October 5, 1813 · Upper Canada Theater
October 5, 1813
Following the American victory on Lake Erie, General Harrison led an invasion force into Upper Canada and pursued the retreating British and their Shawnee allies under the great chief Tecumseh. The British line collapsed almost immediately under the charge of Kentucky cavalry, but Tecumseh's warriors fought fiercely in the swampy woods on the British right. Tecumseh was killed in the fighting, though his exact killer remains disputed — Richard Mentor Johnson, later Vice President, claimed the credit. With Tecumseh's death, the dream of a unified Native American confederacy perished.
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