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Group: Pennacook, Pawtucket, or Merrimack (Amerind tribe)
People: Louis Le Vau
Topic: Thames, Battle of the

Thames, Battle of the

Years: 1813 - 1813

The Battle of the Thames, also known as the Battle of Moraviantown, is a United States victory in the War of 1812 against the United Kingdom and Tecumseh's Confederacy.

It took place on October 5, 1813 in Upper Canada, near present-day Chatham, Ontario.

British troops under Major General Henry Procter had occupied Detroit until the U.S. Navy gained control of Lake Erie, depriving them of their supplies.

Procter is forced to retreat north up the river Thames to Moraviantown, where his allies, the tribal confederacy under Shawnee leader Tecumseh and war chief Roundhead (Wyandot), have no choice but to follow.

American infantry and cavalry under Major General William Henry Harrison drive off the outnumbered British, then defeat the Native warriors, who are demoralised by the deaths of Tecumseh and Roundhead in action.

American control over the Detroit area is re-established, the tribal confederacy collapses, and Procter will later be court-martialed for his poor leadership.

"Remember that the people you are following didn’t know the end of their own story. So they were going forward day by day, pushed and jostled by circumstances, doing the best they could, but walking in the dark, essentially."

—Hilary Mantel, AP interview (2009)