252 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
A bolder commander would probably have attempted to extricate 
himself from his difficult position by an assault upon Amherstburg, 
but Hull shrank from this as certainly entailing serious loss with but 
a doubtful prospect of success. Little progress had yet been made in 
the preparations for a regular siege, although work had been begun upon 
three floating batteries. “A week of extremely warm weather had been 
succeeded by storms of rain and hail, turning unusually cold at night. 
Combined with the unsanitary state of the camp, this caused much 
sickness. The principal medical officer died, and the chief engineer 
fell seriously ill. A disposition to grumble and find fault had become 
apparent among the volunteers, which their officers were inclined to 
encourage rather than repress. 
On the same day that the fall of Mackinac became known to Gen- 
eral Hull, Colonel Henry Procter of the 41st Regiment arrived at 
Amherstburg from Long Point in an open boat, having been much 
delayed by windy weather. As senior in rank he at once superseded 
St. George in command of the district. The number of militia under 
arms had steadily diminished until it did not much exceed three hun- 
dred, although many of the absentees promised to return after harvest. 
In the 1st Essex Regiment, three officers were reported absent without 
leave and two as deserters... He found that the “arts and misrepre- 
sentations ” of the enemy had made a strong impression upon the minds 
of the Indians, of whom only about two hundred remained. Of the 
militia three hundred and sixty had actually claimed protection from 
General Hull before returning to their homes? Watson and West- 
brook had conducted a patrol of mounted men up the Thames as far 
as Westminster, vowing vengeance against “ the first characters in the 
Province,” * while Hull’s address to the Six Nations had been com- 
municated to them in some mysterious way with marked effect. But 
the small body of regulars remained in good spirits and Procter reported 
that he did not consider that Amherstburg was in any immediate dan- 
ger and felt confident that the arrival of five hundred of the 41st Regi- 
ment would speedily decide the contest in his favour. While retaining 
the Queen Charlotte to secure the navigation of the river, he determined 
to despatch the Hunter and Nancy to Fort Erie to bring up any avail- 
able reinforcement that might be spared from that quarter. Greatly 
encouraged by the news of the capture of Mackinac he lost no time in 
reopening negotiations with the Wyandots of Brownstown, who enjoyed 
the reputation of being the most intelligent, enterprising and courageous 

1Return, 26th July, 1812; Woodbridge Papers. 
* Evidence of Colonel Joseph Watson, Hull’s Trial, p. 151. 
* Brock to Prevost, 26th July; Procter to Breck, 26th July. 
