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Detroit Surrenders August 16, 1812 On August 15th British General Isaac Brock ordered a battery of five pieces on the Canadian side of the river to start shelling Fort Detroit, the location of the withdrawn US Army of the Northwest. Brock's forces consisted of only about 300 regulars out of a total of 1,400 troops locally. Brock moved two units of 50 regulars each across the river. One group to block the road south, Another to block escape to the northwest. Two Royal Navy ships at the river mouth also seemed to remove all hope of escape via the lake. Having captured all of the commanding American General’s William Hull's letters just as the war started, Brock was well acquainted with Hull's fears of an Indian massacre and send Hull the following demand: The force at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Fort Detroit. It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware, that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond control the moment the contest commences. Poor conditions and 600 civilians crowded into the fort, at Hull’s request, added to the confusion. American junior officers later claimed that Hull appeared sickly and panicked by General Brock’s message, unable to create any kind of plan, including any return artillery fire on the bombarding English battery. One officer reported: I though him under the influence of fear. Much to his junior officer's surprise, Hull ordered a white flag raised on August 16th and surrendered a force of 2,600 (including 600 regulars) to a force of only half that size with barely a shot being fired. Thus in a single engagement the entire US Army of the Northwest was removed from the theatre. The British took charge of the army's considerable stores and the fort's 30 cannon. One of which, a three-pounder, was captured from the British at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. Hull would later be court-marshaled and condemned to death for this embarrassment, but the ruling was later put aside by President Madison.
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