Jody On "Old Tip"

William Henry Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, on Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia, making him the last President to be born a British subject before American Independence. Harrison referred to himself as a “Child of the Revolution”. When he was born, musket fire at Lexington was only two years away. His father, Benjamin Harrison V, was a planter and a delegate to the Continental Congress who signed the Declaration of Independence. His father also served three terms as Governor of Virginia. His mother, Elizabeth Bassett Harrison, came from the colony’s earliest and most prestigious families. William was the youngest of their seven children. The Harrison family was among the richest and politically prominent families in the colony.

William Henry Harrison was provided a solid education. He was tutored at home until the age of 14, when he entered the Presbyterian Hampden-Sydney College, becoming well versed in Latin and basic French. In 1790, he briefly attended an academy in Southampton County but was removed by his father because of religious events at the school. His father then sent him to the state capital of Richmond to begin the study of medicine. While there, William became involved with the antislavery Quakers and Methodists. His pro-slavery father insisted he transfer to Philadelphia to enter the University of Pennsylvania, studying medicine under the renowned physician Dr. Benjamin Rush. William was not enthusiastic about a career in medicine. Shortly after William arrived in Philadelphia his father died, leaving him without funds for further schooling. The laws and customs of the day gave the family’s property to the eldest son. Younger male siblings would join the military, clergy or trade. Harrison quickly left school and pursed the military career he always wanted.

Harrison used his family’s connections with the Lee and Washington families to procure an officer’s rank in an infantry division.  At the age of eighteen he rounded up about eighty troublemakers off the streets of Philadelphia and talked them into signing enlistment papers. Together they marched to his assigned post, Fort Washington in the Northwest Territory. He entered the army as an ensign, the lowest officer’s rank, but quickly made an impression and won promotion to lieutenant in the summer of 1792 mainly because of his strict attention to discipline. The following year he was promoted to aide-de-camp to General “Mad Anthony” Wayne. Together they won a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, which effectively brought the Northwest Indian War to a close. Lieutenant Harrison was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Greenville, opening much of present-day Ohio to settlement. After General Wayne’s death in 1795, Captain Harrison took command of Fort Washington.

Harrison met Anna Symmes, of North Bend, Ohio in 1795, where she became smitten with the handsome young officer. She was the daughter of Judge John Cleves Symmes who was just appointed to the court of the young and growing territory. When Harrison asked the judge for her hand in marriage, he refused thinking she could make a richer match elsewhere. They waited until her father left on business and eloped on November 25, 1795. Together they had 10 children- six sons and 4 daughters. Nine lived into adulthood; one died in infancy; and four would see him in the White House. By 1798, Captain Harrison began to see the army as a dead end and resigned his commission. The judge used his contacts in Washington and convinced the new President, John Adams, to name Harrison secretary of the Northwest Territory. In 1799, the territory could send a delegate to the United States Congress for the first time. Harrison was elected to fill the post. In 1800, the Northwest Territory split into what were known as the Ohio and Indiana territories. President Adams named Harrison governor of Indiana. The Indiana Territory contained what would become Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Harrison built a palatial home he called “Grouseland” near his headquarters in Vincennes. It was one of the first brick structures in the territory. He served as Governor for twelve years. He speculated in land, invested in two mills and ran a successful horse-breeding enterprise. He was instrumental in improving roads and other infrastructure.

Late in the summer of 1811, President Madison asked Harrison to command an operation to quell the unrest of Native Americans in the Northwest Territory. The natives were gathering their tribes together under Tecumseh to protest what they believed to be breaches of the Greenville Treaty. In November Harrison’s force moved into position along the Tippecanoe River. The Indian warriors discovered Harrison’s campfires and managed to infiltrate Harrison’s camp by dawn. With surprise on their side, the Indians killed several army officers. Some of Harrison’s men broke and ran. Harrison leapt onto his horse and rallied his men. The Indians retreated. Harrison ordered a counter attack that was successful by midmorning. The Battle of Tippecanoe was the talk of the nation. Harrison earned the nickname “Old Tip”. But the Native American alliance of tribes was not beaten. Not only were the Indians more resolved to retake their lands, they were now seeking revenge. Historians regard the Battle of Tippecanoe as the opening skirmish of the War of 1812.

In the summer of 1812, open hostilities with Great Britain began. Governor Charles Scott of Kentucky appointed Harrison major-general of its state militia. A few weeks later he was made brigadier-general in the regular U.S. army and put in command of all the troops in the north-west. In March 1813, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. Harrison advanced to Detroit and re-occupied the territory surrendered by the British. On the 5^th of October Harrison defeated the British at the Battle of the Thames. Harrison was awarded a gold medal for his services during the war.

Following the War of 1812, Harrison returned to politics. He and his family made their home at North Bend, west of Cincinnati, Ohio. He represented Ohio in the U.S. Congress for two terms. In 1824, he won a U.S. Senate seat. He had barely arrived in Washington D.C. when he began angling for posts. He convinced his old friend Henry Clay, Secretary of State for President John Quincy Adams, to name him an Ambassador to Columbia. He served as ambassador to Columbia in 1828 and 1829. In March of 1829, the new President, Andrew Jackson, recalled Harrison who returned to his farm in Ohio, his adopted home state.

In 1836, Harrison ran against Martin Van Buren for the Presidency. Van Buren won the election. In 1840, however, he ran again and defeated the incumbent Van Buren. His campaign emphasized his military record. His running mate was John Tyler of Virginia. Their campaign slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too.” Harrison was sixty-eight years old, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980.

When President-elect Harrison came to Washington he wanted to show that he was still the steadfast hero of Tippecanoe. He took the oath of office on March 4, 1841. It was a cold, wet day and he wore no overcoat or hat. He delivered the longest inaugural address in American history. It took him two hours to read. Then he rode through the streets in the inaugural parade. On March 26, President Harrison became ill with a cold. The cold worsened and rapidly turned to pneumonia and pleurisy. His doctors tried many cures, but some of them only worsened his condition. President Harrison died on April 4, 1841- one month after taking office. He was the first President to die in the White House.