First Edition Published March 9,
2016
Second Edition Published April
1, 2017
Third Edition November 29, 2019
Copyright by Fred Blair
Changes and additions are in
blue text.
February 2, 1814
A Return was presented on inhabitants
greatly distressed by the war. Hannah
Frey had been left destitute by the loss of her husband, Captain Bernard Frey
who was killed by cannon fire, the loss of her house, burned by the enemy, and
her crops and fences destroyed when the British had encamped on her farm. She was without a home and destitute as were
other women listed in the Return.
Eliza Lawe’s husband, Captain George
Lawe of the 1st Lincoln Militia, had been wounded on May 27th
at Fort George and had been taken prisoner.
She had lost her house during the burning of Niagara in December 1813.
The widow Howard, a school teacher
of Niagara, had lost her property and her income.
Sarah Lawrence, the wife of George
Lawrence who had been taken prisoner, had her crops stolen.
Gerritt Slingerland was captured in
Niagara and held for six weeks before he escaped. He returned home to find his house and barn
burned by the enemy. He was old and had
a large family to support.[1]
He had been exempted from service in
1812 when he was 56 years old because he was unfit for duty.[2]
Larkin Perrish had lost his home in
the Town of Niagara and was old and could not do much work.
Michael Benninger of Niagara had
lost his barn and had his money and property stolen.
Mary Grass had two children and a
baby to support. Her husband, Private
George Grass of the 1st Lincoln Militia had been wounded on May 27,
1813 near Fort George during the American landing and died two days later.
Elizabeth McClellan had her house
and barn burned and fences taken by the Americans. She was the widow of Captain Martin McClellan
of the 1st Lincoln Militia who had been killed on May 27th.
Eliza Wright and Phoebe Cameron were
also left poor. Eliza and Phoebe were
the widows of Private Charles Wright and Private William Cameron, who were both
killed on May 27th while serving with the Militia Artillery.
The widow Polly Sporbeck of Niagara
Township at the Cross Roads on the Four Mile Creek had lost her crops because
the British had encamped on them during the summer of 1813.[3]
February 3, 1814
In York
The Loyal and Patriotic Society awarded financial support to a
number of distressed Upper Canadians.
Mrs. Hanna Frey received 50
dollars. Her husband, Captain Bernard
Frey had been killed by the enemy and she had been left in distress. Her house in Niagara had been burnt by the
Americans, the crops on her farm at the Cross Roads on the 4 Mile Creek had
been destroyed by an encampment of troops and Indigenous people, and bricks,
boards, and lime had been impressed for the use of the same camp.
Elizabeth Lawe was granted 100
dollars. Her husband, Captain George
Lawe of the 1st Lincoln Militia and an assistant engineer, had been
wounded on May 27, 1813 and had since been taken as a prisoner of war. The captain’s house and barn had been burnt
by the Americans.
The widow Heward received 50
dollars. She had been a school teacher
in Niagara and had lost almost all of her property.
Mrs. Sarah Lawrence received 50
dollars. Her husband, George Lawrence,
was a prisoner of war. She had left the
Cross Roads during the British retreat and the Americans had taken all her
possessions.
Garrett Slingerland was given 50
dollars. During the summer of 1813, he
was taken prisoner and after some weeks escaped back across the Niagara
River. When he returned to his farm near
the Town of Niagara, he discovered that his house and barn had been burnt and
all his possessions were destroyed. He
had been a Loyalist, was now “old and infirm”, and had a large family to
support.
Michael Breninger received 50
dollars. His grain, barn, and most of
his property had been burnt or lost. His
money had also been taken by the Americans.
Larkin Ferish received 25 dollars. He lived near Niagara and had fled his home
when the Americans captured Fort George.
He was an elderly Loyalist who could not support his wife and himself.
The widow Elizabeth McLelan was
given 100 dollars. Her husband, Captain
Martin McLelan of the 1st Lincoln Militia, was killed on May 27,
1813 while fighting the Americans. His
house and barn were burnt and his fences carried off the by Americans. Mrs. McLelan had small children to support
but no income.
The widow Eliza Wright received 50
dollars. Her husband had been killed on
the same date. Private Charles Wright
had been a tailor and served in the Lincoln Militia Artillery. Mrs. Wright had one child and no support.
The widow Phoebe Cameron was given
50 dollars. Her husband, Private William
Cameron, also of the Lincoln Militia Artillery, was killed on May 27,
1813. He had been a blacksmith. His wife and one child had no support.
The widow Mary Grass received 60
dollars. Private George Grass of the 1st
Lincoln Militia had been wounded on May 27, 1813 and died on the 29th. His wife and two children were lacking
support. His second child had been born
on October 14, 1813. He had lived on
rented land.
The widow Polly Spareback who lived
at the 4 Mile Creek cross roads of Niagara Township had applied for aid. Her grain crop was destroyed by the troops
and Indigenous people encamped on her land.
She had two children but the society decided that her family should be
able to support her.[4]
February 6, 1814
At Cornwall
In October, the Americans had
captured goods from the British and taken them to Madrid, New York. On this date, a small detachment of 23 Royal
Marines and 10 Incorporated Militia under Captain John Kerr crossed the St.
Lawrence, impressed some sleighs from the local Americans, and travelled 14
miles to Madrid. The goods were seized
without confronting any American forces and the detachment returned home. The local American militia was mustered and
pursued the British detachment. Along
the path of their retreat, the British had left a quantity of a liquor known as
shrub in a place where the pursuers would be sure to find it. The American militia were either delayed or ceased
their pursuit at that point and never caught up to the fleeing British.[5]
February 8, 1814
Lieutenant
General Drummond reported that there was a shortage
of forage, particularly oats, for the horses.
He felt martial law may have to be imposed again to insure a supply of
hay beyond April. Farmers were reluctant
to sell their stock. He pointed out the
need for provisions from Lower Canada and suggested sending the Indian allies
there to reduce the demand for supplies to feed them in Upper Canada.
He had ordered Major General Riall
to take a force with the Kent Militia to Oxford, then Delaware, and possibly
the mouth of the Thames, in order to collect supplies from that area. Even if they did not find enough supplies to
bring east, he hoped that they would find enough supplies to feed that force.
He noted that a number of
inhabitants had left the Head of the Lake because of the impositions made upon
them by the encamped British. He
estimated that the army was consuming 25 barrels of flour and 16 head of cattle
each day.
He also called attention to the lack
of money with which to purchase supplies.
That being received was only enough to pay for the loans procured from
local merchants.[6]
February 14, 1814
Drummond planned to increase the
size of the Incorporated Militia from the 300 recruited in 1813 to about 1500
by drafting Upper Canadian men under age forty-five. The conscripts were to be trained and
disciplined as regular soldiers, to serve for one year, and to wear scarlet
uniforms like the British regulars.
His proposal was turned down by the
Assembly who felt that only an additional 500 men could be spared from
agricultural production. Drummond then
considered conscripting more men for three-month terms of service but was
informed by John Beverly Robinson, the attorney general, that that practice
would not be legal.
The number of men willing and able
to serve for long periods of time was limited and most of them had already
joined existing regiments like the Glengarries, the Incorporated Militia, and
cavalry units. Few volunteers were
found. By April 27, 1814, only about an
additional 100 men had been recruited.[7]
February 15, 1814
In the opening session of the
Provincial Parliament in York, it was noted that militia service was greatly
impeded by the poor state of the roads.
It was essential that there be one major road that connected all the
major settlements in the province in order to facilitate the movement of
supplies and men.
It was also noted that some of those
with religious exemptions from armed militia service were profiting from the
war and should be called upon to help defend the province.
The prohibition of the distillation
of spirits was to be extended.[8]
The American burning of the Town of
Niagara in December was put forward to the Upper Canadians as a warning not to
accept American promises of protecting private property.[9]
The Kingston Gazette reported that
the Royal Engineer Department was requesting sealed tenders for all or any part
of 93 toifes of stone, 37,000 bricks, 3,100 bushels of roach lime, 6,200
bushels of sand, 32 pine or cedar logs 28 feet long, 40 of the same 24 feet
long, 6,000 square feet of pine timber, 1,684 pieces of pine scantling in
various lengths, 34,800 feet of pine board in various sizes, and 60,000
eighteen-inch shingles.[10]
What was a toife of stone?
February 16, 1814
Josiah Proctor of Cramahe Township
in the District of Newcastle was impressed to transport British troops travelling
from York to Kingston in his sleigh.
While preparing to leave a blacksmith shop in Cramahe Township,
Lieutenant Small of the 41st Regiment ordered a bugler to attack
Josiah with his sword. Josiah received a
number of wounds including a sword cut on his right arm which left him helpless
and unable to support his family. The
arm had been permanently impaired. In
April, Lieutenant F.W. Small was arraigned in Kingston, found guilty of abusing
his authority and committing an illegal act, and was to be publicly
reprimanded.[11]
February 18, 1814
There was a raid on the American
shore by the Prescott garrison in which the officers had acquired a hogshead of
whiskey. Soldiers following the sleigh
north bored a hole in the barrel and filled their jugs as they marched thus
acquiring their officer’s prize.[12]
February 19, 1814
A British force composed of regulars, provincial units, and
sedentary militia with artillery and Congreve rockets crossed the St. Lawrence
into New York State. The main body marched
to Chateaugay while a detachment was sent to Malone. They arrived in Chateaugay at four o’clock in
the morning of the 20th. It
was reported that all the beef, pork, flour, and whiskey was seized and over
150 barrels of provisions was carried off.[13]
Captain Foster was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel as the new Adjutant General of the Militia to replace
Adjutant General Shaw who had died.[14]
February 24, 1814
A Return of
Resources for the five Lincoln and 2nd York Militia muster areas was
completed. The resources tallied were
flour, wheat, rye, oats, corn, barley, peas, fat cattle, oxen, cows, young
cattle, sheep, hogs, hay, horses, sleighs, wagons, and wheat, barley, and rye
sown. There were 3619 horses, 1122
sleighs, and 950 wagons in the area.[15]
John Fulmer, Alexander Wilkinson,
Thomas Bell, and a few others were traveling from Mersea Township, on the north
shore of Lake Erie, to the Niagara Frontier to aid the British. On this day, at Pointe aux Pins, they were
overtaken and captured by an American party under the command of Major
Holmes. John Fulmer managed to escape
but left behind his mare, saddle, and bridle, a new blanket, a great coat, a shirt,
a waistcoat, a shot bag, a powder horn, a tomahawk, and a fur cap.[16]
February 28, 1814
Sometime during the month,
Christopher Arnold of Howard Township had a number of cattle taken by the
Americans. In 1815, he discovered that
one of the Americans, James Chettenden, was living in Malden Township, Upper
Canada. Christopher took James to court
for the value of his lost livestock.
Christopher lost the case because James had at the time been serving as
an officer of the American army under orders to seize the cattle. Unable to recover his losses from James,
Christopher then proceeded to make a war loss claim to the British.[17]
In Ancaster Township, Benjamin Smith
and his boys continued to clean and thrash grain, deliver it to the mill, and
pick up the grist.
On the 7th and 8th, Benjamin and his
son, David, worked in Clarkson Freeman’s flax fields. On the 13th, Nancy visited Nat Gordon’s. On the 20th, Nancy visited Adam Smith’s. On the 22nd, David started to tap the maple
trees and was boiling sap two days later.
On March 26, 1813, Benjamin had
written that he was born on that date in 1773.
In the top margin of his diary there was an entry that stated that he
was born on February 26, 1773 and died in 1852.[18]
Upper Canadian Service Deaths
Private Hugh Buckboro, 5th Lincoln, disease, Feb. 27, 1814,
Orphaned children to Eunice Grant
Sources:
[1] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, 1812-14,
Vol. 9, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office,
Welland, 1908, pages 159-160, accessed April 27, 2014, online at www.ourroots.ca.
[2] Letters written during
the War of 1812-14, Capt. John D. Servos’ Company, 1st Lincoln, Sept. 7, 1812,
persons excused or incapacitated, www.sandycline.com/history/Lincmilitia.html, accessed in 2011.
[3] Ernest Alexander Cruikshank, Documentary
History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, 1812-14, Vol. 9, Lundy’s
Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office, Welland, 1908, pages
160-161, accessed April 27, 2014, online at www.ourroots.ca.
[5] Forces of Lord
Selkirk, Facebook Group, Feb. 6, 2019 posting.
[6] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, 1812-14,
Vol. 9, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office,
Welland, 1908, pages 169-170, accessed April 27, 2014, online at www.ourroots.ca.
[7] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 95.
[8] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, 1812-14,
Vol. 9, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office,
Welland, 1908, pages 180-182, accessed April 27, 2014, online at www.ourroots.ca.
[9] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 104.
[10] Kingston Gazette, July
18, 1814, accessed June 12, 2016 at http://vitacollections.ca/digital-kingston/96888/page/4
[11] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 836-844.
[12] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 119.
[13] Forces of Lord
Selkirk, Facebook Group, Feb. 19, 2019 posting.
[14] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, 1812-14,
Vol. 9, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office,
Welland, 1908, page 191, accessed April 27, 2014, online at www.ourroots.ca.
[15] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, Part
1 and 2, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, Printed at the Tribune Office,
Welland, 1896 and 1897, pages 12-13, accessed May 12, 2014 at www.ourroots.ca.
[16] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1138, pages 490-492.
[17] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 64-70.
[18] Benjamin Smith’s Diary, Benjamin Smith Fonds F582, Ontario
Archives, Toronto, Ontario.
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