First
Edition Published December 20, 2015
Second
Edition Published December 30, 2016
Third
Edition Published May 1, 2019
Copyright
by Fred Blair
Changes
and additions are in blue text.
August 1,
1813
In Michigan
General
Procter’s ambush of the Americans at Fort Meigs failed at the end of July and
Tecumseth suggested that they attack an easier fortification to capture. The British force sailed up the Sandusky
River and landed there on this date. The
American’s fired their guns at them before they gained the cover of the
woods. Tecumseth’s indigenous warriors
had travelled overland to meet them there.
August 2,
1813
The British
Attacked Fort Stephenson in Michigan
The
British constructed batteries at the edge of the woods and began to fire their
light artillery at the fort. This fire
was ineffectual in breaching the stockade and an assault was planned. Three columns of about 120 men rushed forward
and were met by discharges from within the fort at about 50 yards. The British endured the fire and gained the
ravine below the stockade. They lacked a
means of climbing the wall and resorted to cutting through with axes that were
blunted from previous use. The fort’s guns
were loaded with slugs and musket balls and fired into the ravine. After two hours, the British were unable to
breach the stockade and were forced to retreat.
The Indigenous warriors
were not accustomed to this type of attack and had fled the field when the
Americans had begun to use their guns during the British advance.
Lieutenant Colonel
William Charles Short of the 41st Regiment was killed during this
action. On July 30, 1809, he had married
Jane Crooks, the eldest sister of James Crooks of the Town of Niagara. Twenty-six British soldiers were killed, 41
wounded, and 29 were reported missing.[1]
John
Richardson, a volunteer in the 41st, was captured by the Americans
at the Battle of Moraviantown on October 5, 1813. During his journey to his place of
confinement, he found himself back at Fort Stephenson. He had been with the men of the British left
column in the ravine when the order to retreat was given. Unfortunately, this information was not
received by the far end of the left column as the withdrawal was done in a
quiet manner, not to alert the Americans in the fort above them, and because
they were separated from the rest of the left column by obstructions in the
ravine. After four hours of laying on
the wet ground and concealed from the Americans, they heard British orders behind
them that indicated that the British had retreated back to the river. In was then about 9:30 in the evening and
they also heard an American order to open the sally ports in the fort. The British soldiers now had two options for
escape. Immediately make a speedy
retreat or wait until the light was dimmer would obstruct the light from the
moon. Most preferred the latter plan,
but John Richardson chose to make a quiet escape. After several careful steps, stumbled he over
a dead body and alerted the Americans above him. As he reached the top of the ravine, he was
exposed in the moonlight and was fired upon.
John made it back to the river unscathed and discovered that the boats
were already loading the British soldiers.
Hungry, parched, and worn out, he retrieved a bottle of port from his
provisions basket and consumed it all.
The remainder of the British
soldiers left in the ravine were captured by the Americans.[2]
August 13,
1813
On the Niagara
Frontier
Officers in the field were warned
not to supplement their men’s rations with extra food. Shortages of basic supplies were common
during the war. Even if the officers
wanted to purchase local food it might not have been available. Senior officers had to ration what was
available.[3]
August 20,
1813
Vallentin Kratz of Louth Township
was employed to convey troops from the Twenty Mile Creek to Burlington. His son drove his wagon and horses for two
days at $4.00 per day.[4]
August 21,
1813
At Kingston
Private
Philip Wolfrum of the Incorporated Militia was killed and left a widow,
Catharine Wolfrum.[5]
How did he die?
August 22,
1813
On the Niagara
Frontier
During the British blockade of the
Americans at Fort George, the Coloured Corps was stationed at St. David’s.[6]
August 26,
1813
In York
Lieutenant
Colonel Ralph Bruyeres of the Royal Engineers arrived in the Town of York. He was to oversee the rebuilding of the
barracks and fortifications. He would
have preferred to have built blockhouses further away from the shore to deter
an American naval bombardment of them, like the one that had occurred in April,
but his superiors ordered him to build them close to the shore.[7]
August 28,
1813
In Kingston
Fourteen
leading merchants and retailers met at Walker’s Hotel in Kingston to create a
new currency. The Kingston Association
currency was backed by a treasury of coin and army bills. The association would not accept local
currencies over fifty cents in value.
They printed 1 000 one-dollar notes.
To show that they would not be making money exchanging money, any
profits would be donated to the Patriotic Society.
A month later the
merchants in York formed their own association and issued 300 one-dollar notes
backed by a cash reserve.
Merchants who had
previously individually printed their own notes, most of which the Associations
would not accept, now became afraid that they would not be able to redeem all
the notes that they had issued, if they were all returned at the same time.
A confrontation between
the local merchants and the Kingston Association occurred on September 5, 1813.[8]
August 30,
1813
A Court of Oyer and Terminer, etc.,
was held at Kingston in the Midland District by Justice William Campbell. Peter Grant was found guilty of assault, was
to pay a ten pound fine, and to remain in custody until it was paid.
John B. Soucis was found guilty of
larceny and was sentenced to three months in custody.
Lewis Day was found guilty of
assault and battery, was sentenced to pay a fine of five pounds, and was to
remain in custody until it was paid.
Gersham Clark was found guilty of
sedition and was sentenced to pay a fine of five pounds, to be confined for one
month, to stand in the pillory for two hours, and to find two sureties for his
good behaviour.
William Franklin pleaded guilty to
assault and battery and was sentenced to pay a fine of five pounds and to be
confined for one month.
Benjamin McAllister was found guilty
of larceny to the amount of thirty-eight shillings. He was sentenced to one month in prison, to be
publicly whipped twice with thirty-nine lashes each time, and to find two
sureties of his good behaviour.
John Connor was charged with
treason, was arraigned, and released on bail of 1000 pounds for himself and 500
pounds each for two sureties that he would keep the peace for twelve months and
appear at the next assize in Kingston.[9]
In York
During
the month, boards were established to investigate people suspected of wrong
doing. This was a response to residents
having acquired government property and other misbehaviour during the American
invasions of York.
Attorney General John
Beverley Robinson suggested that the York board be composed of William Allan,
John Strachan, Duncan Cameron, Thomas Ridout, Alexander Wood, and Peter
Robinson.
The York committee
reported back that the number of men involved in supporting the Americans and
receiving goods or profiting from received goods would include most of the
local citizens. Any men taken prisoner
might be freed by a return of the American fleet or by friends and
neighbours. If the men were brought to
trial, it would be difficult to find jurors who were not guilty of the same
crime.[10]
In Essex County
James Stockwell of Colchester
Township, Essex County, was raided by Indigenous warriors. Among the items taken were a rifle, a powder
horn, three shirts, a vest, a shift, two gowns, woolen yarn, 15 shillings cash,
and
A carving knife at 2
and a half shillings
Three dressed deer
skins at 1 pound and 10 shillings
Twelve handkerchiefs
at 3 pounds and 10 shillings
A buckskin coat at 2
pounds and 10 shillings
A scarlet cloak at 2
pounds and 10 shillings
A looking glass at 1
pound and 5 shillings
A silver hair clasp at
5 shillings
A pair of overalls at
10 shillings
A pair of shoes at 2
and a half shillings
Two hair combs at 5
shillings
A muslin apron at 12
and a half shillings
Three pair of
moccasins at 7 and a half shillings
A pair of cotton
stockings at 7 and a half shillings
A new woolen cap at 5
shillings [11]
In York Township
During August, Ely Playter topped up
his stacks and covered the hay barn where the boards were off, ground his
scythes, helped a neighbour and his father draw in some hay, had some help
drawing his own hay, fenced his hay stack, and took his children out in the
canoe to pick berries.[12]
On the Niagara
Frontier
During the month, Benjamin Parent,
of Bertie Township, had leased fifty-five horses to Captain Hall’s troopers for
five days.[13]
In Ancaster Township
Benjamin Smith of Ancaster Township
continued to make deliveries of wheat to Samuel Hatt’s mill. On his farm, they bound rye, cradled wheat
with the help of John Kitchen and John Lewis, burned brush, sharpened the
plough irons, picked brush, cut saplings, plowed, cut oats and logs, took up
the oats, and thrashed.
Benjamin delivered two barrels of
whiskey to Richard Beasley’s at Burlington Heights.[14]
Upper Canadian Service Deaths
Private Robert McLaughlin, Incorporated
Militia, disease, Aug. 24, 1813,
children to Nadah Eastman[15]
Sources:
[1] Major John Richardson,
Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles Publishing
Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 177-181.
[2] Major John Richardson,
Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles Publishing
Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 244-247.
[3] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 111.
[4] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1138, pages 361.
[6] David A. Owen, The
Black as a Soldier – Captain Runchey’s Company, by Niagara Advance Historical
Issue, 1981, pages 16 & 17.
[7] Carl Benn, The
Blockhouses of Toronto: A Material
History Study, Material Culture Review, https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17655/22305, accessed Apr. 9,
2018.
[8] George Sheppard,
Plunder, Profit, and Paroles: A Social
History of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press,
1994, pages 140-141.
[9] Linda Corupe, U.E.,
Upper Canada Justice, Early Assize Court Records of Ontario, Vol. 2, 1810-1818,
transcribed and indexed 2008, pages 78-83.
[10] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 151.
[11] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1133, pages 582.
[13] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1133, pages 491.
[14] Benjamin Smith’s Diary, Benjamin Smith Fonds F582, Ontario
Archives, Toronto, Ontario.
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