From Ensign To Captain / The Frontier Politician

From Ensign To Captain, also, The Frontier Politician. William Henry Harrison Memorial Trail. , From Ensign to Captain , "If he continues as a military man,” Major John Mills said of William Henry Harrison, "he will be a second Washington." , Though Harrison began his military career as a Low-ranked officer, his standing quickly rose. It helped that the young officer refused to participate in the gambling, drunkenness,, and duels that ran rampant in his new post at Fort Washington. , Harrison impressed his superiors and was appointed an aide-de-camp to Major General "Mad” Anthony Wayne. He won citations for valor at the Battle of Fallen Timbers and was an important figure during Indian negotiations that opened the Ohio Valley to white settlement. , Everything would change when Harrison met Anna Symmes in 1795. The two were soon married. Despite being promoted to captain and given command of Fort Washington, Harrison resigned the military in 1798. , A Love Story , When William Henry Harrison met Anna Symmes, the wealthy and educated daughter of John Cleves Symmes, he was a young lieutenant. It was 1794. Within months a smitten Harrison asked Symmes for his daughter's hand. , John Cleves Symmes was unimpressed, believing the suitor had little to offer. "He can neither bleed, plead, nor preach,” Symmes once said of Harrison, "and if he could plow I should be satisfied.” Marriage was forbidden. , Young love, however, would not be denied As Symmes was traveling out of state on business the two secretly married., The Frontier Politician , William Henry Harrison began his political career soon after leaving the military. Within three years, he was appointed governor of Indiana and moved his young family west. , By this time, an uneasy peace existed between the American settlers and the Indian tribes. Governor Harrison was charged with maintaining order. He was also responsible for negotiating the purchase of large pieces of Indian lands. , As Americans continued pushing west, many Indians began pushing back. Outraged by this expansion, two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and the Prophet, recruited a number of tribes into an Indian confederacy. This united force assembled in the village of Prophetstown in western Indiana. , General Harrison , With the threat of an uprising looming, General Harrison mounted an expedition up the Wabash River. One night, while asteep in their tents, Harrison's troops were attacked. The Battle of Tippecanoe had begun. , Casualties were high on both sides, though Harrison eventually claimed victory. Tecumseh. who was away during the battle, resumed to find Prophetstown destroyed and his confederacy dispersed. , Two years later, Harrison ted a decisive victory In the Battle of the Thames, In Ontario, Canada. The United States gained control over the Northwest Territory, Tecumseh was killed.