Siege of Detroit

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Siege of Detroit
Part of the War of 1812
The Surrender of Detroit by John Wycliffe Lowes Forster.
Date 15 August – 16 August 1812 Location Detroit, Michigan Result Decisive British victory
Combatants
Britain Native Americans	United States
Commanders
Isaac Brock Tecumseh	William Hull
Strength
330 regulars 300 militia 600 natives	2,500
Casualties
None	2,500 captured

Detroit frontier
Tippecanoe – 1st Mackinac Island – Maguaga – Fort Dearborn – Detroit – Fort Harrison – Fort Wayne – Mississinewa – Frenchtown – Fort Meigs – Fort Stephenson – Lake Erie – Thames – Longwoods – Prairie du Chien – 2nd Mackinac Island – Lake Huron – Malcolm's Mills

For the 1763 action in Pontiac's Rebellion, see the Siege of Fort Detroit

The Siege of Detroit, also known as the Surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was a humiliating loss for the Americans early in the War of 1812. The battle cost the Americans an entire army and brought to a halt the planned invasion of Canada, which was an essential part of the American war strategy.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 American plans and moves 1.2 British moves 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 Other accounts 5 Notes 6 References

[edit] Background

[edit] American plans and moves

In the early months of 1812, as tension with Britain increased, United States Secretary of War William Eustis planned to form an army which would secure the northwest against Indians incited to trouble by the British and invade Upper Canada from Detroit. This army was commanded by the Governor of Michigan Territory, Brigadier General William Hull, an aging veteran of the American Revolutionary War.

Hull's army consisted of the 4th U.S. Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel James Miller, three regiments of Ohio militia under Colonels Lewis Cass, Duncan McArthur and James Findlay, and some small detachments of volunteers from Michigan.

Hull marched north from Urbana on June 10. Learning that war was imminent, he hastened his march and put some of his sick and his despatches aboard the packet vessel Cayahoga to be brought across Lake Erie. The Cayahoga was captured by a Canadian-manned armed brig.

Hull reached Detroit, which had a population of 800, on July 5. Hull planned to attack the British post at Fort Amherstburg. Although short of supplies, his army crossed into Canada on July 12. After some indecisive skirmishes, Hull decided he could not attack the fort without artillery, and he retreated. Several of Hull's officers disagreed with this retreat and secretly discussed removing him from command.

[edit] British moves

On July 17, the British on Lake Huron had captured the important trading post of Mackinac Island. Large numbers of Indians began moving south to join the warriors already at Amherstburg, Ontario. Learning of the capture of Mackinac on August 3, Hull abandoned all the Canadian territory he held.

Meanwhile, the British armed ships controlled Lake Erie. They were used to slip raiders across the lake to cut Hull's supply lines, which ran alongside the lake for 60 miles (96 km). On August 4, at the Battle of Brownstown, a party under Tecumseh and Captain Adam Muir of the 41st Regiment ambushed and routed an American detachment under Major van Horne, capturing more of Hull's despatches.

To clear his lines of communication and escort a supply convoy which was waiting at Frenchtown, Hull sent a larger party under James Miller. On August 9, at the Battle of Maguaga, Miller drove Muir's party back to its boats, but then halted until Hull ordered a retreat to Detroit.

Meanwhile, Major General Isaac Brock, the British commander in Upper Canada, was in York, the provincial capital, dealing with the Assembly and mobilising the province's militia. Learning from Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada, that there was no threat to the province from the lethargic American commander in chief, General Henry Dearborn, Brock despatched 100 of his small force of regulars and 300 volunteers from the militia westward to reinforce Amherstburg. On August 5, he prorogued the Assembly and set out himself after them. He and his force sailed from Port Dover and reached Amherstburg on August 13, at the same time as 200 additional Indian warriors under Tecumseh.

Here, Brock immediately learned from Hull's captured despatches that the morale of Hull and his army was low, that they feared the numbers of Indians which might be facing them, and that their supplies were short. Against the advice of most of his subordinates, he determined on an immediate attack. He sent a demand for surrender to Hull, playing on Hull's fear of the Indians by stating:

"The force at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Fort Detroit. It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware, that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond control the moment the contest commences…"

To deceive the Americans into believing there were more British than there actually were, Brock's force carried out several bluffs. Troops were told to light individual fires instead of one fire per unit, thereby creating the illusion of a much larger army. His troops marched to take up positions in plain sight of the Americans then quickly ducked behind entrenchments, and marched back out of sight to repeat the manoevre . The same was done for meals, where the line would dump their beans into a hidden pot, then return out of view to rejoin the end of the queue. Brock also gave his militia the cast-off uniforms of regulars to make Hull believe most of the British force were regulars. Tecumseh's warriors also moved rapidly from one position to another and made loud war cries.

[edit] Battle

On August 15, gunners of the Provincial Marine set up a battery on the Canadian shore of the Detroit River and began bombarding Fort Detroit, joined by two armed ships in the river. Meanwhile, Brock's force, divided into two bodies of militia and one of regulars with five field guns landed south of Detroit.

Brock originally intended to occupy a fortified position astride Hull's supply line and wait for starvation to force the Americans to surrender or come out to fight, but he then learned that Hull had earlier sent a detachment of 500 under Colonels Cass and McArthur to clear his supply routes, and this detachment was only a few miles from the British rear. To avoid being caught between two fires, Brock advanced immediately against Fort Detroit.

Hull despaired of holding out against a force of seemingly thousands of British regulars and, hearing the Indian war cries, began to fear a slaughter. Women and children, including his own daughter and grandchild, still resided within the fort. Against the advice of his subordinates, Hull hoisted a white flag of surrender. He sent messengers to Brock asking three days to agree on terms of surrender. Brock replied he would allow him three hours. Hull surrendered his entire force along with 35 cannon and 2,500 muskets. Cass's and McArthur's detachments in the area were included in the surrender.

[edit] Aftermath

The surrender of Hull's army was a great victory for the British, since it completely thwarted the U.S. strategy of invading the Canadian provinces. It raised the morale of the population and militia of Upper Canada. The British gained an important post on American territory and won control over Michigan Territory and the Detroit region for most of the following year. The Americans did not regain the front until their victory at the Battle of Lake Erie and the successful invasion of Canada launched by Hull's successor, General William Henry Harrison.

Brock emerged as a hero, and Tecumseh's influence was strengthened. Brock left Colonel Henry Procter in command at Detroit and went to repulse an American invasion at the Battle of Queenston Heights, which claimed the general's life. Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames. General Hull was court martialled and sentenced to death for his actions at Detroit, but he was pardoned by President James Madison in recognition of his honorable service in the American Revolution.

The British 41st Regiment, which subsequently became the Welch Regiment, was awarded the battle honour "Detroit", the only one to be awarded to a British regiment for the War of 1812. The captured colours of the 4th U.S. Infantry are currently in the Welch Regiment Museum at Cardiff Castle.

[edit] Other accounts

Another account claims that Tecumseh was behind the idea of displaying trumped-up troop levels. The Indian tradition claims Tecumseh and company met his British counterparts, surrounded the fort and threatened the upper town. One Canadian captain noticed, Tecumseh extended his men, and marched them three times through an opening [in the woods at the rear of the fort] in full view of the garrison, which induced them to believe there were at least two or three thousand Indians.^[1] Because this captain was not an eyewitness, his version has been disputed.

Brock had written while at York in July, The population, believe me is essentially bad - A full belief possesses them all that this Province must inevitably succumb ...Most of the people have lost all confidence - I however speak loud and look big.^[2]. It is probable that the stratagem of inflating their own numbers would occur naturally to both Tecumseh and Brock.

There were rumors that General Hull had been drinking heavily prior to the surrender. He is reported to have said the Indians were “numerous beyond example,” and “more greedy of violence… than the Vikings or Huns."^[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• J. Mackay Hitsman, The Incredible War of 1812, Robin Brass Studio, 1999, ISBN 1-896941-13-3
• John R. Elting, Amateurs to Arms, Da Capo Press, New York, 1995, ISBN 0-306-80653-3