Sometimes we as a society tend to look too much forward to the future. So much so that often times we start to lose sight of what’s in the past, even if it’s right under our very noses. Just north of Lafayette, Indiana in a town historically named Battleground, there lives a shining testament to this concept.

The Background:

Located in Battleground, Indiana there is a small stretch of land known as the Tippecanoe battle grounds. Within the confines of this wooded area, the first shots of the War of 1812 were fired in the early morning light. Despite this happening over two centuries ago, reports and haunted guides claim the battle still rages on, eternally locked in skirmish and violence.

Our Investigation:

This investigation was pretty straight forward, and due to the historic significance of this location, research was a breeze. For a rare change of pace, we had no trouble finding it, researching it or gaining access to it, as it’s in a state park. Special permission, however, is required to frequent a state park past hours as we did.

Entrance to Tippecanoe Battlegrounds

Tippecanoe battleground is the site of the once standing Native American village of Prophetstown: a small community of allied tribes, led by two brothers, Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa (the Prophet). The village served as a training ground for thousands of warriors, as well as a safe haven for other tribe members looking to escape the unkind behavior of early settlers. This way, they could be safe and protect the lands they had lived on for thousands of years. This fact would be the reason behind the community’s downfall.

Gen. William Henry Harrison, in an effort to make lands for white settlers, marched a regiment of 1,000 soldiers to the town and demanded a meeting. Meetings with representatives yielded a mutual agreement that no conflict should be made until a formal meeting set for the next day. The soldiers set up a makeshift camp on a wooded hill, about a mile west of Prophetstown.

Despite standing orders from his brother not to attack, Prophet mustered his men and led them to a rocky outcropping just west of the soldier’s campsite, preparing the warriors with fiery oratory. Among this speech were the claims that the white mans bullets could not hurt them and they would crush their enemy. With a fierce scream that penetrated the cold night, and resonated through the mountains surrounding them… they charged in for attack.

Sadly, it was a slaughter. The superior weapons and training were no match for their tactics, and they were left crippled. Soon afterward, Prophetstown was burnt to the ground and left behind the troops as the marched back to Vincennes. This spurred the remaining Native Americans, including Tecumseh, to side with the French in the impending War of 1812, only three months later.

The Results:

Although this will be an investigation that will go down in our minds as one of the best, we cannot report than any evidence was gathered. Despite walking through the trails of history, lingering among the plots where men realized they were taking their last breaths… all our equipment, all our tape, all our video turned up nothing more than the sounds of nature singing in our company. This was easily one of our team’s favorites, despite the obvious lack of activity. We spent roughly twelve hours peeling back the layers of time, visiting graves and historic spots, and that was an experience worth going for all in itself.

The Conclusion:

If there is paranormal activity going on in this breathtaking place, it sure wasn’t happening while we were there. We arrived with nothing and left with nothing more than a sense of appreciation and better understanding for such a truly historic battle. In this case, that was enough to satisfy us, but as far as haunting is concerned: we feel comfortable saying there was no such activity. The only things the Tippecanoe battlefield is haunted by, is time and speculation. Just another case of being haunted by default of age.

You can view all of the photos and EVP's for this investigation in our Tippecanoe Battleground Gallery