Title

Chapter 16

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298172

page

174-181

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

174

MONTREAL IN 1812-1840-1864.

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

spectator, an area of three miles, by one and a half. In midriver lies the umbrageous island of St. Helen's—half park, half
arsenal, glistening in the morning sun, like an emerald set in gold.
The St. Lawrence, a mile and a half wide at the narrowest, extends
east and west as far as the eye can reach, covered with ships fresh
from the ocean, and by steamers numberless, leaving on the wind
their murky trail. In mid-landscape, that architectural marvel,
the Victoria Bridge, spans the river, in all its strength and beauty;
and the ear can detect the roar of each passing train whifh rushes
through its iron ribs. Beyond, the rail-tracks wind through a
champaign country, settled for two centuries, where farm houses
and farm buildings line the roads like streets, rich in population
and rustic wealth ; while in the distance the twin mountains of
Beloeil and Montarville, sites even more picturesque than their
names, rise from the plain, insulce of beauty amid a sea of verdure.
But•the eye can hardly tear itself from the scene of cultivation
close around. The slopes of the mountain, and the rich alluvial
soil at its foot, are one entire garden. Villas and pleasure grounds
cover the hill-side. A beautiful reservoir, cleft out of the rock,
glitters in the sunlight, with all the formal beauty of a paysage by
Watteau—the costumes and gay colours of the present day heightening the illusion—and imparts health and freshness to the city spread
beneath. In the distant valleys, the agricultural skill of the English
farmer combines with the minuteness and precision of the old French
style of gardening to create a scene
Ever changing, ever new :
When will the landscape tire the view ?
The fountain's fall ; the river's flow;
The woody valley, warm and low ;
The windy summit, wild and high—
Roughly reaching to the sky ;
The pleasant seat ; the ruined tower ;
The naked rock ; the shady bower ;

175

The town—the village—dome—and farm :
Each gives to each a double charm—
Like pearls upon an Ethiop's arm.

40,

But the spectator from the hill-top, or the frequenter of St. James
Street, or of the Rue Notre Dame, must not suppose that in 1812
things were as they are now. Not for twenty-five years later, did a
civic government provide for the wants of advancing civilization; not
for twenty-five years, did gas-lights, or pavements, or hydrants exist.
The long line of banks and stately edifices which now adorn St.
James Street, rise from an abandoned graveyard, which in 1812,
was bounded by the crumbling city defenses. Fortification Lane
was the foot of the town wall ; Craig Street was the town ditch ;
beyond, on the upland, were country houses and orchards. In
1812 the Rue Notre Dame, now flashing with plate-glass and piled
stores of jewelry and brocade, was a narrow street of low, cozy
Canadian houses, one story and a half high—the sancta of much
genial grace and of unbounded hospitality. The nocturnal reveller
—and there was a good deal of revelry in those days—who slipped
off the disjointed stones, mis-called trottoir, plunged mid-leg in mud, in
the palpable darkness, without hope of refuge in a street-railway car,
or of help from a sleepy policeman. The modest old Catholic parish
church, which in early days gave a Catholic welcome to the houseless Protestant congregations,*stood lengthwise in front of the present

*The Hon. Samuel Gerrard, who at the age of ninety years, retained a vivid
recollection of events coeval with the conquest, was wont to dwell with
pleasure on the catholicity of the Catholic population and Priesthood of that
time. Under the terms of the capitulation, if they had had any ill feeling to
gratify, they might have been as exclusive as they pleased ; but obeying a noble
inspiration they offered the use of their church to other Christian denominations, and it received all members of the Christian family, until other provision
was made. The benevolent influence of their first impulse has descended to
the present generation, and pervades a whole
community. There is not in

DISTRICT QYLIIIOXTREAL—VIEW PROM MAUL
i76

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

noble church of Noire Danie—grand in design, though somewhat
marred by a too great severity of style. Those splendid wharves,
faced with miles of cut stone, unequalled in America, and rivalled
only in Europe by the docks
Petersburg, have replaced a nauseous bank, heaped with filth and
garbage; and a muddy islet, the receptacle of drift-wood and
drowned animals ; and a turbid stream, from whence the strongest
swimmer never rose. Montreal of the present day, with its palatial
residences,—its places of public resort,—markets numerous, convenient and ornamental,—with its cathedrals, churches, colleges,
and convents,—with its multiplied institutions and social improvements,—with a, population of 100,000 souls, is as superior to the
Montreal of 1840, as the Montreal of 1840 was in advance of
1812 ; and yet at that time Montreal was the commercial heart
Canada; the fountain of supply ; the focus of mercantile energy

of
and wealth ; and was regarded as the grand end and aim—the
promised prize of--American conquest.
It was then universall•believed in the United States that the
fall of Montreal would entail the subjugation of Canada. This
opinion may be questioned. Situated at the head of navigation
from the ocean, and at the foot of all the channels of communication with the upper country, the temporary occupation of Montreal
would doubtless have compelled all the western garrisons to fall
back upon Kingston ; but the force concentrated at the latter
point, would have sufficed to keep at bay the American army
then in the field, reduced, as it must have been, by detachments.
community more devoid of the vices and bigotry of sectarianism
Christendom a
than that of Montreal. It is not that men of different persuasions tolerate each
other—they unite in kindly and cordial feeling, socially, and in all matters of
public concern. In matters of faith all claim liberty of conscience ; and, without derogating from their own opinions, respect the liberty they claim,

not interfering with th'ose of others.

by

177

And it may be doubted whether the army from Western Canada,
descending the St. Lawrence, might not have invested the invader, in a false position, on the wrong side of a wide river—which
they could not bridge, and British gun-boats would soon command.
The possession of Montreal would, no doubt, facilitate an attack
upon Quebec. It had offered this facility to Amherst, in 1759-60 ;
and to Montgomery, in 1775-76. And yet Quebec would have
never fallen but for Wolfe's triumphant daring. Montgomery
failed. And so long as the climate in winter, and the British navy
in summer, command the St. Lawrence, Quebec is safe.
Montreal was, indeed, in dangerous proximity to the American
frontier, at a point where a large force could easily be placed within
striking distance. Forty-five miles from Montreal, ci vol d'oiseau,
is the line which divides the State of New York from Lower Canada
It is commonly known as the " Line Forty-five," being on that parallel
of latitude, established by treaty as the frontier of the two countries.
This line intersects the head of Lake Champlain at Rouse's Point,
where the lake narrows to a river, which, assuming there the name
of the Richelieu, passes through the most fertile district of French
Canada, and disembogues into the St. Lawrence at Sorel. The
territory fertilized by this river is rich as the Delta of the Nile.
It is a wide alluvial flat. It was long regarded as the garden of
Canada. It was seized upon, at once, with instinctive appreciation,
and settled by the first French settlers of the country. The tourist,
who will scale the top of Beloail, sees around him a striking panorama. The main roads appear to radiate from the foot of the
mountain. The farms, on the old seigniorial system, are laid off,
right and left of these roads, with a front of three acres by a depth
of thirty. The farm-houses and buildings on every lot, for convenience and mutual assistance in winter, front on the road. These
.

houses—red-roofed, delicately whitewashed, kept with remarkable

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

RICHELIEU COUNTY-LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

neatness—surrounded by gardens and foliage, and well arranged
fields, chequer the whole country. For miles and miles extend
these vistas of dwellings, with a village church, its steeple glittering
in the sunlight, and a modest presbytêre interpolated on the land-

was argued pertinently enough—Why waste men and money upon
distant frontiers ? strike at the vitals, and paralyze the extremities.
Capture Montreal, and you starve de Rottenburg and Proctor. In
Montreal your troops will find winter quarters and English Christmas cheer. As the Cabool prince remarked at Calcutta, rubbing
his hands with the leer of a freebooter—"A splendid place : ah, yes !
a splendid place to plunder." The fields on the Richelieu would
forage and feed an army, more plentifully than the plains of the
Low Countries.

178

scape, every three leagues. The character of the population is in
keeping with the scene. The French Canadian is eminently a
gregarious animal, attached to his habitats. He hopes to live and
die within sound of the bell which rang at his baptism. He is
attached to his fellows, to his institutions, his language, his religion;
he is attached to his priesthood—who by their exemplary lives and
their care, temporal as well as spiritual, deserve all his love. He
is social and hospitable, courteous and courtly. The manners of the
vieille tour are still to be found among the habitants of Canada,
and invest the females of the race with an indescribable charm.
But his attachment to the past makes him indifferent to the future.
He is slow in improvement ; and in the great race of human progress is exposed to be left behind. And yet, those who have known
these people for twenty years, can bear witness to an advance,
which, although it might be accelerated to their advantage, promises
much. Education has made great strides. That which was regarded
as an imposition, is now esteemed a privilege. In the small towns
and villages, and even in the farNhouses, is seen a manifest
increase in the comforts, the conveniences, the elegancies, and
luxuries of life ; and with them, an increased independence of
character. Men think more for themselves, and are less easily led.
Time was, when they were docile to a fault ; but upon occasions,
they have shown all the vivida vis of a gentle nature. When roused
they are stern to savageness.
The possessions of such a people were inviting to an invader—as
the flesh-pots of Egypt. The government of the United States had,
for long, honored this part of Canada with special attention. To Mr.
Secretary Armstrong, Montreal was as the apple of his eye. It

179

These counsels carried with them great weight ; and it will be
seen' that for the remainder of the campaign, the capture of
Montreal was the grand end and crowning object of American
strategy. In furtherance of this scheme the cabinet of Washington
assembled a large force on Lake Champlain. This lake runs due
north and south ; and divides the State of New York from the
State of Vermont. It is in length 130 miles, by a width of from
one to fifteen. It is one great link in the chain of communication
between the city of New York and the banks of the St. Lawrence.
The Champlain canal, which connects the southern extremity of the
lake with the River Hudson, was not commenced until 1818 ; nor
could the proverbial ingenuity of the race in its wildest imagination have conceived the, the network of American railroads
which now converge on Rouse's Point. But, long before the introduction of the rail, the internal channels of communication had greatly
improved. In 1812 the country between Albany and Whitehall,
about 80 miles, was open and cultivated ; the roads the best in
America ; the Hudson afforded 140 miles of uninterrupted navigation, and Lake Champlain supplied the rest.
What Loughrig tarn is among the lakelets of North Britain, such
is Lake Champlain to the lakes of North America. It is a perfect
gem. The coast scenery of Erie and Ontario is comparatively
tame : though undulating, it is in general aspect flat—a rich alluvial

180

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

margin, acquired to the land in the course of ages, by the gradual
retrogression of the water. But the coast of Lake Champlain rises
rapidly into upland, backed on both shores by mountain peaks,
which, if of no great altitude, are most beautiful in shape and
grouping. The waters are pure and deep, and studded with lovely
isles. The alternate coasts, never lost to view, are dotted over with
villages, and homesteads, and farms ; and teem with flocks and
herds, and elaborate cultivation. The cities of Burlington and
Plattsburg adorn its shores ; and Ticonderoga and Crown Point,
associated with tales of Indian stratagem, and of the old French
wars, impart pictorial beauty and historical interest to the Mrican,
immortalized by the pen of Cooper.
At the time when General Dearborn retired into winter quarters,
in 1812, he had under his command, on Lake Champlain, an army
of at least 12,000 men. This fine force was partially moved to
Sackett's Harbor ; and frittered away in the spring in the raid
upon York and the empty acquisition of Fort George, to the great
dissatisfaction of the Government at Washington. But on the
retirement of this officer, the commander in the field concurred
with the cabinet. In the summer of 1813 about 6,000 men were
collected at Burlington and Plattsburg; and extensive barracks were
prepared for the reception of troops at these points—at Champlain
in New York, and Swanton in Vermont. Commodore Macdonough,
with a force of seamen from the seaboard, was actively engaged in
fitting out a naval armament on the Lake. These preparations
bespoke their object. The aspect of affairs on this frontier was very
menacing.

CHAPTER XVII.
•
Sir George Prevost and Sir James Craig—Sir James a good man but obdurate—Sir George
politic and useful—He identifies himself with the people—They support him and British
rule—The Legislature legalize the issue of army bills, and vote additional militia
forces—Exchequer Bills—Sir George prepares for defence—English Volunteers.—
French Militia—The two people incline to different systems of enrolment—Both readily
unite against common enemy—Isle aux Noix—Attempt made to surprise this post—
Capture of American schooners Growler and Eagle—Reprisals—Officers and men of
H. M. brig of war, Wasp, transferred to Lake Champlain—Plattsburg, Swanton, Champlain, destroyed—Burlington challenged—Blockade of the seaboard by the British—
Increased American strength on the Lakes.

Sir George Prevost, necessarily resident at Quebec, the seat of
Government, retained the chief military command in Lower Canada.
In 1811 he had succeeded in the government a man of great talent
and energy—eminent for his services in Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America ; but unsuccessful in Canada. Sir James Craig was an
honest man and a brave soldier ; but he had governed soldiers all his
life, and his ideas of government squared with the rules of discipline.
He had none of the flexibility of character which constitutes a successful administrator under a constitutional system. He came at
once into collision with the legislature. And in those days there
was no responsible council to fend off the blow of the batteringram. The assembly humbly prayed to be allowed to defray the
expenses of the civil list. The prayer had doubtless a double
object : the privilege to pay inferred a right to discharge and the
alternative was ominous to some of Sir James' advisors. But the
request was reasonable ; and Sir James was wrong in refusing
to lay it at the foot of the throne. His acts were maliciemly, and