William Hull's Detroit Campaign: The Fall of Fort Detroit Further Reading The Capture of the Cuyahoga Packet The British Capture Fort Mackinac The Fall of Fort Detroit Tecumseh at Detroit The British at Fort Detroit Brock at Fort Detroit The Americans at Fort Detroit Hull at Fort Detroit The Fort Dearborn Massacre Eyewitness accounts of Hull’s defeated army

The First Nations at Detroit "Here is a chance presented to us - yes, a chance such as will never occur again - for us Indians of North America to form ourselves into one great combination and cast our lot with the British in this war..." -Tecumseh In the dark hours of early morning, over five hundred braves, painted for war, paddle silently across the river towards Fort Detroit. The previous evening the warriors of the Shawnee, the Potawatomi, the Ottawa, the Kickapoo, the Delaware and the Wyandot had performed a war dance. As they make the crossing, they carry with them the hope that the coming battle will incite their brother tribes to join their confederacy. They know that the American troops fear them more than anything else. The warriors are eager for action. They know that some of the American troops inside the fort took part in the battle that destroyed the seat of Tecumseh's confederacy at Tippecanoe. Tecumseh and his native force have already played a central role in keeping the Fort Dearborn supply train from reaching Hull at Detroit. Brock's arrival, and his insistence on swift action, gives the Native Confederacy the opportunity to demonstrate its awesome force. Once across the river, Tecumseh and his men wait unseen around the perimeter of Detroit until the first light of day. At daybreak, the warriors descend on the town from the north and from the west. Not one person attempts to stop them. Nearer to the fort, within view of the American soldiers, the Natives cross a small clearing, disappear into the woods, and double back to cross it again several times. This trick convinces the Americans that there are more than 1,500 First Nations warriors when in fact they number only 500. Their fierce presence is the only weapon they need to wield this day. Hull surrenders before the battle really commences. True to his word, Tecumseh prevents the ritual killing of American prisoners after the surrender. However, his followers do share in the pillaging of the town with the British.