Tecumseh, the Consummate Professional

General Isaac Brock, Canadian hero of the War of 1812, called Tecumseh the most brilliant military tactician he had ever known. Yet while his military expertise was second to none, Tecumseh was also a statesman, orator, and negotiator of the highest order.

Brock met Tecumseh first at the Battle of Detroit, where 500 warriors were added to 300 regular troops and 400 militia. Tecumseh, a master of psychological warfare and having heard that American General Hull was terrified of “Indian savagery”, sent his opponent a message that suggested Hull should surrender, because Tecumseh didn’t know if he could control his warriors if the Americans resisted unsuccessfully.

Thereafter, Tecumseh had his men parade into and out of the forest in irregular patterns to give the impression that there were well over a thousand. During the night his warriors glided across the river in their canoes while the British were moving silently from the north. At daybreak, General Hull, with about 2100 defenders, panicked and ran up the white flag. Brock and Tecumseh’s forces acquired not only the fort, but its 39 guns and a large quantity of supplies.

Even though he was proficient in about half a dozen languages, Tecumseh was famous for insisting on translators in negotiations because it not only allowed him to hear nuances which might otherwise have been lost, it gave him additional time to consider both the other side’s proposition as well as his response. It also enabled him to know if the translator was capable and trustworthy.

As far as we know, Tecumseh could neither read nor write, having no formal education in the white man’s sense. That said, he learned deeply from the elders of his people, from the traditions and the legends, and from life. He studied human nature, he listened to the wisdom of the wind and the land, he observed his opponents, considering both their strengths and their weaknesses. No lesson was wasted.

Most importantly, though, Tecumseh clearly understood his own Giftings and built his life of service to his people around those Giftings. Central to those Giftings was his gift of curiosity and analysis, a constant learning and processing of everything which was going on in his tumultuous times. His ability to perceive deep trends and respond proactively was the foundation of his military and political greatness.

Growing up in an era when settlers, particularly Americans, were pushing aggressively across the Appalachians and into the traditional lands of the Shawnee and other tribes, Tecumseh assessed that the incursion would be unstoppable if the tribes fought back or negotiated land deals on a piecemeal basis. He therefore preached, incessantly, the message of uniting against the aggressive push of the white man into indigenous territory. He dreamed of a confederation of first nations stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

If he had persuaded the tribes, how different might be the history of North America. Tragically for him and his cause, he was brought down by a bullet at the Battle of the Thames. His warriors, determined that he would not be dishonoured by the enemy, took his body from the field of battle and buried it in a spot which has yet to be found.

We remember this great man, yet no certificate hung on his wall, and he had no degrees after his name. He couldn’t even read a newspaper. But like all greats, Tecumseh figured out how things worked. He understood the “big picture”, whether in battle or around the council fire.
He knew how to move hearts and minds with stories, stories of challenge and inspiration.

I’ve included Tecumseh in my list of 550 Famous Dropouts, although technically one can’t be a dropout if one never darkened the door of a school. Nevertheless, he and the other 549 stand for the proposition that it is what you do with your Giftings, not a piece of paper on the wall, that changes your life and changes the world.