Today, William Henry Harrison is best known for holding the presidency for the shortest amount of time and dying about a month after his inauguration speech, but he was one of the most important Americans of his day. Like many presidents in the 19th century, he rose to fame and fortune as a general, first for his decisive actions at the Battle of Tippecanoe and then in the subsequent War of 1812. From the introduction: "WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON being now before the people of the United States as a candidate for the presidency, it naturally follows that the events of his life, and the public service he has performed, should become objects of general interest and attention. Happily there exist ample means of authentic information to satisfy the public curiosity concerning him; for the history of the Western States, during the period of their early struggles and triumphs, is also his history; and his fame is identified with that of the teeming myriads of the Valley of the Mississippi. A brief retrospect of his career, civil and military, while it exhibits the character and acts of an able statesman, a high-minded patriot, a brave soldier, and a successful commander, will approve and justify the confidence and respect of his countrymen, in proposing to raise him to the eminent post of Chief Magistrate of the Union."