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
Date15–16 August 1812
Location
Result British-Indian victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom
 Upper Canada
Tecumseh's Confederacy
 United States
Commanders and leaders
Isaac Brock
Tecumseh
William Hull Surrendered
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 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.

  1. ^ Hitsman, pp. 79–80
  2. ^ Hitsman, p.81