Military / City history
Isaac Brock
1769–1812 · British Army general
British general who captured Detroit and General Hull's army on August 16, 1812, with his Shawnee ally Tecumseh.
- Born
St Peter Port, Guernsey- Died
Queenston Heights, Upper Canada
aged 43- Also known as
- Hero of Upper Canada
- Detroit years
- 1812
- Field
- Military, City history
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Isaac Brock, a career officer from the island of Guernsey, was commanding British forces in Upper Canada when the United States declared war in June 1812. After General William Hull invaded across the Detroit River and then pulled back to Fort Detroit, Brock gathered regulars, Canadian militia and his Shawnee ally Tecumseh at Fort Malden in Amherstburg. On August 15 he sent Hull a demand to surrender, warning that he might not be able to restrain his Native allies once fighting began, and opened fire from batteries at Sandwich, today's Windsor. The next morning he crossed the river and advanced on the fort, and Hull surrendered the fort, the town and his army. Brock seized weapons, supplies and the brig Adams, which the British renamed HMS Detroit, and he was knighted for the victory. Two months later he was killed at Queenston Heights on the Niagara frontier. Canadians remember him as the Hero of Upper Canada.
Highlights
- Captured Detroit and Hull's army on August 16, 1812
- Took 2,500 muskets, 33 artillery pieces and the brig Adams at Detroit
- Knighted in the Order of the Bath for the Detroit victory
- Killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Related place · 1812
Site of Fort Lernoult (Fort Detroit, later Fort Shelby)
Demolished · 1779–1827
The American fort Brock captured on August 16, 1812; demolished in 1827, it is recalled by a historical marker on the corner building.