Indiana History Time Line Series

Readers of Indiana's Timeless Tales – Pre-History to 1781 will discover a wealth of early Indiana history with this timeline of events that cover Indiana history from prehistory up until the formation of the Northwest Territory. Journal of Events During this era, settlements in the future state of Indiana were sparse. Vincennes, Indiana's oldest city, was established in 1702 as a French Trading Post. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Britain had taken possession as a prize won during the French and Indian War. George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark's 1778 - 79 campaign had wrested this vast territory from Britain during the Revolutionary War. Clark and his men's heroics ensured that the region would be ceded to the United States at the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the war. George Rogers Clark would spend most of his last days at the town named after him in southern Indiana. Beginning of the Frontier The end of the war brought new pressures upon the native population, as American pioneers began eyeing the rich lands of the Ohio River Valley. As the Revolution ended the story of Indiana history began.  

A Timeline of Indiana History - 1795 – 1800 covers the years between the signing of the Greenville Treaty. This treaty with the Native Americans defined the line beyond which pioneer settlement could not take place. Indiana Frontier Expanded During these years as the frontier in Indiana expanded, the population grew until the first steps toward statehood took place. Congress created the Indiana Territory, separating it from the Northwest Territory.

Readers of Indiana's Timeless Tales – 1782 – 1791 will discover a wealth of early Indiana history with this timeline of events that cover Indiana history from the formation of the Northwest Territory until General St. Claire's disastrous campaign during Little Turtle's War at the Battle of the Wabash. Northwest Territory Pressure on the native tribes that inhabited the Ohio River Valley region increased after the formation of the Northwest Territory by the Congress. Pioneers began moving into southern Ohio and to a lesser extent the area that would become southern Indiana. Little Turtle's War, or the Northwest Indian War The Miami Chief Little Turtle led the tribes that had united in the Northwestern Confederacy and launched raids against the settlements that encroached on native lands. The violence sparked a number of U. S. military expeditions into Ohio and Indiana. General Arthur St. Claire's expedition in 1791 ended in disaster and the largest United States military defeat, by ratio, in the nation's history at the Battle of the Wabash, sometimes called St. Claire's Defeat.

Readers of Indiana's Timeless Tales – 1782 – 1791 will discover a wealth of early Indiana history with this timeline of events that cover Indiana history from the formation of the Northwest Territory until General St. Claire's disastrous campaign during Little Turtle's War at the Battle of the Wabash. Northwest Territory Pressure on the native tribes that inhabited the Ohio River Valley region increased after the formation of the Northwest Territory by the Congress. Pioneers began moving into southern Ohio and to a lesser extent the area that would become southern Indiana. Little Turtle's War, or the Northwest Indian War The Miami Chief Little Turtle led the tribes that had united in the Northwestern Confederacy and launched raids against the settlements that encroached on native lands. The violence sparked a number of U. S. military expeditions into Ohio and Indiana. General Arthur St. Claire's expedition in 1791 ended in disaster and the largest United States military defeat, by ratio, in the nation's history at the Battle of the Wabash, sometimes called St. Claire's Defeat.

The conflict between the American Indian tribes in the Indiana Territory increased in the years leading up to the War of 1812. The three dominant personalities, William Henry Harrison, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, came to a head at the November 7, 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. Tenskwatawa Also called the Prophet, Tenskwatawa's vision while awakening from a drunken stupor foretold two paths for the Indians. One path was to adopt White man's ways and endure lives of pain and torment; the other to forsake their ways and return to their own customs and lifestyles. Preaching to the natives, his following grew and helped strengthen his brother Tecumseh's dream of a wider confederacy of tribes to resist White encroachment into their territory. Tecumseh The great Shawnee leader arose in the turbulent years before the War of 1812. Tecumseh worked incessantly to unite the tribes of the Eastern United States into a great confederacy to resist White encroachment into the native lands. He and his brother Tenskwatawa established a great village on the banks of the Wabash called Prophetstown, which became a collection point of warriors that worked to resist the Whites. His efforts brought him into direct conflict with the Governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison. William Henry Harrison The son of a Founding Father and Virginia planter, Harrison used an army career to advance to his position to the powerful governorship of the Indiana Territory. His desire to acquire more Indian land and increase White settlement in the Indiana Territory put him at odds with Tecumseh and the Prophet. Indian War The strife between the three men led to increased Indian raids on the populace of the Indiana and Illinois Territories. As the threat of war increased and the population of Indians grew at Prophetstown, Harrison feared an outbreak of war. To stifle Tecumseh's confederacy, he gathered an army and marched on Prophetstown, leading to the Battle of Tippecanoe and the crippling of Tecumseh's dream.   Indiana territory, Battle of Tippecanoe, Tenskwatawa, Prophet, Tecumseh, William Henry Harrison, Indian war

The beginning years of the Indiana Territory were eventful years. Moravian and Quaker missionaries made extensive attempts to teach Native Americans in the science of agriculture. In this volume of Indiana's Timeless Tales readers will discover the history of these attempts as well as the history of the fur industry in early Indiana. During this historical time William Clark and Meriwether Lewis began their historic expedition as the Corps of Discovery departed from George Rogers Clark's cabin in Clarksville, Indiana.