William Hull was born on June 24, 1753, and died on November 29, 1825. He was an American military officer and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and later became the governor of the Michigan Territory from 1805 to 1813. During his time as governor, he helped make agreements about land with Native Americans through the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. Hull is most remembered for being a general during the early months of the War of 1812 (1812–1815). On August 16, 1812, he surrendered Fort Detroit to the British Army, ending the siege of Detroit.
After the siege, the British allowed him to return to the eastern United States. However, he was tried in a military court, found guilty, and sentenced to death by the U.S. Army and War Department. Later, he received a pardon from President James Madison, who was the fourth president of the United States (served 1809–1817). This helped improve his military and personal reputation. In the next two years of the war, he was assigned to other commands. The war ended in 1815 with the Treaty of Ghent, which restored the situation before the war began between the United States and Britain.
Early life and education
Hull was born on June 24, 1752, in Derby, Connecticut, which was part of the Connecticut Colony. He graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) in 1772 and first studied religion because his parents wanted him to. However, he changed his focus to law, studying in Litchfield, Connecticut, and became a lawyer in 1775.
Hull's legal career was interrupted when the American Revolutionary War began. He joined the local militia (likely the Connecticut Line) and quickly rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel because of his strong leadership abilities.
Career
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At the start of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), Hull joined a local militia and was soon promoted to captain. He later advanced through the ranks to become a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army. He fought in several battles of the Revolutionary War, including White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Stillwater, Saratoga, Fort Stanwix, Monmouth, and Stony Point. He was recognized by General George Washington, the leader of the Continental Army, and by the Second Continental Congress, which met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, for his service.
Hull was a friend of the famous patriot Nathan Hale. He tried to stop Hale from going on a dangerous spy mission that eventually led to Hale's death at the young age of 21. Hale was caught by the British and was hanged because spying was considered a violation of the laws of war. Hull was responsible for making Hale's famous last words known to the public. These words were, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." These words are one of the most famous quotes in American history.
At the end of the war, Hull was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati in Massachusetts when it was formed in 1783.
After the war, Hull moved to his wife's family estate in Newton, Massachusetts. He worked as a judge and served in the Massachusetts Senate, which was the upper chamber of the state legislature. Six years after the war, in 1789, he was elected captain of the veterans organization called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.
On March 22, 1805, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Hull as Governor of the newly created Michigan Territory and as its Indian Agent. Most of the territory was controlled by Native American tribes, except for two areas around Detroit and Fort Mackinac. Hull worked to buy land from the Native Americans so that American settlers could move there. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Detroit in 1807 with the Odawa, Chippewa, Wyandot, and Potawatomi tribes. This treaty gave most of Southeast Michigan and northwestern Ohio to the United States, down to the mouth of the Maumee River, where the city of Toledo was later built. These efforts to expand American settlement began to cause opposition, especially from Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, who encouraged resistance to American expansion and land cessions.
By February 1812, Congress was planning to go to war with Great Britain, including an invasion of Canada. At the same time, the British were trying to recruit Native American tribes in the Michigan and Canada area. Hull was in Washington, D.C., when William Eustis, the 6th U.S. Secretary of War, told him that President James Madison wanted to appoint him as a Brigadier General in charge of the newly formed Army of the Northwest. Hull was nearly 60 years old and did not want to take on a new military command, so Colonel Jacob Kingsbury was chosen instead. However, Kingsbury became ill before taking command, and the offer was made again to Hull, who then agreed to take it. His orders were to go to Ohio, where the Governor had been asked to raise a 1,200-man militia. This militia would be joined by the regular Army's 4th Infantry Regiment from Vincennes in the Indiana Territory to form the core of the Northwest Army. From there, Hull was to march to Fort Detroit and continue managing the region as the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, south and west of the Great Lakes and along the poorly defended northern border with British Canada.
Hull arrived in Cincinnati on May 10, 1812, and took command of the militia in Dayton on May 25. The militia had three regiments, each led by a colonel: Duncan McArthur, Lewis Cass, and James Findlay. They marched to Staunton and then to Urbana, Ohio, where they joined the 300-man 4th Infantry Regiment. The militia soldiers were poorly trained and not used to strict military discipline. Hull relied on the regular soldiers to help keep the militia in order during the march. On June 15, 1812, Hull's force of over 2,000 men left Urbana for Detroit. Rain and difficult terrain slowed their progress, and they did not reach the Maumee River rapids until June 29.
Hull did not know that the United States Congress had declared war on the United Kingdom on June 18, 1812. On that same day, Secretary Eustis sent two letters to General Hull. One was delivered by a special messenger on June 24, but it did not mention the declaration of war. The second letter did announce the war, but it was sent by mail and did not arrive until July 2. As a result, Hull was still unaware that he was at war when he reached the Maumee River. While he was camped there, he sent the schooner Cuyahoga Packet ahead to Detroit with some sick soldiers, supplies, and official documents. However, the British commander at Fort Amherstburg had already received the war declaration two days earlier and captured the ship. This gave the British all of Hull's military plans and documents.
Hull was partly to blame for the poor preparation and communication by his government. He had often asked his superiors to build a naval fleet on Lake Erie to protect Detroit, Fort Mackinac, and Fort Dearborn, but his requests were ignored by General Henry Dearborn, the commander of the northeast.
Hull began his invasion of Canada on July 12, 1812, by crossing the Detroit River near Sandwich (the area around Windsor, Ontario). He issued a proclamation to the people of Canada, saying that he wanted to free them from British rule and give them the same freedom, security, and wealth that Americans had. However, he soon found that he would face strong resistance. He withdrew to the American side of the river on August 7 after learning about a Shawnee ambush that killed half of the troops sent to support an American supply convoy. Hull also faced a lack of support from his officers and fear among the troops of a possible massacre by Native American forces. A group of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel James Miller stayed in Canada to try to supply the American position near Sandwich, but they had little success.
Hull surrendered Fort Detroit to General Isaac Brock on August 16, 1812, because Brock tricked him into believing he was greatly outnumbered. According to Brock's report, the force included 600 Native American warriors, 1,300 soldiers, and two warships. Hull had 2,500 soldiers under his command, but his grandson later estimated the number to be between 750 and 1,060. Hull believed that surrendering was the right decision because he did not have enough gunpowder or cannonballs to fight a long siege. This move also saved his 2,500 soldiers and 700 civilians from the "horrors of an Indian massacre," as he later wrote.
In 1814, Hull was tried in a court-martial led by General Henry Dearborn, with future president Martin Van Buren as the special judge advocate. Robert Lucas, who later became governor of Ohio and territorial governor of Iowa, gave evidence against Hull. Hull was found guilty of cowardice and neglect of duty and was sentenced to be shot. However, President James Madison reduced the sentence to a simple reprimand.
Later life and death
Hull spent the rest of his life in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Sarah Fuller. He wrote two books, Detroit: Defence of Brig. Gen. Wm. Hull in 1814 and Memoirs of the Campaign of the Northwestern Army of the United States: A.D. 1812, published in 1824. Both books aimed to prove he was not to blame for the loss of Detroit during the War of 1812. Some historians later agreed that Hull was unfairly blamed for this event. The publication of his memoirs in 1824 helped improve public opinion about him. In 1825, he was honored with a dinner in Boston on May 30. That same month, the Marquis de Lafayette visited Hull and said, "We both have suffered disrespect and criticism; but our characters are proved innocent. Let us forgive our enemies and die in Christian love and peace with all mankind." Hull died at home in Newton a few months later, on November 29, 1825.
Hull’s son, Abraham, was an Army captain during the War of 1812. He died at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane at age 27. His remains were buried in the Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario, making him the only American officer buried there. Hull was also the uncle of Isaac Hull, the son of his brother, Joseph. Joseph died when Isaac was young, so Hull raised Isaac. Isaac commanded the USS Constitution during the War of 1812.