Title

Chapter 9

Identifier

http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?b=1&ref=oo&id=298164

page

108-113

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

DISEMBARKATION-DESTRUCTION OF 8TH GRENADIERS

108

CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

occupied the woods on the west side of the town, skirmishing to
ascertain the precise place of landing.
An eyewitness has described the scene. The American fleet,
in beautiful order, bore down before a fresh breeze which carried
them beyond the intended point of disembarkation. They had

fallen to the southwest as far as the eastern extremity of Humber
Bay, ere the ships of war rounded to, and brought their heavy
broadsides to bear on the shore. Sail was rapidly taken in, the
boats assembled under cover of the vessels,—men promptly embarked, and the stalwart rowers,—the best seamen in the American
service,—bent ready to the oar.
By this time McNeil, assured of the point of descent, had
brought his men down the shore road, and had drawn them up in
line, on the top of the bank which bounds the western side of
Humber Bay, a startling red line, right in front of the American
batteries, and at half cannon shot from the muzzle of the guns.
It was a dauntless, but desperate expedient, " eVait bien ma gnifique, mais ee n' etait pas la guerre." The first American broadside swept the men down like grass before the scythe. Under cover
of their broadsides, amid the din and smoke, the American boat's
crews dashed to the shore.
The disembarkation was well handled. So soon as the keels
touched ground, the riflemen under Forsyth, sore with recollections
of Ogdensburg, were overboard, in the water, up the bank, down
among the bushes, invisible, except where the rapid puffs of white
smoke bespoke their fatal presence. The boats backed off instantaneously, and returned for reinforcements. McNeil himself
and the greater part of his brave grenadiers had been killed by
the first cannonade ; the remnant, scattered and shattered, fell back
from before the lashing fire, and the American rifles, alWays desparately resisted, held their own. A bitter, skirmishing fight
ensued among the trees. But the eager reinforcements hurried to

109

the shore. General Pike of the American army, an officer of
repute, landed in the rear of the riflemen, at the head of a division
at least 1000 strong, and the torn relics of the British detachment,—the reliquice Danaum, slowly fell back upon the town.
Meanwhile, Sheaffe had collected his stores, dispatched his convoys, and ordered his retreat upon Kingston. The light company
—

of the King's regiment, an additional reinforcement for Niagara,
was rapidly approaching from that direction, and afforded opportune
support. The ship and the dockyard, and a large quantity of
marine stores were destroyed,—much removed ; the residue, for the
most part indestructible in material, fell finally into the hands of
the enemy.
General Pike, on his part, had pushed forward, feeling his way
through the bush, and fighting with an enemy who defended every
tree. His advance was slow but steady. At about 2 P. M., he
emerged from the forest in the rear of the old French Fort and
insignificant harbour defences. The fleet having effected the disembarkation weighed anchor and stood up into the harbour itself.
The simplicity of this operation proves all practical defence to have
been impossible, and that any more protracted resistance would
have doomed the town. The American troops pushed on and soon
enveloped the Fort. It contained at this time within its enceinte
the government or " King's House," some public offices, the usual
complement of barracks and store houses, and a powder magazine,
built into the bank on the lake shore. This must have been a
recent structure, as Brock, in 1811, complained that " the only
powder magazine was a small wooden shed only sixty yards from
the King's House." For safety's sake this dangerous appendage
had been removed to a strong stone building constructed in the
water front of the Fort.
The Americans swarmed into the works, fiery with fighting, and
flushed with success, when, suddenly—with the crash and concussion

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CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

of an earthquake,—the powder magazine exploded at their feet,
spreading havoc through their ranks. Of the assailants 250 were
instantaneously killed or wounded ; of the defenders many perished.

SHEAFFE RETIRES—RUIN OF PROPERTY—DR. STRACHAN. 111

ston. Such are the facts, the inferences are left to the judgment
of every intelligent man, soldier or not.
•

*

* Si quid novisti rectius istis

Candidus imperti, si non, his utere mecum.
Up to the sky, like rockets, go
All that mingle there below :
Many a tall and goodly man,
Scorched and shrivelled to a span,
When he fell to earth again,
Like a cinder, strewed the plain.
When in cradled rest they lay,
And each nursing mother smiled
On the sweet sleep of her child,
Little thought she such a day
Would rend those tender limbs away.

Pike had pushed on to the front and was in the act of questioning a militia soldier, one Joseph Shepherd, whose family still reside
in the township of York, when—with a flash and eddying smoke—
the infernal blast swept through the air. A heavy mass of stone
struck the General down. In like manner, Shepherd was crushed
at his side, and was borne off in the arms of his relative and fellow soldier, Joseph Dennis, now of Buttonwood, Weston. The
gallant general and more humble soldier, both died of the injuries
received, within a few hours, victims alike in the cause of their
respective countries.
The contest itself was stayed by this catastrophe ; it had endured for eight hours. The surviving troops had withdrawn, well
covered and unmolested by the enemy ; all that could be done had
been done, and York capitulated through the local officers of militia.
What remained of the public stores was surrendered, two hundred
and sixty-four militia men laid down their arms. Sheaffe left behind
him of the regulars 62 killed, 72 wounded ; one wounded officer
with one sergeant major and four men of the artillery, prisoners of
war ; and fell back deliberately and without obstruction upon King-

*It is painful to relate that the American army shamefully abused
its success, and perpetrated acts of vandalism, which at a later
period, and in a distant scene, entailed just retribution.
The details cannot be given more effectively, than in the vigorous
language of the Rev. Dr. Strachan, D.D., now the venerable
Bishop of Toronto, who in a letter addressed to Thomas Jefferson,
Esquire, of Monticello, ex-president of the United States of America, and dated York, 30th January, 1815, expressed himself as
follows : —" In April, 1813, the public buildings at York, the capital of Upper Canada, were burnt by the troops of the United
States, contrary to the articles of capitulation. They consisted of
two elegant halls, with convenient offices, for the accommodation
of the Legislature and of the Courts of Justice. The library, and
all the papers and records belonging to these institutions were consumed ; at the same time the church was robbed, and the town
library totally pillaged. Commodore Chauncey, who has generally
behaved honourably, was so ashamed of this last transaction, that
he endeavoured to collect the books belonging to the public library,
and actually sent back two boxes filled with them, but hardly any
were complete. Much private property was plundered and several
houses left in a state of ruin. Can you tell me, Sir, why the public
buildings and the library at Washington should be held more sacred
than those at York ?"*
We have here the testimony of an eyewitness, whose evidence
is beyond challenge. There is not in Canada a man whose career
has been more thoroughly dovetailed into the moral structure of
* Vide

Appendix No. 1. Letter from Dr. Strachan to Thomas Jefferson,
Esquire, in extenso.
•

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CHRONICLE OF THE WAR.

society, in welfare and in sorrow, than that of John, the revered
Bishop of Toronto. From a beginning of noble humility, by dint of
talent and honest energy, he now adorns the episcopate. Sixtyfour years since, in the grand field of educational labour, he struggled with, and mastered a rugged soil, which has rendered noble
increase. It was his great privilege, to have modelled the minds
and characters of the men, who have since made the country, and
who have left upon its broad surface, the " tower mark " of sterling. Whatever differences of opinion may have been, at times,
entertained as to his course, that course has ever been straightforward, truthful, and uncompromising ; and at the age of eighty-five he
enjoys, in the lusty winter of his years, the well earned respect and
esteem of all classes of men in Canada. His testimony on the
subject of the severities, persistently exercised by the American
armies, is unimpeachable. His remarkable letter will be found at

CHAPTER X.
American programme. Modification: Fall of York. NeWitrir threatened. Description
of Newark. Fort Niagara. Fort George. Climate and country. La Salle. Sketch
of his exploits. Discovers the Mississippi. Fort George burnt. Rebuilt by
Denton;
vine. Colonel Dongan, Governor of the Province of Nevr York; objects to the building of a Fort at " Ohniagro." Baron de Longueuil—Record of this family. Fort
Niagara taken by the British, 1759. Surrendered to United States, 1796. Upper
Canada created a separate Province, 1791. Governor Simcoe. His career. Newark
his capital. Visit of Duke of Kent, 1793. Compared with that of Prince of Wales,
1860.

The programme of the American ciiiiiinanderd ha at &it
embraced the reduction of Kingston, itnrk, and VOit: George or
Newark. The attack on Kingston- had been abandoned; York
-

length in the Appendix.
Again, after the tragic scenes which have been narrated, came
the farce. The Americans occupied some days in removing the
naval and military stores. The commanders found solace in the
composition of despatches and in the compilation of catalogues.
The " spolia opima " were all duly recorded, but the sensational
'trophy of the day, embalmed in a special report from the innocent
seaman in command on lake Ontario, was " a human scalp"
alleged to have been found " suspended from the chair of the
speaker of the House of Assembly." The official circles at York
were a little scandalized and more amused at this announcement ;
by some it was regarded simply as a mauvaise plaisanterie, others
it puzzled, but at last it eked out, that the shocking trophy so loudly
paraded, was in reality a periwig,—an official peruke, dropped in
the confusion, and transported in triumph to Washington, to find a
place by the side of the " stand of colours " captured in the wigwam of the Indian interpreter at St. Mg is.
The Americans evacuated York on the 2nd May, 1813.

-

had succumbed ; and Newark, distant only' a few hours' `sail, un
supported and indefensible, lay at their mercy.
Contrary winds, however, thwarted all endeavours, and they did
not arrive off the coast of Niagara before the 8th of May. They
disembarked at the mouth of a streamlet known as Four-mile
Creek, on the American shore of Lake Ontario, and, as its name
implies, situate about four miles to the east of Fort Niagara:
Here, for nearly three weeks; the expedition lingered, whili
Chauncey was employed in removing his wounded to Sackett'i
Harbour, and in transporting from thence reinforcementi and heavy
ordnance, preparatory to the attack on the British position at Fort
George.
We may occupy the interval' by dekribing tlie main features of
this part of Canada.
-

-

a

The mouth of the river Niagara afford4'On° of the finest harbours
.