ning of the 5th of
October, passed the river at a rapid twelve miles below the Moravian
village, and came up with the British in the afternoon. General Harrison
drew up his men in two lines, and secured his left flank, which was
opposed to the Indians, by a division thrown back _en potence_; and
without any previous engagement by infantry, ordered his mounted
Kentuckians (accustomed from their boyhood to ride with extraordinary
dexterity through the most embarrassed woods) to charge at full speed
upon (the _open_ line of) the British, which had effected before the
latter had time to discharge their third fire. This cavalry charge of
the enemy on the British line decided the issue of the day. The line
gave way at the charge; the troops, worn down with fatigue and hunger,
dispirited by the unpromising appearance of the campaign, became totally
routed, and for the most part surrendered themselves prisoners, while
General Proctor and his personal staff sought safety in flight.

To the left of the enemy's position, which was opposed to the Indians,
the battle raged with more obstinacy. This part of the enemy's line had
even given way until a column under ex-Governor Shelby was brought up to
its support. These faithful allies continued to carry on the contest
with the left of the American line with furious determination,
encouraged by the presence of Tecumseh, until finding all hopes of
retrieving the day to be in vain--General Proctor and his soldiers
having fled or surrendered--they yielded to the overwhelming numbers of
the enemy, and left the field--upwards of 100 of them having fallen in
battle, and the bodies of 33 of them being found around the dead body of
their famous chief and warrior, Tecumseh; celebrated no less for his
humanity than for his bravery, his eloquence, and his influence among
the Indian allies of the British in the West.

Upwards of 600 of the British, including twenty-five officers, were made
prisoners of war. Those who escaped made the best of their way to
Ancaster, a few miles from Burlington Heights, exposed at an inclement
season to all the horrors of the wilderness, of hunger, and famine. The
number thus escaped to that place amounted to only 246, including the
general and seventeen officers.

This disaster of the British arms in that quarter seems not to have been
palliated by those precautions and that presence of mind which, even in
defeat, reflects lustre on a commander. In rapid retreats