<P> The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock, felt that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada, and to convince the aboriginals who were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong . He moved rapidly to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and immediately decided to attack Detroit . Hull, fearing that the British possessed superior numbers and that the Indians attached to Brock's force would commit massacres if fighting began, surrendered Detroit without a fight on August 16 . Knowing of British - instigated indigenous attacks on other locations, Hull ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants of Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to Fort Wayne . After initially being granted safe passage, the inhabitants (soldiers and civilians) were attacked by Potowatomis on August 15 after travelling only 2 miles (3.2 km) in what is known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn . The fort was subsequently burned . </P> <P> Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion . An armistice (arranged by Prévost in the hope the British renunciation of the Orders in Council to which the United States objected might lead to peace) prevented Brock from invading American territory . When the armistice ended, the Americans attempted an attack across the Niagara River on October 13, but suffered a crushing defeat at Queenston Heights . Brock was killed during the battle . While the professionalism of the American forces improved by the war's end, British leadership suffered after Brock's death . A final attempt in 1812 by American General Henry Dearborn to advance north from Lake Champlain failed when his militia refused to advance beyond American territory . </P> <P> In contrast to the American militia, the Canadian militia performed well . French Canadians, who found the anti-Catholic stance of most of the United States troublesome, and United Empire Loyalists, who had fought for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War, strongly opposed the American invasion . Many in Upper Canada were recent settlers from the United States who had no obvious loyalties to the Crown; nevertheless, while there were some who sympathized with the invaders, the American forces found strong opposition from men loyal to the Empire . </P> <P> After Hull's surrender of Detroit, General William Henry Harrison was given command of the U.S. Army of the Northwest . He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel Henry Procter in conjunction with Tecumseh . A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at Frenchtown along the River Raisin on January 22, 1813 . Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard, who could not prevent some of his North American aboriginal allies from attacking and killing perhaps as many as sixty Americans, many of whom were Kentucky militiamen . The incident became known as the River Raisin Massacre . The defeat ended Harrison's campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans . </P>

The early wars between france and britain in north america were notable for