JULY 11, 1796
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 came 13 years after the signing of the Treaty of Paris at the end of the American Revolution. The delay was caused by British reluctance to abandon their center of trade and power in the Ohio River Valley. In 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 supplied 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 organized.
- Learn more about the British in Michigan:
Contact the Michigan Historical Center.
Updated 06/23/2011
