The political work of building the confederacy had not been undone by a single battle.

But the destruction of Prophetstown was a serious blow.

It deprived the confederacy of its physical center, its food stores for the approaching winter, and — perhaps most importantly — it severely damaged Tenskwatawa’s spiritual authority.

The warriors who had believed his claim that spiritual power would protect them had been shot.

The Prophet’s credibility was broken.

Tenskwatawa would remain a figure in the movement for years afterward, but he never recovered the authority he had held before Tippecanoe.

The spiritual dimension of the confederacy — which had been one of its great sources of strength — was diminished.