It is stated that although Tecumseh could speak English, he never spoke any language but his own at any council or when in the presence of any officer or agent of a government, preferring to make use of an interpreter. He held the opinion that the honour of his people and race required official intercourse to be carried on in the Shawanese tongue. He is described as being of about five feet nine inches in height, very erect, with an oval face, clear hazel eyes, straight nose, and a Napoleonic mouth, finely formed and expressive. He was invariably dressed in tanned buckskin made in the usual Indian fashion, that is, a fringed hunting frock descending to the knee, over underclothes of the same material. Leggings and moccasins and a mantle, also of buckskin, completed the costume. In his belt was a silver-mounted tomahawk, also a knife in a strong leather case. On the occasion of their first interview General Brock presented Tecumseh with his sash, but the next morning he appeared without it. When asked the reason, he said an abler warrior than himself, the Wyandot chief Roundhead, was present, and he had transferred it to him. This little piece of diplomacy shows how well Tecumseh understood the art of keeping his savage allies in good humour. In a letter to Lord Liverpool, General Brock gives his impression of the chief. He writes: "Among the Indians whom I found at Amherstburg, who had arrived from distant parts of the country, were some extraordinary characters. He who attracted most of my attention was the Shawanese chief, Tecumseh, brother to the prophet, who for the last two years has carried on, contrary to our remonstrances, an active warfare against the United States. A more sagacious or more gallant warrior does not exist. He was the admiration of every one who conversed with him. From a life of dissipation, he has not only become in every respect abstemious, but has likewise prevailed on all his nation and many of the other tribes to follow his example."
On August 14th, at Amherstburg, General Brock issued the following general order: "The troops in the western district will be formed into three brigades. 1st Brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel St. George, to consist of a detachment of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and of the Kent and 1st and 2nd Regiments of Essex Militia; 2nd Brigade, under Major Chambers, to consist of fifty men of the 41st Regiment, and the whole of the detachments of the York, Lincoln, Oxford, and Norfolk Militia; 3rd Brigade, under Major Tallon, to consist of the remainder of the 41st Regiment. Colonel Procter will have charge of the whole line under the orders of the major-general. James Givins, late captain of the 5th Regiment, is appointed provincial aide-de-camp, with the rank of major of the militia."
General Brock called together his principal officers to confer with them on the proposed crossing of the river to attack Fort Detroit. He had already made up his own mind, but only one officer, the quartermaster-general, Colonel Nichol, agreed with him as to the advisability of the enterprise. The general then said: "I have decided on crossing, and now, gentlemen, instead of any further advice, I entreat of you to give me your cordial and hearty support." If the ideal officer is the man who can decide rightly what to do in any situation of war, who is able to make up his mind quickly what course to adopt and how to carry it out, then Isaac Brock was that ideal officer. Nature had given him the hero's outfit,—"courage and the faculty to do."
Sandwich and Detroit
Early on August 15th orders were given to advance at once to Sandwich, sixteen miles from Amherstburg and four miles below Detroit. The troops arrived the same day at their destination. A detachment of two hundred and fifty Americans, left by General Hull in a fort on the Canadian side, evacuated it on the approach of the British, and crossed the river to the American side. General Brock occupied as headquarters Colonel Baby's house, so lately vacated by General Hull. Preparations had already been made for bombarding Detroit, for batteries had been constructed under the superintendence of Captain Dixon, of the Royal Engineers. They were equipped for one 18-pounder, two 12½ and two 5½-inch mortars. It is scarcely to be wondered at that doubts were felt as to the possibility of crossing the river to attack a strong fort with the scanty force at the command of the British general. He had but two hundred and fifty of the 41st Regiment, fifty of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, thirty Royal Artillery, four hundred militia, and about seven hundred Indians. For artillery there were but five guns—three 6-pounders and two 3-pounders. In the Detroit River there were two British gunboats, one the Queen Charlotte (Captain Finnis) a sloop of war armed with eighteen 24-pounders, the other the brig Hunter. On the Canadian side of the river, directly opposite Detroit, was the battery under the command of Captain Dixon. The river at Sandwich is about three-quarters of a mile wide.
The American general had under his command two troops of cavalry, one company of artillery, the 4th United States Regiment, detachments of the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the regular army of volunteers, three regiments of Ohio militia and one of the Michigan territory. In all there were about two thousand men posted in and around the fort, while a detachment of three hundred and sixty men under Colonel McArthur, who had left for the river Raisin, had been recalled and were now on their way back. All these troops were well armed. The fort was defended by twenty-six pieces of ordnance of large calibre. There was an abundance of ammunition, as Colonel Cass's report to the secretary of war showed. He stated that they had four hundred rounds of 24-pound shot fixed, and about one hundred thousand cartridges made. There were also forty barrels of powder and two thousand five hundred stand of arms.
It was indeed a bold enterprise to attempt to take the place by assault. As General Brock said afterwards, he made a cool calculation of the pours and contres, and was helped in his decision by the letters that had fallen into his hands at Brownstown addressed to the secretary of war; and also by the private letters of hundreds of the American army to their friends. These showed that confidence in General Hull was gone, and that despondency prevailed throughout the fort.
Brock's demand
When General Brock arrived at Sandwich on the morning of August 15th, he determined at once to carry out his plan. From his headquarters he penned a missive summoning the American general to surrender. In coolness and boldness it is only equalled by that of Nelson to the Crown Prince at Copenhagen. Possibly Brock thought of that day when he stood by England's great admiral and saw him write his demand for the surrender of the Danish forts. In almost similar terms the British general wrote: "The force at my disposal authorizes me to require of you the immediate surrender of Fort Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops will be beyond my control the moment the contest commences."
This letter was taken to Fort Detroit by the two aides-de-camp, Captain Glegg and Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell. General Hull refused to see them, and after keeping them waiting about two hours, returned this answer: "I have received your letter of this date. I have no other reply to make than to inform you that I am prepared to meet any force which may be at your disposal, and any consequences which may result from any exertion of it you may think proper to make."