TheWestern theater of the War of 1812 was atheater of war during theWar of 1812 between theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom. Far from the Atlantic Coast and large cities, logistics and communication were more challenging in the western territories and the United States frontier. For many Native American nations involved, this war was acontinuation of the defense of their lands against encroaching settlers.
Following theNorthwest Indian War of the 1790s, the United States made it a policy to gradually remove Native Americans from the region and sell the land to white settlers.Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, andWilliam Henry Harrison, governor of theIndiana Territory, pressed groups of Native Americans to sell more territory to the United States. In response,Shawnee leaderTecumseh built a pan-tribal movement toresist further encroachment. While Tecumseh was away in Autumn of 1811, Harrisonattacked Propetstown and dispersed the people living there. Kentucky governorCharles Scott declared the battle as evidence of "British intrigue."[1]
Following the battle, the United States began a military buildup in anticipation of a wider conflict.[2] Congress authorized six new companies of rangers, five of which were expected to maintain the peace in the Northwest region.[3] The United Kingdom, meanwhile, reduced their supply of lead and gunpowder to their Native American allies, which was intended to maintain thefur trade, but was also needed for combat.[4] Tecumseh's War and the relatedPeoria War merged with the War of 1812 in the Western theater, much as theCreek War became intertwined with theSouthern theater.
At the time war was declared,Fort Belle Fontaine was the headquarters of the Department of Louisiana, which includedFort Madison,Fort Massac,Fort Osage, andFort Knox (Vincennes, Indiana).[5] Although Fort Belle Fontaine was frequently threatened, it was never attacked. The United States abandoned the other forts during or soon after the War of 1812.
When the United States declared war in June 1812, the British forces in Canada received the news before their American counterparts in the Western United States. Major-General SirIsaac Brock issued orders to initiate offensive operations against American forces. The resultingSiege of Fort Mackinac in July was the first major land engagement of the war.[6] The next month, at theBattle of Brownstown, a combined force of British and First Nations warriors defeated a United States force when the militia fled.[7] Brock and Tecumseh joined forces tocapture Fort Detroit from the United States just weeks later. GeneralJames Winchester was ordered to retake Detroit, but when he failed to take decisive action, William Henry Harrison- now appointed as a Major General- was given command of theArmy of the Northwest.
That same August, a Native American force composed primarily ofPotawatomi capturedFort Dearborn from the United States. In September 1812, Native Americans coordinated simultaneous attacks on United States posts across the region, includingFort Harrison,Pigeon Roost, andFort Madison, andFort Wayne.[8] Fort Madison, remote on the west bank of the Mississippi River, was abandoned by the U.S. Fort Harrison remained under siege for a week before it was relieved by a company of infantry and militia from Vincennes. General Harrison marched from Cincinnati to relieve Fort Wayne, then planned his attack on Fort Detroit.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces under Major GeneralSamuel Hopkins- commander of frontier forces- launched a punitive campaign againstKickapoo villages. In November, Hopkins marched them to the site of the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, and found Prophetstown being rebuilt. They destroyed Prophetstown, but werelured into an ambush and endured heavy losses, forcing Hopkins to resign. Harrison also orderedpunitive attacks against theMiami people, who he blamed for Fort Dearborn and Fort Wayne.[9] A month later, in January 1813, Harrison's army was defeated at theBattle of Frenchtown, andprisoners were killed. The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit until the following Autumn, but "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.[10]
With Detroit secure, the United Kingdom and their Native allies now launched an offensive of their own. In May 1813, ColonelHenry Procter and Tecumseh setsiege to Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio. Although the U.S. militia suffered heavy losses, the Native American and Canadian fighters returned to their homes, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return to Canada.[11] Along the way they attempted tocapture Fort Stephenson, a small American post on theSandusky River nearLake Erie. They were repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the British Ohio campaign.[12]
That September, the United States Navy defeated the British in theBattle of Lake Erie, allowing the U.S. freedom of movement on the lake. General Harrison returned to capture the now isolated Detroit, which was abandoned by Major General Procter. Proctor also burnedFort Malden, which was rebuilt and occupied by the United States. Harrison pursued Procter until 5 October, where they met at theBattle of the Thames, near Moraviantown. Tecumseh was killed in this battle, and his confederacy fell into disarray. After these losses, the United Kingdom found it more difficult to move people, equipment, and trade goods to western outposts. This, in turn, made it more difficult to maintain alliances with Native American nations in the region.[13] Therefore, the British re-routed their supply lines overland toGeorgian Bay, and from there toFort Mackinac.[13]
Although smaller skirmishes between the United States and Native American continued after the United States secured Lake Erie and Detroit, the western war after 1813 largely centered around Fort Mackinac andFort Shelby,[14] which guarded theWisconsin andMississippi Rivers near modern dayPrairie du Chien, Wisconsin.William Clark led a force of Army regulars and militia from Fort Belle Fontaine up the Mississippi River. They fought a small Sac force nearRock Island, then continued to Prairie du Chien. A small Canadian garrison withdrew, and Clark had the fort rebuilt, leaving 65 soldiers of the24th Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Joseph Perkins and an 80-man river gunboat named theGovernor Clark.[15]
British Lieutenant ColonelRobert McDouall arrived at Fort Mackinac and sent an expedition underWilliam McKay tocapture Prairie du Chien in July 1814. The force consisted ofmilitia, Native Americans, and residents fromGreen Bay and Prairie du Chien who supported United Kingdom.[16] They had one 3-pound cannon, which was ineffective against the fort, but was able to damage theGovernor Clark riverboat, which floated downstream.[17] Lieutenant Perkins surrendered on 20 July on the condition that they be permitted to return to Fort Belle Fontaine, and the fort was renamed Fort McKay.[17]
The United States dispatched an expedition under Major John Campbell to recapture the fort,[18] but 400 Sac, Fox, and Kickapoo warriors underBlack Hawk ambushed them on 22 July at theBattle of Rock Island Rapids. Campbell was able to retreat when theGovernor Clark floated downstream into the battle.[18]
That same July, the United States sent naval vessels to recapture Fort Mackinac. McDouall and Native American defendersambushed them and forced them to retreat. The United States ships destroyed a British fort atNottawasaga Bay and left two armedschooners to blockade Mackinac. The blockade worked for a time, but made the British garrison desperate. In September, the British captured theUSS Tigress and then used it to capture theUSS Scorpion.[19] The U.S. continued to raid Ontario from Fort Detroit and Fort Malden, however, and were frequently assisted by Canadians who sided with the United States.[20] One of the largest raids was led by Brigadier GeneralDuncan McArthur, whocaptured or destroyed so many horses and food stuffs that it set back British operations that Winter.[20]
In September 1814, the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo, supported by part of Prairie du Chien's British garrison, repulsed a second American force led by MajorZachary Taylor in theBattle of Credit Island. These victories enabled the Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo to harass American garrisons further south, which led the Americans to abandonFort Johnson, in central Illinois Territory.
William Henry Harrison resigned his command in May 1814, and turned his attention back towards Indian removals. He declared that the Native Americans "deserved no mercy," but requested supplies to relieve their "immediate and pressing wants."[21] He called for a grand council inGreenville, Ohio that July, where he forced Native American leaders to signan agreement aligning them with the United States against the British. Harrison wrote that when the war was over, the United States would be able to acquire their lands cheaply.[21]
The War of 1812officially ended in February 1815, but it took months for word to reach the western outposts and villages. The British returned Mackinac and other captured territory to the United States after the war. Native Americans were excluded from treaty negotiations. The United States and United Kingdom largely returned to their pre-war status, and the United States was now able to focus their military strength on the Native Nations. The Sauk continued to fight in the West. They raided outposts atCote Sans Dessein in April 1815 and theBattle of the Sink Hole in May. Black Hawk signed a peace treaty with the United States in 1816, but a decade later when the United States used that treaty to claim Sauk lands east of the Mississippi River, theBlack Hawk War began.