Witching Hour - Strange History: The general who invaded Windsor, then gave up Detroit
Witching Hour - Strange History An invading army once set up headquarters in a Windsor farmhouse. On July 12, 1812, Gen. William Hull crossed into Sandwich and took over François Baby's new house. On Aug. 16, he surrendered Detroit to Isaac Brock.
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Witching Hour is our nightly local history and folklore feature. Ghost stories and legends are retold as stories people tell, not reported as fact. Sources are listed below the story.
Not a ghost story tonight. This one is about a house on Pitt Street West that an invading army once called its headquarters.
The crossing
On July 12, 1812, American Brig. Gen. William Hull crossed the Detroit River with his army and occupied Sandwich, now part of Windsor.
Hull took over the unfinished brick house François Baby was building on his farm on the south bank of the Detroit River, and made it his headquarters. His troops camped on the farm around it.
The odd part
The invasion did not last. In August, Hull withdrew his army back across the river to Detroit. British forces then took over the same Baby farm and built gun batteries there, and those guns fired on Fort Detroit.
On Aug. 16, 1812, British troops and First Nations warriors led by Tecumseh crossed the river, and Hull surrendered Fort Detroit to Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock. The house that had been the American headquarters had become part of the British attack.
Hull was later court-martialled in Albany, N.Y., and sentenced to death. President James Madison approved the verdict but spared his life.
The legend
The story goes that Tecumseh marched his warriors past an opening in the forest three times, so the Americans would think the force was much bigger. The Canadian Encyclopedia says that popular story lacks real evidence. Tell it as legend, not history.
The place today
The François Baby House at 254 Pitt Street West is a National Historic Site of Canada. Today it is a community museum, part of Museum Windsor.
