Fort Meigs

About this property

Fort Meigs was a United States fortification along the Maumee River in what is now Perrysburg, Ohio built during the War of 1812. The British, supported by Tecumseh's Confederacy, failed to capture the fort during the siege of Fort Meigs. It is named in honor of Ohio governor Return J. Meigs Jr., for his support in providing Major General William Henry Harrison with militia and supplies for a line of forts in Ohio and the Indiana Territory. The site is owned by the Ohio History Connection. Construction of the fort on the south side of the Maumee River began in February 1813 by soldiers under the command of Major General William Henry Harrison at a site where present-day Perrysburg, Ohio later developed. The fort would provide a supply depot and staging point for American military operations in Upper Canada; and prevent British attacks upstream. The remnants of the British Fort Miami, build during the Northwest Indian War were across the river to the northeast. The winter climate was harsh, and the landscape unforgiving. An American sentry froze to death during his two hours of guard duty. The walls were constructed using logs cut to a 15 foot (4.6 m) length, partially buried in the ground, then protected by a steep earthen slope thrown against the logs to strengthen them against bombardment. An embankment against the interior side provided a parapet. When completed, the fort was the largest wooden walled fortification in North America. On May 1, 1813, British allied forces, under Major General Henry Proctor and Tecumseh, began a bombardment of the fort, which had mustered 1,200 regulars and militia, and laid siege. Reinforcements reached the fort on May 4, increasing its garrison to 2,800. Early on the morning of May 5, a detachment from Clay's brigade under Colonel William Dudley landed from boats on the north bank of the river, stormed the British batteries on the north bank and spiked the guns. Coming under fire from Tecumseh's warriors in the woods, most of Dudley's men set off in pursuit, and were led deeper into the forest. In the woods, the disorganized Kentuckians suffered heavy casualties in confused fighting. Nearly 550 were captured, and of Dudley's 866 officers and men, only 150 returned to the fort. This became known as "Dudley's Massacre" or "Dudley's Defeat". Tecumseh's warriors attacked any wood-gathering parties sent out from the fort. Harrison held out against the British by using a pair of 14-foot high embankments ("traverses") thrown up inside the walls along the length of the interior to absorb the incoming British shells. Proctor abandoned the siege on May 9, 1813 and retreated to Detroit.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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