First
Edition Published July 15, 2015
Second
Edition Published June 30, 2016
Third
Edition Published April 6, 2018
Fourth
Edition Published April 26, 2021
Copyright by Fred Blair
Changes and Additions are in blue text.
July 1, 1812
At Lachine, Lower Canada
A habitant had been arrested
for deserting his militia unit. On this
day, about 400 sympathizers gathered in Lachine. About half were carrying arms. British troops and 2 field cannons were sent
from Montreal. One man was killed when
the British fired into the crowd.[1]
July 2, 1812
On the Niagara Frontier
A
District General Order required 900 men from the flank companies of the Lincoln
and York Militias to muster at Fort George where they were informed that they
would join the regular troops in 4 Divisions along the frontier.[2]
As the men mustered and marched to the fort, they were not aware that war had been declared and that they would be serving for an extended period of time. To lessen the discontent, Brock declared that the flank company men would receive the same pay as his regulars.[3]
Sergeant Angus McAfee wrote to his wife that when his company arrived in Niagara, they were billeted in a house belonging to Thomas Dickson with the men of Captain Samuel Hatt’s Company of the 5th Lincoln. The men were certain that hostilities would not start without orders from Quebec, which would take some time to arrive, and that a truce would be signed before then as the Yankees could not defend themselves. He requested 3 blankets from his wife as he and his brothers had none and they were destitute.[4]
At Gananoque
Captain
Ira Schofield of the 2nd Regiment of Leeds Militia marched his flank
company of 40 men for 2 days, from Bastard to the Port of Gananoque, on the
north shore of the St. Lawrence River, east of Kingston. He paid for meals during the march and for
the transportation of the men’s arms. He
also purchased supplies for the company while they were stationed at the port
until the 24th. His expenses
included:
12 bushels of flour at
27 pounds
2 bushels of peas at 5
shillings per bushel
2 barrels of salt at 4.5
pounds
2 barrels of pork at
10 pounds
267 pounds of corned
beef at under 4 pounds
3 cooking kettles at 8
shillings each
20 gallons of whisky
at 5 pounds
12 blankets for men on
guard duty at 9 pounds
1 axe for use in the
barracks at 10 shillings
transportation of arms
at 1.75 pound
Captain Schofield was not reimbursed for this expense until after the war.[5]
Ira
Schofield was born about 1776 in Connecticut and arrived in Leeds County in
1800 with his family.[6]
He submitted another claim for a personal loss on September 21, 1812.
The value of some items could vary depending on size, quality, and scarcity, but a number of war loss claims were for food and live stock where values could be compared to give a general indication of what someone could purchase on a day’s wages. Common labourers could earn ten to fifteen shillings per day. There were twenty shillings in a pound. A number of items are listed throughout these stories with their values to make comparisons more easily possible.
July 3, 1812
A letter from the
Quartermaster-General of the Militia sent from his headquarters in the Town of
Niagara reported that none of the supplies requested for the militia were in
store there except nails. Camp kettles
and haversacks were being made but no tents would be available. Militia men were expected to find shelter in
houses and barns. However, the Medical
Department in Chippawa had been fully supplied.[7]
On the
Atlantic Coast
Lieutenant
Governor Sir John Coape Sherbrooke issued a proclamation that Nova Scotians
were not to harass the Americans in the District of Maine or interfere with
trading activities. This would help keep
the Atlantic Colonies more secure from American raids and help maintain British
trade with the New England states.
On
July 10th, the lieutenant governor of New Brunswick declared the
same proclamation.[8]
July 4, 1812
On the
Niagara Frontier
A
General Order from Niagara reported that Major General Brock was aware that the
militia were being exposed to great privations and that every effort would be
made to supply those items most needed.
Each man was expected to supply his own blankets and necessities.[9]
However,
as the men did not know they would be serving on the frontier they had not
brought supplies and they therefore requested money with which to purchase
them. They did not receive assistance in
purchasing the items and growing discontent lead to desertions in growing
numbers. The fine for desertion at that
time was 20 pounds.[10]
In
Grenville County
William
Wells of Augusta Township, invoiced the British for goods he supplied to the
Provincial Dragoons from this date to November of 1812. His bill included:
210.5
bushels of “pease” at 5 shillings per bushel
336
bushels of oats at 2.5 shillings per bushel
500 pounds
of bran at 3 shillings per 100 pounds
8975
pounds of bran at 4 shillings per 100 pounds
2.5 tons
of hay at 6 pounds, 5 shillings
This portion of the bill included leather
for “Holtsters, Scabbards, and Cartouch boxes” at 16 pounds, 16 shillings and thread,
cloth, and a bear skin for the same project at under 2 pounds.
William
was also repairing gun boats and had purchased:
20 ox
hides at over 24 pounds
60 bushels
of hair at 1 shilling per bushel
23 pounds
of chain at under 2 pounds
Shipping
forage to Prescott cost him under 5 pounds.
One of his bateaux was destroyed in shipping and was valued at 2 and a
half pounds.[11]
On the St.
Lawrence River
Like
the merchants, Simeon Washburn and James Cummings, who had lost rafted of
timber on the St. Lawrence River in June, John Sparrow lost a raft about July 4th,
but claimed to have rescued 605 barrels of flour destined for the British war
effort.
John’s
timber raft, while traveling down the St. Lawrence, had been forced ashore at
Ogdensburgh by enemy fire. Like
Washburn, he obtained a pass for his raft from Lieutenant Colonel Benedict to
proceed past the American guard at the rapids and on to Montreal. However, he noted that there were also large
scow and a boat containing barrels of flour on the river. When he learned that the scow and boat crew
did not have a pass and would be seized by the American guards at the bottom of
the rapids, John decided to abandon his raft at Ogdensburgh and to try to deceive
the guards into thinking that his pass was for the flour.
As
the scow and boat were swiftly coming down the rapids, the Americans did not
have time to read the details of John’s pass and only noted their officer’s
signature. The flour arrived safely at
Cornwall.
After
the war, John made a war loss claim for his lost timber, which he had abandoned
in order to save British provisions.[12]
July 6, 1812
At
Buffalo, New York
At
a council, the New York Six Nations declared that they would remain neutral
during the war. The members of the Six
Nations in Upper Canada responded by declaring that they would defend their
lands from invaders. Few of their
warriors responded to Brock’s request that they gather at Fort George and those
that did only remained there a few days.[13]
In
Washington DC
The
United States Congress passed the act for “Safe Keeping and Accommodation of
Prisoners of War.” Although guidelines
were set, some British prisoners would be deprived of the necessities of life
because of local conditions and the availability of supplies and money to
support them.
July 9, 1812
Near
Detroit
A
number of the stories in this collection were compiled from diaries and
journals. One of these was Richardson’s
War of 1812. It was reported to be the
only first-hand history of the entire war.
On
October 4, 1796, John Richardson was born in Queenston to Dr. Robert Richardson
and Madeleine Askin. Madeleine’s father
was Colonel John Askin of a wealthy merchant of Detroit. In 1801, Dr. Richardson joined a detachment
of the Queen’s Rangers bound for Fort St. Joseph near the head of Lake Huron. Madeleine took her children to her father’s
house in Detroit. When the Rangers were
disbanded in 1802, Dr. Richardson took on the position as surgeon to the governor
and garrison of Fort Amherstburg and later became a judge in the Western
District. Young John Richardson grew up in
John Askin’s home and was acquainted with soldiers, Indigenous peoples, and fur
traders in the region.
On
this date, at the age of 15, John Richardson was appointed as a volunteer in
the 41st Regiment and remained with that regiment until he was
captured by the Americans at Moraviantown on October 5th, 1813.[14]
July 10, 1812
On the
Niagara Frontier
A
Militia General Order from Niagara reported that Major General Brock had been
informed that a large portion of the American troops on the other side of the
Niagara River had retired. Half of each
militia company were allowed to return to their homes. Farmers with crops to harvest were to be
given priority. Some officers were to be
given furlough as well so that they would be available to muster the men if
they were needed back again to defend the Niagara River. Arms were to be left with the men remaining
behind.[15]
At
Sandwich
Militia
men gathered to support the British regulars against General Hull’s forces
which were expected to invade Upper Canada from Fort Detroit.[16]
In New
Brunswick
George
Stracey Smith, President of His Majesty’s Council, Commander in Chief of the
Province of New-Brunswick, and Major General in His Majesty’s Service, passed a
proclamation stating that they would not molest their American neighbours or
their fishing vessels if they in turn behaved in the same manner towards the
inhabitants of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[17]
July 12, 1812
Brigadier General William Hull Invaded at Sandwich
After
Hull occupied at Sandwich, he made a proclamation requesting the Upper
Canadians to remain at home. Hull
promised prosperity and the protection of private property under American rule
but he also threatened to kill any white man who was found fighting beside Indigenous
warriors. There was not a strong British
force in the area to oppose Hull and the local militia was not prepared to
oppose the invasion.[18]
When they
received word of Hull’s proclamation most of the militia at Sandwich returned
to their homes. The remainder retreated
to Fort Amherstburg with the British regulars.
The British commander felt that a retreat was necessary as he had lost
the support of most of the militia.
Militia continued to desert in the following days.[19]
Major
General Henry Procter wrote that the American artillery had wantonly fired
across the Detroit River at the home of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Baby, near
Sandwich, prior to Brigadier General Hull’s invasion of Upper Canada, and had
encamped upon that land after crossing the river.
Francis’
wife and family were at home while he was serving as the Quarter Master General
of the Militia at Amherstburg at the time.
During the occupation, the Americans occupied the buildings, destroyed
the orchards and fences, and plundered the families possessions in retaliation
of Francis’ loyalty to the British.[20]
Among
the items taken were 9 gilt framed prints, 3 looking glasses, 4 bedsteads, 2
buffalo robes, 6 three-point blankets, 4 coats, 10 yards of bed ticking, a set
of bed curtains, a watch, 6 pair of new stockings, a muff and tippet, a large
green rug, a fire shovel and tongs, 10 yards of flannel, 14 locks, 2 sets of
knee buckles, a gold locket, 3 pair of earrings, 20 decanters, a large copper
boiler, 4 tea kettles, a pepper mill, 5 tables, 6 cherrywood chairs, 20 ash
chairs, 12 common chairs, 6 stone water jugs, a chest of earthenware, 4 iron
pots, 12 buck handle knives, 2 pair of candle sticks, 2 glass dishes, 16
goblets, 12 tumblers and wine glasses, 6 large jars, a large china punch bowl,
a large copper kettle, a twenty-four-hour clock and case, 3 pine tables, 12
china cups and saucers, 19 pewter basins, 2 large china dishes, 12 black
bottles, a large green table cloth, 2 kitchen shovels and tongs, 4 ox chains,
nails, 2 cross cut saws, 10 French plough chains, 8 iron shovels, 6 cow bells, 7
axes, 2 hand saws, 6 cross cut saws, a set of sawmill irons, 6 whip saws, 10
empty barrels with iron hoops, 3 plated bridles, 15 bags, 6 new collars and
reins, 6 jockey whips, 10 sickles, 2 hay forks, 5 new saddle cloths, 2 double
reeled fishing rods with silk line, a double-barreled gun, 3 well mounted
rifles, one and a half acres of potatoes, 20 bee hives, horses, 10 cords of
fire wood, a timber barn burned, and the following victuals:
1 barrel of
pork at 6.25 pounds
16 hams at
12 pounds
154 pounds
of sugar at over 9 pounds
12 pounds
of tobacco at 24 shillings
The total claim was valued at just over
723 pounds.[21]
Francis
Baby was born in Detroit in 1768 and became politically active in the Upper
Canada Assembly in 1792. He held a
commission as commander of the 1st Kent Militia, engaged the
Americans during the war at Detroit, Frenchtown, and Moraviantown, and was once
taken prisoner but quickly repatriated.[22]
The
Baby surname was not found in the American prisoner of war register.
An
American guard was placed on the premises of Angus McIntosh in Sandwich. Repeated searches were conducted in order to
find and seize property of the North West Company, for which McIntosh was the
local agent. The Americans believed that
the company had been aiding the British war effort.[23]
On the Niagara
Frontier
Brock
wrote to Sir George Provost in Montreal that he feared the remainder of the
militia men on the Niagara Frontier would depart, in defiance of the law, to
tend to their harvests. He reported that
he had barely enough arms to supply the militia men on duty, that their
clothing was in a poor state, and that many were without shoes.[24]
British
officers were to remind their men that it was forbidden to fire across the
Niagara River without orders.[25]
Major General Brock had received a letter from an American officer requesting permission for Senecas to cross the river at Queenston and meet with local chiefs in the Upper Canada. Brock decided not to let these warriors look over his defences but allowed them to meet in Queenston on July 12th. He requested John Norton to be present. They declared their intentions to remain neutral and asked the Upper Canadian tribes to follow their example. The local warriors present declared their intention to support the British King.[26]
At York
The
Town of York magistrates ordered that it was illegal to bathe in Lake Ontario
in front of the town between sunrise and sunset.[27] While Lady Simcoe had stayed at York,
she had hired a boat to take her out the islands where she could bath in
privacy.
July 13, 1812
On the
Niagara Frontier
Captain
Henry Buchner of the 3rd Lincoln Militia served on the Niagara
Frontier from June 26 to July 13 but was unable to collect his pay as the
Paymaster refused to pay for any militia service other than that of the militia
flank companies.[28]
July 15, 1812
David
Gardiner, of Saltfleet Township in the Niagara District, had his boat impressed
by order of Major General Brock. The
boat could carry a load of 20 barrels and was valued at 25 pounds. The order was carried out by Lieutenant
Robert Runchey.[29]
David
Gardiner served as a private in the 5th Lincoln Militia. Robert Runchey later served as a captain of
the Coloured Corps.
At Fort St. Joseph
Captain
Charles Roberts of the British 10th Royal Veteran Battalion
stationed at St. Joseph’s in the northwest received letters from Major General
Brock. Captain Roberts, who was aware
that British reinforcements were on the way but that his garrison could not be
defended, that the Indigenous warriors were considering abandoning his
garrison, and that the Americans had not yet received notice that war had been
declared, decided to attack Fort Michilimackinac.[30]
At Fort
William
William
McKay travelled from Fort Joseph to Fort William, where the North West Company
had their inland headquarters, to alert them that war had been declared. The company astronomer, David Thompson, noted
this in his journal. The whole season’s
fur shipment was almost ready to ship to Montreal. The voyageurs were anxious to get on their
way before the Americans cut off their trade route east and captured them. Many wanted to return home to their families
in Lower Canada.[31]
July 16, 1812
At Fort
Joseph
Captain
Roberts embarked for Fort Michilimackinac with about 100 regulars, 150 Upper
Canadians, about 300 indigenous warriors, and 2 iron six-pounders. Only about half the Upper Canadians had arms.[32]
At
Sandwich
General
Hull, in Sandwich, had not advanced on Amherstburgh. The British had disabled the bridge over the
Canard River that ran between the two communities. Hull dispatched workers with military support
to repair the bridge but they were daily confronted by the British, Upper
Canadians, and Indigenous Peoples.
The
first British casualty was on this date.
On another occasion, 22 Menomoni warriors confronted an American
detachment of 200 men under Major Denny and drove them back away from the
bridge.[33]
July 17, 1812
The British Captured Fort Michilimackinac
Captain
Roberts force of 45 regulars, 180 North West Company Voyageurs, and about 400 First
Nations’ warriors confronted 61 American regulars and their families. The Americans surrendered the fort to the
superior British force. They had not
been aware that war had been declared.[34]
Note
that different sources disagreed about the number of men in the British force.
Mr.
Askin Jr. of the Indian Department wrote Mr. Crawford commanded about 200
Canadians, Mr. Dixon 113 Seioux, Foolavoines, and Waynebegoes, and himself
about 280 Ottawas and Chippawas. He
commended the warriors for not having drunk any liquor or destroyed any
property after the surrender of the fort.[35]
A
history of the event described the warriors as 113 Sioux, Menominee, and
Winnebago and 280 Ojibwe and Odaawaa.[36]
Captain
Rogers declared that private property would be protected and that the cargos of
the merchant vessels in the harbour would remain the property of the respective
owners.[37]
The
fort was situated on Mackinac Island in the straits between lakes Huron and
Michigan.
This
action impressed the western Indigenous tribes that
the British were determined to win the war.[38]
David
Mitchell was born in Scotland where he studied medicine at the University of
Edinborough. In 1771, he arrived as a
sailor in New York with the British 8th Foot. In 1774, he arrived at Michilimackinac as a
surgeon with a detachment of the same regiment.
In 1776, David married Elizabeth Bertrand who was a Metis with strong
connections within the First Nations. About
1780, the family moved to Mackinac Island where David continued to serve the
British but also cared for the voyageurs and began trading furs with his wife’s
Native connections. In 1796, the island
was given to the Americans and the British moved to St. Joseph Island. David and his sons remained and became
prominent fur traders in the area. In
1811, with the expectation of a war with the Americans, David joined the
British on St. Joseph Island. After the
British captured Mackinac Island on this day, David Mitchell returned as the
head of the British forces there. The
British strike force was led by Captain Charles Roberts. David’s daughter had married another fur
trader who helped recruit local Indigenous allies for the British.
Later,
after the sinking of the Nancy, David’s wife Elizabeth helped organized the Indigenous
peoples to defend Mackinac Island. She
later received 100 pounds as a reward for her help.
After
the war the island was returned to the Americans and David left, but Elizabeth
remained to run the family businesses there.
She eventually left under fear of arrest by the Americans but returned
again and some of her children prospered there.[39]
July 18, 1812
John
Askin Jr. of the Store Keeper Department wrote to Lieutenant Colonel W. Claus
at Fort George about the capture of Fort Michilimackinac. Captain Roberts had command of most of the 10th
Battalion, Mr. Crawford had command of about 200 Upper Canadians, Mr. Dickson
had command of 113 Scioux, Menomoni, and Winnebagoes, and John had command of
about 130 Ottawas and Chippawas. John
was assisted by his son, Charles Langlade, Augustin Nolin, and Michel Cadotte
Jr.
Who
were John’s 4 assistants in command?
John
also reported that the Ottawas and Chippawas had not drank any liquour or
killed any fowl belonging to the islanders after the capture. He pointed out that generally they destroyed
everything that they could.[40]
July 19, 1812
Lieutenant
Colonel James Baby was serving in Amherstburg with the Upper Canada Militia.
The Americans seized and plundered his home in Sandwich. Mrs. Baby received permission from Brigadier
General William Hull to keep 4 cows and 6 sheep for her personal use at the
house of William Hands Sr., where she and her children had taken refuge.[41]
July 22, 1812
On the
Niagara Frontier
Brock
ordered all the militia on furlough on the Niagara Frontier to return to duty
as a large number of Americans had invaded the province in the west.[42]
Major
General and President Isaac Brock made a proclamation in response to General
Hull’s in which he reminded the Upper Canadians living in the area invaded by
General Hull that they would prosper more under British rule through government
expenditures and access to British markets.
He warned that the Americans planned to give the British colonies back
to France. As most Upper Canadians had
sworn an oath to defend the monarchy and the empire, it would be treasonous not
to fight the Americans. He also pointed
out that the Indigenous Peoples had an equal right to defend their lands from
invasion. He declared that Britain would
win the war and that those who had aided the Americans would be dealt with by
the British at that time.[43]
In the
West
Brock
ordered Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Talbot to assemble 200 men from the flank
companies of the Oxford, Norfolk, and Middlesex Militias at Moraviantown to
help repel Hull’s invasion.[44]
John
Beemer, a justice of the peace, Ensign Timothy Culver of the Norfolk Militia,
and another man travelled from house to house over a 3-day period advising the
inhabitants not to muster. Beemer told
Colonel Talbot that “withdrawing the militia from Long Point was highly
improper.” [45]
Talbot
assembled his men from the Long Point area and marched towards Moraviantown but
most mutinied on route and returned home.
General Hull had convinced the western Indigenous tribes to remain
neutral.[46]
Ebenezer
Allan, Andrew Westbrook, and Simon Zelotes Watson approached General Hull and
offered to help distribute his proclamation by forming a cavalry troop of
sympathetic Upper Canadians. They
recruited about 50 local men to join their troop.[47]
Allen
and Westbrook were arrested by the local militia but Watson had returned to
Sandwich before he could be apprehended.[48]
Andrew
Westbrook would later join the Americans and lead a number of raids into Upper
Canada.
On the
Niagara Frontier
Lacking
militia support in the west, General Brock decided to gather support from the
Niagara and Home Districts and to march west to confront Hull himself.[49]
John Mucklehone of Stamford Township
in the Niagara District had a team of oxen impressed to haul boats in that
area. John had fattened up his oxen to
sell to the British commissariat as beef at $55.00 each. The team was driven over the edge of a bridge
and into a creek, killing one of the oxen.
John pointed out that the team had been driven by an impressed American
sympathizer who later deserted to the enemy.
Quarter Master Gilbert McMicking of
the 2nd Lincoln Militia certified that he had been ordered to
impress teams to transport boats. The 1824 claim was rejected because it had not been
presented to the earlier claims board in 1816.[50]
At the Grand River
Major General Brock had asked John Norton to gather
what support that he could from the Grand River warriors and to defend the
Thames River area from American forces.
At the lower village on the Grand River, John heard that the Indigenous
warriors in the Detroit area had decided to remain neutral. Although John heard that many local warriors would
support him in his expedition to the west, he did not know how many he could
rely upon as they were busy harvesting crops.
He proceeded with the few that were ready to follow him and joined the
British 41st Regiment in Oxford where he discovered that the militia
had not arrived.[51]
July 25, 1812
At
Sandwich
Lieutenant
Colonel Francois Baby’s home had been impressed as headquarters for General Hull. Baby removed his chattels to the home of
Jean-Baptiste Goyeau, but Hull sent a detachment to recover them for his use.[52]
On the
Thames River
General
McArthur was sent foraging on the Thames for the Americans. He penetrated 60 miles into Upper
Canada. McArthur’s party returned 5 days
later with wagons loaded with hundreds of barrels of flour, hundreds of
blankets, as well as salt, whiskey, cloth, household goods, tools, guns,
ammunition, and boats. During the raid
they had ransacked and destroyed houses, other buildings, fences, orchards, and
crops in the fields. McArthur promised
to pay for what he had taken after the British had relinquished the country to
the Americans.
Jean-Baptiste
Beniteau, Jean-Baptiste Ginac, Jean-Baptiste Fourneaux, and Jean-Baptiste
Boismier, a fur trader, all made war loss claims.
Although
the Earl of Selkirk had left the settlement he created in Baldoon, Dover
Township, in 1804, he still maintained a store, mills, and other property there
which was raided by the Americans on this date.
A partial list of his losses included:
73 sheep
at 145 pounds
200
bushels of wheat at 5 shillings a bushel
500 pounds
of flour at 15 shillings per 100 pounds
30 pounds
of cooking hams
179 pounds
of sugar at 7.5 pence per pound
108
bushels of oats at 2.5 shillings a bushel
50 bushels
of corn at about 4.3 shillings a bushel
50 bushels
of potatoes at 2.5 shillings a bushel
4 oxen at
about 7 pounds each
3 2-year
old steers at 3.75 pounds each
2 cows and
a calf at 11.5 pounds
as well as a tartan cloak, 2 morning
gowns, 2 pair of trousers, 3 barrels of salt, a barrel of pork, 8 chairs, 3 tin
cups, 10 small plates, 18 pewter plates, a grid iron, a frying pan, 3 pair of
wool shears, 5 pieces of canvas, 5 weaver’s reeds, rope, 126 pounds of ox
chains, 2 pair of trace chains, 3 axes and a broad axe, 6 hoes, a spring
bayonet gun, 30 pounds of nails, 80 pounds of spike nails, 10 sickles, 6
gallons of fish oil, a keg of white paint, 20 pounds of steel, 3 bushels of
grass seed, a tent table, 11 augers, 10 horseshoes, 36 small files, 6 hand
saws, a saw, and a cross saw, a large double lock, 28 chisels, 9 “plains”, 20
harrow teeth, 23 pounds of iron, a hammer, a flag stave, 4 pitch forks, and
other items. From his farm, he lost 10 horses, standing crops of wheat and hay,
and a set of blacksmith tools. The total
loss was valued at just over 612 pounds.
In 1814 he
lost a scow, a canoe, 3 blankets, and 2000 rails.[53]
At Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan
On
September 8, 1812, Tanpoint Pothier wrote that he left Michilimackinac Island
on the 25th of July. He
reported that the traders and most of the Indigenous people had left for their
winter quarters. Not many provisions
remained, there was a “great scarcity of gun powder”, and the garrison lacked a
“good interpreter.”[54]
July 26,
1812
At Kingston
A
General Order declared that allied Indigenous warriors would be compensated for
injuries received in battle. A chief who
lost an eye or received a wound equal to the loss of a limb would receive 100
dollars annually in money or gifts, a warrior would receive 70 dollars. The widow of a chief would receive a gift of
200 dollars and the widow of a warrior would receive 140 dollars.[55]
July 28, 1812
At York
In
Major General Brock’s speech at the opening of the Upper Canada Legislature he
said, “A few
traitors have already joined the enemy, have been suffered to come into the
country with impunity and have been harbored and concealed in the interior, yet
the general spirit of loyalty which appears to pervade the inhabitants of this
Province is such as to authorize a just expectation that their efforts to
mislead and deceive will be unavailing.
The disaffected, I am convinced, are few. To protect and defend the loyal inhabitants
from their machinations is an object worthy of your most zealous
deliberations.”[56]
And “Our
Militia have heard that voice and have obeyed it, they have evinced by the
promptitude and Loyalty of their Conduct, that they are worthy of the King whom
they serve, and of the Constitution which they enjoy”.[57]
Brock
ordered an emergency session of the Assembly of Upper Canada to pass new laws
that would give him more control over of the militia, in order to deal with desertions,
but the Assembly were opposed to martial law that would allow Brock to deal
with those men harshly.
Brock
dismissed the Assembly on August 5th. Regulations passed made it a crime to sell
militia arms and supplies, to advise others not to report for militia duty, and
to speak disrespectfully of the royal family.
Militia courts were granted the power to deliver death sentences for the
crimes of desertion to the enemy or for promoting mutiny or desertion.[58]
July 29, 1812
Major General
Brock received word that the Norfolk Militia had refused his ordered to march
to Oxford.[59]
Isaac
Brock noted that many had lost confidence in the British but that he spoke “loud”
and looked big.[60]
Major
General Brock wrote to Lieutenant General Provost that he wished to amend the
Militia Act. Militia men who refused to
march could only be fined 5 pounds or be confined for 3 months. He wanted to impose harsher rules but thought
that the “Americans” in the Lower House would oppose the change.[61] Between 1804 and 1812 the British had enticed
a number of Americans north with free land grants. This had changed politics in some
communities.
He
also had to mix militia with British regulars to form enough detachments to
guard the frontier.[62]
Sergeant
Henry Pringle of the 1st York was ordered to proceed to Delaware Town with 8
privates from Captain John Button’s Cavalry.
He was to wait there for orders from Lieutenant William Merritt of the
Niagara Light Horse.[63]
July 31, 1812
In
Trafalgar Township
Rachael McCraney had borrowed a horse with a saddle and
bridle from Martin Middaugh Jr. of East Flamborough Township to ride to the
Town of York. The horse was pastured over
night but was stolen with 3 other horses in the same field. One of the other horses was the property of
Major General Isaac Brock. The thieves
were believed to have been deserters from the Flankers.[64]
In York
Township
In
July, Ely Playter ploughed, harrowed, and sowed, sheared a lamb, mowed and cut
some grass, mended his rakes, hoed his corn, drilled his militia company, found
his missing oxen, ground some buckwheat, cut timber and drew it to the creek,
mowed, raked, and drew in his hay and stacked it, and bought flour. He had help from others in his fields and
sometimes worked in their fields as well.[65]
Which
creek would he have been hauling timber to?
Where was his farm located?
In
Ancaster Township
During the month, Benjamin Smith plowed in his
orchard, planted buckwheat there, burnt logs and poles on his turnip ground, hoed
corn, harrowed Jones’ corn, made a plow handle, plowed his corn field, heaped
brush, picked it up, and mowed his north ground, and then sowed turnips there,
began to harvest, and cradled (reaped) in John Vandecar’s, Jones’, David’s,
John Wilken’s, and Tice Smith’s fields.
He went to a Sunday meeting, spent a
Saturday night at Sam Green’s house, and read a book at home on a Sunday.[66]
In Bertie Township
Sometime during the month, a boat
was impressed from Thomas Otway Page of Bertie Township. The boat was used by the government to
transport Elisha Clark to the American shore but was never returned to Thomas.[67]
Why was Elisha Clark assisted to
enter the United States?
Sources
[1] Forces of Lord Selkirk
Facebook Group, July 1, 2019.
[2] Ernest Alexander
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[3] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
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[4] Journals &
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Kidner Co., Ltd., 1905, page 113.
[5] Collections Canada,
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[7] Ernest Alexander
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[8] Today in History, June
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[10] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
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[11] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 1079-1082.
[12] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1137, pages 62-89.
[13] George Sheppard,
Plunder, Profit, and Paroles: A Social
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[14] Major John Richardson,
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[20] Collections Canada,
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[21] Collections Canada,
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[22] Historical Narratives
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[28] Collections Canada,
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[29] Collections Canada,
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[51] Carl
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[52] Pierre Berton, The
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[53] Collections Canada,
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[54] Michigan Pioneer and
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[55] Alan
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[56]
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[57] Pierre Burton, The Invasion of Canada 1812-1813
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[58] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
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[59] Colonel
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[60] The Fife and Drum, The
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[63] Robert Shank, The
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[64] Collections Canada,
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[65] Ely Playter’s Diary,
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[66] Benjamin Smith’s
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Ontario.
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