General William Hull was an
American general during the
War of 1812. In July of 1812, he invaded
Canada, but he heard a rumor that the
Shawnee chief
Tecumseh was on his way with 5,000
warriors and retreated to
Detroit. Actually, Techumseh only had 800
Native Americans and 300
Canadians. However, even Tecumseh's small skirmishes near Detroit were too much for General Hull, who surrendered in August without a fight.
He has the distinction of being the only American general ever to be
court martialed for
cowardice and executed.