A Desert Between Us and Them | Episode 3 | The Raiders
As the War of 1812 dragged on into 1814, American anxieties about the remaining population in Southwestern Ontario came to a head. To cripple any remaining opposition, and prevent further assaults on Detroit, the Kentucky Militia, led by General Duncan McArthur, mounted a campaign of destruction. The Kentuckians were greatly feared for their brutal tactics, and the 700 mounted militia met little resistance as they burnt every mill they could find on the Western frontier. The settlers who escaped the raids had little choice but to move on, or starve. McArthur and his men would win the last battle to be fought on Canadian soil, against an invading foreign power, before leaving the peninsula a decimated wasteland.