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1431403

James Madison

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Just days before the War of 1812, Madison promotes Henry B. Brevoort,

one of the earliest American settlers of Detroit, Michigan,

who participated in the Admiral Perryʼs victory at the Battle of Lake Erie

James Madison, Jr., 1751–1836.  4th President of the United States, 1809–1817.  Partially printed Document Signed, James Madison, 14¾" x 17", Washington, [D.C.], May 26, 1812.  Countersigned, W. Eustis, by Secretary of War William Eustis.

In this excellent association document, signed only six days before his message to Congress that spawned the War of 1812, President Madison promotes Henry B. Brevoort, one of the earliest American settlers in Detroit, Michigan, to the rank of captain in the Second Regiment of Infantry, effective May 1, 1811.  Brevoort later saw action in the American victory at the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie and received the Silver Star for valor.

American relations with Great Britain deteriorated as the United States sought to remain neutral during the Napoleonic Wars.  There were several reasons.  First, neither the British nor the French wanted the United States to trade with the other.  Britain was the United Statesʼ largest trade partner, which some in Britain saw as dangerous competition.  In 1807, Britain adopted a series of trade restrictions that impeded American neutral trade with France.  Second, with tensions already high, the British warship H.M.S. Leopard attacked the American frigate U.S.S. Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia, in search of British nationals who had emigrated to the United States.  The British impressed four sailors—and hanged one of them—for desertion after the Chesapeake, caught unprepared, surrendered to broadside fire from the Leopard after firing only one shot in response.  The incident created an uproar in the United States, which viewed the attack as a violation of American neutrality.  Third, Britain supported the Native American tribes in the Northwest Territory, which comprised parts of current Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, encouraging raids that hindered American westward expansion, and the Americans charged Britain with supplying the Native Americans with weapons and ammunition. 

It was in this atmosphere, with Madisonʼs hawkish Republicans in control of Congress, that Madison sent a message to Congress on June 1, 1812, outlining American grievances against Britain.  After days of debate, the House of Representatives and Senate adopted a resolution declaring war—the first declared war in American history—and Madison approved it on June 18, 1812.

Henry Bregaw Brevoort (1775–1858), a descendant of the early Dutch families in New York, was among the first Americans to move to Detroit, Michigan, in the summer of 1796 and "always occupied a prominent place among the people."  2 The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701–1922, at 1346, 1360 (Clarence M. Burton, William Stocking, & Gordon K. Miller eds., 1922).  There he entered the United States Army.  From 1802–1812, as a lieutenant, he commanded the U.S.S. Adams, a 200-ton, 12-gun brig built in 1799 that General William Hull, the American Army commander at Detroit, then acquired in 1812 to assist in supplying American troops and materials to Fort Mackinac and Fort Dearborn. 

Although the Americans had more soldiers than the British and their Native American allies, led by the Shawnee Tecumseh, Hull was deceived by maneuvers that convinced him that his force was outnumbered.  Because many women and children still lived inside Fort Detroit, Hull surrendered the fort and the town.  The British took Brevoort and the other American Army regulars prisoner and captured the Adams and 2,500 muskets, 300 rifles, and 30 cannon.  Brevoort was later paroled and returned to service.  Although an Army officer, he was "commodore in the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813—Perryʼs Victory."  Id. at 1360.  The Battle of Lake Erie was one of the most significant American naval victories of the war.  The American fleet captured six British ships, giving the United States control of the lake and allowing it to recover Detroit.  Hullʼs successor, Major General William Henry Harrison, defeated the British and the Native American confederation, killing Tecumseh, at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813.

Brevoortʼs tombstone at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit shows that he was awarded the Silver Star, the United Statesʼ third highest military decoration, for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States, and was promoted to major.  After the War of 1812, Brevoort returned to Detroit, where he "was well known and represented a power and beneficent influence in local affairs."  Compendium of History and Biography of The City of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan 324 (1909).  A staunch Democrat, he "was a man of fine mentality and staunch integrity, and he wielded no little influence in the city which so long represented his home."  Id. at 325.  He was a shareholder in the Bank of Michigan, Detroitʼs second financial institution, which was established in 1818.  Id. at 91.  He also served as the Indian Agent at Green Bay, Wisconsin, 1803–1841, and his papers are in the Wisconsin Historical Society archives at Madison.

This ornate vellum document is in fine condition overall.  The paper and wax seal is intact at the upper right.  The document has horizontal and vertical folds, with some minor edge splits in the horizontal folds; slight paper loss at the lower right edge, not affecting the text; toning at the edges; and a few minor pinholes, mostly in the center vertical fold.  The vertical fold touches the "J" in Madisonʼs 2¾" brown ink signature

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