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Brigadier General Lewis Cass Cass started the war as a Colonel in the 3rd Ohio Regiment, part of the Army of the Northwest. Cass believed in the regular and arduous drilling of the men under his command, very unusual for a militia officer. Cass was a bit of a dandy. He liked to wear an impressive uniform. But he mixes freely with his men and despite being humorless and fond of drill he is intensely popular with his men for interacting with them. Cass intensely disliked William Hull, writing "Instead of having an able and energetic commander, we have a weak, old man." Cass crossed into Sandwich with the army of the Northwest and pleaded with Hull to further proceed into Upper Canada. At one point, Cass got his unit within a few miles of the British base at Ft. Malden but withdrew when the advance went unsupported. After several fierce attacks by Native Americans on supply trains bound for Ft. Detroit, Cass and fellow officer Duncan McArthur were ordered to leave Ft. Detroit to secure the supply route. They left on August 14, 1812, with a force of 350 men, but en route they were recalled to defend Detroit from the battle which was already underway. By the time they returned, they found that the terms for surrender had been drawn up and that they were part of it. Cass is said to have cursed Hull, crying out, "Traitor! He has disgraced his country" and breaking his sword in two rather than surrendering it. In 1813, Cass was promoted to Brigadier General serving in William Henry Harrison's western campaigns, which included the Battle of the Thames.
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