WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. Autograph Letter Signed as Congressman, to Peter Hagner. Northbend, [Ohio], September 18, 1816. 3 pp, 7½ x 12½ in., On two conjoined sheets.
I shall be at Washington in December & will then settle the account and will also give any further information in my power on the subject of Mr. Orr’s claims.
“Old Tippecanoe” William Henry Harrison followed orders to provide for his troops when government suppliers failed to fulfill their contracts during the War of 1812. In Harrison’s command, “there was such a scarcity of provisions, in the winter of 1813-‘14, due to the failure of the contractors to keep up an adequate supply, that officers of the United States were ordered to make purchases.” Harrison’s actions upset the contractors, who accused the general of antagonism towards them and charged him with improper personal financial gain from the transactions. Incensed, Harrison wrote to the War Department requesting an investigation to vindicate him.
Here, now-Congressman Harrison writes to Peter Hagner detailing his side. President Madison appointed Hagner an “additional Accountant” to the War Department in April 1816, around the time Harrison was elected fill the vacancy left by Ohio Congressman John McLean, who took a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court. Harrison took his seat when the Second Session of the 14th Congress convened on December 2, 1816.
Congressman Harrison was present in the House Chamber to hear Kentucky Congressman Richard M. Johnson make his report. Coincidentally, Johnson had served under Harrison in the October 5, 1813, Battle of the Thames, where Major General William Henry Harrison defeated the British and Indians. Shawnee Chief Tecumseh was killed, and although his remains were never identified, some witnesses claimed (after the fact) that Tecumseh was killed by Congressman / Colonel Johnson, who led two mounted Kentucky regiments that joined Harrison’s Northwestern Army. Johnson returned to Congress a hero. The Battle of the Thames effectively destroyed the coalition of tribes led by Tecumseh and led to the reestablishment of American control over the Northwest frontier.
Expertly strengthened at folds. Fine condition.
“Legislative History of the Subsistence Department of the United States Army from June 16 1775 to August 15 1876” (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1877).
Journal of the House of Representatives, January 23, 1817.