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The penultimate battle of the War of 1812, at least in the eyes of the Americans, and the final big battle in the entire war. By the middle of November 1814, the war in Upper Canada had all but finished for the campaign season, in Ghent the negotiations for peace continued, and if they went well, the war would not return. But for the United States, the war was far from over and far closer to home. Everything that the government feared would happen with Napoleon’s abdication happened. In June of 1814, a force under General John Sherbrooke captured 100 miles of coastline in whatRead More →

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Control of the lakes were key during the War of 1812 as the fastest way to move troops, equipment, and supplies was by water. Most the roads in the Canadas and the US weren’t the super highways we know today, they were nothing more than dirt roads that would easily become mud pits in the snow and rain. To maintain control of the lakes both sides maintained squadrons of ships that could keep the enemy pinned in their own bases. Unlike Lake Erie which was controlled first by the British because the US Naval Squadron had been captured in 1812 after Brock captured Detroit, andRead More →

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The St. Lawrence River had remained relatively quiet during the first year of the war, in fact it was for the most part downright peaceful. Both sides were enjoying a rather healthy trade relationship. The simple fact was that most of the St. Lawrence valley was occupied by Loyalists, those who went to or were forced to move to the colony of Upper Canada following the American Revolution, and many still had family on the American side of the river. This was not going to fly in 1813, as the war escalated, raids became common. On the 6th of February, a raid lead by MajorRead More →

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One of two Canadian born British Officer during the War of 1812 was Charles Michael de Salaberry, born in the town on Beauport in Lower Canada (today Quebec) on the 19th of November 1778. His family having a long tradition of military service with the French and then British armies, de Salaberry joined at 14 as a gentleman volunteer in the 44th Regiment of Foot. It was too long after that a family friend, Prince Edward Augustus secured an Ensign’s commission in the 1st Battalion of the 60th Regiment of Foot. Joining the regiment in 1794, de Salaberry proved his worth, rising to the rankRead More →

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Despite having lost Lake Erie to the Americans in 1813, Commodore James Lucas Yeo was not about to let Commodore Isaac Chauncy repeat this on Lake Ontario. As such both men engaged in one of largest arms race during the war, the constant construction of ships. Yeo at the King’s navy yards in Kingston and Chauncy at Sackets Harbor. A note on the name of the title as ‘Raid on Oswgeo’ often you will find this known as Raid on Fort Oswego, this is simply not true, the main fort in the town was Fort Ontario, and was the only manned fortification in the city.Read More →

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A dreary Saturday can only be spent one of two ways: locking yourself inside or going to your favourite museum. I chose the latter. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at the Hamilton International Airport in Mount Hope, Ontario has always been a favourite of mine from the first time going when they were housed in an old hanger. Sadly in 1993, the hanger was destroyed by fire, losing five of its aircraft…but many survived that still form the core of the museum’s collection today. The star of the show, an Avro Lancaster bomber, is a personal favourite of mine. What makes the Lancaster all theRead More →

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During the War of 1812, Sackets Harbor was the major US Naval base on Lake Ontario, home base to Commodore Isaac Chauncy’s squadron and primary shipyard for the navy. In 1812 the Royal Navy had bombarded the base with little effect, but in 1813 following the American capture of Fort George. General Vincent having fallen back to Burlington Heights sent a message to Prevost and the newly appointed Commodore James Lucas Yeo that Chauncy’s entire squadron was at Niagara leaving Sackets Harbor for the most part undefended. The newly appointing commander of the Lake Ontario Squadron, Commodore James Lucas Yeo jumped at the chance, inRead More →

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One of the most controversial and convoluted battle in the War of 1812 is that of the Battle of Beaver Dams. It’s also been my most active posts in the project, at least my original posts. I have received more hate mail and rude comments (both of which will never be made public) so rather than let it stand as it is, I did what any good student of history would do, that is research more and learn more. In doing so I came across two books (both of which are cited at the bottom of this post) that have greatly opened my eyes toRead More →

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Located in Oswego, New York, Fort Ontario, is one of three 18th and 19th century fortifications that were built to defend the Oswego River. Often confused and called Fort Oswego, Fort Ontario is located on the western bank of the Oswego River, while the actual Fort Oswego was located on the Eastern Bank, and stood approximately at West First and Lake Street in Oswego. The main gate of the fort Originally constructed as “Fort Six Nations” in 1755 by the French during the French and Indian War (part of the greater Seven Years War), following the French capture of the region that saw the BritishRead More →

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While the Battle of Lake Erie was considered the greatest inland naval battle of 1813, the Battle of Plattsburg or rather Battle of Lake Champlain was the greatest inland naval battle of 1814. By fall of 1814 the British army had beaten back Napoleon and was pouring troops into North American at a rapid pace, already General Robert Ross had burning Washington DC and was marching for Baltimore, another force had captured most of what would become Maine. Yeo and Chauncy continued to chase each other around Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron had been secured under British control with the bold captures of the TigressRead More →