John Allen American The Battle of Frenchtown

John Allen was a well known and respected Kentucky lawyer who volunteered as a militia captain when William Henry Harrison sent two thousand volunteers to reinforce William Hull’s beleaguered Army of the Northwest in 1813. Serving as a senator, and once having run for governor, Allen was considered to be one of the best orators in the state. It was he who convinced Winchester that their force should attack British-held Frenchtown. Winchester agreed, partially to restore his plummeting reputation as a commander, and partly because he looked forward to the amenities of a captured village rather than of the hardships of marching. The January 18, attack drove the British into the forest, but they counter-attacked a few days later with large force of Wyandot warriors. Captain Allen was shot and scalped.