to face p. 172.
On the 18th June, 1812, the United States declared war against England. The declaration reached the British Government on the 30th July; but, as the British Orders in Council respecting the trade of neutral nations, that had been put forward on the American side as the chief reason for the war, had been rescinded on 23rd June, it was still believed in England that peace would be maintained. In spite of the hostilities that immediately commenced, it was not till October that conditional orders for reprisals were issued, and the formal declaration of war by Great Britain was not made till 9th January 1813. The war party in the States had the upper hand at the time: they were determined on war, and cared little for the pretext. To outward appearance, it seemed, in 1812, that England could not much longer hold out against Napoleon, who had the whole continent of Europe, except Russia, at his feet, while the British armies in Spain seemed to make no progress. In truth Napoleon’s power was already beginning to totter. The British armies in Spain, hardened and consolidated by three years of war under their great leader, were invincible. Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz had fallen, and Wellington had already begun his victorious advance that was to carry him across the Pyrenees. At the same time Napoleon was preparing for his disastrous invasion of Russia which dealt the first deadly blow to his power. But the war party in the United States were unable to discern this. The British troops in Canada were few in number, the colonists were believed to be lukewarm in their loyalty to Great Britain, and the war party promised their countrymen that Canada would prove an easy prey. Under the thin veil of resenting injuries a war of conquest was intended.
On 6th March 1813, an order was issued for three squadrons of the 19th Light Dragoons, completed to eighty rank and file per troop, to be held in readiness to embark for North America, under Lieut. Colonel the Hon. J. O’Neill. The horses of the officers, sergeants and corporals were to be taken, but all other horses were to be left behind. In the same month the regiment reached Cork, and embarked on 4th April, in company with other troops, under convoy of the Sybelle frigate and Cygnet sloop; almost the first reinforcements sent from England to Canada since the United States’ declaration of war. They reached Quebec about the 17th May,[57] and were at once sent to La Prairie on the St Lawrence near Montreal.
The war in which the regiment was about to engage, was one in which cavalry could play only a subordinate part. The country in which they were to operate was a vast expanse of forest and swamp, with a few sparsely inhabited clearings. The chief mode of communication was by boat. The war was one to be fought out by small bodies of men far from their supports, wielding the axe and the oar as much as the rifle: forage was hard to get, and there was little place for mounted men. Under these conditions, the 19th Light Dragoons were only engaged in small detachments, never more than a squadron, seldom more than a troop. Their duties were of a most harassing kind, on outpost and reconnoissance duty. Never once did they have an opportunity of crossing swords with the enemy’s cavalry. The only cavalry charges recorded during the war were those made by the United States’ cavalry that overwhelmed Proctor’s force at the battle of the Thames, and the charge repulsed by the 89th at Chrystler’s Farm.
Walker & Boutall sc.
Immediately on landing, one troop, taking with it only ten horses, was dispatched to Upper Canada. With it went Lieut. Colonel O’Neill and a convoy of ammunition. The three hundred horses, that were to have been ready by 1st July, had not been obtained. A fortnight later, a second troop followed, with sixty-five horses, most of which had been brought from Ireland with the regiment. The squadron was destined for the Niagara frontier, where it was engaged, under Captain Lisle, till the end of the war.
Meanwhile, in spite of the belief in England that war would not be prosecuted by the States, when the rescinding of the orders in Council was known, hostilities had been in active progress from the first declaration. The British regular troops in Canada, in June 1812, were about 4500 in number; of which 3000 were in garrison at Quebec and Montreal, the remainder being scattered along the Upper Canada frontier. Their small number was effectively supplemented by the Canadian militia, who fought for the protection of their homes with a gallantry and devotion that could not be exceeded. Their numbers were however liable to constant fluctuations owing to the frequent necessity for their presence at their homes for agricultural purposes. A considerable number of Indians also, at times, co-operated; allies of doubtful value, who could never be relied on, and whose numbers varied from day to day. In population and resources the United States were in the proportion of more than ten to one compared to Canada. On the British side therefore the war was necessarily of a defensive character. The points on which Canada was most vulnerable were, 1. on the Detroit frontier between Lake Huron and Lake Erie; 2. on the Niagara frontier between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario; and, 3. on the line of the St Lawrence between Kingston and Montreal. The United States’ plan was to invade Canada on all three points, and three separate expeditions were prepared for the purpose. The first attack was made on the Detroit frontier, where, under pretence of punishing some Indians, troops had been assembled before the declaration of war.
Before noticing the more important operations of 1812, it is necessary to mention the capture of the United States’ fort and island of Mackinaw, which was effected by a party of regulars, militia and Indians, under Captain Roberts, on 17th July, and retained till the end of the war. The capture was of some importance, as the island commanded the navigation between Lakes Michigan and Huron.