A biography of the famous Shawnee describes Tecumseh's plan to amalgamate all North American tribes into one people, his role as statesman and military strategist, and his death in the Battle of Thames.

"An insightful, unflinching portrayal of the remarkable siblings who came closer to altering the course of American history than any other Indian leaders."⁠ —H.W. Brands, author of The Zealot and the Emancipator The first biography of the great Shawnee leader to make clear that his misunderstood younger brother, Tenskwatawa, was an equal partner in the last great pan-Indian alliance against the United States. Until the Americans killed Tecumseh in 1813, he and his brother Tenskwatawa were the co-architects of the broadest pan-Indian confederation in United States history. In previous accounts of Tecumseh's life, Tenskwatawa has been dismissed as a talentless charlatan and a drunk. But award-winning historian Peter Cozzens now shows us that while Tecumseh was a brilliant diplomat and war leader--admired by the same white Americans he opposed--it was Tenskwatawa, called the "Shawnee Prophet," who created a vital doctrine of religious and cultural revitalization that unified the disparate tribes of the Old Northwest. Detailed research of Native American society and customs provides a window into a world often erased from history books and reveals how both men came to power in different but no less important ways. Cozzens brings us to the forefront of the chaos and violence that characterized the young American Republic, when settlers spilled across the Appalachians to bloody effect in their haste to exploit lands won from the British in the War of Independence, disregarding their rightful Indian owners. Tecumseh and the Prophet presents the untold story of the Shawnee brothers who retaliated against this threat--the two most significant siblings in Native American history, who, Cozzens helps us understand, should be writ large in the annals of America.

“[A] masterful study of the life of the Shawnee leader . . . [who] left an indelible imprint on the history of his people and on American history.” —David Dixon, HistoryNet If Sitting Bull is the most famous Indian, Tecumseh is the most revered. Although Tecumseh literature exceeds that devoted to any other Native American, this is the first reliable biography—thirty years in the making—of the shadowy figure who created a loose confederacy of diverse Native American tribes that extend from the Ohio territory northeast to New York, south into the Florida peninsula, westward to Nebraska, and north into Canada. A warrior as well as a diplomat, the great Shawnee chief was a man of passionate ambitions. Spurred by commitment and served by a formidable battery of personal qualities that made him the principal organizer and the driving force of confederacy, Tecumseh kept the embers of resistance alive against a federal government that talked cooperation but practiced genocide following the Revolutionary War. Tecumseh does not stand for one tribe or nation, but for all Native Americans. Despite his failed attempt at solidarity, he remains the ultimate symbol of endeavor and courage, unity and fraternity. “A richly detailed, utterly scrupulous account that is as poignant as it is informative.” —Barry Gewen, The New York Times Book Review “Sugden has mined previously ignored British regimental histories that are scattered all over the English countryside—an approach that indicates the breadth of his scholarship and the thoroughness of his analysis . . . Intricate . . . Insightful.” —Jennifer Veech, The Washington Post Book World

A biography of the Indian leader who tried to protect his people.

Describes how Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and other Indians who fought on the side of the British in the War of 1812

Rich, colorful and bursting with excitement, this remarkable story turns James Alexander Thom's power and passion for American history to the epic story of Tecumseh's life and give us a heart-thumping novel of one man's magnificent destiny—to unite his people in the struggle to save their land and their way of life from the relentless press of the white settlers. “Oh, what a man this will be, with such a sign as that!” In 1768, when Turtle Mother gave birth to a strong baby boy in the heart of the Shawnee nation, a green-yellow shooting star streaked across the heavens. Hard Striker saw the unsoma, the birth sign, and named his son Tecumseh, meaning Panther in the Sky . . . Praise for Panther in the Sky “[James Alexander] Thom shows how, in honest, capable hands, fictionalized biography can add verisimilitude to the life and times of this extraordinary America. . . . The dialogue has the ring of reality about it. . . . Thom is able to get into the thoughts and emotions of his characters.”—Dee Brown, Los Angeles Times “The story of a bruised and threatened culture . . . Thom's rendering of the Shawnee world is authoritative. Tecumseh is a wonderful character. . . . Panther in the Sky is bloody, brave and honorable.”—The Washington Post Book World “Through Thom's masterful storytelling and his passion for Shawnee lore, customs and especially mysticism, you continually have the feeling that maybe, these simple, proud individuals can win back their land and have life go on as ‘Our Grandmother,’ that great spiritual force, intended.”—Chicago Tribune “A work of such sweep and compassion that it blurs the demarcation between novel and history . . . Totally admirable.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer “A brillinant job . . . meticulously researched . . . It is a detailed story of the almost mythical life of [Tecumseh] and that of the Shawnee of his time.”—Kansas City Star “A spellbinding novel about the life of Tecumseh . . . The book is almost epic in its scope. . . . Thom has carefully researched his facts. He has the care of a historian to go with the skills of the seasoned novelist.”—The Indianapolis Star “Riveting . . . Historical fiction at its finest.”—Booklist