The Fort That Saved Ohio in the War of 1812

Fort Meigs was a fort that many have never heard of form War of 1812 but played an important role in the defense of Ohio and the rest of the Northwestern Territory (what is now the states of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin) against a British and Native American army. Even before the beginning of the War of 1812, Native American attacks on settlers coming into Ohio was high and something had to be done. General William Henry Harrison decided that something stronger than a supply fort needed to be built. Construction of the fort began 2 February 1813 and would take solders three months to complete.¹ During the early part of the War of 1813, America had tried to attack Canada at least three times and failed in all three attempts. The British by 1813 were able to provide more troops and supplies, they planned an attack under the command of General Henry Proctor with the help of Tecumseh and his Native American allies with a combine force of 1,200 men.

The first siege was to begin on 1 May 1813 with British bombardment but by 5 May 1813, the American had sent over 1,200 Kentucky militia to reinforce the Americans giving their total to over 2,800. Although heavy the Americans suffered a heavy loss of 550 men being captured at the Battle of the Miami Rapids after a raid on British guns, General Proctor was never able to break the walls of the fort and his cannon balls inside the fort were not doing much damage due to the mud. By 9 May General Proctor decided to give up on the siege and head to Fort Detroit. This was a decisive victory for the Americans.² Another attempt on the fort was made in July 1813 but this was on a much smaller scale, the attacking British side comprised mostly of Native Americans that put on a mock battle to try and lure out the American defenders. This would also fail and the British would retreat yet again. The fort soon after would be dismantled and nothing sit on the land until 1976 when a reproduction fort was built and is still there to this day.

Works Cited:

1. “History of Fort Meigs," (Fort Meigs Association, accessed April 03, 2019), https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/.

2. “History of Fort Meigs," (Fort Meigs Association, accessed April 03, 2019), https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/.

Bibliography

“History of Fort Meigs." Fort Meigs Association. Accessed April 03, 2019. https://www.fortmeigs.org/history/.