Following Winchester’s defeat at Frenchtown near the end of January, Harrison would retreat to the banks of the Maumee and begin the construction of two forts (Fort Meigs on the Maumee River, and Fort Stephenson on the Sandusky). Construction on Fort Meigs began on February 1st.
Harrison’s original plan (much like Brock’s and Chauncey’s) was to make a mad dash across Lake Erie to Amherstburg and attack Fort Malden, but he found the ice breaking up on the shore. Upon his return to Meigs from Lake Erie he found little construction done in his absence, in fact the Fort was worse off because the men using much of the wood cut for building fort for firewood instead of the actual construction of the fort. The man he had left in charge, Joel Leftwich, had also taken his men home when their term of enlistment had expired. Harrison, knowing that many of the men in his force of 3,500 soon had terms that would expire decided to disband it altogether. He left several hundred regulars to remain under the command of Engineer Major Eleazer Wood as well as some Pennsylvania and Virginia militia (whose terms were also about to expire).
In Canada, Procter was awaiting the arrival of Isaac Brock and some regulars before he makes his move, Brock would arrive on March 15th (still stinging from the lack of action in the East). Both generals would both like to make a move against Presque Isle (where the Americans are building a fleet, (more on the lakes later) but neither thinks that they have enough manpower for such an attack (OTL Procter wanted 3,000 men for such an endeavour). Rumour has it though that the American fort under construction is only half finished, and if seized would create a strong defensive position in the northwest.
The weather is awful, but Brock is determined to have a stab at it. On the eighteenth his men are embarked and they arrive at the banks of the Maumee on the 21st. By the 24th,the British are outside the fort with some 900 men (an near even split between militia and regulars) and 1,200 Indians. The British are exhausted from the march and the foul weather, but the Americans opposite of them are in little better shape having been ill equipped to deal with the weather.
The fort has shown little progress since Harrison’s departure; there are gaps in the fence of the eight acre stockade and the blockhouses aren’t finished being built. But nothing can last forever and the Americans spy the British at 9:00 AM and a brief battle ensues. The British regulars form up and after two volleys the militia break and run (many were persuaded to stay only by being offered extra pay from Harrison). The regulars fare little better because the determined fire from the British batteries causes the American batteries to soon fall silent. After a little over an hour of fighting Wood knows he’s lost and offers to surrender. The Americans are frightened of Indian massacre (especially the militia) and demand protection and not a repeat of Frenchtown. The militia and most of the regulars are paroled and sent home under the condition they not reenlist until a proper exchange of prisoners is made (they’re glad to be gone) while the officers are sent on the long march to Quebec City. Casualties are light on both sides (38 American dead and 56 wounded, 14 British dead and 43 wounded).
Harrison had heard word that the British were on the move and (with Governor Clay’s assistance) assembled a force of some 1,000 men by the 20th of March. Near the end of the month he hears news of the disaster to the north and pauses. On one hand, he doesn’t have the resources to completely invest the fort (which the British are busy finishing). On the other hand, unless he delivers a clear victory he might be stripped of command of Army of the Northwest (the war department was horrified by the amount of money he spent in late 1812... and now he’s lost a fort in addition to what happened at Frenchtown). With this in mind he marches anyway.
A conflict brewing since 1894 at Fallen Timbers was about to come to a violent and bloody end. Harrison and Tecumseh’s war for dominance in the Northwest that had cost hundreds of lives and spanned hundreds of miles was about to come to a violent bloody close. British Major Adam Muir had been sent south will a detachment to keep an eye out for any oncoming American forces. When the Americans sight this, orders are given to attack and seize the small field guns that the British possess. On April 5th, the Battle of the Wilderness began when American forces charged Muir and a brief fight ensued over control of the guns. Muir would retreat from his guns, but a group of Indians under Tecumseh fired on the Kentucky militia from the woods, and many of the Kentucky militia chased them into the woods. Neither Harrison nor Clay could hope to stop them and Harrison, in an act of desperation followed his men trying to get them to come back. With most of the Americans engaged in the woods Muir would make a spirited charge to regain his guns and turn them on the remaining Americans.
Nobody is sure exactly what happened in the forest south of Fort Meigs, but the myth that Harrison and Tecumseh settled their quarrel in an epic duel man to man likely never took place. They probably never met, nor even saw each other. But regardless, both were never seen again after the battle. Of the 1,000 Americans that marched forward from Kentucky less than a third would return. Over a hundred men would perish in the bush fighting that favoured the Indians so well while another four hundred were captured. Of the survivors, a militia Colonel William Dudley would lead the survivors back to Kentucky harassed by Indians the entire way.
The aftermath of the battle shocked the people of Kentucky. In eight months, Detroit had fallen, a terrible battle had been lost at Frenchtown, the British occupied Fort Meigs and another battle fought and lost shortly thereafter. The Governor had marched out with 'the flower of Kentucky' and failed to return. Morale was low, and Kentucky was rapidly losing its taste for war.
Things looked little better for the British in the West. Many of the militia were eager to return home now that spring had arrived. And with the death of Tecumesh, that potent Indian force had almost completely melted away with many tribes abandoning his confederacy and returned home. The British force was largely spent and could do little more than occupy and build up Fort Meigs (now called Fort Indiana) for the remainder of the year for want of manpower.
TLDR
Britain occupies Fort Meigs
Harrison is dead, butchered by Indians
Tecumseh s also dead, Butchered by Kentuckians
Green Clay (Kentucky governor) is also dead
A lot of this battle is based off the OTL Siege of Fort Meigs, the luring of the Kentuckians into the woods etc. The Kentuckians were always brave in the war, but there were a few times when they were almost too brave and did something silly and got mauled.
Every time a complaint about plausibility arises, I kill a president (I kid). I really wanted a showdown between these two guys who loathed each other for so many years.
Also, a name for Fort Meigs, takers? EDIT: Have settled on Fort Indiana
