In the spring of 1814, Britain defeated Napoleon in Europe, freeing 18,000 veteran British troops to participate in an invasion of the United States. He won a decisive victory in which the Indian leader Tecumseh was killed, thereby ending the fighting strength of the northwestern Indians. On October 5, 1813, Major General William Henry Harrison overtook the retreating British army and their Indian allies at the Thames River. It forced the British to abandon Detroit and retreat toward Niagara. The Battle of Lake Erie was America's first major victory of the war. He reported his victory with the stirring words, "We have met the enemy and they are ours.'' Though Perry's flagship, the Lawrence, was disabled in the fighting, he went on to capture the British fleet. There, Master-Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, who had built a fleet at Presque Isle (Erie, Pennsylvania) successfully engaged six British ships. On September 10, 1813, America won a major naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay at the western end of Lake Erie. Only a series of unexpected victories at the end of the year raised American spirits. In 1813 America suffered new failures, including the defeat and capture of the American army in the swamps west of Lake Erie. Along Lake Champlain, a third army retreated into American territory after failing to cut undefended British supply lines.
An attack across the Niagara River, near Buffalo, resulted in 900 American prisoners of war. At Detroit, 2,000 American troops surrendered to a much smaller British and Indian force. The attack on Canada, however, was a disastrous failure.
The American strategy called for a three-pronged invasion of Canada and heavy harassment of British shipping. In contrast, Britain had nearly 400 warships. The army consisted of fewer than 7,000 soldiers, few trained officers, and a navy with just 6 warships. The United States was woefully unprepared for war. Digital History Printable Version The War of 1812
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