Henry Procter (1763-31 October 1822) was a Major-General of the British Army of the United Kingdom during the War of 1812, during which he proved to be an inept commander - this led to his court martial.
Biography[]
Henry Procter was born in 1763 in Ireland, the son of a surgeon in the British Army, and he served as a Lieutenant in the 43rd Regiment of Foot in April 1781 while it was deployed in New York City and the end of the American Revolutionary War. In October 1800, he was promoted to colonel of the 41st Regiment of Foot, and he joined his regiment in Lower Canada in 1802. At the start of the War of 1812, he defeated the United States at the Battle of Frenchtown (River Raisin) on 18-23 January 1813, and in 1813 he was promoted to Major-General by George Prevost, the Governor of Canada. Tecumseh criticized him for his failure to prevent the killing of prisoners at Fort Meigs, and in 1813 he retreated to Ontario after the Battle of Lake Erie led to his supply lines being cut by the Americans. Tecumseh called him "a fat animal which slinks away, its tail between its legs", and his forces abandoned the Native Americans at the Battle of the Thames, leaving Tecumseh and many of his men to their deaths. In December 1814, he was court martialled for the disorderly retreat at The Thames, and he died in 1822 at the age of 59 in Bath.