The historical geography of Detroit . at the mouth of the Detroit River, whither theBritish had withdrawn after the evacuation of Detroit,hostile forces could easily be sent across the river tocut off any weakly guarded supply train on the over- 9. Twelfth Census, I, Population, Part I, 24, 25. 10. Variously estimated at 150 to 200 houses. Niles Weekly Reg., IV, 47; Heriot, Travels Through Canada, 24. 11. Niles Weekly Reg., IV, 47 (Mar. 20, 1813). 12. See maps. 13. For description and origin of this swamp see Chapter XL THE AMERICANS ASSUME CONTROL 133 land journey from Ohio. A strong force wa
The historical geography of Detroit . at the mouth of the Detroit River, whither theBritish had withdrawn after the evacuation of Detroit,hostile forces could easily be sent across the river tocut off any weakly guarded supply train on the over- 9. Twelfth Census, I, Population, Part I, 24, 25. 10. Variously estimated at 150 to 200 houses. Niles Weekly Reg., IV, 47; Heriot, Travels Through Canada, 24. 11. Niles Weekly Reg., IV, 47 (Mar. 20, 1813). 12. See maps. 13. For description and origin of this swamp see Chapter XL THE AMERICANS ASSUME CONTROL 133 land journey from Ohio. A strong force was, there-fore, necessary to keep open the line of land communi-cation. At that time little agriculture was practicedin the settlements about Detroit, and the people and?garrison had to depend on Ohio for most of their sup-plies. The most logical line of communication betweenthe settled part of the United States and this outpostwas by the Detroit River and Lake Erie. The nationthat could control Lake Erie could also control Detroit. Distribution of Population ix mi::Lakes Region in 1800{From Statistical Atlas, Ninth Census, XVI.) and Michigan. The Americans had few vessels on theLakes at this time and Fort Maiden at the entrance toDetroit River completely controlled all water trafficbetween Lake Erie and Detroit. The mouth of theriver is about four miles wide, but the only navigablechannel for the larger vessels lay between Bois Blanc 134 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF DETROIT Island and the Canadian mainland.^^ All large vesselswere obliged, therefore, to pass almost nnder the gunsof Fort Maiden. In the one hundred and more years that the Euro-peans had been interested in the commerce of theDetroit region, little had been done to bring theregion into closer commtmication with the isolation of the region from the Atlantic seaboardin the first decade of the nineteenth century is wellshown by the difficulties met by Governor Hull andfamily in the journey to Detroit to take u
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