Gallop Toward the Sun
Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison's Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A vivid account of the rivalry between future president William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh—and of the Native American alliance that fought westward expansion—from the New York Times bestselling author of Astoria
“Taut, multi-layered . . . a much-needed reevaluation of this crucial period of our nation’s history.”—Laurence Bergreen, author of Over the Edge of the World
The conquest of Indigenous land in the eastern United States through corrupt treaties and genocidal violence laid the groundwork for the conquest of the American West. In Gallop Toward the Sun, acclaimed author Peter Stark exposes the fundamental conflicts at play through the little-known but consequential struggle between two extraordinary leaders.
William Henry Harrison was born to a prominent Virginia family, the son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He journeyed west, became governor of the vast Indiana Territory, and sought statehood by attracting settlers and imposing one-sided treaties.
Tecumseh, by all accounts one of the nineteenth century’s greatest leaders, belonged to an honored line of Shawnee warriors and chiefs. His father, killed while fighting the Virginians flooding into Kentucky, extracted a promise from his sons to “never give in” to the land-hungry Americans. An eloquent speaker, Tecumseh traveled from Minnesota to Florida and west to the Great Plains convincing far-flung tribes to join a great confederacy and face down their common enemy. Eager to stop U.S. expansion, the British backed Tecumseh’s confederacy in a series of battles during the forgotten western front of the War of 1812 that would determine control over the North American continent.
Tecumseh’s brave stand was likely the last chance to protect Indigenous people from U.S. expansion—and prevent the upstart United States from becoming a world power. In this fast-paced narrative—with its sharply drawn characters, high-stakes diplomacy, and bloody battles—Peter Stark brings this pivotal moment to life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this intriguing study, historian Stark (Young Washington) examines the conflict between two major figures of the America's "western destiny," William Henry Harrison and Shawnee chief Tecumseh. Focusing on the decades leading up to the War of 1812, Stark reveals how the actions of both men—often in direct response to the other—affected the development of "the continent's center—spanning from Lake Superior in the North to the Gulf of Mexico in the South, and from the Appalachians in the East to the Rockies in the West," and the decimation of the region's Native American communities. As Indiana's territorial governor, Harrison enforced dubious claims in the "relentless" pursuit of new lands for settlement, while Tecumseh sought to unite America's Indigenous tribes in a confederacy of resistance. A brilliant orator, Tecumseh fiercely condemned the deceitful behavior of the U.S. government, comparing the "forced exodus" of Native Americans to "a galloping horse... being driven westward toward the setting sun." Eventually, Tecumseh and his forces allied with the British during the War of 1812, where he cemented his fame as a military leader before he was killed in the Battle of the Thames. Vivid biographical detail and astute analysis of how Harrison and Tecumseh's competing visions for the future fueled the conflict make this is an informative chapter in the history of the American frontier.
