Born into the American aristocracy on August 9th, 1773. Harrison was the youngest of seven children born to Benjamin Harrison V and his wife Elizabeth. He grew up on he Berkely Planation in Charles City County Virginia. He entered school at age 14 studying the classics, then entered the field of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1790, after the death of his father in 1791 leaving little funds for him to continue his studies a friend arranged for him to meet Governor Henry Lee, and within a day Harrison accepted an Ensigns commission in the United States Army and was assigned to theRead More →

Here’s the deal, the battle of Tippecanoe wasn’t actually a part of the Anglo-American War of 1812. But I have decided to include it because it was really a prelude to the conflict. Think of it like a prequel setting the stage for William Henry Harrison’s campaign of 1813 and the key to Brock’s capture of Fort Detroit with the required assistance of Tecumseh in 1812. Tippecanoe, like the war of 1812 was a culmination of violence between the Native population and the American government, and the idea of American Manifest Destiny. The Tippecanoe Battlefield monument stands on the battle ground still today. Engraved areRead More →

The outlook for General Henry Procter in the west was grim at best, hopeless at the worst. On September 10th, 1813 Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry had managed to take on the British Royal Navy Squadron on Lake Erie and capture all the ships intact, finally wresting control of Lake Erie from the mighty Royal Navy, this left the door wide open for a full out invasion of Upper Canada in the West. We have met the enemy and they are ours, Hazard penned in a dispatch to General William Henry Harrison who was waiting in the south. Harrison took this as an open invitation. ProcterRead More →