A Call to the Colours. Kenneth Cox
• 5 October — U.S. victory at Moraviantown in battle of the Thames, great Native leader Tecumseh dies.
• 26 October — Battle of Châteauguay, Lower Canada.
• 11 November — Battle of Chrysler’s Farm, major victory for the British.
• 10 December — Burning of Newark, Upper Canada, by the retreating U.S. forces.
• 12 December — British capture of Fort Niagara, guerrilla warfare commences on Niagara frontier.
• 29–30 December — burning of Lewiston, Tuscarora, Fort Schlosser, Black Rock, and Buffalo, New York, by British forces in retaliation for U.S. burning of York and Newark.
1814
• 30 March — Action at Lacolle.
• 5 May — Amphibious assault on Oswego, New York.
• May — Abdication of Napoleon — war ends in Europe.
• 3 July — Capture of Fort Erie.
• 5 July — Battle of Chippawa.
• 13–15 September — Bombardment by British of Fort McHenry, writing of “Star Spangled Banner.”
• July–August — Twelve thousand British veterans arrive in Canada because of the end of war with France. Assault on Plattsburg, New York, poorly planned and leads to British withdrawal, over 1,000 British troops desert.
• July–August — Washington captured and burned.
• 24 December — Treaty of Ghent ends the war, all captured territory returned to previous owner.
1815
• 1 January — Battle of New Orleans ends in defeat for the British forces.
Of course, this is only a partial list of the many battles and small actions fought during the course of this war. I have purposely not included all naval engagements fought between Great Britain and the United States on the Great Lakes and the oceans of the world because that is beyond the scope of this guide.
________________________________
It will take some research before you can place an ancestor in a specific regiment and ultimately at a specific battle. However, once you have accomplished this it is time to become a historian and commence fitting historical details into your own family narrative. Spend time researching some of the information available on the life of a soldier or militiaman of the period. Uniforms, weapons, equipment, and military tactics all help you understand your ancestor’s military world. Stories about the life of a militiaman or British regular abound. The quantity/quality of food issued, the length of service, the harsh discipline, the horrible wounds sustained in battle, the nature of guerilla warfare all add interest to your narrative.
For instance, if your ancestor fought in this war, he carried a weapon referred to by the ordinary soldier as a “Brown Bess.” The official name for this weapon was the East India Pattern Long Land Musket and it was a muzzle-loading gun. A good, well-trained soldier could load and fire this weapon three to four times in a minute. It should never be referred to as a rifle because it had a smooth bore in the barrel. “Rifling” the barrel was a later invention designed to add accuracy to the shot.
You may also discover that one of your ancestors served with the American forces during the war as a “licensed freebooter.” These were men, many of whom were former “late Loyalists” (families who came up to Canada seeking free land in the years following the American Revolution before the War of 1812), who made the decision to join a band of American-sponsored marauders to terrorize their former neighbours. Men like Abner Chapin, William Markle, and Andrew Westbrook led bands of guerrillas who burned mills, destroyed crops, drove off cattle, and burned the homes of anyone who was a government official or served in the Upper Canada militia. Interestingly, they could often rely upon former neighbours to provide them with information about British troop movements.
As a matter of fact, following the capture of York and the burning of Newark, the whole Niagara frontier settled into a conflict between neighbours. British forces rampaged up and down the American side of the river burning Buffalo, Tuscarora, and Little Rock. In response to the threat from American raiders, the British eventually detached Lieutenant James FitzGibbon from his regular duties and assigned him a group of Mounted Regulars. His job was to intercept communications between American forces and seek out and destroy American freebooters. The American forces called his men the “Green Tigers” because of the green facings on their uniforms. It was FitzGibbon who, with help from his Native allies, was able to take the information provided by Laura Secord and prepare an ambush of a far superior American force at the Battle of Beaver Dams.
Following the war, the civil authorities in Canada initiated court proceedings against former settlers accused of high treason. Angela Files and Tess Rowe compiled a list of these.[6] At Ancestry.com you can access the nominal roll of the men who belonged to the Canadian Corps of Volunteers who fought with the American forces during the war.
Your ancestor may have served with the British Army as a regular and chose to remain in (or return to) Canada following his term of service. Archives Canada has acquired a significant number of microfilm reels concerning the British Army (1713–1940) all of which can be borrowed on interlibrary loan. At present there are 844 microfilm reels. However, the following are British Army regiments that would be of interest to anyone doing family history research related to the War of 1812:
a. Infantry of the Line
1st Regiment of Foot
6th Regiment of Foot
8th Regiment of Foot
9th Regiment of Foot
13th Regiment of Foot
37th Regiment of Foot
41st Regiment of Foot
42nd Regiment of Foot
49th Regiment of Foot
52nd Regiment of Foot
57th Regiment of Foot
60th Regiment of Foot
77th Regiment of Foot
81st Regiment of Foot
82nd Regiment of Foot
89th Regiment of Foot
99th Regiment of Foot
100th Regiment of Foot
103rd Regiment of Foot
104th Regiment of Foot
De Watteville’s Regiment
7th West India Regiment
b. Fencible Regiments
Canadian Fencible Regiment
Glengarry Light Infantry Fencible Regiment
New Brunswick Fencible Regiment
Newfoundland Fencible Regiment
c. Royal Marines
d. Canadian Militia Units
Canadian Voltigeurs
Incorporated Militia Battalion of Upper Canada
e. Native Warriors
Caughnawaga
Huron
Micmac
Oneida
Ottawa
Tuscara
You can find many of the nominal rolls/muster, pay rolls for these units in the LAC manuscript groups. Records for Native Warriors are mostly non-existent. You may, however, discover a Military General Service Medal with the name of a Native Warrior engraved around the rim. These are very scarce.
Those who wish to learn more about the British regiments and Canadian militia should consult Michael Gregory’s book, Compendium of Canadian