Fort Stephenson

In August 1813, an American garrison at Fort Stephenson in Ohio held off a two-day assault mounted by combined British and Indigenous forces, emerging with a decisive victory. Major George Croghan commanded the defense that kept the fort in American hands throughout the siege.

Battle

Sailing from Maumee Bay, Procter reached the Sandusky River's mouth on July 31 with 391 British regulars under his command. There, Robert Dickson and Matthew Elliott of the British Indian Department linked up with him, having marched a few hundred warriors overland from Fort Meigs. Together, backed by two gunboats, this force reached Fort Stephenson on the following day.

Figures for the Indigenous contingent vary wildly, with estimates ranging anywhere from two hundred to several thousand fighters. Croghan later informed Harrison that his position had been surrounded by 500 regulars alongside 700 to 800 warriors. Procter's own official account offers no figures beyond his own losses, though he laments that his native allies numbered only in the hundreds rather than the thousands he had anticipated. Writing in 1818 about the war, the British historian William James cast doubt on certain American testimonies, insisting that a mere 200 warriors had actually been present.

According to some accounts, Tecumseh and a force of 2,000 warriors lingered within striking distance of the fort. Yet both John Sugden, who wrote Tecumseh's biography, and Sandy Antal, Procter's biographer, maintain that only a few hundred fighters had actually traveled with Dickson and Elliott from Fort Meigs. Sugden speculates that Tecumseh's larger force of 2,000 may have stayed positioned between the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, guarding against the possibility that American troops at Fort Meigs might reinforce Fort Stephenson or push toward Detroit. Citing the Mohawk leader John Norton, Antal claims that the bulk of Procter's native allies withdrew to Amherstburg alongside Tecumseh once the assault on Fort Meigs had failed.

As custom dictated, Procter demanded that Croghan surrender the fort, and just as predictably, Croghan turned him down. Bombardment commenced with the gunboats and a single howitzer, later joined by three additional six-pounders the next morning. Little damage resulted from this shelling. For his part, Croghan answered with his lone cannon, repeatedly relocating it so the British might believe multiple guns were in play. Once his ammunition dwindled, he ordered his gunners to hold fire.

With 115 fresh troops from the 41st Regiment of Foot now at his disposal, Procter resolved to take the fort by direct assault. Command of the primary attack, aimed at the northwest corner, fell to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel William Shortt. Before the assault, a two hour artillery barrage would soften defenses, paired with a diversionary strike against the fort's southern flank.

Noticing that British guns concentrated on the northwest corner, Croghan correctly guessed where the main blow would land. He therefore reinforced the palisade there and hid his cannon, nicknamed "Old Betsy," inside the nearest blockhouse. Shortt's assault came late in the afternoon on August 2. His men were caught off guard when American gunners revealed "Old Betsy" and unleashed fire at close range. Shortt himself fell dead, along with dozens more killed or wounded in the exchange. A follow up blast from the cannon drove the British column into retreat.

Faced with this reversal, Procter pulled his forces back to Sandusky Bay in the predawn hours of August 3 before returning to Amherstburg. British losses totaled 26 dead, 41 wounded, and 29 unaccounted for. On the American side, casualties amounted to only one death and seven men lightly injured.

Aftermath

No additional assaults came from the British against posts under the command of the Army of the Northwest. That September, an American naval triumph on Lake Erie cut off Procter's supply route, compelling the British to abandon Detroit along with the Western District of Upper Canada. On September 28, Harrison took possession of Amherstburg, and by October 5 he had bested Procter at the Thames.

At Fort Stephenson, the Americans achieved an unqualified success. In his message to the Secretary of War, Harrison spoke highly of Croghan's conduct. The nation embraced Croghan as a hero, promoted him by brevet to lieutenant colonel, and the women of Chillicothe, Ohio presented him with a fine sword as a token of admiration. Congress later honored him with its Gold Medal in 1835.

The cannon known as "Old Betsy," which had sat in storage at Pittsburgh following the conflict, became property of the City of Fremont in 1851. Today it stands near the north entrance of the Birchard Library, close to the Soldiers' Monument erected in 1885. That library itself rose in 1878 upon the very ground where Fort Stephenson once stood. George Croghan's remains did not stay at the Croghan Family Burying Ground at Locust Grove near Louisville, Kentucky forever; in 1906 they were disinterred and reburied at the foot of the Soldiers' Monument.