August 1814 Stories


First Edition Published May 8, 2016
Second Edition Published July 12, 2017
Third Edition Published August 2, 2020
Copyright by Fred Blair

Changes and Additions are in blue text.

August 3, 1814

On the Niagara Frontier

            Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Drummond arrived at the American held Fort Erie and began to prepare for a siege.

August 8, 1814

In Belgium

            Peace negotiations began in Ghent, Belgium.[1]

August 10, 1814

In Augusta Township

            Fourteen Augusta Township militia men who lived north of the St. Lawrence River refused to join a British raid across the river.  Most were descendants of Loyalists.  Upper Canadians along the north shore but had been known to cross the river to visit friends on the other side.[2]

            The area was also known for cross border smuggling.  One estimate had about eighty percent of the British army’s fresh beef coming from Vermont and New Hampshire into the eastern districts of the province.  Yankee drovers could be found trading north of the river.  After the government printing press was destroyed in April, 1813, Drummond ordered another from Ogdensburg in New York State.[3]

August 12, 1814
The British Capture Two Vessels off Fort Erie

            The Americans made a sortie from Fort Erie but were forced to retreat back into the fort.  Among the Incorporated Militia helping to repel the attack, Captain Edward Walker was killed and a major, a sergeant, and 5 privates were wounded.[4]
            The captain’s widow was Harriet Walker.[5]

Upper Canadian Wounded

Corporal John Bryant, Incorporated Militia
Private Richard Hall, Incorporated Militia
Major James Kerby, Incorporated Militia
Private Samuel Prosser, Incorporated Militia[6]

August 14, 1814
British Ship, Nancy, Destroyed in Nottawasaga Bay

            The American ships Niagara, Tigress, and Scorpion found the Nancy hidden near the mouth of the Nottawasaga River.  The crew set fire to the Nancy to prevent its capture by the Americans.

            Colonel McDouall sent Robert Livingston to warn the crew of the Nancy that the Americans were looking for it.  Though wounded, Robert paddled his canoe over 500 kilometers across Lake Huron to Georgian Bay.  After delivering his message to Captain Worsley, the crew were crammed into Robert’s canoe and managed to sneak past the American ships.  Robert then guided the crew to “Michilimacinaw”
            Earlier in the war, Robert had crossed Lake Huron to Detroit 4 times by snowshoe.  He had also been captured and escaped from the Americans after being held for 2 months.[7]

On the Niagara Frontier

            Captain James Fitzgibbon of the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles had requested a 3 day leave in which to get married.  His intended wife was Mary Haley, the daughter of George Haley who had served as a British soldier during the American Revolution and who had received a land grant near Adolphustown in the eastern part of Upper Canada.  James mounted his horse and made the 200-mile journey to Adolphustown.  Mary, in Kingston, was accompanied by the Reverend George Okill Stuart on her 30-mile journey.  The Reverend Stuart performed the ceremony on this date.  Pressed for time, James bid farewell to his new bride at the church, mounted his horse, and began the return journey.[8]



August 15, 1814
Unsuccessful British Attack on Fort Erie

August 16, 1814

At Port Talbot

            Andrew Westbrook returned to Upper Canada for his third raid on the Village of Port Talbot on Lake Erie.  He had captured a number of militia officers and old rivals in earlier raids on the Thames River and destroyed property.  On this occasion, he attempted to capture Colonel Thomas Talbot, but the colonel escaped out the back window of his home.[9]

            Over 200 residents in the village found themselves surrounded by about 100 men dressed as warriors.  The raiders took every horse, all the clothing, and all the household furniture.  The villagers were left naked.[10]

            On one occasion, Westbrook’s pursuers shot one of his Upper Canadian prisoners who was mounted on Westbrook’s horse.  After the war, the Americans rewarded Westbrook for his support.[11]

In the London District

            A Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery was held at Woodhouse by Justice William Dummer Powell.  Joshua Thompson was found guilty of a misdemeanour and was to be whipped twice in the course of a week, at the discretion of the sheriff.
            Griffith Culow was found guilty of failing to report knowledge of a crime and, on the following day, Jonathan Sprague of a misdemeanour.  Both men were to be imprisoned for one hour, to stand in the pillory for one hour, and to pay a fine of one dollar each.[12]

August 23, 1814

On the Niagara Frontier

            Francis Crooks, a merchant in Grimsby Township, furnished 2 saddle horses for 2 American officers who had been taken prisoner and were to be escorted to the Town of York.  The horses were returned and had travelled 14 miles each way.[13]

August 24, 1814

At Marysburgh

            Lieutenant Gregory of the United States Navy and a party of seamen set fire to a raft of pickets and set it adrift where it was broken to pieces on the St. Lawrence River.  The raft had been the property of Jonathan Fairfield of Upper Canada.[14]

At York

            Ensign George Kuck commanded a detachment of the 3rd York Militia that escorted prisoners from York to Hamilton Township, Northumberland County until September 1st.[15]

August 25, 1814

In Kingston

            A Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Gaol Delivery was held at Kingston in the Midland District by Justice William Campbell.  The following day, Benjamin Bennett was tried for murder and found guilty of manslaughter.  On the 29th, he was sentenced to be burned on the hand and then be dismissed.
            Henry Baker and William Evans were both found guilty of having committed a nuisance.  Their fines were 20 and 10 pounds, respectively, and they were to remain in the custody of the sheriff until their fines were paid.
            Benjamin Gerow was found guilty of sedition and was sentenced to pay a 5 pound fine, to be confined for one month, and to stand for one hour in the pillory at the end of that month.
            Prisoners Isaac Pettit, John Johnston, Samuel Hartwell, Jacob Overholser, Garret Neill, and Cornelius Howey, all in custody, presented a petition complaining of being confined in a small place and only being allowed a pound of bread per day.  Justice Campbell had no objection to a further small allowance for their care.[16]

August 27, 1814

Unknown Location

            Captain John Carrol of the Oxford Militia was killed while a prisoner of the Americans.  His widow was Nancy Carrol.[17]
            What were the circumstances of his death?

August 29, 1814

In Oxford Township

            Sylvanus Reynolds of Oxford Township was employed purchasing cattle for the Commissariat in Delaware when he was twice plundered on the 26th and 29th by the American Rangers under the command of Lieutenant G. Servos.  Among the items taken from him were a trunk of personal items and a Masonic apron, 7 muskets, a rifle, over 3 pounds of powder, and 6 pounds of lead.[18]

In Michigan

            About this time, John Richardson and others, who were being escorted back to Upper Canada for a prisoner exchange, arrived in Sandusky, Michigan.  They were camped between Fort Stephenson and the Sandusky River.  No boats were available to transport them across Lake Erie.  Nearly half of the prisoners became ill with a fever at this time.  The men were moved into a small building outside the fort that had been used as a stable and that was open to the wind and rain.  Food and medicine were both lacking.  The American doctor prescribed bleeding but would not perform this procedure himself.  A drummer from the fort performed the task with some skill.  After bleeding each patient received a half-pint of whisky to burn out the disease.  The ill prisoners requested permission to return to the tents in their former camp.  Here they were alarmed by wolves that came nightly to devour their refuse.  They were issued muskets by the Americans for their protection after dark.  The men had only their extra clothing to trade with the local settlers for milk and vegetables.  They also picked wild berries to supplement their food supplies.
            They would remain there until the beginning of October and arrive in Upper Canada on 4th.[19]

August 30, 1814

At Gananoque

            During the month, John Brass of Gananoque, on the St. Lawrence River east of Kingston, borrowed a boat with sails and oars from Captain Ira Schofield so that he could go to the Gananoque River and pick up his family and belongings and take them to Kingston.  At Kingston, the boat was impressed by the British.  Captain Schofield had successfully sued John for the value of the lost boat and had been paid by John in 1815.  John later made a war loss claim to the British for the amount he had paid the captain.[20]

In Ancaster Township

            On Benjamin Smith’s farm, they mowed, plowed, hauled in hay and wheat, and picked brush.  Peter House cribbed and Joseph House stacked wheat.
            Benjamin’s illness that began at the end of July continued and he had a fever and ague on the 2nd of August but was working back on the farm on the 11th.  A number of neighbours came to help his boys with the farm work.  On the 14th, Benjamin had a sore eye.  Nancy helped with the farm work.  The diary entries from the 18th forward were too faint to read.[21]

Upper Canadian Service Deaths

Private Moses Brigham, Middlesex, illness, August 15, 1814
Widow Lucinda Brigham
Private Alexander Limburner, 4th Lincoln, illness, August 13, 1814
Widow Catharine Limburner
Sergeant John Smith, 1st Lincoln, disease, August 25, 1814,
Orphaned children to George Adams [22] [23]

Sources:



[1] The Fife and Drum, The Newsletter of The Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common, Volume 17, Number 4, December 2013, page 4.
[2] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and Paroles:  A Social History of the War of 1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 154.
[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 155.
[4] Richard Feltoe, Redcoated Ploughboys:  The Volunteer Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada, 1813-1815, Dundurn Press, 2012, page 299.
[5] Militia Pensions Agents Office, York, 1st October, 1817, List of Widows, poster at the Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[6] Pension Poster – Casualties, January 1, 1817, Nelles Family Fonds, Ref. Code F 542,
box MU 2192, Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[7] Jeffrey Davidson’s post on the Historic Fort Willow Facebook Group, Nov. 11, 2019.
[8] Dorothy Duncan, Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst, Dundurn, Toronto, 2012, page 207.
[9] D. R. Beasley, “WESTBROOK, ANDREW,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 24, 2017, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/westbrook_andrew_6E.html.
[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 106.
[11] D. R. Beasley, “WESTBROOK, ANDREW,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 24, 2017, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/westbrook_andrew_6E.html.
[12]  Linda Corupe, U.E., Upper Canada Justice, Early Assize Court Records of Ontario, Vol. 2, 1810-1818, transcribed and indexed 2008, pages 126-129.
[13] Collections Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1134, page 806.
[14] Collections Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1143, page 942.
[15] Collections Canada, War of 1812:  Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists, Microfilm t-10384, page 555.
[16] Linda Corupe, U.E., Upper Canada Justice, Early Assize Court Records of Ontario, Vol. 2, 1810-1818, transcribed and indexed 2008, pages 130-134.
[18] Collections Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 880-892.
[19] Major John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 289-290.
[20] Collections Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 293-316.
[21] Benjamin Smith’s Diary, Benjamin Smith Fonds F582, Ontario Archives, Toronto, Ontario.
[23] Militia Pensions Agents Office, York, 1st October, 1817, List of Widows, poster at the Ontario Archives, Toronto.

End

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