A Tale of Two Horses:
Archaeology at Fort Meigs
Assistant Curator of Archaeology
Ohio Historical Society
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
During the 2001 site renovations at Fort Meigs, in Wood County, Ohio, a double horse burial was discovered just outside the War of 1812 fort's reconstructed stockade. The horses were interred facing each other in an almost heraldic pose. This and other aspects of the burial would seem to hint at some sort of soldierly ritualism possibly common to an early military tradition.
Continued research of military records and other period writings seems to indicate that one of the horses may have actually been ridden by an aide to General Harrison. It was killed in battle on May 5th, 1813 while its rider was on a mission from the General to recall a large American detachment in danger of being ambushed by combined Indian and Canadian forces.
The May 1813 British siege of Ft. Meigs was a hard fought and bloody confrontation that resulted in substantial casualties for the American side. Perhaps not all heroic and celebrated losses were necessarily human.
Here is an audio recording of this science cafe in mp3 format.