Tke Battle of the Thames

THE BATTLE OF THE THAMES FILSON CLUB PUBLICATIONS No. 18 THE BATTLE OF THE THAMES IN WHICH KENTUCKIANS DEFEATED THE BRITISH, FRENCH, AND INDIANS, OCTOBER S, 1813 w ITH A LIST OF THE OFFICERS AND PRIVATBS Wao WoN THE VICTORY BY COLONEL BEN.NETT H. YOUNG Member of The Filson Club LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY JOHN P. MORTON AND COMPANY 1'rinten m 111~ riton ~tu 1903 OOPYIDGHTED BY THE FILSON CLUB 1903 PREFACE N the year 1780 the battle of King's Mountain was I won by colonial backwoodsmen in the midst of con ditions not unlike those of 1813, when Kentuckians won the battle of the Thames. The disasters which befell the Americans before both of these battles filled the public mind with a despondency which hung like a funeral pall over sorrowing patriotism. Isaac Shelby, the first and the sixth governor of Kentucky, was a leader in both of these battles, and the antecedents, the surroundings, and the consequences of each of them were· as like as his com manding person in both. Before the battle of King's Mountain the outlook for the Americans, especially in the South, was through thick gloom. Gates, with the glory of Saratoga blazing upon him, had suffered a disastrous defeat at Camden. Sevier, who was supposed to be always upon his guard, was sur prised at Fishing Creek. But worst of all Lincoln, after failing to recover Savannah, had lost Charleston at the end of a long and distressful siege. Ferguson, the able model in the South for the weak Proctor in the North, flushed lV' Preface with British victories over the Americans, was literally riding roughshod over the Carolinas and filling his regiments with Tories in numbers that threatened to overrun the whole country. The conditions in the North, and especially in the Northwest, were no less discouraging. The Americans had ·held Fort Harrison, Fort Stephenson, and Fo_rt Meigs, but the surrender of Detroit and Mackinac, and the massacres at Fort Dearborn, Fort Meigs, and the river R~i_~in had more than eclipsed the glory of all other quarters. Proctor, reeking with the blood his treachery and brutality had drawn from fallen foes, stood forth like a demon incarnate to desolate the land with all the horrors of a savage and none of the ameliorations of a civilized war. The victory of Perry on Lake Erie, like a bright morning risen upon a dark night, lighted the way for .the Americans not only to recover Detroit · but to invade Canada and strike at the source of the ills that had befallen them. The Americans were quick to see the advantage of this naval victory and lost not a moment to turn it to their full advantage. The thunder of Perry's guns upon the water had scarcely died away when the tramp of Shelby's regiments on their way to Canada was heard upon the land. When they reached J.V[alden Preface V they found the enemy had fled, but with the eagerness of famished tigers in the pursuit of their prey they fol lowed and overtook them in battle array at a chosen point on the river Thames, protected by a precipitous bank on their left and by an impassable swamp on their right. The strong position chosen by the enemy was at once recognized by the Americans, but they were so eager to avenge the massacre of their fellow-soldiers that they would have attacked them had their numbers been twice as great and the fortifications of nature double. as strong around them. The advantages of position were with the enemy at the battle of the Thames, as they had been in the battle of King's Mountain. The British had in each instance the field of their choice. At the Thames the Americans had not to point their guns upward as at King's Mountain to dislodge the enemy, but had to shoot at them around trees and through swamps which would have discouraged any other troops. No advantage of position, however, in favor of the enemy could have slaked the thirst for battle which was consuming every American heart. Beside the massacre of their brethren at Fort Dearborn and. Fort Meigs and the river Raisin, the Americans remembered atrocities, barbarities, and oppressions in the more distant past which helped to fire their spirit. The VI• Preface conduct of Great Britain against the United States had been such for years before as to excite the public mind to .fever heat. The forcible .taking of sailors from our ships on the high seas and impressing them into the British marine; the blockading of our seaports to the ruin of our commerce, and worst of all, the arming, clothing, and feeding of savages while they tomahawked and· scalped our helpless women and children raised public indignation to such a height that the sight of an English soldier excited a hatred that made every man an avenger. Leading men everywhere in the United States reached .~he conclusion that war, though a terrible evil, was a less evil than to endure such outrages and oppressions. No secret was made of the determination of the people that the United States would go to war with England if such outrages continued. The matter was openly debated in Congress and the newspapers of that day were full o~ fiery articles on the subject, and politicians everywhere made inflammatory speeches about it.· Even the plan of the initial campaign of the war was shadowed forth in the proposed conquest of Canada, by the orators and writers of the day. Some were opposed to the war, but enough were in favor of it to bear down all opposition. War against Great Britain was there£ore declared by the United States, June 18, 1812. .. Preface Vll The eighteenth publication of"the Filson Club is prin cipally concerned with the war -that followed this declara- . tion as it occurred in the Northwest. It was soon evident after the declaration that we were not ready for war, especially for the campaign in the Northwest. An inade qu~te number of undisciplined infantry were expected to invade Canada and conquer it, without a navy and in spite of the armed vessels of the enemy that floated upon the lakes and protected Canada. Neither was our army ready with officers or soldiers, or arms; or supplies. A beginning had to be made, however, and when the initial steps were taken it was found that the enemy,- forewar1:1ed by our proceedings in Congress, by our. newspapers and our stump orators, were better prepared for the fight than those who -had sent the challenge. The campaign began by the invasion of Canada by Hull on the 12th of July, 1812. Instead of Hull attacking Malden he spent his time in trying to induce the Canadians to come under the American flag and the Indians to keep quiet, until he learned that the British were not as idle as he was and were about ready to make an attack on him. He then crept back· to Detroit and there began ·that dis- -graceful series of acts which led to the surrender not only of his army but of the whole Northwest frontier. His· first step after returning to Detroit was to get -his supplies Vlll Preface from the river Raisin, where the enemy had blockaded them, by sending an inadequate force, which was defeated. He then sent a larger force, which after defeating the enemy were withdrawn without getting the much-needed supplies. While these unmilitary acts were progressing and a third party had been sent to the river Raisin for the supplies, General Brock marched his army to Sand wich, planted cannon so as to command Detroit, without any interference on the part of Hull, and when ready for bombarding demanded and secured the surrender of Hull, August 16, 1812, without the American general accom plishing anything but to cover himself with everlasting disgrace. The fortress of Detroit and the territory of Michigan, with a population of five thousand souls ·and one thousand four hundred soldiers, with arms, ammuni tion, and supplies went from Hull to Brock by the surrender. Previous to the surrender of Detroit, Fort Mackinac had b~en taken by the British, on the 17th of July, 1812. Lieutenant Hanks was in command of the fort, but had not been advised of the declaration of war until the enemy were upon him. The.. garrison, consisting of only fifty- seven effective men, could do nothing but surrender when taken by surprise, as they were, by an overwhelming enemy. Preface IX Hull's order to Captain Heald to evacuate Fort Dear born after distributing the stores to the Indians led to a feadul massacre of the occupants of the fort on the 15th of August, 1812. The Indians, who had promised to conduct the garrison safely to Detroit, proved to _ be treacherous, and either slaughtered or permitted others to slaughter those they had promised and been paid to protect. The massacre had all the horrors of Indian barbarity in tomahawking and scalping not only soldiers but women and children. Things had thus gone fearfully wrong in the year 1812, the first year of the war. On the . 8th of September, however, a small bright spot appeared in the dark sky of that period. The Indians attacked Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, and set it on fire and seemed to be in the act of taking it. But it was heroically defended by Captain Taylor and saved. As the year 1812 ended so the year 1813 began with a show of favor to the Americans by the God of War.

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