Detroit, Surrender of
DETROIT, SURRENDER OF
DETROIT, SURRENDER OF (16 August 1812). On the eve of the War of 1812, Gen. William Hull was ordered to Detroit in Michigan Territory. Not knowing that war had been declared, Hull sent his baggage by water. The ship carrying his baggage, the Cuyahoga, was captured by the British and with it Hull's military papers. The information thus secured was of valuable assistance to the British in the campaign that followed.
The fortress at Detroit needed repairs, but no improvements were made because the War Department ordered Hull to capture Malden in Canada. Hull crossed into Canada on 11 July and remained there until 7 August. During this time he did not attack Malden, as he did not believe he could carry the place without the heavy artillery. However, the artillery could not be removed from Detroit because they had only rotted gun carriages on which to carry them. After the British captured the American post at Mackinac in July, large numbers of Indians flocked to the British side, and a party of them cut Hull's communications, forcing him to return to America. Hull's troops lost confidence in their commander and plotted to depose him; in turn, Hull lost all confidence in his troops. At this juncture Gen. Isaac Brock, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, arrived and demanded the surrender of Detroit. Lacking the supplies to withstand a siege and fearing a massacre if he were starved into a surrender, Hull yielded without resistance on 16 August.
Hull was subsequently court-martialed on charges of treason, cowardice, and neglect of duty. He was found guilty on the latter two charges and sentenced to be executed. President James Madison remanded the execution because of Hull's service during the Revolution.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gilpin, Alec Richard. The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1958.
Stagg, J. C. A. Mr. Madison's War. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1983.
John G.Van Deusen/a. r.
See alsoCourts-Martial ; Mackinac, Straits of, and Mackinac Island .