The Shawnee Leader Who Almost Built A Native American Nation — And Why His Plan Was The Last Real Chance

If the British won, the peace settlement might recognize Native land rights and provide a political basis for the confederacy’s goals.

If the British lost, the confederacy lost whatever protection British alliance had provided, and was at the mercy of the Americans.

Tecumseh made the calculation deliberately and accepted the risk.

He assembled his followers — perhaps 600 to 1,000 warriors at the outset, eventually more — and joined the British forces under General Isaac Brock at Fort Malden on the Canadian side of the Detroit River.

The partnership he formed with Brock was one of the most effective military alliances of the war.