The general at first designed to attack with infantry; but,
perceiving the position of the British regulars to be favorable for a
charge, he turned to Johnson and asked:
"Will you undertake it?"
"I have accustomed my men to it from the first," he answered.
"Then charge!"
Galloping to the head of his regiment, Johnson said:
"My brave Kentucky lads, to us is accorded the honor of winning this
battle. Forward!" The whole cavalcade, more than a thousand strong,
went thundering over the solid plain. In the whole range of modern
warfare, perhaps there has never been a charge which, for reckless,
romantic courage, could compare to this. The Kentuckians were armed only
with long-barrelled rifles, hatchets and knives. None had sabres, so
essential to cavalry; few had pistols, and there was not a carbine among
them; but, as Johnson had said, they were accustomed to those charges on
horseback, and could load and fire those long rifles with marvellous
rapidity even while in the saddle. Their hatchets and knives were as
deadly as the sabre. As they thundered down on the enemy, leaving the
infantry and General Harrison a mile behind, Johnson discovered that the
ground on which the British were drawn was too narrow for his whole
regiment to charge abreast, so he divided his force, sending his brother
Lieutenant-Colonel James Johnson with one division, against the
regulars, while he with the other turned off into the swamp, and fell
like a tornado upon the Indians under Tecumseh.
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