William Hall

Since the early nineteenth century, tensions between the Americans and the British had been growing over the issue of expansion in North America and Britain's support for indigenous groups that took up arms against the United States. On the other hand, Britain did not hesitate to impose a naval blockade on France during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, and later moved to seize American ships trading with French colonies in the Caribbean. In 1812, the United States took advantage of Britain's preoccupation with the Napoleonic Wars to declare war on it. In this war, the Americans spoke of their desire to stop British encroachment and their desire to expel the British from North America and invade Canadian territory.

                       Imaginary image of William Hall

Mission to protect Michigan:
Hoping to end the war in its favor, America turned to a number of Revolutionary War veterans to use their experience against the British. As a result, a number of these individuals, classified as national heroes, were entrusted with the task of leading the American army. Meanwhile, General William Hull was among those entrusted with the command of the American army. During the Revolutionary War, he had proven himself to be one of the best military men. Beginning in 1805, Hull was appointed governor of the Michigan Territory by President Thomas Jefferson. During his tenure, Hull negotiated the Treaty of Detroit, which was successfully concluded with several Native American tribes in 1807 and gave the United States a large portion of southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, Brigadier General William Hull was charged with protecting Michigan from a possible British invasion from what was then Upper Canada. Hull, 60, was slow and indecisive, which had a negative impact on the course of the war in the region. In this war, Hull had to face the British General Isaac Brock, who was supported by several Indian tribes. 
                         Isaac Brooke with a number of indigenous tribes

The British alliance with the Native Americans was another unexpected obstacle for the Americans. Taking advantage of William Hull's hesitation, the British took control of much of the territory. Faced with the advance of the British and their Native American allies, Hull ordered the evacuation of Fort Dearborn. Because of their slow retreat, the American soldiers were massacred by the Native Americans who attacked them.
 
William Hall during the surrender of Fort Detroit

Sentenced to death :
On the night of August 15, 1812, Brock set his sights on Fort Detroit. From the Canadian side of the territory, his soldiers fired a series of shells at the fort as the Native Americans surrounded it. 
Believing that the battle was already decided in favor of the British, Hall and his estimated two thousand men surrendered without firing a shot. Hall's assessment was wrong, however, as his forces had the numerical advantage and surrendered to a much smaller force. Hall's surrender left a huge vacuum in the region. As a result, much of Michigan fell to the British in the following weeks. Hall remained in British hands until the end of the Revolutionary War. Upon his return to the American side, he was taken to prison to be tried by a military tribunal on charges of cowardice and surrender without resistance. He was convicted on 11 counts and sentenced to death by firing squad, becoming the first and only American general to be sentenced to death by firing squad in the history of the United States. The sentence was never carried out, however, as Hall narrowly escaped after being pardoned by President James Madison.

                       Presidential portrait of James Madison