- Ohio History in 2000 Words
- Mound Builders
- Native Ohioans
- The Ohio Company
- Ohio's Wood Forts
- Indian Wars
- War of 1812
- Ohio's Canals
- Ohio's Road
- Scenic Railroads / Museums
- Underground Railroad
- Civil War in Ohio
Word spread quickly In Ohio that war with England was imminent. Fear that the British would invade Ohio from the north caused many citizens to leave their farms along the coast of Lake Erie and head for Cleveland where there was safety in numbers. Deeper in Ohio citizens build a number of blockhouses to be used as safe houses where local citizens could flee to for protection in the case of a British or Indian attack. Often these block houses were defended by local militia organized by the community. Canadian citizens were also invading Ohio, but for a different reason.
After the Revolution and before the War of 1812, a number of Americans were induced by special offers to move to Canada to help settle the Canada's western frontier. These inducements succeeded in transplanting many New England farmers to Canada. These folks were mostly Revolutionary War veterans or descendants of veterans, and when hostilities erupted, they could not take up arms against the country they had fought to establish. This saw a flood of refugees coming down from Canada and settling in Central Ohio where it was considered safe.
In May 1812, 60 year old Brigadier General Hull arrived in Cincinnati to take command of the new Army of the Northwest. War had not yet been declared, but he knows it's only a matter of time. He organizes his army and moves north to Dayton where they begin organizing the militia which is divided into 3 regiments. From here they march on to Urbana where a 4th regiment is added.
Despite its size, the Army of the Northwest was poorly equipped and had lax discipline. The aging Hull was not a good military leader which would soon prove disastrous to the fight on the western front lines of northwest Ohio.
The declaration of war was signed on June 18, 1812. A letter outlining the declaration of war was sent by the Secretary of War to Hull, but he would not receive this letter until July 2 while encamped along the banks of the Maumee River not far from where Toledo is today.
Even before the official declaration of war had arrived, Hull had begun preparing to depart for Fort Detroit. Earlier in June of that year a supply ship called Cuyahoga Packet owned by Captain Luther Chapin, was chartered to haul supplies and munitions to the Maumee River where General Hull was camped. Once the ship was unloaded General Hull, who was already preparing for his trip north to Fort Detroit, chartered the ship to transport the some of the men who were too ill to travel by land as well as a lot of baggage belonging to General Hull to Fort Detroit instead of forcing the men to endure the overland journey.
It wasn't until after Captain Chapin departed for Fort Detroit that General Hull received by courier the news that war had been declared. Captain Chapin was of course unaware of this important detail when he sailed past Fort Amherst where he and his ship were captured by the British stationed there. Captain Chapin was also unaware that included in General Hulls trunks were the general's army muster rolls and his military orders that had been sent to him by the Secretary of War. It was not a good way to begin a war for the Americans.
Brigadier General Hull's orders were clear: secure Fort Detroit as quickly as possible. Secretary of War William Eustis and President James Madison thought that recent immigrants from the United States into western Canada most likely would support the American forces if given enough encouragement and supplies. If this was true, then the Americans would have enough resources to not only secure Michigan and Fort Amherstburg, but also could provide a base of operations from which they could invade Canada from the west and secure all of the land surrounding Lake Erie.
However, instead of following General Anthony Wayne's route to the Maumee along western edge of Ohio, Secretary of War Eustis told Hull to take the more direct route from Urbana, northwest across the Black Swamp. This proved to be a daunting task that consumed both time and supplies and men. Although not commonly understood at the time, a good many people became ill whenever they entered the swampy land of northwest Ohio. At the time they thought it was something mysterious even blaming tainted beef for poisoning the men. It was in fact the mosquitos of the swamp that spread malaria with their bite.
Sensing that the war was about to erupt (which in fact, it already had) Hull wanted to get supplies to Fort Detroit as soon as possible. That is why he chartered Captain Chapin's schooner to transport the sick, supplies and plans. When Hull's army finally reached Detroit on July 5, they were exhausted and desperately short of supplies, Eustis ordered Hull to immediately attack Fort Amherstburg. With little enthusiasm for this task, Hull crossed into Canada on July 12 and having already read those same plans, the British were ready.
After several skirmishes with British outposts, Hull finally decided he could not attack the fort without artillery and he fell back to Fort Detroit. The following weeks saw increasing confusion among the American forces. Supplies were being intercepted. More of Hull's dispatches to the Secretary of War were intercepted. Morale was low at the fort and the British knew it.
On August 15, 1812, the British fired upon Fort Detroit with artillery from the Canadian side of the river. Tecumseh created a diversion towards the rear of the fort when he had a number of warriors run in a circle where only a portion was exposed to the fort at anyone time. This ruse created the impression in the fort that there appeared to be 1000s of warriors just outside the fort's walls.
Hull, fearing that his family might be soon massacred when his outnumbered forces were overtaken by the Indians, Hull raised a white flag and surrendered Fort Detroit. Hull asked for 3 days to come to terms of the surrender. The British commander gave him 3 hours. With just a few cannon shots that had killed 2 Americans inside the fort, and a few hundred warriors, Brigadier General Hull surrendered Fort Detroit, 1600 Ohio militia, 582 American regulars, 2500 muskets, 300 rifles, 30 cannon. Hull was later tried by court martial and sentenced to death for his actions at Fort Detroit, but President Madison commuted his sentence.
Just over a year later, the tides would turn when Major General William Henry Harrison would retake Fort Detroit and follow the retreating British and Native Americans, ultimately defeating them at the Battle of the Thames (Battle of Moraviantown) on October 5, 1813.
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