Border Crossings: The Detroit River Region in the War of 1812

by Detroit Historical Society, Joel Stone (Editor), Douglas D. Fisher (Editor)

After the American Revolution, the Detroit River marked the boundary between the American frontier outpost of Detroit and the British Canadian communities of Sandwich (present-day Windsor, Ontario) and Fort Amherstburg. For more than a generation, American citizens, British subjects, French settlers, Native Americans, and African slaves and freedmen routinely crossed the border while living and working together in one of the most diverse regions in North America. That tranquility ended suddenly with the War of 1812. Cross-river neighbors transformed into enemies as the previously ignored border became fraught with new political significance.

The result of a year-long community history partnership between the Detroit Historical Society and Wayne State University, Border Crossings uncovers the personal and group interactions often ignored in standard histories of the War of 1812. In August 1812, U.S. General William Hull surrendered Detroit to the British under General Isaac Brock. For more than a year, until September 1813, Detroit remained in the hands of the British. Americans then occupied settlements on the Canadian side of the Detroit River until July 1815-well past the official end of the war. These multiple "border crossings" had profound implications for the diverse inhabitants of the Detroit River region, including widespread privation, imprisonment, enemy attacks, and dispossession of homes and land.

302 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2012

Reviews

[Macomfort · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the only things I've found on the occupation of detroit, like most easy collections somewhere more topical than others.

[Tim Marks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second book in a series studying Detroit in the early United States. The first book covered Detroit during the revolution, this one covers the War of 1812. The Detroit River Region was the focus of a good part of the war. Each essay by a Wayne State University student focuses on a single element of the war around Detroit. Good Read and a nice contribution the the scholarship of the era.