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Both the United States Navy and the Royal Navy knew that who ever had control of the lakes and water ways could control the battlefields on the land. The water was the fastest most effective way to move armies and supplies. On the British side the squadron on Lake Ontario was commanded by Commodore James Lucas Yeo out of the Navy Yards at Kingston. The American’s squadron out of Sacketts Harbor under Commodore Isaac Chauncey. By 1813 both sides had ships roaming Lake Ontario, many conducting raids against the other’s shore targets and small villages and ports where stores were held waiting for ships toRead More →

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As the fall of 1813 moved in closer, and things were not going well for the Americans on the Niagara frontier they decided to launch a strike against Montreal. This act would cut off the rest of Upper Canada from supplies and troops that could come in from Halifax and Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River which had seen peace after the British victory at Ogdensburg in February of the same year. The plan was to catch Montreal between two armies. The first would sweep in from the south commanded by General Hampton, while a second army would come in moving east from UpperRead More →

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Oliver Hazard Perry, one of the great American Heroes that made his name in the War of 1812. A navy man through and through and the man who beat the Royal Navy at their own game. Born in August 23rd, 1785 in South Kingston, Rhode Island entered the fledgling United States Navy at age 15 as a mid-shipman. He saw his first action during the First Barbary war in Tripoli under Commodore Preble. By 1802 he was promoted to Lieutenant and offered the post of master and commander of the Schooner Revenge with Commodore John Roger’s squadron. As it was a time of peace, PerryRead More →

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The battle of Fort Dearborn, and the Fort itself are small footnotes in the War of 1812, the battle itself lasting less than fifteen minutes and resulted in complete victory in the hands of the natives, it’s also of note that there were no British or Canadian units present at the battle as well. But for the residents of Chicago, it is their only connection to the war. A bronze relief showing what Fort Dearborn looked like in 1812 Fort Dearborn itself was built on the south shore of the Chicago river in 1804, named after US General Henry Dearborn (his name can still beRead More →

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Fort Stephenson was a sleepy supply depot fort built under the orders of General William Henry Harrison after he gained command of the Army of the Northwest in 1813. Fort Stephenson’s task was to guard the Sandusky River. The fort consisted of a palisade wall with three blockhouses. By the summer of 1813 was under the command of the young Major George Croghan, and a garrison of 160 regulars from the 17th and 24th US Infantry, along with the local militia. After the failure of the second British assault in early July of 1813 against Harrison’s largest supply forts, Fort Meigs Harrison knew that theRead More →

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After the fall of Detroit to General Brock in the summer of 1812 the British moved quickly to establish a beachhead in the northwest to ensure the security of Upper Canada, and to hold the territory to fulfill a promise to their native allies that it would become their own country at the end of the war (should the British win). The capture of Detroit also put a halt to the planned invasion of Upper Canada from the west. President Madison replaced General Hull as the commander of the Army of the Northwest for the near bloodless capture of Detroit. He first put General WinchesterRead More →

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One of the more interesting urban legends and mysteries of the Anglo-American War of 1812 is Bakus Mills. Unlike similar mills across the western part of Upper Canada, Bakus survived. While many other mills at Port Dover, Port Reyes, and Malcolm’s Mills saw destruction in the last part of the war at the hands of American raiders. These mills despite the threat of raids continued to provide much-needed food supplies to the British front line in the Niagara Region. The Backhouse Homestead, Prospect Hill, while not the original home of the family this was built later in the 19th-Century. Anniversary Speed Graphic – Kodak EktarRead More →

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While today the small town of Port Dover is better known for it’s Friday the Thirteenth Motorcycle event than the small role it played during the Anglo-American War of 1812, the small port played a small but important role in the early parts of the conflict and suffered a pair of disastrous raids by the Americans before the war ended. Lake traffic remains a key feature of Port Dover today. Nikon FM2 – AI-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8 – Kodak Tmax 100 @ ASA-100 – Rodinal 1+50 12:00 @ 20C Like many early communities of Upper Canada Port Dover was first settled by United Empire LoyalistsRead More →

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The Battle of Malcolm’s Mills is little more than a small skirmish, noted only for it being the final engagement of the war in Upper Canada. By November 1814 the Americans had abandoned their beachhead at Fort Erie. Negotiations in Gent between the British and the American governments saw progress, but for those living in the western part of Upper Canada, they remained under threat of American raids and occupation. And while the Americans had neither the will, supply line, or manpower to occupy the territory fully they did continue to send out small raiding parties to disrupt any militia activity or destroy British supplyRead More →

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When it rains, the last place you’ll want to be is Fort Meigs, trust me on this one. The fort isn’t the nicest fort that got involved in the war, there is not a long drawn out or particularly memorable history about the depot fortification. It really is more of an afterthought, a post designed to be a stopping point for troops and supplies, and while it saw only two sieges over the course of the war it did stand out in one way. It was the largest wooden palisade wall fort in all of North America, at least when it was first built. UnlikeRead More →