15. The British Attack on Fort Detroit in the War of 1812
In the early days of the War of 1812, British General Isaac Brock marched on Fort Detroit. Under his command was a force of 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. Brock’s target was garrisoned by an American force nearly twice the size of his own, comprised of 600 US Army regulars and nearly 2000 militia, sheltered within the protective walls of a fortress that had at least 36 cannons.
The garrison was 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 terrified of his Native American allies. Emboldened by that information, Brock decided to immediately attack Detroit, and exploited the Americans’ fear of Indians. Brock arranged for a misleading letter to fall into American hands, that greatly exaggerated the number of his native allies from an actual 600 to a fanciful 5000.
