Stop #12 | Address: 29100 W River Rd., Perrysburg
In an era when armies were relatively dormant in the colder months, General William Henry Harrison pushed his American command through the forest and swamps of Ohio on a rare over-the-winter campaign from 1812 into early 1813. Harrison was responding to enormous pressure from the War Department to take back American territory overrun and occupied by the enemy the previous summer; then carry out the original war aim of pushing British authority out of Canada. Following another unexpected American defeat at the Battle of the River Raisin in January 1813, the alarmed general now lacked the offensive punching power required to immediately move against Detroit – the American headquarters surrendered in August of 1812. Harrison settled into a defensive posture at a key crossing position along the Maumee River in Northern Ohio.
Fort Meigs was originally conceived as a staging area where the Americans could again gain strength through men and material. It would be a massive supply depot right on the front lines, within striking distance of the enemy, and place the British in check for the fighting season of 1813. After three months of construction the facility was more of a fortified camp than a true fortress. A wooden stockade stretched just under one mile enclosing ten acres of a tented army and wooden storehouses. Seven two-story blockhouses dotted the perimeter and concentrated firepower at key locations. Five artillery batteries overlooked the river crossing from high ground on the southwest bank.
Aware of the growing American threat at the Foot of the Maumee River Rapids, the allied army sought to knockout the American presence as soon as they were able. A combined force of 1,000 British and 1,500 Indigenous invested the Maumee Valley and surrounded the American position of nearly equal force – commencing a near two-week siege at the end of April. In pouring rain conditions British and American artillery dueled until the fifth day of active combat when
American reinforcements arrived. The fresh brigade of Kentucky Militia allowed the Americans to engage in multiple ground operations and attempt to break the stranglehold. Four days later, with dwindling troop numbers and favorable sailing winds for departure, the British withdrew from the area, the natives had largely already gone.
Frustrated by the setback but still determined toward success, in June, Tecumseh’s army was greatly enlarged with new fighting men fromm the Upper and Western Lakes. 4,000 Indigenous with light British accompaniment besieged Fort Meigs a second time in late July – again a protracted eight-day struggle. Unable to dislodge the Americans by ruse or direct assault the 2nd siege ended with bitter strains on the British and Indigenous alliance.
By the close of these endeavors, the American navy had moved into western Lake Erie, and the combined U.S. force had effectively bottled the allies into the Detroit River with dangerous supply problems. The twin American stands at Fort Meigs represent the first time in the War of 1812 that the American army had successfully defended their own territory in the west. The end of 1813 would see the army move on and carry out their immediate objectives before them. The army of Fort Meigs was the invasion force that liberated Detroit and held large areas of Upper Canada. The battle death of Tecumseh on October 5, 1813, marked the end of Indigenous resistance in the war.
Fort Meigs stands today in Perrysburg. Ohio. We encourage all to walk our grounds where heroes and leaders contested North America. Our large monthly re-enactments can be an eye-opening and immersive 19th century military experience.
About “Tracking the Troops, Tippecanoe & Perry, Too!” This driving tour is a five-county collaborative project with Wyandot, Seneca, Sandusky, Wood and Ottawa counties that takes you on a self-guided driving tour following the military trail of General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812. Harrison would later become the ninth president of the United States and has the shortest presidency, dying from pneumonia one month after having taken the oath of office.
