Siege of Detroit

1812 CE.

Shown on the map at 42.330°, -83.049°.

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.

Text from the Wikipedia article Siege of Detroit, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 1812 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire