Fort Meigs

The battles at Fort Meigs became turning points in the War of 1812 for the Americans.  These battles secured the Great Lakes for the Americans, and gave secure geographical boundaries that still exist today.  Fort Meigs was built by William Henry Harrison in February of 1813 to protect northwest Ohio from the British.

The War of 1812 was fought for the control of the west.  The fort was America’s center in the Northwest Territory.  When the British came to Fort Meigs they found it well supplied under the command of General Harrison.  The shooting lasted four days, once forces for Kentucky came, the British returned to Canada.  The second battle did not go in the way of the British either, since the Americans saw through the Indian’s attempt to draw them out. 

The fort was dismantled and rebuilt smaller after the battle on Lake Erie, and then burnt to the ground after the war was over in 1815.

The Ohio Historical Society started a renovation project on the fort in the 1960s to make it look like it did in the spring of 1813.  In the 1970s they opened a museum on the site, and in 2003 the renovations were finished.  The museum center hold exhibits on Ohio’s role in the war, and a classroom for workshops. 

The exhibit places things into context and shows the pivotal role Fort Megis played in the war.

Fun Facts:

The fort is the largest reconstructed, wooden walled in the U. S., it used three thousand logs to wall the fort.

The county where the fort sits, Wood county, was named for Captain Eleazor Darby Wood.  He designed and supervised its construction.

The fort was not adequately supplied with cannon balls during the first siege, so Harrison told the men if they retrieved a British cannon ball they would receive four ounces (a gill) of whiskey.  The men in the fort received enough cannon balls for 400 gills of whiskey.