Yellow Jackets (Indiana)
Encyclopedia
The Yellow Jackets were a mounted militia company from Harrison County
in the Indiana Territory
. The company numbered sixty men and officers and saw action as part of the expeditionary force dispatched to put down the American Indian uprising during Tecumseh's War
. The company saw additional service as part of a larger militia force that operated during the War of 1812
.
, secretary of the Indiana Territory
, called out the militia in response to rising tensions with Native American tribes in the region. The Yellow Jackets were one such company to respond to the call. The company gained its name from the uniforms provided by the county for the men. The cuffs and fringes of their buckskins and wool coats were dyed a bright yellow.
The militia of Harrison County was organized into a company of sixty men commanded by Captain Spier Spencer
, the county sheriff. Spencer was a veteran of at least forty prior engagements with Native Americans. The second in command was 1st Lieutenant Richard McMahan, a new settler living near Corydon
. The company had four sergeant
s and four corporal
s, one of each from each township in the county. Among them was Pearse Chamberlain, Henry Batman, and William Pennington, the younger brother of Dennis Pennington
the speaker of the territorial legislature. Dennis Pennington was also a member of the company, but was unable to make the expedition because he was overseeing the construction of the new county courthouse
and had to attend a meeting of the legislature who were called into an emergency session. The company had eight ensigns including future U.S. Senator John Tipton
. Tipton kept a detailed journal of the company's activities and it is from that source that most knowledge of the company is known. The company contained two musicians, Daniel Cline serving as a drummer and Isham Stroud as a fifer. Both boys were fifteen years old, the youngest men in the company. There were forty-three privates enlisted, including many of the prominent men in the county.
The privates were paid between $8 and $6.66 for the duration of their four-month enlistment. The officers were paid between $50 and $26. All the men were required to supply their own horses and were paid forty cents a day for their horses' fodder. The company first met at Harrison Mill
on the western edge of the county. After camping there a night waiting for the entire force to come together the company set out to join the primary camp of the territorial militia.
towards the capital in Vincennes
. Traveling along the road they met up with other companies of infantry militia traveling by wagon who they accompanied the remainder of the journey. By the 16th they crossed the White River
and met up with the main army commanded by Governor
William Henry Harrison
on the 18th. For the next twelve days the company remained in camp just north of Vincennes. On September 30 they received orders to march to Maria Creek with the rest of militia gathered in the camp to meet the army regulars already stationed near Maria Creek. Upon reaching their destination the Yellow Jackets were removed from the normal chain of command and moved to only answer to Harrison.
Harrison intended to use the company as scouts and foragers. He put them in a wide formation around the main body of the army where they kept watch for enemies and gathered wild game to bring back to the main army. The company was successful and was even able to find beehives and bring back ten gallons of honey. On October 3 the army reached the site of modern Terre Haute, a strategic location on the Wabash River
. The company continued to scout the countryside and forage while the rest of the army constructed Fort Harrison. A small detachment of mounted men under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Berry was added the Yellow Jackets.
On October 10 a small group of Indians ambushed sentries at the fort, wounding a man. The Yellow Jackets quickly drew up around the fort preparing to drive off an attack, but it never materialized. On October 22 the company held elections for additional officers, and Tipon was promoted to Lieutenant. The army soon resumed its advance, and by the end of the month they had arrived in modern Vermillion County
. On November 2 Harrison ordered the entire army to parade so he could inspect them. The entire force did so, except the Yellow Jackets, who were off foraging. Harrison threatened to demote all of their officers, but never carried through on the threat for fear they would desert.
On November 3 the army moved out again and the Yellow Jackets along with the dragoons were put out in a skirmishing formation in front of the army to clear any possible enemies. By November 6, they reached the village of Prophetstown
, the center of the native resistance. That night the army camped on a hill near the edge of the settlement. The army was camped in a battle formation and the Yellow Jackets were placed on the far right flank. Early on the morning of November 7, the Indians in Prophetstown launched a preemptive strike on the army.
The attack took the army by surprise and the brunt of the attack came down on the right flank. Captain Spencer was among the first to be killed, being shot in each thigh. Governor Harrison later recorded his death in a dispatch to Washington. Of Spencer he said, "...Spencer was wounded in the head. He exhorted his men to fight valiantly. He was shot through both thighs and fell; still continuing to encourage them, he was raised up, and received a ball through his body, which put an immediate end to his existence..." Lieutenants McMahan and Berry were also soon wounded and killed. As the Yellow Jackets were quickly overwhelmed a reserve company of regulars came to reinforce their line and turned the tide. The battle lasted three hours before the enemy forces withdrew. The Yellow Jackets suffered the highest casualties of the army, over 30%. Eleven were killed in the battle or died from wounds and thirteen wounded. The dead were buried in a mass grave on their campsite, but after the army withdrew, the Indians returned, dug up the graves and scattered their remains.
A few days after the battle, and successful conclusion of the campaign, the militia was released from duty and returned to their homes. The militia reached Corydon on November 27 and disbanded after seventy-four days campaigning. The town later constructed a memorial on the town square for the fallen soldiers in the battle.
Harrison County, Indiana
Harrison County is a county located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. It is divided into twelve townships, and the county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana. The county is part of the larger Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan...
in the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
. The company numbered sixty men and officers and saw action as part of the expeditionary force dispatched to put down the American Indian uprising during Tecumseh's War
Tecumseh's War
Tecumseh's War or Tecumseh's Rebellion are terms sometimes used to describe a conflict in the Old Northwest between the United States and an American Indian confederacy led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh...
. The company saw additional service as part of a larger militia force that operated during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Formation
In September 1811 John GibsonJohn Gibson (Indiana)
John Gibson was a veteran of the French and Indian War, Lord Dunmore's War, the American Revolutionary War, Tecumseh's War, and the War of 1812. A delegate to the first Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1790, and a merchant, he earned a reputation as a frontier leader and had good...
, secretary of the Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory
The Territory of Indiana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, until November 7, 1816, when the southern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana....
, called out the militia in response to rising tensions with Native American tribes in the region. The Yellow Jackets were one such company to respond to the call. The company gained its name from the uniforms provided by the county for the men. The cuffs and fringes of their buckskins and wool coats were dyed a bright yellow.
The militia of Harrison County was organized into a company of sixty men commanded by Captain Spier Spencer
Spier Spencer
Captain Spier Spencer was an Indiana militia officer who commanded a company of mounted riflemen known as the Yellow Jackets at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Spencer County, Indiana was named in his honor....
, the county sheriff. Spencer was a veteran of at least forty prior engagements with Native Americans. The second in command was 1st Lieutenant Richard McMahan, a new settler living near Corydon
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
. The company had four sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
s and four corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
s, one of each from each township in the county. Among them was Pearse Chamberlain, Henry Batman, and William Pennington, the younger brother of Dennis Pennington
Dennis Pennington
Dennis Pennington was an early legislator in Indiana and the Indiana Territory, speaker of the first Indiana State Senate, speaker of the territorial legislature, a member of the Whig Party serving over 37 years in public office, and one of the founders of Indiana. He was also a stonemason and...
the speaker of the territorial legislature. Dennis Pennington was also a member of the company, but was unable to make the expedition because he was overseeing the construction of the new county courthouse
Corydon Historic District
The Corydon Historic District of Corydon, Indiana, United States, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also known as Indiana's First State Capital and as Historic Corydon...
and had to attend a meeting of the legislature who were called into an emergency session. The company had eight ensigns including future U.S. Senator John Tipton
John Tipton
John Shields Tipton was an American politician.Tipton was born in what is now Sevier County, Tennessee. His father was killed by Native Americans. His great uncle, also named John, was a prominent man in the area...
. Tipton kept a detailed journal of the company's activities and it is from that source that most knowledge of the company is known. The company contained two musicians, Daniel Cline serving as a drummer and Isham Stroud as a fifer. Both boys were fifteen years old, the youngest men in the company. There were forty-three privates enlisted, including many of the prominent men in the county.
The privates were paid between $8 and $6.66 for the duration of their four-month enlistment. The officers were paid between $50 and $26. All the men were required to supply their own horses and were paid forty cents a day for their horses' fodder. The company first met at Harrison Mill
Harrison Spring
Harrison Spring is the name of the largest spring in the state of Indiana. It is located in west-central Harrison County, near the Blue River and just north of White Cloud.-The Spring:...
on the western edge of the county. After camping there a night waiting for the entire force to come together the company set out to join the primary camp of the territorial militia.
Tippecanoe expedition
On September 8 the company set out down the Buffalo TraceBuffalo Trace (road)
The Buffalo Trace was a trackway running through what are now the American states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Originally formed by migrating bison, the trace crossed the Ohio River near the Falls of the Ohio and the Wabash River near Vincennes...
towards the capital in Vincennes
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 18,701 at the 2000 census...
. Traveling along the road they met up with other companies of infantry militia traveling by wagon who they accompanied the remainder of the journey. By the 16th they crossed the White River
White River (Indiana)
The White River is a two-forked river that flows through central and southern Indiana and is the main tributary to the Wabash River. Via the west fork, considered to be the main stem of the river by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the White River is long.-West Fork:The West Fork, long, is...
and met up with the main army commanded by Governor
Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana is the chief executive of the state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term, and responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government. The governor also shares power with other statewide...
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
on the 18th. For the next twelve days the company remained in camp just north of Vincennes. On September 30 they received orders to march to Maria Creek with the rest of militia gathered in the camp to meet the army regulars already stationed near Maria Creek. Upon reaching their destination the Yellow Jackets were removed from the normal chain of command and moved to only answer to Harrison.
Harrison intended to use the company as scouts and foragers. He put them in a wide formation around the main body of the army where they kept watch for enemies and gathered wild game to bring back to the main army. The company was successful and was even able to find beehives and bring back ten gallons of honey. On October 3 the army reached the site of modern Terre Haute, a strategic location on the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
. The company continued to scout the countryside and forage while the rest of the army constructed Fort Harrison. A small detachment of mounted men under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Berry was added the Yellow Jackets.
On October 10 a small group of Indians ambushed sentries at the fort, wounding a man. The Yellow Jackets quickly drew up around the fort preparing to drive off an attack, but it never materialized. On October 22 the company held elections for additional officers, and Tipon was promoted to Lieutenant. The army soon resumed its advance, and by the end of the month they had arrived in modern Vermillion County
Vermillion County, Indiana
Vermillion County lies in western Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River. It was officially established in 1824 and was the 50th Indiana county to be formed. It is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Newport.According to the 2010...
. On November 2 Harrison ordered the entire army to parade so he could inspect them. The entire force did so, except the Yellow Jackets, who were off foraging. Harrison threatened to demote all of their officers, but never carried through on the threat for fear they would desert.
On November 3 the army moved out again and the Yellow Jackets along with the dragoons were put out in a skirmishing formation in front of the army to clear any possible enemies. By November 6, they reached the village of Prophetstown
Prophetstown State Park
Prophetstown State Park, named after Tenskwatawa , a religious leader and younger brother of Shawnee leader Tecumseh, is located near the town of Battle Ground, Indiana, about a mile east of the site of the Battle of Tippecanoe. Established in 2004, it is Indiana’s newest state park...
, the center of the native resistance. That night the army camped on a hill near the edge of the settlement. The army was camped in a battle formation and the Yellow Jackets were placed on the far right flank. Early on the morning of November 7, the Indians in Prophetstown launched a preemptive strike on the army.
The attack took the army by surprise and the brunt of the attack came down on the right flank. Captain Spencer was among the first to be killed, being shot in each thigh. Governor Harrison later recorded his death in a dispatch to Washington. Of Spencer he said, "...Spencer was wounded in the head. He exhorted his men to fight valiantly. He was shot through both thighs and fell; still continuing to encourage them, he was raised up, and received a ball through his body, which put an immediate end to his existence..." Lieutenants McMahan and Berry were also soon wounded and killed. As the Yellow Jackets were quickly overwhelmed a reserve company of regulars came to reinforce their line and turned the tide. The battle lasted three hours before the enemy forces withdrew. The Yellow Jackets suffered the highest casualties of the army, over 30%. Eleven were killed in the battle or died from wounds and thirteen wounded. The dead were buried in a mass grave on their campsite, but after the army withdrew, the Indians returned, dug up the graves and scattered their remains.
A few days after the battle, and successful conclusion of the campaign, the militia was released from duty and returned to their homes. The militia reached Corydon on November 27 and disbanded after seventy-four days campaigning. The town later constructed a memorial on the town square for the fallen soldiers in the battle.