British occupation of the Michigan Territory

British occupation of the Michigan Territory
Occupied countryUnited States
Occupying powerUnited Kingdom and Upper Canada
Siege of Detroit16 August 1812
Henry Procter becomes Civil Governor24 August 1812
Declaration of martial law4 February 1813
Battle of Lake Erie10 September 1813
Liberation of Detroit29 September 1813
Administrative centreDetroit
Government
 • Civil GovernorHenry Procter
 • Chief JusticeAugustus B. Woodward[a]

The Territory of Michigan was occupied by the United Kingdom during the War of 1812.

History

Fall of Detroit

On 16 August 1812, after a short siege, Brigadier General William Hull surrendered Detroit to British, Upper Canadian, and Indigenous forces.[1] The reaction of the American public and government officials was that of disbelief and fury.[2] For the first time since the American Revolutionary War, British forces occupied American territory.

End of the occupation

On 29 September 1813, the Army of the Northwest under the command of William Henry Harrison arrived in Detroit.[3] American control over Michigan was restored.[4][5]

Notes

  1. ^ Woodward stayed in Detroit and maintained his judicial status. When the British offered him the role of Secretary of the Territory, Woodward refused.

References

  1. ^ "The Capture of Detroit, 1812". www.warof1812.ca.
  2. ^ "Capture of Detroit, War of 1812". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  3. ^ "The Detroit Frontier in the War of 1812". American Battlefield Trust.
  4. ^ "Michigan - Native American, French, British | Britannica". www.britannica.com. November 3, 2025.
  5. ^ "Michigan: Resistance to British Occupation | FactMonster". www.factmonster.com.