First
Edition Published October 22, 2015
Second Edition
Published September 13, 2016
Third
Edition Published October 4, 2018
Copyright
by Fred Blair
January 1,
1813
On the
Niagara Frontier
Private Charles Cook,
of the 2nd Lincoln Militia, who had been shot through the thigh in
1812 at Fort Erie, was reported recovering slowly.[1]
On the St.
Lawrence
Lieutenant John Cameron
was stationed at Glengarry House with a flank company of the 1st
Glengarry Militia in January and February.
As they were exposed to the enemy across the St. Lawrence River,
Lieutenant Colonel Neil McLean of the Stormont Militia ordered John to secure
the doors and windows of the stone house.
John had the doors and windows blocked with fourteen-inch timbers with a
port-hole in each door and window. Five
hundred feet of planks were used to brace the timbers so that they could not be
beaten inward by the Americans. A number
of other regiments were stationed in the house throughout the war.
John had paid for the
construction with his own money and was unable to recover his expenses until
after the war.[2]
January 2,
1813
In
Kingston
The Kingston Gazette
reported that the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles offered sharpshooters a
uniform and four guineas upon enlisting.[3]
January 14,
1813
In York
Major General Isaac
Brock’s property, including his silver, furniture, livestock, wine, and books,
was to be sold by auction in York.[4]
January 18,
1813
In Michigan
The Battle
of the River Raisin or Frenchtown
The Battle of the River
Raisin was fought in Michigan from the 18th to the 22nd. The Americans forced the British to retreat
in the first engagement but the British ambushed the Americans on the 22nd.[5]
On this day, Major Ebenezer Reynolds of
the Essex Militia was ordered to take a detachment from Amherstburg to
Frenchtown, a distance of about eighteen miles.
He commanded about fifty men with a three-pounder and two hundred
indigenous warriors mostly of the Pottawattomi Tribe. They encountered an
American advanced guard of nearly eight hundred men, part of General James Winchester’s
division. After a brief encounter the
British detachment was forced to fall back about one mile where they were again
forced to retreat further. One militia
man and three warriors were killed. An
American report was sent to General Winchester at Fort Meigs and he led most of
his army to join his advanced guard to engage the British again.[6]
January 19,
1813
Upon receiving news of
the encounter on the River Raisin the night before, Colonel Procter in
Amherstburg commanded a British force across the Detroit River to come to the
aid of Major Reynold’s detachment. This
force included five hundred regulars and militia, eight hundred indigenous
warriors under Chief Roundhead, and three
three-pounders. Among the regulars were
idle boat crews and the Newfoundland Fencibles. John Richardson, a volunteer in the 41st
Regiment, accompanied these men. The Detroit River at the point of crossing
was frozen over and about four miles in width.[7]
January 21,
1813
As night fell, Colonel
Procter’s force encamped about five miles away from the Americans. The men had only their great coats and camp
fires to keep them warm.[8]
January 22,
1813
Colonel Procter’s army
was on the advance two hours before dawn and encountered the American’s before
sun rise. As there were no American
pickets, the British had half of their men in position to attack before they
were discovered. Rather than ordering a
bayonet charge before the Americans were roused from their beds, Procter
commanded the three-pounders to open fire instead. The Americans quickly took up positions and concealed
behind breastworks had an advantage over the British who had to advance in the
open.
The militia and
warriors broke the American right flank and about four hundred Americans
retreated to the block-houses that had been erected upon their arrival. Their right and part of the center were
pursued for nearly two miles along the road of their retreat. Chief Roundhead of the Wyandot captured
General Winchester and his son. The
general, after having appraised the situation, ordered his men in the
block-house to surrender to the British.
Only about one hundred and fifty Americans were estimated to have made
it back to Fort Meigs while the remainder were killed or captured.
William Caldwell of Amherstburg had been attached to the indigenous
warriors. During the battle he had
rescued a fleeing American officer who had ran across the ice while being
pursued by a warrior welding a tomahawk.
While being escorted to the captured Americans the officer drew a knife
and cut William across his throat from ear to ear. Fortunately, the wound was not deep and
William was able to grab the officer’s arm, withdraw his own dagger, and kill him.
William was probably
Captain William Caldwell Jr. of the 1st Essex Militia.
John Richardson
reported that twenty-four British rank and file had been killed and eleven
officers and one hundred and fifty-eight rank file had been wounded. Lieutenant Felix Troughton wrote a more
detailed report on the wounded and dead on January 25th.
Ensign Kerr of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment had been shot through the lungs and died within a
few days. John’s fourteen-year old
brother, Midshipman Robert Richardson, was struck by a ball while applying a match to one of the three-pounders. His right leg had been shattered and he was
six months recovering, although the wound would eventually cause his
death. John’s father was in the rear of
the British force, employed as a surgeon.
[9]John also
commented on the state of the American prisoners. They were unclean and their clothing was worn
and ragged. They were wearing their
summer cotton gear. Few had great coats
or wool garments suitable for winter service.
Their hair was long and matted, their blankets dirty, and they had long
axes and knives in their belts. The
officers were similarly dressed but carried swords, short rifles, and daggers.
Private Jean Baptiste
St. Louis dit Villair of the 2nd Essex Militia had his 3-point
blanket taken by the British 41st Regiment to cover a wounded
soldier.[10]
Baptiste Reaume of Amherstburg Township was employed for three days
recovering the wounded and dead with his horse and sleigh.[11]
John
Troyer of Sandwich Township claimed for the medical care of an American
prisoner taken at the River Raisin. His charges
were for salts, a phial of castor oil, a phial of spirits of turpentine, a pair
of scissors, a syringe, and for performing three bleedings.[12]
January 25,
1813
Lieutenant Felix Troughton
wrote a report to Major General Sheaffe on the casualties and wounded from the
battle on the 22nd. These
included members of the Royal Artillery, 10th Royal Veteran
Battalion, the 41st Foot, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the
Marine Department, the 1st and 2nd Essex Militia, and
Staff.
The lieutenant had
himself been wounded as a member of the Royal Artillery.
The 1st
Essex had two privates killed and Captain William Mills and Lieutenants William McCormick
and James Gordon, two sergeants, and seven privates wounded. The 2nd Essex suffered three
privates killed and Ensign Claude Garvin and three privates wounded.[13] Claude Garvin was also known as Claude Gouin.
January 31,
1813
In
Ancaster Township
On the first day of the
New Year, Samuel Green and his wife visited Benjamin Smith. In his diary, Benjamin wrote that he sorted
corn the following day and hauled in two loads from his fields. As it snowed on Sunday, he stayed home and
read his Book. In the following weeks,
wheat was thrashed and cleaned, wood and straw were hauled in, and the stables
were cleaned with help from the boys. On
the last Sunday of the month, Benjamin went to a meeting with Jack.[14]
Sources:
[1] Lt. Col. Thomas Clark, From letters written during
the War of 1812-14, men wounded or died since June 26, 1812, www.sandycline.com/history/Lincmilitia.html,
accessed 2011.
[3] The Fife and Drum, The Newsletter of The Friends of
Fort York and Garrison Common, Volume 16, Number 5, December, 2012, page 7.
[4] The Fife and Drum, The Newsletter of The Friends of
Fort York and Garrison Common, Volume 16, Number 5, December, 2012, page 7.
[5] Battle of the River Raisin, accessed June 30, 2014 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Raisin_National_Battlefield_Park
[6] Major
John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles
Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 132-133.
[7] Major
John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles
Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 133-134.
[8] Major
John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles
Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, page 134.
[9] Major
John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles
Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 134-140
[12] Collections Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and
Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 1030-1032.
[13] Major
John Richardson, Richardson’s War of 1812, edited by Alexander Casselman, Coles
Publishing Company, Toronto, 1974, pages 144-145.
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