U.S. regulars under the command of Lt. Colonel John F. Hamtramck enter Detroit and replace the British Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes. The ceremony comes thirteen years after the signing of the Treaty of Paris at the end of the American Revolution. The delay has been caused by British reluctance to abandon their center of trade and power in the Ohio River Valley. As recently as 1791 the British included Michigan in their governmental reorganization of Canada. The following year, Michigan residents voted in their first election and elected three Detroiters to Ontario's provincial assembly. To thwart United States development of the Great Lakes area, the British have been supplying the Indians with arms. Two U.S. military efforts to subdue the Indians ended in disaster before General "Mad" Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians at the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794, near present-day Toledo, Ohio. Wayne's success prompted the British to evacuate the northwestern forts, opening the way for Hamtramck's troops. In 1805 the Michigan Territory will be organized.

Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
Use and Reproduction Information [PDF]
Send comments about this page to webspinners@michigan.gov.