Speech of Mr. Corwin, of Ohio : in reply to General Crary's attack on General Harrison : Delivered in the House of representatives February 15, 1840

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GEN. W.H.HARRISON

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SPEECH

MR.^TORWIN, OF OHIO,

REPLY TO GENERAL CRARY'S ATTACK

GENERAL HARRISON,

DILITIBED

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fkbbuart 15, 1S40.

WASifiNGTON.

rXINlfi© BY GALES AND SJSArO.sr

IS40,

SPEECH.

[r. CoRWiN, of Ohio, rose and said :

Mr. Speaker : I am admonished, by the eager solicitations of gentlemen
"around me to give way for a motion to adjourn, of that practice of the
House, which accords us more of leisure on this day, than is allowed us
on any other day of the week. The servants of other good masters are,
I yplieve, indulged in a sort of saturnalium in the afternoon of Saturday,
r\nqj,we have supposed, that our kind masters, the people, might be will-
iufi; to grant us, their most faithful slaves, a similar respite from toil. It
is now past three o'clock in the afternoon, and I should be very willing
to pause in the discussion, were I not urged by those menacing cries of
•' Go on," from various parts of the House. In this state of things, I
caanol hope to summon to any thing like attention the unquiet minds of
many, or the jaded and worn down faculties of a still larger portion of
the House. I hope, however, the House will not withhold from me a
boon, which I have often seen granted to others, that is, the privilege of
speaking without being oppressed by a crowded audience, which is ac-
companied by this additional advantage, that the orator thus situated can
at least listen to and hear himself.

If you, Mr. Speaker, and the members of this House, have given that
attention to the speech of the gentleman from Michigan, (Mr. Crary,)
made yesterday, which some of us here thought it our duty to bestow, I
am sure the novelty of the scene, to say nothing more of it, must have
arrested your curiosity, if, indeed, it did no^ give rise to profound re-
flection. '

I need not remind the House, that it is a rule here (as I suppose it is
every where else, where men dispute by any rule at all) that what is said
in debate should be relevant and pertinent to the sullject under dis-
cussion. The question before us, is a proposition to instruct the^om-
mittee of Ways and Means to report a bill granting four hundriM. and
fifty thousand dollars to continue the construction of the Cum«rland
road in the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The objectior^to the
measure are, either that this Government is in no sense bound by com-
pact to make the road, or that it is not a work of any national concern, but
merely of local interest, or that the present exhausted state of the Treas-
ury will not warrant the appropriation, admitting the object of it to be
fairly within the constitutional province of Congress.

If the gentleman from South Carolina, (Mr. Pickens,) and the gent!*

le

man from Maine, (Mr. Parris,) who consider the Cumberland road a
work of mere sectional advantage to a very small portion of the people,
have attended to the sage disquisitions of the gentleman from Michigan
on the art of war, they must now either come to the conclusion, that
almost the whole of the gentleman's speech is what old-fashioned people
would call a " non sequilur^''^ or else that this road connects itself with
not merely the military defences of the Union, but is interwoven, most ^>
intimately, with the progress of science, and especially that most difficult S
of all sciences, the proper application of strategy* to the exigencies of
barbarian warfare. It will be seen, that the far-seeing sagacity and long-
reaching understanding of the gentleman from Michigan has discovered
that, before we can vote with a clear conscience on the instructions pro-
posed, we must be well informed as to the number of Indians who fought
at the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811; how the savages were painted^
whether red, black, or blue, or whether all were blended on their bar-
barian faces. Further, according to his views of the subject, before we
vote money to make a road, we must know and approve of what General
Harrison thought, said, and did, at the battle of Tippecanoe !

Again, upon this process of reasoning, we must inquire where a jren-
eral should be when a battle begins, especially in the night, and wbflBis
position during the fight, and where he should be found when it is^rer ^
and particularly how a Kentuckian behaves himself, when he hears an
Indian war-whoop in day or night. And, after settling all these puzzling
propositions, still we must fully understand how, and by whom, the battle
of the Thames was fought, and in what manner it then and there became
our troops, regular and militia, to conduct themselves. Sir, it must be
obvious, that if these topics are germain to the subject, then does the
Cumberland road encompass all the interests, and all the subjects, that
touch the rights, duties, and destinies of the civilized world ; and I hope
we shall hear no more, from Southern gentlemen, of the narrow, sec-'
tional, or unconstitutional character of the proposed measure. That
branch of the subject is, I hope, forever quieted, perhaps unintentionally,
by the gentleman from Michigan. His military criticism, if it has not
answered the purposes intended, has at least, in this way, done some
service to the Cumberland road. And if my poor halting comprehension
has not blundered, in pursuing the soaring upward flight of my friend,
from Michigan, he has in this discussion written a new chapter in the
" regulce phUosophandij''^ and made not ourselves only, but the whole
world his debtors in gratitude, by overturning the old worn out princi-
ples of the " inductive system."

Mr. Speaker, there have been many and ponderous volumes written,,
and various uuctious discourses delivered, on the doctrine of "associa-
tion* Dugald Stewart, a Scotch gen_tleman of no mean pretensions ip
his jUy, thought much, and wrote much concerning that principle in
menral philosophy ; and Brown, another of the same school, but of later
date, has also written and said much on the same subject. This latter
gentleman, I think, calls it '■'■suggestion;'*'' but never,! venture to say,
did any metaphysician, pushing his researches furthest, and deepest, into iv
that occult science, dream that would come to pass, which we have dis- '
covered and clearly developed — that is, that two subjects so unlike, as an

'lion to a road in 1840, and the tactics proper in Indian war in
'.:ve not inerely akin, but actually, identically the same.
Mr. Speaker, this discussion, I should think, if not absolutely absurd
:;nd Utterly ridiculous, v/hich my respect for the gentleman from Michi-
•■an, and the American Congress, will not allow me to suppose, has elicited
another trait in the American character, which has been the subject of
•^Ktdt admiration with intelligent travellers from the old world. For-
eigners have admired the ease with which us Yankees, as they call us,
caa turn our hands to any business or pursuit, public or private ; and this
has been brought forward, by our own ||^ple, as a proof that man, in this
great and free republic, is a being very wr superior to the same animal
in othei- parts of the globe less favored than ours. A proof of the most
convincing character of this truth, so flattering to our national pride, is
exliibited before our eyes, in the gentleman from Michigan, delivering
to the world a grave lecture on the campaigns of General Harrison,
including a variety of very interesting military events, in the years 1811,
1812, and 1813. In all other countries, and in all former times, before
now, a gentleman who would either speak or be listened to, on the sub-
ject of war, involving subtle criticisms on strategy, and careful reviews
of marches, sieges, battles, regular and casual, and irregular onslaughts,
would be required to show, first, that he had studied much, investigated
full)', and digested well, the science and history of his subject. But
here, sir, no such painful preparation is required ; witness the gentleman
from Michigan. He has announced to the House that he is a militia
ixeneral on the peace establishment !! That he is a lawyer we know,
olerably well read in Tidd's Practice and Espinasse's Nisi Prius. These
studies, so happily adapted to the subject of war, with an appointment
in the militia in time of peace, furnish him, at once, with all the knowl-
sdge necessary to discourse to us, as from high authority, upon all the
mysteries in the "trade of death." Again, Mr. Speaker, it must occur
:o every one, that wc, to whom these questions are submitted, and these
military criticisms are addressed, being all colonels at least, and most of
us, like the gentleman himself, brigadiers, are, of all conceivable tribu-
nals, best qualified to decide any nice point, connected with military
science. . I hope the House will not be alarmed by an impression, that I
am about to discuss one or the other, of the military questions now before
us at length, but I wislj to submit a remark or two, by way of preparing
us for a proper appreciation of the merits of the discourse we have heard.
i trust, as we are all brother officers, that the gentleman from Michigan,
;ind the two hundred and forty colonels, or generals, of this honorable
House,, will receive what I have to say, as coming from an old brother in
irms, and addressed to them in a spirit of candor,

•' Such as becomes comrades free,
Reposing after victory."

Sir, we all know th military studies of the gentleman from Michigan,
uofore he was promott I. I take it to be, beyond a reasonable doubt,
that he had perused with great care the title page of " Baron Steu-
ben," Nay, I go further as the gentleman has incidentally assured us
he is prone to look into m isty and neglected volumes, I venture to as-
sert, without vouching the fact from personal knowledge, that he has

prosecuted his researches so far as to be able to know that the rear rank
stands right behind ihe front- This, I think, is fairly inferrible from
what I understood him to say of the lines of encampment at Tippecanoe.
Thus we see. Mr. Speaker, that the gentleman from Michigan, so far as
study can give us knowledge of a subject, comes before us, with claims
to great profundity. But this is a subject, which, of all others, requires
the aid of actual experience to make us wise. Now the gentleman from
Michigan, being a militia general,^-ias he has told us, his brother officers,
in that simple statement has revealed the glorious history of toils, priva-
tions, sacrifices, and bloody scen^, through which we know, from expe-
rience and observation, a militia officer in time of peace is sure to pass.
We all, in fancy, now see the gentleman from Michigan in that most
dangerous and glorious event in the life of a militia general on the peace
establishment — a parade day ! That day for which all the other days of
his life seem to have been made. We can see the troops in motion ;
umbrellas, hoe and axe handles, and other like deadly implements of
war overshadowing all the field, when lo ! the leader of the host ap-
proaches,

" Far off his coming shines ;"

his plume, white, after the fashion of the great. Bourbon, is of ample
length, and reads its doleful history in the bereaved necks and bosoms
of forty neighboring hen-roosts ! Like the great Suwaroff, he seems
somewhat careless in forms and points of dress ; hence his epaulets may
be on his shoulders, back, or sides, but still gleaming, gloriously gleamr
ing in the sun. Mounted he is, too, let it not be forgotten. Need I de-
scribe to the colonels and generals of this honorable House the steed
which heroes bestride on such occasions ? No, I see the memory of
other days is with you. You see before you the gentleman from Michi-
gan mounted on his crop-eared, bushy-tailed mare, the singular obliqui-
ties of whose hinder limbs is described by that most expressive phrase^
*' sickle hams" — her height just fourteen hands, " all told ;" yes, sir,
there you see his " steed that laughs at the shaking of the spear ;" thai-
is, his " war-horse whose neck is clothed with thundisr." Mr. Speaker,
we havig glowing descriptions in history of Alexander the Great, and his
%var-horse Bucephalus, at the head of the invincible Macedonian pha-
lanx ; but, sir, such are the improvements of modern times, that every one
must see, that our militia general, with his crop-eared mare, with bushy-
tail and sickle-ham, wouUl literally frightfen off a battle-field, an hun-
dred Alexanders. But, sir, to the history bf the parade day. The gen-
eral thus mounted, and equipped, is in the field, and ready for action.
On the eve of some desperate enterprise, such as giving order to shoul-
der arms, it may be, there occurs a crisis, one of the accidents of war
which no sagacity could foresee or prevent. A cloud rises and passes
over the sun ! Hjere an occasion occurs for the display of that greatest
of all traits in the character of a commander, that tact which enables him
to seize upon and turn to good account, events unlooked for, as they
arise. Now for the caution, wherewith the Roman Fabius foiled the
skill and courage of Hannibal. A retreat is ordered, and troops and
general, in a twinkling, are found safely bivouacked in a neighboring
grocery ! But, even here, the general still has room for the exhibition of
heroic deeds. Hot from the field, and chafed with the untoward events

#■ 7

of the day, your general unshealhs his trenchant blade, eighteen inches
in length, as you will well remember, and, with an energy and remorse-
less fury, he slices the watermelons that lie in heaps around him, and
shares them with his surviving friends. Other of the sinews of war are
not wanting here. Whiskey, Mr. Speaker, that great leveller of modern
times, is here also, and the shells of the watermelons are filled to the
brim. Here agam, Mr. Speaker, is shown how the extremes of barbar-
ism and civilization meet. As the Scandavian heroes of old, after the
fatigues of war, drank wine from the skulls of their slaughtered enemies,
in Odin's Halls, so now our militia general and his forces, from the skulls
of melons thus vanquished, in copious draughts of whiskey, assuage the
heroic fire of their souls, after the bloody scenes of a parade day. But
alas, for this short-lived race of ours, all things will have an end, and so
even is it with the glorious achievements of our general. Time is on
the wing, and will not stay his flight ; the sun, as if frightened at the
mighty events of the day, rides down the sky, and at the close of the day
when " the hamlet is still," the curtain of night drops upon the scene,

" And glory, like the phenix in its fires,
Exhales its odors, blazes, and expires."

Such, sir, has been the experience in war of the gentleman from Mich-
igan. We know this from the simple annunciation that he is and has
been a brigadier of militia in time of peace. And now, having a full un-
derstanding of the qualifications of our learned geneial, both from study
and practice, I hope the House will see, that it should give its profound
reflectfon to his discourses on the art of w^ar. And this it will be more
inclined to, when we take into view, that the gentleman has, in his re-
view of General Harrison's campaigns, modestly imputed to the latter great
mistakes, gross blunders, imbecility, and even worse than this, as I shall
-show hereafter. The force, too, of the lecture of our learned and experi-
enced friend from Micpigan, is certainly greatly enhanced, when we con-
sider another admitted fact,' which is, that the general whose imbecility
and errors he has discovered had not, like the gentleman from Michigan,
the great advantage of serving in watermelon cainpaigns, but only fought
fierce Indians, in the dark forests of the West, under such stupid fellows
as Anthony Wayne, and was afterwards appointed to the command of
large armies, by the advice of such an inexperienced boy as Gov; Shelby,
the hero of King's Mountain.

And now, Mr. Speaker, as I' have the temerity to entertain doubts,
and with great deference to differ in my opinions on this military ques-
tion with the gentleman from Michigan, I desire to state a few historical
facts, concerning General Harrison, whom the general from Michigan has
pronounced inccrpable, imbecile, and, as I shall notice hereafter, some-
thing worse even than these. General Harrison was commissioned by
General Washington an officer of the regular army of the United States
in the year 1791. He served as aid to General xYnthony Wayne, in the
campaign against the Indians, w^hich resulted in the battle of the Rapids
of the Mauraee, in the fall of 1794. Thus, in his youth, he was selected
by General Wayne, as one of his military family. And what did this
youthful officer do in that memorable battle of the Rapids ? Here, Mr.
Speaker, let me summon £ witness merely to show how military men

8

may differ. The witness I call to controvert the opinion of the gentleman
from Michigan is General Anthony Wayne. In his letter to the Secre-
tary of War, giving an account of the battle of the. Rapids, he says :

"My faithful and gallant Lieutenant Harrison rendered the most essential services, by com-
municating my orders in every direction, and by his conduct and bravery exciting the troops
to press for victory."

Sir, this evidence was given by General Wayne in the year 1794,
some time, I imagine, before the gentleman from Michigan was borDj
and long before he became a militia general, and long, very long, before
he ever perused the title page of Baron Steuben. Mr. Speaker, let me
remind the House, in passing, that this battle and victory over the In-
dian forces of the Northwest, in which, according to the testimony ot
General Wayne, " Lieutenant Harrison rendered the most essential ser-
vices, by his conduct and bravery," gave peace to an exposed line of
frontier, extending from Pittsburgh to the southern borders of Tennes-
see. It was, in truth, the clos6 of the war of the Revolution ; for the In-
dians who took part with Great Britain in our Revolutionary struggle
never laid down their arms, until after they were vanquished by Wayne,
in 1794.

We now come to see something of the man^ the general^ whose mili-
tary history our able and experienced general from Michigan has re-
viewed. We know, that debates like this have sometimes been had in
the British Parliament. There, I believe, the discussion was usually
conducted by those in the House, who had seen, and not merely Acar^
of service. *We all know that Colonel Napier has, in several volumes,
reviewed the campaigns of Wellington, and criticised the movements
and merits of Beresford, and Soult, and Massena, and many others, quite,
yes, I say, quite as well known in military history as any of us, not even
excepting our general from Michigan. We respect the opinions of
Napier, because we know he not only thought oi war, but that he fought
too. We respect and admire that combination of military skill, with
profound statesmanlike views, which we find in " Csesar's Comment-
aries," because we know the " mighty Julius" was a soldier, trained in
the field, and inured to the accidents and dangers of war. But, sir, we
generals of Congress require no such painful discipline to give value to
our opinions. We men of the 19th century know all things intuitively.
We understand perfectly the military art by nature. Yes, sir, thft notions
of the gentleman from Michigan agree exactly with a sage by the name
of " Dogberry," who insisted that " reading and writing come by nature.'
Mr. Speaker, we have heard and read much of "the advance of know-
ledge, the improvement of the species, and the great march of mind,"
but never till now have we understood the extent of meaning in these
pregnant phrases. For instance, the gentleman from Michigan asserts
that General Harrison has none of the qualities of a general, because, at
the battle of Tippecanoe, he was found at one time at a distance from his
tent, urging his men on to battle. He exposed his person too much, it
seems. He should have staid at his tent, and waited for the officers to
come to him for orders. Well, sir, see now to what conclusion this
leads us. Napoleon seized a standard at Lcdi, and rushed in front of
his columns, across a narrow bridge, which was swept by a whole park

of German artillery. Hence, Napoleon was no officer ; he did not know
now to command an army. He, like Harrison, exposed his person too
much. Oh, Mr. Speaker, what a pity for poor Napoleon, that he hud
not studied Steuben, and slaughtered water-melons with us natural-born
generals of this great age of the world ! Sir, it might have altered the
map of Europe; nay, changed the destinies of the world !

Again : Alexander the Great spurred his hcrse foremost into the river,
and led his Macedonians across the Granicus, to rout the Persians who
stood full opposed on the other side of the stream. True, this youth
conquered the world, and made himself master of what had constituted
the Medean, Persian, Assyrian, and Chaldean empires. Still, according
"io the judgment of us warriors by nature, the mighty Macedonian would
have consulted good sense, by coming over here, if, indeed, there vi^ere
any here hereabouts in those days, and studying, like my friend from
Michigan, first Tidd's Practice, and Espinasse's Nisi Prius, and a little
snatch of Steuben, and serving as a general of militia awhile. Sir,
Viexander the Great might have made a man of himself in the art of war,
lad he even been a member of our Congress, and heard us colonels dis-
cuss the subject of an afternoon or two. Indeed, Alexander, or Satan,
i doubt not, would have improved greatly in strategy by observing,
durin.S this session, the tactics of the Administration party, on the New
Jersey election question. Mr. Speaker, this objection to a general, be-
cause he tyi7/ fight, is not original with my friend from Alichigan. I
remember a great authority, in point, agreeing with the gentleman in
this. In the times of the Henrys, 4th and 5th, of England, there lived
one Captain Jack Falstaff. U Shakspeare may be trusted, his opinions
of the art military were exactly those of the gentleman from Michigan.
He uniformly declared, as his deliberate judgment on the subject, that
*' discretion was the better part of valor;" and this is an authority for
the gentleman. But who shall decide ? Thus the authority stands —
Alexander, the mighty. Greek, and Napoleon Bonaparte, and Harrison,
on one side, and Captain John Falstaff and the General from Michigan
on the other ! Sir, I must leave a question thus sustained by authorities,
both ways, to posterity. Perhaps the lights of another age may enable
the world to decide it; I confess ,^y inability to say, on which side the
weight of authority lies.

I hope I may obtain the pardon of the American Congress, for advert-
ing in this discussion to another matter, gravely put forward by the. gen-
tleman from Michigan. Without the slightest feeling of disrespect to
that gentleman, I must be allowed to say that his opinions, (hastily, I am
sure,) obtruded on the House on this military question, can only be con-
sidered as subjects of merriment.

But I come to notice, since I am compelled to it, one observation of

the gentleman, which I feel quite certain, on reflection, he will regret

himself. In a sort of parenthesis in his speech, he said that a rumor.pre-

vailed at the time (alluding to the. battle of Tippecanoe) that Colonel

Joseph H. Davies, of Kentucky, who commanded a squadron of cavalry

here, was, by some trick of General Harrison, bounted, during the

»attle, on a white horse belonging to the General, and that, being thus

tonspicuous in the fight, he was a mgrk for the assailing Indians, and fell

1 a charge at the head of his men. The gentleman says he docs not

^v>

10

vouch for the truth of this. Sir, it is well that he does not vouch here
for the truth of a long-exploded slander. It requires a bold man, a raan
possessing a great deal of moral courage, to make even an allusioi
charge such as that, against one whose only possessions in this wo; i
his character for courage and conduct in war in his country's defence,
and his unstained integrity in the various civil offices it has been his duty
to occupy. Did not the gentleman know that this vile story was known
by every intelligent man west of the mountains to be totally without
foundation ? The gentleman seemed to appeal to the gallant Kentuck-
ians to prove the truth of this innuendo. He spoke of the blood of their
countrymen so profusely poured out at Tippecanoe, as if they would give
countenance to the idea that the gallant Davies, who fell in that engage-
ment, fell a victim to the artifice of the commanding general, and ■' ■ "•
other gallant sons who fell there, were wantonly sacrificed by the
ignorance of General Harrison in Indian warfare. Now, sir, before tnc
gentleman made this appeal, he should have remembered a few historical
facts, which, if known to him, as I should suppose they were to every
other man twenty years of age in Western America, would make the
whole speech of that gentleman little else than a most wanton insult to
the understanding of the people and Government of Kentucky. Let u?
briefly notice the facts.

In November, 1 8 11 , the battle of Tippecanoe was fought. There Coloneit
Davies and Colonel Owens, with other Kentuckians, fell. These, 8ays
the gentleman, (at least he insinuates it,) were sacrificed by either the
cowardly artifice or by the ignorance of General Harrison. Now, Mr.
Speaker, I abhor the habit of open flattery, nay, I do not like to look in
the face of a man, and speak of him in warm terms of eulogium, how»
ever he may deserve it ; but, sir, on this occasion I am obliged to say,
"what history will attest, of the people of Kentucky. If any community
of people ever lived, from the time of the dispersion on the plain of
Shinar up to this day, who were literally cradled in war, it is to be found
in the State of Kentucky. From the first exploration of the country by
Daniel Boon up to the year 1794, they were engaged in one incessant
battle with the savages of the West. Trace the path of an Indian in-
cursion any where over the great valley of the West, and you will find
it red with Kentucky blood. Wander over any of the battle-fields of that
great theatre of savage war, and you will find it white with the bones of
her children. In childhood they fought the Indians, with their sisters and
mothers, in their dwellings. In youth and ripe manhood they fought them
in ambuscades and open battle-fields. Such were the men of Kentucky
in 1811, when the battle of Tippecanoe was fought. There, too, as we
know, they were still found foremost where life was to be lost or glory won;
and there they were commanded by General Harrison. Now, sir, if in
that battle General Harrison had not conducted as became a soldier and
a general, would not such men have seen and known it ? Did Kentucky
in 1811, mourning as she then did the loss of one of her greatest and
most valued citizens, condemn (as the gentleman from Michigan has
attempted to) the conduct of the general v;ho commanded in that battle ■
Let us see how they testified.

In January, 1812, two months after the battle of Tippecanoe, the
Legislature of Kentucky was in session. On the 7th of January, 181:2.
the following resolution passed that body :

11

" Resolved by the Senate and House of Represeniatlves of the Stale of Kentucky, That, in
the late carBpaign against the Indians upon the Wabash, Gov. William Henry Harrison has be-
' wed like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that for his cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant

iJuct in the battle of Tippecanoe, be well deserves the warmest thanks of his country and his

tion."

Mr. Speaker, the resolution I have just read was presented by John J..
Crittenden, now a Senator from the State of Kentucky, whom to name
is to call to the minds of all who know him, a man whose urbanity and
varied accomplishments present a model of an American gentleman,
whose wisdom, eloquence, and integrity have won for him the first rank
amongst American statesman. Such a ma^n, with both branches of the
Kentucky Legislature, have testified, two months only after the event
took place, that in the campaign and battle of Tippecanoe, General Har-
rison combined the skill and conduct of an able commander, with the
valor of a soldier and the patriotism of an American. Who rises up
twenty-eight years afterwards to contradict this ? The young gentleman
from Michigan ! He who, at the time referred to, was pfobably conning
Webster's spelling book in some village school in Connecticut. But,
Mr. Speaker, I must call another witness upon the point in issue here.
On the 12th of November, 1811, the Territorial Legislature of Indiana
was in session. This is just five days after the battle. That Legislature,
through the Speaker of its House of Representatives, General William
^Johnson, addressed General Harrison in the followinri; terms:

•'Sir: The House of Representatives of the Indiana Territory, in their own name, and in
behalf of their constituents, most cordially reciprocate the congratulations of your Escellency on
the glorious result of the late sanguinary conflict with the Shawnco Prophet, and the tribes of
Indians confederated with him. When we see displayed in behalf of our country not only the
consummate abilities of the general, but the lieroism of the man ; and when we take into view
'the benefits which must result to that country from those exertions, we cannot, for a moment,
withhold our meed of applause."

Here, sir, we have two Legislatures of the States whose citizens com*
posed the militia force at Tippecanoe, grieved and smarting under the
loss of their fellow citizens uniting in solemn council in bearing their
testimony to the skill and bravery displayed by General Harrison in that
battle, which the gentleman from Michigan, with a self-complacency that
might well pass for insanity, now says he has discovered was marked by
palpable incapacity in the commanding General. But, Mr. Speaker, I
must call yet another, nay, several other witne,'sses, to confront the opinion
of the Michigan general. ;

In August, 1812, about liine months aftei- the battle of Tippecanoe,
news of fearful import concerning the conciuct of General Hull reached
Ohio and Kentucky. Our army had fallen/ back on Detroit, and rumors
of the surrender of that place to the British, which did actually take
place, were floating on every breeze. Tjliree regiments of militia were
immediately raised in Kentucky. Before these troops had taken the
field, it was well known that our army u/nder Hull, with the whole Ter-
ritory of Michigan, had been surrendered to the combined British and
Indian forces, commanded by Brock anm Tecumseh. Our whole frontier
in the Northwest lay bare and defentyeless to the invasion, not only of
-the British army, but the more terribl^ incursion of a savage foe, hungry
for plunder and thirsting for blood, kfd on by the most bold and accom-
plished warrior that the tribes of the fred man had ever produced. In this

12

vte of peril, the gallant army of Kentucky looked round for a h
!ual to the imminent and momentous crisis. There was Scott, the
jvernor of Kentucky, who had fought through the Revolutionarv
nd, under the eye of Washington, had risen to the rank of brigadi
the regular service. There, too, was the veteran Shelby, one of th
roes of King's Mountain, a name that shall wake up the tones of e
siasm in every American heart, while heroic courage is esteerae
lofty integrity remains a virtue. There, too, was Clay, whose trut:,
tongue in this Hall was wort^^ thousand cannon in the field. 1 i.^av,
were convened in council. T«P> let us not forget, was about nine months
fter the battle of TippccanoeW Whom, sir, I ask, did these men select
' lead their own friends and fellow-citizens on to this glorious enter-
rise ? Their laws required that their militia should be commanded by
ne of their own citizens; yet, passing by Scott and Shelby, and thou-
mds of their own brave sons, this council called General Harrison, then
Governor of Indiana — he who had commanded Kentuckians but nine
months before at Tippecanoe — he who, according to the gentleman from
Michigan, had shown no trait but imbecility as an officer — he, against the
laws of Kentucky, was by such a council asked to resign his station as
Governor of Indiana, and take the rank and commission of Major Gene-
ral in the Kentucky militia, and lead on her armies in that fearful hour,
to redeem our national disgrace, and snatch'^rom British dominion and
savage butchery thti very country now represented •by the gentleniKn
from Michigan. I hVve yet one other witness to call against the gentle-
man from Michigan.^ Sir, if the last rest of the illustrious dead is dis-
turbed in this unnatural war upon a living soldier's honor and a living pa-
riot's fame, the fault is not mine. It \vi\\ appear presently that the gentle-
man from Michigan ha!> — unwittingly, it may be — dishonored ar"! insulted
the dead, and charged tie pure and venerated Madison with hypo 'iy and
falsehood. If General Harrison had been the weak, wicked, or . .^ecile
thing the gentleman from Michigan would now pretend, was not this
known to Mr. Madison, I'hen President of the United States, who gave
the orders under which ('eneral Harrison acted, and to whom the latter
was responsible for his coi.duct ? Surely no one can suppose that there
were wanting those who, if they could have done so with truth, would
have mads known any conoUict of General Harrison at the time referred
to which seemed in any degree worthy of reprehension. With all these
means of information, what vras the testimony of Mr. Madison respecting
the battle of Tippecanoe ? I v/ill quote his oin words from his message
to Congress about a month at' er the event. The message is dated 18th
December, 1811, and reads as follows :

♦'While- it is deeply to be lamented that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action
which took place on the 7th ultimo, Coii^ress will see with satisfaction the dauntless spirit of
fortitude victoriously displayed by every (!i'''scription of troops engaged, as well as the collected
firmness which distinguished their commd'nder on an occasion requiring the utmost exertions
of valor and dlscijjline." .

Mr. Speaker, I have no pleasure in thus recapitulating and piling proof
upon proof to repel an insinuation^, v^hich I think is now apparent to all
has been thrown out in the madnes s of party rage, without consideration,
and founded only on a total perv»^.rsion, or rather flat contradiction, of
^very historical record having relativ^n to the subject.

r ^ 5

; P .1.

t. tS 5:

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13

Something was said by the gentleman from Michigan about the en-
carapment at Tippecanoe. If I understood him rightly, he condemned
it as injudicious, because it had a river on one side, and a morass on an-
other. Now, Mr. Speaker, I shall give no opinion on the question thus
stated ; but it just now occurs to me that this very subject, which I think
in the military vocabulary is called castrametation, admits of some seri-
ous inquiry bearing upon the criticism under consideration. In almost
all scientific research, we find that what is now reduced to system,
and arises to the dignity of science, was at first the product of some
casualty, which, falling under the notice of some reflecting mind, gave rise
to surprising results. The accidental falling of an apple developed the
great law of gravitation. I am sure I have somewhere seen it stated that
Pyrrhus, the celebrated King of Epirus, who is allowed by all authority
to have been the first general of his time, first learned to fortify his camp
by having a river in his rear and a morass on his flank ; and this was first
suggested to him by seeing a wild boar, when hunted to desperation,
back himself against a tree or rock, that he might fight his pursuers with-
out danger of being assailed in his rear. Now, sir, if I comprehend the
gentleman from Michigan he has against him on this point not only the
celebrated king of Epirus, but also the wild boar, who, it seems, was the
tutor of Pyrrhus in the art of castrametation. Here, then, are two ap-
proved authorities, one of whom nature taught the art of war, as she
kindly did us colonels, and the other that renowned hero of Epirus, who
gave the Romans so much trouble in his time. These authorities are
near two thousand years old, and, as far as I know, unquestioned, till the
gentleman from Michigan attacked them yesterday. Here, again, I ask
who shall decide ? Pyrrhus and the boar on one side, and the gentle-
man from Michigan on the other. Sir, I decline jurisdiction of the ques-
tion, and leave the two hundred and forty colonels of this House to set-
tle the contest, '-'non nostrum tantas componere litest

Mr. Speaker, I feel it quite impossible to withdraw from this part of
the debate without some comment on another assertion, or rather intima-
tion, of the gentleman from Michigan, touching the conduct of General
Harrison at the battle of the Thames. All who have made themselves
acquainted with the history of that event, know that the order in which
the American army was to attack the combined force of British and In-
dians at the Thames was changed at the very moment when the onset
was about to be made. This order of the general drew forth from Com-
modore Perry and others, who were in the staff" of the army, and on the
ground at the time, the highest encomiums. The idea of this change in
the plan of attack, it is now intimated, was not original with General
Harrison, but was, as the gentleman seems to intimate, suggested to him
by another, who, -it is said, was on the ground at the time. Who iAa^
other person is, or was, the gentleman has not said, but seemed to inti-
mate he was now in the other end of the Capitol; and thus we are led
to suppose that the gentleman intends to say that Colonel Johnson, the
Vice President, is the gentleman alluded to. Sir, I regret very much
that the gentleman should treat historical facts in this way. If there be
any foundation for giving Colonel Johnson the honor of having suggested
to General Harrison a movement for which the latter has received great
praise, why not speak out and say so ? Why insinuate ? Why hint or

14

suppose on a subject susceptible of easy and positive proof? Does not
the gentleman know that he is thus trifling with the character of a«soIdier
playing with reputation dearer than property or life to its possessor ?
Sir, I wish to know if Colonel Johnson, the Vice President of the United
States, ha^ by any word or act of his, given countenance to this insinu-
ation ? It would be well for all who speak at random on this subject to
remember that there are living witnesses yet who can testify to the point
in question* It may not be amiss to remind some that there is extant a
journarof Colonel Wood, who afterwards fell on the Niagara frontier.
For the benefit of such, I too, will state what can be proved in relation
to the change made by General Harrison in the order of attack at the
Thames.

The position of the British and Indians had been reported to General
Harrison by volunteer officers — brave men, it is, true, but who, like many
of us, were officers who had not seen a great deal of hard fighting. On
this report the order of attack first intended was founded, but, before the
troops were ordered on to the attack, Colonel Wood was sent to examine
and report the extent of front occupied by the British troops. Colonel
Wood's military eye detected at once what had escaped the unpractised
observation of the others — that is, that the British regulars were drawn
up in open order ; and it was on his report that, at the moment, the
change was made by General Harrison in the order of the attack — a
movement which, in the estimation of such men as Wood, and Perry,
and Shelby, was enough of itself to entitle General Harrison to the
highest rank among the military men of the age.

Mr. Speaker, when I review the historical testimony touching this
portion of General Harrison's history, I confess my amazement at the
Quixotic, (I pray my friend from Michigan to pardon me,) but I must
call it the Quixotic exhibition which he has made of himself. Sir, the
gentleman had no need to tell us he was a general of militia. His con-
duet in this discussion is proof of that — strong even as his own word for
the fact. He has shown all that reckless bravery which has always cha-
racterized our noble militia, but he has also, in this attack, shown that
other quality of militia troops which so frequently impels them to rush
blindly forward, and often to their own destruction. I should like to
hear many of the brave men around me speak of General Harrison.
Some theie are now under my eye who carry British bullets in their
bodies, received while fighting under the command of General Harrison.
I should be glad to hear my whole-souled anJi generous-hearted friend
from Kentucky, (Major Butler,) who agrees wdth the gentleman from
Michigan in general politics, wl>o has not merely Aearrf of battle, but
who has raii|gled in war in all its forms, and fought his way from the
ra^ks up to me head of a battalion — I say I should be glad to hear his
opinions of the matters asserted, hinted at, and insinuated by the gentle-
man from Michigan.

Why, I ask, is this attempt to falsify the common history of our coun-
try made noiv, and why is it made here 9 Is it vainly imagined that Con-
gressional speeches are to contradict accredited long-known historical
facts ? Does the fierce madness of party indulge a conception so wild ?

Sir, I repeat, that I feel only amazement at such an attempt. I could
not sit still and witness it in silence. Much as I desired to speak to the

15

House and the country on the question touching the Cumberland road,
I should have left it to others, had I not been impelled to get the floor to
bear my testimony against the gross injustice which I thought was about
to be done to a citizen— an honored, cherished citizen of my own State.
This House, Mr. Speaker, knows that I am not given to much babbling
here. Yes, sir, you all know that, like Balaam's ass, I never speak here
till I am kicked into it. I may claim credit, therefore, for sincerity,
Avhen I declare that a strong sense of justice alone could have called me
into this debate. Let me now remind gentlemen who may be tempted
into a similar course with my friend from Michigan, that all such efforts
must recoil with destructive effect upon those who make them. Sir, it
has been the fortune of General Harrison to be identified with the civil
and military history of this country for nearly half a century. What is
to be gained, even to party, by perverting that history ? Nothing. You
may blot out a page of his biography here, and tear out a chapter of his-
tory there ; nay, you may, in the blindness of party rage, rival the Vandal
and the Turk, and burn up all your books, and what then have you effect-
ed ? Nothing but an insane exhibition of impotent party violence. Gen.
Harrison's history would still remain in the memory of his and your co-
temporaries ; and coming events, not long to be delayed, will show to
the world that his history, in both legiAation and war, dwells not merely
in the memories of his countrymen, but is enshrined in their gratitude
and engraven upon their hearts.

Mr. Speaker, I come now to the discussion of what is really the ques-
tion before the House, and, with the hope that I may be entitled to the
floor on Monday, I will, if it be the pleasure of the House, give way for
a motion to adjourn. If I can obtain the floor on Monday, I promise the
House that nothing shall tempt me to wander from the question touching
the appropriation for the Cumberland road, a w^ork which, if it be not
\prushed by the wretched policy of this Administration, will reflect as
much glory upon your civil history as the deeds of the great and patriotic
citizen, whose conduct i have been compelled to notice, ever did upon
your military annals.

On motion, the House then adjourned.

APPENDIX.

TESTIMONIALS OF THE MILITARY CHARACTER OF GENERAL HARRISON.

ColoHel Johnson said, (in Congress) — ,-

" "Who is General Harrison ? The son of me p^the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, who spent the greater part of his large fortune in redeeming the pledge he then gave, of
his ♦fortune, life, and sacred honor,' to secure the liberties of his country.

" Of the career of General Harrison I need not speak — the history of the West is his historjr.
For forty years he has been identified with its interests, its perils, and its hopes. Universally
beloved in the walks of peace, and distinguished by his ability in the councils of his country, he
has been yet more illustriously distinguished in the field.

"During the late war he was longer in active service than any other general officer; he was,
perhaps, oftener in action than any one of them, and never sustained a defeat."

. Mr. Madison, in his message of December, 1813, says:

" The success on Lake Erie having opened a passage to the territory of the enemy, the offic^f
commanding the Northwestern arms transferred the war thither, and, rapidly pursuing the hostik

16

troops, fleeing with their savage associates, forced a general action, which qmckly tei
the capture of the British, and dispersion of the savage force.

" This result is signally honorable to Major General Hareisox, by whose
it was prepared.^^

The following tribute of praise was paid to General Harrison, in
•eleven of the officers who fought under his banner at the battle of Tip
"Should our countrj- again require our services to oppose a civilized or a ■=-<•
shotild march under General Harrison with the most perfect confidence of victor

'« JOEL COOK, JOSIAH ^ !

"R. B. BURTON, 0. G. BURTo

" NATHAN. ADAMS, C. FULLER,
"A.HAWKINS, G. GOOI'lv

" H. BURCHSTEAD, J. D. FG
" HOSE A BLOOD,
Resolution directing medals to be struck, and, together with the thajifcs of Cor
to Major General Harrison, and Governor Shelby, and for other pv , ^
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Ihtited St ait
Congress assembled. That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby, pr.
General W ilham Keniy Harrison, and Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kenturl.
them, to the oincers and men under their command, for their gallantry and good roii
fealing the combined British and Indi.in forces under Major General Proctor, oa the
Upper Canada, on the fifth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and thirf.^—
the British array, with their baggage, camp equipage, and artillery; and that W
the United States be requested to cause two gold medals to be struck, emblema;
omph, and presented to General Harrisonfknd Isaac Shelby, late Governor of ^

H. CLAY, Speaker vf the House of Rep
JOHN GAILLARD, President of the S
Apnl 4, 1818. — Approved: JAMES

Governor Shelby to Mr. Madison, May 18, 1814, says:

'' I foel no hesitation to declare to you that / believe General Harrison to be
■ nlitary characters I ever knew."

Colonel Richard M. Johnson to General Harrison, July 4, 1813, saj-s :
" We did not want to serve under cowards or traitors, but under one [Haekisox^
proved him-iclft^ be wise, prudent, and brave."

Commodore Perry to General Harrison, August 18, 1817, says:

"The prompt change made by you in the order of battle on discovering the posin
enemy, has always appeared to me to have evinced a high degeee of militaht t - i

concur with the venerable Shelby in his general approbation of your conduct in that campaign.''

The opinions of the honorable Langdon Cheves, of the importance of the vic-
tory of the Thames, and the bravery of General William H. Harbison.

" TAe victory of Harrison was such us ivould have secured to a Roman general, / , ' ' '
days of the republic, the honors of a triumph ! He put an end to the war in the
Canada.'

Sentiments of the hero of Fort Stephenson, Colonel Croghan, now of
Department.

!! I ^csire no plaudits which are bestowed upon me at the expense of Gmef^ Harrison. ^^

"I have felt the warme.'it attachment for him as a man, and my confidence in him as an ablo
commander remains unshaken. I feel every assurance that he will at all times do me ampl-^
justice ; and nothing could give me more pain than to see his enemies seize upon thig oi '
deal out their unfriendly feelings and acrimonious dislike; and as long as he continues
humble opinion he has hitherto, done) to make the wisest arrangements and the mos.
disposition which the forces under his command will justify, I shall not hesitate to uni
army m bestowing upon him that confidence which he so richly merits, and which i
occasion been withheld."

The Richmond Enquirer said :

"General Hal|rison's letter tells us every thing that we wish ta know about the officers, f.?-
himself He does justice to every one but Harrison— miSi the world must thcrcf"'? '- •■ - '
the man who wa»too modest to be just to himself."

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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