States Infantry regiment supported by the Indiana militia. Daviess joined the column with several companies of dragoons, volunteers from Kentucky. The night before the battle Harrison's force was bivouacked in a well organized camp, ready for an attack the next day. Tecumseh was absent on a visit to the Creeks, but the Prophet worked up his warriors to a fever pitch, planning to strike first and take the soldiers by surprise. Shortly after midnight, the first wave went
"Daviess joined Lexington Lodge No. 1 in 1802 and was active in Lodge and in Grand Lodge matters until his election as Grand Master on August 30, 1811. Within three months he was dead." forward, hundreds of braves in black paint filtering in through the darkness of the autumn night, but they were driven off time and again. Harrison could not organize his men for a counterattack until daybreak, when they advanced, dispersed the Indians, and destroyed Shawneetown. One man in five was a casualty, and while the battle has been called indecisive, the spirit of the Indians was broken, resistance collapsed, and Tecumseh fled to Canada. The regulars were attired in the uniform of the time: skin-tight pantaloons, long tail coats with brass buttons, stovepipe hats with chin straps, and red, white and blue cockades. The militia and volunteers were clad in hunting shirts and rough clothing. All fought courageously. The attack of the Indians was no surprise, but their fanaticism, disguise and tactics made an organized defense impossible. The Prophet had detached a hundred men to kill the white chief who rode a gray horse, but Harrison mounted a black on that night. Colonel Abram Owens, who
October 1993
was on a white horse, became an early casualty. Daviess, whose dragoons were in reserve, was conspicuous in a white buckskin hunting jacket and was soon picked off. He succumbed to his wounds within hours. Daviess joined Lexington Lodge No. 1 in 1802 and was active in Lodge and in Grand Lodge matters until his election as Grand Master on August 30, 1811. Within three months he was dead. As young Colonel Daviess journeyed toward Tippecanoe, he made his last official visit in September to Vincennes Lodge No. 15, chartered in the Territory of Indiana by the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in August, 1809. When the Grand Lodge of Kentucky next convened it was in a Grand Lodge of Sorrow to honor their deceased Grand Master, with Henry Clay as the Grand Orator of the Day. As a memento of this deceased Grand Master who fell in service to his country at Tippecanoe, the Museum of the Grand Lodge proudly displays his battle sword, a gift from Indiana. Perhaps as an even more lasting tribute, the county of his residence when it was separated from Ohio County in 1815 was named in his honor. Similarly, Indiana named one of her new counties, Daviess, in 1817 as did Missouri in 1836. Illinois named one of her counties Jo Daviess in 1827, and residents have steadfastly refused to shorten this name. Curiously, none of these states, including Kentucky, chose to use the family spelling of the name following a clerk's original error in misspelling the name. Joseph Hamilton Daviess - a great man, an outstanding leader, one of our Past Grand Masters whose memory shall long be Inscribed In Kentucky's history. Sir Knight Thomas L. Riley is a Past Commander and a member of Shelby Commandery No. 32, Shelbyville, Kentucky. He resides at 2527 Cox Mill Road, Hopkinsville, KY 42240
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