Upper Canada Preserved — War of 1812 6-Book Bundle. Richard Feltoe
explosive ignition of some exposed artillery ammunition wrecked the guns, killing or injuring over thirty individuals and, despite some immediate efforts to bring it back into action, effectively rendered the position untenable. The only remaining line of defence was the incomplete earthen wall and dilapidated wooden stockade of Fort York. However, to counter this possibility the American fleet moved up directly south of the stockade and began firing, systematically demolishing everything in sight and making exposed movement by the defenders impossible. General Sheaffe, realizing the day was lost, ordered a general retreat toward the town by his remaining regular troops. Determined to deny the Americans the contents of the fort’s sturdy stone ammunition magazine, which by one estimate contained over 30,000 pounds of powder and explosive shells, General Sheaffe ordered the magazine’s deliberate detonation. Built into the lakeside embankment, directly below the Government House, this storehouse was partially buried under a mound of earth and heavy timbers, with only its open front face being left exposed. It was also directly south of the shallow stream bed, located just on the north side of the fort, that had been detailed for the assembly of the Canadian militia units at the onset of the battle. With the retreat and explosion at the Western Battery several detachments of the militia, including those of the Incorporated Militia, had gone back to their original assembly point to reform their units and look for further orders. Unfortunately, Sheaffe neglected to send any orders or notification to this militia location. As a result, the unsuspecting militiamen were left behind, only a matter of two hundred yards (183 meters) from the impending detonation.
Meanwhile, considering the day as won, General Pike was marshalling his troops into a column upon the open ground to the southwest of the fort and in clear view of the exposed front face of the fort’s magazine. Expecting Sheaffe would make a formal surrender, as the royal standard still flew over the Government House, Pike and his men relaxed in their assured victory. Suddenly, the earth quaked and a gigantic smoky fireball erupted into the afternoon air, carrying with it masses of stone, metal, and timber from the exploded magazine and its contents, as well as pieces of bedrock from the surrounding ground. Channelled and focused by the fort’s earthen ramparts toward the exposed front of the magazine, the initial concussion of the blast wave swept over the open ground to the west of the fort, literally blowing the American troops off their feet and onto the ground, rupturing eardrums, and invisibly inflicting severe internal injuries upon many of the troops. Seconds later large chunks of the debris began to crash to earth amongst the exposed American troops, causing additional havoc in the previously regimented columns. Over 250 men were immediately killed or subsequently died from the effects of this blast, including General Pike, who was struck by a large stone fragment and died shortly thereafter. Even aboard the American fleet offshore the explosion caused damage and casualties as debris flew over 500 yards (457 meters) from the point of detonation. Interestingly, although significantly closer to the source of the explosion, the forgotten Canadian militiamen were partially protected by the fort’s earthworks and the gully of the stream bed in which they stood. As a result, they suffered fewer numbers of injured from the direct blast, but did incur several casualties as a result of the subsequent falling debris.*[5]
Expecting a British counterattack, the deputy American commander, Colonel Cromwell Pearce, only rallied his shocked troops with some difficulty. But Sheaffe failed to take advantage of the moment and continued his retreat toward the town, burning the Sir Isaac Brock on the stocks, as well as warehouses containing a quantity of valuable naval supplies destined for General Proctor on the Detroit frontier. Sheaffe then continued his retreat through the town and out onto the Kingston Road. Even the arrival of additional reinforcements (the Light company of the 8th [King’s] Regiment) failed to persuade Sheaffe to make a further stand and it was left to Lieutenant Colonel William Chewett and Major William Allen of the 3rd York Embodied Militia, accompanied by the local firebrand clergyman, Reverend John Strachan, to treat with the Americans for the terms of surrender. Frustrated in their attempts to lay hands on the Sir Isaac Brock and having suffered so severely from the explosion, the Americans dealt harshly with the Canadian negotiators and imposed strong terms for the surrender of the town.
The stone magazine at Historic Fort York, built in 1813/1814 to replace the exploded magazine. While the previous building was partially buried into the lakeside embankment, this structure is of a similar size, design, and construction to the one destroyed at the battle.
The only available image (from 1913) of the Royal Standard captured by the Americans at York in 1813 and still in their hands as of 2012.
Image courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, MD.
During the next few days, the Americans, abetted by local pro-American sympathizers, emptied the military storehouses and major private warehouses around the town and, despite previous official American assurances, also looted private homes. In addition, the main government and public buildings were ransacked and burned, including the Upper Canada Parliament, inciting Strachan to call upon Dearborn for better treatment and compliance with the terms of the surrender. Eventually, on May 2nd, the American forces began to re-embark on their augmented fleet, taking the Duke of Gloucester was as a prize, while the General Hunter, deemed unfit for sea, was burned.
At dawn on June 2nd, Commodore Chauncey and General Dearborn both set sail for Fort Niagara, but by noon a return of storms and adverse winds trapped the remaining vessels of the American fleet at York, their holds and decks jammed with captured goods, wounded, and seasick troops. Once again the men had to suffer the miseries of waiting until the weather cleared on the 8th, when they finally set sail for the Niagara frontier. Behind them, the traumatized and angry citizens of York began to reclaim their lives, while condemning Sheaffe for abandoning them at their moment of crisis.
The Parliamentary mace, the symbol of royal authority, captured by the Americans in 1813 and eventually returned to Canadian hands in 1934.
Image courtesy of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
A later impression of the Upper Canada Parliament Buildings, burnt by the Americans in April 1813.
Toronto Reference Library, JRR 1084.
From a political point of view, the Americans had finally scored a legitimate victory, although at a heavy human cost. Strategically, they had gained the upper hand in the season’s campaigning. Sheaffe had retreated to Kingston and, fearing a further American attack, had begun fortifying the waterfront of the town and constructing a new fort on the hilltop at Point Henry, overlooking the town and harbour. He was unable to transport any reinforcements or supplies directly to the Niagara or Detroit frontiers. On the other hand, although General Dearborn was free to manoeuvre at will, once his troops arrived at Fort Niagara they found that although Dearborn had been there for nearly a week, almost nothing had been done to