Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - January 23, 1983

Lantern survived Harrison campaign

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley will be closed during the months of January and February. During this period, the Historical Treasure of the Week will include several descriptions written by the late Juliet A. Peddle for the Historical Society's newsletter, The Leaves of Thyme.

"A very interesting item from the campaign of William Henry Harrison in 1840 has just come into our hands for the Museum. It is a lantern which was carried in the parade at Lafayette during this campaign, by an ancestor of Miss Helen Benbridge, probably her garndfather. (The donors are Mr. and mrs. Richard Benbridge.) You will remember that the slogan of the campaign was "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" and that the log cabin was the symbol used. In fact, many people actually built log cabins for the occasion.

"The lantern surprised us a little, as we were expecting a torch type device. This is really a lantern with a glass chimney, almost spherical in shape, the top and bottom are metal, and judging by the bright spots it was brass. The whole stands about nine or 10 inches high, with about 1-1/2 inch of metal at the bottom to hold the oil container. The top is a little higher with star shaped holes cut out in it and a conical top with a small hole at the center. A metal strap is attached to the conical top and through this is placed a large metal ring. It is large enough to hold comfortably in the hand or it might have been suspended on a horizontal pole when it was carried. The most interesting thing about the shade in addition to its having survived intact, is that it is etched with a picture of a log cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney, the symbol of the campaign."

Juliet A. Peddle

December, 1964, The Leaves of Thyme