Captain Rhea’s report for November was almost identical in regard to the number of his men, but he added that the garrison was 31 men short of its required strength of 81 men. He also felt that the arms of the garrison were in bad condition, while on the other hand, the clothing of the men was in good condition and the fort was regularly supplied with provisions and ammunition. Captain Rhea reported the discipline of the troops to be good, but actually it could have been no better than usual, judging from the numerous court martials recorded in the garrison orders during his command.[16] During the summer of 1811, Fort Wayne became for the Indians the central point between the Prophet’s Town on the Tippecanoe river and Malden, the British post across from Detroit where arms and ammunition were distributed to the red men. On August 11, 1811, John Shaw, the assistant government agent at Fort Wayne, reported to the Secretary of War that the situation in regard to the Prophet was growing serious, and many of the neutral tribes were coming to him for advice.[17] To determine the exact disposition of these neutral tribes, in particular the Miamis, Delawares, and Potawatomis, Governor Harrison dispatched Toussaint Dubois to Fort Wayne. In a council on the 4th of September, Dubois found the Indians divided almost equally for and against the Prophet’s schemes. After receiving Dubois’ report, Harrison instructed John Johnston to separate the friendly Indians from the others and to place them, if possible, in settlements on the White River, where they would be safe from the contemplated attack of the American army on the Prophet’s town. With regular troops and militia, Governor Harrison advanced up the Wabash in October towards the Prophet’s town on the Tippecanoe river. Early in the morning of November 7, 1811, on the fields of Tippecanoe, the Prophet’s forces attacked Harrison’s Army, but were driven back after a hard fought battle. At Fort Wayne the first reports of the engagement indicated that the Americans had suffered a severe defeat. Until the correct information was received a week later, the garrison and populace were in a state of great anxiety. Two weeks after the battle, on the 22 of November, the period for the annual meeting of the Indians to receive their annuities having arrived, the tribes assembled at Fort Wayne in great numbers. Many of the chiefs were fresh from Tippecanoe, but they claimed their annuities along with peaceful tribes, saying that the Prophet alone was to blame for the hostilities, and that he had been imprisoned by his own followers. Although entirely untrue, these stories had the desired effect on John Johnston, and he was thereby induced to grant the Indians their annuities. Many of the tribes were sincere in seeking peace at this time, but Johnston’s hasty action in granting the annuities provoked Harrison, who heretofore had never criticized the factor’s decisions.