I attended with Bob and Patty Hunter a lecture at the History Center today on the Battle of Tippecanoe which calls one-sided and posted his excellent articles on the battle and Tecumseh and his brother the Prophet who defied his brothers orders and fought William H Harrison, telling his braves he had a vision and the bullets of the whites would not harm them. The prophet then sat back and watched the bullets rip through his braves. Read Bobs articles. Missing from the lecture that touted the greatness of Anthony Wayne was any mention of William Wells. Wayne is not only a war criminal, hes overrated as a military leader. Take Wells out of the picture and this town would not be named after Anthony Wayne because he would have lost. Heres a short piece I wrote about Wells for Frost Illustrated. I liked Eric Hackleys piece on Anthony Wayne and Little Turtle a lot and especially his question, what would have happened if Anthony Wayne had lost? I posed that very question a couple years ago to William Heath, giving a lecture at the History Center on William Wells, the subject of Heaths excellent novel, Blacksnakes Path: The True Adventures of William Wells Blacksnake was the name the Miami Tribe gave Wells, after they adopted him. Wells is missing from Erics account (probably from lack of space.) so Id like to fill in a little here. William Wells is in my opinion the most important relatively unknown figure not only the history of this region but of American history. For a brief look at his life will tell us had he made a different decision that question would not be hypothetical. Anthony Wayne would not have defeated the Indians of this region. That he did is largely the credit, or blame, of William Wells. Kidnapped when he was a boy, Wells came to love his Indian captors and became a ,member of the Miami Tribe, serving as a scout for Little Turtle in 1791 and helping him to crush American troops under the command of Arthur St. Clair. Just a year before Little Turtle had soundly thrashed General. Josiah Harmar. But not too long after the defeat of St. Clair, Wells had switched sides, going back to live with his white birth family, in the process becoming a scout for Anthony Wayne. Wells knew all the Indians secrets, their way of fighting, their strategies, which he passed onto Wayne, and was instrumental in Waynes victory at Fallen Timbers in 1794. By this time Wells was not just Little Turtles friend, he was family, having married Little Turtles daughter Sweet Breeze. (Mary, one of their four children, married James Hackley. Any relation Eric?) Such was the bond between these two extraordinary men that even after Wells turned back to his white heritage, they remained close friends and worked together for peace after it was clear fighting was futile, Little Turtle as a famous diplomat, Wells as a distinguished interpreter. Had William Wells not switched, Im convinced Anthony Waynes name would be on the list with Harmar and St. Clair as Americans who bowed to the military genius of Little Turtle. At the very least the name of this city would not be Fort Wayne and that right there would be a blessing. Ive had many stimulating conversations with Eric on this topic and discussed it with him on his cable access tv show. There are so few of us who see Anthony Wayne for what he is, a war criminal, which makes Erics efforts to keep the truth in front of us so important. In closing I am trying to adapt Heaths novel, based on extensive research, into a documentary or feature film. Our public library describes the book: This splendid novel about an unsung hero of American history recreates an entire period (1779-1812), showing how the Indians lived, fought for their homeland, and dealt with defeat, while also capturing the lives of the men and women who settled the territory north of the Ohio River. In this splendid novel there is violence, romance, love, humor, pathos. And betrayal. The description of Wells inner battles as he bounces between loyalties is perhaps its most gripping feature.I highly recommend it. Anyone willing to help, let me know.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 04:55:41 +0000
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