a richer picture of the unfolding drama. Additionally, the author’s far-ranging expertise in the War of 1812 is demonstrated in his ability to weave political, diplomatic, economic, and social issues into a well constructed narrative. The result is an understandable yet comprehensive presentation on the Native Americans’ disastrous loss of tribal lands and the opening of the West to a torrent of settlers. I very highly recommend Tecumseh’s War.”—Richard V. Barbuto, Journal of America’s Military Past

“Tecumseh’s place in the public imagination has been undermined by myth masquerading as fact, ahistorical agendas hostile to good scholarship, and poorly researched secondary texts. In contrast, noted War of 1812 historian Donald Hickey has produced a deeply researched and mature study of lasting value, enhanced by a strong narrative drive to make the book accessible to all readers. Thus, Hickey’s effort invites readers to explore—with confidence—the story of Tecumseh and the Indigenous world he fought so valiantly to preserve in the Old Northwest against the hostile desires of the expanding American republic.”—Carl Benn, author of A Mohawk Memoir from the War of 1812: John Norton—Teyoninhokarawen

“Written by the Dean of War of 1812 historians, this carefully researched and lucidly written examination of the military conflict between the tribes of the Old Northwest and the new American nation presents detailed information and analyses regarding these events. It provides for Tecumseh’s War what Wiley Sword’s President Washington’s Indian War purveys for the border warfare of the 1790s. A valuable addition to the history and historiography of this period.”—R. David Edmunds, Watson Professor of American History, Emeritus, University of Texas at Dallas

“Tecumseh’s War is a masterful study of a fascinating yet tragic chapter in American history. Impeccably researched and deftly written, Don Hickey’s treatment of the great native leader is a fair-minded analysis of the aspirations of the indigenous peoples and the two opposing nations in the War of 1812. The quality of its scholarship and its very readable style will appeal to both the specialist and non-specialist alike.Tecumseh’s War not only expands our knowledge of the war but also our understanding of the desperate struggle of the native peoples for survival, and rightfully will be regarded as the definitive treatment of Tecumseh and his confederacy for the foreseeable future.”—Donald E. Graves, author of Field of Glory: the Battle of Crysler’s Farm 1813

“In Tecumseh’s War, Donald R. Hickey immerses the reader in an especially turbulent period of Indigenous-American relations—one that came to be dominated by the leading protagonists on both sides of a highly contested frontier. Written with the easy confidence of a leading expert in the field, this book is destined to become the standard reference on an intriguing often misunderstood subject.”—Guy St-Denis, author of Tecumseh’s Bones

“Although Tecumseh has been admired by friend and foe alike for two centuries, much of his life’s story is currently either unknown or overshadowed by legend and folklore. Through extensive research in primary source documents and other records, as well as critical analysis of the existing secondary literature, Don Hickey has produced a scholarly yet interesting and compelling narrative of the life and times of this great man. The narrative does not end with Tecumseh’s death and defeat at the 1813 battle of the Thames. Hickey weaves the impact of Tecumseh’s legacy through the end of that war and beyond. This should come as no surprise, since the author is a leading historian of the era of the Early American Republic, and arguably the dean of those who specialize in the War of 1812. This book will appeal to students of American military, political, and frontier history, as well the history of the American Indian nations as they contended with the westward expansion and ‘Manifest Destiny’ of the new republic.”—Glenn F. Williams, author of Dunmore’s War: The Last Conflict of America’s Colonial Era 

“The Anglo-Indian War in the Northwest erupted seven months before the War of 1812 began, and in this compelling narrative account, Don Hickey, the best-known scholar of the War of 1812, provides clear reasons for analyzing Tecumseh’s War as a distinct conflict. Tecumseh’s War recounts the course of the conflict and its ultimate impact on Native peoples as well as the future of North America.”—Kathryn H. Braund, Hollifield Professor of Southern History Emerita at Auburn University, editor of James Adair’s The History of American Indians

“One of the leading historians of the War of 1812 has provided us with a wonderfully detailed and thorough examination of Tecumseh’s role in the northern theater of the conflict. It will appeal to fans of military history, academics, and students interested in the Old Northwest.” —Robert Owens, author of Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy