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]
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,
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.
[23] Militia Pensions Agents Office, York, 1st
October, 1817, List of Widows, poster at the Ontario Archives, Toronto.
End
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