William Henry Harrison: Trivia Question or Great American Hero?

I spent almost as much time reading William Henry Harrison‘s  biography as he spent in office as America’s ninth president. Harrison died from pneumonia less than a month after delivering a windy acceptance speech on a blustery, cold March day in our nation’s capital.

Although Harrison’s presidency was a non-event, his biography, “Old Tippecanoe” by Freeman Cleaves is anything but boring.

Unlike many dull historical tomes, Cleaves biography of America’s ninth president reads like an adventure novel, with detailed, action-packed accounts of Harrison’s battles with the Tecumseh-led American Indian Confederation at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Britsh during the War of 1812.

Although the War of 1812 receives very little attention in our history books, Harrison emerges as a real American hero. Working closely with Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry, Old Tippecanoe led the Northwest Army to major victories over the British, culminating at the Battle of the Thames in Canada (near present-day Toronto).

One of the book’s most engaging stories is the massacre at the Raisin River, south of  Detroit. As Harrison’s army moves north to recapture the Motor City from the British, General James Winchester ignores Harrison’s orders and attacks a British/Indian army (led by Major General Henry Procter now teamed with Tecumseh).  After an initial surprise victory, Winchester’s regiment suffers huge losses and surrenders to Procter. Five hundred men are taken prisoner, scalped alive and beheaded by Tecumseh’s men. Their heads are placed on picket fences surrounding Detroit, terrorizing the town and shocking even Procter’s troops.

“Remember the Raisin” becomes a rallying cry for Harrison’s forces and helps propel them to victories in Canada through 1813. Frustrated by a lack of support from President James Madison, Harrison abruptly resigns from the army in 1814 and America’s progress in Canada quickly grinds to a halt. The fact that Harrison wasn’t given permission to lead an all-out assault on the British only points to Madison’s incompetence as president and his administration’s lack of commitment to winning the war.

After the War of 1812, Harrison served terms in the Senate and Congress and served as minister plenipotenciary to Colombia in 1828. Throughout his political life, Harrison was forced to defend his actions and honor (that’s politics for you). As a politician, Harrison had a fairly bland resume until he defeated Martin Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election. Both of the previously reviewed biographies of Andrew Jackson “American Lion” and Martin Van Buren provide interesting perspectives on this stormy chapter of American politics.  Unfortunately, by the time Harrison takes office, he’s 68 years old and in bad health.

Prophetically, his wife Anna may have summed up Harrison’s victory the best when she said, “I wish that my husband’s friends had left him where he is, happy and contented in retirement.”

To Cleaves’ credit, he spends one single chapter on Harrison’s presidency. That’s good, because the rest of the book reads like an action novel — it’s one of the most exciting presidential biographies I’ve read to date.

My take … If you liked Jon Meacham’s portrayal of Andrew Jackson, “American Lion,” then you probably will devour “Old Tippecanoe.”