Fort Seneca was built in July 1813 by Major General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812 with Great Britain. The military road known as the Harrison Trail was blazed through the forest in 1812 by General Bell, by order of General Harrison, to transport military supplies and food for the army and the forts along the Sandusky River. At Fort Seneca, Harrison maintained his headquarters during the battle of Fort Stephenson and the naval battle on Lake Erie known as Perry's Victory, and there he received Commodore Perry's famous message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." There the chiefs and warriors of the four friendly tribes of Indians, the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, and Senecas, who in council at Franklinton had pledged their loyalty to General Harrison, joined his army for the invasion of Canada. In that campaign they rendered valuable service against the British, which resulted in the defeat of General Procter and the death of Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. The officers who served under General Harrison at the fort included Brigadier Generals Cass and McArthur; Colonels Ball, Bartlett, Owings, Paull and Wells; and Majors Croghan, Graham, Holmes, Hukill, Smiley, Todd, Trigg, and Wood.