First
Edition Published February 19, 2016
Second
Edition Published February 14, 2017
Third
Edition Published August 14, 2019
Copyright
by Fred Blair
Additions
and changes to this edition are in blue text.
November 7,
1813
In York
Lieutenant
Colonel Warren Baldwin of the 1st Durham Militia commanded a mixed
detachment of men from the 1st Durham and 3rd York
Militias until November 24th while repairing the roads between the
Town of York and the Township of Darlington.[1]
November 8,
1813
On the St. Lawrence
River
General Wilkinson’s American army
was in Matilda Township, Dundas County, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.
They plundered Paul Glasford’s
house. By the list of his losses it
appeared that he may have been a merchant.
Paul later claimed for the loss of an iron money chest which was
destroyed when it was broken open, a mahogany portable desk broken into pieces,
a piece of bed ticking, a piece of dimity, sheets, bedding, two kegs of wine
and one of brandy, twenty-four men’s plated hats, butter, cheese, hams,
12 new
111-point blankets at 17.5 shillings each
12 new
fur caps at 2.5 pounds each
120
pairs of strong men’s shoes at 10 shillings each
30 cases
of razors and shaving boxes at 6 shillings each
950
pounds of Muscavado sugar at about 1.6 shillings per pound
80
pounds of loaf sugar at 2 shillings per pound
6 hand
saws at 50 shillings each
4
carving knives at over 6 shillings each
2 suits
of wearing apparel at 8 pounds each
and
other small items.[2]
Paul later moved to Brockville.
November 10,
1813
The Skirmish
at Hoople’s Creek
The
American Brigadier General Jacob Brown had landed a force on the north shore of
the St. Lawrence River and was proceeding east along the shore to clear the
area of militia who might harass Major General James Wilkinson’s army as they
passed down the river. On this day, they
stopped to repair the bridge at Hoople’s Creek.
About 300 Stormont and
Glengarry Militia under the command of Major James Dennis of the 49th
Regiment of Foot had damaged the bridge and waited to ambush them from
positions in the trees on the east side of the creek. The Americans believed they were being
confronted by several hundred men and attempted to out flank them but the British
major withdrew his men after an hour and before their path of retreat could be
blocked by the Americans. He also sent a
message to Cornwall that allowed the British there to move 150 wagons of
supplies there into Lower Canada.
A few days later, Major
Dennis would take the men on a night’s march to Crysler’s farm to engage the
Americans again.[3]
Private
Finlay Munro of the 2nd Glengarry Militia was wounded at the creek
and received a disability pension after the war.[4]
Elenor Hoople of Osnabruck Township
was asked to take in and nurse a wounded American from Major Benjamin Forsyth’s
Rifle Corps. If was felt that the man
would not survive the voyage to the nearest hospital. Elenor reported that he was unable to take
care of himself, could not even turn over in bed, and that after five months of
care he died. In 1815, Elenor made a war
loss claim to the British for her time and expenses in caring for the wounded
American prisoner.[5]
McKenzie Morgan of Osnabruck
Township sent 22 yards of homespun cloth to Asahel Steven’s fullery mill to
have it dressed. The Americans arrived
at the mill on the night of the 10th and took away a number of
pieces of cloth from the mill, including Mr. Morgan’s. In 1815 he claimed 11 pounds for his lost
cloth and in 1824 he resubmitted his claim, but for 30 yards at 15 pounds.[6]
On the Niagara
Frontier
About this time, Captain William H.
Merritt was sent under a flag of truce to Fort George to arrange for some Upper
Canadians to pass messages about the American movements to the British and to
spy on the Americans.
He arrived at his father’s home
about two o’clock in the morning and frightened his family upon his unexpected
arrival. Joseph Willcox had been there
the night before to detain William’s father and had passed the house again
earlier that night to capture Captain Nelles at the Forty Mile Creek. William chose a different route to the fort
to elude Willcox. He entered the fort, after
being blindfolded, and had breakfast with General Harrison. The general did not know of William’s fathers
arrest but promised to send him home in a day or two.
On his return, William took the lake
road to avoid meeting Wilcox. Mr. Adams
was later arrested by Willcox while escorting William’s mother to visit her
husband at the fort.[7]
November 11,
1813
The Battle
of Crysler’s Farm
At
Morrisburgh
John Hanes, of Williamsburgh
Township, reported that his barn was burned at the end of the action. He claimed for the loss of
25
bushels of wheat 24.5 shillings per bushel
100
bushels of peas at 5 pounds each
9 tons
of hay at 1 pound per ton
a
fanning mill at 4 pounds
and
a sleigh which were burnt in the barn.
He also lost three fat hogs valued at 11.5 pounds and
a horse valued at 20 pounds to the troops and warriors. His house was damaged while it was used as a
hospital.[8]
The Americans had commandeered
Michael Cook’s log tavern. During the
battle, the British fired upon it with their cannons. Michael’s wife and children had been hiding
in the cellar. When they emerged after
the battle, they discovered that the Americans had carried off a number of
their possessions.[9]
After the war, Michael Cook of
Williamsburg made a claim valued at just over 420 pounds for his losses to the
Americans. It included 700 panels of
fence, 100 bushels of wheat, 100 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of potatoes, forty
bushels of peas and corn, four tons of hay, twenty-five sheep, two hogs, one
calf, fifty fowls, five bee hives, eighteen white blankets, nine pair of pillow
cases, one set of bed curtains, two cover lids, ten calico gowns, one silk
gown, three silk shawls, six cotton shawls, four petticoats, ten pair of
stockings, three shirts, a fur cape, two buffalo robes, a string of gold beads,
four new saddles, a wagon wheel, six clevises, eight small boards, 200 pine
boards, a bench, a wagon box, three hoes, two axes, two hides of upper leather,
a large basin of honey, 100 pounds of butter, a half bushel of sausages, 700
pounds of beef, a large iron pot, twelve knives, six forks, 100 spoons, six
children’s books, and a few other items.
He appeared to have received less than half the value of this claim.[10]
Dr. William Dunlop was stationed at
Fort Wellington and had the care of the wounded after the battle. He stayed with a Dutch Loyalist family where
they nourished him with “a profusion of meat, fish, eggs, cakes, and
preserves.” He took care to always be
away with the wounded during the Saturday morning’s house cleaning.[11]
William Gilkison, a merchant of
Prescott, left his goods in Mrs. Stuart’s home on Hoople’s Creek while serving
in the militia. He was acting as the
Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General of the Militia and had been ordered to
accompany the Corps of Observation as a volunteer. When the General Brown’s American Army
arrived in the area the containers were opened and plundered. Anything not taken was destroyed.
A few days after the Battle of
Crysler’s Farm, William approached the Americans under a flag of truce and
unsuccessfully demanded compensation for his lost goods.[12]
On the Niagara
Frontier
Thomas Talbot arrived in Upper Canada
in 1791 and became the personal secretary of Lieutenant Governor John Graves
Simcoe. Later, in England he received
permission to create a settlement on 5000 acres in Elgin County, north of Lake
Erie. The Village of Port Talbot became
the commercial centre of that settlement.[13]
His property was occupied by the
Americans a number of times during the war and used as a military post. On this date, Captain Westbrook’s party was
the first to stay there. Thomas lost ten
head of cattle and farming utensils during this invasion. On May 20, 1814, Captain Westbrook returned
and took fifteen sheep and twelve barrels of flour. On August 16, 1814, Captain Walker’s Company
damaged the house, plundered its contents, and took away more livestock. In September, 1814, Captain McCormick’s men
burnt Thomas’ flour mill, saw mill, the mill dam, and the miller’s house, took
fifty sheep and other supplies, and destroyed fencing. The following month, Lieutenant Servos’ party
took six horned cattle, and the American General McArthur took another seven in
November.[14]
November 12,
1813
In Stormont County
Major
Dennis, of the British 49th Regiment, ordered Jacob Eamon’s bridge
across Hoopler Creek destroyed in Osnabruck Township, Stormont County so that
the American’s could not make use of it.[15]
In Norfolk County
A party of American brigands was in
the neighbourhood of Woodhouse, Norfolk County.
A detachment of the 1st Oxford Militia looked for them but
the Americans had returned down the lake.[16]
Sergeant
Richard Drake of the 2nd Norfolk was wounded at Stony Creek on Lake
Erie and received a pension after the war for the resulting disability.[17]
November 13, 1813
The Battle of Nanticoke Creek
On November 12, 1813, a party of Americans was reported near Woodhouse
Township in Norfolk County. An Upper
Canadian detachment, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bostwick of
the 1st Oxford Militia, was sent out to engage them but the
Americans had gone down the lake. Early
in the morning of the following day the Upper Canadians began pursuing the
Americans marauders. The militia took a
difficult and circuitous route through woods and swamps to the home of John
Dunham where the Americans had been known to visit before. The property appeared to be deserted when the
Upper Canadian force arrived. Captain
Daniel McCall of the 1st Norfolk Militia took a small party through
the woods to the other side of the house to prevent the Americans from escaping
in that direction. Captain John Bostwick
of the 1st Norfolk Militia took a second small party to block off
the escape route to the lake shore.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bostwick of the 1st Oxford Militia,
John’s brother, led the largest portion of the men to the back of the
house.
Before all the men were in place, Captain Bostwick and
Lieutenant Jonathan Austin, of the 2nd Norfolk Militia, entered the
front of the house and surprised the Americans who were all crowded
inside. As the Americans grabbed their
arms, Captain Bostwick declared that they were surrounded and ordered them to
drop their weapons. Most of the men
complied but after consideration, two men fired at the captain and one of the
shots wounded him slightly in the face.
The two officers were taken prisoner and the Americans ran to guard the
windows and doors. Upon hearing the gun
discharges, the lieutenant colonel and his men charged the house from the rear,
without realizing that the captain was inside.
A fire fight began between the Upper Canadians and the Americans. Some of the Americans escaped from the house
and were attacked by Captain McCall’s men.
A few of these Americans escaped to the woods but most were wounded or
killed. Seeing their comrades fall, the
Americans in and around the house surrendered.
The Upper Canadians lost only one man, Benjamin
Chandler, who was shot through the neck.
Three of the Americans were killed and at least two were wounded. Some of the men who eluded capture in the
woods may have been wounded as well. The
prisoners were escorted to the British encampment at Burlington Heights and the
American’s horses and gear were sold for prize money for the Upper Canadians.[18]
This engagement became known as the Battle of
Nanticoke Creek. John Dunham’s property
was on Lot 7, Concession 1, Walpole Township, Haldimand County, on Lake Erie,
just south of the Nanticoke Creek. The
Upper Canadians who took part in the attack on his cabin were not under British
orders but were a vigilante group composed in part of local militia men. Of the American sympathizers, eighteen were
taken prisoner, John Chandler among them.
Dunham and seven of these men were found guilty of treason at the Ancaster
Assizes in July, 1814 and were hung.[19]
In Stormont County
A few days earlier the Americans destroyed ten
thousand feet of timber that belonged to William Miller. On this date, his house in Cornwall Township
was broken into and plundered by British soldiers of the 89th
Regiment. The men took a barrel of pork,
fifteen gallons of vinegar, preserved plums, a barrel of pickled herring, a
china tea chest and tea ware, four canisters, three tin pans, two tea kettles,
an iron pot, three pink blankets, two bed quilts, two pair of sheets, a great
coat, two bodied coats, a vest, two pair of shoes, two pair of pantaloons, two
shirts, a case of razors, and a fowling piece.
John Shannon reported that William had joined the
militia in Cornwall about the 5th and had asked John to look after
his property while he was away. However,
Lieutenant Colonel Morrison of the 89th Regiment, which was encamped
near William’s property, had ordered John to carry an express to Osnaburg and
Williamsburg. On his return, he found
Williams house broken open and saw the troops in and about the house. When he looked inside, he saw that the house
had been plundered.[20]
In Glengarry County
In late September, David Summers, an innkeeper of
Charlottenburg, received a shipment of tobacco from Montreal and stored it for
Charles Lord and David Hartley. On this
date the storehouse was plundered by a party of His Majesty’s naval forces
under commanded of Captain Mulcaster and troops and warriors under the command
of Colonel Morrison who were stationed near Summer’s inn. Lord and Hartley later claimed for the loss
of five whole and three part-kegs of tobacco which weighed 833 pounds and was
valued at over 83-pounds sterling. David
Summers declared that tobacco was worth two shillings per pound at the time.[21]
November 15,
1813
At Burlington Heights
During the month, some of the Indigenous
warriors and their families, who had retreated west with the British General
Proctor, were stationed on the farm of Ralph Morden in Nelson Township. He reported that they were so troublesome
that he was forced to leave his home, which they then occupied for seven
months. His farm was left vacant for a
year. After the war, he reported that he
lost 213 choice trees, 860 feet of boards and planks, three tons of hay,
nineteen swine, and a sheep to the Indigenous people.[22]
Manuel
Overfield reported that the Indigenous people fell trees to obtain nuts and
branches.[23] He was a lieutenant in the 2nd
York Militia who lived in the Dundas area.
Bark was also used for shelter and
any source of wood was useful for building fires.
November 16,
1813
At York
Lieutenant Ely Playter wrote that an
American ship had come into York under a white flag and returned some books
looted earlier in the year from the town library. He suspected that the Americans had actually
come into port to spy on the British.[24]
November 22,
1813
In Eastern Upper
Canada
Major General Francis de Rottenburg
declared martial law in the Johnstown and Eastern Districts to force Upper
Canadians to sell food to the British army.
November 27,
1813
At Fort
Erie
Private Thomas
Silverthorn of the 1st Norfolk Militia was wounded and received a
disability pension after the war.[25]
November 28,
1813
Lieutenant George
Ryerson of the 1st Norfolk Militia was wounded and received a
disability pension after the war.[26]
November 29
1813
On the Niagara
Frontier
Private Benjamin Smith was woken at
two o’clock in the morning by the cannon fire at Black Rock on the Niagara
River. His company marched to Peter
Wintermute’s in Bertie Township and stayed there. It was not clear which company of men he was
serving with at this time.[27]
James Henry of Clinton Township in
the Niagara District furnished hay, oats, and beef for the American Mounted
Volunteers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Wilcox. He furnished and delivered fifty pounds of
flour as well. Unable to redeem his
receipts with the Americans, in 1815 he included them with his war loss claims
to the British. He had also lost a
saddle and two bridles when the Americans retreated from Stoney Creek and a
pair of brass barrelled pistols at another time.[28]
Before the war, hay sold for twelve
to fifteen dollars a ton. At this time,
the shortage of supply had driven the price up to thirty dollars.[29]
Samuel
Street Jr. was accused by William Lundy of selling flour to the Americans, who
held Fort George, during November.
Samuel Street was a miller, justice of the peace, and nephew of the
militia paymaster. William Lundy was a
Quaker farmer and Street’s neighbour.
William was asked to transport Street’s and Thomas Clark’s flour to the
fort. William eventually reluctantly
agreed.
Samuel may have hoped
to profit more by trading with the Americans than waiting to have his flour
impressed by them.[30]
November 30,
1813
While on a patrol from Burlington
with his dragoons, Captain William H. Merritt learned that several Upper
Canadians had been seen that morning going to join the Americans.[31]
In Brockville
During
the month, Barrack Master William Fitzpatrick was sent to Brockville, from Fort
Wellington in Prescott, to muster the local militia. Hiram Stafford, a merchant, refused to leave
his store. Fitzpatrick forcibly entered
by breaking down the door and removed Stafford.
After the war, Hiram Stafford successfully sued Fitzpatrick for damages
to his door.[32]
At York
During November, Ely Playter received
legal advice that a man could be court martialed in the man’s absence,
requisitioned materials for a cook house, summoned men to court, and tried men
for court martial. At home, he fitted up
his hog bin and put his harvested roots in his cellar.[33]
In Ancaster Township
Benjamin
Smith recorded this month’s events on his farm in his diary. They hauled in corn and husked it, killed two
beef cattle and cut up the meat, had help with the thrashing, drove oxen to
town to have them killed, set-up buckwheat and thrashed it, and sold a
cow. John Lewis and Isaac Smith helped
with the work. There were no diary
entries after the 14th and none for December. Possibly a page was missing from the diary.
On
the 2nd and 3rd Benjamin hauled a load of logs with his
oxen to Burlington Heights for the construction of a house at the Battery.[34]
Sources:
[1] Collections Canada,
War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns,
Nominal Rolls and Paylists, Microfilm t-10384, page 361.
[2] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1134, page 966.
[3] Today in History,
Forces of Lord Selkirk, Facebook Group, Nov. 10, 2018.
[4] Pension Poster – Casualties, January 1,
1817, Nelles Family Fonds, Ref. Code F 542,
box
MU 2192, Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[5] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 609-611.
[6] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 753-759.
[7] 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 45.
[8] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1132, page 160.
[9] Dorothy Duncan, Hoping
for the Best, Preparing for the Worst, Dundurn, Toronto, 2012, page 200.
[10] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 351-354.
[11] Dorothy Duncan, Hoping
for the Best, Preparing for the Worst, Dundurn, Toronto, 2012, pages 199-200.
[12] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1127, pages 41-45.
[13] Thomas Talbot, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Talbot_(Upper_Canada), accessed Feb. 2,
2016.
[14] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1135, pages 945-946.
[15] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1134, page 446.
[16] Ernest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier in
the year 1813, Part IV, Vol. 8, Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the
Tribune Office, Welland, 1907, online at www.ourroots.ca, page 181.
box MU 2192, Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[18] Earnest Alexander
Cruikshank, Documentary History of the
Campaign Upon the Niagara Frontier in the year 1813, Part IV, Vol. 8,
Lundy’s Lane Historical Society, printed at the Tribune Office, Welland, 1907,
online at www.ourroots.ca, pages 181-183.
[19] Cheryl MacDonald, Battle of Nanticoke Had Far-Reaching
Effects, The Sachem & Glanbrook Gazette, November 11, 2013, accessed
online January 21, 2015 at
http://www.sachem.ca/opinion/battle-of-nanticoke-had-far-reaching-effects/
[20] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1136, pages 794-809.
[21] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1143, pages 1142-1149.
[22] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1132, page 1291.
[23] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 120.
[24] The Fife and Drum, The
Newsletter of The Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common, Volume 17, Number
3, October 2013, page 5.
[25] Pension Poster –
Casualties, January 1, 1817, Nelles Family Fonds, Ref. Code F 542,
box
MU 2192, Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[26] Pension Poster –
Casualties, January 1, 1817, Nelles Family Fonds, Ref. Code F 542,
box
MU 2192, Ontario Archives, Toronto.
[27] Benjamin Smith’s
Diary, Ontario Archives, pages 136-137.
[28] Collections Canada,
War of 1812, Board of Claims and Losses, Microfilm t-1126, pages 579-587.
[29] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 143.
[30] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 153.
[31] 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 45-46.
[32] George Sheppard, Plunder, Profit, and
Paroles: A Social History of the War of
1812 in Upper Canada, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994, page 161.
[33] Ely Playter’s Diary,
November, 1813, https://twitter.com/ElyPlayter1812, accessed June 6,
2013.
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