the
commander-in-chief, General Henry Dearborn, to act on the Niagara
frontier and Lake Ontario; and the Army of the East, under General
Winchester, who soon after was superseded by General William Henry
Harrison.

IN THE WEST.

The last-named officer did his utmost to drive the British out of
Detroit. His troops were volunteers, brave but undisciplined, and
displayed their most effective work in scattered fighting and against
the Indians; but their success was not decisive. When the swamps and
lakes of the Northwest were sufficiently frozen to bear their weight,
Harrison repeated his attempts to expel the British from Detroit. His
advance, under General Winchester, was attacked on the River Raisin by
the British, led by General Proctor. Winchester was as prompt as General
Hull in surrendering. Proctor allowed his Indians to massacre the
wounded prisoners, most of whom were Kentuckians. Thereafter, when the
Kentucky troops rushed into battle they raised the war-cry, "Remember
the Raisin!"

The disaster to Winchester caused Harrison to fall back to Fort Meigs,
which stood near the site of the present town of Defiance. There, in the
spring of 1813, he was besieged by Proctor. A force of Kentuckians
relieved him, after severe loss, and Proctor retreated. Some months
later he again advanced against Fort Meigs, but was repulsed, and
marched to Fort Stephenson, where Fremont now stands.

The besiegers consisted of 3,000 British and Indians, while the garrison
numbered only 160, under the command of Major George Croghan, only
twenty years of age. When Proctor ordered the youth to surrender he
threatened that, in case of resistance, every prisoner would be
tomahawked. Major Croghan replied that when the surrender took place
there would not be a single man left to tomahawk. Although Croghan had
but a single cannon, he made so gallant a defense that his assailants
were repulsed, and Proctor, fearing the approach of Harrison, withdrew
from the neighborhood.

BATTLE OF THE THAMES.

Perry's great victory on Lake Erie in September, 1813, as related
further on, gave the Americans command of that body of water. Harrison's
troops were placed on board of Perry's vessels and carried across from
Ohio to Canada. They landed near Malden and Proctor fell back to
Sandwich, with the Americans following. He continued his retreat to the
Thames, where, with the help of Tecumseh, he selected a good
battle-ground and awaited the Americ