It wasn’t until Sept. 12, 1812, that most Americans learned of the disaster that had befallen the Army of the Northwest, commanded by 59-year-old William Hull, at Fort Detroit. The general had led a brief invasion to annex part of Canada to the United States but had lost his nerve and retreated back to Fort Detroit when confronted with a force about half his size led by Gen. Isaac Brock and the Indian chief Tecumseh.