William Hull, Revolutionary war soldier, and First Territorial Governor
of Michigan, was born in Derby Connecticut on June 14, 1752. At the
start of the Revolution, Hull was made a Lieutenant Colonel over a CT
State militia and sent to Cambridge Massachusetts to participate in the
siege of Boston. During the siege, the Ct militia participated in the
battle of Chelsea MA(May27,1775) where the Patriots stole a herd of
livestock in Boston sent there to feed the British army and burned a
British schooner. At the battle of Bunker hill (June 17, 1775), only one
Connecticut company (Coit's Grenadiers) participated in the battle while
the rest were positioned around Boston during the attack.
In March 1776, Hull was sent to Manhattan Island to prepare the upcoming
British invasion. In September 1776, Hull helped capture a British supply
ship in NY harbor. Hull also tried to persuade his friend Nathan Hale
not to go the spy mission requested by Washington because he feared for
Hale's life. Hale was suppose to scout out possible locations on Long
Island for a British landing. Hale was captured by the British during
the mission and hung.
  During the Battle of Long Island Hull had to return to CT. Hull would
later participate in the battles of White Plains, Trenton, Princeton,
Fort Stanwix, Saratoga, Stillwater, Monmouth, Stony Point. During the
winter encampment of 1778-1779 between the battles of Monmouth and Stony
Point, The Ct regiments and militia were sent to Redding CT. Here Hull
and the rest the CT regiments suffered greatly from starvation and  from
exposure due to the lack of proper winter clothing and uniforms. A
mutiny occurred, but was later put down in a few days by General Putnam.
At the battle of Stony Point NY (July 16, 1779), Hull participated in the
famous Midnight Bayonet charge against the British with Anthony Wayne.
Wayne was able to defeat the British and capture the fort due to the
heroics of the CT Regiments. This was the last battle Hull would
participate in during the war.
In 1805, Hull was appointed Territorial Governor of Michigan by
President Jefferson. On Nov 17, 1807, Hull signed the Treaty of Detroit
that added South East Michigan to the Territory During the War of 1812,
Hull is famous due to his attack on the British Fort Amherstburg located
at the mouth of the Detroit River before the war was officially declared
in the United States. Hull was unsuccessful in taking the fort and
forced back to Fort Detroit.
During the battle, Hull accidentally lost some dispatches and some plans
describing the defenses of Fort Detroit where he was stationed. The
British commander, General Isaac Brock would take advantage of this
situation and was able to capture Fort Detroit on August 15, 1812. One
year later at the battle of Lake Erie (September 29, 1813), the British
were forced to surrender Fort Detroit ,and the fort was renamed Fort
Shelby after Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky, who had sent a regiment
of troops from Kentucky to participate in the battle. During the war of
1812, Sixty four percent of all American soldiers killed during the war
were from Kentucky.
After the War of 1812, Hull moved back Newton MA, a suburb of Cambridge
MA, where he died on November 29, 1828.