On Western Defense
Brigadier-General John Armstrong, USA, To The Secretary Of War

Red Hook, New York, 2 January 1812

For western defence employ western men, accustomed to the rifle and the forest, and not unacquainted with the usages and stratagems of Indian warfare. To their customary arms add a pistol and a sabre; and to ensure celerity of movement, mount them on horseback. Give them a competent leader and a good position, within striking distance of Indian villages or British settlements. Why not at Detroit, where you have a strong fortress and a detachment of artillerists? Recollect, however, that this position, far from being good, would be positively bad unless your naval means have an ascendancy on Lake Erie; because Buffalo, Erie, Cleaveland, and the two Sanduskys must be its base or source of supply. The maximum of this corps may be six battalions.

E.A. Cruikshank, ed. Documents Relating to the Invasion of Canada and the Surrender of Detroit, 1812. (Ottawa: 1912), p. 3.