Which future U.S. vice president claimed to have killed Tecumseh?

Richard M. Johnson was the future U.S. vice president who claimed to have killed Tecumseh. The encounter supposedly occurred during the Battle of the Thames in Upper Canada on October 5, 1813, when Johnson led Kentucky mounted volunteers against Tecumseh’s Native warriors.

Johnson became famous for the claim even though he did not initially make a clear public assertion that he had killed Tecumseh. Other candidates and conflicting eyewitness accounts emerged, so historians cannot establish the shooting with complete certainty. Still, Johnson’s claim became the accepted popular story, making his name closely linked with Tecumseh’s death.

The story helped propel Johnson’s political career. His supporters later used the campaign slogan “Rumpsey Dumpsey, Rumpsey Dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh” during his successful bid for vice president in 1836. He served under President Martin Van Buren from 1837 to 1841.

A common mix-up is confusing Johnson with William Henry Harrison, who commanded the American army at the battle but was not generally credited with firing the fatal shot.