Second Siege of Fort Meigs

The Second Siege of Fort Meigs, conducted from 21 to 28 July 1813, was a failed British-Indigenous attempt to reduce the American fortification on the Maumee River that had withstood the first siege in May. The operation’s failure accelerated the deterioration of the relationship between Procter and Tecumseh — a breakdown that would have consequences at the Thames three months later.

Procter returned to Fort Meigs with a larger force than before: approximately 400 regulars and militia and some 2,600 Indigenous warriors. The plan — reportedly conceived by Tecumseh — was to draw the garrison out of the fort through a ruse. A staged battle would be fought within earshot of the fort, simulating an attack on an American relief column. When the garrison sallied out to assist, they would be ambushed.

The ruse was executed on 26 July. Warriors staged a convincing mock battle in the woods near the fort, complete with musket fire and war cries. But Brigadier General Green Clay, commanding the garrison, had been warned of exactly this tactic — the disastrous sortie during the first siege was fresh in every officer’s memory. Clay kept his men inside the walls and refused to be drawn out.

Without the ability to storm the fortification — the Indigenous warriors would not assault prepared earthworks, and Procter’s regulars were too few to attempt it — the siege was pointless. The warriors began dispersing within days, their patience for conventional siege operations exhausted. Procter withdrew to Amherstburg on 28 July.

The episode deepened Tecumseh’s contempt for Procter. The Shawnee leader had already expressed frustration with what he perceived as British timidity. After the second failure at Fort Meigs, Tecumseh reportedly compared Procter to “a fat animal, that carries its tail upon its back, but when affrighted, drops it between its legs and runs off.” The relationship between the two men was beyond repair, and their forced retreat from Amherstburg in September — which led to the Thames and Tecumseh’s death — was conducted amid mutual recrimination.