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"Ducit Amor Patriae"
TRANSACTION NO. 1
Niagara Historical Society.
BATTLE OF FORT GEORGE
A PAPER READ ON MARCH 14TH, 1896, BY
ERNEST CRUIKSHANK
CAPT. 44TH BATTALION.
NIAGARA:
PICKWELL BROS., BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS.
1896.
PREFACE.
The reproach has frequently been cast upon us that Canada has no
history; it might be said of us with far more justice that we do not
know our own history. The various historical societies are, by their
efforts, trying to wipe away this reproach, and we feel proud of
following in the wake of the Lundy's Lane Historical Society in
publishing a paper written by Capt. Cruikshank, who has well earned the
title of the historian of the Niagara peninsula.
Of the towns of Ontario not one we are sure possesses a history so
eventful, so ancient, so interesting as Niagara, having been at
different times a legislative, an educational, a military and a
commercial centre, at one time occupied by the enemy and again a heap of
smoking ruins, now a quiet summer resort with many points of historical
interest, with wide streets shaded by old elms and having unrivalled
lake and river scenery. The members of the youngest of these Historical
Societies feel that they may congratulate themselves on being able to
place in the hands of the public the story which so far has not yet been
told of the Taking of Fort George, told too in a style so clear, so
dispassionate, and shewing such deep research, a story of troublesome
times, which so told can not but be helpful to old and young of every
nationality.
Asking for our first venture a kind reception we send it out to the
public, hoping that it may do its part in proving that we have a not
ignoble history which should inspire us to yet nobler deeds.
BATTLE OF FORT GEORGE.
27TH MAY, 1813.
For about a quarter of a century Niagara was the principal town and
commercial capital of Western Canada, and for a brief period was
actually the seat of government for the Upper Province. The removal of
the provincial officers to York in 1796 struck the first blow at its
supremacy, but its material prosperity continued until the beginning of
the war with the United States when its exposed situation subjected it
to a series of calamities which culminated in its total destruction on
the 10th of December, 1813.
During that time many travellers of more or less note visited the place
at short intervals on their way to or from the Falls, and a considerable
number of them have recorded their observations. Patrick Campbell in
1791, D'Arcy Bolton in 1794, the Duke de Rochefoucauld Liancourt in
1795, Isaac Weld and J. C. Ogden in 1796, John Maude in 1800, George
Heriot in 1806, Christian Schultz in 1807, John Melish in 1810 and
Michael Smith in 1812 have described the town and adjacent country at
considerable length from various points of view. Other accounts are to
be found in the _National Intelligencer_ newspaper published at
Washington, D. C., in 1812, and in Smith's Gazetteer of Upper Canada for
1813. From these numerous sources it would seem an easy task to form a
fairly correct estimate of the appearance of the town, its commercial
importance and the character of the inhabitants.
[Illustration: THE TAKING OF FORT GEORGE.]
It is described as being nearly a mile square, sparsely built, with many
pasture fields, gardens, orchards and open spaces interspersed among the
houses. Smith, an American resident of the province now was expelled in
1812 for having declined to take oath of allegiance, states that there
were "several squares of ground in the village adorned with almost every
kind of precious fruit." According to the same authority it contained
two churches--one of them built of stone, a court house and jail, an
Indian council house, an academy in which Latin and Greek were taught by
the Rev. John Burns a Presbyterian minister, a printing house, six
taverns, twenty stores and about a hundred dwelling houses, many of them
described as "handsome buildings of brick or stone, the rest being of
wood, neatly painted." From the lake the town is said to have made an
"imposing appearance" as most of the buildings fronted the water. Smith
concludes his account with the remark that it was "a beautiful and
prospective place, inhabited by civil and industrious people." Dr. John
Mann, a surgeon in the United States army who accompanied the
invading forces and afterwards wrote the "Medical History of the War,"
styles it "a delightful village." The population was probably
underestimated at five hundred exclusive of the regular garrison of Fort
George, usually numbering about two hundred men. The names of John
Symington, Andrew Heron, Joseph Edwards, John Grier, John Baldwin and
James Muirhead have been recorded as some of the principal merchants.
An open plain or common of nearly a mile in width separated the town
from Fort George. This post was described by the Governor General in the
early summer of 1812, in official report on the defences of Upper Canada
as an irregular fieldwork consisting of six small bastions faced with
framed timber and plank, connected by a line of palisades twelve feet
high, and surrounded by a shallow dry ditch. Its situation and
construction were alike condemned as extremely defective. Although it
partially commanded Fort Niagara it was in turn overlooked and commanded
by the high ground on the opposite side of the river near Youngstown.
The troops were lodged in blockhouses inside affording quarters for 220
men, besides which there was a spacious building for the officers. The
magazine was built of stone with an arched roof but was not considered
bombproof. All the works were very much out of repair and reported as
scarcely capable of the least defence.
On the margin of the river immediately in front of the fort stood a
large log building known as Navy Hall, which had been constructed during
the American Revolution, to serve as winter-quarters for the officers
and seamen of the Provincial vessels on Lake Ontario. Near this was a
spacious wharf with good-sized store houses, both public and private.
The Ranger's Barracks, also built of logs and an Indian Council House
were situated on the further edge of the common, just south of the town.
A small stone light house had been built upon Mississauga Point, in
1805-6.
The road leading along the river to Queenston, was thickly studded with
farm buildings, and the latter village is said to have contained nearly
a hundred houses, many of them being large and well built structures of
stone or brick, with a population estimated at 300. Vessels of fifty
tons and upwards, loaded with goods for the upper country, sailed up the
river to this place, where they discharged their cargoes, and took in
furs and grain in return. Ever since its establishment, the "Carrying
Place" on the Canadian side of the river, had furnished much profitable
employment to the neighboring farmers, who were paid at the rate of
twenty pence, New York currency, a hundred weight for hauling goods
between Queenston and Chippawa; Maude relates that during his visit in
1800, he passed many carts and wagons on this road, taking up boxes and
bales of merchandise, or bringing down furs, each drawn by two horses or
two yoke of oxen. Three schooners were then moored at the wharf at
Queenston, and fourteen teams stood waiting to be loaded. Others had
noticed as many as fifty or sixty teams passing each other in a day. At
this time the old portage on the American bank was entirely dis-used,
but in 1806 the exclusive rights to the carrying place on that side were
granted to Porter, Barton & Co., and much of the traffic was
consequently diverted.
Christian Schultz, tells us that in 1807, the Canadian side of the river
was "one settled street, from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie," while the
other was still almost wholly "waste and uninhabited," which he
attributes chiefly to the fact, that the land on the American bank was
entirely held by speculators. The villages of Chippawa and Fort Erie
contained about twenty houses each. For upwards of twenty miles back, he
states that the country was pretty well settled from lake to lake. A
stage coach made three round trips weekly between Niagara and Fort Erie.
A considerable sum from the Provincial Treasury was annually spent in
opening and improving roads. Frenchman's, Miller's and Black creeks were
bridged only on the river road, but there was a bridge across Lyon's
creek, at Cook's Mills, and the Chippawa was bridged at its mouth, and
at Brown's sixteen miles higher up. From the Portage Road near the
Falls, a continuation of Lundy's Lane led westerly through the
Beechwoods and Beaver Dam settlements, crossed the Twelve Mile creek at
DeCew's, and following the crest of the mountain to the Twenty, ascended
that stream as far as a small hamlet, known as "Asswago" and finally
united with the main road from Niagara to York near Stoney Creek.
Another well travelled road from Queenston passed through St. Davids,
and joined the Lake Road from Niagara at Shipman's tavern, where they
crossed the Twelve Mile Creek on the present site of the city of St.
Catharines. A third leading from Niagara through the dreaded "Black
Swamp," of which all trace has long since disappeared, united with the
road from St. Davids before crossing the Four Mile creek. Still another
beginning near the mouth of the Two Mile creek, ran nearly parallel with
the river, till it intersected Lundy's Lane. Besides these there were
the main travelled roads along the river from Queenston to Niagara, and
along the lake from Niagara to Burlington.
In 1794, Lieutenant Governor Simcoe styled the Niagara settlement, "the
bulwark of Upper Canada," and affirmed that the militia were loyal to a
man, and "very well calculated for offensive warfare." Since then the
character and feelings of the population had been essentially altered.
Many of the first settlers had died or removed with their families to
other parts of the Province, and their places had been taken by later
immigrants from the United States. The twenty townships extending from
Ancaster to Wainfleet, which then composed the County of Lincoln, were
supposed to contain 12,000 inhabitants in the spring of 1812. In the
entire province of Upper Canada, one-sixth of the population were
believed to be natives of the British Isles and their children; the
original loyalist settlers and their descendants were estimated to
number as many more, while the remainder, or about two-thirds of the
whole, were recent arrivals from the United States, chiefly attracted by
the fertility of the soil and freedom from taxation. Michael Smith
states (1813), that within twelve years, the population "had increased
beyond conjecture, as the terms of obtaining land have been extremely
easy." The proportion of loyalists in the County of Lincoln was perhaps
greater than elsewhere, but it is probably a safe estimate to say that
one-third of the inhabitants were recent settlers from the United
States, who had removed to escape taxation or avoid militia service.
John Maude met several families in 1800 on their way to Canada from
those counties in Pennsylvania, where the 'Whiskey Insurrection' had
just been suppressed who informed him that "they had fought seven years
against taxation, and were then being taxed more than ever. Hundreds of
them" he remarked "have removed, are removing, and will remove into
Upper Canada, where they will form a nest of vipers in the bosom that
fosters them."
In 1811, the Governor General estimated the number of militiamen in
Upper Canada fit for service at 11,000, of whom he significantly stated
that it would probably not be prudent to arm more than 4000. This was
virtually an admission, that more than half the population were
suspected of disaffection. The Lincoln Militia were organized in five
regiments, numbering about 1,500 men, of whom perhaps two-thirds were
determined loyalists.
In many quarters before the war, the disaffection of the people was open
and undisguised, Schultz states that while at Presqu'ile, on Lake
Ontario, in 1807, he strolled along the main road, and found six or
seven farmers assembled in a country tavern, who had just heard of the
Chesapeake affair. "They seemed disappointed," he observed "that I did
not think it would lead to war, when they expected to become part of the
United States." He also relates that he was subsequently in a public
house in Niagara, where eight or ten persons were gathered about a
billiard table. The attack upon the Chesapeake again became the topic of
conversation, and one man said, "If Congress will only send us a flag
and a proclamation declaring that whoever is found in arms against the
United States, shall forfeit his lands, we will fight ourselves free
without any expense to them."
John Melish declared his conviction from enquiries made during his visit
in 1810, "that if 5000 men were sent into Upper Canada with a
proclamation of independence, the great mass of the people would join
the American Government." Barnabas Bidwell, formerly Attorney General of
Massachusetts, who had become a defaulter and fled to the Newcastle
District, near the Bay of Quinte, where he was engaged in teaching a
private school, wrote secretly to his political friends in a similar
strain.
These statements were eagerly quoted, and no doubt believed by the
leaders of the war party in Congress. Henry Clay assured the people
that "the conquest of Canada is in your power. I trust I shall not be
deemed presumptuous when I state that I verily believe that the Militia
of Kentucky are alone competent to place Montreal and Upper Canada at
your feet."
On the 6th of March, 1812, Calhoun expressed equal confidence. "So far
from being unprepared, Sir," he exclaimed. "I believe that four weeks
from the time the declaration of war is heard on our frontier, the whole
of Upper Canada and a part of Lower Canada will be in our possession."
Jefferson wrote about the same time that "The acquisition of Canada this
year as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, would be a mere matter of
marching, and would give us experience for the attack of Halifax, the
next and the final expulsion of England from the American continent."
Mr. Eustis, the Secretary of War, was if possible, still more
optimistic, "We can take Canada without soldiers," he declared, "we have
only to send officers into the Province and the people disaffected to
their own Government will rally round our standard." Gen. Widgery, a
representative in Congress, gained momentary notoriety by his statement.
"I will engage to take Canada by contract. I will raise a company and
take it in six weeks." Another speaker declared that "Niagara Falls
could be resisted with as much success as the American people when
roused into action" After the declaration of war had been promulgated,
Clay, the speaker of the House of Representatives, and the real leader
of the war party solemnly declared that he would never consent to any
treaty of peace which did not provide for the cession of Canada.
The correspondence of General Brock with the Governor General, shows
that in many respects these expectations were well founded, and that he
was far from being hopeful of offering a successful defence without
strong reinforcements.
"The late increase of ammunition and every species of stores," he wrote
on the 2nd December, 1811, "the substitution of a strong regiment and
the appointment of a military person to the government, have tended to
infuse other sentiments among the most reflecting part of the community,
and during my visit to Niagara last week I received most satisfactory
professions of a determination on the part of the principal inhabitants
to exert every means in their power for the defence of their property
and to support the government. They look with confidence to you for aid.
Although perfectly aware of the number of improper characters who have
obtained possessions and whose principles diffuse a spirit of
insubordination very adverse to all military institutions, I believe the
majority will prove faithful. It is best to act with the utmost
liberality and as if no mistrust existed. Unless the inhabitants give a
faithful aid it will be utterly impossible to preserve the province,
with the limited number of military."
On the 24th of February, 1812, a proclamation was published announcing
that divers persons had recently come into the province with a
seditious intent and to endeavor to alienate the minds of His Majesty's
subjects, and directing the officers appointed to enforce the act lately
passed by the Legislature for the better security of the province
against all seditious attempts to be vigilant in the discharge of their
duties. Joseph Edwards of Niagara, Samuel Street of Willoughby, Thomas
Dickson of Queenston, William Crooks of Grimsby and Samuel Hutt of
Ancaster were among the persons commissioned to execute this law.
On the 17th of April, a boy at Queenston fired a shot across the river
which happily did no injury. He was promptly arrested and committed for
trial, and two resident magistrates, James Kirby and Robert Grant,
tendered an apology to the inhabitants of Lewiston for his offence. Five
days later General Brock reported that a body of three hundred men in
plain clothes had been seen patrolling the American side of the river.
On the 25th, it was announced that 170 citizens of Buffalo, had
volunteered for military service. A proclamation by President Madison
calling out one hundred thousand was published about the same time, and
the Governor of New York was required to send 500 men to the Niagara
which he hastened to do, being a warm advocate of the war.
Meanwhile the flank companies of militia regiments of the counties of
Lincoln, Norfolk and York were embodied by General Brock, and drilled
six times a month. They numbered about 700 young men belonging to "the
best class of settlers." By the recent Militia Act, they were required
to arm and clothe themselves, and as many of them had far to travel,
Brock begged that they should at least receive an allowance for rations.
The Governor General suggested that the Government of the United States
entertained hopes that something might happen to provoke a quarrel
between its soldiers and the British troops on that frontier, and
desired him to take every precaution to prevent any such pretext for
hostilities.
Early in May, Brock made a rapid tour of inspection along the Niagara,
thence to the Mohawk village on the Grand river, returning to York by
way of Ancaster. He reported that the people generally seemed well
disposed and that the flank companies had mustered in full strength.
By the 17th of June six hundred American militia were stationed along
the river, and a complaint was made by three reputable inhabitants of
Fort Erie that their sentries were in the habit of wantonly firing
across the stream. On the 25th of the same month this period of suspense
was terminated by the arrival of a special messenger employed by Mr.
Astor and other American citizens interested in the Northwest fur trade,
to convey the earliest possible information of war to Colonel Thomas
Clark, of Queenston, who immediately reported his intelligence to the
commandant of Fort Erie. The messenger, one Vosburg, of Albany, had
travelled with relays of horses at such speed that he outrode the
official courier bearing despatches to Fort Niagara by fully
twenty-four hours. On his return he was arrested at Canandaigua, and
held to bail together with some of his employers, but it does not appear
that they were ever brought to trial.
Lieut. Gansevoort and a sergeant in the United States Artillery, who
happened to be on the Canadian side were made prisoners, and the ferry
boats plying across the river at Queenston and Fort Erie, were seized by
the British troops at those places. The people of Buffalo received their
first intimation of the declaration of war by witnessing the capture of
a merchant schooner off the harbor by boats from Fort Erie.
The flank companies of militia marched immediately to the frontier, and
were distributed along the river in taverns and farm houses. On the
second day, General Brock arrived from York, with the intention of
making an attack on Fort Niagara. He had then at his disposal, 400 of
the 41st Regiment, and nearly 800 militia. Success was all but certain,
as the garrison was weak and inefficient. His instructions however, were
to act strictly on the defensive, and he abandoned this project in the
conviction that the garrison might be driven out at any time by a
vigorous cannonade. Rumors of his design seem to have reached General P.
B. Porter, who commanded the militia force on the other side, and he
made an urgent demand for reinforcements.
"The British on the opposite side are making the most active
preparations for defence," Benjamin Barton wrote from Lewiston on the
24th of June, "New troops are arriving from the Lower Province
constantly, and the quantity of military stores etc. that have arrived
within these few weeks is astonishing. Vast quantities of arms and
ammunition are passing up the country, no doubt to arm the Indians
around the Upper Lakes, (for they have not white men enough to make use
of such quantities as are passing). One-third of the militia of the
Upper Province are formed into companies called flankers, and are well
armed and equipped out of the King's stores, and are regularly trained
one day in a week by an officer of the standing troops. A volunteer
troop of horse has lately been raised and have drawn their sabres and
pistols. A company of militia artillery has been raised this spring, and
exercise two or three days in the week on the plains near Fort George,
and practice firing and have become very expert. The noted Isaac Sweazy,
has within a few days received a captain's commission for the flying
artillery, of which they have a number of pieces. We were yesterday
informed by a respectable gentleman from that side of the river, that he
was actually purchasing horses for the purpose of exercising his men.
They are repairing Fort George, and building a new fort at York. A
number of boats are daily employed, manned by their soldiers, plying
between Fort George and Queenston, carrying stores, lime and pickets,
for necessary repairs, and to cap the whole, they are making and using
every argument and persuasion to induce the Indians to join them, and we
are informed the Mohawks have volunteered their service. In fact,
nothing appears to be left undone by their people that is necessary for
their defence."
However, the Governor General seized the first opportunity of again
advising his enterprising lieutenant to refrain from any offensive
movements. "In the present state of politics in the United States" he
said, "I consider it prudent to avoid any means which can have the least
tendency to unite their people. While dissension prevails among them,
their attempts on the Province will be feeble. It is therefore my wish
to avoid committing any act which may even from a strained construction
tend to unite the Eastern and Southern States, unless from its
perpetration, we are to derive an immediate, considerable and important
advantage."
Brock felt so confident at that moment of his ability to maintain his
ground on the Niagara, that he actually stripped Fort George of its
heaviest guns for the defence of Amherstburg, which he anticipated would
be the first point of attack. But the militia who had turned out so
cheerfully on the first alarm, after the lapse of a couple of uneventful
weeks, became impatient to return to their homes and families. They had
been employed as much as possible in the construction of batteries at
the most exposed points, and as they were without tents, blankets,
hammocks, kettles, or camp equipage of any kind, they had suffered
serious discomfort even at that season of the year. As their prolonged
absence from their homes, in some cases threatened the total destruction
of their crops, many were allowed to return on the 12th of July, and it
was feared that the remainder would disband in defiance of the law which
only imposed a fine of L20 for desertion. Nearly all of them were
wretchedly clothed, and a considerable number were without shoes, which
could not be obtained in the Province at any price. Many of the
inhabitants Brock indignantly declared, were "indifferent or American in
feeling."
However, the month of July passed away without developing any symptom of
an offensive movement on this frontier. On the 22nd, the session of the
Legislature began at York, with the knowledge that General Hull had
invaded the Province at Sandwich with a strong force, and in hourly
expectation of tidings that the garrison of Amherstburg had surrendered
to superior numbers. Yet amid these depressing circumstances, Brock
concluded his "speech from the throne" with these hopeful and inspiring
words. "We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity
and despatch in our councils, and by vigor in our operations, we may
teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by freemen who are
enthusiastically devoted to their King and Constitution can never be
conquered."
During the following week the most discouraging reports from Amherstburg
continued to arrive almost daily. It seemed as if the invading army
would be able to over run the whole of the Western District, with
scarcely a show of resistance on the part of the inhabitants. A
majority of the members of the Legislature were apathetic or despondent.
They passed a new militia act, and an act to provide for the defence of
the Province, but amended both in a highly unsatisfactory manner, after
which the House was hastily prorogued by the General who was eager to
proceed to the seat of war.
"The House of Assembly," he wrote on the 4th of August, "have refused to
do anything they are required. Everybody considers the fate of the
country as settled, and is afraid to appear in the least conspicuous in
the promotion of measures to retard it. I have this instant been
informed that a motion was made in the House and only lost by two votes,
that the militia should be at liberty to return home, if they did not
receive their pay on a fixed day every month."
On the succeeding day he began his march to the relief of Amherstburg.
Most of the regulars and some of the militia which had been hitherto
stationed along the Niagara, preceded or accompanied him on this
expedition, which they were fortunately enabled to do by the inactivity
of the enemy on the opposite bank, who actually do not seem to have
become aware of their absence until they had returned victorious. Lieut.
Col. Myers, the Assistant Quartermaster General, was left in command.
The men belonging to the flank companies who had been allowed to return
to their homes to assist in the harvest were summoned to rejoin, and 500
more held in readiness to support them.
On the 20th of August, the inhabitants were thrown into a frenzy of
delight by the almost incredible intelligence that Detroit had been
taken with the entire American army. A few hours later, General Van
Rensselaer who was still in ignorance of this event, signed an armistice
which put an end to any further apprehension of an attack for several
weeks.
The Americans did not remain idle during the interval. A body of five or
six thousand men was assembled and five detached batteries were
completed on the bank of the river, between Fort Niagara and Youngstown,
two of which were armed with very heavy guns, and two with mortars.
Upon the termination of the armistice, the militia generally returned to
their posts with alacrity, accompanied by a number of old loyalists
unfit for service in the field, but capable of performing garrison duty.
The Garrison Order-book of Fort George still exists to bear witness to
the ceaseless vigilance with which the movements of the enemy were
watched. On the 2nd of October an order was issued directing one-third
of the troopers to "sleep in their clothes, fully accoutred and ready to
turn out at a moment's notice." This was followed on the 6th by another,
requiring the whole of the regular troops and militia to be under arms
by the first break of day, and not to be dismissed until full daylight,
and on the 12th all communication with the enemy by flag of truce was
forbidden, unless expressly authorized by the commanding general.
On the morning of the 13th of October, as soon as General Brock was
convinced that the Americans were actually crossing the river at
Queenston, he directed Brigade Major Evans who remained in command at
Fort George, to open fire with every available gun upon Fort Niagara and
the adjacent batteries, and continue it until they were absolutely
silenced. This attack was forestalled by the enemy, who, as soon as they
perceived the columns of troops marching out on the road to Queenston,
turned the whole of their artillery upon Fort George and the neighboring
village, with such a disastrous effect, that in a few minutes the Jail
and Court House and fifteen or sixteen other buildings were set in a
blaze by their red hot shot. Major Evans had at his command not more
than twenty regular soldiers who composed the main guard for the day.
The whole of the small detachment of Royal Artillery usually stationed
in the Fort, had accompanied the field guns to repel the attack upon
Queenston. Colonel Claus, with a few men of the 1st Lincoln Regiment,
and Capt. Powell and Cameron with a small detachment of militia
artillery, alone remained to man the guns of the fort and batteries. The
gravity of the situation was greatly increased by the fact, that upwards
of three hundred prisoners were confined in the jail and guardhouse
which was now menaced with destruction. However, while the guards and
the greater part of the militia were vigorously engaged in fighting the
flames, amid an incessant cannonade, under the personal direction of
Major Evans and Captain Vigoreux of the Royal Engineers, the batteries
were served by the militia artillery men, assisted by two
non-commissioned officers of the 41st Regiment, with such energy and
success that in the course of an hour the American guns were totally
silenced. By that time the Court House and some other buildings had been
totally consumed, and the disheartening news arrived that Gen. Brock and
Colonel McDonell had been killed, and their men repulsed by the enemy
who were landing in great force at Queenston, and had obtained
possession of the heights. Evans rode off at once to send forward every
man that could be spared from the stations along the river. He had just
marched off a small party from Young's battery, when the American
batteries resumed firing, and obliged him to return at full speed to his
post. As he reached the main gate at Fort George, he encountered a party
of panic-stricken soldiers flying from the place, who informed him that
the roof of the magazine which was known to contain eight hundred
barrels of powder was on fire. Captain Vigoreux climbed upon the burning
building without an instant's hesitation, and his gallant example being
quickly followed by several others, the metal covering was soon torn
away and the flames extinguished in the wood beneath. The storehouses at
Navy Hall were, however, next set in a blaze which could not be overcome
owing to their exposed situation, and they were totally destroyed. The
artillery combat was resumed, and continued till not only Fort Niagara,
but all the other batteries on that side of the river were absolutely
silenced and deserted. One of the largest guns in that fort had burst,
completely wrecking the platform, disabling several men and dismaying
the remainder to such an extent that they deserted the place in a body,
and could not be induced to return until the firing had ceased. For
several hours the works were entirely abandoned, and could have been
taken without the least resistance, had Evans been able to spare men for
the purpose.
On the next day, a cessation of hostilities was again agreed upon which
continued until the evening of the 20th of November. During this
interval the six battalion companies of the First Lincoln Regiment were
consolidated into three, under the command of Captains John Jones,
Martin McClellan, and George Ball, each containing about eighty rank and
file.
At six o'clock on the morning of the 21st November, the guns of Fort
George and five detached batteries began a second bombardment of the
American works chiefly with the object of diverting the attention of the
enemy to that part of the line, as general Smyth who had succeeded Van
Rensselaer was massing his troops in the vicinity of Buffalo, with the
apparent intention of forcing the passage of the river between Fort Erie
and Chippawa. The fire from the American batteries, which appear to have
been weakly manned, was ill-directed and occasionally ceased altogether
for long intervals, while flames could be seen rising from their works,
apparently caused by the explosion of shells. One of these missiles fell
within the north blockhouse in Fort Niagara, and dismounted the only gun
there. Another shot from a twenty-four pounder on the right of Fort
George dismounted a heavy gun near Youngstown, while a third silenced
the piece on the roof of the messhouse at Fort Niagara for nearly an
hour. One of the guns in that place also burst with disastrous results,
killing two men and disabling others. A large building under the walls
which covered the landing of troops was entirely destroyed. By five
o'clock in the afternoon Fort Niagara was absolutely silenced, and only
the Youngstown "Salt" Battery continued to fire an occasional gun. At
dark the British guns ceased firing. But a single private of the 49th
Regiment, and a gallant old half-pay officer, Capt. Barent Frey, late of
Butler's Rangers, had been killed on the Canadian side of the river
during the cannonade. The latter had voluntarily occupied himself in
gathering the enemy's shot as they fell, for the purpose as he declared
of having them sent back to them as soon as possible. He is said to have
been killed by the wind of a cannon ball as it ricocheted along the
ground. The messhouse at Navy Hall was destroyed, and seventeen
buildings in the town itself were set on fire by heated shot, besides
many others considerably damaged by the cannonade. A small merchant
schooner lying at the wharf was sunk.
The American commandant at Fort Niagara, Colonel McFeely of the United
States' Artillery, admitted the loss of only eleven men killed and
wounded, though he estimated that not less than 2000 round shot and 180
shells had been discharged against his works from the British batteries.
He reported an instance of remarkable courage displayed by a woman.
Among the prisoners taken at Queenston on the 13th October, was a
private in the United States Artillery, named Andrew Doyle, who was
recognised as a British subject, born in the village of St. Davids. He
was accordingly included among those who were sent to England to be
brought to trial for treason. His wife remained in Fort Niagara
throughout the bombardment, and actually took part in working one of the
guns. "During the most tremendous cannonading I have ever seen" said
Colonel McFeely in his official letter, "she attended the six-pounder on
the old messhouse with the red hot shot and showed fortitude equal to
the Maid of Orleans."
Cannon balls were much too scarce and valuable to be wasted, and Col.
Myers took pains to state in his report that the number of round shot
picked up on the field exceeded the number fired from his guns on this
occasion.
This artillery duel put an end to actual hostilities in the vicinity of
Niagara for the remainder of the year. But the privations and sufferings
of the militia were not yet terminated. They were retained in service
until the middle of December, when winter set in with unusual severity,
and all danger of an invasion seemed at an end.
As early as the middle of November, Sir Roger Sheaffe had reported that
many of them were "in a very destitute state with respect to clothing,
and all that regards bedding and barrack comforts in general, these
wants cause discontent and desertion, but the conduct of a great
majority is highly honorable to them, and I have not failed to encourage
it by noticing it in public orders." In the order to which reference is
made he had said; "Major General Sheaffe has witnessed with the highest
satisfaction, the manly and cheerful spirit with which the militia on
this frontier have borne the privations which peculiar circumstances
have imposed upon them. He cannot but feel that their conduct entitles
them to every attention he can bestow upon them. It has furnished
examples of those best characteristics of a soldier, manly constancy
under fatigue and privation and determined bravery in the face of the
enemy."
On the 23rd of the same month he observed that the number of the militia
in service had constantly increased since the termination of the
armistice and that they seemed very alert and well disposed. Their duty
during the next three weeks was of the most wearisome and harassing kind
as none of them were permitted to take off their clothes by night, and
in the day they were kept fully accoutred with arms in their hands.
Strong patrols constantly moved along the river, keeping up the
communication between the posts, and owing to the smallness of the force
assembled to watch such an extensive line, the same men were frequently
placed on guard for several nights in succession. Their clothing was
insufficient to protect them from the cold, and numbers were actually
confined to barracks from want of shoes. Disease carried off Lieut. Col.
Butler, Captain John Lottridge, Lieut. John May, Sergeant Jacob Balmer,
and twenty privates of the Lincoln Regiments during the month of
December, and there was much sickness among those who survived. Many,
distressed beyond all endurance by the miserable condition of their
families in their absence, returned home without leave.
Late in November the Governor General issued a proclamation directing
all citizens of the United States residing in Upper Canada who still
declined to take an oath of allegiance, to leave the Province before the
first day of January, 1813. Among those who were banished at this time,
was Michael Smith, already mentioned, who published a few months later a
small volume, entitled "A Geographical view of the Province of Upper
Canada." This book met with such a favorable reception that five other
editions appeared at short intervals during the next three years,
several of them being materially revised and enlarged. His description
of the wretched state of this part of the Province was the result of
personal observation, and is certainly not overdrawn.
"In the course of the summer on the line between Fort George and Fort
Erie, there was not more than 1000 Indians in arms at any one time.
These Indians went to and fro as they pleased to their country and back,
and were very troublesome to the women when their husbands were gone, as
they plundered and took what they pleased, and often beat them to force
them to give them whiskey, even when they were not in possession of any,
and when they saw any man that had not gone to the lines, they called
him a Yankee, and threatened to kill him for not going to fight, and
indeed in some instances these threats have been put into execution.
They acted with great authority and rage when they had stained their
hands with human blood.
"The inhabitants at large would have been extremely glad to have got out
of their miserable situation at almost any rate, but they dared not
venture a rebellion without being sure of protection.
"From the commencement of the war there had been no collection of debts
by law in the upper part of the Province and towards the fall in no
part, nor would anyone pay another. No person could get credit from
anyone to the amount of one dollar, nor could anyone sell any of their
property for any price except provisions or clothing, for those who had
money were determined to keep it for the last resort. No business was
carried on by any person except what was necessary for the times.
"In the upper part of the Province all the schools were broken up and no
preaching was heard in all the land. All was gloom, war and misery.
"Upon the declaration of war the Governor laid an embargo on all the
flour destined for market, which was at a time when very little had
left the Province. The next harvest was truly bountiful as also the
crops of corn, buckwheat, and peas, the most of which were gathered
except the buckwheat which was on the ground when all the people were
called away after the battle of Queenston. Being detained on duty in the
fall not one half of the farmers sowed any winter grain."
All supplies from Montreal were cut off by the American fleet being in
possession of Lake Ontario from the 8th November until the close of
navigation. Flour and salt were scarcely to be purchased at any price
and the condition of many families soon became almost too wretched to be
endured. It is not surprising then that numbers of those who had no very
strong ties to retain them, seized the first opportunity of escape.
Lake Erie was frozen over as early as the 12th of January. A few days
later two deserters and three civilians made their way from Point Abino
to Buffalo upon the ice. They stated that the British forces were
greatly reduced by sickness and desertion and that they did not believe
there were more than thirty regulars stationed along the river between
Fort Erie and Niagara. In fact several companies of the 41st had been
recently despatched to strengthen the garrison of Amherstburg which was
again threatened with an attack, and a show of force was kept up by
ostentatiously sending out parties along the river in sleighs by day and
bringing them back to quarters after dark.
Stimulated by the information derived from these men the commandant at
Buffalo projected the surprise of Fort Erie by crossing on the ice, but
the desertion of a non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Major Macfarlane,
disconcerted his plans.
Late in March the arrival of three families of refugees at Buffalo by
the same route is recorded. They confirmed former accounts of want and
distress and the weakness of the British garrisons on the Niagara. The
American officers were enabled, by information obtained from these and
other sources, to estimate with precision the actual force which might
be assembled to resist an invasion. But as they failed to make their
attacks simultaneously it happened in several instances that they
encountered the same troops successively at different places many miles
apart. Soldiers of the 41st, who had been present with Brock at the
taking of Detroit fought at Queenston on the 13th of October and
returned in time to share in the victory at the River Raisin on the 22nd
January, 1813. Two companies of the 8th that took part in the assault
upon Ogdensburg on the 22nd February, faced the invaders at York on the
27th April and again at Fort George a month later. Finding themselves
repeatedly confronted with considerably larger forces than they had been
led to expect, the American generals soon ceased to put much confidence
in the reports of their spies.
The cabinet had at first designated Kingston, York, and Fort George
points of attack in the order named. The attempt upon Kingston was
quickly abandoned owing to a false report that the garrison had been
largely increased and it was determined to limit the operations of the
"Army of the Centre" in the first instance to the reduction of the two
latter places.
On the 17th of March, Major General Morgan Lewis, who had been appointed
to the command of the division on the Niagara, arrived at Buffalo
attended by a numerous staff. At noon of the same day, the batteries at
Black Rock began firing across the river and continued the cannonade
with little intermission until the evening of the 18th. A few houses
were destroyed and seven soldiers killed or wounded near Fort Erie.
Three of the American guns were dismounted by the British batteries. A
week later the bombardment was resumed with even less result.
York was taken without much difficulty on the 27th April, but it cost
the assailants their most promising general and between three and four
hundred of their best troops. They ascertained on that occasion that
they still had many warm sympathizers in that part of the Province. A
letter from an officer who accompanied this expedition, published in the
_Baltimore Whig_ at the time, states that "our adherents and friends in
Upper Canada suffer greatly in apprehension or active misery. Eighteen
or twenty of them who refused to take the oath of allegiance lived last
winter in a cave or subterraneous hut near Lake Simcoe. Twenty-five
Indians and whites were sent to take them but they killed eighteen of
the party and enjoyed their liberty until lately when being worn out
with cold and fatigue, they were taken and put in York jail whence we
liberated them." Michael Smith corroborates this account in some
respects. He relates that twelve days after the battle of Queenston
Colonel Graham, on Yonge Street, ordered his battalion to assemble that
a number might be drafted to go to Fort George. Forty of them did not
come but went out to Whitchurch township which was nearly a wilderness
and joined thirty more fugitives that were already there. Some men who
were home for a few days from Fort George offered to go and bring them
in but as they were not permitted to take arms they failed and the
number of fugitives increased by the first of December to 300. When on
my way to Kingston to obtain a passport, I saw about fifty of these
people near Smith's Creek in the Newcastle District on the main road
with fife and drum beating for recruits and huzzaing for Madison. Some
of them remained in the woods all winter, but the Indians went out in
the spring of 1813 and drove them into their caves where they were
taken.
So pronounced was the disaffection among the inhabitants in the vicinity
of York, that Chief Justice Powell warned the Governor General that "in
the event of any serious disaster to His Majesty's arms little reliance
is to be had on the power of the well disposed to depress and keep down
the turbulence of the disaffected who are very numerous."
On the 29th of April, the capture of York became known at Fort George
and the boats and stores deposited at Burlington were removed to a place
of safety. On the 8th of May the American fleet came over to Fort
Niagara and landed the brigade of troops that had been employed in
reduction of York. Although victorious they were described by General
Dearborn as being sickly and low spirited. Next day some of these troops
were sent in two schooners to Burlington Beach where they destroyed the
King's Head tavern, built by Lieut.-Governor Simcoe, which had served as
quarters for soldiers on their march to and from Niagara. These vessels
continued to cruise about the head of the lake, while the remainder of
their fleet sailed away, as it proved to bring forward another division
of troops.
Brigadier General John Vincent, had lately assumed command of the
British forces on the line of the Niagara, consisting of the 49th
Regiment, five companies of the 8th, three of the Glengarry Light
Infantry, two of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and a captain's
command of Royal Artillery with five held guns, numbering in all 1925
officers and men, of whom 1841 were effectiver. Besides these, Merritt's
troops of Provincial cavalry, Runchey's company of negroes, a company of
militia artillery and an uncertain and fluctuating number of militiamen
belonging to the five Lincoln Regiments were in service.
By a general order in March, about 1700 militia had been summoned to the
protection of the frontier, but when the alarm had subsided, most of
them had been allowed to return to their homes as it was felt that they
would be more usefully employed in cultivating their farms than in idly
waiting for an attack which the enemy appeared to be in no hurry to
make.