CONTENTS—General Hunter—Peter Russell—Francis Gore, 1806—Alex.
Grant—Brock—1812—United States declare war—Prompt action—
Parliament—Proclamation—The issue—Second proclamation—General
Hull—His proclamation—Bombast and impertinence—The Indians—
Proclamation answered—Hull a prisoner—Michigan conquered—To
Niagara—At Queenston heights—“Push on York Volunteers”—Death of
Brock—McDonnell—War of 1812, the Americans—Extract from Merritt—
What Canadians did—Brock’s monument—General Sheaffe—General
Drummond—Invading the States—What Canada will do—Lord Sydenham—A
tribute by Dr. Ryerson—Union of the Provinces.
THE GOVERNORS OF UPPER CANADA, FROM SIMCOE TO LORD SYDENHAM.
Lieutenant General Peter Hunter, who had been Colonel of the 24th
Regiment stationed at Newark, was the second Governor for Upper Canada;
his accession to office was on the 17th August, 1799. During the two
previous years, Hon. Peter Russell had been President. He continued to
hold the position until his death, which took place at Quebec, 21st
August, 1865. His age was sixty-nine.
The third Governor of Upper Canada was His Excellency Francis Gore, who
assumed the gubernatorial functions on the 25th August, 1806. In the
interim between this period and the death of Hunter, the Hon. Alexander
Grant having been President. The reign of Gore was one of ease. No
conflicting parties as yet disturbed the political arena of the
Province. Year after year he convened Parliament, which enacted laws for
the growing requirements of the colony, with a degree of harmony not
subsequently present. In 1811, he resigned, when _Sir Isaac Brock_
became _President_, upon the 30th September. Although but the President,
and not a Lieutenant-Governor, he requires some notice.
GENERAL BROCK.—In the year 1812, in June, the United States declared war
against Great Britain, ostensibly, on the question of the right of
England to take her seamen from American vessels to which they had
deserted; but, in reality, the object of the war was to acquire Canada,
and as England was engaged with an European war, it was deemed a
favorable opportunity by President Madison, to subjugate the people whom
they had once dispossessed of their inheritance. The declaration of war
was quickly made known to General Brock, even sooner than the enemy
thought possible, who promptly took necessary steps to secure the
defence of the Province, against the dastardly intentions of the
invader. On the 20th June, he issued orders to Captain Roberts, at St.
Joseph, which issued in the capture of Fort Michilmacinac, with seventy
men, beside valuable cargoes of furs. On the 28th July, he met the
Parliament at York, which continued in session eight days, and sent
forth a proclamation to the people, with these concluding remarks: “We
are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity in our
councils, and by vigor in our operations, we may teach the enemy this
lesson, that a country defended by freeman, enthusiastically devoted to
the cause of their King and constitution, can never be conquered.”
Remarkable words! How true the sentiments. And so, animated by this
belief, strong in the consciousness of right, indignant at an
unprincipled foe, he went on his way showing to all an example of
“vigor,” and displaying the bravery which freemen alone know how to
practice, until in the hour of victory, death overtook him on Queenston
Heights. The address of General Brock was supplemented by one from the
Legislative Assembly, and no excuse need be offered for introducing it
here _in extenso_. It ought to be read by every Canadian, and the truths
it contains made known to the rising generation, that they may know the
history of the fathers of those who support Fenianism. Know how
unscrupulous the neighbours we have upon our southern borders, have ever
been.
“Already have we the joy to remark, that the spirit of loyalty has burst
forth in all its ancient splendour. The militia in all parts of the
Province have volunteered their services with acclamation, and displayed
a degree of energy worthy the British name.
“They do not forget the blessings and privileges which they enjoy under
the protection and fostering care of the British Empire, whose
government is only felt in this country by acts of the purest justice
and most pleasing and efficacious benevolence. When men are called upon
to defend everything they call precious, their wives and children, their
friends and professions, they ought to be inspired with the noblest
resolutions, and they will not be easily frightened by menaces, or
conquered by force. And, beholding as we do, the flame of patriotism,
burning from the one end of the Canadas to the other, we cannot but
entertain the most pleasing anticipations. Our enemies have indeed said
that they can subdue this country by proclamation; but it is our part to
prove to them, that they are sadly mistaken; that the population is
determinedly hostile, and that the few who might be otherwise inclined,
will find it their safety to be faithful. Innumerable attempts will be
made, by falsehood, to detach you from your allegiance, for our enemies,
in imitation of their European master, trust more to treachery than to
force, and they will, no doubt, make use of many of those lies, which
unfortunately, for the virtuous part of those States, and the peace and
happiness of the world, had too much success during the American
rebellion; they will tell you that they are come to give you freedom,
yes, the base slaves of the most contemptible faction that ever
distracted the affairs of any nation,—the minions of the very sycophants
who lick the dust from the feet of Bounaparte, will tell you that they
are come to communicate the blessing of liberty to this Province; but
you have only to look at your situation to put such hypocrites to
confusion. Trusting more to treachery than open hostility, our enemies
have already spread their emmissaries through the country to seduce our
fellow-subjects from their allegiance, by promises as false as the
principles on which they are founded. A law has therefore been enacted
for the speedy detection of such emmissaries, and for their condign
punishment on conviction. Remember when you go forth to the combat, that
you fight, not for yourselves alone, but for the whole world. You are
defeating the most formidable conspiracy against the civilization of man
that ever was contrived. Persevere as you have begun, in your strict
obedience to the laws, and your attention to military discipline; deem
no sacrifice too costly, which secures the enjoyment of our happy
constitution; follow, with your countrymen in Britain, the paths of
virtue, and like them, you shall triumph over all your unprincipled
foes.”
This address was followed by a second one from General Brock, on the
22nd July, 1812, in which he reviewed an address which had been issued
by the American General, who had invited the Canadians to seek
voluntarily, the protection of his government; also the threat to show
no quarter if the Indians appeared in the ranks; Brock eloquently
defended their right to defend their homes against an invading foe.
General Brock having prorogued Parliament, pushed on to the scene of
Hull’s invasion, where he had issued a proclamation to the Canadians
characterised by absurdity, falsehood, and Yankee brag. Indeed, it seems
quite impossible for any American General to indite, an address or
proclamation, without exposing himself to ridicule. Having already
collected an army at Detroit, General Hull, the commanding officer,
crossed over to Sandwich on the Canadian side, and issued the following
modest address to the
“INHABITANTS OF CANADA.”—“After thirty years of peace and prosperity,
the United States have been driven to arms. The injuries and
aggressions, the insults and indignities of Great Britain, have once
more left them no alternative but namely, resistance or unconditional
submission. The army under my command has invaded your country, and the
standard of Union now waves over the territory of Canada. To the
peaceable and unoffending inhabitants it brings neither danger nor
difficulty. I come to find enemies, not to make them. I come to protect,
not to injure you. Separated by an immense ocean, and an extensive
wilderness, from Great Britain, you have no participation in her
councils, nor interest in her conduct. You have felt the tyranny, you
have seen her injustice, but I do not ask you to avenge the one or
redress the other. The United States are sufficiently powerful to afford
you every security consistent with their rights, and your expectations.
I tender you the invaluable blessings of civil, political, and religious
liberty, and their necessary result, individual and general prosperity;
that liberty which gave decision to our councils, and energy to our
conduct, in our struggle for independence, and which conducted us safely
and triumphantly through the stormy period of the Revolution. That
liberty which has raised us to an elevated rank among nations of the
world, and which has afforded us a greater measure of peace and
security, of wealth and improvement, than ever fell to the lot of any
people. In the name of my country, and by the authority of my country,
and by the authority of my government, I promise protection to your
persons, property, and rights. Remain at your homes, pursue your
peaceful and customary avocations; raise not your hands against your
brethren; many of your fathers fought for the freedom and independence
we now enjoy. Being children, therefore, of the same family with us, and
heirs of the same heritage, the arrival of my army of friends must be
hailed by you with a cordial welcome. You will be emancipated from
tyranny and oppression, and restored to the dignified station of free
men. Had I any doubt of eventual success, I might ask your assistance,
but I do not. I come prepared for every contingency, I have a force
which will look down all opposition—and that force is but the vanguard
of a much greater. If contrary to your own interests, and the just
expectation of my country, you will be considered and treated as
enemies, the horrors and calamities of war will stalk before you. If the
barbarous and savage policy of Great Britain be pursued, and the savages
are let loose to murder our citizens, and butcher our women and
children, this war will be a war of extermination. The first stroke of
the tomahawk, the first attempt with the scalping knife, will be the
signal of one indiscriminate scene of desolation. No white man found
fighting by the side of an Indian, will be taken prisoner; instant
destruction will be his lot. If the dictates of reason, duty, justice,
and humanity, cannot prevent the employment of a force which respects no
right, and knows no wrongs, it will be prevented by a severe and
relentless system of retaliation. I doubt not your courage and firmness;
I will not doubt your attachment to liberty. If you tender your services
voluntarily, they will be accepted readily. The United States offer you
peace, liberty, and security. Your choice lies between these and war,
slavery, and destruction. Choose then, but choose wisely; and may he who
knows the justice of our cause, and who holds in his hands the fate of
nations, guide you to a result the most compatible with your rights and
interests, your peace and prosperity.”
But it was not long till the same Gen. Hull was a prisoner among them,
and in his journey from Detroit to Quebec he had abundant opportunity of
seeing not only the loyalty of the Canadians, but that they knew how to
treat a conquered foe with consideration—that without crying it out they
could grant every “protection” to their ancient foe, notwithstanding the
cruel treatment they had sustained when made exiles.
On the 18th July, with the intrepidity characteristic of the British
officer, Brock crossed the Detroit, advanced upon the town with his
brave militia and handful of regular troops, and demanded of Gen. Hull
the surrender of the place, following up the demand with preparations to
assault; but soon the white flag appeared, and Gen. Hull, so brave in
writing proclamations, with the whole American army, became prisoners of
war. They were conveyed to Quebec in parties, some going by vessels of
war from York to Kingston, some in small boats along the shore and
across the Carrying Place, by the Bay of Quinté. Most of them were
confined in hulks in the St. Lawrence, at Quebec, where they remained
until exchanged. Gen. Brock after this brilliant conquest of Detroit,
which included the whole of Michigan, lost no time in hastening to the
Niagara frontier, where another army was threatening to invade.
Upon the 12th October the Americans were preparing to cross from
Lewiston to Queenston. Gen. Brock was at Fort George, Niagara, and
hearing the cannon’s sound, hurried to the field of battle. He placed
himself at the head of the troops, and triumphantly led them up the
heights of Queenston, against the enemy, who had obtained a footing
there; but with the deep river between them and safety, the enemy
rallied for a time in a struggle for life, and Brock’s men, inferior in
number, retired, until his reinforcements had come, for which he would
not previously wait. Then again he essayed to lead them on, but his hour
had come, and while his cheering voice was ringing out “Push on York
Volunteers,” a musket ball struck him down. But the spirit of the brave
General was infused into every Canadian. As soon as Gen. Sheaffe had
arrived they advanced to conquer the polluters of Canadian soil. Again
the whole American army became prisoners of war, and had the privilege
of marching the length of the Province to Quebec, and Gen. Scott among
the rest, who was favored with a passage down the Bay of Quinté.
Gen. Brock’s Aide-de-Camp, McDonnell also fell, mortally wounded. Brock
was buried in a bastion of Fort George, but subsequently his remains
found a resting place upon the heights where he fell, and where now
rises the monument to his memory. This illustrious Chief was much
beloved by the Canadians, and he was held in great veneration. To him—to
the energetic and heroic Brock is due to a great extent the subsequent
success by which the enemy, ever boasting, was kept at bay, so that when
peace was sought by the United States, after three years of war, because
England, no longer at war at home, was about to deal heavy blows, there
was not a foot of Canadian territory in the enemy’s possession.
Of Gen. Brock the Hon. William H. Merrit, in 1853, speaks as follows:
“It will be in the recollection of many now present, that in the
commencement of the war of 1812, only one regiment of British troops,
the 48th, was left to defend Upper Canada, from Kingston to
Michilimackinac, a distance of one thousand miles, and during the whole
campaign, only two companies of the 48th could be spared on this
frontier. Although this fact is one of the most striking events
connected with that war, it has never yet been brought prominently
before the public; yet it clearly proves that the defence of Canada,
then rested with its inhabitants. We find that though they consisted
principally of the old U. E. Loyalists and their descendants, the native
Indians who had been dispossessed of their possessions in the United
States, and their descendants, together with residents from the United
States—emigration from the Mother Country not having been commenced to
any extent,—a population thus composed, not exceeding in Upper Canada,
at most 90,000, without troops, without munitions of war, without
resources, and without the least expectation of any timely aid from the
mother country, with a few troops, unable to contend against a powerful
nation, numbering about 8,000,000, with munitions of war, and resources
without limit, within a comparative short distance from maritime cities,
also numerous forces at command, of which they were not slow of
apprising us, in the proclamations circulated from time to time,—it was
under those circumstances that the character and ability of Sir Isaac
Brock were brought to light. Well knowing on whom he had to depend for
the defence of the country, he directed his personal attention to the
clothing, arms, equipment, mess, and personal comfort of the militia,
and took every opportunity of gaining the good will of the Indians.”
The estimation in which General Brock was held by the people of the
Province, was duly evinced by Parliament in passing an act, 14th March,
1815, “to provide for the erection of a monument to the memory of the
late president, Major General Sir Isaac Brock.” The value of his wisdom,
his councils, his energy, his wise plans, as well as his bravery, and
the effects thereof, are fully set forth in the preamble. It was
resolved to grant £1,000 for the purpose referred to, and erect the
monument at Queenston Heights. Thomas Dickson, Thomas Clark, and Robert
Nichol, Esquires, were appointed commissioners to carry out the act. In
January, 1826, an act was passed granting £600 more “to complete the
monument on a scale which appears to the commissioners worthy of the
object.”
_Major General Sheaffe_, became President, 20th October, 1812, and
continued in office until January 19, 1813, when Major General de
Rottenburgh assumed the office, and remained until December 12, of the
same year. At this date
_Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond_ was inducted as President. It
was immediately after this that the infamous American General McClure,
set fire to Newark when unprotected, burning 150 houses, and leaving 400
women and children homeless in the middle of December. This act of
villany was fully avenged by General Drummond. Having occupied Fort
George, a night attack was made upon Fort Niagara, with brilliant
success. Then, the burning of Newark was remembered, and from Lewiston
to Buffalo the frontier was laid waste, including those two towns. In
this connection, we would remark, that in the event of another war with
the United States, it would be no doubt the policy of Canada to make
frequent disastrous raids into the States, wherever the opportunity
presented. The Americans may as well understand that destruction of
property will not be all on one side.
These brief sketches of the first Lieutenant-Governors of Upper Canada,
will be finished by alluding to one who devised the scheme of uniting
the two Canadas, who successfully accomplished that noble design, and
became the first Governor of United Canada. He fixed the capital at
Kingston, as the most central place suitable for both Provinces, indeed,
it is generally understood, that it was a part of the plan when the
union was made, that Kingston should become the permanent seat of
government. “It virtually formed part of the contract between the
respective provinces.” But with the death of Lord Sydenham, also died
the opportunity of Kingston remaining the capital of Canada.
Lord Sydenham died at Kingston, in September, 1841, and was buried
beneath St. George’s Church. Says Dr. Ryerson, in an affecting letter
communicated to the public at that time: “Unlike the close of the
session of legislature, which was ever held in either Province of
Canada, the termination of the late session will produce throughout
Canada the opposite feelings of grateful joy, and melancholy grief. The
same post which conveys to the people of Canada, the tidings of the
harmonious and happy conclusion of a session unprecedented in the
productiveness of comprehensive and valuable measures for the general
improvement and social and intellectual elevation of the province,
conveys to them the appalling announcement that death has terminated the
earthly career of the noble mind which conceived those improvements and
originated those institutions which will form a golden era in the annals
of Canadian history, by laying the foundation of Canadian prosperity and
greatness. While blessings are multiplied us, the agent of those
blessings is removed from us, and our country is, at the same moment,
thrilled with joy and consternation—and on the same day vocal with
thanksgiving and clothed in sackcloth; luminous with hope and involved
in mourning. Thus do the strokes of Providential chastisement accompany
the out-beamings of Providential munificence; and the brightest picture
of human life is shaded with disappointment, suffering, and bereavement.
It is in heaven only that death is unknown, that pain is never felt, and
tears are never shed.
“Lord Sydenham belongs essentially to Canada. His nobility was fairly
earned in her service; the ripest fruits of his experience and
acquirements are embodied in her institutions; his warmest and latest
sympathies are blended with her interests; his mortal remains repose, by
choice, among her dead; and his name is indelibly inscribed in the
affectionate esteem and grateful recollections of her inhabitants.
“It is not easy to determine which is most worthy of admiration, the
comprehensiveness and grandeur of Lord Sydenham’s plans, the skill with
which he overcame the obstacles that opposed their accomplishment, or
the quenchless ardor and ceaseless industry with which he pursued them.
To lay the foundations of public liberty, and at the same time to
strengthen the prerogative; to promote vast public improvements, and not
increase the public burdens; to promote a comprehensive system of
education upon Christian principles, without interfering with religious
scruples; to promote the influence and security of the government by
teaching the people to govern themselves; to destroy party faction by
promoting the general good; to invest a bankrupt country with both
credit and resources, are conceptions and achievements which render Lord
Sydenham the first benefactor of Canada, and place him in the first rank
of statesmen. His Lordship found a country divided, he left it united;
he found it prostrate and paralytic, he left it erect and vigorous; he
found it mantled with despair, he left it blooming with hope. Lord
Sydenham has done more in two years to strengthen and consolidate
British power in Canada by his matchless industry, and truly liberal
conservative policy, than have been done during the ten previous years
by the increase of a standing army, and the erection of military
fortifications. His Lordship has solved the difficult problem, that a
people may be colonists and yet be free; and, in the solution of that
problem, he has gained a triumph less imposing, but not less sublime and
scarcely less important, than the victory of Waterloo; he has saved
millions to England, and secured the affections of Canada.
“In the way of accomplishing these splendid results, the most formidable
obstacles oppose themselves. At the foundation of these lay the hitherto
defective theory, and worse than defective system of Colonial
Government; a system destitute of the safety-valve of responsibility, of
the attributes of freedom, and of the essential materials of executive
power; a system which was despotic from its weakness, and arbitrary from
its pretences to representation; a system inefficient in the hands of
good men, and withering in the hands of mistaken or bad men.”