Siege of Detroit

Siege of Detroit
Part of the War of 1812 and Tecumseh's War
The Surrender of Detroit, by J.C.H. Forster
Date 15–16 August 1812 Location Detroit, Michigan Territory Result British-Indian victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  Upper Canada Tecumseh's Confederacy	United States
Commanders and leaders
Isaac Brock Tecumseh	William Hull
Strength
330 regulars 400 militia 600 Indigenous 5 field guns 2 ships	589 regulars 1606 militia 1 brig
Casualties and losses
	7 killed 2,188 captured

The siege of Detroit, also known as the surrender of Detroit or the Battle of Fort Detroit, was an early engagement in the War of 1812. A British force under Major General Isaac Brock in cooperation with Indigenous warriors under Shawnee leader Tecumseh used bluff and deception to intimidate American Brigadier General William Hull into surrendering the fort and town of Detroit, the Michigan Territory, and his army which actually outnumbered the victorious British and Indigenous warriors.

The British victory reinvigorated the militia and civilian population of Upper Canada, who had previously been pessimistic and affected by pro-American agitators. Many Indigenous tribes in the Old Northwest were inspired to take up arms against the Americans. The British held Detroit for more than a year before their naval squadron on Lake Erie was defeated at the Battle of Lake Erie which forced them to abandon the western frontier of Upper Canada.