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BROCK MEETS
TECUMSEH: The
legendary meeting
between General
Brock and Tecumseh
is captured in this
painting by artist Hal
Sherman. The
painting,
commissioned by a
descendant of Capt.
William Caldwell of
the Rangers, shows
Tecumseh talking to
Brock while Caldwell
interprets at Fort
Malden in
Amherstburg shortly
before the British
captured Fort Detroit.
For more
information, contact
Hal Sherman at
hsherman@donet.co
m or visit this
website.
TECUMSEH: The
legendary meeting
between General
Brock and Tecumseh
is captured in this
painting by artist Hal
Sherman. The
painting,
commissioned by a
descendant of Capt.
William Caldwell of
the Rangers, shows
Tecumseh talking to
Brock while Caldwell
interprets at Fort
Malden in
Amherstburg shortly
before the British
captured Fort Detroit.
For more
information, contact
Hal Sherman at
hsherman@donet.co
m or visit this
website.
TWO LEGENDARY LEADERS: Major-General Sir Isaac Brock with
Tecumseh in a painting by David Geister. This is one of a series the artist
painted for a History Channel Magazine article on the siege of Detroit.
More of his work can be found at www.davidgeister.com. Geister has put
together some fantastic historical pieces, and his website is well worth
checking out for anyone with a interest in history.
Tecumseh in a painting by David Geister. This is one of a series the artist
painted for a History Channel Magazine article on the siege of Detroit.
More of his work can be found at www.davidgeister.com. Geister has put
together some fantastic historical pieces, and his website is well worth
checking out for anyone with a interest in history.
| Read the terms of the surrender of Fort Detroit. Simply click on the image on the left. |
Brock's astonishing bloodless
victory: The surrender of Detroit
victory: The surrender of Detroit
DETROIT - The battle of Fort Detroit can hardly be called a battle at all.
Most historians simply refer to it as the surrender of Fort Detroit because
barely a shot was fired during the battle.
Brock's nearly bloodless victory won him reknown throughout the British
empire, and resulted in him being made a Knight of the Bath — a
distinction he never knew he had. He was killed storming the heights at
Queenston just three days after the knighting ceremony in England.
The capture of Fort Detroit was a major turning point for the British and
Canadians, and spelled disaster for the Americans.
Below is the text describing the events leading up to the surrender of
Fort Detroit. The source is unknown. If someone knows the source for
this article, please send an e-mail to webmaster@generalbrock.com.
Detroit — The American plan of campaign included a double invasion of
Upper Canada. Hull was to move in from Detroit, van Rensselaer across
the Niagara. This combination, if successful, would cut off the main
peninsula of Ontario, lying between Lakes Ontario and St. Clair; and, if
this peninsula fell wholly into American occupation, Michilimackinac and
the connection with the West would fall with it. Lake Erie is nearly 250
miles long and 60 at its widest. Neither side had a flotilla to control it
when the war broke out; but the preponderance of force at first was in
favour of the British.
On the other hand, here as elsewhere, American resources vastly
exceeded British in every way. There had been forts at Sandusky and on
the Maumee (Miami) before, and there were to be again. But the
immediate objective for British attack was Detroit, just across a river
dividing it from Canadian territory, and chosen by Hull as his advanced
base for the invasion of Canada from the West. Detroit had a fort, the
strongest then existing in the West, and a settlement of almost 1,000
people. Three miles down the Detroit River on the Canadian side stood
the tiny unfortified village of Sandwich. The river is about half a mile wide
and either side could be commanded by artillery on the other. The
country is almost uniformally flat. It was then well wooded and very
swampy in several places.
Hull reached Detroit on the 5th of July with 2,500 men. He bombarded
Sandwich, where a little British battery was then being built; and having
crossed on the night of the 11th, issued his proclamation on the 13th.
(Read General Hull's proclamation.)
The total British force arrayed against Hull was not a quarter of his own
strength, and only a quarter of it consisted of regulars. Colonel St.
George held Fort Malden and Amherstburg, both exceedingly weak. If
Hull had only pressed home his attack he must have succeeded. But he
sent out raiding and requisition parties, some eastwards up the Thames,
others southwards to the Rivière aux Canards. At the latter place the
first action of the war was fought, a little skirmish in which a British
outpost and Tecumseh's Indians drove back the inexpert American levies.
THEN AND NOW: The sketch on top shows Brock's landing at Detroit on
Aug. 16, 1812. The photo below it shows the Detroit skyline in the
summer of 2003. (Sketch is from Michael Gladstone White's book War
Drums Along the River. Photo by Todd Humber.)
Brock's first idea was to reinforce St. George by the line of the Thames.
But unavoidable delays made this impracticable. He then sent Colonel
Procter, of the 41st, to take command at Amherstburg, wither a few
more of this regiment soon followed. Meanwhile Hull had been
lengthening without strengthening his long line of communication with
the south. He was a good way north of the Maumee, and he had
crossed the Detroit eastwards without having the local command of the
water. Procter immediately decided to cut his line by crossing the river in
his rear. On the 5th of August Tecumseh ambushed 200 Americans near
Brownstown on the Huron River, just opposite Amherstburg and at the
mouth of the Detroit. The American dispatches were captured. This was
the second time that the same misfortune had overtaken Hull; for an
American schooner bearing dispatches had been taken a month before,
immediately on the receipt of the news that war had been declared. Hull
then brought back his army from the Canadian side on the 7th and the
next day sent out 600 men to reopen communications to the south.
He was not yet short of supplies; but he would soon be in a very
precarious situation if cut off from his base altogether. On the 9th 600
Americans were checked at Maguaga, four miles short of Brownstown.
They returned to Detroit on the 10th. On the 11th Hull brought back the
last of his men from the Canadian side. Finally, on the 13th he sent out a
picked force of 400 under Colonel MacArthur to work round southwards
through the woods.
That same night Brock landed at Amherstburg. He had prorogued the
Upper Canada legislature on the 5th, crossed to Burlington Bay,
marched over the neck of the Niagara peninsula to Lake Erie, and
embarked on the 8th with 300 men at Long Point. When he arrived on
the 13th there were five guns threatening Detroit from the ground on
which Windsor now stands; and Hull, old, weak, hesitating, and
discouraged, was already thinking of surrender. Some show of
resistance, however, was required, and Brock's first summons was
rejected.
Meanwhile Brock had met Tecumseh; and each had recognized a hero in
the other. Tecumseh presented Brock to the assembled braves with the
laconic commendation, This is a man; and Brock's short speech, delivered
with great vigour, was greeted with deep murmurs of admiration. Hull
was growing more and more afraid of the Indians, whose numbers were
absurdly exaggerated by American camp gossip. Brock, divining this,
emphasized the dangers that might follow resistance; though he and his
officers, with Tecumseh, did all they could to provide against any
excesses, and the behaviour of the Indians was particularly good
throughout.
Brock met his principal officers, listened to all they had to say, found out
that only Colonel Nichol and Tecumseh though it right to risk all in an
immediate attack on Detroit, and then announced his own decision in
favour of making it. He was far too strong a man to hold a council of war.
He had about 1,300 effectives, with whom he proposed to attack
greater numbers in a fortified position. Only half these effectives were
whites; and only half the whites were regulars. Yet he at once divined
the right line of action and was amply justified by the event. The Indians,
under Tecumseh and Colonel Elliot, crossed over on the night of Aug. 15.
The whites followed the next morning. This crossing, in broad daylight,
was well covered by the fire of the Queen Charlotte, a small armed
vessel, and by the batteries above Sandwich. The landing was made at
Spring Wells, four miles below Detroit and a little below the point directly
opposite to Sandwich. Brock's object was to tempt Hull out of Detroit
into an attack in the open, where the few regulars could act with the
greatest effect, while the Indians could have full scope on the wooded
left. At the same time the Queen Charlotte and the Canadian batteries
could offer strong support on the right.
But he had no sooner landed and formed up facing Detroit than the
Indians brought in news of MacArthur, whom Hull had sent south on the
13th, and who was now said, with the usual exaggeration, to have 600
instead of barely 400 men. MacArthur was being recalled; and Brock had
only a moment to make up his mind whether to retreat, turn about and
form a new front, or advance on Detroit itself. Detroit was a strong fort
in its way; much too strong to be rushed if held by steady troops. It had
a moat eight feet deep and twelve feet wide. Its palisades of sharpened
hardwood were ten feet high and the ramparts rose over 20 feet. There
were more than 30 guns, 24-pounders among them; and there was a
clear field of fire all round for every effective range.
The British artillery on the ground consisted of three 6-pounders and
two 3-pounders, quite useless except in the open. But the Queen
Charlotte and the Sandwich battery redoubled their fire as they
suddenly realized that Brock was actually advancing to attack. One shot
killed four men near Hull. The redcoats seemed all regulars, as most of
the militia had been uniformed in spare clothing belonging to the 41st.
Their numbers, like those of the Indians, were absurdly exaggerated;
and perhaps there really was some excuse for Hull's belief that Brock's
self-confident little force was only part of a much greater whole.
The first warwhoops of the Indians were now heard from the woods a
mile and a half inland. Hull, finding enemies on both flanks, as well as
straight in front of him, thereupon gave way and sent a flag and a
parlementaire over to the Sandwich battery. Captain Hull, of the Queen
Charlotte, sent back word that Brock was outside Detroit in person.
Brock had meanwhile continued to advance till he came within 1,200
yards of the fort. He did not yet know of the flag sent across the river;
and it was only when he was about to resume his advance and storm
the walls, after reconnoitring them for a few minutes, that he saw an
American officer coming coming out to make terms. The surrender was
soon effected. The Americans marched out; the British marched in; and
the whole of Hull's army, MarArthur's force included, became prisoners of
war. The territory of Michigan was placed under the administration of the
British commandant at Detroit. The stores surrendered were of almost
priceless value, as there was an extreme scarcity throughout the
remainder of the West. THere was sufficient food to have enabled Hull to
hold out for a much longer time. But he had an undisciplined force under
him, and a disciplined one against him. And that made all the difference.
The effect of the surrender was even greater than the effect of the
surrender of Michilimackinac a month before. Michilimackinac was an
Indian affair in most men's eyes, though very alarming to the American
West because it "opened the hive" of Indians and let the swarms out all
along the frontier. But Detroit was a white man's victory and defeat. It
meant that Brock was a consummate leader in civilized war and that he
would be a dangerous man along the Niagara, and perhaps much
farther east and south. It meant that the demagogues had been
egregiously wrong when they tried to persuade a public ignorant of war
that a raw militia fired by flashy enthusiasm was equal to the conquest
of half a continent. It meant, too, that the American plan of campaign for
1812 had hopelessly broken down.
Most historians simply refer to it as the surrender of Fort Detroit because
barely a shot was fired during the battle.
Brock's nearly bloodless victory won him reknown throughout the British
empire, and resulted in him being made a Knight of the Bath — a
distinction he never knew he had. He was killed storming the heights at
Queenston just three days after the knighting ceremony in England.
The capture of Fort Detroit was a major turning point for the British and
Canadians, and spelled disaster for the Americans.
Below is the text describing the events leading up to the surrender of
Fort Detroit. The source is unknown. If someone knows the source for
this article, please send an e-mail to webmaster@generalbrock.com.
Detroit — The American plan of campaign included a double invasion of
Upper Canada. Hull was to move in from Detroit, van Rensselaer across
the Niagara. This combination, if successful, would cut off the main
peninsula of Ontario, lying between Lakes Ontario and St. Clair; and, if
this peninsula fell wholly into American occupation, Michilimackinac and
the connection with the West would fall with it. Lake Erie is nearly 250
miles long and 60 at its widest. Neither side had a flotilla to control it
when the war broke out; but the preponderance of force at first was in
favour of the British.
On the other hand, here as elsewhere, American resources vastly
exceeded British in every way. There had been forts at Sandusky and on
the Maumee (Miami) before, and there were to be again. But the
immediate objective for British attack was Detroit, just across a river
dividing it from Canadian territory, and chosen by Hull as his advanced
base for the invasion of Canada from the West. Detroit had a fort, the
strongest then existing in the West, and a settlement of almost 1,000
people. Three miles down the Detroit River on the Canadian side stood
the tiny unfortified village of Sandwich. The river is about half a mile wide
and either side could be commanded by artillery on the other. The
country is almost uniformally flat. It was then well wooded and very
swampy in several places.
Hull reached Detroit on the 5th of July with 2,500 men. He bombarded
Sandwich, where a little British battery was then being built; and having
crossed on the night of the 11th, issued his proclamation on the 13th.
(Read General Hull's proclamation.)
The total British force arrayed against Hull was not a quarter of his own
strength, and only a quarter of it consisted of regulars. Colonel St.
George held Fort Malden and Amherstburg, both exceedingly weak. If
Hull had only pressed home his attack he must have succeeded. But he
sent out raiding and requisition parties, some eastwards up the Thames,
others southwards to the Rivière aux Canards. At the latter place the
first action of the war was fought, a little skirmish in which a British
outpost and Tecumseh's Indians drove back the inexpert American levies.
THEN AND NOW: The sketch on top shows Brock's landing at Detroit on
Aug. 16, 1812. The photo below it shows the Detroit skyline in the
summer of 2003. (Sketch is from Michael Gladstone White's book War
Drums Along the River. Photo by Todd Humber.)
Brock's first idea was to reinforce St. George by the line of the Thames.
But unavoidable delays made this impracticable. He then sent Colonel
Procter, of the 41st, to take command at Amherstburg, wither a few
more of this regiment soon followed. Meanwhile Hull had been
lengthening without strengthening his long line of communication with
the south. He was a good way north of the Maumee, and he had
crossed the Detroit eastwards without having the local command of the
water. Procter immediately decided to cut his line by crossing the river in
his rear. On the 5th of August Tecumseh ambushed 200 Americans near
Brownstown on the Huron River, just opposite Amherstburg and at the
mouth of the Detroit. The American dispatches were captured. This was
the second time that the same misfortune had overtaken Hull; for an
American schooner bearing dispatches had been taken a month before,
immediately on the receipt of the news that war had been declared. Hull
then brought back his army from the Canadian side on the 7th and the
next day sent out 600 men to reopen communications to the south.
He was not yet short of supplies; but he would soon be in a very
precarious situation if cut off from his base altogether. On the 9th 600
Americans were checked at Maguaga, four miles short of Brownstown.
They returned to Detroit on the 10th. On the 11th Hull brought back the
last of his men from the Canadian side. Finally, on the 13th he sent out a
picked force of 400 under Colonel MacArthur to work round southwards
through the woods.
That same night Brock landed at Amherstburg. He had prorogued the
Upper Canada legislature on the 5th, crossed to Burlington Bay,
marched over the neck of the Niagara peninsula to Lake Erie, and
embarked on the 8th with 300 men at Long Point. When he arrived on
the 13th there were five guns threatening Detroit from the ground on
which Windsor now stands; and Hull, old, weak, hesitating, and
discouraged, was already thinking of surrender. Some show of
resistance, however, was required, and Brock's first summons was
rejected.
Meanwhile Brock had met Tecumseh; and each had recognized a hero in
the other. Tecumseh presented Brock to the assembled braves with the
laconic commendation, This is a man; and Brock's short speech, delivered
with great vigour, was greeted with deep murmurs of admiration. Hull
was growing more and more afraid of the Indians, whose numbers were
absurdly exaggerated by American camp gossip. Brock, divining this,
emphasized the dangers that might follow resistance; though he and his
officers, with Tecumseh, did all they could to provide against any
excesses, and the behaviour of the Indians was particularly good
throughout.
Brock met his principal officers, listened to all they had to say, found out
that only Colonel Nichol and Tecumseh though it right to risk all in an
immediate attack on Detroit, and then announced his own decision in
favour of making it. He was far too strong a man to hold a council of war.
He had about 1,300 effectives, with whom he proposed to attack
greater numbers in a fortified position. Only half these effectives were
whites; and only half the whites were regulars. Yet he at once divined
the right line of action and was amply justified by the event. The Indians,
under Tecumseh and Colonel Elliot, crossed over on the night of Aug. 15.
The whites followed the next morning. This crossing, in broad daylight,
was well covered by the fire of the Queen Charlotte, a small armed
vessel, and by the batteries above Sandwich. The landing was made at
Spring Wells, four miles below Detroit and a little below the point directly
opposite to Sandwich. Brock's object was to tempt Hull out of Detroit
into an attack in the open, where the few regulars could act with the
greatest effect, while the Indians could have full scope on the wooded
left. At the same time the Queen Charlotte and the Canadian batteries
could offer strong support on the right.
But he had no sooner landed and formed up facing Detroit than the
Indians brought in news of MacArthur, whom Hull had sent south on the
13th, and who was now said, with the usual exaggeration, to have 600
instead of barely 400 men. MacArthur was being recalled; and Brock had
only a moment to make up his mind whether to retreat, turn about and
form a new front, or advance on Detroit itself. Detroit was a strong fort
in its way; much too strong to be rushed if held by steady troops. It had
a moat eight feet deep and twelve feet wide. Its palisades of sharpened
hardwood were ten feet high and the ramparts rose over 20 feet. There
were more than 30 guns, 24-pounders among them; and there was a
clear field of fire all round for every effective range.
The British artillery on the ground consisted of three 6-pounders and
two 3-pounders, quite useless except in the open. But the Queen
Charlotte and the Sandwich battery redoubled their fire as they
suddenly realized that Brock was actually advancing to attack. One shot
killed four men near Hull. The redcoats seemed all regulars, as most of
the militia had been uniformed in spare clothing belonging to the 41st.
Their numbers, like those of the Indians, were absurdly exaggerated;
and perhaps there really was some excuse for Hull's belief that Brock's
self-confident little force was only part of a much greater whole.
The first warwhoops of the Indians were now heard from the woods a
mile and a half inland. Hull, finding enemies on both flanks, as well as
straight in front of him, thereupon gave way and sent a flag and a
parlementaire over to the Sandwich battery. Captain Hull, of the Queen
Charlotte, sent back word that Brock was outside Detroit in person.
Brock had meanwhile continued to advance till he came within 1,200
yards of the fort. He did not yet know of the flag sent across the river;
and it was only when he was about to resume his advance and storm
the walls, after reconnoitring them for a few minutes, that he saw an
American officer coming coming out to make terms. The surrender was
soon effected. The Americans marched out; the British marched in; and
the whole of Hull's army, MarArthur's force included, became prisoners of
war. The territory of Michigan was placed under the administration of the
British commandant at Detroit. The stores surrendered were of almost
priceless value, as there was an extreme scarcity throughout the
remainder of the West. THere was sufficient food to have enabled Hull to
hold out for a much longer time. But he had an undisciplined force under
him, and a disciplined one against him. And that made all the difference.
The effect of the surrender was even greater than the effect of the
surrender of Michilimackinac a month before. Michilimackinac was an
Indian affair in most men's eyes, though very alarming to the American
West because it "opened the hive" of Indians and let the swarms out all
along the frontier. But Detroit was a white man's victory and defeat. It
meant that Brock was a consummate leader in civilized war and that he
would be a dangerous man along the Niagara, and perhaps much
farther east and south. It meant that the demagogues had been
egregiously wrong when they tried to persuade a public ignorant of war
that a raw militia fired by flashy enthusiasm was equal to the conquest
of half a continent. It meant, too, that the American plan of campaign for
1812 had hopelessly broken down.
Plan of Fort Detroit, January 26, 1812. Artist unknown. Reference Code:
F 775, box MU 2102. Archives of Ontario.
F 775, box MU 2102. Archives of Ontario.
