9. The Brit Who Bluffed a Revolutionary War Hero
In the early days of the War of 1812, British General Isaac Brock marched on Fort Detroit with 1330 men. His force consisted of 330 Redcoats, 400 Canadian militia, and 600 Native Americans, supported by three lights guns, five heavy guns, two mortars, and two warships. Brock’s target was garrisoned by a force nearly twice his own. The Americans had 600 US Army regulars, and nearly 2000 militia, sheltered within the protective walls of a fortress bristling with over 36 cannons. In an unexpected twist, Brock bluffed the Americans into surrendering to his smaller force.
For Detroit was commanded by an American War of Independence 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 feared Brock’s Native American allies. Emboldened by that information, he decided to attack at once. Playing upon American 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 braves.