William Caldwell, Member of Butler's Rangers, Had Own Ranger Group in War of 1812

The Wikipedia article on Butler's Rangers had a list of officers who served with John Butler.  One of them was William Caldwell who not only was in the American Revolution, but also served with his own company of rangers in the War of 1812.

WILLIAM CALDWELL

(1750 - 20 February 1822)

Irish-born,  military officer and colonial official who fought against the Americans in the Revolution as a member of Butler's Rangers and helped found the town of Amherstburg near the mouth of the Detroit River (near Detroit).

During the American Revolution he demonstrated a ruthlessness that Americans would not forget.  After the war, he settled in the Detroit region on land he was granted for his war experience.

--Brock-Perry

'I Come to Find Enemies Not to Make Them': Gen. Hull's Proclamation to the People of Canada-- Part 1

From the National Park Service.

As I said in the last post, I need to find out about General William Hull's Proclamation that his son, Captain and Aide de Camp Abraham Fuller Hull (who I have been writing about) witnessed in official capacity.

The whole quote from the headline:  "I come to find enemies not to make them, I come to protect not to injure you."

When American General William Hull made an early invasion of Upper Canada he was convinced that the inhabitants there desire freedom from the tyranny of the British.  He also feared attack by native warriors.  In one sweeping proclamation, Hull tried to impress  and threaten the entire region into compliance.

On July 11, 1812, American Brigadier General William Hull led his army across the Detroit River into Upper Canada, capturing  the town of Sandwich.  Hull's invasion was the first major offensive since Congress declared war on Britain in June 1812.

--Brock-Perry

The Unfortunate Surrender of Detroit-- Part 2: Hull Sentenced to Death by Court Martial

The next morning, British General Isaac Brock crossed the Detroit River and arrived at Springwells unopposed.  His army marched  just north to May's Creek and set up a defensive position along the ravine.  Then Brock and the Natives advanced north to Fort Detroit, setting up positions just 1200 yards away.

Despite having a very sizable force inside the fort, William Hull was convinced   that he and his men were outnumbered.  He surrendered to Tecumseh without firing a shot.

About 2,500 U.S. soldiers were taken prisoner of war and moved to British Canada for imprisonment.

Hull was relieved of his command and later court martialed in 1814 for treason, cowardice, neglect of duty and misconduct.  He was sentenced to death, but spared from hanging by President James Madison.  General William Hull remains the only U.S. general to be sentenced to death by an American court martial.

--Brock-Perry

Hull's Trace & the War of 1812-- Part 2: Who Was McCloskey?

Evidently, the route of this road/trace was originally laid out by someone named McCloskey who won a lottery in 1808 (to mark the route?)  and there is a map of it in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library.

The article says that he must have traveled   the existing (Indian?) trail, taking compass readings as he traveled.  Somewhere around the Huron River, he may have deviated from the trail because Hubert Lacroix wrote in 1812 that he wasn't able to find the slashes on the trees  for the original route.

Hull's Trace ran close to Lake Erie and the Detroit River, making it vulnerable to British attacks by water.  As a matter of fact, the first land-based skirmish of the war, the Battle of Brownstown, was fought on a road just  north of this section.

The later battles of Maguaga and Frenchtown were also  fought along the trace. 

Hull's Trace has been considered Michigan's first road at the beginning of the settler era.

--Brock-Perry

About That Fort Detroit, Shelby and Wayne in Detroit-- Part 2: Fort Wayne Was Not the War of 1812 Fort, But Did Play a Role in the War

So, Fort Wayne was not the fort that existed and played such a part in the War of 1812.  It was built after the war.  But, its site did play a role.

The one from the War of 1812 was known as Fort Detroit and later its name was changed to Fort Shelby.

The site of Fort Wayne consisted of a high sand mound with freshwater springs along the marshy waterfront of the Detroit River.

The opening shots of the War of 1812, however, were fired in the vicinity of the future Fort Wayne.  Although war had not yet been declared, Michigan militiamen bombarded the town of Sandwich, Upper Canada (later annexed to Windsor).

Later in the war, British General Isaac Brock crossed the narrowest part of the Detroit River with troops and landed on the future Fort Wayne site before marching on Detroit.  In the ensuing Siege of Detroit, American General William Hull, believing himself completely surrounded and outnumbered, surrendered Fort Detroit  to the British without offering much resistance.

A Sad Military Event in American History.  --Brock-Perry

Amherstburg Royal Navy Dockyard-- Part 2: Heavily Defended

In 1796, Fort Amherstburg (Fort Malden) was selected for the site of a new  dockyard for the construction of vessels for the Provinvcial Marine after the former site in Detroit was ceded to the Americans.  It was the only British naval base west of Kingston and located on the Detroit River with easy access to Lake Erie and Lake Huron.

The dockyard comprised  a large storehouse, two blockhouses,  a timber yard, saw pit and a wharf.  The blockhouses flanked the Navy Yard with Fort Amherstburg (Fort Malden) and the town of Amherstburg on either side, with the dockyard overlooking the channel which ran between it and Bois Blanc Island.  The dockyard was further protected by defenses erected on the island which watched over the entrances to both ends of the channel.

Many of the town's residents worked at the dockyard.

Many of the British ships that participated in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie were built here.

--Brock-Perry

Amherstburg Royal Navy Dockyard-- Part 1: Served Both the Provincial Marine and Royal Navy

From Wikipedia.

I have recently been writing about Amherstburg and Fort Amherstburg (more commonly called Fort Malden) and I then came across the Navy Dockyard that was located there.

It was a Provincial Marine (built warships for the province) and the Royal Navy Yard from 1789 to 1813, in Amherstburg, Ontario, situated on the Detroit River.  The yard comprised of blockhouses, storehouses,  magazine, wood yard and wharf.

The yard was established in 1796 to support the Upper Canada Provincial Marine after Great Britain ceded a pre-existing navy yard on the Detroit River to the United States.  Amherstburg Royal Navy Dockyard constructed four warships  for the Lake Erie Detachment of the Provincial Marine before and during the War of 1812.

In 1813, the dockyard was abandoned and destroyed when the British retreated and never reopened.  In 1928, the site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

--Brock-Perry