Proctor Makes His Stand
It is midmorning, October 5th, 1813. General Proctor calls a halt to his remaining British army. He can go no further. The scouts of General Harrison’s American army have caught up to him. He will make his stand a mile or so downstream from the village of Moraviantown (14431 Longwoods Road, between present-day Parks Blueberries Farm and Thamesville). The Thames River is on Proctor’s left and a heavy marsh is on his right in a light wood of beech, maple and oak. He expects the Americans to advance along the road that cuts through the left of his position. The high bank of the Thames on his left means that the Americans cannot turn his left flank. The marsh protects his right flank. He will position his only gun, a six-pounder (named after a six-pound cannonball), to cover the road. The 41st Regiment will cover the road. The militia draws the space between the 41st and the swamp and the natives in the woods beyond the swamp. His army is in tatters. Their ammunition consists of what they carry; the rest has been captured by the Americans. No one attempts to create barricades of logs and branches, possibly because all the entrenching tools have already been lost to the enemy. Proctor’s 924 men form two lines one hundred yards apart but are too few to form the standard shoulder-to-shoulder infantry manoeuvre. They stand for two and a half hours, waiting patiently for the American army to appear. They are exhausted and famished. Morale is at its lowest ebb. Tecumseh, wearing fringed deerskin ornamented with porcupine quills and ostrich feathers, rides along the ragged lines on a white pony. He is in high spirits as he offers encouragement. Proctor’s army is as ready as it will ever be. Meanwhile, Harrison and his scouts wait for the main body of his 3,000-strong army to catch up. History doesn’t record it, but it is almost certain that Major Simon Zelotes Watson and Captain
Andrew Westbrook accompanied Harrison’s army. These two “spies” are probably the only two in Harrison’s army who know the road and the terrain due to their many travels through the district from Westminster (Byron) and Delaware, respectively. Harrison’s army catches up. An hour and a half passes while he lines up his troops. Harrison holds a council of war on horseback. The smaller, middle swamp is deemed impassible on horseback. Colonel Richard Johnson notes the lack of underbrush in the light forest as he stares out at the thin British line 300 yards away and suggests a cavalry attack instead of an infantry attack. Harrison agrees and changes the order of battle on the spot. A second cavalry will be directed at the Natives. At three in the afternoon, anticipation reigns. Tecumseh dismounts and joins his warriors. All is quiet. A bugle sounds. It sounds again, only closer...” Charge them, my brave Kentuckians!” cries Harrison. (To be continued) Photo credit Warfare History Network.
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