Construction on Fort Meigs began in February 1813. Soldiers traveling to Fort Meigs passed through the Great Black Swamp, a nearly impenetrable morass 40 miles across and 120 miles wide south of the fort. The harsh winter weather and frontier conditions made the construction of the fort a severe challenge.

February 1813

"An immense deal of labor was to be performed in excavating ditches, and making abatis, and clearing away the wood about the camp at a time when the weather was extremely severe and the ground so hard frozen that it was almost impossible to open it with a spade and pick-ax. But in the use of the ax, mattock, and spade consisted all the military knowledge of the army. So we fell to work to bury ourselves as fast as possible and heard nothing of the enemy."

Capt. Eleazer D. Wood

U.S. Corps of Engineers

Marker can be reached from West Indiana Avenue (Ohio Route 65) near Fort Meigs Road, on the right when traveling south.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: