Underground Railroad, acting as a gateway, refuge, and even a place of eventual settlement for those journeying into Canada. Today, the town of Amherstburg proudly hosts The North American Black Historical Museum and Cultural Centre Inc, the first black historical site in Canada. Tecumseh and the British–Indian alliance In the late 18th century, as a result of American expansion westward into First Nations' territory in the Great Lakes region, many displaced Native peoples traveled from Fort Detroit to Fort Malden. The British offered asylum to those who feared retribution by the Americans after the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Battle of Fallen Timbers, though that was generally where their assistance would end. However, a notable exception to this ambivalent relationship was the military alliance during the War of 1812 between the British at Fort Malden and Tecumseh, chief of the Shawnee People. Canadian novelist John Richardson, who witnessed Tecumseh first-hand at Fort Malden, described the chief as having an "ardor of expression in his eye that could not fail to endear him to the soldier hearts that stood around him." Tecumseh was an advocate for a military alliance between Great Britain and the First Nations of the Great Lakes region as a means of defending against American aggression and expansion into what was at the time the western frontier. Tecumseh played a significant role in the Siege of Detroit, an event that helped to solidify the alliance between the British and First Nations of the Great Lakes region during the War of 1812. General William Hull, who was in command of Fort Detroit when it was surrendered to the British forces, was mortified at the prospect of Tecumseh's Native warriors invading the fort and attacking its civilian population. Tecumseh was able to capitalize on this fear, and by repeatedly parading his men loudly through a distant clearing outside of Fort Detroit was able to convince General Hull that their numbers were much greater than was the reality. Despite this joint military success, the interests of the British were not entirely aligned with those of their First Nations allies. When Britain's position on the Detroit frontier wavered and General Henry Proctor abandoned Fort Malden, Tecumseh's reaction was that First Nations had been betrayed. On 18 September 1813 General Proctor made it known to the Indian Council that Fort Malden would be abandoned. In Tecumseh's address to Proctor he laments that British