Fort Meigs

In 1813 it looked like the United States was going to lose the War of 1812. Forts were built in the Ohio Country to guard against British invasion by way of what's now Ontario. General William Henry Harrison was placed in charge of defenses along the Maumee River near Lake Erie. That year he repelled two advances by British troops who were assisted by Tecumseh and his men. Ultimately, the British pulled back, and lost on every front--but not before they'd burned Washington, DC. General Harrison would go on to be elected president and die after one month in office.

Today the log fort, one of the largest in the country, is a national historic site, park, and educational center. Employees have long reported weird occurrences there, associated with the deaths which occurred during the British/Indian sieges, as well as the long, hard winter of 1813. Eerie blue lights float around the fort, sometimes transforming into actual apparitions dressed in 1812 soldiers' uniforms and coonskin caps. Footsteps and tapping noises plague the blockhouse, which is famous as a particularly haunted part of the fort.

One incident in particular has generated a ghost story. Colonel Dudley led 846 Kentucky troops across the river to spike the British guns on May 5. Rather than returning, he was lured toward Fort Miami--and into a trap. Troops watching from Fort Meigs tried to warn him, but he and his men were caught in a desperate battle, during which many of them were killed. Those who were captured were taken to the stockade at Fort Miami and methodically slaughtered by Indian troops until Tecumseh intervened. Only 170 of the Kentucky recruits made it back. Now a ghostly soldier appears waving frantically, trying to stop the Dudley brigade from taking their fateful detour.

The staff at Fort Meigs conduct ghost walks every year around Halloween, and they tell the ghost stories as a matter of course on any walking tour. Click below to visit their official site.

FortMeigs.org
Ohio Historical Society: Fort Miegs

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