Chief Tecumseh and his brother strived to restore and preserve traditional Indian values at a time when white settlers were moving in on Indian territories in both the United States and Canada. Tecumseh allied with the British because he saw the Americans as a more immediate threat to his cause. On October 5, 1813 Tecumseh was killed in a skirmish between British and American forces in the Battle of the Thames, near Wallaceburg, Ontario, that placed 950 British, Canadians, and natives against 3,000 Americans. Without the support of Tecumseh and his followers, the border between the United States and Canada would not be where it is today.
David Morris portrays Tecumseh.
First Nations drummers.
Re-enactors dress in authentic costumes.
Members of the British Indian Department act as intermediaries between the natives and the British.
A British Officer ready to give the order to fire the cannon.
The British militia travels with an entourage that includes a cobbler
a ship’s carpenter
and a merchant.
Cooking over an open fire.
Housekeeping under the protection of British military tents.
The Fife and Drum Corp announces the beginning of the battle.
The smell of gunpowder fills the air.
Troops line-up across the field.
Battle cries begin.
The pivotal charge of the Kentucky Mounted Infantrymen is portrayed by The Canadian Cowgirls Precision Drill Team out of TJ Stables in Chatham.
Tecumseh is down, on the original Battle of the Thames site, 200 years exactly from the day of his death, October 5, 1813.
