Michigan Ceded: Why and Wherefore?

THE MICHIGAN HISTORICAL REVIEW 38:1 (Spring 2012): 1-26©2012 by Central Michigan University. ISSN 0890-1686 All Rights Reserved. Michigan Ceded: Why and Wherefore? by Sandy Antal News of the surrender of Detroit on August 16, 1812, represented a complete reversal of expectations in Washington. Few accounts of the War of 1812 mention an even more shocking fact, that by his public proclamation of that same day, Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock declared “Michigan . . . ceded to the arms of His Brittanick Majesty.”1 Brock’s action assured a continuation of the war at the very time that British diplomats were anxious to end it. This article examines the rationale behind Brock’s seemingly incomprehensible action, the subsequent British attempt to govern the territory, and the far-reaching implications for the Americans, Britons, and Natives. The notion of restoring Michigan Territory to the British sphere was hardly new in 1812. After all, it had been a British possession after the conquest of New France (1763) and passed to the United States 20 years later, upon the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War. During that conflict, American forces had managed to establish a toehold in the region but subsequently sustained two harsh reverses in 1782 at Blue Licks and Sandusky. Given this sparse American penetration, many were surprised at the final terms of the Treaty of Paris. Not only had British diplomats recognized the independence of the 13 colonies but they unaccountably gave away an enormous land mass south of the Great Lakes which included Michigan. When news of this extraordinary arrangement reached London, it brought down the Shelburne administration.2 Subsequently, it was widely held among British Indian Department officials, loyalist immigrants from the United States and leaders of the Northwest Company that the area south of the Great Lakes had been given away improperly and ought to be recovered. 1 Brock’s Proclamation, August 16, 1812, in Clarence M. Burton, The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922 (Detroit: S. J. Clarke, 1922), 2: 1019. 2 Britain’s hasty cession of the territory south of the Great Lakes has never been fully explained. But things could have been worse. Incredibly, the British delegates’ opening offer in Paris for an international boundary was the Ottawa River. The Americans rejected this offer as it would have placed the headwaters of the Mississippi River within British boundaries. William Kingsford, The History of Canada (Toronto, On.: Roswell & Hutchinson, 1890), 7: 151-52. 2 The Michigan Historical Review In point of fact, the lands in question were not entirely Britain’s to give away or to recover. The Pontiac insurrection of 1763 had impressed officials with the need for a formalized vehicle to guarantee Native land rights. By royal proclamation of that year, the entire Great Lakes region was recognized as Native territory, rendering its white settlers temporary tenants. Thus, British diplomats had been unduly generous in giving away land that legally belonged to the Natives and rude (to say the least) in not even consulting its owners. By ceding this territory to the United States, they had shamefully abandoned their obligations to the tribesmen, although not entirely. Subsequently, the British government developed second thoughts about the terms of the peace treaty with the Americans. Although the Great Lakes chain formed the new international boundary, British garrisons continued to occupy posts south of the waterways. In addition to Mackinac and Detroit, the British built a new post, Fort Miamis, on the Maumee River while agents of the British Indian Department continued to dispense annual presents among the tribesmen. They encouraged resistance to American encroachment, hinting that the British government would protect Native interests. The tribesmen managed to defeat two American assaults under General Harmar (1791) and General St. Clair (1792) but were defeated, in turn, at the battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). Although this engagement occurred within sight of the British Fort Miamis, its commander offered the Natives no aid and even shut the gate to fugitive warriors after the battle. It was not until 1796 that Britain finally evacuated the territory south of the Great Lakes. With American settlers swarming into the region, it became painfully evident to the tribal chiefs that Britain could...

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