The Brady Guards

At the end of the Black Hawk War, in 1832, the Detroit City Guards were disbanded. A number of young men, including some former members of the Detroit City Guard, formed a new independent, volunteer company in Detroit on April 2, 1836. The organization was soon perfected and received permission from Brigadier General Hugh Brady, U.S. Army, to use his name as their own. The unit played a not insignificant role in the Patriot War.

The Brady Guards were later designated the Grayson Guard in honor of Col. Grayson, an Army instructor. In 1855, unit became the "Detroit Light Guard". This unit has had a continuous existence to the present day and is now the 1225th Combat Support and Sustainment Battalion, stationed at the Detroit Light Guard Armory.

Hugh Brady

Brady first served with General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, for whom Ft. Wayne in Detroit is named, during the Indian campaigns of 1772-95. After a period of civilian life, Brady returned to service with the U.S. Army as a colonel during the War of 1812. Following the war, in 1822, Brady garrisoned Sault Ste. Marie, building Ft. Brady there, to reestablish U.S. authority over the area. For this, Brady was brevetted to brigadier general.

In command of the U.S. Army's Northwestern Department, headquartered in Detroit, since 1835, Brady helped preserve the peace along the Canadian border during the period of the Patriot War. For his long and faithful service, Brady received the brevet rank of Major General in 1848. Following his accidental death in 1851, Brady's funeral is reported to have been one of the most imposing military funerals ever seen by the city of Detroit.

Related Information:

> The First Fort Brady, Sault Ste. Marie
> The Third Fort Brady, Lake Superior State University