10. On the 19th of June a declaration of war was made against Great Britain. Vigorous preparations for the conflict were made by Congress. It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and fifty thousand volunteers. The several States were requested to call out a hundred thousand militia. A national loan of eleven million dollars was authorized. Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, was chosen commander-in-chief of the army. 11. The war was begun by General William Hull, governor of Michigan Territory. On the 1st of June he marched from Dayton with fifteen hundred men. For a full month the army toiled through the forests to the western extremity of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull sent his baggage to Detroit. But the British at Malden were on the alert, and captured Hull's boat with everything on board. Nevertheless, the Americans pressed on to Detroit, and on the 12th of July crossed the river to Sandwich. 12. Hull, hearing that Mackinaw had been taken by the British, soon returned to Detroit. From this place he sent Major Van Horne to meet Major Brush, who had reached the river Raisin with reinforcements. But Tecumtha laid an ambush for Van Horne's forces and defeated them near Brownstown. Colonel Miller, with another detachment, attacked and routed the savages with great loss, and then returned to Detroit. [Sidenote: The Surrender of Detroit.] [Illustration: Engagement of the Wasp and the Frolic.] 13. General Brock, governor of Canada, now took command of the British at Malden. On the 16th of August he advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans in their trenches were eager for battle. When the British were within five hundred yards, Hull _hoisted a white flag over the fort_. Then followed a surrender, the most shameful in the history of the United States. All the forces under Hull's command became prisoners of war. The whole of Michigan Territory was surrendered to the British. Hull was afterward court-martialed and sentenced to be shot; but the President pardoned him. 14. About the time of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the present site of Chicago, was surrendered to an army of Indians. The garrison capitulated on condition of retiring without molestation. But the savages fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed some, and distributed the rest as captives. [Sidenote: The War at Sea.] 15. On the 19th of August the frigate _Constitution_, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British _Guerriere_ off the coast of Massachusetts. The vessels maneuvered for a while, the _Constitution_ closing with her antagonist, until at half pistol-shot she poured in a broadside, sweeping the decks of the _Guerriere_ and deciding the contest. On the following morning, the _Guerriere_, being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with his prisoners and spoils.