William Henry Harrison, Tecumseh’s great antagonist, was appointed to overall command of the American Northwestern Army in the fall of 1812.

The man who had destroyed Prophetstown was now in charge of the American campaign that was aimed at recovering Detroit and pushing into Canada.

Harrison’s campaign was methodical.

He built forts, established supply lines, and waited for conditions that would allow him to move on a secure logistical foundation.

He was not a cavalry commander who would gamble on a bold stroke; he was a builder who understood that the logistical superiority of the American position — more men, more resources, more industrial capacity — would eventually prevail if he didn’t make major mistakes.

The American naval victory on Lake Erie in September 1813, under Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, was the strategic turning point of the Northwestern campaign.