BATTLE OF THE THAMES
This 1843 painting depict Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson firing a mortal shot into the great Indian leader Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. Leading up to this scene, Richard Johnson had requested of General Harrison to lead a Cavalry charge into the enemy.
After receiving approval for his plan, Richard sent his brother against the British and he led his men toward the Indians. Discovering that the Indians positions were difficult to ascertain, Jonson asked for twenty volunteers to lead a 'forlorn hope' into the enemy to reveal their position.
Fifteen of the twenty were killed; the remaining few all were injured except for one who miraculously escaped unharmed. Richard Johnson was seriously injured having been shot five times, his horse twenty. It was after he received this last shot, that he fired and killed an Indian Chief thought to have been Tecumseh. Although this is disputed, Congress gave him credit for the killing and Richard Johnson was considered a hero of the War of 1812.
