'^i^'n /- : ^""y 1 HULL'S Surrender of Detroit. By BENSON J. LOSSING, LL.D. REPRINTED, WITH ADDITIONS, FROM " P0TTP:R'S AMERICAN , MONTHLY,' AUGUST, 1875. PHILADELPHIA ; JOHN E. POTTER AND COMPANY, No. 617 vSansom Street. HULL'S Surrender of Detroit. By BENSON J. LOSSING, LL.D. REPRINTED, WITH ADDITIONS, FROM " POTTER'S AMERICAN MONTHLY,' AUGUST, 1875. » -1 PHILADELPHIA: JOHN E. POTTER AND COMPANY, No. 617 Sansom Street. IN fiXCJHANGfl i/ !rAe article by (Dr. Lossing^ here reprinted by Ins consent and that of his publisher's, first appeared in ''(Potter's American Monthly Magazine," August, 18 J J, J^o. 44. A few passages, not bearing on the Surrender of Detroit, have been omitted ; and a feiv notes referring to the authorities, added. HTJLL'S Surrender of Detroit The name of William Hull holds a conspicuous place in the annals of our country — conspicuous for gallant deeds and patient suffering under false accusations. I do not propose to give in this paper a biography of this citizen ; only outline pictures of the more salient points in the history of his life, from his birth in Derby, a village on the Housatonic River, in Connecticut, in 1753, until his death in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1825. He labored gallantly in the camp and in the field whenever opportunity offered, and he suffered the stings of unjust public reproach many years, that were set in motion by a few selfish, ambitious or ignorant men, who misled the judgment of the nation. These even secured the ear of History, and that misled judgment obscured her vision, and to this day she has taught the world (with few exceptions) untruthful stories about the character and career of an American citizen who deserves the love and veneration of his countrymen for his brave and generous deeds. It is a pleasant task for me to recall from the obscurity of the past a vindication of the patriot who nf.ade his dwelling-house at Newton one of the conspicuous Historic Build- ings of America. After his graduation at Yale College young Hull studied divinity 4 HULL'S SURRENDLiR OF DLITROLT. a year, to fit him for tlic Christian ministry, in compliance witli the wishes of liis parents. He could not conscientiously make the profession of a clergyman his life pursuit, and he entered the Law School at Litchfield, Connecticut. In 1775 he was admitted to the Bar, and had just entered upon its practice when the War for Independence broke out. He had taken an active part in the Revolutionary movements. One evening his fother, returning from a i)ublic meeting of the citizens of Derby, .said, "William, who C^ii you suppose has been elected captain of the conij)any that has been raised in this town?" William named several, when his father surprised him by saying, "It is you." He accepted the honors and duties of his position, closed the doors of his law-office, and entered ui)on military duties under Colonel Webb. At about the same time Hull's father died, and left his considerable estate to his widow and children. William refused to receive any part of it, saying, "I only want my sword and my uniform." A few days afterward he was on his way with his company to join Washington at Cambridge. From that time until the close of hostilities he was an active and skillful soldier. Dorchester Heights, White Plains, Trenton and Princeton witnessed the achievements that won for him the commission of major. At Ticonderoga, Stillwater, Sara- .toga, Monmouth and Stony Point his skill and valor won for him the commission of lieutenant-colonel ; and when he assisted in the capture of Cornwallis, late in 1781, he held the commission of colonel. Ivarly in 1781, after having served about six years in the army without asking for a finlough, he obtained leave of absence to com- plete a contjuest and lake i)OSsession of the i)ri/e won by his valor in another field, lie repaired to lioston in l-'ebruary, 1781, and soon afterward was married to .Sarah, only daughter of Judge I*'idler, of Newton, Massachusetts. ( )f tlial vie tory and ils results the veleran soldier wrote fr(.)in the lu)nie of liis britle, tlie Hull HULL'S SURRENDER OE DETROfr. 5 mansion, at Newton, in 1822: " It was a reward for all the toils and dangers whicli, for six years, 1 had encountered. It lias con- tinued for nearly forty years, and my beloved companion has not only sailed with me down the stream of life, enjoying its jirosperous gales, but has steadily and affectionately supported me in gloomy periods, as well as in the last trying storm which, by faith in an overruling Providence, I have met and borne in all its fury." I will pass on with only brief mention of the principal events in the life of Colonel Hull, after his marriage, to his appointment as Governor of the Territory of Michigan. When the army of the Revolution was about to be disbanded, and Washington and a few troops entered the city of New York on the day when the British left it. Colonel Hull was selected to lead the military escort of the Commander-in-Chief on that occasion, and was with him until his departure for Annapolis to resign his commission. In 17S6 Hull retired from the army, and for several years practiced law in Newton with marked success. He soon became a leading man there, representing his district in the Massachusetts Legislature, and being made a major-general of militia. In Shay's rebellion he commanded one wing of Lincoln's forces. Pushing on to the camp of the insurgents in spite of a violent snow-storm, he surprised and dispersed them. In 1793 he was sent by the government of. the United States to treat with the Indians in Canada; and five years afterward he went to Europe. ' After his return he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Massachusetts. President Jefferson appointed General Hull Governor of the Territory of Michigan* in 1805, which office he held until. 1812. * The white inh.il)itants of Michigan in 181 1 were 4,860 in number, four- fifths of wliom were French. With the exception of a small strip of land on the river and lake, all the ]irescnt Slate of Michii;an was occupied hy Indians — • 6 HULLS SURRENDER OE DETROIT. Detroit, a small struggling village on the west side of the Detroit River, was the capital of his domain, and was inhabited chiefly by French Canadians. There he built a house for his family, and in- vested a large portion of his fortune in real estate. During the winter and spring of 1812 he was in Washington City, where he listened with anxiety to the debates in Congress on the subject of a declaration of war against Great Britain, for he feared that in the event of such a declaration the government would be in favor of an immediate invasion of Canada. Hull well knew the perils to his own Territory which such an invasion would involve, and always gave his voice against it. He well knew what pains the British authorities in Canada had taken, by presents of firearms and other things, to induce the Indian tribes of the Northwest to become their allies.* He well knew how successful the British had been in their diplomacy to that end, and he knew that the mo- ment American troops should cross the Detroit River into Canada, there was danger of an invasion of Michigan, and the complete desolation of the Territory. Without a fleet on Lake Erie,t of which the British were masters, it would be almost impossible to defend Michigan, much less to invade Canada with success by such a force as might be raised in that region. President Madison listened to Hull's advice to some extent, but he was overruled by others having more force than himself. He ])ersuadcd Governor Hull to acccjjt the office of brigadier-general in the regular army, made a requisition upon Governor Meigs, of Pottawattomies, Miamis, Wyandots, Chippewa.s, Winnebagoes and OUawas. — " Mi/i(ary and Civil Life of General Hull.''' IVi-m York : D. Applelon &= (v., 1S48, page 307. * .See " Ci~,'il and Military Life of General I/ull,'' page 310. f 111 tlircc separalc memorials addressed to ihc War DeparlmciU in Ai)iil, 1S09, June, 181 1, and March, i8i2, (loneral Ihdl bad urged ihc necessity of a fleet on Lake I'!rie. Again, after his appointment as brigadier-general, he urged the same thing in a memorial to the President. — " Military and Civil Life" etc., pages 327-413. HULL'S SURRENDER OF DETROIT. 7 Ohio, for a detachment of twelve hundred militia to be disciplined, and prepared to march instantly for Detroit when they should be called for. Hull accepted the commission of brigadier-general only that he might more efficiently protect his domain against the savages.* He returned to Detroit, resolved to do whatever his country should demand of him, but with a strong hope that war would be averted. Hull's hopes were disappointed, for in June following, our gov- ernment formally declared war against Great Britain, Governor Meigs, meanwhile, had gathered and disciplined the militia of Ohiof with great alacrity, and late in May he had placed them under the command of Hull in an open field near Dayton. The veteran soldier, then about sixty years of age, made a patriotic speech to them, when they all moved forward cheerfully toward Detroit, up the valley of the Miami or Maumee River. As he advanced, Hull had sure indications of Indian hostilities. Tecum- tha was the ally of the British, and his authority was almost supreme over a vast region, and over many savages. On the 24th of June, six days after war had been declared, Hull received a despatch from the War Department, directing him to hasten with his troops to Detroit, and there await further orders. A little more than a week later, when he was at Frenchtown (now * See " Military and Civil Life;' etc., page 326. f The Ohio volunteers were militia just called into the field, and were defi- cient in discipline. Lieutenant Bacon, of the Fourth United States Infantry, testified at the court-martial as follows : " Generally speaking, the Ohio volunteers and militia were insubordinate. One evening, at Urbana, I saw a multitude and heard a noise, and was informed that a company of Ohio volunteers were riding one of their officers on a rail. Witness thinks he saw one hundred of the Ohio militia who refused to cross into Canada." — Forbes" s "Report of the Court-Mar- tiai;' page 124. ^ ' The arms and equipments of these troops were unfit for service ; the men were without blankets, clothing or ammunition, and the government had made no provision for either. — " Memoirs of the Campaign of iSis" by William Hull. True &> Greene, Boston, 1824, page 34. 8 HULL'S SURRENDER OE DETROIT. Monroe, Michigan), he received another despatch, informing him of the declaration of war.* The British authorities in Canada had received earlier intelligence of the event, and acted accordingly. Before Hull received the second despatch, he had hired a schooner for the conveyance of his heavy baggage, intrenching tools, etc., to Detroit, so that he might relieve his wearied pack-horses. This vessel sailed from the site of Toledo on the day before he received the news of tlie declaration of war. She was captured by an armed vessel sent out from Maiden. By mistake his private papers con- taining the muster-rolls of his army, and other information which he did not wish the enemy to possess, had been placed on board of the schooner. When the wearied troops reached Detroit, Hull rested and awaited orders, according to his instructions. Tiie British were constructing fortifications on the opposite side of the river that might endanger Detroit, and Hull's officers, most of them ardent young men, were impatient to invade Canada ami drive off tlie fort-builders. They urged the General to do so, when he replied, "I have no authority to invade Canada." They insisted that it was his duty to do so, under the circumstances. He replied firmly, " While I have the command I will obey the orders of my govern- ment. I will not cross over until I hear from Wasliington." Tlie young officers were much irritated, and felt rebellious. That night a despatch was received from the Secretary (jf War, directing Hull "to commence operations immediately." This relieved the General from perplexity and satisfied his officers. With about sixteen hundred effective men,f Hull now crossed * See Hull's " .lA///('/r.v," as alxjve, pa^e 35 ; also, " ,//7//.f/;-rn, aiul liad been introthiced into the army by his iKitronage. (Jeneral Hull might, with great projjriety, have objectetl to the comiK)siti()n of the court, for he blamed (leneral I>earl)orn for his negligence, and his own accjuittal would condemn that «ifficer. Hut he was anxious for an investigation, and he waived all feeling. 'I'he court oi)ened business on tlie 3(1 ol Janu- ary, 1S14. (Jeneral Hull w;ls charged with Treason, Couiardicr, anii Neglect 0/ tiuly It till iinoffiier/ike coniiuct from the i)t/i 0/ April to August 1 6, 181 J. The s|»ecirications under the charge of Treason were : (i.) Hiring the vessel to transport his sick men and baggage from the Miami (at 'I'oletio) to Detroit; (2.) Not attacking the enemy's fort at Maiden, and retreating to Detroit; (3.) Not strengthening the fort at Detroit, an«l surrendering. The sixrcifications under the charge of Cojcariiice were : (i. ) Not attacking Maiden, and retreat- ing to Detroit; (2.) Ap|K*arance of alarm during the cannonade; (3.) Ap|)earance of alarm on the day of the surrender; (4.) .Sur- render of Detroit. The specifications under the third charge were similar to those under the second. 'i'his trial, in most of its asi)ccts, w:is a remarkable and most dis- graceful one, and no sensible man can read the record of it without a conviction that (Jeneral Hull was oflered a s;icrifice to appease public indignation, and to the necessity of preserving the Adminis- tration from disgrace and contempt. The court was evidently constituted for this end. The President of the court, who w;ls the Connnander-in-Chief of the armies, w;us deeply interested in the conviction ofCJeneral Hull. IK had made a serious and (for Hull) a fatal blunder in concluding an armisti«c with Sir (Jeorge I'revost without inc luding the Army of the Northwest, or even advising its commander of the omit^ion. Ii Hull should be acipiitted, the HULL'S SURRENDER OF DETROIT. 17 President of the court might be compelled to appear before a similar tribunal on a charge of neglect of duty. It is a significant fact to be remembered that the President was called from very important military duties at that time, to preside over a -trial that lasted eighty days, when there were other peers of the accused not nearly as much engaged as the Commander-in-Chie*". The principal wit- nesses against the accused were allowed extraordinary latitude. They were permitted to give their opinions concerning military movements, which were admitted as evidence; a thing unheard of in a court, excepting in the case of medical or other experts. Chiefly upon such kind of testimony the unfortunate General was condemned. Some militia officers who had never been under fire, testified that because of the peculiar appearance of the General's face during the cannonade of the fort it was their opinion that he was moved by fear; whilst others, who had been in battle, attri- buted his appearance to the real cause — exhausting fatigue of mind and body, for neither had enjoyed any rest scarcely for several days and nights. The charge of treason was withdrawn 'at the beginning of the trial, in a manner most injurious to the accused, namely, that the court had no jurisdiction; but when the trial was over, they saw the necessity of saying, in their verdict: "The evidence on the subject having been publicly given, the court deem it proper, in justice to the accused, to say that they do not believe, from anything that has appeared before them, that General Hull has committed treason against the United States." Why this show of " ju tice to the accused?" The reason is obvious. The principal fact on which the charge of treason was based was the sending of the baggage, intrench- ing tools, and sick, by water past a British fort after war was declared. Because of the neglect of the Secretary of War to send an early notice to Hull of that declaration, the latter was ignorant of the important act until after his schooner had sailed. He might have 18 HULLS SURRENDER OE DETROIT. received the notice some days before she sailed, had the Secretary not been remiss in his duty. That fact, and the proof which ap- peared that the British at Maiden had received a notice of the declaration of war before Hull's vessel sailed, in a letter franked by the Secretary of the Treasury (in consequence of which the British were enabled to send an armed vessel out of Maiden to capture Hull's schooner), were likely to be damaging to the Ad- ministration; so the court, more ready to serve the government than to do justice, dismissed the charge of treason, and made a forced acknowledgment of the General's innocence of that crime. But upon the strength of the extraordinary testimony alluded to, they found the veteran soldier guilty of the second and third charges, and sentenced him to be shot dead! On account of his Revolutionary services, as the court alleged, they earnestly recom- mended him to the mercy of the President. Madison approved the sentence, but pardoned the alleged offender. By this act Jus- tice and Mercy, in the public estimation, were satisfied; the Ad- ministration was absolved from its sins by sacrificing upon the altar of its selfishness the character (which was to him dearer than life) of the innocent victim, and History was allowed to unconsciously defile her pen by writing falsely of the immolated patriot. What a relief to the Administration from crushing responsibility was this unjust sentence! The Secretary of War, conscious of his own errors, expected to feel the public wrath, and liad written to Gene- ral Dearborn: " Fortunately for you, the want of success which has attended the campaign will be attributed to the Secretary of War." General Hull bved under a dark cloud of unmerited reproach, and was compelled to keep silent for the want of facts to establish his innocence. His papers were burned while on their way from De- troit to Buffalo, after the surrender; and during two Administra- tions he was denied the privilege of obtaining copies of papers in the War Department at Washington that might vindicate his cha- HULL'S SURRENDER OF DETROIT. 19 racter. Wlien John C. Calhoun became Secretary of War, he generously gave Hull permission to copy any paper he wished. With the material so obtained, the General began the preparation of a vindication, which was published in a series of letters in a Boston Xie.\\%'\)Z.^tx (^American Statesman) in 1S24, when he was past three-score-and-ten years of age. He lived long enough after pub- lishing that vindication to perceive unmistakable signs of sympathy in the partially disabused public mind, which prophesied of future awards of justice. In 1S25 the citizens of Boston testified their respect for him by giving him a public dinner. In the darkest hours of his adversity General Hull enjoyed the society of generous friends outside of his loving family circle, who thoroughly believed in him. He was in continual correspondence with his old and sympathizing companions-in-arms; and men of high degree in social life were sometimes his guests. Lafayette visited him when that distinguished Frenchman was the nation's guest fifty years ago. In judging the conduct of General Hull at Detroit, we must remember that he was far down the western slope of life at the time of his surrender, when men are very cautious, and when they are more apt to counsel than to act. The perils and fatigues of the march from Dayton to Detroit had affected him, and the anxieties arising from his responsibilities bore heavily upon his judgment. These difficulties his young, vigorous, ambitious and daring officers could not understand; and while they were cursing him, they should have been kindly cherishing him. When he could perceive no alternative but surrender or destruction — destruction to his army and the old men, women and children who had taken refuse in Detroit from the fury of the savages — he bravely determined to choose the most courageous and humane course; so he faced the taunts of his soldiers and the expected scorn of his country.nen, rather than fill the beautiful land of the Ohio and the young settle- 20 HULLS SURRENDER OF DETROIT. ments of Michigan with mourning. To one of his aids he said: ** You return to your family without a stain; as for myself I have sacrificed a reputation dearer to me than life, but I have saved the inhabitants of Detroit, and my heart approves the act." The conception of the campaign against Canada was a huge blunder. Hull saw it and protested against it. The failure to put in vigorous motion for his support auxiliary and cooperative forces was criminal neglect. When the result was found to be a failure and humiliation, the Administration perceived it and sought a refuge. Public indignation must be appeased; the lightning of the public wrath must be averted. I repeat it — General Hull was made the chosen victim for the peace-offering — the sin-bearing scapegoat — and on his head the fiery thunderbolts were hurled. The case of General Hull illustrates' the force of Shakspeare's words: " 'Tis strange how many unimagined charges Can swarm upon a man when once the lid Of the Pandora box of contumely Is opened o'er his head." LIBRARY OF CONGRESS III '"■ "" 002 016 014 7#