Battle of the Mississinewa
Part of the War of 1812
Date December 17–18, 1812 Location Jalapa, Indiana[1] Result United States victory
Belligerents
Miami tribe	United States
Commanders and leaders
Francis Godfroy Joseph Richardville	John B. Campbell
Strength
300 infantry	600 cavalry
Casualties and losses
38 killed (claimed) 8 men and 34 others captured[2]	12 killed 46 wounded[2]

The Battle of the Mississinewa, also known as Mississineway, was an expedition ordered by William Henry Harrison against Miami Indian villages in response to the attacks on Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison in the Indiana Territory. The site is near the city of Marion, Indiana.

Today, the location is the site of Mississinewa 1812, the largest War of 1812 reenactment in the United States, which is held every October (this event will not be held at this location in 2024 or for the foreseeable future). The annual festival draws thousands of visitors from all over the world. In 2004, a large memorial was unveiled and is currently on display near the Mississinewa River in downtown Marion.^[3]

After receiving permission from Secretary of War William Eustis, Harrison ordered Lieutenant Colonel John B. Campbell to lead an expedition into Indiana. Campbell's objective was to destroy the Miami villages along the Mississinewa River. If possible, he was to avoid harm to Miami chiefs Pacanne, Jean Baptiste Richardville, White Loon, or Lenape Chief Silver Heel. Campbell's force of 600 mounted troops departed from Fort Greenville on December 14 and traveled 80 miles (130 km) and reached Silver Heel's village on December 17 and took 42 Lenape prisoners.^[4]

The mounted force then moved down the Mississinewa River, attacking at least two Miami villages. The Indians were taken by surprise and had not evacuated. A large number of Miami were killed, and 76 were taken prisoner, including 34 women and children. Later that day, having accomplished his objective, Campbell considered returning to Fort Greenville on account of severe frostbite among his troops.

The next morning, December 18, as Campbell returned to Silver Heel's village, a sizeable Native American force counterattacked. The American Indians were outnumbered, but fought fiercely to rescue the captured villagers being held by Campbell. A joint cavalry charge led by Major James McDowell and Captains Trotter and Johnston finally broke the attack.^[5]

The American loss was 8 killed and 48 wounded (of whom 4 later died). Campbell claimed that 8 Indians were killed on December 17 and that at least 30 were killed on December 18. 8 warriors and thirty-four women and children were captured.^[2]

One of the captured villagers told Campbell that Tecumseh was nearby and was coming with hundreds of men, so Campbell began the return march to Fort Greenville, taking with him the 42 prisoners.^[6] It was a costly victory. During the return trek, the American force was plagued greatly by frostbite, and by the time they reached Fort Greenville on December 28, some 300 of Campbell's troops were suffering from frostbite and rendered unfit for duty. An entire regiment, under Colonel Simrale, was disbanded due to frostbite.^[7]

The Indian force was only concerned with protecting their lives and winter food supplies. In order to ensure this, they needed to stop Cambell's expedition and force it to return to its base, which they did. Harrison claimed the expedition as a victory because of the prisoners that were taken, and he contemplated sending another expedition down the Mississinewa despite the fact that over half his cavalry was incapacitated either from battle wounds or frostbite. Harrison received approval and appointed Campbell a full colonel in the Regular Army.

Harrison ordered another attack on the Mississinewa villages the following July. Although crops and houses were again destroyed, the Miami had evacuated and escaped further casualties.^[4]

Three active battalions of the Regular Army (1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf and 4-3 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of the old 19th Infantry Regiment, which had elements that participated in the Battle of the Mississinewa.

• List of battles fought in Indiana

• Allison, Harold (1986). The Tragic Saga of the Indiana Indians. Paducah: Turner Publishing Company. ISBN 0-938021-07-9.
• Gilpin, Alec R. (1968) [1958 original edition]. The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest. East Lansing, MI: The Michigan State University Press.^{[ISBN missing]}
• Rafert, Stewart (1996). The Miami Indians of Indiana: A Persistent People. 1654–1994. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN 0-87195-111-8.

• Living history
• Overview

v t e Conflicts of the War of 1812
Battles of the War of 1812 Timeline of the War of 1812
United States	Delaware Lewes District of Columbia Washington Georgia Peter Louisiana New Orleans St. Philip Maryland Havre de Grace St. Michaels Bladensburg Caulk's Field North Point Baltimore Maine Hampden New York Big Sandy Creek Buffalo Ogdensburg Plattsburgh Niagara Black Rock Sacket's Harbor North Carolina Ocracoke Ohio Stephenson Copus Meigs Virginia Rappahannock Craney Island Chesconessex Creek Alexandria Farnham Church
U.S. territories	Illinois Dearborn Rock Island Rapids Prairie du Chien Indiana Mississinewa Tippecanoe Wild Cat Creek Harrison Wayne Michigan Brownstown Frenchtown Mackinac Island Maguaga Detroit Mackinac Mississippi Bashi Autossee Burnt Corn Callabee Creek Canoe Fight Holy Ground Horseshoe Bend Talladega Tallushatchee Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek Fort Bowyer Mims Sinquefield Missouri Credit Island Sink Hole
British Empire	Lower Canada Chateauguay 1st Lacolle Mills 2nd Lacolle Mills Upper Canada Beaver Dams Chippawa Cook's Mills Crysler's Farm George Frenchman's Creek Longwoods Lundy's Lane Malcolm's Mills Queenston Heights Stoney Creek Thames York 1st Erie Elizabethtown Port Dover Gananoque 2nd Erie
Spanish Empire	Florida Pensacola
Naval battles	Atlantic Ocean HMS Boxer HMS Cyane HMS Epervier HMS Frolic HMS Penguin HMS Dominica USS Argus USS Chesapeake USS President Chesapeake Bay Flotilla USS Constitution vs HMS Java HMS Avon Fayal HMS Peacock HMS Reindeer USS Constitution vs HMS Guerriere USS United States vs HMS Macedonian Caribbean Sea La Guaira Great Lakes Lake Erie Oswego Lake Huron Lake Ontario Sacket's Harbor Gulf Coast Lake Borgne Pacific Ocean James Island Charles Island Nuku Hiva Valparaiso
See also: American Indian Wars, Creek War, Napoleonic Wars, and Tecumseh's War Category  definition  textbooks  quotes  source texts  media  news stories

v t e Indiana Territory in the War of 1812
People	William Henry Harrison Zachary Taylor Tecumseh John Tipton William Wells Indiana Rangers
Places	Eel River Fort Knox Fort Wayne Fort Vallonia Pigeon Roost
Battles/raids	Fort Harrison Fort Wayne Mississinewa Spur's Defeat Tipton's Island
See also: Tecumseh's War and Battle of Tippecanoe

v t e History of Indiana
Early history	Clovis Adena Hopewell Mississippian Beaver Wars European contact La Salle Expeditions French Rule
1700–1799	Vincennes Fort Miamis Ouiatenon French and Indian War British Rule Pontiac's War American Revolution George Rogers Clark Illinois campaign Clark's Grant Northwest Territory Wabash Confederacy Northwest Indian War Petit Fort
1800–1816	Indiana Territory Buffalo Trace Treaty of Vincennes Johnny Appleseed Treaty of Grouseland Indiana Rangers Tecumseh's War Battle of Tippecanoe War of 1812 Abolitionist movement Harmony 1st Indiana Canal Company Constitutional Convention
1817–1899	Statehood Polly v. Lasselle Mary Clark v. G.W. Johnston Treaty of St. Mary's Indian Removals Fall Creek massacre Bank of Indiana 2nd Indiana Canal Company Whitewater Canal Wabash and Erie Canal Public Works and Bankruptcy Underground Railroad Mexican-American War New Constitution Civil War Golden Age Eli Lilly & Company Reno Gang Gas boom Black Day of the General Assembly Indiana pi bill Golden Age of Literature
1900–1999	White Caps Elwood Haynes Indianapolis Motor Speedway World War I Indianapolis strike and riots Samuel Woodfill Indiana Klan Great Depression John Dillinger World War II Freeman Field mutiny Shipp & Smith lynchings Flood of 1937 1963 Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum gas explosion Supreme Court Reorganization
Since 2000	Flood of 2008 Indiana State Fair stage collapse
By topic	Auto racing Battles Disasters Economy Elections Ghostlore General Assembly Governors Historic sites People Historical political strength Native Americans Slavery
By city and locale	Evansville Fort Wayne Gary Hartford City Indianapolis Lafayette Lake Wawasee South Bend Terre Haute
See also: History of the United States, History of the Midwestern United States and Portal:Indiana WikiProject Indiana's History Department