Henry Procter ( British Army officer ) Henry Patrick Procter or Proctor ( 1763 – 31 October 1822 ) was a British Major - General who served in Canada during the War of 1812 . He is best known as the commander who was decisively defeated in 1813 by the Americans and left western Ontario in American hands . Procter is regarded by many as an inept leader who relied heavily on textbook procedure . His " going by the book " is attributed to his lack of any combat experience before coming to Canada . The Canadian historian Pierre Berton concludes : Early life . Procter was born in Ireland . His father , Richard Procter , was a surgeon in the British Army . Henry Procter began his military career at the age of 18 as an ensign in the 43rd Regiment of Foot in April 1781 . He served as a lieutenant in New York in the final months of the American War of Independence . His promotion was slow , probably indicating a lack of means , since commissions were usually obtained by purchase . Procter married in Ireland in 1792 , the year he became a captain . He was promoted to major three years later , and October 1800 became a lieutenant colonel in command of the 1st battalion of the 41st Regiment of Foot . Procter joined his new regiment in Lower Canada in 1802 . He served in Canada for the next ten years . Inspecting officers , including Major General Isaac Brock , noted that Procter ' s regiment was " very sharp " , indicating a good standard of drill and discipline , and that this was due to Procter ' s " indefatigable industry " . War of 1812 . When the war began in June 1812 , the 41st were stationed in Upper Canada . Procter was sent to Amherstburg near the westernmost part of the Province , to relieve the commandant of Fort Malden and defend the fort against a possible American assault . He fought several skirmishes , which helped isolate the American post at Fort Detroit and contributed to its capture by General Brock . When Brock departed , Procter was left in command on the Detroit frontier . He was soon faced with an attack by American General William Henry Harrison , who intended to expel the British from Michigan . Procter won a resounding victory over an American brigade commanded by Brigadier - General James Winchester at the Battle of Frenchtown , though his tactics did not escape criticism . He had allowed his men to open fire too soon , which alerted the Americans to his attack . He also placed his artillery within American rifle range , which resulted in his gunners becoming casualties unnecessarily . Nevertheless , his surprise attack overwhelmed the Americans and forced Winchester to surrender . Following his victory , he learned that General Harrison ' s main army was coming to Winchester ' s support . Procter had only enough carts to transport his own severely wounded , and in his haste to retreat , he left 68 severely wounded American prisoners behind with only a small guard of Canadian militiamen . That night , Procter ' s Indian allies murdered the wounded prisoners in what became known as the Massacre of the River Raisin . This gave American troops a new battle - cry : " Remember the Raisin ! " On 8 February 1813 , Procter was promoted to brigadier general by Sir George Prévost , the Governor General of Canada . A few months later , he was made a major general . In April and May 1813 , Procter besieged Harrison at Fort Meigs , Ohio . His artillery pounded the fort for days but the muddy ground inside the fort absorbed most of the cannon balls . On 5 May 1813 , at the Battle of the Miami Rapids , Procter and the Indians inflicted a devastating defeat on Brigadier - General Green Clay ' s brigade of Kentucky militia , who were trying to reinforce the garrison . A sortie from the fort by Harrison ' s command was also turned back . Many American prisoners were taken , and 38 wounded men who had been captured were moved to the disused Fort Miami . Once again , some of the wounded prisoners were massacred by Indians who had arrived too late to take part in the battle . The Shawnee chief Tecumseh reviled Procter for his failure to prevent the killings . The siege ultimately ended in failure , as did the subsequent Battle of Fort Stephenson . On 20 June , Procter ' s command was recognised as the " Right Division of the Army of Upper Canada " . However , he received very few reinforcements and his " division " consisted essentially of the 41st Foot only , with whatever militia could be gathered for any operation and unreliable numbers of Native Americans . Following an American naval victory in the Battle of Lake Erie , Procter ' s supply lines were cut , and he was forced to retreat from Detroit and Amherstburg towards Burlington Heights at the western end of Lake Ontario , to obtain supplies . Tecumseh reviled Procter for retreating as " " a fat animal which slinks away , its tail between its legs " " and demanded that Fort Malden be handed over to the Natives to defend . However , there was no food for them and the fort ' s artillery had been placed on the British fleet for the naval battle and was consequently lost . Tecumseh and his warriors were forced to accompany Procter as he retreated . Procter ' s retreat was slow and poorly organised , and the Americans under Harrison caught up with him near Moraviantown . By now , Procter ' s troops were exhausted and starving on half - rations . At the Battle of the Thames , the 41st fired a single ineffectual volley before breaking . About 250 fled and the remainder ( under 600 ) surrendered , leaving their Indian allies to fight alone . Tecumseh and Roundhead were killed and their forces soundly defeated . Proctor claimed he had attempted to rally his troops before he galloped off himself , but this was generally disbelieved . He admitted the conduct of the 41st Foot " " was not upon this unfortunate occasion , such as I have on every other witnessed with pride and satisfaction . . . " " . Having rallied some men at the Grand River , Procter recommended that there was no need to abandon Burlington Heights . However , his division was disbanded , his remaining men merged into the " Centre Division " , and Procter himself was relieved of duty . Court - martial . In December 1814 , Procter was tried by court martial at Quebec for his conduct during the retreat and at the Battle of the Thames . He was found guilty of " deficiency in energy and judgement " , and suspended for six months without pay . The Prince Regent insisted that the findings and sentence be read to every regiment in the Army . Procter ' s sentence was later reduced to a reprimand , but the conviction effectively ended his military service . Procter returned to England in 1815 , but was semi - retired . He died in 1822 at the age of 59 in Bath . Evaluation . Opinions on Procter are divided . Some scholars dismiss him as incompetent , while others point out that he was denied adequate resources by his superiors and was unfairly held responsible for the conduct of his Indian allies ( except where accompanied by Tecumseh himself ) . Most sources agree that Procter was a good regimental officer , but was out of his depth when in charge of an independent command , especially one which required him to handle unpredictable Native American allies . Procter never achieved the instant rapport with Tecumseh which Brock had gained , and Tecumseh was dismissive or even contemptuous towards Procter on occasions such as the Battle of Miami Rapids and the retreat from Amherstburg . Procter ' s conduct at the Battle of the Thames bears a strong correlation with signs of ( then undiagnosable ) battle fatigue , after a long campaign with insufficient supplies . Personal life . Procter married Elizabeth Cockburn in Kilkenny in Ireland , in 1792 . They had one son and four daughters .