Day 1: Indianapolis / Sandusky, OH
Depart Indianapolis by coach for Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial, established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial, a Doric column, rising 352 feet over Lake Erie is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world. Stroll through the park's Visitor Center and discover how the courage and obstinacy of Commodore Oliver H. Perry changed the course of history. Sandusky Sawmill Creek Resort. (CB, D)

Day 2: Sandusky, OH / Erie, PA / Lancaster, PA / Niagara Falls, ON
Visit a replica of U.S. Brig Niagara, Perry’s flagship at Erie Maritime Museum. Starting with the War of 1812 through the present day, the Erie Maritime Museum will take you through time, the people, and the events surrounding Lake Erie. Meet the Commanders and the Ships that fought the Battle of Lake Erie; come face-to-face with the power of artillery in naval warfare when you meet the Lawrence, Perry’s original Flagship. The exhibit includes artifacts, as well as schematic drawings of the vessels engaged in the battle. The Niagara in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a reproduction of the relief flagship of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in a major naval battle of the War of 1812. On September 10, 1813, nine small ships – six of them, including Niagara, constructed in Erie – defeated a British squadron of six vessels in the Battle of Lake Erie. A pivotal event in the War of 1812, it secured the Northwest Territory, opened supply lines and lifted the nation’s morale.

We continue on to the c.1810 Hull House, the oldest stone dwelling in Erie County, NY and a rare piece of early American architecture in western New York. Used as a place of refuge by citizens of Buffalo and Fort Niagara guarding the exit of the Niagara River, the Hull House harbors the story of the multifaceted cultural heritage of the Niagara Frontier. It is the story of the early settlement of Western New York, the westward migration of Americans and the Erie Canal. Here, you will find links to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and consequently, to the tragic burning of Buffalo by the British in 1813. Ontario Radisson Fallsview (B,D)

Day 3: Niagara Area
Visit Fort George National Historic Site of Canada. During the War of 1812, Fort George served as the headquarters for the Centre Division of the British Army. These forces included British regulars, local militia, aboriginal warriors, and Runchey's corps of freed slaves. Fort George was destroyed by American artillery fire and captured during the Battle of Fort George in May 1813. The U.S. forces used the fort as a base to invade the rest of Upper Canada; however, they were repulsed at the Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. After a seven month occupation, the fort was retaken in December and remained in British hands for the remainder of the war.

See Brock’s Monument, Major General Sir Isaac Brock, "the saviour of Upper Canada" served here until his death at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October, 1812.

Other sites include: Drummond Hill, most famously known as the battle grounds of the "Battle of Lundy's Lane", as well as the burial site of Laura Secord; Battle Ground Hotel Museum which sits on the hallowed grounds of the War of 1812’s, Lundy’s Lane Battlefield, on July 25, 1814, a pivotal clash in which allied British, Canadian and First Nations troops withstood the last serious attempt at the invasion of Canada by American forces; Lundy's Lane and Niagara Historical Society Museums which offer a significant collection of 1812 artifacts; and the monument to Battle of Chippewa including Willoughby Historical Museum, fought on July 5th 1814, was the opening engagement of the Niagara campaign of 1814, the longest and bloodiest military operation of the War of 1812. Ontario Radisson Fallsview (B,L)

Day 4: Niagara Falls, ON / Hamilton, ON / Toronto, ON / Southwestern Ontario
Visit Fort Erie, site of the bloodiest battlefield in the history of Canada. This new fort was unfinished when the United States declared war on June 18, 1812. Part of the garrison of Fort Erie fought at the Battle of Frenchman's Creek against an American attack in November 1812. See Battlefield House Museum, this rural Upper Canada home was originally built here on the banks of the creek in Saltfleet Township, around 1796. It was here, on June 6, 1813, that the Battle of Stoney Creek took place during the War of 1812. Cambridge Hotel. (B,L)

Day 5: Southwestern Ontario / Windsor, ON / Detroit, MI
Visit Fort Malden at entrance to Niagara River, This post was the headquarters for the British forces in southwestern Upper Canada during the War of 1812 and had a dockyard for Upper Great Lakes. This evening tour and dine at Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in the Detroit area. Best Western, Greenfield Inn, Allen Park, MI (B,D)

Day 6: Detroit, Mi / Perrysburg, OH/ Indianapolis
Before departing for Indianapolis, visit the site of Battle of River Raisin Basin. From January 18th to January 23rd, 1813, the north bank of the River Raisin became a battleground where the forces of the United States and Great Britain fought each other for the control of all of Michigan and the Lower Great Lakes. At stake was the destiny not only of the 2 countries (United State and Great Britain), but also the future of Frenchtown, (known today as Monroe Michigan) and of Canada, and of Tecumseh's alliance of Native-American tribes. The British and Indian victory at the River Raisin destroyed an entire American army and upset their campaign to recapture Detroit, which had fallen to the enemy early in the war. It raised Native-American hopes that their alliance with the British would result in the preservation of their lands, while it brought grief to hundreds of families in Kentucky who had lost their sons during the bloody battle and its aftermath.

Visit Fort Meigs, the largest reconstructed, wooden-walled fort.
Fort Meigs stood at the center of American military operations in the Northwest Territory. Between June, 1812 and February, 1813, the United States lost Fort Mackinac and Fort Detroit in the Michigan Territory and Fort Dearborn in the Illinois Territory, as well as a major defeat at the Battle of the River Raisin in Michigan. Only Fort Wayne, in the Indiana Territory, withstood British attack. General William Henry Harrison established a fort on the south side of the Maumee River on February 2, 1813. The fort was to serve as a temporary supply depot and staging area for an invasion of Canada. (B)