The William Henry Harrison Medal
The War of 1812 is perhaps one of the least-known periods of American history, yet it produced some of the most interesting medallic work in our numismatic past. One such medal went to an individual who should have received one earlier, did not, but went on to achieve important victories on the Western front. William Henry Harrison later achieved the highest office in the land, that of president, though he died after only a month in office.
Harrison was born in Charles City County, Va., on Feb. 9, 1773, the son of Benjamin Harrison, the then-Governor of Virginia, and was educated at Hampden-Sidney College. At first he planned to become a doctor but soon abandoned this pursuit for a military life. Entering the army at the age of 18, he was ordered to North Bend, Ohio, near Cincinnati. The future president remained in the army until 1797, when he resigned to become secretary of the Northwest Territory. In 1801 he became governor of the Indiana Territory, a post he filled with distinction until 1813.
While governor of the Indiana Territory, Harrison participated in what was, in reality, a dress rehearsal in the West for the War of 1812. For some years, British agents had been stirring up the Native Americans – especially in what is now northern Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin – against the new United States government, in
