Title

Chapter 3

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298156

page

36-51

Bibliographic Citation

1812; the war and its moral : a Canadian chronicle / William Foster Coffin.

10167813

1812; the war and its moral : a Canadian chronicle / William Foster Coffin.

Type

Text

extracted text

86

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

immeasurably in advance of our own. Indeed the apparent supineness on our part had engendered doubt and suggested disaffection. It is impossible to ignore the alarm, and confusion, and
despondency, which settled down, for a time, like a black cloud upon
the country, until suddenly, day broke through the gloom, and the
stalwart form and sterling character of Brock strode into light.
Like the white horse in a battle-piece by Wouvermans, in every
delineation of this war, Isaac Brock stands forth from the canvas,
the central figure and commanding feature of the scene. It will
not be uninteresting, therefore, to offer, at the outset, a brief sketch
of his earlier career. He was born in the Island of Guernsey in
1769, the year which gave birth to Napoleon and Wellington. He
was descended from an old and respected family. He obtained his
first commission in 1785, served in the West Indies, was promoted
rapidly, thanks to the havoc of climate ; and, by the force of a vigorous constitution, survived to command the 49th foot as senior Colonel
in the expedition to Holland in 1799, where he made his mark
under adverse circumstances. In 1801 he was selected with his
regiment to serve under Lord Nelson, in his memorable attack on
Copenhagen. In 1802, Brock accompanied his regiment to Canada,
and was, for the next ten years of his life, identified with the existence of a country which he ultimately governed wisely, defended
nobly, and which points to his grave as the monument of his glory.
He was a man of natural capacity, self-cultivated, resolute, and
endowed remarkably with the qualities of forethought and foresight.
His correspondence, imperfectly preserved, makes us regret that
so much should have been lost.* These memorials of an honest,
modest, and truly brave nature, have furnished the greater part of
these details. In person he was tall and athletic, with a commanding bearing and gentle manner. In private life he was irreproach• Life and Correspondence of Sir Isaac Brock, by Topper.

EARLY CAREER OF BROCK.

able, universally respected by those who did not know him, and
loved by those who did. His public life speaks for itself.
In 1806, being senior officer at the time, Col. Brock commanded
the troops both in Upper and Lower Canada, and so threatening
was the aspect of affairs—six years before the war broke out—" the
Americans being employed in drilling and forming their militia, and
openly declaring their intention of invading the Province the
instant that war is determined on,"* that he took vigorous measures
for the defence of the Ancient Capital, and for strengthening Cape
Diamond. On the arrival of Sir James Craig, the new Governor
General and Commander-in-Chief, he relinquished his temporary
command, and returned to his regiment, which was always in
splendid order. In 1808 he was appointed to be a Brigadier ; and
an extract from a letter written to his brother in July of that year
is worth reproducing here, as showing the malice aforethought
which provoked the war—the pre-determination to " corner" Great
Britain—to compel her to resent accumulated wrong—to strike the
first blow,—and thus to unite the disunited opinions of the people of
the States on the unavoidable necessity of war.
" What will be the result of our present unsettled relations with
the neighboring republic," says Brock in 1808, " it is very difficult to say. The government is composed of such unprincipled
men, that to calculate on it by the ordinary rules of action would
be absurd. We have completely outwitted Jefferson, and all his
schemes to provoke us to war. He had no other object in view in
issuing his restrictive proclamation ; but failing in that, he tried what
the embargo would produce, and in this he has been foiled again.
Certainly our administration is deserving of every praise for their
policy on these occasions. Jefferson and his party, however strong
the inclination, dare not declare war, and therefore they endeavor
• Correspondence of Sir I. Brock, p. 45.

38

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

DECLARATION OF THE WAR, JUNE

to attain their objects by every provocation. A few weeks since
the garrison of Niagara fired upon seven merchant boats passing
the fort, and actually captured them. Considering the circumstances attending this hostile act, it is but too evident it was
intended to provoke retaliation. These boats were fired upon and
taken within musket shot of our own fort. Their balls, falling on
our own shore, were expected to have raised the indignation of
the most phlegmatic. Fortunately, the commandant was not in
the way, as otherwise it is difficult to say what would have happened. A representation of this affair has been made at Washington, and for an act certainly opposed to existing treaties, we have
been referred for justice to the ordinary courts of law."*
This letter was written from Montreal, but Brock was chiefly
employed at Quebec up to July, 1810, when he was despatched to
take command of the troops in Upper Canada by Sir James Craig.
He established his head quarters at Fort George, on the Niagara
frontier, but visited all the frontier forts, remaining for some time
on the river Detroit, absorbed in observation and preparation for
the contest he knew to be before him. In 1811, Sir George Prevost
reached Quebec, and in October of that year, Francis Gore, Esq.,
the Lieut.-Governor of Upper Canada, having returned to England
on leave, Brock, now a Major-General, succeeded him, and thus,
at a critical moment, the civil as well as the military authority in
the Upper Province was combined, most providentially, in the man
most competent to confront the emergency. It is instructive to
note from his correspondence at this time, how sagaciously he foresaw, how earnestly he forewarned, and to observe how little his
counsels were appreciated.
War was declared on the 18th June, 1812, but, by some strange
omission on the part of the British minister at Washington, the
official notification did not reach Sir George Prevost until the 7th
• Correspondence of Sir J. Brock, p. 45.

1111

18TH, 1812.

39

July. General Brock was not officially notified at all. Happily,
private patriotism and enterprise supplied the deficiency. Mr.
Richardson of Montreal, afterwards the Hon. John Richardson, had
apprised the Governor General of the fact on the 25th June, and
the intelligence reached Brock, through a private channel, about the
same time. He was then at Fort George. He made the most, at
once, of his insufficient means. If not forearmed, he had fortunately been forewarned, by his own forecast. Personally he provided
for the protection of the Niagara and Detroit portion of his command. To Major General Shaw he confided the Eastern frontier,
of which Kingston was the centre.
The thunder cloud soon burst ; — Long before the declaration
of war, the American government had despatched from Ohio
into the territory of Michigan 2,500 men, under BrigadierGeneral Hull. On the 12th July, Hull invaded Canada. He
crossed the Straits, or Detroit, as it was called by the old French
settlers—the earliest of the offshoots from the parent settlement
at Quebec—to Sandwitch ; where the people,. in their habits
and language, in their horses, vehicles, and domestic arrangements,—where the long lines of Lombardy:poplars, pear trees of
unusual age and size, and umbrageous walnut trees,—still remind
the traveller of the banks of the Loire. He• landed among a simple, inoffensive, agricultural people, indisposed to resistance, and
thundered forth a proclamation. This document appealed to the
fear of poltroons and the instinct of traitors, denied the right of the
red man to defend his own soil, and doomed to death every white
man found fighting at his side. It threatened all who resisted with
" the horrors and calamities of war," and proffered to the recreant
and vanquished " peace, liberty, and security."
To this, on the 22nd July, Brock nobly replied, that the crown
of England would defend and avenge all its subjects, whether red
or white, and that Canada knew its duty to itself and to its sove-

40

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

reign, and was neither to be bullied nor cajoled into a departure
from it.
On the 17th he had opened an extra session of the Legislature
of Upper Canada, and it must be owned that, at this crisis, the
Legislature was despondent, and the people misgave. But a change
in the scene speedily took place ; the noble character of Brock
rapidly assumed its natural ascendency, the public mind became
reassured, public confidence revived, and the lava tide of loyalty,
living though latent, surged up and blazed forth as a bale-fire,
inextinguishable in the land.
Loyalty to England, fealty to the crown, were the birthright
and heir-loom of this people. The first settlers on the soil were
the American loyalists, men of educated and elevated minds, who
had undergone trials and persecutions, and a fierce fight of afflictions in the cause of the King and of the " auld countree,"
and who exclaimed in the affecting language of the Psalmist :
" When I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, may my right hand forget
its cunning." They had left home, and friends, and wealth, and
station, for a principle sanctified by its disinterestedness, and
by the cunning of their hands had enshrined it in the heart of
the wilderness. They had borne, for long, the scoffs and jeers
of neighbors, who twitted them with a foolish choice, and who,
until late trials, have not known the sacred impulse of a great
cause. The reflections of the past had been to these men the only
—the proud reward of rare sufferings and noble sacrifices. Oh let
it not be imputed to them or to their descendants, that they have
dwelt upon their loyalty overmuch. Englishmen make no more
boast of their loyalty than they do of their honesty, or of their truth,
or of any other of those manly virtues, which they justly claim to
be national characteristics ; but, for generations, few have actually
paid the price of their faith, and none can recall the rapture with
which the martyrs, for conscience' sake, glory in the scenes of their

THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.

41

martyrdom. If the loud hosanna is often on their lips, the spirit is
ever present in their hearts. If they lay claim to the " sangre azur,"
they are ever ready to prove its quality, and to pour it forth in the
cause of their Sovereign and of the time-honored flag of England.
On this emergency, the United Empire Loyalists were, as ever, true
to their antecedents. They thronged to the banner of Brock. The
Province rose as a man. Numbers for whom arms could not be
provided, returned disappointed to their homes. The rest did their
duty nobly, and
Have left their sons a hope, a fame,
They too would rather die than shame.

In this interval, while Brock was exhorting his Legislature and
forming new levies, his lieutenants in the west had not been idle.
Hull was in a position of great anxiety ; he had to draw all
his resources from his rear, from distant Ohio, through ways which
could' not be called roads, and which were infested by savages.
The extent of his force increased his difficulties ; he had too many
mouths to feed, and yet he could not detach in sufficient force to
secure his communications. Proctor, who commanded at Amherstburg a force of about 350 men, threatened on his right by Hull,
had still nerve enough to detach Tecumseh, the chief of the Shawanee Indians, across the Detroit River, to intercept a convoy
commanded by Major Van Horne. The detachment was encountered in the bush, defeated, and scattered, the provisions captured,
and the mail, containing the correspondence of the American
army, fell into the hands of the savages. This occurred on the
4th of August. On the 7th, Hull, who had crossed to the easy
conquest of Canada, and had relied on the country for supplies
and upon the people for reinforcements, began to be satisfied of
his mistake. He had made one or two abortive attempts on Fort
Malden. Colonel Cass, the hero of Ta-ron-tee, had earned this
designation by an heroic retreat from before a few Indians at the

42

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

SKIRMISH AT MAGAGUA—MACINAW AND MICHIGAN.

Riviere aux Canards, which lies between Sandwich and Fort Malden
or Amherstburg. The Riviêre aux Canards, in French, or the Taron-tee, in Indian parlance, is a sluggish and sedgy stream, which
percolates the wide marshes in the rear country, and unites with the
Detroit about five miles above Fort Malden. This creek was crossed,
near its mouth, by one of the make-shift bridges of the country.
Here, on the 28th July, Col. Cass attacked an Indian scouting party,
which, very properly, fell back, losing one warrior, whose body was
scalped and otherwise disfigured. The Americans thereupon retired
with their trophy—somewhat hastily, for they did not pause to destroy the bridge, which was re-occupied next day by the British, and
was protected by two light field-pieces. Next day also re-appeared
Colonel Cass, under the fostering wing of Colonel McArthur,—a
strong reinforcement—and two guns. The bridge was attacked,
two brave men of the 41st, outlying sentries, Privates Dean and
Hancock, with that strange and dogged perversity so common
among British soldiers, would neither retire nor give in. Hancock
was killed—Dean wounded and taken prisoner. After some
exchanges of cannon-shot, the Americans again retreated ; and an
American writer declares " the escape of McArthur and his companions to have been truly miraculous."* The proclamation, which
Hull had fathered, but which Cass had written, was found to be
theatrical thunder : the Canadians would not revolt ; the Indians
flocked to the British standard. At this moment the defeat of Van
Home sounded like a knell. Hull was appalled. To cover his " base
of supply," he thought it best to change his " base of operations ;"
so, on the 7th and 8th of August, under the pretext of concentrating
his forces, he withdrew himself and his army across the river, and
resumed his occupation of Detroit. On the 9th, Proctor, apprised
of Hull's retreat, and relieved of all apprehension on his own part,
with commendable promptitude determined to follow up his first

attempt upon Hull's line of supply, and detached Major Muir
across the Detroit to intercept a much more considerable force and
convoy en route to Fort Detroit. This expedition was not as successful as the preceding. Muir, with 100 regulars, 100 militia,
and 250 Indians, found himself at Magagua in front of Col. Miller,
a good officer, backed by the U. S. 4th Regt. of Infantry, a part
of the 1st Infantry, some regular artillerymen, and 400 militia,
—about 700 in all. Muir, with great judgment, bethought him of
the paucity of the force on the other side of the river, and of the
military policy which relinquishes a temporary credit for a future
certainty, and so, ordered a retreat to his boats, which was safely
effected. Muir and his subaltern Sutherland were both wounded ;
the latter died shortly after. Two men were killed and nine
disabled. In this action of Maguaga or Brownstown, the Americans, who held the ground on the retirement of the British and
Indians, represent their own loss to have been 83 killed and
wounded, and the Indian casualties at 100. The National Intelligencer, the American Government organ of the day, boastfully
asserted that when the militia returned to Detroit from the battle
of Brownstown they bore triumphantly on the points of their bayonets between 30 and 40 fresh scalps, which they had taken on
the field. As no mercy was shown to the redskins by the trappers
and borderers who constituted the militia, and as scalps were much
prized spoils, it may be presumed that the number of these trophies
represented fairly the number of the Indians slain.* But this
momentary reverse was of no benefit to Hull : Brock was on his
track, and did not give him much time to deliberate.

‘• Thompson's Sketches of the War, quoted by James, Vol. II, p. 61.

• James, Vol. II, p. 6.

43

But again, during this interval, while Brock at York was preparing for his swoop in the West, and his lieutenants were harassing and retarding the game, the first British stroke of the war
had been delivered 250 miles to the north, at Michilimacinac, in

CAPTURE OF MACINAW.

44

45

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

the heart of what was then regarded as the Indian country. This
island and fortress is situated at the northern extremity of Lake
Huron, in the gorge of the Straits of Macinaw, and blocks the
entrance to Lake Michigan. In those days it was regarded as a
post of great importance. It is now the Gibraltar of that inland
sea. It is strongly fortified, and makes of Lake Michigan a mare
clausum, where, beyond the reach of treaty stipulations, or of
hostile interruptions, armaments may be planned and matured
safely, against the rear frontier of Canada.
The vast territory surrounding this lake, now occupied by the
States of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, embellished
by the cities of Chicago, Milwaukie, Grand Haven, and peopled by
5,000,000 of inhabitants, was, fifty years since, a howling wilderness, the retreat and hunting-ground of savage tribes, whose traditional treatment had taught them to put but little trust in the white
man. With the American settlers their relations had been, for long,
those of chronic collision and contest. The British had, upon an
emergency, accepted the services of an ally whose ferocity they
could not restrain, and of whose acts they were ashamed ; but if the
British, in Indian estimation, had proved to be a cold and ungrateful friend, the Americans had never ceased to be a remorseless
and grasping enemy. It is affectation to attempt to deny that at
this crisis the Indian alliance was sought by both parties. Accident and action combined to solve the diplomatic doubt by
the
y
much
weight of the British bayonet. It was well known toW
the defence of the western frontier depended on the Indians.
Great efforts had been made both by the British and Americans
to secure the services of these uncertain and suspicious auxiliaries. Here the British labored under great disadvantage.
Defence, not defiance, was then, as now, their motto. The policy
of the day was to discountenance the idea of war. An Indian

alliance could only portend war. It was, at the same time, well
known to those familiar with the Indian character, that the first
successful blow struck in the west would attract the savage to the
successful banner. Macinaw, as it is called for brevity, was an
American military post in the heart of the Indian territory. Fort
St. Joseph, a British post, established for the protection of the fur
trade, was situated 40 miles north of Macinaw, at the debouchure
of Lake Superior into the waters of Lake Huron.
Captain Roberts, a brave and energetic officer, was in command
at Fort St. Joseph. Brock had reinforced this post in the spring,
and Rolitrts had received instructions which, although embarrassed by the irregular and perplexing interference of Sir George
Prevost at a later • period, he had prepared himself to carry out.
On the 4th July, Brock informed Roberts that war existed, and left
him to his own discretion.* Roberts had at hand a congenial spirit.
The Agent of the Hudson's Bay Company was Toussaint Pothier,
afterwards the Hon. Toussaint Pothier, M.L.C., of Montreal, a
French Canadian gentleman, brave, gay, polite, ready for any
exploit in court or camp. To him Roberts disclosed the information he had received, and the plan he had formed. " Pardieu,
Monsieur," exclaimed the chivalrous Frenchman, gyrating with
delight,--and those who remember him can well imagine his glee,
—" it faut frotter ces gens la bas, joliement." With such associates in an enterprise, little time was lost. To a force of 33 regulars was supplemented about 160 Canadian voyageurs, half-armed
with fowling-pieces and old muskets. Two old iron three-pounders,
which had been used for firing salutes and astonishing the natives,
were put into requisition ; and accompanied by Pothier, who,
like Clive in another hemisphere, had flung his pen under his desk
and buckled on his hanger
Roberts embarked in a miscellaneous
,

• Tupper's Life of Brock.

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

BROCK CROSSES THE DETROIT RIVER.

flotilla of boats and canoes, attended by a small brig laden with
stores. In the grey of the morning of the 17th July, while the
legislators at Toronto were snoring in their beds, while the unhappy Hull was cogitating moodily at Sandwich, and the hero of
Ta-ron-tee, having fluttered the wild-fowl in Duck Creek, had just
retired victoriously, crowned with water-tresses, Roberts landed on
Macinaw Island unmolested, got his two guns into a menacing
position, disposed of his force ostentatiously, ordered his 33 regulars to the front, and bade Indians and half-breeds yell the warwhoop. At this summons, the American commander, who, to say
the truth, was quite unprepared for an attack, felt it to be prudent
to surrender his post, with about 75 regulars and a large quantity
of military stores and valuable furs. It was the first intimation he
had received of a state of war. This well-concerted and wellexecuted stroke was timely, and, in fact, invaluable. It secured
the adhesion of the Indians. It disconcerted Hull, by exposing
his rear, and was second only to the crowning exploit of the cam-

unbounded confidence. After four days and nights of incessant
exertion, the little squadron reached Amherstburg at midnight on
the 13th August ; Brock declaring, that " in no instance had he
seen troops who could have endured the fatigue of a long journey
in boats, during exceeding bad weather, with greater cheerfulness
and constancy ; and it is but justice to this little band to add that
their conduct throughout excited my admiration." *
Here Brock encountered Tecumseh, chief of the Shawanee
Indians,—regarding whose character and fate more will be said
hereafter. It is wonderful with what an instinctive perception of
character these two men instantly took to each other. Brock
descried at once the sagacity and intrepidity of the _Shawanee
chief. Tecumseh, in one of his glowing orations, apostrophizes
Brock as the warrior who, " standing erect in the bow of his
canoe, led the way to battle." It reminds one of Caesar's standardbearer launching himself upon the shores of Britain. The incident
occurred in crossing the Detroit River two days after ; Brock
exposing himself, not from ostentation (for his courage was most
unpretentious), but to win the confidence and rouse the enthusiasm of his Indian allies. Brock concerted with Tecumseh the
plan of his operations against Fort Detroit. The chief listened
eagerly, with glistening eyes but undemonstrative attitude. He
expressed his approbation with Indian brevity, and his readiness
to act by a gesture. Brock asked him, " Could the Shawanees be
induced to refrain from spirits ?" Tecumseh answered that

46

•

paign, the capture of Detroit.
Now came Brook's turn. No man knew better than he, the
value of vigour in war, and that rapid offence was often the best
description of defence. Having dispatched at once the Legislature
and all pressing public business, on the 6th August he left York,
now Toronto, for Burlington Bay, and from thence proceeded by
land to Long Point, " Point aux Pins" being the rendezvous,*
speaking a word of counsel to the Mohawks on the Grand River by
the way. At Long Point, he embarked with about 300 militia, all
volunteers, and a few regulars, in the ordinary boats of the country, and ran along a dangerous and unsheltered coast for 200
miles, amid heavy rains and tempestuous weather, and exposed
constantly to surprise, without losing a man. His constant superintendence, forethought, and precaution, inspired his followers with
• General Order, 12th August, Isaac Brock.

47

"Before leaving their wigwams on the Wabash, they had vowed
not to touch rum till they had humbled the " Bio. Knives," meaning the Americans. Brock remarked, "Adhere to this resolution
and you must conquer."
Brock acted with promptitude and vigor. The correspondence
of the American army had come into his hands by the defeat of
• General Order, Amherstburg, 14th August, Isaac Brock.

48

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

SURRENDER OF FORT DETROIT.

Van Horne, on the 4th August. The despatches of General Hull
disclosed his own misgivings and the demoralized state of the
army under his command. Brock saw the opportunity, and grasped
at it, at once. With a force of the most miscellaneous character,
not half the numerical strength of the enemy, he determined to
cross the river Detroit, and beard him in his den. On the 15th
August, he summoned Hull to surrender. The latter took two
hours to consider the invitation, and declined it. That night
Tecumseh crossed the river with about 600 warriors, and occupied
the roads and woods below Detroit, intercepting the American
communications. The spot selected for landing was Springwell,
four miles below the fort, on the only American line of retreat.
The river at this point is about three-fourths of a mile wide, deep
and strong. Before daybreak on the 16th, the force under Brock,
consisting of 330 regulars and 400 militia, with four light pieces
of artillery, crossed the river, and advanced upon the fort. He
was flanked upon the left by the Indians in the woods, and on
the right by a small vessel of war, the Queen Charlotte. Brock
led on rapidly. He had taken the measure of his foe, and
knew that daring was the best title to success. " Of the force at
his disposal," says Armstrong, the American Secretary of War,
"four hundred were Canadian Militia, disguised in red coats."*
The sequel proved the imitation not to have been a bad one. The
York Volunteers, under Hatt, Howard, Bostwick, and Robinson, the
men who had escorted Brock to Amherstburg, thrown out as skirmishers, were well forward in the front. Astonished by the vigor
of the advance, and perhaps disconcerted by the unearthly outcries of the Indians, the Americans abandoned an outpost, well
placed, strongly picketted, and defended by two 24-pounders, and
retreated into the main fort. Preparations were made for an
assault, when suddenly, was seen to emerge from the works, an

officer bearing a flag of truce. Brigadier-General Hull had
resolved to capitulate, and proposed a cessation of hostilities.
Articles were formalized then and there, under which the whole
Michigan Territory, Fort Detroit, a ship of war, 33 pieces of cannon,
stores to correspond, and military chest, 2500 troops, and one
stand of colors were surrendered to the British, who, thereupon,
betook themselves to dinner. The first act of Brock on entering
the fort was to release from captivity Dean, the gallant private of
the 41st, who behaved so nobly at the Ta-ron-tee. He sent for the
man at once, and shook hands with him cordially, in front of the
whole force.*

• Armstrong, Vol. I, p. 35.

49

The surrender of Detroit electrified all Canada. It was the
first enterprise in which the Militia had been engaged, and the
courage and success of their Volunteers animated and encouraged
all. No more was there of doubting or of wavering ; disaffection
slunk out of sight. Brock became the idol of Upper Canada ; and
no man ever, by his dauntless example, both moral and physical,
and by effecting much with small means, had more honestly won
the homage of a people.
• Mem. : Col. A. McLean.

D

4'1AXlag WW1 "iio

V.:44h

but

CHAPTER IV.
Brock provides for the safety of his conquest and returns to York—Urgent for action—
Controlled by an armistice between Sir George Provost and General Dearborn. Sir
George at Quebec. Energy of the Lower Canada Legislature—Provide money—Provide men. The Americans threaten Montreal—Niagara. Detroit. Inroad at Gananoque. Affair at Ogdensburg. Brock returns to the Niagara frontier. Van Ranselaer
and the Militia—Crazy for a dash. Capture of the Detroit and Caledonia off Fort
Erie. Military ardour of the New York Volunteers uncontrollable. Van Ranselaer
resolves to cross the Niagara frontier. Queenstown Heights, Battle 13th October—
Death of Brock and Macdonald—Arrival of Sheaffe—Final victory—Surrender by Scott.
John Beverley Robinson. Brock's funeral. Scott and the savages.

On,—on again, with the gallant Brock and his fortunes, for on
the fortunes of that noble man hung the fate of Upper Canada, still
threatened by overwhelming numbers on the Niagara frontier and
on that of the St. Lawrence. It was well known at the time, that
the demonstrations on Lower Canada were a feint to hamper Sir
George Prevost and retard supplies, and that the strength of the
enemy had been thrown on the Upper Province. On the Niagara
frontier they had accumulated in great force. The indisposition of the Eastern States for the war, and the tendency of the
democratic malady to French hallucinations, had preserved to the
Lower Canadians the privilege of being the last to be devoured.
After providing for the security of his conquest, and re-assuring
the sparse population of Michigan by a Proclamation, confirming to
them their property and the enjoyment of their laws and religion,
Brock sailed on the 22nd August in the schooner Chippewa for the
Niagara frontier.
We may well imagine the patriotic thoughts and high aspirations which at this time thronged the active and vigorous mind of
this thorough soldier. His correspondence with his brother tells

RETURN OF BROOK TO NIAGARA—ARMISTICE.

51

the tale in his own cheery and modest way.* He knew that he
was surrounded. An unconscious lion in the toils, he had torn the
meshes to atoms in one direction, and beheld with fearless eye the
fire and the steel in his rear, and on his flank. He would neutralize numbers by activity and vim. In one week he would have
swept the whole American frontier from Buffalo to Fort Niagara ;
he would have dispersed the reluctant and imperfect levies there
formed, and have destroyed the then insufficient armaments.
Such a blow, struck at that time, would have pacified that frontier,
averted two years of desolation and misery, and have secured for
nobler deeds his own invaluable life. Nor was this all. This blow
was to have been followed up by a stroke at Sackett's Harbour,
the standing menace to Central Canada, just then wakening into
armed life, and pregnant with so much of annoyance and humiliation in after years. By the middle of September the enemy would
have been anticipated at every point, and Upper Canada would
have been safe. Rough lessons such as these might have inculn.
cated reason, and the war itself would have collapsed.
Such, or like unto these, were the patriotic plans of Brock,
when, on the waters of Lake Erie, conveyed by the British armed
schooner The Lady Prevost, he encountered the demon of obstruction in the shape of an armistice. The British Orders in Council,
the ostensible cause of the war, had been revoked by an Order in
Council of the 23rd June, seven days after war had been declared
by Congress ; and so impressed was the British government with a
firm belief in American moderation, and in the peaceful efficacy of
the remedy exhibited, that on receipt of the intelligence they
merely directed that " American ships and goods should be brought
in and detained until further orders," t and "forbore from issuing
• Life and Correspondence of Brock, p. 102.
Vide Orders in Council, October 13, 1812, and 23 June, 1812.