On March 1, Wells wrote that Tecumseh had arrived on the Wabash and that “he has determined to raise all the Indians he can, immediately, with an intention, no doubt, to attack our frontiers.”[21] Writing to General Hull, Benjamin Stickney came to the conclusion, somewhat belatedly, that it was necessary to cut off all communication between the Indians within the territory of the United States and Canada.[22] Stickney was also extremely annoyed by the activities of Esidore Chaine, a clever agitator employed by the British to maintain connections with the Indians in the Fort Wayne area. Chaine had held several conferences with the Indians, advising them to remain at peace with the Americans until war broke out between Great Britain and the United States.
The last report of Tecumseh’s actions before the outbreak of the war came from Wells at Fort Wayne. On June 17, Tecumseh stopped long enough at Fort Wayne for Wells to find out that the chief was on his way to Malden to receive from the British twelve horse loads of ammunition for the use of his people at Tippecanoe. The following day, Congress declared war against Great Britain. A week later the news arrived at Fort Wayne and the other Northwestern posts.
Even at this hour the question of whether Harrison had full control over the Indian factor at Fort Wayne or not remained unsettled. This time Benjamin Stickney, rather than Wells, chose to display his independence of the Governor. However, the matter did relate to Captain Wells, who at the time intended to retire altogether from governmental service at Fort Wayne and move to Kentucky. Having been informed of this by Colonel Geiger, Wells’ father-in-law, and believing the presence of Wells at Fort Wayne was necessary at this critical time, Governor Harrison wrote to Benjamin Stickney, saying that Stickney should consider Wells under his immediate orders and that he should employ Wells wherever possible and beneficial for the government.
To this order Stickney replied:
In all my instructions from the secretary of war ... he has not given me the least intimation that I was to consider myself under the direction of any other officer than himself. And as I received my appointment from the secretary of war by the approbation of the President it appears to be a dictate of common sense that I should consider his instructions as the rule of my conduct. And he has instructed me to have nothing to do with Wells and that Wells is to have nothing to do with Indian affairs at Fort Wayne. Nevertheless every communication from you shall be attended to by me with the greatest cheerfullness and conformed to as far as my instructions with the Department will permit.[23]
Stickney’s attitude provoked Harrison a great deal. The governor immediately dispatched a lengthy letter to the Secretary of War in which he brought up the entire question of his authority over the Indian agents in Indiana Territory, and he urged the War Department to correct any misconceptions relating to it. Reference was made by Harrison to the incident of Wells acting independently in 1803 and the vindication of Harrison’s authority over Wells at that time. Finally, Harrison caustically observed that “it has been reserved for the ‘Common sense’ of Mr. Stickney to discover that no such obligation existed because he derived his appointment immediately from you.”[24]
Truly the situation did call for the utmost vigilance from the members of the Indian department and demanded harmony and concert in their measures. If Stickney would have been permitted to stand upon ground independent of the governor, their plans could have resulted in contradiction that would have produced a discord fatal to the interests of the nation. Harrison had directed Stickney to correspond regularly with him concerning the trend of events at Fort Wayne and to send copies of all such correspondence to the War Department in order that it might be fully and immediately informed of the important happenings at Fort Wayne. Harrison had also ordered Wells to send any messages directed to him through Stickney. However, Wells naturally disregarded these instructions whenever he wrote to Harrison concerning Stickney’s actions.
Stickney was the subject matter of Wells’ last two letters to the Governor. On July 22, Wells reported that the Prophet with one hundred of his followers had been at Fort Wayne for ten days and planned to leave that day. During this interval Major Stickney appeared to have been completely beguiled by the Prophet’s declarations of neutrality. Despite Tippecanoe and the fact that Tecumseh was already allied with the British, Stickney allowed the Prophet to take the lead in the councils with Indians and freely gave the Prophet ammunition and supplies. On July 19, the Prophet received word from Tecumseh to send the women and children west of the Mississippi and to unite the warriors for a blow at Vincennes. In order to make better time the Prophet’s men stole two riding horses from Wells’ farm and proceeded westward. To make sure that Stickney would suspect nothing, the Prophet informed him of the theft of the horses and dispatched two men on foot, supposedly to find the thieves. According to Wells, Stickney swallowed this bait and congratulated the Prophet on his honesty.[25]
Two weeks before his death at Fort Dearborn, Wells wrote to Harrison, stating that Stickney, “does not consider himself under your constraint. He declares publicly that you have no authority over him. Your speech to the Indians has been here seven weeks and has never been communicated to the Indians by the agent.”[26] Thus in his last letter, Wells had completed the circle of contradiction and now stood with Harrison in an attempt to uphold the governor’s authority over the agent at Fort Wayne.
To his credit, Harrison saw the importance of having Wells remain at Fort Wayne during this crucial time. Concerning this, Harrison wrote to the Secretary of War, “He [Wells] is ... able from his influence over a few chiefs of great ability to effect more than any other person particularly with regard to the now all important point of obtaining information.”[27]