On May 5, 1813, Colonel William Dudley and 800 Kentucky Militia crossed the Maumee River and successfully disabled the British cannons firing on Fort Meigs. Dudley died during the raid. The rest of the militia ignored orders from officers and chased warriors into the woods. They lost their advantage, took heavy fire from British troops, and suffered mass casualties. The wounded and survivors were then forced to run a gauntlet at Fort Miamis while British officers looked on. War Chief Tecumseh demanded that the bloodshed be halted. Approximately 650 Americans were killed or captured in what became known as Dudley's defeat. A gauntlet was a form of punishment in which victims were forced to run between two lines of people armed with weapons.
