British Generals in the War of 1812: High Command in the Canadas

285 Pages·1999·19.741 MB·English

by  Wesley B. Turner

British Generals in the War of 1812
High Command in the Canadas
The Canadian people have faced crises of leadership, but never more
seriously than during the War of 1812. Despite the many studies of this
turbulent time, there are still controversies over traditional issues, one
being the quality of leadership on both sides.
In British Generals in the War of 1812 Wesley Turner takes a fresh look
at five British Generals - Sir George Provost, Isaac Brock, Roger Sheaffe,
Baron Francis de Rottenburg, and Gordon Drummond - who held the
highest civil and military command in the Canadas. Fie considers their
formative experiences in the British Army and on active service in
European and West Indian theatres and evaluates their roles in the
context of North American conditions, which were very different from
those of Europe.
Turner answers questions about the quality of each general's leader-
ship, particularly that of Brock, the best known of these five generals.
He argues that Brock's charge up Queenston Heights — the basis for
his heroic stature - was brave but hardly a demonstration of competent
leadership. Turner also shows us that while the other generals displayed
courage in combat, they had to face problems raised by American mil-
itary successes and by the strains of warfare on the civilian population.
British Generals in the War of 1812 explores why these commanders suc-
ceeded or failed and why, except for Brock, they are all but forgotten.
WESLEY B. TURNER is a recently retired professor from the Department
of History at Brock University,
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British Generals in the War of 1812
High Command in the Canadas
Wesley B. Turner
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
© McGill-Queen's University Press 1999
ISBN 0-7735-1832-0
Legal deposit second quarter 1999
Bibliotheque Rationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
This book has been published with the help of a grant
from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada. Funding has
also been received from the Faculty of Humanities of
Brock University.
McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the
financial support of the Government of Canada through
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
for its activities. We also acknowledge the support of
the Canada Council for the Arts for our
publishing program.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Turner, Wesley B., 1933—
British generals in the War of 1812:
high command in Canadas
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7735-1832-0
i. Generals — Great Britain - Biography. 2. Generals -
Canada - Biography. 3. Canada - History - War of 1812 -
Biography. 4. Command of troops - History - i gth century.
5. Great. Britain. Army — Officers — Biography. I. Title.
KC443-A1T87 1999 355.3'3i'o922i 098-901405-3
4
E35.V87 1999
Typeset in New Baskerville 10/12
by Caractera inc., Quebec City
Dedicated to all those who have fought in defence of Canada's freedom
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Contents
Maps ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Mr Madison's War 3
1 Generals and Generalship 9
2 Disappointment: The Leadership of Lieutenant-General
Sir George Prevost 24
3 Audacity: The Leadership of Major-General
Sir Isaac Brock 58
4 Prudence: The Leadership of Major-General
Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe 84
5 Detachment: The Leadership of Major-General
Baron Francis de Rottenburg 101
6 Persistence: The Leadership of Lieutenant-General
Sir Gordon Drummond 113
7 Comparing Generals 141
Appendix A: Chronology of the War of 1812 157
Appendix B: The Military Careers of British and American
Officers in the War of 1812 160
Appendix C: Correspondence between the Commander of
the Forces and Captain Downie 162
Appendix D: Prevost's Reports to Earl Bathurst 165
viii Contents
Abbreviations Used in the Sources 169
Notes 171
Bibliography 239
Index 257
Maps
1 The Canadas, the Maritime colonies, and the northeastern
United States a
2 The attack on Sackets Harbor, May 1813 36
3 American piquets around Fort George, summer 1813 40
4 The attack on Plattsburgh, September 1814 48
5 The Niagara frontier 66
6 The Detroit River, 181 a 73
7 The battle of Queenston Heights, October 1812 76
8 The capture of York, April 1813 94
9 The battle of Lundy's Lane, July 1814 124
10 The entrenchments at Fort Erie subsequent to the
evacuation in November 1814 130