Winners and Losers
With the sound of the battle echoing in his ears, British General Proctor and his guard gallop towards Moraviantown, a short distance away. They do not tarry there for the Kentucky cavalry is in hot pursuit. He eludes them, but his baggage does not. Exhausted, he catches up to his wife and family at Gideon Tiffany’s farm (Belvoir, 2475 Gideon Drive, Delaware). The following day, he most assuredly stops for refreshment and perhaps the night at Archie McMillan’s Inn (where Byron Automotive is now located) on his retreat to the Niagara Theatre. The following year, Major General Henry Proctor will be court- martialled and found guilty of negligence, bungling the retreat and errors in judgment. He blames the high command for his lack of support, which put him into such a difficult situation. After all, he had to sacrifice a third of his army to crew Barclay’s ships as well as most of his cannon to arm his fleet. He is deemed to be a brave soldier, but a weak leader; capable enough, except in situations of stress. It cannot have been easy for him because he failed to win Tecumseh’s respect. In short, he suffered by comparison to General Isaac Brock, who did command Tecumseh’s respect. Proctor is suspended from rank and pay for six months. His career in tatters, he will leave Canada in 1815 and die at Bath, England, on October 31, 1822, at age 59. “All they want for Christmas is You” Meanwhile, the winner, American General William Henry Harrison, turns his army around and heads back down the Thames. He will garrison Detroit, Sandwich (Windsor) and Amherstburg. Brigadier General Duncan MacArthur will be in charge at Detroit. Harrison may have decided to turn around because his supply lines were too extended and that foraging would be too difficult. More likely, it was because his six-month soldiers from Kentucky had accomplished what they had set out to do, namely, destroy Tecumseh and his Confederacy and therefore any opposition to the expansion of the United States to the west. Now they were loudly clamoring to go home. In reality, it would make sense for London Animal Care Centre • 121 Pine Valley Blvd, London www.accpets.ca • (519)685-1330
British Major General Henry Proctor
American General William Henry Harrison
Harrison to move the rest of his 1,700 active regular troops by boat to the Niagara Theatre since he had Captain Perry and his fleet at his disposal! A short time later, Harrison will resign from the army and become the member for Ohio in the House of Representatives. In 1841, he became the 9th President of the United States and the first to die in office, a month later. Major Simon Zelotes Watson and Captain Andrew Westbrook are in shock at Harrison’s decision to turn around. As they turn their horses towards Detroit, they realize that they will be no closer to home than they were a year and a half ago when they joined General Hull’s army. Gone is the hope that they could use the Americans to settle their score with Colonel Talbot. They will have to find another way. (To be continued)
December
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Page 9 Byron Villager June 2025
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