Road to War, Part 9: Tecumseh and the Prophet

Tecumseh’s War was the last great Indian war in the Northwest Territory and raged from 1811 to 1817. Tecumseh was a Shawnee born in 1768 in today’s central Ohio. By the late 1780s, Tecumseh began participating in raids into Kentucky and fought at the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers. Despite Tecumseh’s prowess, he may have remained unknown to history were it not for his brother Tenskwatawa, better known as the Prophet, who rose to prominence in 1805 following a series of visions. Part of the reason why the Prophet’s message resonated so well with Indians in the Great Lakes region was their growing frustration over repeated land cession treaties between willing chiefs and the United States.