13. The American Hero Who Got Bamboozled Into Surrender
Soon after the War of 1812 began, British general Isaac Brock marched on the American-held Fort Detroit. Brock had 1330 men, comprised of 330 Redcoats, 400 Canadian militia, and 600 Native Americans, supported by 3 light guns, 5 heavy guns, 2 mortars, and 2 warships. His target was garrisoned by a force nearly twice as big as his own, comprised of 600 US Army regulars and nearly 2000 militia. The Americans were sheltered within the protective walls of a fortress bristling with over 36 cannons, and were commanded by an American Revolutionary War veteran and hero, General William Hull.
Brock learned from captured messages that American morale was low, that the garrison was short of supplies, and that his enemies were in mortal fear of his Native American allies. Emboldened by that information, Brock decided to immediately attack Detroit. Playing upon American fear of Indians, he arranged for a misleading letter to fall into American hands, which greatly exaggerated the number of his Native allies from an actual 600 to a fanciful 5000.
