The War of 1812

The War of 18 12. . , In 1812, fearing the outbreak of war with Great Britain and her Indian allies, many settlers left the area, and local militia companies began constructing blockhouses as places of refuge. Victims of Indian attacks included Michael Gibbs, Daniel Buel, and five members of the Snow and Butler families. With the surrender of the Northwest Army at Fort Detroit on August 16, 1812, the remaining settlers fled in panic to the south and east. The arrival on the lake shore of American prisoners, who some mistook for British troops, only served to accelerate their plight. , General Elijah Wadsworth, in command of the 4th Division of the Ohio Militia, ordered Brigadier General Simon Perkins to move his troops from Cleveland to a point near the Huron River where Camp Huron was built in an exposed position on the lake shore prompting its later nickname, “Fort Nonsense.” A new headquarters, Camp Avery, was subsequently established near the head of navigation. The militiamen who fought the Indians in the Skirmish on the Peninsula on September 29, 1812 were dispatched from this post. , In July, 1813 in anticipation of a British attack, Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson’s Mounted Regiment established “Camp Johnson” near the mouth of the Huron River. The expected attack came on July 31st when a British fleet transported troops to Lower Sandusky (modern-day Fremont) where they met defeat on August 2nd in their assault on Fort Stephenson. , Following his victory in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813, Commodore Perry transported William Henry Harrison’s army from the mouth of the Portage River to Canada where the War of 18 12 on the Ohio Frontier ended with the defeat British Army at the Battle of the Thames.