First Edition Published July 3, 2015
Third Edition Published March 13, 2018
Fourth
Edition Published April 6, 2021
Copyright
by Fred Blair
Additions
and Changes are in Blue text.
June 4, 1812
It
was King George’s birthday.
In York
County
In
response to Brock’s order for each militia regiment to form 2 flank companies, 120
men of the 2nd Regiment of York Militia volunteered to serve in the
flank companies in that regiment. Ages
were given for a number of the volunteers who were expected to be loyal, fit,
and able to spend long periods of time away from their homes. The volunteers ranged in age from 16 to 47
years old. The 80 men initially selected
for service were from 16 to 38 years old, but the average age of these men was 24.[1]
Additional
men joined these 2 flank companies after their formation. A nominal return for the year 1812 recorded
that 128 men had served as privates that year.
Despite the selection for men of proven loyalty, 14 men deserted to the
enemy and 2 of those men had deserted during the Battle of Queenston Heights on
October 13th. Seven died or
were killed that year.[2]
June 5, 1812
Piracy on Lake
Ontario
William
and James Crooks were merchants in the Town of Niagara. Their new schooner, the Lord Nelson, was
captured by the American brig, Onieda, while on route from Prescott to Niagara,
and taken to Sackett’s Harbor.[3]
As
war had not yet been declared, this was an act of piracy.
William
Crooks certified that the merchant firm of Grant and Kerby of Queenston had 4
barrels of liquor on board the Lord Nelson.[4]
The
Crooks brothers had been unsuccessful in obtaining compensation before the
courts in New York State after the war. On
February 5, 1819, James Monroe, the President of the United States, transmitted
British claims documents from 1812 to 1818 to an American claims committee. They had been passed to him by the British
Minister. In them, James Crooks reported
that though the Lord Nelson was worth $5000. it was sold for $3000. to the
United States Navy and the cargo was sold for about $2000. He also declared that the Onieda had pursued
the Lord Nelson, had fired upon his vessel 3 times and that its captain, John
Johnson, was forced to surrender it.
Jasper Young and Abner Pearce, seamen aboard the Lord Nelson, stated
that it had been on a lawful course on the lake.[5]
The
1819 claim had been unsuccessful because the case had not been investigated by
a Committee of the House. On May 29,
1834, the claim was presented to Congress.
The Committee on Claims felt that the claimants were entitled to
payment. The claim was passed to the
Secretary of the Navy to ascertain the value of the Lord Nelson at the time it
was captured. He reported that it was
worth $5000. and the cargo $2943.76. On
December 14, 1837, a bill was presented to the House to provide the payment
without success.
On
March 28, 1848, during another presentation it was reported that the claimants
had consented to the sale of the vessel and that the proceeds would be paid to
the clerk of the New York court while the claim was considered by the courts. That court had become insolvent and could not
make a payment. The Crooks denied that
they had consented to the sale of the Lord Nelson.
On
March 3, 1851, the claim was presented again and denied with no reason
given. James Crooks, the heir of both of
the original owners who were now deceased, continued to pursue the claim.
On February 11, 1860,
James Crooks presented the claim to the House of Representatives.[6]
The descendants of
James Crooks continued to pursue justice from the Americans. In 1927, the United States finally paid the
Canadian government $23,644.38 to resolve the Crooks claim. After legal expenses were deducted the 25
Crooks family heirs divided $15,546.63.[7]
June 7, 1812
On the Grand River
Tract
Jean-Baptiste Rousseaux wrote that young
chiefs of the Senecas, Onondaga, and Cayugas living in the United States had
met earlier that month with chiefs of the Grand River to ask them to remain
neutral if war was declared by the Americans.
They confronted John Norton and asked him to consider that he was
placing his people at risk by encouraging them to support the British.[8]
June 15, 1812
More Piracy on Lake
Ontario
William
Robertson of Queenston shipped 20 barrels of potash to William Gilkinson of
Prescott aboard the American vessel Niagara, which belonged to Porter Barton of
Lewistown. Before the vessel arrived at
Prescott, it was stopped by the American brig Oneida and taken into Sacket’s
Harbour. Robertson’s cargo was unloaded
there and sold. After the war, Robertson
made a war loss claim but it was rejected because the theft occurred prior to
the declaration of war.[9]
The
merchant firm of Thomas Clark and Samuel Street, of Queenston, lost 347 barrels
of flour on board the same vessel. They
reported the Niagara was captured 2 or 3 days after its June 15th
departure from Queenston. At about the
same time the schooner Nelson was captured while sailing from Prescott to
Niagara. The firm lost 3 boxes of window
glass, 30 kegs of gun powder, and 83 bars of iron on that vessel. Their war loss claim was also rejected.[10]
June 18,
1812
War
Declared
President
James Madison declared war on Great Britain but the news did not reach York
until June 26th.[11]
A
number of Upper Canadians were prevented from returning home from the United
States when war was declared.
About
May 5th, Zachariah Galloway of the Town of York was summoned to New
York State by his father to settle some family affairs there. Zachariah had been living in Upper Canada
since 1797 but could not return to his wife and children because the British
Consulate had informed him it was too dangerous to try to cross the border back
into Upper Canada. When he returned to
the Town of York after the war, he discovered that his family was in debt for
rent and supplies. Zachariah noted that
other residents of the town had prospered during the war and that he had been
deprived of that opportunity. He
attempted to make a claim for damages for the potential income he lost because
the British Consulate would not grant him a pass to return home during the
war. His claim was deemed to be
inadmissible.[12]
Joshua
Pell was 79 years old and living near the Chippawa River during the war. In 1810, his wife Abigail, who was ill, had
returned to New York State to live with her daughter’s family while Joshua
remained in Upper Canada to look after his and his son’s property. Joshua and his wife sent letters back and forth
until war was declared and no more letters could be sent. In 1813, Joshua debated crossing the Niagara
River to join his wife but feared he would be taken prisoner. Abigail died in May, 1815, separated from her
husband because the war had not yet ended.[13]
Patrick
McCabe had purchased a large house, stable, and shed in Queenston in 1802, had
rented the property out as an inn prior to the war, and had planned to later
occupy the premises in Upper Canada.
There was a mortgage on the property that was to be paid in regular
shipments of salt. When war was
declared, Patrick was working at the Onandago Salt Works in New York State in
order to make his mortgage payments.
Patrick was expected to serve in the local American militia but fled to
Pennsylvania to avoid having to fight for the Americans. Patrick’s son and daughter ran the Queenston
inn for him during the war. Throughout
the war the buildings were at times used by the British as a hospital and
barracks. After the war, Patrick made a
war loss claim for unpaid rent and damage to the buildings. A number of men certified that he had
remained loyal to the British.[14]
After
Brigadier-General Brock was shot on October 13th his bodied was
carried to McCabe’s Stone House Inn in Queenston where he was believed to have
died.[15]
Another
immediate problem for many Upper Canadians was the closing of public buildings
and occupation of private buildings and homes.
In the Town of Niagara, the church and other buildings were impressed by
the military for use warehouses and homes were impressed as barracks for
officers. Schools in a number of places
in the province were closed and occupied by the military as well. After the war, a number of local school
boards, churches, and owners made war loss claims for damages to these
buildings.
John
Langstaff, the teacher in Markham Township, left his position to keep books for
the quartermaster’s stores. Lacking a teacher,
that school was also closed.[16]
Soon after the declaration, Major
General Isaac Brock asked John Norton to meet with him to discuss support from
the Grand River warriors. John told him
that the community “was divided in parties.”
He suggested that the British offer to pay the warriors for their service
so that they would not have to stay at home to support their families. Brock suggested that supplies rather than
money might be more acceptable.[17]
June 20, 1812
On the St. Lawrence
River
During
the previous winter, Simeon Washburn and James Cumming of Hallowell Township
entered into a contract to deliver 40 000 feet of square oak timber to
Quebec. They purchased, collected, and
rafted the timber on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County. On June 20th, they began their
journey to the St. Lawrence River. After
travelling about 16 miles, they discovered that war had been declared by the
Americans. In Marysburgh, Colonel
Archibald McDonell advised them that he thought they would not be able get the
raft down the river. Having received
monetary advances on the delivery and being subject to heavy penalties if they
failed to deliver the timber, they decided to proceed on the journey.
At
Kingston, they were again advised to stop.
At Brockville, they decided to separate the timber into 2 rafts and
continue. The Americans captured one of
the rafts and secured it to an island overnight. The militia at Brockville, aware of the
American capture, repossessed the raft the following morning and rowed it to
the north shore where it could be guarded.
At
this point, they were informed that the Americans had sentries on the points in
the river to prevent vessels passing. The
rafts were laid up in a bay three-miles above Prescott and the crew proceeded
to return home.
Before travelling
far, they then learned that an arrangement had been made that would allow them
a few-days clear passage to Ogdensburgh.
They travelled to Prescott to obtained a flag of truce and a pass from
the American Colonel Benedict who had arrived there and who was to notify the
American sentries of their passage.
However,
despite the colonel’s re-assurance, they were fired upon while going down the
Long Sault. In the confusion, about 4
cribs of timber were run aground on Crab Island at the foot of the Sault. As the enemy-fire continued, Simeon and his
men abandoned that timber. Some local Indigenous
warriors agreed to get the timber off for them for $100.00 and the crew
continued down the river with the remainder of the timber to Quebec.
Upon
returning to recover the lost timber, Simeon Washburn was told that the
Americans had fired upon the Indians during the recovery and most of the timber
was not recovered.[18]
June 24, 1812
General
Brock received word that war had been declared.[19]
This
date may not be accurate as other sources reported he received word on the 26th.
June 25, 1812
At York
His brother John
was a midshipman on the Royal George on Lake Ontario. John’s commission earned him about 150
dollars a year and he was delighted with his new uniform. As well as provisions, he would receive
nearly a barrel of rum at the end of a year which he would sell back to the
Navy. John expected to attend John
Strachan’s school in York over the winter.
Their
father, Thomas Ridout, had just been elected to the Legislative Assembly of
Upper Canada as a representative of East York and Simcoe.
George was worried that his brother
had not received his request for books as he had not replied to some of
George’s earlier letters.
He wrote that it was a great year
for the apples, plums, and cherries in their small orchard. They had already cut their first crop of grass. There were more social activities in York.[20]
At Fort Erie
Hugh Alexander wrote from Fort Erie
that he had baked 2320 pounds of biscuits for the South West Company and
requested that Grant and Kerby ship his remaining flour to Prescott when it
arrived in Queenston aboard Gray’s sloop or aboard the first safe vessel.[21]
June 26, 1812
At Queenston
Mr.
Vosburgh arrived in Queenston from Albany early in the morning and informed
Thomas Clark, his employer, that war had been declared. Thomas’ wife was Mary Elizabeth Clark.[22]
At
Burlington Beach
Robert
Biggar of Stoney Creek was exempted from militia service because his left hand
was impaired. He wrote that General
Brock had asked him to keep an eye on Burlington Beach and to help prevent any
boats from leaving there that were bound to the United States.
He had
heard Mr. Pratt boast that he was taking a number of families with him to the
United States. Mr. Pratt also intended
to go to the outlet at Little Lake and take 200 barrels of flour and burn the
rest. As Pratt brought his vessel to the
beach to load, Robert, Benjamin Johnson, and another man were prepared to
confront him. Someone warned Mr. Pratt
and he made his escape in his boat before he could take on the families and
flour.
Robert
sent the wagon and team and load of flour with Benjamin Johnson, who had just
passed through Stoney Creek, on the way to Fort George, with militia flank
companies. After the war, Robert made a
claim for the value of the captured wagon and horses which he had captured for
the government. He made a number of
additional claims for losses to the British and their Indian allies.
Robert
reported that although he could not serve in the militia, he was at the battles
at Queenston in 1812, Fort George and Stoney Creek in 1813, and Lundy’s Lane
and Fort Erie in 1814, as an unpaid volunteer.
On
November 14, 1814, he was present when one of his horses was stolen.[23]
Robert was
a native of Scotland who settled first in New York State, arrived in Upper
Canada with his wife and family in 1806, and moved to Stoney Creek in 1810.[24]
On another
occasion, Robert reported that he discovered 4 Indians riding off with his cart
and 2 horses. He recalled that he had
managed to stop the Indians from getting away but nearly lost his life.[25]
June 27, 1812
On the
Niagara Frontier
Thomas
Merritt rented out his house for one year for use as a barracks for the
Provincial Light Dragoons.[26]
Captain
William H. Merritt, of the dragoons, wrote in his diary that a report of the
declaration of war was received on this date in the Town of Niagara. A messenger from the United States (Mr.
Vosburgh) had brought a letter from John Jacob Aster addressed to Thomas Clark,
the merchant. An express rider was
dispatched to the Town of York to carry the message to Brock who was there on
government business.
Captain
Merritt reported that people expected an immediate attack from the Americans,
who they believed were ready to invade Upper Canada.[27]
Lieutenant
Colonel William Claus, of the 1st Lincoln Militia, was to take
command of all the militia stationed between the Towns of Niagara and
Queenston, while Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Clark, of the 2nd Lincoln
Militia, was to command those between Queenston and Fort Erie.
Men
of the 1st Lincoln Militia were to relieve the British 41st
Regiment stationed at the two and four-mile points on the 28th. It was recommended that they bring blankets
with them.[28]
June 28, 1812
Brock
arrived at Fort George and informed the Americans across the river that war had
been declared. The flank companies of
the 1st, 4th, and 5th Lincoln Militia, the 2nd
York, and artillery were at Queenston and the Town of Niagara. The 2nd and 3rd Lincoln
were stationed at Chippawa and Fort Erie.
The militia were on continuous patrols along the Niagara River from Fort
George to Fort Erie. Batteries were
constructed in suitable positions along the river.[29]
June 29, 1812
In Quebec City
A Police Proclamation was posted
ordering American Citizens to vacate the city by noon on the following
Wednesday and the District of Quebec by noon on the next Friday. C.Q.S. and Inspector of Police Ross Cuthbert
ordered all city constables to assemble at the police office at 10:00 the on
the 30th.[30]
June 30, 1812
In
Kingston
The
Kingston Gazette reported that a reward of 5 pounds and expenses was offered by
Captain Alexander Roxburgh of the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles on May 25,
1812 for the confinement of Thomas Armstrong Jr. who had deserted from that
regiment. Anyone harbouring or
concealing Thomas would be prosecuted.[31]
At York
Ely
Playter, the son of a Loyalist, was born in New Jersey in 1776, and arrived in
the Town of York with his parents in the 1790s.
During the war, he was employed as a farmer and militia officer.[32]
Ely
received his commission as a lieutenant in the 3rd York Militia on
June 30, 1812.[33]
The
regiment was recruited from the Town of York and the Townships of York,
Etobicoke, Pickering, Whitby, and Scarborough.
He was responsible for mustering the men in his neighbourhood and for
marching them to his senior officer’s, where they were assigned to the
companies assembled. He kept a diary throughout
most of the war.
In
June, Ely Playter wrote in his diary that he had drilled his militia men,
ploughed and planted his orchard field, felled a large pine tree for a swarm of
bees, hived the bees but then had them fly away, planted potatoes, corn,
melons, and pumpkins, recovered a lost cow, sawed wood, heard that war had been
declared, visited the Town of York and found it much alarmed, and hunted stags.[34]
A
number of militia men had to maintain their farms and businesses while also
fulfilling their required militia service.
Ely, with the help of family members and neighbours, was able to prosper
while others suffered losses to their incomes.
In
Ancaster Township
Benjamin Smith (1772-1851) was the son of John Smith
and Anna Roy. He married Nancy Ann
Gordon and in 1808 was living on Lot 28, Concession 4, Ancaster Township.[35] Throughout the war he probably served as a
private in both the 2nd York and the 5th Lincoln
Militias. There appeared to have been
more than one Benjamin Smith living in these two militia muster areas and it
was difficult to determine which man served on each occasion. His body was buried in the Bowman United
Church Cemetery in Ancaster Twp.[36]
Benjamin also kept a diary before,
during, and after the war. It was
difficult to read Benjamin’s hand writing and the documents had faded
somewhat. Like Ely Playter’s diary,
Benjamin’s gives insights into farm life during the war but in a different
community.
During June, Benjamin sowed
flaxseed, oats, and peas and finished sowing his potatoes, furrowed David
Jones’ corn field, took corn to the mill, mowed willows growing in his new
ground and at David Runnel’s, fixed a hog pen, put logs on the turnip patch,
hoed and harrowed his corn field with the help of his children, and helped
raise a barn at Bowman’s.
He attended militia training twice at Terryberry’s
(possibly Terryberry Corners in Barton Township), went with John Gordon,
probably his wife’s brother, to look at John’s land in Binbrook Township,
attended two Sunday meetings, and went away overnight to a camp meeting at
Bennett’s.[37]
Sources:
[1] Collections Canada,
War of 1812: Upper Canada Norminal Rolls
and Paylists, RG9, Militia and Defence, Series 1-B-7, Microfilm t-10383, pages
1186-1188.
[2] Collections Canada,
War of 1812: Upper Canada Norminal Rolls
and Paylists, RG9, Militia and Defence, Series 1-B-7, Microfilm t-10379, pages
95-99.
[3] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 1269-1270.
[4] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1134, page 958.
[5] Message from the
President of the United States …, E. De Krafft, Printer, Washington, 1819.
[6] 36th
Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives, Report C.C. No. 240
[7] The Hamilton &
Scourge National Historic Site, http://www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca/the-schooners.asp, accessed May 12,
2016.
[8] Carl Benn, A Mohawk
Memoir from the War of 1812, John Norton – Teyoninhokarawen, University of
Toronto Press, 2019, pages 86 & 89.
[9] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1128, pages 174-194.
[10] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1130, page 990.
[11] The Fife and Drum, The
Newsletter of The Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common, Volume 16, Number
1, March, 2012, page 5.
[12] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1128, pages 410-412.
[13] Geraldine R. (Brown)
Wilson, Genealogical Society, Niagara Peninsula Branch, More Than a Mere Matter
of Marching, A Bicentennial War of 1812 Project, St. Catherines, Ontario, 2013,
pages 179 and 183-184.
[14] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1128, pages 817-838.
[15] Historical Narratives
of Early Canada, First Burial in Brock’s Bastion, at http://www.uppercanadahistory.ca/brock/brock8.html, accessed March 3,
2015.
[16] Dorothy Duncan, Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst,
Dundurn, Toronto, 2012, pages 118-119.
[17] Carl Benn, A Mohawk Memoir
from the War of 1812, John Norton – Teyoninhokarawen, University of Toronto
Press, 2019, page 93.
[18] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 1085-1097.
[19] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and Paroles: A Social History of the War of 1812 in Upper
Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 47.
[20] George Ridout, Thomas
Ridout Family Fonds, Ontario Archives, Microfilm MS537, Reel1.
[21] Records of Niagara –
No. 43 1812, accessed Apr. 14, 2016 at http://niagarahistorical.museum/media/NHS43Records%20of%20Niagara.pdf
[22] Dianne Graves, In the
Midst of Alarms: The Untold Story of
Women and the War of 1812, Robin Brass Studio Inc., 2007, page 3.
[23] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1127, pages 935-938.
[24] Robert Biggar, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Biggar, accessed February 12, 2015.
[25] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, pages 120-121.
[26] Collections
Canada, War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages
742-743.
[27] Capt. Wm. H. Merritt,
of the Provincial Light Dragoons, Journal of Events, Principally on the Detroit
and Niagara Frontiers, during the War of 1812, The Historical Society, B.N.A.,
St. Catharines, C.W., 1863, page 5.
[28] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier, Part
3, by Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, Printed at the Tribune Office, Welland,
1899, online at www.ourroots.ca, pages 76-77.
[29] Capt. Wm. H. Merritt,
of the Provincial Light Dragoons, Journal of Events, Principally on the Detroit
and Niagara Frontiers, during the War of 1812, The Historical Society, B.N.A.,
St. Catharines, C.W., 1863, pages 5-7.
[30] Police Poster, Forces
of Lord Selkirk Facebook Group, June 30, 2019.
[31] Kingston Gazette, June
30, 1812, http://vitacollections.ca/digital-kingston/96873/page/1, accessed May 17,
2016.
[32] Ely Playter, http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/twitter/playter.aspx, accessed June 7,
2015.
[33] Collections Canada,
War of 1812: Upper Canada Norminal Rolls
and Paylists, RG9, Militia and Defence, Series 1-B-7, Microfilm t-10384, page
84.
[34] Ely Playter’s Diary,
June, 1812, https://twitter.com/ElyPlayter1812, accessed June 7,
2015.
[35] Wentworth Bygones, Volume 3, The Head-of-the-Lake
Historical Society, Hamilton, 1962, page 38.
[36] Bowman United Church
Cemetery, accessed June 30, 2015 at http://www.interment.net/data/canada/ontario/wentworth/ancast/bowman/united.htm
[37] Benjamin Smith’s
Diary, June, 1812, Benjamin Smith Fonds F582, Ontario Archives, Toronto,
Ontario.
End
It's so nice to see a blog that cites sources. Thank you.
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