Discover 1812

St. Lawrence EMC, January 14, 2010

by Roy Lewis

Three St. Lawrence River communities - Brockville, Gananoque and Ogdensburg - are now peaceful but such was not the case almost two hundred years ago.

Those settlements and others along the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes were to become directly involved in a much-wider conflict called the War of 1812. There were three war-related incidents in Leeds and Grenville when an American raiding party pounced on the settlement of Gananoque and a village further downriver, which would later become Brockville, and British-led troops stationed in Prescott retaliated by attacking Ogdensburg.

As the 200th anniversary of the war will occur in 2012, a local group has joined with other organizations to call attention to the significance of the conflict in which the relatively-new United States of America tried to wrestle control of British North America (now Canada) away from Britain. The U.S. was thwarted from its goal by brilliant military commanders, First Nation allies and determined militia or part-time soldiers. The war basically ended in a stalemate with conquered territories being returned to the opposing sides but the conflict helped forge what was to become the Canadian identity.

Although a commemoration of the War of 1812, the bicentennial will also be a celebration of 200 years of friendship that has since existed between the U.S. and Canada. Regional communities are expected to pursue a range of initiatives, including special events, educational activities and lasting legacy projects.

Plans are now under way for re-enactments, music performances, plays, international seminars and a number of signature events, including infrastructure improvements designed to attract thousands of visitors to the St. Lawrence region.

This spirit of co-operation did not exist in the early 1800s when another war raging in Europe was to have profound effects on North America. Starting in 1803, Britain was once again battling the French Empire, this time being led by Napoleon Bonaparte. As part of its battle strategy in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain used its powerful navy to blockade trade to France including goods being shipped from the United States. More friction was caused when the British navy stopped American ships and took their sailors to serve in the Royal Navy.

And the U.S. was also upset that Britain was supporting First Nations peoples who were attempting to block American expansion into the northwest regions of the original Thirteen Colonies. With Britain preoccupied in its war with France and because of their other grievances, president James Madison and the U.S. declared war on Britain on June 18 of 1812.

The war was fought between warships from both sides on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Britain tried to blockade American seaports along the Atlantic Seaboard. Fierce land battles were fought along the Niagara River and ships from the two sides clashed on Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Both minor and major battles were fought in southwestern Ontario in the Windsor region and along the St. Lawrence River.

Gananoque was the first area community to be caught up in the war. In Sept. of 1812, Major Benjamin Forsyth of the 1st U.S. Rifle regiment attacked the town. A detachment of the 2nd Leeds militia, under the command of Colonel Joel Stone, founder of the community, offered some resistance but then withdrew. The Americans seized supplies, burned the government depot and then left.

Just a few months later, Forsyth again attacked a St. Lawrence River community. On Feb. 7, 1813, Forsyth led a force of 200 regular soldiers and militia from Morristown, N.Y. across the frozen St. Lawrence River and attacked Elizabethtown (Brockville). The village was garrisoned by a company of Leeds militia who, taken by surprise, could offer no resistance. The raiders released prisoners from the jail, took a quantity of arms, horses and cattle and carried off a number of residents.

COUNTER ATTACK

Lieutenant Colonel "Red George" Macdonell, commander of British troops at the original Fort Wellington in Prescott, was so enraged by these attacks he petitioned Sir George Prevost, Captain General and Governor in Chief of British North America (Canada) to attack the Americans. Prevost refused the request but Macdonell took matters into his own hands and, on Feb. 22 a little over two weeks after the attack on Brockville, took nearly 500 soldiers across the ice and attacked Ogdensburg. After an intense battle, the American forces in Ogdensburg left the town. Although carried out against orders, Macdonell's expulsion of U.S. soldiers from Ogdensburg helped to secure the British supply route along the St. Lawrence River.

Three other military engagements took place in this region during the war. In early Nov. of 1813, an American army of about 8,000 soldiers left Sackets Harbour at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and proceeded down the St. Lawrence River. It was the intent of the American forces to lead a two-prong attack on Montreal to cut off Upper Canada (Ontario) from the other British territories in North America. At John Crysler's farm (now the site of Upper Canada Village east of Morrisburg), a force of British regular troops, Mohawks from Tyendinaga, Canadian Fencibles, Canadian Voltigeurs and Dundas County militia, took up a defensive position to meet the Americans. After the hard-fought battle, the Americans withdrew and ultimately gave up their efforts to attack Montreal.

A year earlier, near the False Duck Islands in eastern Lake Ontario, off what is now the community of Bath west of Kingston, a seven-ship American fleet attacked the Royal George, a British corvette. The Royal George mounted 22 cannons and, at the time, was the largest British warship on Lake Ontario. The British warship escaped into the Bay of Quinte and then returned to Kingston. There, the Americans tried again to capture the corvette but broke off the attack after cannons from the Royal George and shore batteries fired on the U.S. ships.

Following the defeat of Napoleon, Britain no longer had the need to force American sailors into service aboard its ships. As with all wars, the conflict was costly for both sides and the struggle was more or less stalemated. The Treaty of Ghent, ratified by the U.S. on Feb. 16, 1815, ended hostilities. Parts of Ontario, captured by the U.S., were returned to Britain which in turn gave back portions of Maine occupied during the conflict.

After the war, British military planners decided to substantially increase fortifications in Upper Canada, first by building the Rideau Canal to bypass the vulnerable St. Lawrence River route and send supplies from Montreal to Ottawa and then to Kingston. The canal, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was completed in 1832 but was never used for war. Also completed that same year was Fort Henry designed to form a formidable obstacle to any American forces intent on capturing the strategic British naval base at Kingston.

The last British naval vessel, the gunboat HMS Radcliffe, was built at the Kingston dockyards in 1817. The Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817 between the U.S. and Great Britain disarmed all existing war ships on the Great Lakes and banned the construction of new warships in the region. The hulk of the Radcliffe, found in the shallows of Brown's Bay west of Brockville, was raised and is now conserved in a separate building within St. Lawrence Islands National Park at Mallorytown Landing.

MARKING BICENTENNIAL

While commemorative activities of the war are being planned in six designated areas in Ontario, the St. Lawrence War of 1812 Bicentennial Alliance is leading events in this region. Consisting of various community and tourism leaders from both sides of the St. Lawrence River, the alliance covers an area from Cornwall on the east to Adolphustown (near Napanee) on the west.

"One of the primary purposes of the alliance is to encourage the effective facilitation of bicentennial celebrations for The War of 1812, working co-operatively with area attractions, partners and municipal, provincial and federal government agencies," said Jan Bonhomme, executive director of the alliance.

The St. Lawrence Alliance Board, consisting of 14 members, has been joined by 20 advisory committee volunteers representing heritage organizations, tourism destination marketing organizations, museums, area attractions and chambers of commerce according to Bonhomme who successfully co-ordinated the 2007 International Plowing Match in Crosby. Several committees, including community development, education, events and legacy projects, have been established by Pat Macdonald, chair of the St. Lawrence Alliance Board.

"We are anxious for volunteers to contribute and hope that interested parties will come forward to join our efforts to promote heritage tourism and broaden the understanding of the historic importance of Eastern Ontario in the war," said Macdonald.

"Our board is very excited about promoting the bicentennial and the St. Lawrence region to thousands of new visitors and we are anxious to get all parties involved in this community-wide effort to raise the profile of Eastern Ontario," said Bonhomme.

A group in Gananoque is working towards the construction of a blockhouse in time for the start of the bicentennial in 2012 and volunteers in Bath are already planning a spectacular naval and land re-enactment of the Escape of the Royal George spanning the Bath and Kingston waterfronts. A photographer has been engaged to prepare photographs for a regional map showcasing special events and historic battles.

"The St. Lawrence War of 1812 Bicentennial Alliance will not put on events but rather facilitate and support activities organized by the various participants in the celebration," said Bonhomme.

The Ontario Ministry of Tourism recently announced it was contributing $23 million towards the staging of the celebrations across the province. Some of these funds will be used to make improvements at various historical sites in this area. It is estimated that the celebrations could generate upwards of $3 million in tourism for this region alone.

More information about the St. Lawrence War of 1812 Bicentennial Alliance can be obtained by contacting Jan Bonhomme at 613-272-3200 or email info@celebrate1812.com.

Source: St. Lawrence EMC