Français  Contact Us  Help  Search  Canada Site Volume 1 (1000–1754) Volume 2 (1755-1871) Volume 3 (1872–2000) CHAPTER 1 The Conquest CHAPTER 2 The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion CHAPTER 3 The Coveted Pacific Coast CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 A Relatively Peaceful Decade The Militias of the New Provinces The French Revolution Canada at War with France Tensions with the United States The Royal Canadian Volunteers Newfoundland Threatened The 1802 Peace The Battle of Trafalgar New Tensions in America Mobilization in Lower Canada The British and Canadian Forces The War of 1812 Canada's Defence Strategy American Fiascos New Invasions in the West The Americans Attack Upper Canada Laura Secord and Beaver Dams Objective: Montreal! The Battle of Chateauguay The Battle of Crysler's Farm The British Take Fort Niagara The 1814 Invasion of Canada The Battle for the Northwest The Race to Build Ships The British Defeat at Plattsburgh The War at Sea The Legacy of the War of 1812 CHAPTER 5 Demobilization CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas CHAPTER 7 A Decade of Turbulence APPENDIX A The British Armed Forces APPENDIX B Daily Life of Soldiers and Officers APPENDIX C Uniforms and Arms APPENDIX D Reference      CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812           The British Take Fort Niagara ( 3 pages )           1 2 3      American Withdrawal Leaves Towns Burning                Fort Niagara, 1814. (Click image to enlarge) To protect the naval base at Sackets Harbor, most of the American army stationed on the Niagara Peninsula was transferred there; the troops that had remained in the Niagara area were of inadequate strength and had to abandon Fort George in December because they could no longer maintain its defence.  They did not leave Canada quietly, however, burning Newark (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake) and much of Queenston, a cruel act that left civilians without shelter as winter approached. This devastation was not, however, the work of American soldiers alone.  Some Canadians played a major role in this affair by wielding the torch with enthusiasm: these were the Canadian Volunteers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Willcocks.  Willcocks, a member of the Assembly of Upper Canada when he joined the Americans in July 1813, had immediately been awarded an officer's commission to recruit a corps of Canadians.  The Canadian Volunteers in the regular American army consisted of approximately 100 men who served as scouts in the Niagara Peninsula, as well as informers in the zone occupied by the Americans.  This corps of renegades was to continue to function until the end of the war.           1 2 3   Last Updated: 2004-06-20 Important Notices