Fort Wayne is located in the city of Detroit, Michigan, at the foot of Livernois Avenue in the Delray neighborhood.

On the grounds but outside the original fort are additional barracks, officers quarters, a recreation building, a theater, commissary, guard house, garage, and stables.

Although war had not yet been officially declared, Michigan militiamen bombarded the town of Sandwich, Upper Canada (later annexed into Windsor), on July 4, 1812.

In the ensuing Siege of Detroit, American general William Hull, believing himself completely surrounded and outnumbered, surrendered Fort Shelby to the British without offering any resistance.

Many Americans believed there was widespread Canadian support for these rebellions and formed volunteer militias to overthrow Canada's colonial government.

In 1841, Congress appropriated funds to build a chain of forts stretching from the east coast to the Minnesota Territory, including one at Detroit.

The Army named the new fort for Revolutionary War hero General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who had taken possession of Detroit from the British in 1796.

The original fort is a bastioned rectangle with walls of earthen ramparts faced with cedar, covering vaulted brick casemates that contain embrasures (openings) for antipersonnel flank howitzers.

Starting in 1863, under the supervision of Thomas J. Cram, the walls of the fort were reconstructed, replacing the original cedar facing with brick.

Within the fort (and built at approximately the same time) is a Federal style, 3+1⁄2-story limestone troop barracks, consisting of five independent but adjacent sections - each intended to house one company.

British sympathy for the Confederacy renewed fears of an attack from Canada, leading to a reconstruction and strengthening of the fort walls.

For the rest of the Civil War, the fort served as a mustering center for troops from Michigan, as well as a place for veterans to recover from their wounds.

[4] After the Civil War and until 1920, Fort Wayne served as a garrison post, with regiments rotated from the western frontier for rest.

During the Red Scare following World War I, the fort served as a temporary detention center for accused communists awaiting trial.

[5] During World War I, Fort Wayne had become instrumental in the acquisition of cars, trucks, and spare parts for the military.

At that time, Fort Wayne was the largest motor supply depot in the entire world, the command center controlling the flow of materiel from the automobile factories to the citywide network of storage and staging facilities, which included the Michigan State Fairgrounds, and the Port of Detroit terminal.

Every single tank, truck, jeep, tire, or spare part that was sent to the fronts of World War II from the Detroit factories came through Fort Wayne.

At that time, there was a railroad spur along the riverfront, docks for large ships, and over 2,000 (mostly civilian women) workers were employed; the drivers and mechanics of the Red Ball Express were also trained here.

Fort Wayne served as home to Italian prisoners of war (POWs) captured during the North African Campaign, who were employed as servants, cooks, and janitors.

Also on the grounds are the remaining ancient Native American burial mound and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum.

Spurred in part by construction of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, nearby, the fort has been studied for possible inclusion in the national park system.