ON THE FRONTIER
Let every man who swings an axe,
Or follows at the plough,
Abandon farm and homestead,
And grasp a rifle now!
We'll trust the God of Battles
Although our force be small;
Arouse ye, brave Canadians,
And answer to my call!
Let mothers, though with breaking hearts,
Give up their gallant sons;
Let maidens bid their lovers go,
And wives their dearer ones!
Then rally to the frontier
And form a living wall;
Arouse ye, brave Canadians,
And answer to my call!
--_J. D. Edgar_, "This Canada of Ours."
The frontier of Canada to be defended, reckoning from Fort Joseph at
the head of Lake Huron to Quebec, was over twelve hundred miles in
length. The number of regulars in both the Canadas was a little less
than five thousand. The 8th, the 41st, the 49th, the 100th
Regiments, the 10th Royal Veterans, some artillery and the Canadian,
Newfoundland and Glengarry Fencibles composed the force, of which
about fourteen hundred and fifty were in Upper Canada, divided
between Forts {202} Joseph, Amherstburg, Chippawa, Erie, York and
Kingston. The most assailable frontier was the river Detroit from
Sandwich to Amherstburg, the river Niagara from Fort Erie to Fort
George, and the St. Lawrence from Kingston to St. Regis where the
American boundary touches the St. Lawrence. Between that place and
Quebec was an impenetrable forest. The population of Upper Canada
was about seventy thousand, of which eleven thousand might be called
out as militia, although not more than four thousand were ready for
service. This, then, was the material of which Brock had to make an
army of defence. It looked out of the question for it to be an army
of attack.
Early in May a warning note came from Mr. Thomas Barclay, the English
consul-general at New York. He wrote to Sir George Prevost: "You may
consider war as inevitable. It will take place in July at the
latest. Upper Canada will be the first object. Military stores of
all kinds and provisions are daily moving hence towards the lines.
Thirteen thousand five hundred militia, the quota of the state, are
drawn and ordered, to be in readiness at a moment's notice."
During this month Brock had hurried up ordnance and other stores to
St. Joseph, and had ordered Captain Roberts, in command there, to be
on his guard. At Amherstburg there were about seven hundred militia,
rank and file. The general proposed to increase the garrison there
by two {203} hundred men from Fort George and York, and guns were
sent also from those places, relying upon others coming from Kingston
by the _Earl of Moira_.
[Sidenote: War declared]
On June 1st General Hull, the civil governor of the Michigan
territory, and then recently made brigadier-general, in command of
about two thousand men, began his march for the Michigan territory
from Dayton, Ohio. On June 7th he arrived at Urbana, where he was
joined by the 4th Regiment. Colonel McArthur, from Detroit, with his
regiment of Michigan militia, had been ordered to open a road as far
as the Scioto River, where two blockhouses, joined by a strong
stockade, were called Fort McArthur. General Hull's march lay for
part of the way through thick and trackless forests. On June 18th
war was formally declared by the United States against England, but
news of this did not reach Sir George Prevost at Quebec until the
26th of that month, and then it did not come officially but by a
letter to the secretary, H. W. Ryland, from the firm of Forsyth,
Richardson & Company, and James McGillivray of the North-West and
South-West Fur Companies. The letter was as follows: "Montreal, June
24th. You will be pleased to inform the governor-general that we
have just received by an express which left New York on the 20th and
Albany on Sunday last at 6 a.m., the account that war against Great
Britain is declared." Fortunately General Brock was not left to
learn the news by the circuitous channel of the governor-general.
{204} He, too, had a communication sent him by express from Niagara.
It came to Thomas Clark from John Jacob Astor, New York, and was
immediately sent on to General Brock, who received it in York on June
26th.[1] In a few hours two companies of the 41st Regiment in
garrison at York were embarked in boats to the Niagara frontier,
while the general assembled his council, called an extra session of
the legislature, and then in a small open boat, with his brigade
major, Evans, and his aide-de-camp, Captain Glegg, crossed the lake,
(thirty miles) to Fort George, where he established his headquarters.
Colonel Baynes wrote to him as soon as the intelligence reached Sir
George, and said His Excellency was inclined to believe the report,
but it was not official. Colonel Baynes also reported that six large
canoes of the North-West Company going to the upper lakes by the
Ottawa, to receive their furs, had offered to accommodate six
soldiers in each canoe, in order to reinforce St. Joseph, but Sir
George did not think it well to weaken the 49th by sending them. The
letter ends, "Sir George desires me to say that he does not attempt
to prescribe specific rules for your guidance--they must be directed
by your discretion, and the circumstances of the time--the present
order of the day with him is _forbearance_."
{205}
[Sidenote: News from Quebec]
On July 3rd there was still doubt about war being really declared,
but Colonel Baynes writes to General Brock on that date from Quebec:
"We have a report here of your having commenced operations by
levelling the American fort at Niagara. His Excellency is most
anxious to hear good and recent news from your quarter. The flank
companies here are on the march, and two thousand militia will form a
chain of posts from St. Johns to Laprairie. The town militia of
Montreal and Quebec, to the amount of three thousand in each city,
have volunteered, are being embodied and drilled, and will take their
part in garrison duty to relieve the troops. The proclamation for
declaring martial law is prepared and will speedily be issued. All
aliens will be required to take the oath of allegiance or immediately
quit the province. Our cash is at its last issue, and a substitute
of paper must perforce be resorted to."
General Brock did not wait to receive official instructions from the
commander-in-chief, but immediately issued his orders for the
disposal of his scanty force. He called out the flank companies,
consisting of eight hundred well drilled men, and also sent an
express to Captain Roberts at Fort Joseph with instructions to
attempt the capture of Michilimackinac.
The district general order from Niagara on June 27th, was as follows:
"Colonel Procter will assume the command of the troops between
Niagara and {206} Fort Erie. The Hon. Colonel Clans will command the
militia stationed between Niagara and Queenston, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Clark from Queenston to Fort Erie. The
commissariat at their respective posts will issue rations and fuel
for the number actually present. The car brigade and the provincial
cavalry are included in this order. The detachment of the 41st,
stationed at the two and four-mile points, will be relieved by an
equal number of the 1st Lincoln militia to-morrow morning. It is
recommended to the militia to bring blankets with them on service.
The troops will be kept in a constant state of readiness for service,
and Colonel Procter will direct the necessary guards and patrols
which are to be made down the bank and close to the water's edge.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol is appointed quartermaster-general to the
militia forces, with the same pay and allowances as those granted to
the adjutant-general."
[Sidenote: Colonel Nichol]
The appointment of Colonel Nichol to this position is another
instance of General Brock's foresight and judgment in choosing men
for special work. In 1804, when Brock was a colonel in command at
Fort George, this Mr. Nichol kept, in the village near by, a small
shop or general store, where all sorts of wares were sold. He was a
clever little Scotsman, and the colonel soon became his warm friend,
and invited him often to dine with him at the mess. At this time
there was a menace of war, and Colonel Brock soon discovered that his
friend {207} had a very good knowledge of the country. At his
request Mr. Nichol drew up a statistical account of Upper Canada,
showing its resources in men, horses, provisions, and its most
vulnerable and assailable points. The sketch was in fact a military
report, embracing every detail which the commander of an army would
desire to have in the event of a war. The statement proved most
valuable in after years to General Brock, and now that he was
choosing his men for service in the various posts required, Colonel
Nichol, to the surprise of some who thought themselves entitled to
the position, was given an appointment where his particular qualities
would be of use. Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol had been in command of
the 2nd Norfolk Militia, a regiment composed almost entirely of
native Americans, and naturally not much to be depended on at the
beginning of the war. Colonel Nichol, in a letter to Captain Glegg,
gives his idea of how to manage such a regiment. He says: "You know
well, sir, that in a militia composed as ours is of independent
yeomanry, it would be both impolitic and useless to attempt to
introduce the strict discipline of the line. Just and fair conduct
and a conciliatory disposition on the part of their commanding
officer will do much, and this was the line I had marked out for
myself."
Strange to say, the official communication of the declaration of war
did not reach Sir George Prevost until about July 7th, at Montreal.
He writes on {208} that date to General Brock: "It was only on my
arrival here that I received Mr. Foster's notification of the
congress of the United States having declared war against Great
Britain." The actual declaration took place on June 18th. The vote
in the American senate was one hundred and ninety-three to thirteen,
in the lower house seventy-nine to forty-nine. So unpopular was it
in Massachusetts that on the receipt of the news the flags in the
harbour of Boston were placed at half-mast. The declaration of war
did not reach England until July 30th, and when it arrived, the
government, thinking that the revocation of the orders-in-council
would bring a suspension of hostilities, only ordered the detention
of American ships and property. It was not until October 13th that
directions were issued for general reprisals against the ships, goods
and citizens of the United States.
Colonel Baynes writes on July 8th, acknowledging a letter from Brock
of the 3rd: "Only four days from York." He continues, "We have felt
extremely anxious about you ever since we have learnt of the actual
declaration of war, which has been so long threatened that we never
believed it would ever seriously take place. Even now it is the
prevailing opinion that offensive measures are not likely to be
speedily adopted against this country."
[Sidenote: Hull's advance]
At that moment General Hull, who had received news of the declaration
of war on June 26th, was preparing to enter Canada. On June 24th the
{209} American general wrote, "I feel a confidence that the force
under my command will be superior to any which can be opposed to it.
It now exceeds two thousand rank and file." On June 30th he reached
a village on the broad Miami, and engaged a small schooner there to
take the baggage on to Detroit, while he continued his march with the
troops. On July 4th his army reached the Huron River, twenty-one
miles from Detroit, and the next day encamped at Springwells, four
miles from the town. Here six hundred Michigan militia joined him.
His order from Washington was: "Should the force under your command
be equal to the enterprise, consistent with the safety of your own
post, you will take possession of Malden, and extend your conquests
as circumstances may justify." Hull did not think himself equal to
the reduction of Fort Malden. On the 12th he passed over the Detroit
River, and established his headquarters in Colonel Baby's house.
Colonel Baby was then absent attending to his parliamentary duties in
York.
One can hardly realize in these days of rapid communication how
difficult it was then to obtain information of what was happening in
different parts of the province, or to convey orders. Much depended
on the individual capacity of those in charge of distant posts, and a
certain latitude had to be allowed them in carrying out instructions
from headquarters. Seven hundred miles from York and about fifty
miles north-east of Michilimackinac {210} was a lonely outpost on the
island of St. Joseph, at the head of Lake Huron. A small company of
the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion was stationed here under the command
of Captain Roberts. On June 26th, from Fort George, General Brock
sent a despatch to that officer, giving him orders to attack
Michilimackinac, the island lying in the strait between Lakes Huron
and Michigan. On the 27th this order was suspended, but on the 28th
it was renewed. On the very day this letter was received, another
dated June 25th arrived at Fort Joseph from Sir George Prevost,
ordering Captain Roberts to act only on the defensive. This was
rather a puzzling position for the captain, but he knew well the
importance General Brock attached to the taking of the island, and he
resolved to act on the instructions received in the letter of the
28th. He was confirmed in his intentions by another letter from
General Brock, dated July 4th, in which he was told to use his
discretion either to attack or defend.
[Sidenote: Capture of Mackinaw]
On July 16th he therefore set out with a flotilla of boats and canoes
in which were embarked forty-five officers and men of the 10th
Veterans, about one hundred and eighty Canadian _voyageurs_ under
Toussaint Pothier, the agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, and a
goodly number of Indians, the whole convoyed by a brig, the
_Caledonia_, belonging to the North-West Company. Under cover of
night they approached the white cliffs of Mackinaw. {211} It is a
true Gibraltar of the northern lakes, accessible only on one side,
and had sufficient time been allowed, it could no doubt have been
easily defended. Its garrison consisted of sixty-one officers and
men under command of a Captain Hanks. The expedition had been so
cleverly managed that the enemy were completely taken by surprise,
and at dawn of July 17th, the fort, which by the treaty of 1794 had
been ceded to the Americans, once more came under the British flag.
It was the first operation of the war, and a most important one. By
it the wavering tribes of Indians in the North-West were confirmed in
their allegiance to Great Britain, and these proved a very powerful
aid in the coming contest. Military stores of all kinds were found
in the fort, also seven hundred packs of furs, for this was the
rendez-vous of the traders of the North West. The news of this
success did not, of course, reach Fort George until the end of the
month, while it was August 3rd when the paroled men from Mackinaw
reached Detroit and bore the first news of the disaster to General
Hull.
From Fort George, early in July, General Brock wrote to the
commander-in-chief that the militia were improving in discipline, but
showed a degree of impatience under restraint. "So great was the
clamour," he says, "to return and attend to their farms, that I found
myself in some measure compelled to sanction the departure of a large
proportion, and I am not without my apprehension that {212} the
remainder will, in defiance of the law which only imposes a fine of
twenty dollars, leave the service the moment the harvest begins."
[Sidenote: A tactful commander]
The general, however, knew how to deal with his homespun warriors,
and instead of blaming the men his general order of July 4th gave
them the word of praise they needed. He also gave them the word of
sympathy that showed them he realized how hard it was for them to
leave their homes and their ungathered harvests, and spend their days
and nights in tedious drill and outpost duty, without tents, without
blankets, some even without shoes, which at that time could scarcely
be provided in the country. His order ran as follows: "Major-General
Brock has witnessed with the highest satisfaction the orderly and
regular conduct of such of the militia as have been called into
actual service, and their ardent desire to acquire military
instruction. He is sensible that they are exposed to great
privations, and every effort will be immediately made to supply their
most pressing wants, but such are the circumstances of the country
that it is absolutely necessary that every inhabitant should have
recourse to his own means to furnish himself with blankets and other
necessaries. The major-general calls the serious attention of every
militiaman to the efforts making by the enemy to destroy and lay
waste this flourishing country. They must be sensible of the great
stake they have to contend for, and will by their conduct convince
the enemy that they {213} are not desirous of bowing their necks to a
foreign yoke. The major-general is determined to devote his best
energies to the defence of the country, and has no doubt that,
supported by the zeal, activity and determination of the loyal
inhabitants of this province, he will successfully repel every
hostile attack, and preserve to them inviolate all that they hold
dear. From the experience of the past the major-general is convinced
that should it be necessary to call forth a further proportion of the
militia to aid their fellow-subjects in defence of the province, they
will come forward with equal alacrity to share the danger and the
honour." Thus he took the rough metal at his hand, and out of it
forged a weapon of strength that did good service through three years
of trial.
The position of affairs in Upper Canada in the early part of July was
extremely unpromising. About four thousand American troops under the
command of Brigadier-General Wadsworth were on the Niagara frontier
between Black Rock and Fort Niagara, with headquarters at Lewiston,
directly opposite Queenston. A report had come to General Brock of
the bombardment of Sandwich (which was not true), but a further
report came of its occupation by the American general. President
Madison announced in his address to congress that General Hull had
passed into Canada with a prospect of easy and victorious progress.
From Sandwich Hull issued a proclamation to the people of {214}
Canada, offering the alternatives of "peace, liberty and security, or
war, slavery and destruction."[2] Colonel St. George, who commanded
the Canadian militia on the Detroit frontier, reported to General
Brock that they had behaved badly and that many of them had joined
the invading army. There is no doubt that on that western peninsula
there were many American settlers, bound by no tie of patriotism to
Canada, whose sympathies were entirely with the United States. A
very different feeling prevailed in that part of the country which
had been mainly settled by Loyalists after the American revolution,
and also where General Brock was personally known and where his
influence extended. He wrote to Sir George his impressions about the
loyalty of the population of Upper Canada, and said that although a
great number were sincere in their desire to defend the country,
there were many others who were indifferent, or so completely
American as to rejoice in the prospect of a change of government.
Another disquieting report came at this time of the feeling among the
Indians on the Grand River. They had heard of General Hull's
successful entry into the country, his emissaries were already among
them, and they had decided to remain neutral.
[Sidenote: American assertion]
The American press was now full of boastful {215} predictions of the
early fall of Canada. Dr. Eustis, the American secretary of war,
said: "We can take the Canadas without soldiers, we have only to send
officers into the province, and the people, disaffected towards their
own government, will rally round our standard." Henry Clay said: "It
is absurd to suppose we shall not succeed in our enterprise against
the enemy's provinces. We have the Canadas as much under our command
as Great Britain has the ocean; and the way to conquer her on the
ocean is to drive her from the land. I am not for stopping at Quebec
or anywhere else, but I would take the continent from them. I wish
never to see a peace till we do."
In the face of all this assertion, and with a knowledge that a
handful of regulars and a few thousand undisciplined militia were all
that he had to drive the invaders back, it was hard for the general
in command to keep a confident air, and to prevent the people
dependent on him from giving up in despair. To Sir George Prevost
Brock wrote: "It is scarcely possible that the government of the
United States will be so inactive or supine as to permit the present
limited (British) force to remain in possession of the country.
Whatever can be done to preserve it, or to delay its fall, your
Excellency may rest assured will be done." "I talk loud and look
big," he laughingly says in a letter to Colonel Baynes.
General Brock lost no time in sending Colonel {216} Procter to
Amherstburg, where he was expected to arrive on July 21st. Of that
officer he says: "I have great dependence on his decision, but fear
he will arrive too late to be of much service." The letter, which
was to the commander-in-chief, continues: "The position which Colonel
St. George occupies is very good, and infinitely more formidable than
Fort Malden itself. Should he be compelled to retire I know of no
other alternative for him than embarking in the king's vessels and
proceeding to Fort Erie. Your Excellency will readily perceive the
critical situation in which the reduction of Amherstburg will place
me. I shall endeavour to exert myself to the utmost to overcome
every difficulty. I now express my apprehensions on a supposition
that the slender means your Excellency possesses will not admit of
diminution, consequently, that I need not look for reinforcements.
The enemy seem more inclined to work on the flanks, aware that if he
succeeds every other part must soon submit."
Just before the news came of General Hull's occupation of Sandwich,
Sir George had written to Brock, still counselling forbearance. He
said: "While the states are not united themselves as to the war, it
would be unwise to commit any act which might unite them.
Notwithstanding these observations, I have to assure you of my
perfect confidence in your measures for the preservation of Upper
Canada. All your wants shall be supplied as {217} fast as possible,
except money, of which I have none."
[Sidenote: The naval force]
Parliament was now sitting at Quebec, and Sir George Prevost was
obliged to be at that place, while General de Rottenburg remained in
Montreal. A small reinforcement of troops had arrived in Canada,
consisting of the 103rd Regiment, a weak battalion of Royal Scots,
and some recruits for the 100th. The arrival of the 103rd allowed
the remainder of the 49th to proceed to Upper Canada. "Oh, for
another regiment," Brock sighed. The naval force available in Upper
Canada was a small squadron on Lake Ontario, consisting of the _Royal
George_ of twenty-four guns, the brig _Moira_ sixteen guns, the
_Prince Regent_, which had just been built and equipped at York, and
two other small schooners. On Lake Erie the _Queen Charlotte_ was at
Fort Malden, and the sloop of war _Hunter_ had been sent to the
straits of Mackinaw.
General Hull's boastful proclamation from Sandwich had not been
received with the enthusiasm he had expected from the population of
Upper Canada. A counter appeal had been issued from Fort George by
General Brock, ending in these words: "Beholding, as we do, the flame
of patriotism burning from 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 the country by a proclamation,
but it is our part to prove to them that they are {218} sadly
mistaken; that the population is determinedly hostile, and that the
few who might be otherwise inclined will find it to their safety to
be faithful."
It was well to be cheerful and confident in the face of the
difficulties that surrounded him, and this spirit was shared by his
followers. Once more he writes to the commander-in-chief: "The
alacrity and good temper displayed when the militia marched to the
frontier has infused in the minds of the enemy a very different
sentiment of the disposition of the inhabitants, who he (the American
general) was led to believe would, on the first summons, declare
themselves an American state."
On July 20th news came of an unexpected success. It will be
remembered that General Hull on his march to Detroit had left his
heavy baggage and stores to be conveyed by a schooner, _Cayahoga_,
from the Miami River to Detroit. The boats of the _Hunter_, under
the command of Lieutenant Rolette, came across this schooner and
succeeded in capturing it. General Brock wrote at once to Sir George
Prevost to tell him that Colonel St. George had reported the capture
and had sent him some interesting documents found on board. From the
correspondence taken he judged the force at Detroit to consist of
about two thousand men. It was reported also that the enemy were
making numerous and extensive inroads from Sandwich up the river
Thames. He had therefore sent Captain Chambers with about fifty of
the 41st to the Moravian town, {219} where he had directed two
hundred militia to join him. He was most anxious to set off himself
for Amherstburg, but was obliged to wait for the meeting of the
legislature, which was summoned for July 27th.
As to making an attack on Fort Niagara, which had been suggested,
General Brock did not think it was of immediate consequence. He
writes: "It can be demolished when found necessary in half an hour."
His guns were in position and he considered his front to be perfectly
safe. In the meantime he was devoting himself to the training of the
militia, to enable them to acquire some degree of discipline.
[Sidenote: Brock's appeal]
On July 22nd from Fort George, General Brock issued another
proclamation as president of the province. It ran as follows: "The
unprovoked declaration of war by the United States of America against
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has been followed by
the actual invasion of this province, in a remote frontier of the
western district, by a detachment of the armed forces of the United
States. The officer commanding that detachment has thought proper to
invite His Majesty's subjects not only to a quiet and unresisting
submission, but insults them with a call to seek voluntarily the
protection of that government.
"Where is the Canadian subject who can truly affirm to himself that
he has been injured by the government of Great Britain in his person,
his {220} liberty or his property? Where is to be found in any part
of the world a growth so rapid in wealth and prosperity as this
colony exhibits, settled not thirty years ago by a band of veterans
exiled from their former possessions on account of their loyalty?
Not a descendant of these brave people is to be found who under the
fostering liberality of their sovereign has not acquired a property
and means of enjoyment superior to what were possessed by his
ancestors. This unequalled prosperity could not have been attained
by the utmost liberality of the government or the persevering
industry of the people, had not the maritime power of the mother
country secured for its colonists a safe access to every market where
the produce of their labour was in demand.
"The unavoidable and immediate consequence of a separation from Great
Britain must be the loss of this inestimable advantage. What is
offered you in exchange? To become a territory of the United States
and share with them that exclusion from the ocean which the policy of
their present government enforces. You are not even flattered with a
prospect of participation in their boasted independence, and it is
but too obvious that once excluded from the powerful protection of
the United Kingdom, you must be re-annexed to the Dominion of France,
from which the provinces of Canada were wrested by Great Britain, at
a vast expense of blood and treasure, from no other motive than to
relieve her ungrateful children from the oppression of a cruel {221}
neighbour. This restitution to the empire of France was the
stipulated reward for the aid afforded to the revolted colonies, now
the United States. The debt is still due and there can be no doubt
the pledge has been renewed as a consideration for commercial
advantages, or rather, as an expected relaxation in the tyranny of
France over the commercial world. Are you prepared, inhabitants of
Upper Canada, to become willing subjects, or rather, slaves to the
despot who rules Europe with a rod of iron? If not, arise in a body,
exert your energies to coöperate cordially with the king's regular
forces to repel the invader, and do not give cause to your children,
when groaning under the oppression of a foreign master, to reproach
you with having too easily parted with the richest inheritance on
earth--a participation in the name, character and freedom of Britain.
"Let no man suppose that if in this unexpected struggle His Majesty's
arms should be compelled to yield to an overwhelming force, the
province will be abandoned. The endeared relation of its first
settlers, the intrinsic value of its commerce, and the pretensions of
its powerful rival to repossess the Canadas, are pledges that no
peace will be established between the United States and Great Britain
of which the restoration of these provinces does not make the most
prominent condition."
On July 27th General Brock returned to York, where, attended by a
numerous suite, he opened {222} the extra session of the legislature.
His speech on that occasion rings like a trumpet note: "Gentlemen of
the House of Assembly, we are engaged in an awful and eventful
contest. By unanimity and despatch in our councils, and vigour in
our operations we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country
defended by free men enthusiastically devoted to the cause of their
king and constitution, can never be conquered!"
[1] Mr. Astor had extensive fur interests in Canada, and obtained
early and private information from Washington in order to prevent his
store of furs being sent from their dépôts.
[2] Hull's proclamation to the people of Canada runs: "You will be
emancipated from tyranny and oppression and restored to the dignified
station of free men."
{223}