War Information
10 sectionsHistory of Wars in Detroit
Founded in 1701 by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac as a French fur trading post, Detroit has witnessed numerous conflicts throughout its history. The French and Indian War (1754–1763) turned Detroit into a battlefield. The Odawa chief Pontiac besieged Fort Detroit for six months in 1763. The siege ultimately failed but forced Britain to change its Indigenous policies. During the War of 1812, Detroit was captured by British forces under General Isaac Brock and Indigenous allies led by Tecumseh. American General William Hull surrendered the city without firing a shot and was later convicted of cowardice.
The Detroit Race Riot of 1967 was one of the bloodiest racial conflicts in U.S. history. On July 23, 1967, Detroit police raided an unlicensed bar in the Black neighborhood (12th Street). The raid sparked five days of rebellion and military suppression. Governor George Romney called in the Michigan National Guard, and President Lyndon Johnson deployed army troops (82nd and 101st Airborne). Army tanks patrolled Detroit's streets. By the end, 43 were dead, 1,189 injured, and over 7,200 arrested. 2,509 businesses and homes were looted or burned. Property damage was estimated at $50 million (equivalent to $400 million today).
The War on Drugs and police violence (1980s–present) turned Detroit into one of America's deadliest cities. In the 1980s and 1990s, Detroit became a hub for crack cocaine trafficking. The murder rate in Detroit reached 58.6 per 100,000 in 1987 — the highest in the nation. Detroit Police systematically used excessive force against Black men. Between 2010 and 2020, 37 people were killed by Detroit Police, 82% of whom were Black. The roots of police violence trace back to decades of systemic racial discrimination, mass unemployment, and War on Drugs policies.
