CHIEF OSHAWAHNAH
Tecumseh’s chief warrior at the Battle of the River Thames.
From an ambrotype, copyist unknown. Courtesy: Library and Archives Canada / C-008543
Toronto. Anyone who knew Graham knew two things about him: Firstly: he was very prickly and difficult to know (he abruptly appeared on my doorstep one day professing unhappiness with the journal editor of the day). And Secondly he was meticulous and fussy about the history he knew so well. A writer of many articles, Graham also produced a CD called, “A Biographical index of Daguerreotypists in Canada 1839-1871”
For many years Graham was involved with the PHSC as a journal author writing pieces such as, “Tecumseh’s Warrior” in this issue (35-3). In addition to his writing, Graham was our keynote speaker for the 20th anniversary dinner (where the germ of this web site was first cast).
The article noted was sub-titled, “Early photography and the making of a North American legend”. The tale begins, “There is a photographic portrait of a native person that has appeared with a variety of printed works since the mid-nineteenth-century and usually identified as a close confidante and principal subordinate of Tecumseh, or Tecumthe (1768-1813), a prominent name in North American military history. In 1868 an American author by the name of Benson J. Lossing (1813-1891) was the first to publish a woodcut likeness of this individual whom he identified as an Ojibwa warrior by the name of ‘Oshawahnah.’”
Recent PHSC members received a DVD of the first 40 volumes of our journal. This includes issue 35-3 and Graham’s tale of Oshawahnah. Not a member yet? You can easily become a member and read all the journal articles now on DVD. Just follow the instructions to the right.
