Sir Isaac Brock

CHAPTER III

Canada: Mutiny in the 49th

Brock collected his men and returned to England. At Copenhagen it will be remembered that he had part of the regiment with him on the Ganges, but others had been on different vessels. In August of 1801 he reviewed the 49th at Colchester, to which place they were ordered. They were now experienced, in some sort, in battle and had shown themselves to be brave soldiers. Brock could look with pride on the men he had trained.

In the spring of the next year the 49th Regiment was ordered to Canada. Probably Brock received his orders regretfully. It meant leaving Europe when in England war was daily imminent, and Brock, as a man of action, loved action. So did his men. America, at this time, was peaceable enough, and even had Canada been attractive in other ways, the commander and men of the 49th would rather have stayed where there was a prospect of fighting. Moreover, Canada was deemed, at that time, a land of hard weather and few attractions. It was little known and supposed to be even less livable. The journey over the Atlantic was feared by some, far more than the fire of the enemy in battle. The 49th had no very pleasant memories of garrison duty, and this was all there was to look forward to.

We can imagine a not very cheerful regiment crossing the uncertain and treacherous ocean under conditions much less agreeable than exist to-day.

One wonders what must have been Brock’s thoughts when he first saw the St. Lawrence. He was seaborn, and the salt and the breeze were his inheritance. He must have been greatly impressed as the ship sailed up the stately river, its shores heavily wooded and all the wonder of its rolling might stretched out in front of him. He came in time to Quebec, and no doubt as his eyes rested on those defences which had withstood siege after siege, his thoughts often turned to Wolfe and Montcalm and how, within this area on which he now gazed, they had made history. He was by now a man of grave and serious character and, as many another in lowlier state has done since, he may have asked himself what this vast unknown country held for him. It was to hold much, and he for it.

We may try and think, for a moment, what the Canada of those early years looked like to this new-comer from the Mother country. There were not more than three hundred thousand people in this country of ours whose people now number over eight million. More than half were in Lower Canada. Brock was a military man and he early noticed how badly protected were the supposedly fortified posts. York, the capital of Upper Canada, had no defences. Montreal, the greatest city then as now, had little to repel attack. Kingston had fairly good fortifications, and Quebec was in a position stubbornly to resist an enemy. These things Brock came soon to see.

Perhaps even more portentous to Brock was the state of mind of the average soldier in Canada. These men had come from Britain where the garrison life was pleasant and full of incident and where the cities offered excitement and amusement. Canada was a great contrast. It was sparsely populated. There were no cities, as these British soldiers understood the term, and the sameness of the life aroused unrest and discontent. The United States offered an easy refuge for deserters. There was to be had across the border the daily eventfulness and excitement which soldiers wanted. Desertions were frequent, and becoming more so, and Brock saw the danger for his men of the 49th. He did all he could to make their lot, under not very accommodating circumstances, a happy one, but the spirit of the regiment was not the cheerful one it had been a year or so before.

Brock had not been long in Canada before trouble began in the regiment. He had an idea that one of his men, Carr by name, was waiting his chance to desert. He questioned him closely, but the man was sullen. “Tell me the truth like a man,” said Brock. “You know I have always treated you kindly.” The man broke down at the words and tone of his commander and confessed that he and others were planning to desert to the United States. Here we see that Brock was a man who knew human nature. He decided to cure by kindness, and he ordered Carr to tell his companions of what had happened. “Tell them that, notwithstanding what you have told me, I shall still treat you all kindly,” he said. “Let them desert me if they please.” Wise Isaac Brock! He knew the value of placing a man on his honor.

After a short stay at Quebec, Brock and his men began their journey to York, the small but important town that was later to become the great city of Toronto. The 49th journeyed by water, for there were no trains. A schooner took the men up to Montreal, where, after resting, they took boats up the St. Lawrence. Picture what it meant to brave the wildness and storm of our great river, to these voyagers a waterway quite unknown, in small and open boats. They had a new experience in portaging their boats where the rapids were too strong for them. They plied their oars through the exquisite loveliness of the Thousand Islands, and Brock, remembering the fairyland of Guernsey, must have marvelled at this country which, in one place, had a thousand islands, some of them almost as big as Sark. Eventually the 49th arrived at Kingston, the second stage. They made the rest of the journey over Lake Ontario in another swiftly sailing schooner.

By the time the whole trip was completed Brock had been afforded much food for thought. He saw a country whose resources were barely touched. Where we now have thriving communities, he saw settlements where the people might be counted by handfuls. In the long journey up the St. Lawrence the abundance of fish and game and the vast sources of wealth contained in the land alone must have amazed him. He came from a country across which the stage coach could travel in two or three days. But his journey across but a section of Canada took him weeks. In England the lakes were not a twentieth of the size of the one upon which York stood. The meadows and lanes of England were a far cry from the densely timbered stretches of Canada. The contrast between his country and ours is sharp enough to-day. It must have been infinitely more so when Brock made his first Canadian journey.

It was not long after the pardoning of Carr that Brock had again to face a similar trouble. Part of his men had gone on to Fort George, while the others remained with him at York. Brock’s kind treatment of Carr had had a salutary effect upon most of the regiment, but there were still a few malcontents. The next summer six of these, at the instigation of a corporal in another regiment stationed near, deserted, and in a military batteau – a big flat-bottomed boat, forty feet in length – which they had stolen, started for Niagara. Brock, the man of action, thought quickly. He took his servant, Dobson, and manning two boats, started in pursuit. It was midnight and Lake Ontario was to Brock an unknown quantity, but the boy who had played with the English Channel in all its moods was unafraid. After a hard row the pursuers reached Fort George in the morning, and search parties were organized. The deserters were secured and made prisoners at Fort George. Brock was as stern this time as he had been kind before, and his prompt action and personal pursuit put an end to desertions when he himself was commanding the regiment. It is said that the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Hunter, who was then at York, was very much annoyed with Brock for risking his life by going in person to seek the deserters and read him a severe lecture on his conduct.

Brock spent a good deal of time familiarizing himself with the Canadas, or Lower Canada and Upper Canada as they then were. He made many journeys to Montreal and Kingston by stage and by boat. From Quebec to Montreal was sixty leagues, and horses must be changed twenty-four times on the journey which took three days. Brock did a good deal of sailing too, for he had to get from York to Kingston and Montreal. Canoe and horse-ferry were often employed. The former was certainly new to Brock, and even more novel were the Indians who often manned it. Packman and voyageur excited Brock’s eager interest, and from them he learned much that was to be valuable in years to come. He got to know the French-Canadian intimately too; saw him in his native habitat and spent time in studying him as he did the folk of Ontario. Nothing escaped his quick eye and quicker mentality. He believed in acquainting himself with the people with whom he had to deal, and his detailed knowledge of them placed him in a position accurately to estimate the help they could give him if ever Canada should be attacked. He could not be unmindful of the way in which thousands of American settlers were coming into his adopted country. The people across the border recognized the wonderful resources of Canada, and as land was cheap they flocked over to possess it. Even in these early days Brock must have seen signs of the very real menace which ultimately was to come from the United States.

Meanwhile there was a serious disturbance at Fort George. Lieutenant-Colonel Sheaffe was commanding that part of the 49th which was stationed there, and we have seen that he was too harsh a disciplinarian ever to command a contented as well as an efficient body of men. For the slightest offence he punished his men very heavily. These were the days of heavy punishment alike in civilian and military misdemeanours. Where the soldier to-day would merit a rebuke, in Brock’s day he was supposed to deserve and got a flogging. Sentences like 999 lashes from the “Cat”, which was often steeped in brine to heighten the pain, were frequently carried out, and that for such small sins as quitting barracks without permission or being deficient in a detail of parade dress. The cells, too, were constantly occupied. Lieutenant-Colonel Sheaffe seems to have delighted in inflicting these punishments. His methods were a direct contrast to those of his senior, Brock. Small wonder, then, that his men were resentful, and finally so hot in their anger that their plans included wholesale mutiny, the murder of Sheaffe, and the imprisonment of the rest of the officers. The ringleader was a certain Sergeant Clarke.

When Clarke had his plans all ready an accidental word was dropped by a soldier in the 49th. A hurried meeting of the officers discussed the situation, and word was quickly sent to Brock, it is said without the knowledge of Sheaffe. The soldier who bore the message had a bad reputation in the regiment, and Brock at once jumped to the conclusion that the man himself was implicated in the plot. Under stern questioning and threats of severe punishment the soldier broke down and told the whole story, together with the names of the ringleaders. Accompanied by Sergeant-Major FitzGibbon, Brock set sail that very hour and landed at Fort George long before he was expected by the waiting officers. The guard at the east gate of the fort was headed by Sergeant Clarke himself, and Brock ordered him to lay down his pike and take off sword and sash. When this was done, O’Brien, next in command, was ordered to handcuff the sergeant, and a third soldier, in turn, to manacle O’Brien. Almost before the officers who had asked his assistance knew that he had arrived, Brock had the twelve leaders of the plot in irons, and, they, with the seven deserters already mentioned, were sent to York under guard.We have read the story of Carr’s intended mutiny, and we have seen that Brock could be kind and indeed cure by kindness. He knew when to punish and when to stay his hand. In the case of Clarke he saw that an example must be made, so that his authority over his men might be seen by them to be a thing not lightly to be set aside. This time he showed no mercy.The affair was now one for the commander-in-chief of the forces, Lieutenant-General Hunter. The men were sent to Quebec, and there tried. Four of the conspirators and three of the deserters were sentenced to death, and on March 2nd, 1804, the sentence was carried out, greatly to Brock’s grief. He was big-hearted and clear-headed enough to know that Lieutenant-Colonel Sheaffe had been to a large extent responsible in arousing the evil passions which had resulted in the conspiracy, and while he recognized that the punishment was just he could not help but think that the delinquents were more foolish than criminal. When at York, he got news of the execution, he addressed a full parade of his men. He thought of the fate of the men who had been with him in Holland, and he was grave and bitterly sorry when he said: “Since I have had the honor to wear the British uniform, I have never felt grief like this. It pains me to the heart to think that any members of my regiment should have engaged in a conspiracy which has led to their being shot like so many dogs.”

We have read the story of Carr’s intended mutiny, and we have seen that Brock could be kind and indeed cure by kindness. He knew when to punish and when to stay his hand. In the case of Clarke he saw that an example must be made, so that his authority over his men might be seen by them to be a thing not lightly to be set aside. This time he showed no mercy.

The affair was now one for the commander-in-chief of the forces, Lieutenant-General Hunter. The men were sent to Quebec, and there tried. Four of the conspirators and three of the deserters were sentenced to death, and on March 2nd, 1804, the sentence was carried out, greatly to Brock’s grief. He was big-hearted and clear-headed enough to know that Lieutenant-Colonel Sheaffe had been to a large extent responsible in arousing the evil passions which had resulted in the conspiracy, and while he recognized that the punishment was just he could not help but think that the delinquents were more foolish than criminal. When at York, he got news of the execution, he addressed a full parade of his men. He thought of the fate of the men who had been with him in Holland, and he was grave and bitterly sorry when he said: “Since I have had the honor to wear the British uniform, I have never felt grief like this. It pains me to the heart to think that any members of my regiment should have engaged in a conspiracy which has led to their being shot like so many dogs.”

CHAPTER IV

Rumors of War

Brock, in 1805, was made full colonel. After the incident of the mutiny he had taken over the active command at Fort George as well as at York, and at the former, as at the latter, a new and kindlier order of discipline was worked out. In this, Lieutenant-Colonel Sheaffe seems to have helped. No doubt he was influenced by reflecting on the trouble he had helped to cause. Later on, in reporting the excellent discipline of the 49th, Brock gave a good deal of the credit to Sheaffe. Desertions were in bad odor, for the commanding officer gave his men no reason for leaving him.

In October Brock went to England on leave. While he was glad to see his old friends again, he made business his first consideration and discussed with the British commander-in-chief, the Duke of York, the military situation in the Canadas. He proposed the establishment of veteran battalions. He instanced the attractiveness of desertion to the soldier quartered near the United States border and pointed out that the immigration from the United States to Canada of undesirable settlers – undesirable since they owed no allegiance to the British flag – might possibly counterbalance the devotion of the United Empire Loyalists. He suggested that these veterans should serve a certain time and that they should then be given an opportunity to settle on the land. The Duke warmly thanked Brock, and later on the plan was adopted.

Brock turned his steps Guernsey-wards, but after a few days there news of real trouble with the United States made it imperative that he should return to his command. Shortening his leave, he set sail on June 26th, 1806, and never returned to England.

When he arrived in Quebec he found himself the senior officer of military rank in the Canadas and, as such, at once assumed the command of all the forces.

The war cloud was gathering. Although Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar had finally shattered Napoleon’s dream of invading England, he still hoped to cripple her by destroying her commerce and cutting off her food supply. Rapidly he subjugated Austria and Prussia, and when these two countries were at his feet, from the capital of Prussia he issued the famous Berlin Decree. This decree forbade France or any of her allies to trade with Britain and declared that any ship engaged in such trade might be lawfully seized as a prize of war. Britain did not meekly submit, but by various orders in council forbade the ships of any nation to trade with France or any of her allies. Both the Berlin Decree and the orders in council were very high handed proceedings and bore with special severity on the neutral nations.

At this time the relations between the United States and Great Britain were very strained. In order to maintain her navy at its full strength, Britain had revived her ancient “right of search.” She claimed and exercised the right to search the ships of neutral nations to find if they were carrying British subjects who were deserters from the British navy. The United States protested strongly against this action of Great Britain, holding that once a British seaman had crossed the decks of an American ship he was an American, and, moreover, she declined to acknowledge any right of Great Britain to hold up and to search her ships on the chance of finding deserters. And now came the British orders in council as a further source of irritation.

It is true that the commerce of the United States with foreign nations had practically ceased as a result of the actions of the warring powers in Europe, but for this the Berlin Decrees were as much to blame as the orders in council. In fact at this time the United States suffered innumerable humiliations at the hands of the French. But in spite of this the whole anger of the United States seemed to be directed against Great Britain. The bitterness produced by the Revolutionary War had not yet died down, and there was a strong party in the country who made it its business to increase the flame of hatred. This party looked with covetous eyes on Canada, and desired to incorporate it into the United States. Without question that was the underlying reason for the War of 1812-14.

President Jefferson was a bitter enemy of Great Britain. While Brock was still in England, the president addressed Congress and said that “the impressment of American seamen by British cruisers, not at all checked by the remonstrances of the American Government, was a growing source of irritation and complaint… She [Britain] plainly showed a disposition to narrow the limits of the commerce of neutrals by denying to them the right of carrying on a trade with belligerents which she did not interdict with her own subjects.” Britain’s view was that as she was trying to beat the man who was doing his best to conquer Europe, the United States should see that if extreme measures were necessary they must be borne with, even though they hurt for the moment.

At the end of 1805 President Jefferson went further. He came out flatly and said that “the foreign relations of the United States had been materially changed since the preceding session.” He charged Britain with piracy and infesting the American coast with private armed vessels, “which had perpetrated acts beyond their commission.” And he said: “It is due to ourselves to provide effective opposition to a doctrine which is as infamous as it is unwarranted.”Brock recognized the veiled threat in the words “effective opposition” and was convinced that Jefferson and that section of the United States for which he stood wanted war. Hence his quick return to Canada. He knew that Jefferson’s first act in the event of war would be to try and get control of the lakes and rivers and to capture the fortified posts. Brock realized better than any man how weak was the resistance that could be offered unless the defences of the Canadas were immediately strengthened. As soon as he had taken up his new command he set about preparing the defence Canada was to offer. In this he was hampered rather than helped by the civil authorities. The governor-general of the Canadas at this time, Sir Robert Prescott, does not seem to have taken his position very seriously, and Thomas Dunn, president of the Executive Council, the man with whom Brock had directly to deal, appears to have been of one mind with Prescott.Early in 1807, Brock was greatly heartened by proposals from Colonel John Macdonell, who was lieutenant of the county of Glengarry and had been for four years commanding officer of the Glengarry Militia Regiment, for forming a company of Highland Fencibles. Brock forwarded the scheme to the war office in London and backed it up. It would be, he said, “essentially useful in checking any seditious disposition which the wavering sentiments of a large population in the Montreal district might at any time manifest.” This is an indication that Brock was by no means sure which way the habitant would go in case of war.Brock thought he had ground for his suspicions, and he decided to get to know the folk of Lower Canada better. When Sir James Craig arrived in Quebec, Brock’s tenure of the office of commander-in-chief ended. Sir James became that and governor-general in one, but he appointed Brock as acting brigadier-general. This was confirmed in London. Brock was sent to Montreal in command of the troops there and quartered in the old Chateau de Ramesay at Montreal, then a rich centre and the only city of pleasure and gaiety in Canada.In Montreal he managed to see a good deal of the fur lords and great business men of the place. He entered into their social life, and the French-Canadian then, as now, knew how to be hospitable. This gave the brigadier a chance to judge somewhat as to where French-Canada stood, and he had even better facilities when, in September, 1808, he was superseded in the Montreal command by General Drummond and was moved back to Quebec. Here he had many friends and he entertained and was entertained. All sorts of regattas and land sports were held by the officers of the garrison and, here, as in Montreal, he found a good deal of pleasure in social affairs. He writes of “a vast assemblage of all descriptions” – an occasion when he entertained Lieutenant-Governor Gore, of Upper Canada, and his wife at a dinner and ball. During these days he unquestionably became reassured as to the loyalty of the people of Lower Canada.He had perhaps been unduly suspicious. The people of Lower Canada, of course, were almost entirely of French descent. They spoke French, and Brock feared that in a Franco-America alliance, French Canada would remember its descent and support Napoleon. There were signs of leaning France-wards. The French Canadians publicly rejoiced when news of a fresh victory for Napoleon reached them, and Brock at first certainly deemed them disloyal. He so expressed himself in his letters again and again. He could not understand why they should be, for they were much freer and happier under British rule than they had been when Bigot and others, during the French regime, had governed them. Yet even in the early days, Brock was in two minds about them for he wrote: “It may appear surprising that men petted as they have been and indulged in everything they could desire should wish for a change, but so it is, and I am inclined to think that were Englishmen placed in the same situation they would show even more impatience to escape from French rule.”But, on the whole, Brock need not have feared. The French Canadians did not want another rule. Their priests and men in high authority were loyal to Britain, and they represented the mass of opinion more than the Napoleonic or American agent who was to be found here and there in Lower Canada.In these days, Brock was not particularly happy. He was worried by the possibility of war, and taking it on the whole he was not in love with Canada. Perhaps he was homesick. He heard of former comrades winning their spurs on the battlefields of Europe, and he compared their lot to his in a “remote, inactive corner” as he dubbed Canada in a letter to England. And we know that he had enlisted his brother Savery’s efforts to have him transferred. It was natural. He was a man of action and had as keen a desire as any soldier for risk and fame.Brock’s first measure in strengthening the defences of Canada was to make Quebec attack-proof. Sir Guy Carleton, in 1775-1776, had defended Quebec against American forces under General Montgomery. There might soon be another attack, and Brock wanted to have Quebec in such shape that it could repel invasion. He appealed to the council for a thousand men and sufficient carts for six months to strengthen the walls. But the civil government of Lower Canada thought his move was a political one and gave little or no aid. They told him he must do the work himself, and he did. In a letter to the president of the council he scouts the suspicions of the civil government and states that his “sole object was to state the assistance required by the military to remedy a glaring defect in the fortifications of Quebec, should his Honor conceive that preparatory measures were necessary to be adopted in consequence … of the … aggressive proceedings in the proclamation of the American Government.”He went ahead and erected a battery mounting eight thirty-six pounders in the centre of the citadel at Quebec, commanding the heights opposite. This was first christened “Brock’s Battery,” but when the newly-arrived governor-general, Sir James Craig, saw it, he thought, says Brock, “that anything so pre-eminent should be distinguished by the most exalted name.” It was therefore called “The King’s Battery,” and, wrote Brock, “this is the greatest compliment that he could pay to my judgment.”Altogether, at great expense, the fortifications of Quebec were greatly improved. Proper drill grounds were made and a good hospital created. Quartermasters at Amherstburg and Kingston were appointed to take charge of new fleets of schooners and military batteaux which he had constructed.He was not a moment too soon with his work. The international situation was rapidly complicating. Mention has been made of Britain’s stopping and searching American vessels for British deserters. This continued and became more general, and there does not seem to be room for doubt that, in some cases, British commanders were very autocratic. They gave the United States legitimate cause for complaint by sometimes carrying off seamen whom they pretended were British, but who were really American citizens. The case of the Chesapeake brought matters to a head. It was suspected by Admiral Berkeley, stationed at Halifax, that some sailors, whose offence was particularly flagrant, had deserted from the British sloop Halifax and had found refuge on the Chesapeake. The Admiral ordered Captain Humphreys of the frigate Leopard to insist on the return of these deserters. Commodore Barron commanding the Chesapeake refused point blank to surrender the men in question, and Humphreys fired on the United States frigate, which did not return the fire. She was seized, and the deserters secured by the British commander. Naturally the United States threatened war. This was answered by an honorable apology from Britain, however, and the war cloud passed for the moment. But Brock thought it could not long be delayed. The heart of the trouble was still there, and sooner or later the irritation which each nation felt at the other was bound to find outlet in actual conflict. Hence Brock’s rush to make preparations for adequate defence.