Further Reading

The Capture of the Cuyahoga Packet

The British Capture Fort Mackinac

The Fall of Fort Detroit

The First Nations at Fort Detroit

Tecumseh at Detroit

Brock at Fort Detroit

Hull at Detroit

The Americans at Fort Detroit

The Fort Dearborn Massacre

Eyewitness accounts of Hull’s defeated army

John Le Couteur, British Officer

As the first light of day is breaking, a small fleet of British boats makes its way from Sandwich, to the shore just south of the town of Detroit. Many of the 730 troops in this modest armada, the majority of whom are militiamen from the western parts of Upper Canada, have their eyes fixed on their commander, General Brock.

By the time he and his troops disembark on the American side, cannonballs and mortar have begun to streak the sky with fire. The British artillery has spent most of the previous day bombing Detroit, one mile across the river, after General Hull rejected Brock's request for surrender. Now the British relocate their guns and pound the fort with deadly accuracy.

Having reached American soil, the British must take the initiative if their bluffs of superior military strength are to be believed. With the news that American reinforcements are approaching from the River Raisin, Brock orders his attack on the fort. He hopes that Tecumseh and his warriors are in position, ready to play their part.

Brock boldly marches his men in plain view of the American forces but quickly veers them to a nearby ravine to protect them from the cannons guarding the fort. He hopes that the brief appearance of his militia disguised as British regulars will convince the Americans that he commands a large trained army. Tecumseh and his followers employ a similar deception in order to appear more numerous than they actually are.

Brock has no idea that the boldness of the British and native movements, coupled with the toll his artillery is taking on the inhabitants of the fort, has pushed Hull to the brink of surrender. Hull sends an envoy to Brock asking for a truce lasting three days; Brock gives him three hours.

This final bluff is all that is needed to render Hull incapacitated with thoughts of an imminent slaughter. The U.S. Commander surrenders. Within a few short hours the Union Jack is waving above the fort, and the British have made prisoners of an army twice their size.

The booty from Fort Detroit added up to 2,500 muskets, 39 pieces of artillery, 40 barrels of gunpowder, a sixteen-gun brig and several smaller boats. Every private soldier received a reward of more more than four pounds - the equivalent of almost six months pay in the army.