BATTLE OF THE THAMES

Battle of the Thames

During the War of 1812, control of the Great Lakes and the Old Northwest hinged on both naval power and fast-moving land campaigns. After an American victory on Lake Erie forced British and Native forces to retreat from Detroit, General William Henry Harrison pursued them into Upper Canada along the Thames River. On October 5th, 1813, his troops caught the rearguard commanded by British Colonel Henry Procter, backed by a confederation of Native warriors led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh. American mounted troops charged, breaking the British line and scattering much of the Native resistance. Tecumseh was killed in the fighting, and with his death the dream of a large Native confederacy able to resist American expansion in the region largely collapsed. The Battle of the Thames restored American control over Michigan Territory and raised Harrison’s national profile, while also marking a painful turning point in Native resistance to United States expansion in the interior.