directly responsible for the atrocity and, if
caught, should hang for it.
For victory at Frenchtown, Proctor gained
a promotion to brigadier general and received
thanks from the legislatures of Upper and
Lower Canada. The annihilation of Winches-
ter’s force also upset General Harrison’s plans
to recapture Detroit, and he was forced on the
defensive. That spring the Americans con-
structed Fort Meigs, Ohio, on the southern
bank of the Maumee River, for added security.
As soon as Proctor was apprised of this devel-
opment, he collected a force of 2,000 regulars,
militia, and Indians and formerly invested the
place in late April. Harrison, closely besieged,
managed to send out an appeal for help, and
four days later a relief force under his
brother-in-law, Gen. Green Clay of Kentucky,
arrived within striking distance. On May 5,
1813, Harrison staged a successful sortie that
carried the British siege batteries on the
northern bank and took several prisoners.
However, Col. William Dudley’s attack on the
southern bank floundered completely due to
lack of discipline, and the Indians massacred
many of their prisoners. Proctor, who was on
hand, apparently made no attempt to inter-
vene. This disinterest enraged Tecumseh and
he confronted the general, declaring, “Be-
gone, you are unfit to command; go and put
on petticoats!” The battle weakened both
sides, and a prisoner exchange was quickly ef-
fected, but the latest Indian outrages further
hardened American attitudes toward the
British—Proctor in particular.
A few days after Harrison’s sortie, the siege
was lifted and Proctor returned to Detroit. He
had once again defeated an American offensive
to the punch and was promoted to major gen-
eral as of June 4, 1813. However, Britain’s over-
all strategic position in the west declined rap-
idly as the Americans accumulated more men
and materiel. All summer long a heavily armed
naval squadron under Commodore Oliver Haz-
ard Perry was being constructed at Presque Isle
(Erie), Pennsylvania, with a view toward seiz-
ing control of Lake Erie. This would have fatal
consequences for Proctor’s army, for he could
be cut off from Canada. Accordingly, both he
and Royal Navy Lt. Robert Heriot Barclay,
commanding the small Lake Erie squadron, re-
quested reinforcements for an attack upon
Presque Isle. Gen. John Vincentat Niagara
agreed to the scheme and was willing to for-
ward the troops, but he was overruled by his
superior, Gen. Francis de Rottenburg. Proc-
tor’s Indian allies were also growing restive, so
in July 1813 he made another attempt to take
Fort Meigs, now commanded by General Clay.
The British and Indians tried every possible
subterfuge to lure Green into the open—even
staging an elaborate mock battle to convince
him that an American relief column was being
attacked—but to no avail. Again, Proctor was
forced to abandon Fort Meigs.
At this point the Indians, who constituted a
major part of British fighting strength, began
deserting him in droves, so Proctor looked
around for an easier target. He found one in the
form of tiny Fort Stephenson at Sandusky,
Ohio, commanded by Capt. George Croghan.
Croghan flatly refused all demands for surren-
der, so Proctor, at Tecumseh’s urging, made
preparations to attack. On August 2, 1813, fol-
lowing a brief bombardment, a British column
was launched against the palisades—and di-
rectly in the path of “Old Betsey”—Croghan’s
hidden cannon! Proctor was summarily re-
pulsed with a loss of 26 killed, 35 wounded, and
28 captured in a matter of minutes. Thoroughly
demoralized, the British and Indians sullenly
withdrew back to Canada to await events.
They did not have long to wait. On Septem-
ber 11, 1813, the respective fleets of Perry and
Barclay clashed for control of Lake Erie, and
the British were decisively defeated. As a sign
of his growing desperation, Proctor had previ-
ously loaded the last of his artillery aboard Bar-
clay’s ships to bolster their shaky firepower. His
worse fears were now suddenly realized, and
he began an immediate withdrawal. British
progress was slowed somewhat by his exten-
sive baggage train as they marched up the
Thames River Valley. By the end of the month,
Harrison’s advancing army had recaptured De-
troit, landed in Upper Canada, and mounted aPROCTOR, HENRY