Historic Fort George-- Part 5: The Battles of Fort George and Isaac Brock Buried There

After the declaration of war in June 1812, work began on the  northeast bastion.  During the war, the fort was manned by British Army regulars, the Canadian militia and members of Captain Raunchey's Company of Coloured Men as well as First Nation allies.

Given the fort's location on the U.S. Canada border, it became the scene of much action during the war.

In October 1812, th fort was the subject of bombardment by heated shots from American forces at Fort Niagara as a diversion for the American attack on nearby Queenston Heights.  This bombardment, as well as  another one in November of that year, caused the destruction of several structures in the fort.

After Isaac Brock's death at  Queenston Heights, he was buried in a military funeral  at Fort George's northeast bastion.

--Brock-Perry

(The Brock in the signoff Brock-Perry is there for Isaac Brock.)

Some More on Betsy Doyle-- Part 2: Her Feat

After the Battle of Queenston Heights, the two sides agreed on a 30-day truce needed to recover from the battle and strengthen  their respective positions.  When the truce expired on November 21, 1813,  the guns of Fort Niagara and Fort George, just 600 yards apart across the river, opened fire.  

To gain a height advantage, the Americans had removed the roofs of several buildings in Fort Niagara and installed artillery batteries on the buildings' top floors.

As an added advantage. American gunners employed hot shot which were cannonballs heated red hot to set fire to Fort George's wooden buildings.  One particular gun was located  on the top floor of  Fort Niagara's  stone Mess House (today called the French Castle), a structure built by the French in 1726.

As casualties began to mount, Betsy Doyle  swung into action, carrying red hot cannonballs from downstairs fireplaces to the cannon on the exposed top floor.  

This was her moment of fame.

--Brock-Perry

Some More on Betsy Doyle-- Part 1

FromWCNY Org. Fort Niagara.

By Cathy Emmerson.

Betsy Doyle was a woman of the Army, one of a small number of military wives who were permitted to accompany their husbands to perform menial tasks like nursing and laundry.  Prior to the War of 1812, she had married  Andrew Doyle, a private in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment.

He was stationed at  Fort Niagara, an antiquated outpost on the Canadian/U.S. border, about 30 miles north of Buffalo, New York.

When U.S. forces invaded Upper Canada, just seven miles south  of the fort, on October 13, 1812, Private Doyle was among the forces crossing the Niagara River.  The subsequent Battle of Queenston Heights was a disaster for the Americans and Doyle became a prisoner of war.

When he was recognized as a  native of Upper Canada, he was sent to England to be tried for treason.  There he remained for the balance of the war, an inmate at the infamous Dartmoor Prison.

Andrew's capture left Betsy Doyle and her four children  alone at Fort Niagara.

--Brock-Perry

Betsy Doyle and the Battle of Fort Niagara-- Part 4: 'An Instance of Extraordinary Bravery'

From the National Park Service "Autumn 1812:  Betsy Doyle helps operate a cannon to defend Fort Niagara."

While British cannonballs crashed around her, Betsy Doyle carried red-hot iron shot to the American cannons atop Fort Niagara.  With her husband a prisoner of the British, Betsy was left alone to fight for survival on the frontier, going above and beyon the call of duty.

"An instance of extraordinary  bravery"--  Lieutenant Colonel  George McFeeley.

In the early  dawn of November 21, 1812, Betsy Doyle looked out from Fort Niagara across the Niagara River to British Fort George, waiting for the first shots to be fired.  With ammunition for only a 12-hour bombardment, the American artillery was ordered to hold fire  unless fired upon by the British.

Betsy stood alongside soldiers of the First Regiment of United States Artillery, with whom her husband had served before his capture at  the Battle of Queenston Heights just one month earlier.  While Andrew Doyle remained imprisoned, Betsy continued to live and work at Fort Niagara with her children.

--Brock-Perry

Betsy Doyle, American Heroine-- Part 2

From the  Nov. 12, 2012, Clements Library Chronicles "Today in History:  Heroine of Fort Niagara" by Brian Dunnigan.

Two hundred years ago, Betsy Doyle, wife of a U.S. artilleryman at Fort Niagara, New York, stood by the soldiers stationed at a gun platform during a ferocious exchange of cannon fire with the British-held Fort George across the Niagara River.

Betsy, whose name is often incorrectly given as "Fanny,"  was the wife of artilleryman Andrew Doyle.  As such, she was one of the many married women who accompanied their husbands into the field with both the British and American armies.

Doyle, however, was not present to see his wife's heroism; he had fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, where he was taken prisoner.

--Brock-Perry

This Month in the War of 1812: Battle of the Thames and Battle of Queenston Heights, Isaac Brock, Tecumseh

From the American Battlefield Trust  "War of 1812 Timeline."

OCTOBER 5, 1813

**  Battle of the Thames.    British defeat and death of Tecumseh.

OCTOBER 7, 1813

**  Andrew Jackson establishes camp at Fayetteville, Tennessee, to recruit American forces to combat  the Creeks in Alabama.

OCTOBER 9, 1811

**  Major General Isaac Brock is appointed administratior of Upper Canada.  (He is the Brock in my Brock-Perry sign off each post, and an amazing general.)

OCTOBER 13, 1812

**  British-Canadians win the  Battle of Queenston Heights, Upper Canada (Ontario).

OCTOBER 13, 1812

**  British General Isaac Brock killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

OCTOBER 26, 1813

**  Engagement at Chateauguay.

--Brock-Perry

Victory and Valour Service Will Honour Indigenous Veterans

From the November 3, 2021, Niagara Falls Review (Canada).

Niagara Parks will host a ceremony to honour Indigenous veterans at the Landscape of Nations  Memorial in Queenston Heights Park, Saturday.

It will be held on sacred grounds where Six Nations and Native allies  fought alongside their British and Canadian compatriots throughout the War of 1812.

The program will include guest speakers, the laying of wreaths, a traditional tobacco ceremony and sacred fire.

Six Nations and Native allies helped to secure victory at pivotal events  at Queenston Heights and throughout the War of 1812.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 October Events: Thames, Tecumseh, Jackson, Brock, Queenston Heights, Chateauguay

1813

OCTOBER 5

**  Battle of the Thames.  Tecumseh killed.

1813

OCTOBER 7

**  Andrew Jackson established camp ay Fayetteville, Tennessee (Camp Blount) to recruit Americans to fight the Creek Indians in Alabama.

1811

OCTOBER 9

**  Major General Isaac Brock appointed Administrator of Upper Canada.  He is the Brock in my signoff, Brock-Perry.

1812

OCTOBER 13

**  British and Canadians win the Battle of Queenston Heights, Canada.  Isaac Brock killed.

1813

OCTOBER 26

**  Engagement at Chateauguay.

--Brock-Perry

Canada's Coloured Corps-- Part 5: Battle of Queenston Heights

On the morning of 13 October 1812, American forces under Major General Stephen  Van Renssalear III invaded Upper Canada by crossing the Niagara River at Queenston.  Runchey's  Company marched to Queenston from Fort George with Major General Roger Sheaffe's reinforcements, arriving after Sir Isaac Brock's death that same day.

The company joined Captain John Norton's Six Nations warriors in sniping at the American position  from atop Queenston Heights, before forming part of Sheaffe's battle line.

Alongside the 41st Regiment of Foot  and the 49th Foot, Runchey's company "fired a single volley with considerable execution, and then charged with tremendous tumult," bringing about the American surrender.

Having absented himself on the morning of the battle, Runchey subsequently resigned, and the company was commanded temporarily by Lieutenant James Cooper of the 2nd Lincoln Militia.  Cooper was cited in dispatches as having led his men  "with great spirit."

Sir Isaac Brock Is the Part of the Sign-Off.  --Brock-Perry

The Coloured Corps: Black Canadians and the War of 1812-- Part 1: Free and Enslaved Blacks

Since I have been writing a lot about the Black Experience in the United States  in many of my other blogs lately in honor of Black History Month, I'll will be exploring one of their roles in the War of 1812.

From the Canadian Encyclopedia.

The Coloured Corps (also known as Runchley's Company of Colored Men, or Black Corps) was a militia company of black men raised during the War of 1812.

Created in Upper Canada, where enslavement had been limited in 1793,  the corps consisted of free  and enslaved black men.  Many of them were veterans of the American Revolution, in which they fought for the British and were called Black Loyalists.

The Coloured Corps (British/Canadian spelling) fought in the Battle of Queenstown Heights and the Battle of Fort George before it was attached to the  Royal Engineers as a construction company.

In later years, it was reactivated  during the Rebellions of 1837-38 and also served as a police force during the construction of the Welland Canal.

--Brock-Perry

Fort George, Canada-- Part 3: Built After Fort Niagara Turned Over to the Americans

This information from The Friends of Fort George  "The History of Fort George."

The British turned over Fort Niagara (on the American side of the Niagara River in 1796, in accordance to the Jay's Treaty of 1774, and the British immediately began construction of a fort on their side of the rive, Fort George, which was completed by 1802.  Its outer defenses included six large earthen bastions surrounded by a dry ditch.  Log blockhouses, a kitchens, a hospital, workshops, barracks, officers quarters and a stone powder magazine were constructed inside the walls.

The fort loomed over Navy Hall and commanded transportation along the Niagara River and served as the headquarters of the Centre Division of the British Army during the War of 1812.  Major General Sir Isaac Brock served at Fort George until his death at the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 12, 1812. The bodies of Brock and his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonell were interred in the northeast bastion after the battle until moved to the first Brock Monument in 1824.

--Brock-Perry  (The Brock is for Sir Isaac Brock.)

Steps of a Traitor? Joseph Willcocks-- Part 1: "Turn-Coated"

From Daniel Wyatt's High On History site.  "Joseph Willcocks:  Canada's War of 1812 Traitor."

"In fact, you might say that Willcocks was Canada's Benedict Arnold."  After doing this research, I must say this is a good point.  Once, backing the side he turned traitor on, both men went over to the other side and for their own particular reasons.

One iof the first things that troubled Willcocks was after the Americans attacked Queenston Heights and Isaac Brock was killed.  The British authorities then enacted martial law, where all rights were suspended, something that Willcocks could not and would not tolerate.  We'll call this the first step toward joining the Americans.

On May 27, 1813, about 5,000 Americans attacked Niagara, near Newark, capturing Fort George and chasing the British-Canadian forces almost back to Burlington Heights at present-day Hamilton.

Two months later, Willcocks crossed the Niagara River and offered his services to the Americans.  Mr. Wyatt believes that Willcocks may not have been pro-American, but thought the Americans would win.  "Not only had Willcocks 'turn-coated,' he had committed a treasonous act because he was still being a member of  the Upper Canadian Legislative Assembly."

--Brock-Perry

Joseph Willcocks-- Part 2: The Six Nations, Brock's Death and TurnsTraitor

In 1812, Isaac Brock enlisted Willcocks to assist in the ensuring of  the loyalty and participation of the Six Nations people (Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora Indian tribes) to Upper Canada and the Crown.    This he achieved despite being ill at the time.

But, for Willcocks, the death of Brock at Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812, marked the beginning of the end for his service to Canada.  He fought alongside the Six Nations warriors as part of Roger Sheaffes's retaking of the Redan Battery.

He was greatly distressed when, after the invasion of the Niagara Peninsula in 1813, that military rule and harsh measures against people expressing what were considered to be disloyal  opinions, Willcocks considered this to be an abandonment of democratic  principles.

In July 1813, he committed treason when he offered his services to the Americans, even though he was a sitting member of Upper Canada's Legislative Assembly.  He was given the rank of major in the American Army and raised a company of Canadian Volunteers which consisted of  recent immigrants from the United States.

They all fought on the American side and Willcocks was promoted to lieutenant colonel.  Robert Nelles  replaced him in the Legislative Assembly.

Brock-Perry

Col. James Gibson-- Part 4: Military Career

From the "For What They Gave  On Saturday Afternoon" blog site  "James Gibson."

Cadet of the Military Academy , Oct. 20, 1806, to Dec. 12, 1808, when he graduated and was promoted to First Lieut. Light Artillery, Dec. 12, 1808.

Served in garrisons at Atlantic posts and on the Southwest Frontier, 1808-1812; Captain Light Artillery, May 2, 1810.

War of 1812 on the Niagara Frontier in 1812 and participated in the attack on Queenstown Heights, Upper Canada, October 12, 1812.

Major, staff, Asst. Inspector General, April 2, 1813.    Colonel, staff Inspector General  July 13, 1813.

--Brock-Perry

Indigenous Warriors Helped Save the Day at Battle of Queenston Heights-- Part 3: "The More Game, the Better the Hunting"

Canadian militia warned the Indians that the battle was lost and they best turn around and leave.  There were just too many American troops that they faced.

One of the Indians replied with one of the best quotes in Canadian history, "The more game, the better the hunting."

The Indians fell in on the Americans and though outnumbered, forced them to fight desperately.

Thousands of American militia were still being held in reserve at Lewiston.  These men were generally unhappy as for weeks they had received poor food and were never issued tents.  They were ordered to cross the river to support the American troops. But the sounds of battle and above all, the sound of the Six Nation warrior war cries convinced them to stay put.

This allowed time for British reinforcements to reach the fight and rout the demoralized U.S. troops.  Almost a thousand of them were captured.

--Brock-Perry

Indigenous Warriors Save the Day at the Battle of Queenston Heights-- Part 2

The first part of the plan to capture Upper Canada involved 1,400 American troops crossing the Niagara River from Lewiston, New York, and seizing the heights.  At the time of the attack, there were no trees on Queenston Heights and it offered a commanding view and control of the surrounding countryside.

The invaders captured an important British battery and General Brock was mortally wounded trying to lead his troops in its recapture.  Things were going very badly for the British soldiers, their Canadian militia and several escaped American slaves.

But, at the critical moment, a force of 200 Six Nation warriors came jogging into the the scene from Fort George.

--Brock-Perry

Indigenous Warriors Saved British and Canadians at the Battle of Queenston Heights-- Part 1

From the June 3, 2018, Niagara This Week.com "Indigenous warriors turned the tide of the Battle of Queenston Heights" by Paul Forsyth.

"War cries helped convince American reinforcements in Lewiston to refuse to join the fray."

Major General Isaac Brock has a monument at Queenston Heights where he was killed by a musket shot.  But, most Canadians do not know of the important role Indians played in the British victory.On October 13, 1812, just months after the United States declared war on Britain, the Americans were planning for their conquest of Upper Canada starting with the capture of Niagara.

--Brock-Perry   The Brock stands for Isaac Brock

Turncoat Led Raid to Burn Newark-- Part 2: Joseph Willcocks

Joseph Willcocks was arrested three times for criminal libel and contempt.  During the War of 1812, he fought against Isaac Brock's attempt to invoke martial law successfully, then helped Brock enlist Indians to help the British.

He fought with Brock at the Battle of Queenstown Heights where Brock was killed.

A year later, Willcocks decided the Americans were on the right side for going to war and started passing secrets to the U.S. Secretary of War about British troop movements.

Isaac Brock is part of the reason I sign off with Brock-Perry each blog entry.

--Brock-Perry

West Point Graduates Killed in Action During the War of 1812-- Part 2: Class of 1808

2nd Lt. Samuel Rathbone, mortally wounded in the attack on Queenstown Heights, Upper Canada, on October 13, 1812.  He died December 8, 1812, at Fort Niagara.

James Gibson, Colonel 4th Rifles.  Killed in sortie against the British at Fort Erie, September 17, 1814.

--Brock-Perry

Ezra Dean's Brave Conduct At the Sortie-- Part 2

Ezra Dean was appointed an ensign in the Army at age 19.  (I thought ensign was a Navy rank.)    He received honors for his brave and gallant service at the September 17, 1814, sortie by Americans from  Fort Erie, Upper Canada.  He was also at the Battles of Chippawa and Bridgewater and his regiment was in the advance at Queenstown Heights later in September 1814.

All of this came before he was even at the age of 20.

At the close of the war, he was put in command of a revenue cutter in Lake Champlain for two years.

He resigned after that and was assigned to the corps of government engineers and spent several years establishing the boundary lines between Maine and the province of New Brunswick, Canada.

--Brock-Perry