Marc Liebman's Blog, page 7

The Spanish Spy Wilkinson Strikes Again

Most know that Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. Most don’t know that Burr, who was Jefferson’s first vice president, was a compromise choice in the election of 1800  (See 11/6/2022 Post – America’s Most Contentious Election – https://marcliebman.com/americas-most-contentious-election/ ) and then dumped by Jefferson when he ran for re-election in 1804.

Like many Americans, Burr left his native New York and moved west, leasing 40,000 acres along the Ouachita River in Louisiana. His stated purpose was to bring settlers with him to create a militia that could be called upon to defend the area should the Spanish want to move north and west out of western Florida.

Burr’s real plan was to invade Mexico and end Spanish rule. He would become the king of a constitutional monarchy.

To help with his scheme, Burr contacted the governor of the Louisiana Territory James Wilkinson. Once he understood Burr’s plan, Wilkinson was afraid that his role in helping Burr would expose his spying for Spain and decided to tell both the Spanish and President Jefferson.

Considering that Burr had been a U.S. Senator and the Vice President of the United States, this plan was seen as treasonous by President Jefferson. A warrant for Burr’s arrest was issued. The charge was treason. Twice, Burr turned himself, and twice he was released because local judges believed his actions were legal.

In fear of being arrested again, Burr headed toward Spanish Florida but was caught on February 19th, 1807, in what is now Wakefield, AL. During his trial for treason in Richmond, VA, Burr’s letters to the British and Spanish ambassadors were presented in court as evidence.

The prosecution tried to introduce a letter at the trial purported to be a copy of one Burr wrote saying he planned to steal land from the Louisiana Territory to sell and use the proceeds to fund his expedition into Mexico. It turned out that the letter was written by Wilkinson, who claimed it was a copy of the actual document. The jury didn’t buy it, and the letter was tossed out as evidence.

Despite the letters and the testimony of one witness who stated Burr wanted to fund a revolution that would toss the Spanish out of Mexico, there was no other concrete evidence. Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution clearly defines what is required to gain a conviction for treason. It states Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

None other than Chief Justice John Marshall presided at the trial. Since not only were there no witnesses, much less than the two required by the Constitution, Burr was acquitted in September 1807.

However, the Jefferson administration immediately charged Burr with violation of the Neutrality Act of 1794. This was a misdemeanor, and again, Burr was acquitted.

Jefferson was furious. Throughout both trials, Jefferson used all his political influence as president to influence the jury and get Marshall to rule in ways that would gain a conviction. Marshall refused.

Now heavily in debt and his political career in shambles, Burr fled to England where he lived in London until 1812. When he returned to the U.S., he lived on Staten Island, NY under the name of Edwards to avoid creditors. Burr died in NY in 1836.

Bust of VP Aaron Burr created in 1893 by Jacques Jouvenal.

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U.S. Army Commander Who Was Also a Spanish Spy

When discussing spies, the names John Walker, Aldrich Ames, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg come to mind. There are others, and while they all hurt the United States military, none of the above were the commanders of one of the branches.

James Wilkinson was. He served admirably in the Continental Army during the siege of Boston, and during the attempted invasion of Canada in 1776 he commanded troops under Benedict Arnold before becoming General Gates aide during the Battle of Saratoga. Ultimately, he was cashiered out of the U.S. Army because he was part of a group that tried to convince the Continental Congress to replace Washington with Gates.

Wilkinson moved to Kentucky and in 1788, opposed the new constitution and led a campaign to create the Union of States. Few thought it was a good idea, so Wilkinson approached the Spanish Governor of the Louisiana Territory to grant him a tract of land near modern Vicksburg and a pension of $7,000 where he could live if the U.S. accused him of treason. The effort failed to create the Union of States.

When the new Legion of the United States was formed to fight the Native Americans in the Northwest Territories, George Washington chose Anthony Wayne over Wilkinson as its commander. (See Post #45 from 3/22/2020 The Legion of the United States – https://marcliebman.com/the-legion-of-the-united-states/). By now, Washington and others suspected Wilkinson of having ties to the Spanish government. They just didn’t have specifics, and therefore, Wilkinson could be considered as the Legion’s commander.

With his feelings hurt by Washington’s pick of Wayne over him, Wilkinson launched a campaign to discredit Wayne by filing complaints about anything that fancied Wilkinson. He also resumed his alliance with the Spanish government through the Spanish Governor of the Louisiana Territory – Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondet. When the U.S. intercepted a shipment of gold coins intended for Wilkinson, General Wayne began court-martial proceedings but died before the trial could begin. There has been speculation that Wilkinson poisoned Wayne, but no concrete evidence has surfaced.

The Army transferred Wilkinson to the Ohio Valley where he was tasked with forming a force in the Ohio Valley that could be called on to defend the area if attacked by the French or the Spanish during the Quasi-War with the French in 1798 – 1800. While he was doing this, he provided the plans to the Spanish. At the time, he was fourth in the Army’s chain of command which began with President Adams, Washington, who was no longer the president but was the General of the Army, Hamilton, and then Wilkinson.

Jefferson sent Wilkinson to New Orleans where he and the first Louisiana Territorial Governor, William Claiborne, “formally” took position of the Louisiana Territory. This gave Wilkinson the opportunity to resume his contacts with the Spanish and tipped them off about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and two others by giving them information on the composition and routes.

When Spain attempted to negotiate the Texas-Louisiana border, he received money from the Spanish in return for information on how to counter the American negotiating positions. James Wilkinson’s machinations and his ties to the Spanish didn’t end when he was appointed Governor General of Louisiana in 1805. They only got deeper when Wilkinson was in the center of a scandal involving former Vice President Aaron Burr. That is the subject of next week’s post.

1797 Painting by Charles Willson Peale of James Wilkinson.

 

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1795 Treaty of Greenville – Made But Not Honored

While many of the causes of the War of 1812 can be laid at the feet of the British policies toward the United States, we were also a contributor. In 1795, the United States signed a treaty with 12 Indian nations officially known as A treaty of peace between the United States of America and the tribes of Indians called the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanees, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pattawatimas, Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias.

The short name is the Treaty of Greenville because it was signed at Fort Greenville in Ohio. Greenville is about 30 miles northwest of Dayton.

The Treaty of Greenville, signed by George Washington, came about after the tribes listed above were decisively defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers by the U.S. Army under the command of General Anthony Wayne.

Through the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Britain ceded its land south of the Canadian border, east of the Mississippi to the Atlantic Ocean and north of Florida to the new United States of America. It also required the British to leave all territory given to the U.S.

Cynically, British (and other European) leaders believed the U.S. would fail and would soon be begging to rejoin the British Empire. Under the guise of maintaining trading relationships with the Indian tribes in what was known as the Northwest Territory (modern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio), the British encouraged and armed the Native American tribes to resist settlement by the Americans.

Now, to be fair, the British never asked the Native Americans if they could give their land to the new country called the United States, and the U.S. assumed, as per the treaty, that the land was theirs to settle.

With the Native Americans, the British had a lever it could use against the new United States.

The result of this policy was that the U.S. Army was sent to defeat the Indians, which it did at Fallen Timbers. Via the Greenville Treaty Line, the document delineated the land that Native Americans would retain and that which could be settled by American settlers. The Native Americans were given $20,000 (~$500,478 in October 2024) in manufactured goods and a promise of an annuity from the Federal government.

Through the Treaty of Greenvile, tribal leaders transferred the sovereign power of their territory to the U.S. government. They were granted use of their land if they didn’t harass or attack settlers. Other provisions gave the U.S. to establish forts within the land given to the Native Americans.

Unfortunately, General Wayne who promised to protect Native American interests died in 1796. His replacement, James Wilkinson allowed and encouraged settlers to move onto land given to the Native Americans.

His actions caused a disgruntled Tecumseh, who did not sign the treaty, to recreate the Indian Confederacy. Encouraged by promises that the British would continue to support his efforts to create a separate country, Tecumseh rebelled against the U.S. because settlers were moving onto what was, according to the Treaty of Greenville, Native American land.

Tecumseh was defeated at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 and didn’t give up the fight. He, as did many Native American tribes, fought alongside the British during the War of 1812. Tecumseh was killed in 1813.

The Native American cause took another blow because as part of the Treaty of Ghent, the British again agreed to leave the Northwest Territory and stop inciting the Native Americans. This time, they did.

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Jim Blythe Veterans Impact Show

Join us as Marc shares his extensive knowledge about the development of support organizations for veterans during WWII, the Reagan Admin, the crises in the VA, the Mission Act, PACT Act, and to present.

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Treaty of Ghent Reaffirms U.S. Independence

In early 1814, the war with the United States of America was not going according to the British plan. To wit:

Their invasion of New York was soundly defeated at Plattsburgh.The Royal Navy lost control of Lake Champlain and the Great Lakes to the U.S. Navy.After burning Washington, the British Army failed to capture Baltimore.At sea, U.S. privateers were on their way to capturing 13 – 15% of the British merchant fleet, causing problems within England, while the U.S. Navy was defeating Royal Navy ships more often than they lost.

In London, British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool wanted to send the Duke of Wellington to Canada to lead Britain to victory. At the time, Wellington was fresh from his victory against France in the Peninsula Campaign in Spain. Wellington refused, stating, “I think you have no right, from the state of war, to demand any concession of territory from America… You have not been able to carry it into the enemy’s territory, notwithstanding your military success, and now undoubted military superiority, and have not even cleared your own territory on the point of attack. You cannot on any principle of equality in negotiation claim a cession of territory except in exchange for other advantages which you have in your power… You can get no territory: indeed, the state of your military operations, however creditable, does not entitle you to demand any.”

After refusing attempts by the Tsar and King of Sweden to mediate a treaty, Lord Liverpool told his Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereigh, “I think we have determined if all other points can be satisfactorily settled, not to continue the war for the purpose of obtaining or securing any acquisition of territory.”

The British strategy had been to capture parts of Maine and much of the Northwest Territory and add it to Canada. By taking New Orleans, Britain believed it could force the U.S. to concede some or all of the Louisiana Purchase as part of a treaty. Acknowledging that England could not win in North America was a huge policy shift in Parliament, where many MPs wanted the Thirteen Colonies back.

Serious negotiations began in the Belgian city of Ghent in August 1814, and by December, the treaty had been signed by both sides. The treaty gave back any land taken by either side, returned ships captured that had not been sold or broken up, and ensured the return of all prisoners of war. It does not, however, require the British to return any of the ~25,000 American seamen who were impressed into the Royal Navy.

Articles Four, Five, Six and Seven set boundaries between Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and what will ultimately become Maine. Article Eight authorizes the countries to set up joint surveying teams to document the boundaries of the United States and Canada.

In Article Nine, the U.S. agreed to end its war against the Indian Confederacy, started by Tecumseh and funded and supported by the British. In return, the British agree to end their support of the native American tribes and withdraw all their troops from U.S. territory.

Article Ten committed both countries to end the slave trade and promote its abolition. Already, both countries had taken steps to end the slave trade by making it illegal in the U.S. While the importation of slaves into the U.S. stopped before the War of 1812 with a series of acts by Congress, the practice of slavery continued, unfortunately, until 1865 and led to the bloodiest war in U.S. history. In England, Slavery was abolished in 1834 but persisted in many of its colonies until much later.

While the Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812, it had far-reaching implications. It changed European government’s perception of the United States. No longer were we an experiment in government and a rebel nation with quaint ideas about democracy. Instead, we – the United States – were a force to be reckoned with.

Image is of the original first page of the Treaty of Ghent, courtesy of the National Archives.

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Decisive Battle of Plattsburgh

For the British, the calculus for the war with the Americans changed dramatically when Napoleon abdicated his throne on April 6th, 1814. The Treaty of Fontainebleau sent him into exile on Elba, an island in the Mediterranean between the Island of Sardinia and the west coast of Italy.

British merchants in Liverpool, Bristol, London, and other major cities pressured Lord Liverpool to make peace with their largest trading partner, the Americans. More political heat came from taxes soon being assessed to pay for the French Revolutionary and Napoleon Wars.

Further complicating matters for Lord Liverpool was that the British press and many voters demanded that the British Army and Royal Navy decisively defeat the Americans and end the war. In 1813, the British government rejected overtures from the Russian Tsar and the Swedish King to mediate a solution.

After its successful burning of Washington in August 1814, the Earl of Bathhurst, Secretary of State for War in the Colonies, ordered the Royal Navy and the British Army to capture Baltimore. To put more pressure on the Americans, troops from Europe were sent to Canada to launch an invasion of New York from the western side of Lake Champlain.

When the campaign began in August 1814, negotiations in the Dutch city of Ghent had been underway since June. The British hoped the invasion would give them more leverage during the peace talks.

In August 1814, 11,000 British and Canadian soldiers, under the command of Sir George Prévost, marched south down the west side of Lake Champlain. They could not use the lake since there was a strong U.S. Navy presence that could derail the campaign.

However, the British knew that control of Lake Champlain was critical to its success and launched a shipbuilding campaign to build up its naval strength on the lake. The Americans were also doing the same.

A fighting retreat by the outnumbered American delayed the British Army’s advance toward Plattsburgh. Prévost stopped north of the Saranac River and began to build fortifications. At the same time, he ordered Captain George Downie to attack the American ships under Commodore James Macdonough guarding the entrance to Plattsburgh Bay.

Macdonough, who had been operating on the lake for the better part of a year, understood the winds, which in September, could be fickle. Rather risking his ship’s becalmed in the middle of the lake, he anchored them in a line across Plattsburgh Bay. Each of his larger ships had additional lines tied to large trees and stakes in the ground on land so he could turn his ships without having to get underway.

The two naval forces were about equal. The Royal Navy had the newly completed Confiance, 36 guns; Linnet, 16 guns; Finch, 11 guns; and Chubb, 10 guns plus 12 gunboats. Facing Downie and the Royal Navy, Macdonough had Saratoga with 26 guns; Eagle with 20 guns; Ticonderoga with 14 guns; and Preble with 7 guns plus 10 gunboats.

Downie, on his flagship Confiance, led his squadron into the bay and turned to parallel the American line. Then the winds became light and variable, halting the movement of his ships.

Saratoga and Confiance pounded away at each other. Downie was killed and Macdonough managed to kedge his ship around to present an undamaged side and keep pummeling Confiance into submission. Linnet is crippled by fire from Eagle and surrenders. Chubb, hammered by accurate American cannon fire, hauls down its flag, and Finch surrenders to the U.S. Garrison on Crab Island in the center of Plattsburgh Bay. Facing heavy cannon fire from the Americans, the Royal Navy gunboats flee and never participate in the battle.

Prévost began his land attack after the naval battle began. But, when informed that the Downie was dead and the Royal Navy ships captured, he ordered his troops to stop the attack. The next day, he ordered a retreat to Montreal.

Besides losing four ships, the British Army and Royal Navy lost 939 men killed, wounded, captured, or deserted. The American casualties were only 220, 104 killed and 116 wounded.

The impact of the British defeat at Plattsburgh changed the British negotiating positions and on December 24th, just three weeks after the battle, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the War of 1812.

Map is by Benson Lossing and taken from his Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812.

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The Other Side of the Atlantic

When one studies the ramp-up to the War of 1812, one must look at what was happening in Europe to understand British foreign policy toward its former colony. Since 1808, England, Portugal, and Spain have been trying to push the French Army out of Portugal and Spain in what is known as the Peninsula War.

By early 1812, Portugal had been freed, and a British Army under Wellington had the French Army retreating. Then, on June 24th, 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia.

Understand, when Napoleon invaded Russia, he had already defeated the Prussian, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, and other armies and now controlled most of central Europe, i.e., modern-day German, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, parts of Italy, Poland, and more. Napoleon was implementing his reforms via the Napoleonic Code throughout his controlled territory.

Russia was the one remaining great land power that Napoleon had not defeated and forced to sign a peace treaty. Tsar Alexander I refused to stop trading with the British and was committed to restoring the Bourbon monarchy in France. Therefore, he would not sign a peace treaty unless that was a condition.

English foreign policy toward the United States was to ensure that, if it did not become an ally, it would remain neutral. However, English definition of neutrality included a “no trade” clause with nations with which it was at war, to wit, the France, Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Warsaw, and Denmark which in those days, included Norway.

The British Parliament passed a series of laws requiring any ship headed for Continental Europe to stop in an English port, be inspected for contraband, and pay customs fees before continuing to its destination. Those ships that did not comply would be seized.

To enforce this policy, the Royal Navy maintained a blockade of all French-controlled ports on its Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts throughout the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolutionary Wars.

Its ships were authorized to seize any ship sailing to Europe, bring it to a British port where a determination would be made as to whether the ship and cargo would be sold at auction or the vessel allowed to continue. Both the U.S. government and merchants vigorously protested this violation of Admiralty Law, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

By 1812, the U.S. economy had recovered from Jefferson’s Embargo Act of 1807. U.S. merchants were profiting from selling manufactured goods, food and raw materials to war ravaged Europe. The industrial revolution was well underway. On the way home, U.S. ships were filled with immigrants as well as goods that were not yet made in the U.S.

Worse, the “once an Englishman, always an Englishman,” mentality influenced British views of sailors on U.S.-flagged merchant ships. Remember, anyone born in the Thirteen Colonies before 1783 was an English citizen. In the eyes of the British government, they still were, even if they lived in a now independent country.

Add in the desperate need for manpower, and you have the policy of impressment which by 1812 had resulted in approximately 25,000 U.S. citizens who were “impressed,” a better word is kidnapped, into the Royal Navy. When the War of 1812 ended, less than 5,000 returned.

Lastly, some British leaders still believed the United States could be forced to return to the Empire. As such, it continued to assist Native Americans to resist the westward movement of settlers into land ceded to the U.S. by the Treaty of Paris. Tecumseh’s Indian Confederacy allied itself with the British who promised that when the U.S. was defeated, Tecumseh could form a nation on land that is now Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Canadian land bordering Lake Superior, Huron, Michigan and Ontario.

From one sitting in Westminster, the issues were straight forward. If U.S. merchants wanted to trade in Europe, you had to trade only with our allies. Even though England was our largest trading partner, this demand was unacceptable, as was the impressing of U.S. seamen and British support for Native Americans attacking settlers.

Hence, one has the reasons for the U.S.’ Second War for Independence.

Map of the French Empire in 1812 when it was at its greatest by Alexander Altenhof.

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The Battles for Sackets Harbor

Within a month after war was declared, a small British squadron appeared off Sackets Harbor in upstate New York. It was one of the main shipyards used by the U.S. to build ships to contest control of Lake Ontario.

The British ships of what was known then as the Provincial Marine which really was the Royal Navy on the Great Lakes, were Royal George, 24 guns; Prince Regent, 22 guns; Earl of Moira, 20 guns; Governor Simcoe, 10 guns; and Seneca, 2 guns. They were chasing the U.S. brig Oneida, 16 guns, which had captured the British merchant ship, Lord Nelson loaded with flour and headed toward the British base in Kingston, Ontario.

Oneida came out to engage the British ships but quickly returned to Sackets Harbor and moored to a pier. Half her guns were removed and emplaced in a breastwork protecting the harbor and Lord Nelson.

Commodore Hugh Earle, Royal Navy, sent a message to the American commander, Melanchthon Woolsey telling him that if Lord Nelson was not returned immediately, he would burn Sackets Harbor to the ground. What ensued on July 19th, 1812, was an exchange of cannon fire between the American batteries ashore and Oneida and the Royal Navy squadron.

By the end of the day, Royal George was badly damaged, and the other Royal Navy ships hit numerous times forcing Earle to withdraw. The British lost nine men killed and an unknown number of wounded. There were no U.S. casualties.

After this battle, the Americans under Commodore Woolcott Chauncey expanded the naval base and the fortifications that protected Sackets Harbor. The British believed if they could capture Sackets Harbor, they could gain control of Lake Ontario.

Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost set out with ~900 men – mostly British Army Regulars and a company of Canadians – on ships escorted by the Royal Navy under Captain James Yeo. Yeo’s force consisted of H.M.S. Wolfe, 20 guns; H.M.S. Lord Beresford, 12 guns; H.M.S. Sir Sydney Smith, 12 guns plus H.M.S. Prince Regent and H.M.S. Prince George. Most of the landing force was on the transport Lady Murray.

The battle began well when on May 27th, Prevost’s lookouts spotted 12 boats carrying men from the U.S. Army’s 9th and 21st Infantry Regiments enroute from Oswego, NY to reinforce Sackets Harbor. The Americans beached their boats on Henderson Island and were pursued by the Native Americans supporting the British Army. By the end of the day, almost all the Americans were killed or captured.

On May 29th, 1813, with his force ashore, Prevost launched his attack on Sackets Harbor. The Americans defending Horse Island fell back and ran when the British stormed the causeway. What should have been a massacre of British soldiers didn’t happen.

Brigadier General Jacob Brown rallied the American militia and the regular Army soldiers defending the town. The Americans held firm each time the British Army attacked their redoubts and blockhouses. After three charges, Prevost decided ordered a withdrawal.

In the end, from a casualty perspective, the Americans got the worst of the fight with 69 dead, 154 captured versus the British Army’s 30 killed and 35 captured. However, from strategic perspective, Sackets Harbor remained in American hands and never was again threatened during the war.

Map is from Benson Lossing’s Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812.

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Strategic Battles on Lake Huron

One of the major bones of contention between the U.S. and Great Britain that led up to the War of 1812 were the British Army and trading presence on U.S. territory. It bears repeating that the peace treaty signed in 1783 ceded all the British land from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River south of the Canadian border and north of Florida. The moment the treaty went into effect, that land became sovereign U.S. territory.

The controversial 1794 Jay Treaty was a diplomatic attempt to force the British to honor the boundaries given to the U.S. 11 years before in the Treaty of Paris. It failed. The British continued to incite and arm the Native Americans against the settlers moving into the Northwest Territory and maintaining British Army garrisons on U.S. soil. Thus, evicting the British from U.S. land was an important military goal.

Fort Mackinac controlled the Mackinac Strait at the northern tip of Michigan, which linked Lake Michigan with Lake Huron. By the fall of 1814, the British had taken Detroit and the small garrison at Fort Mackinac, thus giving them control of the northern and southern entrances to Lake Huron. In August 1814, the U.S. decided to retake its territory.

The first of two naval actions on Lake Huron was the American attack at Nottawasaga located directly north from York on Georgian Bay. There, a small British garrison was readying H.M.S. Nancy to carry 300 barrels of provisions to the British Garrison at Fort Mackinac.

The British were alerted that the Americans were coming so Nancy was towed inland up a small river to hide it from the Americans. Shortly after they arrived on August 14th, 1814, the Americans found Nancy which was burned by the British to prevent its capture. The Americans, led by Commodore Arthur Sinclair, burned the British army blockhouse, destroyed the stockade, and left.

What they didn’t find were 100 barrels of provisions, ammunition, and other stores that were moved up the Nottawasaga River toward another British Army Depot at Schooner town.

On September 6th, the next action took place near Drummond Island, which is off the eastern end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Sinclair had two gunboats – Tigress and Scorpion. The British commander, Miller Worsley, led a unit of Royal Newfoundlanders who attacked Tigress and captured the vessel just before dawn. Then Worsley sailed toward Scorpion flying the American flag and came alongside and took the American ship.

This action in which only three Americans and six British sailors were killed gave the British control of Lake Huron. Tigress and Scorpion were renamed H.M.S. Confiance and H.M.S. Surprise. The two ships were loaded with supplies and reached Fort Mackinac in early October with sufficient supplies to keep the garrison fed until spring.

However, the terms of the 1814 Treaty of Ghent, which officially ended the War of 1812, required the British to return all the forts they had captured or held at the beginning of the war. The U.S. returned those it had captured.

H.M.S. Nancy is so significant that the Canadians created a stamp to commemorate the ship.

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First Raid on York

When war was declared on Great Britain in June 1812, one of President Madison’s aims was capturing Canada. It was seen as being ripe for the picking.

For the second time in 37 years, our Founding Fathers had decided to fight the world’s richest and most powerful country, which was also our largest trading partner. The fact that ever since 1805 and the end of the war with Barbary, the U.S. Army and Navy were horribly underfunded didn’t seem to faze members of what we would call today our National Command Authority – President James Madison, Secretary of War, John Armstrong, the Secretary of the Navy, William Jones and Secretary of State, James Monroe.

Many members of the government and the press thought English-speaking Canada, as well as French-speaking Canada, wanted independence from Britain, just as our Founding Fathers did in 1775. The thinking in Washington was that the British were so occupied fighting Napoleon that they wouldn’t defend Canada.

Initially, the U.S. plan was to capture the town of Kingston, where the Royal Navy was building ships. Once it was in our hands, American troops would march down the north shore of Lake Ontario to capture York (now Toronto), the capital of English-speaking Canada.

However, U.S. Major General Henry Dearborn thought his 2,700-man army needed to be larger to take Kingston, which was supposed be defended by 6,000 British Army soldiers. Even though deserters from the British Army and pro-American Canadians said the garrison was under 1,500 men, the intelligence was ignored, and Dearborn decided to attack the weakly defended town of York.

With the ice on Lake Ontario gone, on April 14th, 1813, Dearborn left Sackets Harbor, NY, with his army on 14 ships commanded by Commodore Isaac Chauncey. Most of the ships were small schooners designed to carry cargo on Lake Ontario that were quickly armed with cannon. Others were hastily built to create a naval squadron.

The largest U.S. vessel was Chauncey’s flagship Monroe. It was a 500- ton, 112′ long schooner with a beam of 32′ 6″. It was packed with fourteen long-18-pounder cannons, eight 32-pounder carronades, and a crew of 200.

Arriving off York on April 27th, Chauncey’s ships began bombarding the fort and the town. At the time of the attack, York was defended by 300 British Army soldiers, an equal number of Canadian militiamen, and 50 Native Americans.

General Zebulon Pike’s infantry quickly took York and British General Sheaffe retreated to the east, leaving the militia to face the Americans. Before he left, Sheaffe’s men set fire to what supplies they could not carry. The result was a humongous explosion that killed 200 American soldiers, including General Pike. The Americans stayed for two weeks before boarding their ships and returning to Fort Niagara.

General Sheaffe and his men reached Kingston two weeks later. He was relieved and recalled to England and never commanded troops again.

Two more times during the War of 1812, the Americans ransacked York, something that, even today, still rankles Canadians. These attacks are viewed by many Canadian historians as the birth of the Canadian identity.

The real impact of the attack on York was the British decision to send the Royal Navy and British Army into Chesapeake Bay. After soundly defeating the U.S. Army at Bladensburg in August 1814, the British Army burned Washington in retaliation for the attack on York.

Owen Staples 1914 painting of the 1813 attack on York that is in the Toronto Public Library.

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