In 1812, the Western District, Upper Canada was made up of the area now covered by Essex, Kent and Lambton counties in Ontario. It was a relatively sparsely populated area, consisting of large areas of forest and marshland. There were a few poor roads, but most transportation was dependant on water, so settlements were on the edge of rivers or lakes. As the French had first settled the area in 1701, a large French speaking population remained along both sides of the Detroit River. 
The British town of Sandwich (across the river from Detroit) had approximately 300 people, while Amherstburg (at the mouth of the Detroit River and Lake Erie) was the largest community in the Western District with approximately 600.

Map of the Western District in 1812

There was a scattering of farms along the Thames River, the Scottish settlement at Baldoon and a missionary settlement at Moraviantown. The French-Canadians had farms in the Petite Côte settlement on the Detroit River and Loyalists had property in the "New Settlement" on the north shore of Lake Erie, about 16 miles from Amherstburg.
Many Native settlements existed throughout the region, with the Wyandot between Sandwich and Amherstburg, the Ottawa at Point Pelee, the Potawatomi and Chippewa at Walpole Island, and the Delaware at Moraviantown. Many different groups of Natives also came through the area, as it was a major centre for the fur trade.

Lossing's map of the Detroit River area at the time of the War

The British army's Fort Malden was at Amherstburg, as was the King's Navy Yard.

See more: Military in the War.

The War of 1812 in the Western District web site is an attempt to highlight the campaigns and battles that occurred in this area. The Niagara region, having the bloodiest battles, tends to be emphasized in Canadian histories of the war, while the Windsor / Essex district, although giving us some of our first victories against the Americans, has been relatively poorly covered.
Numerous quotations from people who were alive during the war have been included to give a feeling for what people thought and did at the time. To make these easier to read, we have corrected spelling and capitalization, as well as a bit of grammar. Three dots ( ... ) means that we have removed something from the original; square brackets [ ] mean that we have added or changed something.