Hidden down a long path in the Lake Erie Metropark is the site of the Battle of Brownstown, a little-known War of 1812 conflict. On August 5, 1812, Major Thomas Van Horne while leading 200 United States soldiers to River Raisin, was ambushed by roughly 25 Native Americans led by Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee, leader of the Native American Confederacy allied with the British. The U.S. soldiers greatly overestimated the strength and skill of the attackers and retreated back towards Detroit. Tecumseh and his forces pursued them for miles…
