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Brigadier General James Winchester The 61-year old Winchester spent the early part of the war in conflict with General William Henry Harrison. Winchester was know as a harsh disciplinarian, supporting the flogging of troops. This policy gave his men cause to look for ways to humiliate him. At one time they skinned a porcupine and placed the stretched skin in Winchester's latrine. Some time later the cut into the latrines supports so that when the general sat, he fell into the latrine in full uniform. Later, Winchester commanded one wing of Harrison's advance to Fort Defiance. After engaging in several skirmishes with British and Native American forces, he camped at the Maumee Rapids in December 1812. Early in 1813, Winchester took part in an attempt to recapture Frenchtown. On January 18, his men drove off a smaller Canadian and Indian force and recaptured the American town. However, his men were attacked four days later by a combined force under Col. Henry Procter in the Battle of Frenchtown. Winchester himself was captured in his headquarters with his 16-year old son. Following the loss of hundreds of his soldiers, he agreed to order a conditional surrender of the remainder of his troops in exchange for a pledge of protection. However, Indians accompanying the British slaughtered 68 seriously wounded American soldiers in the Massacre of the River Raisin. Winchester was imprisoned in Canada for more than a year. He was released in a prisoner exchange and assigned to command in Southern Alabama.
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