Siege of Detroit
Siege of Detroit | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the War of 1812 and Tecumseh's War | |||||||
The Surrender of Detroit, by J.C.H. Forster | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Tecumseh's Confederacy | United States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Isaac Brock Tecumseh | William Hull | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
330 regulars 400 militia 600 Natives 5 field guns 2 ships[1] |
2,500 1 brig[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2 wounded |
7 killed 2,493 captured 1 brig captured |
The siege of Detroit, also known as the surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock with indigenous allies under Shawnee leader Tecumseh used bluff and deception to intimidate U.S. Brigadier General William Hull into surrendering the fort and town of Detroit, Michigan, along with his dispirited army which actually outnumbered the victorious British and Indians (the first nations of then to become Canada).
The British victory reinvigorated the militia and civil authorities of Upper Canada, who had previously been pessimistic and affected by pro-U.S. agitators. Many Indians in the Northwest Territory were inspired to take arms against U.S. outposts and settlers. The British held Detroit for more than a year before their small fleet was defeated on Lake Erie, which forced them to abandon the western frontier of Upper Canada.
Background
American plans and moves
Tension was increasing between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early months of 1812. Michigan Territory Governor William Hull urged President James Madison and Secretary of War William Eustis to form an army which would secure the Northwest Territory against Indians who were being incited by British agents and fur trading companies to take up arms against the United States. It was urgently necessary to reinforce the outpost of Detroit, which had a population of 800 and a garrison of 120 soldiers.[3] It was also suggested that this army might invade the western districts of Upper Canada, where support might be expected from the many recent immigrants from the United States who had been attracted by generous land grants.[4]
Madison and Eustis concurred with this plan and offered command of the army to Hull, an aging veteran of the
The army marched north from
Eustis had sent his first letter of 18 June by special messenger. Congress had passed the declaration of war later that day, but Eustis sent a letter with this vital information only by ordinary mail.
Hull reached Detroit on 5 July, where he was reinforced by detachments of Michigan militia, including the 140 men of the Michigan Legionary Corps, which Hull had established in 1805. The American army was short of supplies, especially food, as Detroit provided only soap and whiskey.
There were several indecisive skirmishes with British outposts along the Canard River. Hull decided that he could not attack the British fort without artillery, which could not be brought forward because the carriages had decayed and needed repair, and fell back.[13] Several of his officers disagreed with this retreat and secretly discussed removing him from command. Hull had been quarreling with his militia colonels since taking over the army, and he felt that he did not have their support in the field or in their councils of war.[13]
British moves
On 17 July, a mixed force of British regulars, Canadian fur traders, and Indians captured the important trading post of
Hull's supply lines ran for 60 miles (97 km) along the Detroit River and the shore of Lake Erie, which was dominated by the British armed vessels, making them vulnerable to British and Indian raiders. A raiding party under
Meanwhile, British Major General
At Amherstburg, Brock learned from Hull's captured despatches that the morale was low in Hull's army, that they feared the numbers of Indians which might be facing them, and that they were short of supplies. Brock also established a rapport with Tecumseh, ensuring that the Indians would cooperate with his moves. Brock and Tecumseh met shortly after Brock arrived at Amherstburg, and legend has it that Tecumseh turned to his warriors and said, "Here is a man!" Brock wrote shortly afterwards, "a more sagacious and a more gallant Warrior does not I believe exist."[18]
Brock determined on an immediate attack on Detroit, against the advice of most of his subordinates. The British had already played on Hull's fear of the Indians by arranging for a misleading letter to fall into American hands. The letter asked that no more Indians be allowed to proceed from Fort Mackinac, as there were already 5,000 at Amherstburg and supplies were running short. Brock sent Hull a demand for surrender, 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.[19]
According to Brock's later report, his force included 600 warriors and 1300 soldiers (including those left to garrison Amherstburg and Sandwich), and two warships.[20] Brock's carried out several bluffs to deceive the Americans into believing that there were more Indians and troops than there actually were. Major Thomas Evans at Fort George suggested that Brock give his militia the cast-off uniforms of the 41st Regiment to make Hull believe that most of the British force were regulars.[21] The troops were told to light individual fires instead of one fire per unit, thereby creating the illusion of a much larger army. They 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 maneuver. The same trick was carried out during meals, where the line would dump their beans into a hidden pot, then return out of view to rejoin the end of the line.
Battle
On 15 August, gunners of the
Brock originally intended to occupy a fortified position astride Hull's supply line and wait for starvation and bombardment to force the Americans to surrender or come out to fight, but he then learned that Hull had sent a detachment of 400 men the previous day under Colonels Cass and McArthur to escort Brush's convoy to Detroit via a backwoods trail some distance from the lake and river,[24] and this detachment was only a few miles from the British rear. (Hull had sent messengers recalling this force the night before, but Cass and MacArthur had already encamped for the night and declined to move.) To avoid being caught between two fires, Brock advanced immediately against the rear of Fort Detroit, the side farthest from the river where the defences were weakest.[22] Tecumseh's warriors, meanwhile, paraded several times past a gap in the forest where the Americans could see them, while making loud war cries. Militia cavalry leader William Hamilton Merritt noted that "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."[25] Merritt was not an eyewitness, however, and this claim has been disputed.
As the British prepared to attack, a shell exploded in the officers' mess inside the fort, causing casualties. Hull despaired of holding out against a force which seemingly consisted of thousands of British regulars, because he was lacking adequate gunpowder and ammunition to withstand a long siege.[26] A surrender would also save his 2,500 soldiers and 700 civilians, including his own daughter, from "the horrors of an Indian massacre", he wrote.[27][28]
Hull hoisted a white flag of surrender against the advice of his subordinates. He sent messengers to Brock asking for three days to agree on terms of surrender. Brock replied that he would allow him three hours. Hull surrendered his entire force, including Cass's and McArthur's detachment and Major Brush's supply convoy. There were rumours that he had been drinking heavily prior to the surrender. He is reported to have said that the Indians were "numerous beyond example" and "more greedy of violence… than the Vikings or Huns."[29]
Casualties and losses
The British bombardment killed seven Americans before the surrender, including Lieutenant Porter Hanks, the former commander of Fort Mackinac who was awaiting a court-martial. The answering fire from the guns of Fort Detroit wounded two British gunners. After Hull surrendered, the 1,600 Ohio militiamen from his army were paroled and escorted south until they were out of danger of attack from the Indians. Most of the Michigan militia had already deserted. The 582 American regulars were sent as prisoners to Quebec City.[30]
Among the booty and military stores surrendered were 33 cannon,
Aftermath
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
British
Hull's surrender was startling on both sides of the border. On the American side, many Indians took up arms and attacked American settlements and isolated military outposts.[33] In Upper Canada, the population and militia were encouraged, particularly in the Western districts where they had been threatened by Hull's army. Brock forgave the local militia for their reluctance to perform their duty, instead rewarding those militiamen who had remained at their posts. More materially, the 2,500 muskets captured from Hull were distributed among the ill-equipped militia.[34]
The British gained an important post on American soil and won control over Michigan Territory and the Detroit region for most of the following year. Brock was hailed as a hero, and Tecumseh's influence was strengthened over the confederation of Indians. Brock next intended to mount a pre-emptive attack into New York State to forestall an American attack across the Niagara River. He was thwarted by an armistice arranged by Sir George Prevost. When this ended, the Americans attacked in October near
American
A third American invasion of Canada took place in November north of Lake Champlain. The Americans accidentally fired on each other in the dark, then retreated after a brief engagement at Lacolle Mills. The Vermont newspaper Green-Mountain Farmer wrote in January 1813: "The whole Canadian campaign had produced nothing but 'disaster, defeat, disgrace, and ruin and death'".[35]
General Hull was tried by court martial and sentenced to death for his conduct at Detroit, but the sentence was commuted by President Madison to dismissal from the Army in recognition of his honorable service in the American Revolution. American attempts to regain Detroit were continually thwarted by poor communications and the difficulties of maintaining militia contingents in the field, until the Americans won a naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813. This isolated the British at Amherstburg and Detroit from their supplies and forced them to retreat. Hull's successor Major General William Henry Harrison pursued the retreating British and their Indian allies and defeated them at the Battle of the Thames, where Tecumseh was killed.
Memorials
The British 41st Regiment (which is now perpetuated by the Royal Welsh Regiment) was awarded the battle honor "Detroit". The captured colors of the 4th U.S. Infantry are currently in the Welch Regiment Museum at Cardiff Castle.[36] The patriotic song "The Bold Canadian" was written by a private on the campaign to commemorate conquering Detroit in Michigan Territory.[37] Seven infantry, armored and artillery regiments of the Canadian Army carry the battle honor "Detroit" to commemorate the service of ancestor units in the campaign.[38] In 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint released a 25¢ coin depicting Tecumseh to mark the War of 1812's bicentennial.[39]
A bronze life-sized statue was unveiled on 7 September 2018 in Sandwich Towne, a neighborhood in Windsor, Ontario. It depicts Brock examining Detroit through a telescope while Tecumseh, mounted on horseback, is watching the British battery bombard the fort. The statue commemorates the partnership between the two leaders which resulted in the capture of Detroit, and was sculpted by Canadian Mark Williams, who also created the Provincial Marine monument at the King's Navy Yard in Amherstburg.[40]
Prize list
When the American supplies were captured, the British government purchased them and distributed the money amongst the soldiers who served at the siege. These "prizes" were determined based on rank amongst the soldiers, similar to the Royal Navy practice of Prize money.[41]
Privates received a "single share", that amount being £1 7s, while Sergeants received two shares, being £2 14s. Militia shares were worth more than those received by the regular soldiers, and Lt. Applegarth of the Lincoln Militia received £32 8s, while Lt. Dewar of the regulars received £21 12s. General Brock received £218.[42]
Regiment | Number of officers | Number of men |
---|---|---|
General and Staff Officers | 9 | - |
Field Train Department | 1 | 1 |
Commissariat | 1 | 2 |
Militia Staff Officers | 4 | - |
Detachment 4th Batt., Royal Artillery | 1 | 5 |
41st Regiment of Foot | 13 | 26 |
Royal Newfoundland Fencibles | 4 | 8 |
Provincial Marine | 5 | 9 |
3rd York Militia | 4 | 6 |
5th Lincoln & 2nd York Militia | 2 | 3 |
1st York Militia | 2 | 3 |
2nd Norfolk Militia | 6 | 3 |
1st Middlesex Militia (attached to 2nd Norfolk) | 1 | - |
1st Oxford Militia | - | 2 |
1st Essex Militia | 22 | 32 |
2nd Essex Militia | 23 | 11 |
1st Kent Militia | 9 | 8 |
Essex Militia Troop of Cavalry | 1 | 1 |
Indian Department | 5 | 11 |
49th Regiment of Foot | - | 1 |
Officers (regiments not stated) | 3 | - |
Total | 117 | 131 |
Medals
In 1848, the Military General Service Medal was established to recognize veterans of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The veterans had to be living, and had to apply for the medal, resulting in the majority of eligible veterans never receiving the medal. Only three battles from the War of 1812 were represented by the medal: Detroit, Chateauguay, and Crysler's Farm.
The following tables lists the Canadian Militiamen who were awarded the Military General Service Medal with the Fort Detroit clasp.[43]
1st Flank Company | 1st Essex Militia | |
---|---|---|
Maj. Ebenezer Reynolds | Capt. William Caldwell | Lt. James Gordon |
Ens. Thomas Caldwell | Benjamin Baldwin | Cyrus Baldwin |
Russell Baldwin | Paul Bellaire | Jarvis Brush |
Peter Cassidy | John Comerford | Richard Dowler |
Isaac Ferris | Moses Johnson | John Liebeau |
James Lockhart | Jeremiah Lockhart | Thomas McLean |
Edward Nevil | Joseph O'Neil | William Pardoe |
John Quick | Alexander Quick | Morris Roach |
Robert Roberts | Henry Lipps | Charles Stewart |
John Stockwell | William Tofflemire | David White |
Thomas Whittle | Jonas Wilfong | Joseph Wilfong |
Henry Wright | ||
2nd Flank Company | 1st Essex Militia | |
Capt. William Elliott | Ens. James Little | Sgt. Jean B. Constantino |
Jean Baptiste Bernard | Baptiste Deneau | Francis Goullet |
Pierre La Rose | Baptiste La Liberte | Joseph Langois |
Francis Meloche | Louis Perrault | |
2nd Flank Company | 2nd Essex Militia | |
Antoine Bertrand | Jean Baptiste Bertrand | |
1st Kent Militia | ||
Sgt. Hugh McCallum | Louis Dragon | Francis Drake |
Daniel Field | George Field | |
1st Flank Company | 5th Lincoln Militia | |
Lt. Robert Land | Thomas Larrison | Peter Vanevery |
2nd Flank Company | 5th Lincoln Militia | |
Joseph London | William Reynolds | |
1st Middlesex Militia | ||
Ens. Benjamin Wilson | ||
1st Flank Company | 1st Norfolk Militia | |
Capt. John Bostwick | Lt. George Rolph | Robert David |
Charles Glover | David Long | Parnell Webb |
2nd Flank Company | 1st Norfolk Militia | |
Thomas Derickson | George Finch | Thomas Wood |
2nd Norfolk Militia | ||
Lt. Titus William | Sgt. Henry Metcalf (Medcalf) | James Chambers |
William Dougal | Samuel Gilmore | Andrew Heron Jr. |
Samuel Jay | Wheeler Kitchen | Alexander Lemon |
Jacob Messicar | William Perry | Aaron Slaght |
Anthony Soverein | Edward Teeple | William White |
John Wicoff | Joseph Woolley | |
1st Oxford Militia | ||
Sgt. Adam Yeiger | Garret Stephens | |
1st York Militia | ||
Lewis Corbier | ||
1st Flank Company | 2nd York Militia | |
Sgt. Aaron Silverthorn | William McKay | Amos Wilcox |
2nd Flank Company | 2nd York Militia | |
Lt. John Applegarth | Aaron Cornell | |
1st Flank Company | 3rd York Militia | |
Sgt. Thomas Humberston | Robert Bright | John Cawthra |
Abraham Culver | Cornelius Plomerfelt | Richard Graham |
William Jones | Andrew Kennedy | Edward Lawrence |
Francis Lee | Asa Lee | John Matthews |
Jacob Miller | William Myers | John Ross |
Benjamin Runnions | Thomas Simpson | Peter Stoner |
Andrew Thompson | Richard Thompson | Isaac White |
Simcoe Wright | ||
2nd Flank Company | 3rd York Militia | |
Lt. Samuel Peters Jarvis | Lt. John Beverley Robinson | Sgt. George Bond |
Sgt. William Knott | Thomas Adams | Cornelius Anderson |
George Cary | Charles Cole | Calvin Davis |
Barnard Glennon | William Harrison | Andrew Hubbard |
Thomas Johnston | Joseph Lacompt | Charles McDonell |
John McIntosh | William Moore | George Moore |
Samuel Sinclair | John Stoner | Robert Wells |
John Wells | Edward Wright | |
Total | 14 Officers | 124 Other Ranks |
The following officers were awarded the Field Officers' Gold Medal for the capture of Detroit:
- Lt. Colonel Matthew Elliott 1st Essex and Indian Department
- Lt. Colonel John Macdonnell, Provincial Aide-de-Camp to General Brock
- Lt. Colonel Robert Nicol, 2nd Norfolk, Quarter Master General
- Lt. Colonel Thomas St. George, Inspecting Field Officer, Militia
- Captain John B. Glegg, 49th, Aide-de-Camp to General Brock
- Captain Peter Chambers, 41st
- Captain M.C. Dixon, Royal Engineers
- Captain Adam Muir, 41st
- Captain Joseph Tallon, 41st
- Lieutenant Felix Troughton, Royal Artillery
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b Hitsman, pp. 79–80
- ^ Hitsman, p.81
- ^ Elting, p. 24
- ^ a b Elting, p. 25
- ^ Elting, pp. 24–25
- ^ Elting, pp. 24–26
- ^ a b c Elting, p. 26
- ^ a b Elting, p. 27
- ^ Elting (1995), p. 28
- ^ a b Garcia, Bob. "Fort Amherstburg in the War of 1812". The War of 1812. Access Heritage.
- ^ Hitsman, p. 70
- ^ Hitsman, p. 67
- ^ a b Hitsman, pp. 71–72
- ^ Hitsman, p. 75
- ^ C. P. Stacey, The Defence of Upper Canada, 1812, in Zaslow (ed), p. 18
- ^ Elting, p. 30
- ^ C. P. Stacey, The Defence of Upper Canada, 1812, in Zaslow (ed), p. 17
- ^ Hitsman, p. 78
- ^ Tupper (1847), p. 246
- ISBN 978-0786463855.
- ^ Cruikshank, p. 186
- ^ a b Elting, pp. 34–35
- ^ Tupper (1845), p. 247
- ^ Elting (1995), p. 32
- ^ Merritt, in Wood, William ed. Select British Documents of the Canadian War of 1812. British documents, 3:554.)
- ISBN 0814330819.
- ^ "Capture of Detroit, War of 1812". Canadian Encyclopedia. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ISBN 978-0786463855.
- ISBN 978-0-689-11632-2.[page needed]
- ^ Hitsman (1999), p. 81
- ^ Porter (1889), p. 357
- ^ Roosevelt, pp. 88–89
- ^ Elting, pp. 36–37
- ^ Elting, p. 34
- ^ Greenspan, Jesse (12 July 2012). "How U.S. Forces Failed to Conquer Canada 200 Years Ago". History. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Museum of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and The Royal Welsh". Firing Line. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Link to song
- ^ "War of 1812 – Detroit". 22 July 2019.
- ^ "War of 1812 Hero Tecumseh Commemorated on Royal Canadian Mint 25-Cent Circulation Coin | the Royal Canadian Mint".
- ^ "Tecumseh-Brock statue unveiled in Sandwich Towne | CBC News".
- ^ Jim Yaworsky (2017). "Extracts from the Prize List and other Honours Awarded for the Capture of Detroit 1812". FortyFirstFoot.org. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Jim Yaworsky (2017). "Extracts from the Prize List and other Honours Awarded for the Capture of Detroit 1812". FortyFirstFoot.org. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Jim Yaworsky (2017). "Extracts from the Prize List and other Honours Awarded for the Capture of Detroit 1812". FortyFirstFoot.org. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
Bibliography
- Elting, John R. (1995). Amateurs to Arms. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80653-3.
- Hitsman, J. Mackay (1999). The Incredible War of 1812. Robin Brass Studio. ISBN 1-896941-13-3.
- ISBN 9780598741066.
- ISBN 978-0-674-02584-4.
- Porter, Maj Gen Whitworth (1889). History of the Corps of Royal Engineers Vol I. Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers.
- ISBN 0-375-75419-9.
- OCLC 2227295.
- Zaslow, Morris (1964). The Defended Border. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada. ISBN 0-7705-1242-9.
External links
- Cruikshank, Ernest A. "The Documentary History of the Campaign upon the Niagara Frontier. Part 3". Lundy's Lane Historical Society. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- PBS Documentary on the War of 1812 Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine features a chapter on Detroit.