Invading Canada
William Hull was the territorial governor of Michigan just prior to the War of 1812, when James Madison appointed him Brigadier General of the Army of the Northwest. The Army of the Northwest was to be three regiments of Ohio militia, supplemented by 300 regulars from the 4th Infantry Regiment. Hull arrived in Ohio in May 1812, and marched his mostly unruly and ill-disciplined militia to the north. By July Hull was ready to open the first invasion of Canada from Fort Detroit, manned by Michigan militia. The Americans crossed into Canada on July 12, but when Hull learned of the British capture of Fort Mackinac on Mackinaw Island, he withdrew to Detroit.
In Fort Detroit Hull commanded about 2,100 men, three quarters of them militia, and 30 cannon. British commander General Isaac Brock commanded less than 800 regulars and Canadian militia, though he was supported by about six hundred Indians from Tecumseh’s confederation. When Brock besieged Detroit he had these Indians create as much noise as possible around the American fortifications, leading Hull and his men, particularly the inexperienced and undisciplined militia, to believe they were facing a much larger force. Brock also had his men light many more campfires than were needed to reinforce the ruse.
On August 15, 1812, the British and Indians were preparing an attackwhen Hull, thoroughly convinced that he was besieged by overwhelming numbers, raised a white flag of parley. He requested three days to prepare to surrender, Brock gave him three hours. The terms of the surrender were generous. The Ohio militia were paroled and sent back to Ohio. The Michigan militia simply melted away in mass desertions. The regulars were sent to British prisons in Quebec. The news of the surrender of Hull’s Army of the Northwest and Fort Detroit was a shock across the United States, where many believed that the conquest of Canada was a forgone conclusion.
Brock moved with dispatch to the east of Lake Erie, prepared to face another American invasion being prepared by General Stephen Van Rensselaer. As he prepared to face the Americans again undermanned, Brock was assisted by an armistice which was announced when the news of the revocation of the Orders in Council arrived. It was hoped that further hostilities could be averted. When the armistice period ended with no news from Washington, Van Rensselaer attacked at the battle of Queenston Heights in October, where he was soundly defeated. Brock was killed in the battle.
The death of Isaac Brock was a worse blow to the British side than the defeats at Detroit and Queenston Heights had been for the Americans. The first months of the war had revealed the need to provide better leadership for the regulars, and less reliance on the state militias. In comparison Canadian militia serving alongside the British usually fought well. General William Henry Harrison assumed command of the Army of the Northwest. America still needed better leadership along the Niagara frontier, where command was held by the Revolutionary War hero Henry Dearborn, who was far beyond his soldiering days.