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'•■••III 1,1

THE LIFE AMD TIMES

Gen, JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE,

Commander of the "Queen's Rangers " during the Revolutionary War,
and first Oovernor of Upper Canada,

TOGKTHKK WITH

Some account of Major Andre'and Capt. Brant

Bv D. B. READ, Q.C.

//istortan of the County of York Law Association; Author of "The Lives of thr
Judges of Upper Canada."

TORONTO :
GEORGE VIRTUE, PUBLISHER.

1890-

Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the year i8go
by George Virtue, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture.

PRINTED BY

C. BLACKETT ROBINSON

TORONTO.

DEDICATION.

To THE People of Ontario :

Fellow Subjects,— I dedicate this book, "The Life
and Times of General Simcoe, the First Governor of Upper
Canada," to you. You are the natural guardians of the fame
of the distinguished oflFicer to whom was committed the desti-
nies of Upper Canada when first severed from the Province
of Quebec. Governor Simcoe, like many of the early settlers
of the Province, was actively engaged on the British side in
the American Revolutionary War. It was fitting that he
should be the first Governor of a province the majority of
whose people were his compatriots. If the reading of this
book should recall to your memory events of the past pleasant
to be remembered and treasured up, it will afford gratifica-
tion to no one more than to

Your humble servant.

THE AUTHOR.

January, 1890.

PREFACE.

THERE never yet has been pub i shed a history of the life
of General Simcoe, the fii-st Governor o^ Upper Cannda.
The pioneers of the country a.. a their des' cndants are entitled
to be made acquainted with the offl( < r who was first entrusted
with the administration of their affairs, and was the real
founder of the Province. In writing The Life and Times of
General Simcoe" I have endeavoured to recall the public acts
of the first Governor of Upper Canada in his different capaci-
ties of citizen, soldier and administrator. His career as a
soldier and officer of the " Queen's Rangers ' during the Revo-
lutionary War naturally demands attention. For much that
I have written on that subject I am indebted to the Journal
which he himself kept during the different campaigns of the
War of Independence. Regarding General Simcoe's career
as Lieutenant-Governor I have availed myself of information
jjained from that valuable collection of manus':ripts called
" Smith's Papers," which the chief Librarian of the Public
Library of Toronto so opportunely secured for that Institution.
Writing not only the memoirs, but a history of the times
of Governor Simcoe, necessarily drew me a-field. The great
Indian chief, Thayendanegea (Brant) was so intimate a friend
of Simcoe, and held in such high regard, not only by the Gov-
ernor, but by the people of the Province of Upper Canada,

mm^mmmmg^^m

s I

that I could not pass him over. I have given him a foremost
place in the history of the Times.

The name of Major Andr^, so familiar to those acquainted
with the Revolutionary era, also finds a place in this history.
His was a sad and undeserved fate, the recollection of which
to this day rankles in many breasts.

I must not omit to mention that I have, in preparing this
work, derived great assistance from the writings f Dr. Scad-
ding, not only from his "Toronto of Old," but the " Memorial
Volume," published to celebrate the Semi-Centennial of
Toronto. I first satisfied myself that some record of the early
times of the Province ought to be preserved, and acting upon
this inspiration I set about writing this history which I now
commit to the reading public, in the belief that its perusal
will do no h?;m, and may do much good in reviving a
memory of the past, and of the first era of a Province now
the foremost of the Provinces of the Dominion of Canada.

I
I

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Introduction — Military Career.

PAOB

Parentage — Early Education and Early Military Career cf
Major, afterwards General, Simcoe — His appointment to
the "Queen's Rangers" and Early Military Service in that
Corps — First Period of the American Revolutionary War.. 9-18

CHAPTER II.

The Campaigns of 1777-1778.

The "Rangers'" conduct when informed of the Surrender of
Bnrgoyne at Saratoga — Meeting of the "Rangers" with
Pulaski, Polish Officer in American Service — Crossing the
Delaware and Crossing into Jersey — Expedition for Capture
of Flat Boats and Foraging for Cattle — Simcoe appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel of the " Queen's Rangers " — Issues Gene-
ral Orders Condemning Plunder — Exacts Discipline — The
British Troops, "Queen's Rangers," etc., marching north
through Pennsylvania — liuse de Guerre Resorted to and Suc-
cessfully Accomplished — The Marquis de LaFayette and the
French as Allies of the American Continentals — Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe offered the Colonelcy of the "Queen's Rangers" by
Sir Henry Clinton, but Declines the Promotio.-i — Arrival of
the "Rangers" at Oyster bay — Lonp Island in Ifovember,
1778 — The "Rangers" in Winter Quarters — Lieut.-Colonel
Simcoe's Gratification at t eing in Command of the " Queen's
Rangers," made up mostly of P.'ovincials 19-36

CHAPTER III.

Campaign of 1779.

Expedition from Oyster Bay to Seize American Generals Parsons
and Silliman — The King Rewards the Provincial Troops for
their Faithful Services — The Officers of Provincial Regiments
get Equal Rank in the Regular Army— The "Queen's R^angers"
recommended by the Commander-i.r Chief, and styled and

Vlll.

Contents.

PACK

numbered as the " First American Regiment" — Lieut. -Colonel
Simcoe's protection of the Loyalists — His belief that the Revo-
lution would not be Successful — Alfair at Vanvactars Bridge
— A Successful Ruse — A Case of Crow — Destruction of Flat
Boats — Simcoe made Prisoner — Governor Livingstone Issues
an Order for the Protection of Simcoe from Insult or Abuse
while a Captive — The American Colonial Secretary writes
Simcoe a Letter, dictated by feelings of " Man for Man " —
A True Soldier's Letter — Lieut. -Colonel Simcoe and Colonel
Lee were personally frrendly, but politically opposed. Sim-
coe's Letter to Sir Henry Clinton detailing the circumstances
of his Captivity — Commends the "Queen's Rangers" to their
Commander-in-Chief's favourable consideration — Simcoe
makes a Direct Appeal to Washington claiming his Release —
Exchange Effected and Simcoe released 37-63

CHAPTER IV.

Campaign of 1780.

The "Queen's Rangers" at Richmond, Staten Island — Americans
Find Richmond too well Fortified to be Successfully Attacked,
and Retreat, followed by Simcoe and the Flank Companies —
General Order issued by Colonel Simcoe, Officers and Soldiers
to Sleep in their Clothes and be ready for any Emergency —
Simcoe conceives the idea of Capturing General Washington
— Colonel Simcoe's plan frustrated by another Officer under-
taking the same Enterprise ; the Enterprise failed — Letter
from the Colonial Secretary, and the Esteem in which
Colonel Simcoe is held by the British Goverment — Simcoe in
Charleston, where he Receives the Congratulations of his
Friends on his Release from Imprisonment — Capitulation of
Charleston by the Americans, and Surrender of the place —
The "Queen's Rangers" leave Charleston for New York — On
2ist June, at Richmond, Staten Island, again — March into the
Jersies — Rumours of a French Armament arrived to Support
the American Revolters — Siincoe anxious to meet the Frei^h
in Battle. The Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Major
Andr^ Considered and Commented on — Circumstances fully
detailed, and conclusion that he ought not to have been Exe-

Contents,

IX.

PAGB

cuted — His Heroic Behaviour and Nobility of Character-
Many Americans doubted the Justice of his Sentence — A Dark
Spot in American History — Colonel Simcoe a Great Favourite
of the Loyalists of America — Rumour that LaFayette, the
French General, intended to Attack Simcoe at Richmond,
Staten Island — Simcoe is Prepared for the Encounter — The
Highlanders Marched to the Redoubts, Displayed their
National Banner with St. Andrew's Cross, Planted it on
the Ramparts saying, " No Frenchman or Rebelshall ever
Pull that Down." 64-93

CHAPTER V.

Campaign of 1781.

Expedition into Virginia — " Queen's Rangers " sail from Sandy
Hook — Destination, Richmond, Virginia — "Rangers" employed
in Skirmishing and Attacking Outposts — The Americans are
Deceived by au Effigy and waste their powder — Three French
Ships arrive to succour the Americans — Expedition toward
Hampton, Virginia— Quarter Master McGill's Praise of the
"Queen's Rangers " on the Expedition to Hampton — McGill
was afterwards Commissary of Stores for Upper Canada
— In April, 1781, Americans in possession of Yorktown — York-
town Taken but not Held — March on Petersburgh — Peters-
burgh Captured — "Queen's Rangers" very active in their
Duties — Action at Spencer's Ordinary — A Brilliant Affair —
"Rangers" Especially Distinguished — Thanks of Lord Corn-
wallis to Colonel Simcoe — Cornet Merntt, father of WiUiam
Hamilton Merritt and his Distinguished Service — Arrest, Im-
prisonment and Escape — River York Blockaded by French
Fleet on 31st August, 1781— Investment of Yorktown by Gene-
ral Washington, 23rd September, 1781 — Illness of Colonel
Simcoe — Carried from sick-bed to the Redoubt occupied by
the "Rangers" — The British Largely Outnumbered by the
Enemy — Americans gain Advantage— Earl Cornwallis pro-
poses Cessation of Hostilities — Capitulation of the British,
19th October, 1781 — Colonel Simcoe sails for New York in a
Dangerous State of Health — Many of the "Rangers" sail with
him on the Bonetta to New York, to be Exchanged as Prisoners

! i

PAGE

of War — Sir Henry Clinton permits Colonel Simcoe to proceed
to England— Soon after Preliminaries of Peace Signed —
The Associated Loyalists Express to Colonel Simcoe their
Esteem and Appreciation of his Soldierly Conduct — Colonel
Simcoe created Lieut.-Colonel in the Regular Army — The
King, on 19th December, 1782, makes the rank of Officers of
"Queen's Rangers" Permanent — The Regiment Eniulled in
the British Army — Colonel Simcoe on Parole in England — His
Exchange Effected by Dr. Benjamin Franklin — End of Col.
Simcoe's Military Career 94-"4

CHAPTER VI.

Civil Government in Upper Canada.

Civil Government in Upper Canada— Constitutional Act of 1791
— Colonel Simcoe Marries — The Debate on the Canada Bill —
Act of 1791 in the British House of Commons — Speech of Pitt,
and his Reason for Dividing Old Province of Quebec into
two Provinces — Fox Opposes this Bill — His Speech — Colonel
Simcoe's Appointment to Lieutenant-Governorship of Upper
Canada — His Appointment Immediate on Bill Passing — Begins
to take Interest in Province at once — His Letter of 20th May,
1791, to Surveyor-Gen. respecting a Salt Spring at Trenton —
His Solicitude for the Indians — The Duke of Northumberland,
3rd September, 1791, gives Governor Simcoe a Letter to Cap-
tain Brant (Thayendanegea, the Great Mohawk Chief)— Gov-
ernor Simcoe sails for Quebec — Is in Montreal, 17th January,
1792 — The March of " Queen's Rangers," under Captains Shaw
and Shank, from New Brunswick to Montreal on Snowshoes —
Captains Shaw and Shank afterwards Citizens of York, and
Captain Smith, President of the Province — The Governor, in
Spring of 1792, leaves Montreal for Province of Upper Can-
. ada — Ascends the Rapids of the St. Lawrence in bark canoe,
accompanied by his Staff — His Reception at Johnstown —
Salute and Demonstrations of Loyalty — Governor, with his
Fleet of Boats, reaches Kingston — Government of Upper
Canada Organized at Kingston The Executive Council— The
Legislative Council Formed — Summonses issued for Parlia-
ment at Niagara — Mrs. Simcoe accompanied Governor on his

Contents.

XI.

PAGE

Trip u|> the St. Lawrence — Makes Sketches by the Way — Her
. Paintings interesting Souvenirs of the time 1 1 5-139

CHAPTER VII.

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

Governor at Newark (Niagara) — Description of Place and Sur-
roundinj^s — Governor no stranger to people of Newark, mostly
United Empire Loyalists — In 1784 Governor Haldimand had
Granted Lands to Mohawks on Grand River — Nature and
Character of the First Governihent of Upper Canada — Offi-
cials Appointed — D. W. Smith, Surveyor-General, etc., and
his plurality of Offices — First Members of Legislative Assem-
bly — First Attorney-General — Parliament Opened with much
Ceremony — Governor Simcoe's Speech to the Assembly — The
Governor's Admiration for British Constitution 140-152

CHAPTER VIH.
Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

Governor's residence at Newark — Navy Hall, where located —
Simcoe's Government in the nature of a Paternal Government
— Lieutenants of Counties appointed — Justices of the Peace
and their power to assign Lands to Settlers — The Governors
Plan for Settlement of the Provinces — Places United Empire
Loyalists in the front rank — They were to be the Bulwarks of
the Province — The Advance Guard — The Military Ports at
Detroit, Niagara and MichiUmackinac — Early in 1793 Gov-
ernor makes a Trip overland to Detroit — His Trip traced out —
His Reception at the Mohawk Village, on the Grand River,
by Captain Brant and Indians — Flags and Trophies of War
Displayed, a/«M dc pit fired — The Six Nation Indians — Thay-
endanegea (Captain Brant's) Birth and Parentage — The Ex-
ploits of his youth, and intimacy with Sir William Johnson —
Border Wars of the American Revolution before 1783 — Brant
a Prominent Figure in these Wars — The Mohawk Valley the
Scene of the Greatest Strife — Treaty of 1783 did not end the
Indian Wars — Indians claim all the Land west of the Ohio —
The Indians Dispute the right of both British and Americans

xii. Covteuts.

PACK

to the Land west of the Ohio — Niagara included in Boundary
of Land Ceded to United States — England could not Give
Away their Lands — Brant secures Mohawk Reserve on Bay of
Quints for Mohawks — Indian Wars raging — Indian Councils —
Brant's Great Influence- The Governor's Trip to Detroit con-
tinued — Leaves Mohawk Village on loth February, 1793 — On
15th, arrived at Delaware Indian Village — Walked on the Ice
of the La Tranche (Thames) five or six miles — Arrival at
Dolmage's ; thence to the mouth of the Thames ; thence to De-
troit — Reception by the Garrison of Detroit — Reviews the
24th Regiment — Return Journey from Detroit — Arrival at
Missisaga, but on south side of the Thames — The Governor's
Party Refreshed with Salt Pork and Vensi n, then sing " God
Save the Queen" — Arrival at the Fork of the Thames — Judges
this place, now London, to be suitably situated for the site of
the Metropolis — His Reasons — Arrival at Mohawk Village
again — Indian Dance — Governor's Suite adopted as Chiefs —
Object of this Journey — On 5th April, 1793, writes General
Alured Clarke at Quebec, giving his Plans for the future —
Intends to open up Communication between Niagara and La
Tranche (the Thames), and Detroit and the Thames — 2nd
May, 1793, Governor Visits Toronto — Arrival of American
Commissioners at Queenston and Niagara — Their Gracious
Reception by Governor — Proposed Indian Council at Miami
Rapids — While Commissioners at Niagara Second Session of
Parliament opens — Governor's Speech 153-180

CHAPTER IX.

The Commissioners' Visit.

The King's Birthday, 4th June — How Observed — Governor's Ball —
American Commissioners at the Ball — Their description of the
dance, and the Civil and Military Guests— Their Praise of
the Canadian Ladies — Daughters of Sir William Johnson at
the Ball — Brant's Arrival at Fort Erie, and Meeting with the
American Commissioners — Conference of the Commissioners
and Indian Deputation at Navy Hall— Governor Simcoe and
a large number of Civil and Military Officers present — Brant
makes a Spirited Speech — Brant, the Commissioners and

Contents.

xui.

Indian Deputation start for Miami — Stopped on the Jour-
ney by the British Authorities at Detroit — Deputation of
Indians from Miami have an Audience with the Commissioners,
Claim the Ohio as their Boundary— Commissioners and Indi-
ans fail to agree— Brant asks Governor Simcoe to Interfere —
Governor Simcoe writes Brant that it would be Improper for
him to Interfere — Captain Brant and Six Nations at the Coun-
cil at Miami "held fast together"— Close of Second Session
of Parliament— July, 1793. Government removed to Toronto —
Description of the Harbour by Bouchette — Governor makes
his Home in a Tent which had belonged to Captain Cook, the
Great Voyager — Tent described — History of the Tent and of
Captain Cook — His Two Trips Around the World, and his
Ultimately Falling a Victim to the Natives of Owhyhee
(Hawaii) — Change of name of Toronto to York, in honour
of the Duke of York — First Meeting of Executive Council —
Governor Explores country between York and Lakes Simcoe
and Huron i8i-ao4

CHAPTER X.

The Building of Fort Miami.

Road to Simcoe and Huron opened out — This Road now Yonge
Street — Governor Simcoe, in pursuance of directions of Lord
Dorchester, proceeds to Miami to Erect a Fort there — Danger-
ous and DiflBcult Enterprise — Succeeded in the Undertaking
— The American President writes to American Minister Jay
Protesting against this Invasion of American Territory — The
Erection of the Fort at Miami raised the hopes of the Indians
— The United States Superintendent of Indians and the
British Superintendent meet the Indians in Council— Captain
Brant's Eloquent Address to the Superintendents — Plain
Speaking— Brant Master Spirit not only of the Six Nations,
but of Confederacy of all the Indians — Another Indian War
looming up — Indian Council at Buffalo — Indians demand
removal of Settlers from their Lands — Indians charge Ameri-
can Government with Deception — Their Talk at Washington
— Brant's Letter to Colonel Smith for Governor Simcoe —
Indian Raid on Fort Recovery — Smith Manuscripts in Free

;:iji|

XIV.

Contents.

Library, Toronto — Lands on Burlington Bay reserved to the
French "Abb^-Des-Jardines" — Governor Overrules his Council
— General Wayne prepares to Attack the Indians in the West
— Wayne a bold and courageous General — Indian Chiefs "Little
Turtle " and "Black Snake" — Indians Retire before Wayne
on the British Fort at Miami — The British give them no Sup-
port — Refugees from Detroit, and Militiamen ready to Support
the Indians — Wayne Treats with the Indians — Hostilities con-
tinued — A Battle takes place — Indians Defeated — Victory
Complete and Decisive — Correspondence between General
V/ayne and British Commander of Fort Miami as to the
presence of an American Army under the Guns of the Fort —
British Port, near Oswego— Council at the Mouth of the De-
troit River — Brant's Address to Governor Simcoe — Governor
Simcoe's Answer — Recognizes Right of Indians to Territory
west of the Ohio — His Advice to the Indians — Peace between
the Americans and Indians —Governor Simcoe Promoted to
the Rank of Major-General 205-241

CHAPTER XI.

Establishing the Capital at York.

Size of York in 1795 — Governor's Hospitality — Indians give him
an Indian title, "Deyomyhokrawna," or, "One whose door is
always open" — Governor erects country house, "Castle Frank"
— A French Count, the Duke De La Rochefoucauld Liancourt,
visits Navy Hall — Governor Simcoe visits Brant at " Brant
House," on Grand River — Brant removes certain False Im-
pressions relative to the Indians — Parliament Assembles for
Fourth Session, July 1795 — Duke De Liancourt Guest of the
Governor at Opening of Parliament — Liancourt's Account
of his Reception, and the Ceremonial at the opening — The
Duke's Estimate of the Governor — The Road to " Castle
Frank" — Mrs. Simcoe's Portfolio — Sketches of Canadian Sce-
nery — American and Indian Treaty — Treaty of Grenville in
1795 — Indians' Reaso.: for Coming to Terms with United
States — Jay Treaty, 1795 — English to Evacuate the Ports
within American Territory in 1796 — Close of Indian Wars. 242-359

Contents.

XV.

CHAPTER XII.

Last Days in Canada.

PAOB

Surveyor Jones reports to GovernOi — Yonge Street opened out to
Lake Simcoe — Opening of Fifth Session of Parliament — At
close of Session Governor takes up subject of Lands — His
Policy a Fair and Just one — List of Applicants for Lands in
Walsingham, Charlotteville, Woodhouse and Long Point —
Governor Favours the United Empire Loyalists — Brant and
the Land Jobbers — Plain Speaking by Brant — Monument to
Brant — General Review of Governor Simcoe's Policy and
Government — He fully understood the Policy of British Gov-
ernment in dividing Quebec into two Provinces — The logic of
Events has proved that Mr. Pitt was much too Sanguine in his
hope of Amalgamating French with English, either in People
or Laws, in Lower Canada — On 3rd December, 1796, Governor
Simcoe Appointed Governor of Saint Domingo, and Com-
mander-in-Chief; also Appointed to the local rank of Lieuten-
ant-General — In 1798, Simcoe made a Lieutenant-General in
the British Army — Peter Russell appointed Governor — His
Administration — The Navy of the lakes — Channel of Trade
— Danforth Road — Marriages — Militia Lieutenants of Coun-
ties — Peter Hunter appointed Governor — Simcoe and the
Quakers — Alexander Grant appointed Governor 260-286

CHAPTER XIII.

St. Domingo and the Portuguese Mission.

The French and Spanish in St. Domingo — Insurrection in the
Island — English help called in — Affairs on the Continent —
Napoleon's Ambition — St. Domingo again — Toussaint L'Over-
ture — Lieut. -General Simcoe sent to join Lord St. Vincent
in Portugal — Taken 111 on the Voyage— Returned to England
— Died a few hours after he Landed — Monument to his
Memory in Exeter Cathedral — His Virtues Recorded . . . .287-302

I !|

} I

■ I

List of Illustrations.

PORTRAIT OF LIEUTENANT-GE.VERAL SIMCOE.
First Governor of Upper Canada.

PORTRAIT OF THAYENDANEGEA (Brant).

From an original painting by Romney, in the Collec-
tion of the Earl of Warwick.

PORTRAIT OF SIR GEORGE YONGE.

4. MAJOR ANDRfi.

From an engraved portrait after Mather Brown, in
the possession of the Toronto Public Library.

From a pen-and-ink drawing taken by himself the day
before his Execution.

5. CANISE (Great Sail), NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN.

From an etching of a pen-and-ink drawing by Mrs.
Simcoe.

6. A RELIC OF OLD NAVY HALL (Newark), NIAGARA.

From a water •colour drawing by Miss Roberts, 1889.

7. MONUMENT TO GENERAL SIMCOE.

Photographed from the Memorial Tablet in Exeter
Cathedral.

8. MONTREAL IN 1791.

From a drawing by Mrs. Simcoe.

9. DISTANT VIEW OF NAVY HALL.

From a water-colour drawing in possession of Dr.
Scadding, and made by Mrs. Simcoe, Septem-
ber 13th, 1794, on board H. M. Sloop of War,
Mississaga, then lying at the mouth of Niagara
River.

10. PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM JARVIS.

. Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada. From an
original Painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence.

The Life and Times

GEN, JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction. — Military Career.

EARLY a hundred years have come and
gone since the foundation of Upper Can-
ada as a distinct Province was laid, yet
up to this time there has never appeared
a faithful account of the man who laid that foundation.
Lieut.-Colonel John Graves Simcoe was the son
of John Graves Simcoe, Esq., who was Commander
of His Majesty's ship Pembroke, and who lost his life
in the Royal Service upon the important expedition
against Quebec in the year 1759.

Though bred in the Navy the father of Governor
Simcoe was equally well educated in the military ser-
vice. The most striking occurrence of his life, it is
said, arose from an accident, improved in a manner

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It 1

The Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

peculiar to genius and extensive professional know-
ledge. The story is that he was taken prisoner by
the French, in America, and carried up the St. Law-
rence. As his character was little known he was
watched only to prevent his escape ; but from his
observations on his voyage to Quebec, and the little
incidental information he was able to obtain, he con-
structed a chart of that river, and was able to conduct
General Wolfe in his famous attack upon the Cana-
dian capital.

Soon after Simcoe's father was killed his mother
took up her residence at Exeter, in England, and
while living there she sent her young son, John
Graves, who afterwards so distinguished himself in
several capacities, both military and civil, to the Free
Grammar School of that town. At the age of four-
teen he was removed to Eton, and from thence, in
due course, to Merton College, Oxford. While a
schoolboy at the Free Grammar School in Exeter
his acquisitions in some departments of knowledge
were of a superior kind. He was devoted to the
study of ancient and modern literature. He was
well versed in modern history, and eagerly devoured
every tale of war. Before leaving the University
he had mastered Tacitus and Xenophon, ever after
his constant friends and companions, whether in the
study or on the tented field. At the age of nineteen

Introduction. — Military Career.

he obtained an Ensign's commission in the 35th Regi-
ment. This regiment was sent to America, being one
of the many regiments sent from England for the
purpose of quelling the rebellion of the American
Provinces. Ensign Simcoe did not embark from Eng-
land with his regiment, but he landed at Boston on the
memorable day of the Battle of Bunker's Hill, 17th
June, 1775. Shortly after this event he purchased
command of a company in the 40th Regiment, which
he led at the Battle of Brandywine, where the British
Commander, Sir William Howe, defeated General
Washington and became master of the City of
Philadelphia.

The Battle of Brandywine was fought on the
nth day of September, 1777, and was hotly con-
tested by the British troops of the line and Provincials.
Captain Simcoe, in command of a company in the
40th Regiment, distinguished himself in the engage-
ment, and Sir William Howe was not only pleased
with the success of his anny, but thought the occa-
sion one deserving of special honour. The Queen's
Rangers, a provincial corps which took part in this
engagement, lost a great many men, both officers and
soldiers. They performed most essential service in
gaining the victory of the day, and this induced the
Commander, Sir William Howe, to promise them that
all promotions should go with the regiment. Shortly

lill I

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

after this affair, on the 15th October, 1777, Sir William
Howe was pleased to appoint Captain Simcoe, of the
regular service, who was then of the Grenadiers, with
the provincial rank of Major, to the command of the
Queen's Rangers. The next day he joined the
regiment, which was encamped with the army in the
vicinity of Germantown, close to Philadelphia. It is
matter of history that the Americans made an effort to
retrieve their fortune, after their defeat at Brandywine
and capture of the City of Philadelphia, by an attack
on Germantown, but were repulsed with loss.

The Queen's Rangers, to which Captain Simcoe
had been appointed Major, were originally raised in
Connecticut and the vicinity of New York, by Colonel
Rogers, and their duties, which indeed their name im-
plies, were principally those of scouts or light cavalry.
At one time the Rangers mustered four hundred men,
all Americans, and all Loyalists. When Major Simcoe
joined the regiment, it had by hardships and neglect been
reduced in numbers ; many gentlemen of the southern
colonies, who had joined Lord Dunmore and distin-
guished themselves under his orders, were appointed
to supersede those who were not competent for the
commissions they had hitherto borne. To these were
added some volunteers from the army, the whole con-
sisting of young men, active, full of love of the service,
emulous to distinguish themselves in it, and looking

Introduction. — Military Career.

forward to obtain throuo^h their actions the honour of
being enrolled with the British army.

The Queen's Rangers was in many respects an
exceptional regiment, having privileges not accorded
to other corps. It was an irregular, independent and
mixed corps. They were not regular cavalrymen, but
took the place of what would now be called mounted
infantry. The regiment was principally composed of
light horsemen, but had .ittached companies of light
infantry, and was specially organized ior rapid move-
ments, and irregular outposts and skirmishing. The
cavalry detachment went under the name of the Queen's
Rangers Hussars, composed of men from the corps,
who with care and attention became most skilled
horsemen.

The origin of this branch of the regiment arose
in this way. Shortly after Major Simcoe joined the
regiment, upon the march from Germantown to Ken-
sington, Sir William Erskire, in directing what Major
Simcoe's duties should be, had told him to call upon
him for dragoons whenever he wanted them ; upon
this, Major Simcoe took the liberty of observing
" that the clothirjg and habiliments of the dragoons
were so different from those of the Queen's Rangers
(the one being in red and with white belts, easily
seen in the distance, and the other in green and
accoutred for concealment), that he thought it would

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TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe.

be more useful to mount a dozen soldiers of the
regiment."

A dozen soldiers was a very small force of cavalry
to be attached to a regiment which was principally occu-
pied in outpost duty and skirmishing, making expedi-
tions over the whole region of coast country extending
from the Chesapeake to Long Island. But as the
war continued, the Hussars were increased to as
many as sixty, which, I believe, was the f comple-
ment of this portion of the regiment.

While the British army in America was quartered
in New York there was published in Rimingtofis Royal
Gazelle, in that city, an advertisement which no doubt
assisted greatly in adding to the effective strength
of the Hussars. The advertisement was as follows : —

"ALL ASPIRING HEROES

Have now an opportunity of distinguishing themselves

by joining

THE QUEEN'S RANGERS HUZZARS,

Commanded by
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SIMCOE

" Any spirited young man will receive every encourage-
ment, be immediately mounted on an elegant horse, and fur-
nished with clothing, accoutrements, etc., to the amount of
Forty Guineas, by applying to Comet Spencer, at his
quarters. No. 1033 Water Street, or his rendezvous, Hewitt's

Introduction. — Military Career.

Tavern, near the Coffee House, and the depot at Brandy-
wine, on Golden Hill.

"(^Whoever brings a Recruit shall instantly receive
Two Guineas.

"VIVANT REX ET REGINA ! "

It will be observed that the recruiting officer did
not fail to add the name of Queen as well as King to
his advertisement, mindful, no doubt, that the regiment
was The Queens Rangers. Different from other regi-
ments, the Queen's Rangers were almost exclusively
at the command of their own commanding officer. It
was understood that the regiment was always, and at
all times, to be ready to strike a blow wherever they
were most needed against the continental rebels, as
those were called who, in arms, espoused the cause of
the revolutionary Americans. To do this effectually,
it was most essential that the corps should have full
and complete liberty of action, and they had liberty to
do or die in the service, without waiting for all the
formalities of red tape and orders from the Comman-
der-in-Chief If the colonel of the regiment should
at any time suggest an enterprise, however hazardous,
but which, in his opinion, could be successfully under-
taken, it was expected that his superior officer would
sanction the duty without hesitation or reserve.

In the Pennsylvania Newspaper, of December
3rd, 1777, was printed the following notice: — "No

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77^!^ Li/e and Times of General Simcoe.

regiment in the army has gained more honour in the
campaign than Major Weys's (or the Queen's) Rangers;
they have been engaged in every principal service, and
behaved nobly ; indeed, most of the officers have been
wounded since we took the field in Pennsylvania.
General Knifhausen, after the action of the nth Sep-
tember, at Brandywine, despatched an aide-de-camp to
General Howe with an account of it. What he said
was short but to the purpose. ' Tell the General,' said
he, ' I must be silent as to the behaviour of the Rangers,
for I even want words to express my astonishment to
give an idea of it.' "

On the 13th the following appeared in orders: —
" The Commander-in-Chief desires to convey to the
officers and men of the Queen's Rangers his approba-
tion and acknowledgment for their spirited and gallant
behavour in the engagement of the nth instant, and
to assure them how well he is satisfied with their dis-
tinguished conduct on that day. His Excellency only
regrets their having suffered so much in the gallant
execution of their duty."

Throughout the whole war the Queen's Rangers
were subject to most severe duties and were ever ready
and anxious to perform any service which might be
of benefit to the king's cause. They were quick in
action, vigilant in performance of duty ; of great endur-
ance and undoubted courage. During the course of a

Introduction . — Military Career.

week the Infantry would often march ninety miles, and
the Hussars many more. They were penetrating and
observant, skilled in ambuscade and stratagem, just the
kind of corps suited to a country of wood and stream,
of which they always endeavoured to make pitfalls for
the enemy. There was a company of Highlanders
added to the regiment, commanded by a most excellent
officer. Captain McKay, who, like most Highlanders,
did noble service for the King in the different campaigns
which the Queen's Rangers went through. Before the
war was over there was an accession to the regiment
of an Irish company which added materially to the
strength of the regiment. It was one of the privileges
which the Queen's Rangers had, that when by the
fortunes of war, death or disease, the regiment became
reduced, the commanding officer, in order to fill up
the ranks, was entitled to enlist Old Countrymen (as
Europeans were termed in America) and deserters
from the rebel army ; so that were the officers, to
whom the Commander-in-Chief delegated the inspec-
tion of the Provincial Corps able to execute their orders,
the Queen's Rangers, however dangerously and inces-
santly employed, would never be in want of recruits ;
at the same time the major part of the regiment was
made up of the native born Loyalists. The regi-
ment, at its full strength, did not number more than
five hundred and fifty Infantry, and yet was one of

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the most effective in the service. There were as
many as twenty-seven other Provincial Corps of Loyal-
ists who, no doubt, did excellent service, but as the
Queen's Rangers was a flying column, specially
detailed for outpost duty and roaming at large over
the whole country, they were brought more into notice
and were more prominent than other regiments which
were raised to defend the loyal cause during the Revo-
lution. It has been said of this corps " that no sentinel
or guard of the Queen's Rangers was ever surprised " —
the reason given is that sergeant's guards were in a
manner abolished, the guard duty being principally
performed by the commissioned officers of the corps.
It would occupy too much time, to give a complete
account of the life of Major Simcoe while attached to
the Queen's Rangers, or a detailed description of all
the engagements in which his regiment was engaged
during the War of Independence, but it may be allow-
able and pardonable to dwell at some length upon the
memoirs of an officer who, on more than one occa-
sion, received the thanks of his superiors in the
service, and of his King and country. It will be
convenient to divide up his military service into cam-
paigns, and as he joined the Queen's Rangers late
in 1777, the campaign of 1777-177S may well be
described as a notable period of his military life.

CHAPTER II.

The Campaigns of lyyj-iyy^.

HE headquarters of the British Army in
October, 1777, was at Philadelphia. The
Queen's Rangers were posted about four
miles from Philadelphia, on the road leading to Frank-
fort, a village on Frankfort Creek, about five miles from
headquarters. It was there Major Simcoe first met
the Polish officer Pulaski, in command of the Conti-
nental troops in that district. The opposing troops did
not, however, come to close quarters, though it was
thought that an encounter might take place at or in
the vicinity of Frankfort. On the 3rd of November,
1777, the very distressing news came from New York
that General Burgoyne's army on their march from
Ticonderoga (which they had reduced) had reached
Saratoga, where, being surrounded by the American
forces, he was compelled to surrender to the American
generals. Gates and Arnold, and that his troops were
made prisoners of war. Such news, at such a time, read

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in general orders to the Rangers on their parade, was
very dispiriting indeed to the officers, and might have
proved disastrous, were it not for the temper and spirit
the men displayed on the distressing occasion. When
Major Simcoe came to one of the articles of surrender
proposed by the American generals, rejected b)
General Burgoyne's army in the following terms :—
" Sooner than this army will consent to ground their
arms in their encampment they w^ill rush on the enemy
determined to take no quarter," the whole corps
thrilled with animation and resentment against the
enemy, and every soldier of the regiment burned to
revenge the insult put upon him by the Revolutionists.
It was always the policy of Major Simcoe to con-
ciliate the people of the country as much as was in his
power. In a civil war, where the masses divide in their
allegiance, it often becomes difficult to distinguish friend
from foe. The nearest relatives and nearest neigh-
bours are often in opposing camps. In the campaign-
ing around Philadelphia, he found many of the people
well disposed towards the British, and to continue their
friendliness it was necessary that the Rangers should
afford them protection. Protection means abstaining
from plundering and marauding. Consequently we
find Major Simcoe very early in the campaign warning
his force against this evil. When a general order was
given out, enforcing the regulation to which I have

The Campaigns of lyyy-ijyS.

referred, Major Simcoe felt bound to declare " that it
is with the utmost satisfaction Major Simcoe believes
there would have been no necessity for the general
orders of this day had every corps of the army been
as regular in respect to their abstaining from plunder
and marauding as the Rangers. He trusts that so
truly a military behaviour will be continued, and that
the officer and soldier of the corps will consider it as
honourable to him as the most distinguished bravery."
To illustrate the method adopted by Major Sim-
coe to prevent plundering, it may be noticed that on
the march he never halted, if he could avoid it, but in
a wood ; sent a safeguard to every house ; allowed no
man to leave the ranks ; and was careful to instil into
the minds of the men the belief that while they pro-
tected the country the inhabitants would give every
information of the enemy's movements and ambus-
cades. At the close of the campaign of 1777 an
attempt was made at headquarters to have the military
dress of the Queen's Rangers changed from green to
red. This move was opposed by Major Simcoe, his
opinion being that green with dark accoutrements is
beyond comparison the best colour for light infantry
uniforms.

In the campaign of 1778 the first we hear of
Major Simcoe is that about the end of February he
and the Rangers were employed in opposing the force

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of General Wayne, who had been detached from
Washington's army to make a forage in the lower
Jerseys in order to collect cattle for provisioning the
troops. This expedition was not as successful as it
might have been had the views which Majo.- Simcoe
entertained of the proper time and place for attack
been followed. After crossing the Delaware an
incident occurred reflecting honour equally upon the
Queen's Rangers and on a Polish officer in the
American service. As related by Major Simcoe the
incident was this : At a certain point there was
nothing opposed to the Rangers but some cavalry
watching their motions, and as Major Simcoe ad-
vanced rapidly to gain an eminence in front, which
he conceived to be a strong advantageous position,
tion, they fled into the wood, an officer excepted, who,
reining back his horse, and fronting the Rangers as
they advanced, slowly waved with his sword for his
attendants to retire ; the light infantry being within
fifty yards of him, they called out to him, "You are a
brave fellow, but you must go away." But he not
paying so much attention as he should, McGill, after-
wards quarter-master, was directed to fire at him, on
which he retired into the woods. A few straggling
shots were fired in the front ; the light infantry com-
pany was detached there, and, supported by the High-
landers, soon cleared the front ; the battalion halted

The Campaigns of lyjy-fjyS.

on the position it had gained, and at the entreaties of
the sailors, a few cannon shot were fired at a party
of the enemy who were near the bridge over Cooper's
Creek, till perceiving they were b jsy in destroying it,
they were no longer interrupted ; the firing totally
ceased, and the enemy retreated. The person whom
McGill fired at proved to be Pulaski ; his horse was
wounded, and had not the Hussars been sent over
the Delaware previous to the attack, he would have
been taken or killed.

We are now in March, 1778, Simcoe, still
Major, but the regiment was commanded by Colonel
Mawhood. All the honour of the campaign must not,
therefore, be given to Major Simcoe, for although he
and his band had to perform much executive duty, the
Colonel of the Regiment directed the movements on
the field. This was especially the case in a successful
expedition of the Queen's Rangers and other corps
into the Jerseys in the latter part of March, 1778.
This expedition was formed to forage for horses for
the cavalry and staff, the army being very deficient in
this branch of the service ; the expedition was to be
made on a strip of land on the Jersey side of the
Delaware, between two creeks near Salem. The
country between the two streams (the Salem Creek
and Aloes or Alewas Creek) is a peninsula seven miles
wide at the widest part and four miles wide at the

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! ^iii^iiiiii

T/ie Life and Ttrres of General Stmeoe.

narrowest part. Over the A.loes Creek there were
three bridges : Hancock's, near the mouth ; Quintin's,
the next higher up, and Thompson's above that. The
rebel mihtia was posted at Hancock's and Quintin's.
the nearest bridges, which they had destroyed, and was
in a favourable position and defended by breastworks.
The object of the continentals was to prevent the expe-
dition crossing the creek, and to cut them off if they
should retreat.

Under the orders of Col. Mawhood, Major Simcoe
silently placed a company of the Rangers under Cap-
tain Stephenson in possession of a public-house near
Quintin's bridge, and stationed the men in an orchard in
rear of the house, two companies of the Rangers being
placed in ambuscade, behind some fences at the edge
of the wood, near the public-house. The Colonel then
gave orders for a detachment of the 17th Regiment,
which was posted near the bridge, to call in their sen-
tries and retreat up the road in full view of the enemy.
This so complete!} deceived the rebel forces that they
hastily re-laid rhr bridge across the stream, and cross-
ing it marched up the road past the house in which the
Rangers were concealed. Suddenly they discovered
they had fallen into a trap, and made an effort to retreat
and re-cross the creek. When passing the house the
Rangers rushed out and drove them across the fields ;
Captain Saunders pursued them, and the Hussars were

n.\

The Campaigns of lyj'j-i'j'jS.

despatched in pursuit, and afterwards the battalion,
Colonel Mawhood leading them. Major Simcoe now
directed the 1 7th back to the house, with the Grenadiers,
and the Highlanders of the Rangers, ready to force the
bridge if ordered. The enemy for a moment quitted
it, but Col. Mawhood thought it useless to pass it.
Some of the division of rebels who passed the house
were taken prisoners, but the greater part were drowned
in the Aloes Creek. The officer at the head of the
division, who was taken prisoner, proved to be a
Frenchman. The victorious Rangers then returned
to Salem.

The rebels still occupymg posts at Quintin and
Hancock's Bridge, Colonel Mawhood determined to
attack them at the latter place. Near Hancock's
Bridge, from all reports, they were assembled nearly
four hundred strong. He entrusted the enterprise to
Major Simcoe, and before the expedition set out went
with him and a patrol to a point opposite to the
place where the rebels were posted. Here the Major
ascended a tree and made a rough sketch of the build-
ings, and by conversing with the guides he was able to
improve it into a tolerable plan of the place, and formed
his mode of attack accordingly. In this enterprise
everything depended on secrecy and surprise. Major
Simcoe foresaw the difficulties and dangers ; these he
kept to himself. The enemy were nearly double his

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Tkg Life and Times of General Simcoe.

numbers. By an order that had been issued for the
destruction of the flat-boats he had made use of in
making a landing on the creek, his retreat, if he should
be obliged to make one, was cut off. Nothing daunted,
however, he, with his brave soldiers, by dint of hard
work, after a march of two miles through marshes, up
to the knees in mud and water, their labours rendered
the more fatiguing by their carrying wooden planks for
the construction of bridges over the creeks and ditches,
at length arrived at a point where they obtained the
shelter of a .vood, made the intended attack, captured
the position of the enemy, and came off entirely vic-
torious. The result of these well-planned and success-
ful expeditions was that the foragers got all the cattle
they wanted for the supply of the troops, and what
proved very satisfactory to the people of the country
whose cattle had been taken, when the object of the
expedition had been accomplished, they were fully paid
for the losses which the necessities of civil war had
entailed upon them.

Colonel Mawhood after this affair, in public orders,
" returned his best thanks to Major Simcoe and his
corps for their spirited and good conduct in the surprise
of the rebel posts." The foraging expedition having
ended, the troops returned to Philadelphia, after which
nothing of importance transpired while Simcoe was
major of the regiment.

The Campaigns of lyyy-iyyS.

No long time elapsed before news reached Phila-
delphia that Sir William Howe, the then Commander-
in-chief, had been recalled and Sir Henry Clinton took
command of the army. Major Simcoe was now
appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Rangers.
This was brought about in this way : Sir Henry
Clinton, when he took command, directed Lord Raw-
don to raise a corps of Irish volunteers, and Captain
Doyle, of the 55th Regment, was appointed Lieu-
tenant-Colonel. Major Simcoe waited upon the
Commander-in-chief, and requested that, as he was
Captain Doyle's senior in the army, he would be pleased
to give him his proper position in the Provincial line,
adding that if his Excellency, at any future time, should
appoint a senior officer of the line to a Provincial com-
mand, he. Major Simcoe, of course could have no
objection that he should have superior rank in the Pro-
vinces. Sir Henry Clinton was pleased to refer his
request to Sm William Erskine and General Patterson,
the Quartern. a^ter and Adjutant-General, who reporting
that it was just. Sir Henry Clinton appointed him to the
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and to avoiu similar incon-
veniences, ante-dated his commission to those of all
other Provincial lieutenant-colonels.

On the 17th of June, 1778. Lieutenant-Colonel
Simcoe observed in nubile orders ' that he doubted
not but that all ranks 01' the regiment were sensible

iii

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The Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

that the undaunted spirit which had rendered them the
terror of their enemies was not more honourable to
them than that abhorrence of plunder which distin-
guishes the truly brave from the cowardly ruffian, and
which had left a favourable impression on the minds of
such of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania as had been in
their power." He assured himself that, as they were to
pass over to the Jerseys, they would, in every respect,
behave as became the character the corps had acquired,
and which marks the disciplined soldier. He gave
orders that the captains and officers commanding com-
panies should march in the rear of their respective
divisions till such time as more active duties required
their presence elsewhere, and should be answerable that
no soldier quitted his rank on any pretence, but parti-
cularly to drink ; this practice having been the death of
many a valuable soldier, the permission of it was highly
criminal.

The man who could issue such an order at such a
time was no ordinary man. The very words of the
order seem to say in trumpet tones that Lieutenant-
Colonel Simcoe was every inch a soldier and had all
the characteristics of the British officer of the old
school — honour, integrity, courage and capacity. This
was the man who led the Queen's Rangers in time
of danger ; who, when the toils of war were over,
settled down peacefully in Upper Canada as Governor

!iil Hi!

The Campaigns of I'j'j'j-i'jyS.

of the Province, surrounded by many of his old com-
rades, who with him had shared the fatigues of many
campaigns and who, ever ready to serve their country,
rose e-z masse in defence of the Province when in the
war of 1 81 2 it was invaded and thrown into convulsion
by a foe who chose to challenge them to conflict in an
unjust war.

On the 24th June, 1778, we find the army on
the march from Philadelphia pursuing their course
northward, with now and then a skirmish with the
enemy on the line of march. Hitherto the direction of
the march pointed equally to Trenton, New Jersey,
or Cranberry, but now, on the 24th, took the route
to Cranberry, by marching to Allentown. The Rangers
formed the advance of the army, and it happened more
than once that the patriots of the continent were
deceived by the uniform of the Rangers being green —
the same as their own — and mistaking foe for friend.
One episode of this kind occurred at the camp when
the army halted not far from Allentown. It happened
in this manner : On the arrival at the camp Lieutenant-
Colonel Simcoe, with his Hussars, immediately explored
a deep hollow that separated the camping-ground from
a high hill, in order to observe the ground in front, as
was his constant custom. Two men came oiit of the
wood to Lieutenant Wickham, who was patrolling,
deceived by his green clothes ; he did not undeceive

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"III

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The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

them, but passed himself upon them as a rebel partizan,
and introduced Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe as the
American Colonel Lee. One of the men was very
glad to see him, and told him thai; he had a son in his
corps, and gave him the best account of the movement
o -he reb^l army, from which Lieutenant-Colonel Sim-
cov su ! he had been detached two days. The other
man p. ved to- be a committeeman of New Jersey.
They pointed out the encampment of the British army,
and were completely deceived till, having told all they
knew, and, on the party returning, the committeeman
having asked, " I wonder what Clinton is about ? "
"You shall ask him yourself," was the answer, "for
we are British."

This was as coriplete a ruse de guerre as could
be conceived. In reading the history of these cam-
paigns I have found that both armies often resorted to
stratagem for the effecting of their purpose. Owing
to the situation and the topography kjI the country,
ambuscades, surprises and stratagems were frequently
resorted to. It is to be borne in mind that the country
was a country of wood, water-courses, cross-roads,
marsh, and of a very uneven character. Many of the
country people were rebels at heart, and often shewed
themselves in active hostility to the British army in
their progress northward, making for New York and
Long Island. On the other hand there were many

liiiiiii

The Campaigfts of lyTj-iTjS.

Loyalists in the country, who demanded and received
protection from the King's troops. These Loyalists,
often in great numbers, had to betake themselves to
the British camp, to escape the vengeance of their
republican neighbours ; they passed under the name of
refugees, and frequently accepted service in the British
army as scouts and guides. Indeed, being much
impoverished by the war, they were willing to under-
take various duties more difficult than agreeable, which
was the natural outcome of civil war.

In the march through New Jersey, Colonel Simcoe
seems to have received his first wound. This was
on the 27th June, 1778.. when he met, in front of battle,
Baron Steuben, of the American army, and a force of
the Jersey Militiamen, 700 or 800 strong, under General
Dickenson. It was in this affair that Simcoe, anxious
about his Grenadiers, who had been placed at a certain
exposed place, sent forward a Hussar to ascertain how
they fared, and said to the Hussar, in giving him his
charge, to find out what the fact v/as, " For we must
carry them off or lie with them ;" to which the Hussar
replied, " To be sure, your honour.'' This reply would
seem to show that some Irish had got into the Hussars.
It has been said that, " The American War shewed
no instance of a larger body of men discomfited by so
small a number " as in this engagement with the Jersey
Militia. The Grenadier Company of the Queen's Ran-

lit I

III

77/^ Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

gers were mostly Hessians. Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe,
after the encounter with the Jersey Militia, to which I
have referred, heard a person, who was of the American
force, call the Grenadier's Company of the Rangers, to
use his own expression, " A power of Hessians;" which
form of expression establishes, pretty clearly, that the
Americans were not without their contingent of Ameri-
can ishmen. The fact is that there were foreigners
in both armies : in the English army some Hessians,
in ♦^he A" ^^rican, German and French. The Baron
Steuben, with the Jersey Militia, was a German, and
it is known that the French allies of the Americans,
under the Marquis de Lafayette, contributed most
materially to the success of the American army in the
Revolution. It is indeed doubtful if the American
Revolutionists would have gained their independence
if they had not had the assistance of French soldiers
and French officers, who had bee.i schooled in the art
of war in meeting English troops in other fields.

In the summer of 1778 the Commander-in-Chief,
Sir Henry Clinton, offered to promote Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe to the Colonelcy of the Queen's Rangers, but
he declined the promotion.

On the 20th August, 1778, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe
was at Kingston, where he and Lieut.-Col. Tarleton
with the cavalry had a skirmish with the rebel light
infantry and a body of Indians, forty of whom were

I t \ 'I, I

\\ ^ \n

The Campaigns of i^yj-iTjE.

killed or desperately wounded ; among others, Nini-
ham, a chieftain, who had been in England, and his
son. This discomfiture of the Indians was reported
to have prevented a large portion of them from joining
General Washington's army. The Indian doctor was
taken, and he said that when Niniham saw the Grena-
diers close in his rear he called out to his people to
fly, "that he himself would die there." He wounded
Simcoe and was killed by Wright, his orderly Hussar.
On the 31st August, 1778, Simcoe and the Rangers
made another attack on the enemy at Kingsbridge and
succeeded in the attack, for soon after this General
Washington quitted the White Plains, where he had
been quartered. Simcoe was much gratified when the
country people attributed the departure of General
Washington to the continued checks which his light
troops had received at the hands of the Rangers.

After the successes that Lieut. -Col. Simcoe had
had at Kingsbridge he and his brave troops were
entitled to a rest. The season had for some time been
very inclement, and was severely felt by the troops
encamped on the exposed heights of Kingsbridge. It
was therefore with great pleasure that they received
orders to march to winter quarters at Oyster Bay, on
Long Island, where they arrived on the 19th November.
Immediately on their arrival the troops set to work to
fully fortify the position. The New England shore,

'I I

^ si

ill

from which the British expected attack, was not more
than twelve, and in many places but seven or eif^ht, miles
distant, and there were many favourable landing places
within a mile or two of Oyster Bay. Every precau-
tion was taken by Simcoe to prevent an attack, and
he had the satisfaction of hearing, after the war was
over, that his precautions were not in vain, for more
than once an attack on Oyster Bay was contemplated,
and the project as often discarded, the enemy fearing
to risk an attack on his fortified position.

The spirit of the Queen's Rangers was well shewn
while they were stationed at Oyster Bay. Recruits
were wanted for the regiment, whom they would
have had difficulty in procuring, (as much greater boun-
ties were being given by other regiments then being
raised than Government allowed for the provincial
corps) had not the officers of the regiment subscribed
liberally to the recruiting fund from their own scanty
pay.

The garrison of New York being in great
want of forage. Oyster Bay now became a central and
safe depot for it, and frequent expeditions, toward the
eastern and interior parts of the island, were made to
enforce the order of the Commander-in-Chief to secure
the necessary supply. Other excursions were also
frequently made to execute orders relative to the inter-
course with the inhabitants of the rebel coast.

lii li

The Campaigns of ijjy-ijy8.

There were a number of whale-boats of the enemy
at Norwalk, on the New England coast. The Queen's
Rangers would have liked to have been given a chance
to burn these boats, but the proposal being sub-
mitted to the Commander-in-Chief, he did not think
it advisable to put the plan into execution. This was
disappointing to the corps, as the officers always under-
stood that v/hatever plans they might offer for the gOod
of the King's service would be considered and fairly
dealt with by the Commander-in-Chief, and that they
should be allowed to reap the fruit of their own
exertions.

During the winter the regiment was kept at very
constant drill. The light infantry and hussars were put
under the direction of Captain Saunders, who taught
them to gallop through woods, and, acting together, the
light infantry learned to run, holding the horses'
manes. The cavalry was also instructed, as the infantry
lay flat on the ground, to gallop through their files.
When the weather permitted, the corps was frequently
exercised together, particularly in occupying ground,
on the supposition of the enemy landing to attack the
post ; they were shown how to make and navigate rafts,
constructed on the simplest principles and with the
lightest materials.

It is impossible to withhold from the Queen's
Rangers in the campaign of 1777-1778 great praise for

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

their vigilance, promptness in action, patience under
trying duties and general discipline, all of which tended
to make them not only good, but successful soldiers, an
honour to themselves and to the country which bore
them. Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe felt it to be an
honour to have the command of such a regiment.
When he left the regular service he did so with the
ambition to be at the head of a Provincial corps which
he could mould to his will. There never was a body
of men more devoted to their commanding officer than
were the Rangers to Simcoe. He showed his appreci-
ation of their services in the most marked manner.
His pride was that they were Loyalists of a country in
rebellion, and were imbued with all those high prin-
ciples of attachment to their sovereign begotten of the
feeling in their breasts that the rebellion of the Colo-
nists was without sufficient cause ; that the blame for
unremedied grievances lay at the door of the Ministry,
not at that of the King, and that with more peaceful
times the clouds which overhung the continent would
be cleared away and a sunshine of contentment cover
the land.

CHAPTER III.

Campaign of 1779.

HE last chapter concluded the campaign of
^777-^77^, and we now enter on the cam-
paign of 1 779. I mentioned two instances in
the last chapter where foraging expeditions were under-
taken, the one to seize horses, the other to seize other
live stock for provisioning the troops. The campaign
of 1779 opened with an expedition of another sort, and
was undertaken to seize men. I have before mentioned
that many of the Loyalists, not in the service, either
regular or Provincial, frequently fled from their homes to
claim the protection of the British army. The Queen's
Rangers was a favourite regiment for them to appeal to,
there being so many sons of the soil in that regiment —
not a few friends and relatives, their neighbours when
at home following their peaceful pursuits. ^\; :h per-
sons, when they became in a manner enrolled, were
called " Refugees." On the i8th of April a party of
Refugees went from Oyster Bay, being furnished with
arms, agreeably to an order from headquarters, to take
the American Generals Parsons and Silliman from the

m
w

ii Jill!

T/ig Life and Times of General Stmcoe.

opposite shore, in fact, to endeavour to kidnap these
two prominent officers of the enemy. Thej not

risk the attack on General Parsons, but they brought
Brigadier Silliman to Oyster Bay, and he was sent the
next day to New York.

The Provincial troops received in May of this
year a signal mark of the royal favour, which must
have been particularly gratifying to them, as an acknow-
ledgment of the services they had rendered to the
crown in time of danger. On the 2nd of May the
Commander-in-Chief was pleased to signify, in general
orders to the Provincial troops, " that his ^ jesty,
anxious to reward their faithful services anc /ited
conduct, upon several occasions, has been pleased to
confer upon them the following, mark of his royal
favour " : The articles were then enumerated, and were
all material to that service. The principal were : " That
the officers of Provincial corps shall rank as juniors of
the rank to which they belong, and if disabled in service
should be entitled to the same gratuity as officers of the
established army ; and to distinguish the zeal of such
as shall be completed, his Majesty will, upon the recom-
mendation of the Commander-in-Chief, make the rank
of those officers permanent in America, and will allow
them half pay, upon the reduction of their regiments,
in the same manner as the officers of the British
reduced regiments are paid."

In consequence of this order the Queen's Rangers
were recommended by the Commander-in-Chief, and
styled and numbered as the " iMrst American Regi-
•ment.'"

Early in June we find Simcoe at Croton Bridge,
having marched to that place for the purpose of recap-
turing cattle which the enemy had seized upon, the
property of people in the neighbourhood. At the
same time, he covered the retreat of Lieut. -Col.
Tarleton, of the Legion, who had passed that bridge
and beat up the quarters of a party, four miles further.

During the struggle for Independence, as is well
known, there were regular troops as well as militia on
both sides. An army marching through the country
had to be especially watchful or they would be sure to
fall into an ambush or ambuscade of some sort. Each
party was always looking out for stragglers from the
other in the hope, by force or persuasion, to win them
over to their cause. The Queen's Rangers had, up to
the loth of July of this year, 1779, been particularly
fortunate in keeping well in hand. They seldom
afforded an opportunity to the enemy to capture them
individually or in squads. A misfortune of this kind,
however, did happen to the corps on the day above
mentioned, in their march from Byram's Bridge to
Marmaroneck. Upon this march three soldiers strag-
gled a small distance from their ranks and were taken

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

by some of the enemy's militia. This occurrence gave
great concern to Simcoe and was the first of the kind
that had happened. He thought it necessary to give a
gentle rebuke to the corps in consequence of ic, by a
general order, in which he said: — "The Lieutenant-
Colonel is most sensibly affected at the loss of the three
men who straggled from their posts during the last
march. He feels himself but ill repaid for the con-
fidence he has placed in the regiment, and his inclina-
tion to ease their duty by never posting an unnecessary
sentinel ; at the same time he trusts that as it has been
the first instance of the kind during the time that
he has had the honour of commanding the Queen's
Rangers it will be the last ; and that the soldiers will
reflect what they must suffer by a long imprisonment
from a mean and despicable enemy, who never has or
can gain any advantage over them but what arises
from their own disobedience of orders."

This order not only shews the high appreciation
the Lieutenant-Colonel had of his own corps, but the
contempt he felt for the enemy. Lieut.-Col. Sim-
coe was one of those officers desperately in love
with the service ; he entered the Provincial Royalist
force because of the strong belief he entertained that
the Continentals had rebelled without cause, and that
they never could or would succeed in their revolution.
Time has shown how mistaken he was in this ; but

this does not in the least detract from his honour or
that of his regiment as soldiers in the King's service,
however much it may detract from his prescience as
a man. He was not alone in the belief of the Royalists
of the day, that the Americans would not obtain their
independence as a Republican nation, or if they did
that they could not maintain their autonomy.

But to follow the Queen's Rangers. On the 8th
August, after recapturing a number of the peaceful
country Loyalists, who had been seized by the enemy,
the light troops fell back on the redoubts. A grand
guard being in advance, which reported to Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe as senior officer of the Provincials, the Queen's
Rangers were for the first time since they left winter
quarters permitted to take off their coats each night
until further orders. In case of sudden alarm they
were ordered to form on their company's parade, with
silence and regularity, without delaying to dress, and
their bayonets were never to be unfixed. On the 9th
October the Queen's Rangers were ordered to be in
readiness to embark at the shortest notice. They
immediately marched to Richmond, on Staten Island,
where they relieved a regiment which had been sickly
while at that post.

At the end of October Lieut.-Col. Simcoe and
the Rangers were engaged in an enterprise which
had the sanction of the Commander-in-Chief, Sir

The Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

Henry Clinton. This was to march into the Jerseys
and over-awe the rebels who were giving countenance
and support to Washington's army. Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe had the impression that fifty flat boats, upon
carriages, capable of holding fifty men each, were on
the road from Delaware to Washi >on's army, and
that they had been collected together at Van-Vacter's
bridge upon the Rariton. It was important, if this
information was correct, that these flat-boats should be
captured. Stratagem had to be resorted to effect
the purpose ; and Lieut. -Col. Simcoe set about
it, and succeeded in accomplishing all that was neces-
sary for the security of his troops and the discomfiture
of the enemy. On the 25th October, by eight o'clock
at night, the detachment, which had been detailed for
the service, marched to Billop's Point, where they were
to embark. That the object of the enterprise might
be effectually concealed, Lieut. -Col. Simcoe gave out
that a rebel spy was on the Island (Staten Island), and
was endeavouring to escape to New Jersey ; a great
reward was offered for taking him, and the militia of
the Island were watching all the places where it was
possible for any man to leave the Island, in order to
apprehend him. The batteaux and boats, which were
to be at Billop's Point, so as to pass the whole over by
twelve o'clock at night, did not arrive till three o'clock
in the morning. No time was lost ; the infantry of

Campaign of ly/g.

the Queen's Rangers were landed ; they ambuscaded
every avenue to the town, the cavalry following as
fast as possible. As soon as they had formed in posi-
tion Simcoe called together the officers ; he told them
of his plan, which was to burn the boats at Van-Vacter's
bridge, and crossing the Rariton at Hillsborough, to
return by the road to Brunswick, and making a circuit
to avoid that place as soon as he came near it, to dis-
cover himself when beyond it in the heights where the
Grenadier Redoubt stood while the British troops were
cantoned there and where the Queen's Rangers had
afterwards been encamped ; and to entice the Militia,
if possible, to follow him into ambuscade which the
Infantry would lay for them at South River Bridge.
Major Armstrong was instructed to re-embark, as
soon as the cavalry marched, and to land on the oppo-
site side of the Rariton and South Amboy. He was
then, with the utmost dispatch and silence, to proceed
to South River bridge, six miles from South Amboy,
where he was to ambuscade himself, without passing
the bridge or taking it up. A smaller creek falls into
this river on the South Amboy side. Into the penin-
sula formed by these streams Lieut.-Col. Simcoe hoped
to allure the Jersey militia. In case of accident. Major
Armstrong was desired to give credit to any messenger
who should give him the parole of "Clinton and Mont-
rose." It was daybreak before th^ cavalry left Amboy.

Pi I (I

;

li iripiip fi

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

The procuring of guides had been entrusted by i
Henry Clinton to Brigadier Skinner. He either did r
or could not obtain them, for hut one was found w
knew perfectly the crossroad he meant to take, to avc
the main road from Somerset Court House, or Hil
borough to Brunswick.

Captain Sandford formed the advance guard, t
Hussars followed, and Stuart's men were in the re
making in the whole about eighty. A certain Justi
Crow was soon overtaken ; Lieut. -Col. Simcoe accost
him roughly, called him " Tory," nor seemed to belie
his excuses when he said " he had only been sparking
but sent him to the rear guard, who, being America!
easily comprehended their instructions, and kept t
Justice to the belief that the party was a detachme
from Washington's army. Many plantations were n
passed, the inhabitants of which were up, and th(
the party accosted with friendly salutations. At Quib
town Lieut.-Col. Simcoe had just quitted the advar
guard to speak to Lieut. Stuart, when from a pul
house on the turn of the road, some people came <
with knapsacks on their shoulders, bearing the appe
ance of a rebel guard. Captain Sandford did not
them till he had passed by, when checking his horse
give notice, the Hussars were reduced to a moment!
halt opposite the house. Perceiving the suppo;
guard, they threw themselves off their horses, sw(

iipli

•al Sitncoe.

n entrusted by Sir
He either did not
one was found who
ant to take, to avoid
jrt House, or Hills-
advance guard, the
en were in the rear,
f. A certain Justice
Col. Simcoe accosted
lor seemed to believe
only been sparking,"
ho, being Americans,
ctions, and kept the
rty was a detachment
plantations were now
were up, and these
utations. At Ouible-
quitted the advance
when from a public
ome people came out
„ bearing the appear-
Sandford did not see
checking his horse to
uced to a momentary
eiving the supposed
T their horses, sword

Campaign of lyyg.

in hand, and entered the house. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe
instantly made them re-mount, as he was afraid to
delay so that they could search for some thousand
pounds of paper-money which had been taken from a
traveller, the master of a privateer, by the previous
visitors. In order to let the man suppose he was of the
same party he told him "that he would be answer-
able to give him his money that night at Bruns-
wick, where he should quarter," then exclaimed
aloud to his parly " that these were not the Tories
they were in search of, although they had knap-
sacks," and told the country people who were
assembling round "that a party of Tories had made
their escape from Sullivan's army, and were ready
to get into Staten Island, as Jeff (who had been
defeated near this very spot, taken and executed) had
formerly done, and that he was sent to intercept them."
The sight of Justice Crow would probably have aided in
deceiving the inhabitants, but unfortunately a man who
personally knew Lieut.-Col Simcoe recognized him, and
an express was sent to Governor Livingston, then at
Brunswick, as soon as the party marched. It was now
conducted by a country lad whom they fell in with, and
to whom Captain Sandford, being dressed in red and
without his cloak, had been introduced as a French
officer. He gave information that the greater part of the
boats had been sent on to Washington's camp, but that

1 1 I

llll

ili

','■1 111

i.'..„. ,:i:

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

eighteen were at Van-Vacter's bridge, and that their
horses were at a farm about a mile from it. He led the
party to an old camp of Washington's above Bound-
brook. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe's instructions were to burn
these huts, if possible, in order to give as wide an alarm
to the Jerseys as he could. He found it impracticable to
do so, they not being joined in ranges nor built of very
combustible materials. He proceeded without delay
to Boundbrook, from whence he intended to carry off
Col. Moyland, but he was not at Mr. Vanhorn 's. Two
officers who had been ill were there ; their paroles
were taken, and they were ordered to mark " Sick
Quarters" over the room door they inhabited, which
was done, and Mr. Vanhorn was informed that the
party was the adv-nced guard of the left column of
the army, which was commanded by General Birch,
who meant to quarter that night at his house, and
that Sir H. Clinton was in full march to Morristown
with the army.

The party proceeded to Van-Vacter's bridge.
Lieut. -Col. Simcoe found eighteen new flat-boats on
carriages ; they were full of water. He was deter-
mined effectually to destroy them. Combustibles had
been applied for, and he had received in consequence a
few port-fires. Every Hussar had a hand-grenade, and
several hatchets were brought with the party. The
timbers of the boats were cut through ; they were

filled with straw and railings, and some grenades being
fastened in them, they were set on fire ; forty minutes
were employed in this business. The country began to
assemble in the rear, and as Lieut. -Col. Simcoe went
to the Dutch meeting-house, where the harness and
some stores were reported to be, a rifle-shot was
fired at him from the opposite bank of the river.
This house, with a magazine of forage, was now con-
sumed, the commissary and his people being made
prisoners.

The party proceeded to Somerset Court House,
or Hillsborough. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe told the pris-
oners not to be alarmed, that he would give them their
paroles before he left the Jerseys, but he could not help
lamenting to the officers who were with him the sinister
events which prevented him from being at Van-Vacter's
bridge some hours sooner, as it would have been very
feasible to have drawn off the flat-boats to the South
River instead of destroying them.

At Somerset Court-House, three Loyalists who
were prisoners there were liberated. One of them was
a dreadful spectacle, he appeared to have been almost
starved, and was chained to the floor. The soldiers
wished, and were permitted to burn the Court-House.
It was unconnected with any other building. By its
flames it was shown on which side of the Rariton he
was, and they would, most probably, alarm the neigh-

my/

\ ■ I
I

TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe.

bourhood of Brunswick, who would assemble at its
bridge, to prevent him from returning by that road.
The party proceeded towards Brunswick. Alarm guns
were now heard, and some shots were fired in the
rear, particularly by one person, who, as it afterwards
appeared, being out a-shooting, and hearing of the
incursion, had sent word to Governor Livingston, who
was at Brunswick, that he would follow the party at a
distance, and every now and then give a shot, that he
might know which way they directed their march.
Passing by some houses, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe told the
women to inform four or five people, who were pursu-
ing the rear, " that if they fired another shot, he would
burn every house which he passed." A man or two were
now slightly wounded. As the party approached Bruns-
wick, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe began to be anxious for the
cross-road, diverging from it into the Princetown road,
which he meant to pursue, and of which, being once
arrived at, he himself knew the by-ways he wished to
attain, as he had frequently done duty there, and was
minutely acquainted with every advantage and circum-
stance of the ground. His guide was perfectly satis-
fied that he had not yet arrived at this road ; and
Simcoe was in earnest conversation with him, and
making the necessary enquiries, when a shot, at some
little distance, discovered there was a party in the
front. He immediately galloped forward and sent

• ii''

Campaign of iJTg.

back Wright, his, Orderly Sergeant to acquaint Captain
Sandford, " that the shot had not been fired at the
party," when, on the right, at some distance, he saw the
rail fence (which was very high on both sides of the
narrow road between two woods) somewhat broken
down, and a man or two near it. Putting his horse to
a canter, he joined the advance men of the Hussars,
determining to pass through this opening so as to avoid
every ambuscade that might be laid for him, or attack
upon more equal terms Colonel Lee, whom he under-
stood to be in the neighbourhood, and apprehended
might be opposed to him, or any other enemy. Pre-
sently he saw some men concealed behind logs and
bushes, between him and the opening he meant to pass
through, and he heard the shout, " Now ! now ! " and
found himself, when he recovered his senses, prisoner
with the enemy, his horse having been killed under
him with five bullets and himself, though unwounded,
stunned by the violence of his fall.

The expedition was thus only partially successful ;
it would doubtless have succeeded had not the larger
number of the boats been removed before the arrival
of the Lieut.-Col. and his band at Van-Vacter's
bridge. The Americans in the capture of Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe became possessed of a rich prize, which they
took care to keep behind bars till the last day of De-
cember, 1779. It was perhaps fortunate that the

ilii'^i:;!

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

' • 'A

ill

if"

Colonel on falling from his horse was stunned and
rendered unconscious, as while he laid senseless on the
ground Marener prevented a boy bayonetting him,
saying, " Let him alone ; the rascal is dead enough ; "
and another of the enemy regretted that he had not
shot him through the head, which he would have done
had he known him to be a Colonel ; but he thought
"all Colonels wore lace."

Some little time after the accident befel Col.
Simcoe there were some casualties which impeded the
expedition. For example, when the British troops
quitted the ranks at Hillsborough and marched to
Brunswick several houses were burnt ; among others
was the one which the guard relied upon as marking
the private road a party of the Rangers was to take,
and had been fixed upon as one of his guide-posts, as
it were. Col. Simcoe, then at the head of the party,
did not know of its being burnt, and by the destruction
of the house he was led into an ambuscade. When
the party had passed by on the full gallop they found
themselves on the high land beyond the barracks at
Brunswick. Here they rallied and had little doubt
but that Lieut.-Col. Simcoe had been killed. The
surgeon of the corps, with a white handkerchief held
out as a flag of truce, at the manifest risk of his life,
returned to enquire after him. The militia assembling,
Captain Sandford drew up and charged them, when

1 1 ' f

L I

they fled. A Captain Voorhees, of the Jersey Con-
tinental troops, was overtaken, and a Hussar, at whom
he had fired, killed him. This killing of Captain
Voorhees was well-nigh being of the most serious con-
sequence to Lieut.-Col. Simcoe. The populace of the
country were incensed, indeed driven to fury, at his
death, and would, even though Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was
a prisoner, have been willing to wreak their vengeance
on him had not such a catastrophe been prevented by
other counsels. Injury to the Lieut.-Col. was averted
by the Governor of the State issuing an order directed
to that end. The order was as follows :

"The Governor being informed that some people
have a desire to abuse and insult Lieut. Col. Simcoe, a
British captive, and wounded in a skirmish that hap-
pened this day between our militia and the British
horse : though the Governor is not inclined to believe a
report so great a disgrace upon the people of this State
as that of the least inclination of revenge against a
wounded enemy in our power ; yet, to prevent the
execution of any such attempt, it is his express order
to treat the said officer according to the rules of war
known and practised among all civilized nations ; and
as it is his desire to be carried to Brunswick, it is his
further orders that no molestation be given to him in
his being carried hither, and that while there he be

f^W.'

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

treated with that humanity which the United States of
America have always observed towards their prisoners.

"William Livingston.
" Brunswick Landinc,
" 2nd October, 1779."

The following letter which Lieut. -Col. Simcoe
received from Lieutenant J. Wilson, and preserved
among his papers, shews the estimation in which he
was held both by officers and men :

'•Richmond, October 28, 1779.

" Yesterday and the part of the day before there
was nothing but the picture of distress in every coun-
tenance ; but this morning the soldiers are shouting
' the father of the Rangers is alive ' ; in short, nothing
can exceed the joy which appears in the countenance
of officers and soldiers,, and prayers for your speedy
recovery ; but none can possibly be more sincere than
those of, etc.,

"J. WiLSJN.

On the day of the date of the abc otter Simc .
was removed from Brunswick to Borclcn Town to a
tavern kept by Col. Hoogland, of the Jersey Militia, by
whom he was treated with great civility. While there

Campaign of 177 p.

Col. Lee, of the American service, who ever had the
highest regard for Col. Simcoe and by his actions
shewed he was anxious to be his friend, wrote
offering him pecuniary assistance, which offer Simcoe
was obliged to decline, as Lieut. -Col. Campbell, of
the 74th Regiment, who was on parole, had kindly
ministered to all his wants.

On the 5th November, 1779, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe
received the following letter from Col. Lee :

"Monmouth, 6th Nov., 1779.

" Sir, — I am happy to learn by your polite reply,
to an offer dictated by the feelings of man for man, that
you had already been supplied in cash by the friendship
of a brother officer ; should you hereafter stand in
need of that article you will not suffer your want to
continue long. From some insinuations I have heard,
and from a paragraph in the last Trenton Gazette,
I apprehend your local situation is not the most agree-
able ; perhaps you may wish a remove, of course you
must address the Governor, being employed in a
similar line by our respective Generals ; it may not be
amiss to appeal to me should His Excellency require
contradiction to the reports propagated prejudicial to
your character. I am a stranger to what officer the
barbarities on some captured militia in Buck's County,

Hi'H I

! !

i:l

TAe Life and Times of General Stmcoe.

Pennsylvania, can be truly attributed. I have never
heard yourself declared as the author and am led
to believe you were not present ; the unhappy sacrifice
of Captain Voorhees in the late enterprise, I am told,
took place after you fell. Your treatment of one of my
dragoons, who fell into your hands last campaign,
was, truly generous ; and this made an impression on
my mind which it still retains. Anxious to prevent
injustice being done to the unfortunate I have been
particular in the letter, though I please myself in
presuming that it will be unnecessary.

" Your most immediate humble servant,

"H. Lee, Jun." *

Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, in his reply, made his
acknowledgments to Col. Lee, and informed him
that no cruelties whatever were committed by the
Queen's Rangers. On the 7th November Governor
Livingston came to Bordentown. From what occurred
in his conversation with him the Colonel had hopes of
immediate exchange ; instead of this, however, he was
removed to Burlington Jail. Col. Lee still continued
his generous attention, and with persistent kindness
supported the request which Lieut.-Col. Simcoe had
made to be permitted to go on paro.'e to Staten Island.

Campaign of 1779.

On November 14th Col. Lee wrote to Col. Sim-
coe as follows :

" Sir, — I have received an answer from Governor
Livingston to my letter of request in your behalf, ad
although I cannot congratulate myself on its full suc-
cess, I flatter myself it will lead to the completion of
your wishes. The following is an extract from the
Governor's letter : — ' Col. Simcoe's treatment by this
State is not founded on his character. We think
it our indispensable duty to retaliate the enemy's
severity to some of our citizens in New York ; but
that such treatment should, however, happen to be
exercised on a person of whom you entertain so
favourable an opinion (besides the disagreeableness of
such measure at any time,) is particularly afflictive
to, etc., etc' From the above declaration, I presume
that your parole may be procured in a few days, if any
expectation can be held out to the executive power of
the State tending to a liberation of any of our citizens
in New York. Perhaps your presence with Sir Henry
Clinton might effect an alteration in the measures com-
plained of, and a system of perfect liberality might be
established in the future. If you will permit me to
declare your determination on this point, and it answers
my expectation, I will do myself the pleasure of wait-
ing on the Governor in person to attempt the full

Mil

\ I I

, ' h

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

settlement of the unhappy business. I have as yet no
reply from Mr. Boudinot, though his station does not
promise much service, and therefore his opinion will be
very unimportant.

" I have the honour to be, etc.,

"H. Lee, Jr."

The letters which passed between Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe and Col. H. Lee show that these officers were
personally on the most friendly terms; each was willing
to help the other in an emergency, while at the same
time fulfilling all the requirements of military duty. A
great difficulty seems to have arisen in regard to the
law and custom of exchange of prisoners. Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe was not disposed to submit to any indignity,
nor was he in fear of any at the hand of Col. Lee,
but he was not sc confident in regard to other officials
in the American service. By a letter of Governor
Livingston, addressed to Lieut. -Col. Simcoe in answer
to a letter received from the Colonel without date, he
expresses to him his wish that an exchange might take
place, at the same time reminding him that his confine-
ment was in consequence of the advice of the Privy
Council, with which he could not interfere. Later on
Lieut. -Col. Simcoe enclosed the correspondence he had
had with Governoi* Livingston, with a full statement of

Campaign of ///p.

his case, to Sir Henry Clinton. The following is his
letter to Sir Henry Clinton : —

" Sir, — Governor Livingston having promised me
to forward to your Excellency my letters, I take the
earliest opportunity of acquainting you with my late
and present situation. The result of my incursion
your Excellency is acquainted with, and I have only to
observe that it was neither the valour of my enemies
nor the least inattention of my party that occasioned
my being made a prisoner, but it is to be attributed to
the most common and malicious fortune. My life was
preserved by the eagerness with which, as I have been
informed, I was plundered when in a state of insensi-
bility, and afterwards by the humanity of Mr. Morris.
A Captain Voorhees was killed by the detachment in
its return after I was taken ; his relations seemed to
the Governor so determined to revenge his death by
my destruction that ie gave me a written protection,
and afterwards directed Major Nairns, who treated me
with great humanity, personally to prevent any injuries
that might be offered to me. I was removed to Borden-
town on my parole until the 9th, when I was taken
from it and closely confined in Burlington Jail. As my
commitment expressed no reason for this treatment, I
wrote to Governor Livingston on the subject, and
enclose to your Excellency the correspondence. I

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

look upon my present situation as most particularly
unfortunate. My private affairs called for my greatest
attention, and having procured your Excellency's leave,
I had great prospect of success in them.

" I trust, sir, that having obtained your recom-
mendation near a twelvemonth since for promotion,
you will still patronize the application you then hon-
oured with your approbation. My fair fame has been
struck at, and cruelty, the attribute of fear, has been
imputed to me in the public prints and industriously
propagated by ignorant, designing and cowardly people.
My honest ambition has been most severely disap-
pointed, and I am doomed to pass the flower of my
youth in a gaol with criminals, when my state of health,
affected by my fall, leads to an imbecility of mind that
will iiot permit to me the consolations resulting from
my liberal education. Yet, should I even be doomed
obscurely to perish in the quicksand of deceit and
calumny with which I am now surrounded, it is my
duty to expect that no further ungenerous advantage
may be permitted to the adversary who, trampling on
the respect due to his own adherents, and presuming
on the attention your Excellency may be inclined
to pay to my situation, may think to offer without
impunity some further insult to the British service,
the liberal customs of war, and to the honour of my

country.

■^

Campaign of 1779.

" Of my proposed exchange, you, sir, are the best
judge. Governor Livingston observed to me that I
was the more likely to be immediately exchanged by
being a prisoner of the State of New Jersey than if I
had been taken by the Continental army. I acquiesced
in his opinion, not then conceiving how much the field
officers fighting under the banners of the State are
depreciated in its estimation.

" There is one hope near, very near, to my heart,
which is that your Excellency will promise my corps,
and employ it in the same line as if I were present ; its
reputation would be the greatest comfort I could receive
in a situation that excludes me from participating in its
danger and its glory. . . ....

" Your most obedient and humble servant,

"J. G. SiMCOE."

This letter shows the constant care the Colonel
had for his regiment, thinking more of them than his
own personal convenience, always, however, claiming
to be treated as a prisoner of war and not as a com-
mon criminal ; moreover, he would not submit to be
exchanged for a number of privates of the enemy.
In a letter to Governor Livingston he says: — "I do
conceive, sir, that when it was proposed that Col.

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

Billop and I should be exchanged for Lieut.-Col. Rey-
nolds and as many privates as make up the difference
of rank between a Colonel and a private sentinel, that
neither did you or the Council seriously imagine it
could be accepted of. I know of no officer in the
British army who, consistent with his duty, could apply
or wish for so disproportionate a mode of exchange ;
the proposal is ungenerous to your prisoners, nor do I
conceive that your own field officers, or those whom
you rank equal with them, will consider it as intended
to expedite their return from captivity."

The state of affairs became so irksome to the
Lieutenant-Colonel, and his treatment so contrary to
what he conceived to be the rules of war in an honour-
able service, that he finally made an appeal direct to
General Washington, and as that appeal obtained his
release, I give his letter to General Washington, giving
a history of his imprisonment and the efforts he had
made for exchange or release. These efforts had
hitherto been futile, and for causes which he could not
or would not believe were known to the General com-
manding the American forces. His letter to General
Washington was as follows :

Sir, — I am induced to lay myself before you from
what I conceive to be a principle of duty, and that not
merely personal. You may perhaps have heard, sir, of

Campaign of lyyg.

the uncommon fortune that threw me into the hands of
the Jersey Militia. Governor Livingston told me I
was a prisoner of state, a distinction I never till then
was acquainted with, and observed that it was probable
1 should be soon exchanged as such, naming to me
officers of similar rank as the likely persons.

" I was allowed my parole, was taken from it on
the 9th, and have ever since been confined a close
prisoner in Burlington, with Col. Billop, who is in irons
and chained to the floor, to retaliate for F. Randolph
and Leshier, the latter of whom is said to be confined
in the same manner in New York, My mittimus
hath not expressed what I am imprisoned for, but by
the tenor of Governor Livingston's letters I suppose it
is to retaliate for the former of those citizens, whom he
allows to be a private soldier, and who is simply con"
fined as such.

" I apply to you, sir, either as a prisoner of war or
as appealing to you trom an unjustifiable stretch of
power, without precedent or generosity. I am led to
consider myself as a prisoner of war under your
authority, from Governor Livingston's doubts ex-
pressed to me of his having the disposal of me ; from
his correspondence with Gen, Robertson, published in
the newspapers, where he submits Gen. Dickinson's
prisoners to your disposal, and from Col. Billop, my
fellow-prisoner, being taken by a party of Continental

1!!

III ii^

U I

[ J il Hmiikill'

The Life and Times of^ General Simcoe.

troops, receiving his parole from Mr. Beaty, and living
under it till he was taken from it by a party of militia,
and by Mr. Boudinot's orders confined in Burlington
jail.

"He claims the protection that was first extended
to him by the first Continental Commissary of pri-
soners.

" I hope, sir, you will make UFe of the power
that I conceive enabled you to transfer Col. Billop to
the State of New Jersey, in extending to me the rights
allowed by civilized nations, and which, without a given
reason, I have been deprived of.

'* If, by any law I am acquainted with, I am in the
power and disposal of Governor Livingston, I think
myself entitled to appeal to you, sir, from the injus-
tice used toward me, as I cannot suppose there is no
application for redress in a case which, if drawn into a
precedent, must confound every distinction of rank,
and will operate in a wider circle than that of the
State of New }ersey.

" Governor Livingston has offered, as he has
written to me, to exchange me for Lieut. -Col. Reyn-
olds and Col. Billop for as many privates as made up
his rank, naming among them the people for whom
Col. Billop is avowedly retaliating. This proposition,
I conceive, it never was supposed General Sir Henry
Clinton could comply with.

" I hope, sir, you will do me the favour of early
attending to this letter ; if Col. Billop only should be
claimed by those whose prisoner he unquestionably
appears to be, I should look upon it as a fortunate
event, though I should be doomed to wear his igno-
minious chains.

" I am your obedient and humble servant,

"J. G. SiMCOE."

General Washington never answered this letter,
but in a very few days Colonels Billop and Simcoe
were exchanged. The exchange being effected on the
last day of December, Lieut. -Col. Simcoe returned to
Staten Island. He was mortified to find that the expe-
dition, which was continued under the Commander-in-
Chief, after his being taken prisoner, had failed. Upon
his landing at Staten Island he received a letter from
Major Andr6, Adjutant-General, saying : — " If this
meets you a free man prepare your regiment for
embarkation, and hasten to New York yourself."

He immediately joined his corps at Richmond.
Thus ended the campaign of 1779.

iliiii

CHAPTER IV.

Campaign of 1780,

E are now in 1780 — the Queen's Rangers
stationed on Staten Island, Richmond, at
about the centre of the Island, being the
head-quarters of the regiment. Major
Armstrong, before the arrival of Lieut. -Col. Simcoe,
had well fortified the place. By the loth of January
the communication between Staten Island and New
York was totally shut off by floating ice. The Sound,
which divides Staten Island from the Jerseys, was
completely frozen over, and the ice was thick, and
strong enough to bear cannon. Information was
received that several of the rebel Generals had been
openly measuring the thickness of the ice, and it
was universally rumoured that the Continentals were
soon to make an attack on Staten Island. On
the 15th January, early in the morning, the rebel
detachment of nearly three thousand men, under the
command of a person styled Lord Stirling, crossed on
the ice and entered Staten Island.

Campaign of ijSo.

Lord Stirling marched immediately towards the
landing-place, and by his position cut off the British
General's communication with the Volunteers of Ire-
land and the Queen's Rangers. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe
occupied the high ground near Richmond, (Staten
Island,) with small parties of cavalry, while the infantry
were sedulously employed in strengthening the post.
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe had every reason to believe that
the post would be attacked by the American force
which had landed on the Island, and had made every
preparation for the defence of Richmond. To his sur-
prise many deserters came in from the rebel army, and
through them a perfect knowledge of the enemy's force
was gained. One of them affirmed that he overheard
some of their principal officers say " that it was not
worth while to attack Richmond, where they were sure
of obstinate resistance, and which must fall of itself
whenever the main body was taken."

Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, knowing that the enemy had
much the superior force, and that if an attack were
made the post might be captured, had determined never
to surrender himself or his force, but that, if driven to
straits, the Queen's Rangers would disband, indi-
vidually make their way from the island, and join the
army stationed in Carolina. When Simcoe learned that
the enemy had abandoned the idea of making an attack
and were retreating from the island, he immediately

Tlie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

pursued them with the flank companies and Hussars,
and was overtaken by an order from General Stirling
to effect the same purpose ; but the enemy had passed
to the Jersey shore before he could come up with them.

The frost still continuing, there were many reports
and a general expectation that the enemy would again
adventure upon the island, with superior force and
sufficient provision to attempt some greater purpose
than the previous abortive effort to surprise the British
troops, and at least to capture Richmond, and patrols
were constantly made of all the roads by which they
could possibly approach.

The Queen's Rangers had formerly experienced
how ready General Stirling, in command on Staten
Island, was to represent their services favourably, and
they now, in common with the other troops, had a
further proof of his inclinations in the general orders of
the 2ist January, when it was stated that, " Brigadier-
General Stirling is happy to inform the troops on this
island of His Excellency General Kniphausen's fullest
approbation of their behaviour, and the good counten-
ance they showed when the rebels were upon this island,
which the Brigadier had reported to the Commander-
in-Chief ; and His Excellency desires his thanks may
be given to them."

On the 25th January Lieut. -Col. Simcoe gave
out the following order, " That he expects the order

Campni^n of ["jSo.

relative to officers and soldiers sleeping in their clothes
be strictly complied with, such recruits excepted whom
the officers commanding companies may judge as yet
unequal to the duties of the regiment ; if any half-bred
soldier disobeys this order, the first officer, or non-
commissioned officer, who meets with him will deliver
him to the officer on guard, to be put on some internal
duty. The Lieut. Col. has particular satisfaction in
seeing the General's approbation of that good coun-
tenance which enabled him, on the late inroad of the
enemy, to rest perfectly at ease, without augmenting
the duty of the regiment ; he knows its universal spirit,
and, certain of the fidelity of those on guard, that the
garrison cannot be snatched away by surprise, is confi-
dent that Richmond redoubts will be too dear for the
whole rebel army to purchase."

Soon after the rebel army returned to their former
winter quarters, Colonel Simcoe got intelligence that
General Washington was quartered at a consider-
able distance from his army, or any corps of it, and
nearer to New York. This intelligence induced Lieut.-
Col. Simcoe to undertake a bold and dashing ven-
ture, which was no other than to surprise General
Washington, capture and hold him as a prisoner of
war. Simcoe made all preparation to carry out
this enterprise and felt certain of success, when he
learned that Captain Beck with. General Kniphausen's

Aide-de-Camp, had also formed a plan to carry off
General Washington. The result was that Lieut. -
Col. Simcoe had to give up his undertaking and give
aid to Captain Beck with, who obtained the Hussars
of the Queen's Rangers to assist him. Captain Beck-
with, with a body of men, attempted to carry out his
purpose, but, owing to an alarm being given, his men
and those of the enemy got into a conflict. A number
were killed or wounded on both sides ; the undertaking
proved a failure. General Washington was not cap-
tured, and the Hussars returned to Staten Island.

The ice floating on the 22nd February, the Sound
became impassable, and the soldiers were permitted to
undress themselves at night ; and in case of alarm they
were directed to accoutre in their shirts, and to form at
their posts.

On the 2 1 St of April of this year, 1780, we find
the Queen's Rangers at Charlestown, South Carolina,
which was being besieged by the southern force of the
British army. The camping-ground of the Rangers
was at the Quarter House, five miles from Charlestown.

When Lieut. -Col. Simcoe was at Charlestown the
Commander-in-Chief showed him a letter which he
had just received from the Colonial Secretary, written
under the impression that the Lieut.-Col. had been
killed in the fall from his horse, as had been reported.
In this letter was a paragraph which was a tribute

N^-IWiCj

• .^T-:-

to Lieut.-Col. Simcoe's worth and the estimation in
which he was held by the Home Government. The
paragraph was as follows : — " The loss of so able and
gallant an officer as Colonel Simcoe is much to be
lamented, but I hope his misfortune will not damp the
spirit of the brave Loyalisti'. he so often led out unto
success. His last enterprise was certainly a very bold
one, and I should be glad he had been in a situation
to be informed that his spirited conduct was approved
of by the King."

Nothing gratified Lieut.-Col. Simcoe so much as
the good repute of his regiment. When he arrived at
Charlestown he was warmly welcomed by his friends
after his long and severe imprisonment. To these warm
congratulations of his friends he referred in orders, say-
ing that he had great pleasure "in hearing the unifor-
mity and appearance of the regiment universally
approved ; he trusts that soldier will vie with soldier
and officer v>ith officer in maintaining in their respective
stations the very favourable impression which their
superior officers entertain of them, that their discipline
and appearance on the parade reflects credit on their
soldier-like behaviour in the field."

The Queen's Rangers, on their arrival before
Charlestown, were four hundred, rank and file, and
prv)ved a valuable accession to the troops besieging
Charlestown. The siege was pushed with vigour, and

7 he Life and Times of General Simcoe.

on the 1 2th of May the British force had the satisfac-
tion of congratulating themselves on the fact that the
Americans on that day capitulated and surrendered
the place. After the surrender of Charlestown the
regiment advanced to F'our-hole Bridge, where they
remained a day or two at Caton's (an unfortunate
Loyalist whom the rebels assassinated), from whence
by express order they returned to Charlestown, as it
was supposed to embark on an expedition to George-
town. They reached the head-quiirters on the 30th
of May and embarked on the 31st for New York.

On the 2 1 St June the regiment landed at Stater
Island and marched to Richmond redoubts, the camping-
ground of the previous winter. At midnight Lieut.-
Colonel Simcoe received orders to proceed instantly to
the Jerseys. On the 23rd June Major-General Matthews,
with a division of the troops, marched before day for
Springfield ; the Rangers formed the advanced guard.
On the march to Springfield a good deal of skirmishing
took place and some fighting. The enemy retreated,
and Colonel Simcoe and the Rangers arrived at Spring-
field with the loss of but a few men. On this expedition
into the Jerseys, the Jersey Continental Militia suffered
severely under an artillery attack, and among jthers,
Fitz-Randolph, one of their best officers, was killed.
At night the troops, having harassed the enemy con-
siderably, retired over the bridge of boats which had

Campaign of lySo.

been made between Staten Island and Jersey to Staien
Island, the retreat being covered by two redoubvs,
occupied by troops of the line, who embarked, on thv°
bridge being broken up, without molestation. This
retreat was ordered by the Commander-in-Chief. He,
having had information that a French armament was
about to make an appearance at Rhode Island, was
anxious that Kniphausen's brigade should be ready
to attack it on its arrival. He had encamped the
army near Kingsbridge, ready for an attack, and pursu-
ant to orders the Rangers embarked the next morning,
and sailing up the North River, landed on the 25th,
and took up their position in front of the line. Between
the 25th June and 19th July Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was
indisposed, and was obliged to go to New York to
recover his health. On the 19th July he rejoined
his corps, and proceeded with it to Long Island.

Lieut. -Col. Simcoe burned with desire to meet
an armament of Frenchmen, to whom he owed a deadly
hostility, on account, it may be, of his father having
met his death while engaged in the King's service upon
the important expedition against Quebec in 1 759.
Through Major Andre he communicated his wishes,
and his hope, to the Commander-in-Chief that in case
of any attack on Rhode Island he vv^ould employ the
Rangers in it. Major Andre replied : " The General
assures you that the Rangers shall be pitted against a

The Life and Times of General Sitncoe.

French regiment the first time he can procure a
meeting."

On the 25th August the Commander-in Chief
augmented the Rangers with two troops of dragoons,
appointed Lieut.-Col. Simcoe to be Lieut.-Col. of
Cavalry, and the infantry captains, Saunders and Shank,
officers of distinguished merit, to the additional troops.
The corps remained at Oyster Bay, L'^'"'?^ I "^ land, until
the 22nd September, when it marched to Jamaica, Long
Island.

We have now reached a period in the campaigns
of 1780 when an event occurred which cast a gloom
over the whole army. This was the arrest, imprison-
ment, and subsequent execution as a spy of Major
Andre, who was a special friend of Lieut.-Col. Simcoe,
and Adjutant-General of the British forces. At this
time the Americans had in their service an officer of
rank, whose name has become a synonym for treason,
on account of his perfidy in the service he had espoused.
Benedict Arnold was a man of a headstrong nature,
fond of show, greedy for money that would enable him
to exercise his ostentation, and withal unscrupulous. On
the breaking out of the Revolution he kept a drug store
at New Haven, in Connecticut. Being in command of
a volunteer company there, when the war broke out, he
marched to Cambridge, and thence his career is iden-
tified with some of the bravest exploits of the Revolution,

ire,

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MAjOK ANDKl-..
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illiliii

I —

Campaign of lySo.

until his defection and disgrace in 1780. When the
British evacuated Philadelphia in the spring of 1778,
Arnold was appointed by Washington Military Gov-
ernor of the city, having in command a small detach-
ment of troops. Fond of show and inflated with the
importance of his station, he lived in a style of splendour
and extravagance which his income would not allow,
and so became pecuniarily embarrassed. In Phila-
delphia he resided in the spacious mansion that once
belonged to William Penn, Governor of Pennsylvania,
and eclipsed all others in the capital of Pennsylvania in
his luxurious style of living. Rather than retrench
expenses aiid live within his means, he chose to
procure money by a system of fraud and prostitution of
his official power, which brought him into collision with
the people and with the President and Council of
Pennsylvania. The latter preferred a series of charges
against him, all implying a wilful abuse of power and
criminal acts. These charges were submitted to a joint
committee of Congress and the Assembly and Council
of Pennsylvania. After proceeding in their duties for
a while, it was thought expedient to hand the whole
matter over to General Washington, and the charges
were transmitted to him. The military trial com-
menced on the 20th December, 1779, and continued,
with slight interruptions, until the 26th January, 1780,
when the verdict was rendered. Arnold was acquitted

' iiSIlP

of two of the four charges, the other two were sustained
in part. He had expected from the court a triumphant
vindication of his character and was, or pretended to
be, incensed at not getting a full acquittal.

He is said by one historian of the times " to have
made an elaborate defence, in the course of which he
magnified his services, asserted his entire innocence of
the charges made against him, cast reproach by impu-
tation upon some of the purest men in the army, and
solemnly proclaimed his patriotic attachment to his
country."

Another historian (Sparks) says : " The boastful-
ness and malignity of these declarations are obvious
enough ; but their consummate hypocrisy can be under-
stood only by knowing the fact that at the moment
they were uttered he had been eight months in secret
correspondence with the enemy, and was prepared,
if not resolved, when the first opportunity should offer
to desert and destroy his country."

By dint of much persevering solicitation, he had
succeeded in persuading General Washington to give
him the command of West Point, on the Hudson.
General Washington had no suspicion that he had
been plotting treason with the enemy and no doubt
appointed him to this post, (which he did on the
3rd August, 1780,) owing to the show of patriotism
which he made, and to the anxious desire he expressed

' i

Campaign of lySo.

to serve, and if necessary to die for his bleeding
country. Having secured the command of West Point,
Arnold was afforded abundant opportunity of carrying
out his project of betraying those who had placed faith
in his integrity. Sir Henry Clinton, the British Com-
mander, was not unwilling to accept the surrender of a
post, which he of course considered rightly belonged
to the British, though temporarily held by Colonists
in treasonable rebellion against the British crown.
Whether or not Sir Henry Clinton believed that
Arnold was actuated by a patriotic desire to return to
his old love and renew his allegiance to the Crown, or
whether he knew that Arnold was acting from a merely
soidid motive, or to gratify his revenge for wrong, or
fancied wrong, is not very cledr. The negotiations for
the surrender of West Point were carried on by Major
Andre, under the fictitious name of John Anderson,
on behalf of the British and by Arnold himself on
his own behalf, but under the fictitious name of
Gustavus. Writing in a disguised hand, he clothed
his meaning in the ambiguous style of a commercial
correspondence.

Andr6 at the time was Aide-de-Camp of the
Commander-in-Chief. He enjoyed his unbounded
confidence, and to him, when the name and station
of Arnold became known, was entrusted the delicate
task of consummating the bargain with Arnold.

^-^ii"w"

The general plan for placing West Point in the
hands of the British was well conceived, and had it
not been that Major Andre unwittingly allowed him-
self to be inveigled within the American lines, would
most likely have succeeded. Whether it succeeded or
not, Major Andr^ who was as honourable as he was
gallant, it is more than probable, would not have
been made a victim of the treachery and rapacity of
Benedict Arnold.

In negotiating the terms of surrender Arnold had
arranged that Major Andre was to proceed in the Vul-
ture down the Hudson opposite a point about four
miles from the house of one Smith. Smith was to take
Andre from the Vulture, land him at the foot of a
hill, called Long Clove Mountain, on the western
shore of the Hudson, about two miles below a place
called Haverstraw. This place had been designated
by Arnold for the place of meeting, and thither he had
repaired from Smith's house. This project was carried
out. Arnold was concealed in the thick bushes, and to
the same place Smith conducted Andr^. They were
left alone, 'and for the first time heard each other's
voice. There, in the gloom of night, the negotiation
was entered upon, pursued, and when dawn approached
the conference was still in progress. Smith, who was
not present at the conference, came and warned them
of the necessity for haste. There was much to do, and

Andre reluctantly consented to mount the horse ridden
by Arnold's servant and accompany Arnold to Smith's
house, nearly four miles distant. It was yet dark, and
the voice of a sentinel, near the village of Haverstraw,
gave Andre the first intimation that he was within the
American lines. He felt his danger, but it was too
late to recede. His uniform was effectually concealed
by a long blue surtout, yet the real danger that sur-
rounded him, (he being within the enemy's line without
a pass or flag,) made him exceedingly uneasy. They
arrived at Smith's house at dawn, and at that moment
they heard a cannonade in the direction of the Vulture.
The American Commander, Col. Livingston, had been
informed that the vessel lay so near the shore as to be
within cannon-shot. Accordingly, in pursuance of his
order, the Americans opened fire upon the Vulture with
such severity that she hoisted her anchor and dropped
farther down the river. This movement Andr^ beheld
with anxiety. Here he was, within the American lines,
with no apparent means of escape. As far as he was
concerned, he was engaged in a lawful enterprise, was
acting under the orders of his commanding officer in
the negotiation for the surrender. He made a fatal
mistake, however, when he passed American lines. The
orders of Sir Henry Clinton were that the negotiation
with Arnold was not to take place within the American
lines, but on neutral territory. It was entirely owing

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to the deception practised on Major Andr^ by Arnold,
that Andr^ was found outside of the ground occupied
by the British troops. Lossing, in his " Field Book
of the American Revolution," after describing the
incidents connected with the conference at Smith's
house within the American lines, has appended this
note: — "The fact that Arnold had provided a spare
horse is evidence that he expected a longer conference
than the remainder of the night would afford. Fur-
thermore, convicted as Arnold is of innate wickedness,
it may not be unjust to suppose that he was prepared,
after getting Andr6 within the American lines, to per-
form any act of dishonour to extort a high price for his
treason, or to shield himself from harm if circumstances
should demand it."

There is much reason in what the writer has said :
for three weeks previous to this he wrote Andr^ in the
feigned hand and style to which I have before alluded,
and said, referring to himself in the third person. "He
{i.e., Arnold) is still of opinion that his first purpose is
by no means unreasonable, and makes no doubt when
he has a conference with you that you will close with
it. He expects, when you meet, that you will be fully
authorized from your house ; that the rules and profits
of the co-partnership may be fully understood. A
speculation of this kind might be as easily made
with ready money.*' Can anything be stronger to

prove that Arnold, at all events, in his negotiation
for the surrender of his post, and in his treach-
ery to the American army and the American
people, was actuated by a desire for money, or as
Mr. Lossing, already referred to, has expressed it :
" Money was the grand lure that made Arnold a
traitor."

The plot for the surrender, there is no doubt, was
fully consummated at the conference between Major
Andr^ and Arnold, on the night and morning of the
21 St and 22nd September, 1780, on the banks of the
Hudson, at Clove Mountain, and the details were
completed ready for execution at the house of Joshua
Hett Smith.

All the plans for the surrender of West Point,
and the manner in which it was to be effected being
arranged, Arnold supplied Andrd with papers explana-
tory of the military condition of the garrison and its
dependencies. These Arnold requested Andr^ to place
between his stockings and feet, and in the event of
accident to destroy them. He then gave him a pass,
and biddinor Andr^ adieu, went up the river in his own
barge to headquarters, fully believing that no obstacle
now interposed to frustrate his scheme. Major Andr6
determined to make his way the best he could to New
York. He would have prepared to join the Vulture
and gone by water, but Smith, on whom he relied to

•'■ m.

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

row him to the vessel, positively refused to go. Smith
offered to ride half the night on horseback if he would
take a land route. Having no other means of reaching
the vessel, Andr6 was obliged to yield to the force of
circumstances. He had been prevailed upon by
Arnold to exchange his military coat for a citizen's
dress — a fatal error. In his journey to New York he
reached Tarrytown, a village on the eastern bank of
the Hudson, twenty-seven miles from New York. He
slept at Tarrytown that night, and after a frugal
repast, continued his journey. It happened that a
band of volunteers had been sent out to guard the
roads leading from Tarrytown to New York, and to
prevent cattle being driven to New York, and to arrest
any suspicious characters who might travel that way.
The band of volunteers, some of them meeting Andr^,
stopped him in his journey, ordered him to pull off his
boots, found the papers which Arnold had told him
to conceal between his boots and stockings, arrested
him as a spy, and turned him over to the officer in
command of the nearest military post. For a long
time the volunteers who arrested Andr^ were called
" Patriots ; " but the truth is they were in no sense
patriots, nor did they act from patriotic motives.
From documentary evidence made public for the first
time a few years ago, it has been made apparent that
even after discovering the compromising papers on

Campaign of ij8o.

Andr6, they would have released him if he had had at
his command and could have paid them at the time 500
or 1,000 guineas for his ransom; but, having neither
the money or the means of giving security at once, he
was delivered up to his fate. The papers found
on Andre's person were sent to General Washington.
Pursuant to an order from him Andr6 was conducted
to West Point, where he remained until the morning
of the 28th September, when he was conveyed to
Stony Point, and thence conducted under a strong
escort to Tappan on the Hudson. On the arrival
of General Washington at Tappan, he ordered a
Court of Inquiry. This Court, consisting of fourteen
general ofificers, was convened at Tappan on the 29th
September, and on that day Major Andr6 was arraigned
before it and examined. Andr^ madf: a plain state-
ment of the facts, acknowledged and confirmed the
truthfulness of his statements in his letter to Washing-
ton from Salem ; confessed that he came ashore from
the Vulture in the night, and without a flag; answered
the query of the Board whether he had anything fur-
ther to say respecting the charges made against him
by remarking, " I leave them to operate with the
Board, persuaded you will do me justice." He was
remanded to prison, and after a long deliberation the
Board reported : " That Major Andr6, Adjutant-
General of the British Army, ought to be considered

irr^

mm \

as a spy from an enemy, and that, agreeably to the
law and usage of nations, it i^a their opinion that he
ought to suffer death."

On the next day General Washington 'vignified his
approval of the decision as follows: "The Commander-
in-Chief approves of the opinion of the Board of
General Officers respecting Major Andrd and orders
that the execution of Major Andre take place to-
morrow at five o'clock, p.m."

Lossing, the American writer to whom I have
before referred, in his account of the unhappy matter
has written : " The youth, candour and gentlemanly
bearing of Andre during the trying scenes of his
execution made a deep impression upon the Court ;
and had the decision of those officers been in con-
sonance with their feelings instead of their judgment
and the stern necessities imposed by the expedients of
war he would not have suffered death. When the
decision of the Court was made known to him the
heroic firmness of his mind challenged the admiration
of all. He exhibited no fear of death, but the manner
of his death was a subject that gave him uneasiness; he
wished to die as a soldier, not as a spy. Lossing goes
on to say, " There could be no question among military
men as to the equity of Andre's sentence, and yet there
was a general desire on the part of the Americans to
save his life. Washington was deeply impressed with

this feeling and was ready to employ any measure to
effect it consistent with his public duty."

V/hen Mr. Lossing says, " There could be no
question among military men as to the equity of
Andre's sentence," he is speaking for American mili-
tary men ; that has never been the opinion entertained
by British military men or by the British people
generally. The sentence on Major Andr6 has been
condemned by them and considered an injustice — a
sentence contrary to all moral, civil and military law.
Major Andr6 never should have been treated as
a spy and compelled to suffer as such. It is true that
nufortunately he met Arnold within the American lines,
but he was not there of his own free will, but was
betrayed into going there by Arnold. As already
stated Andr6 was surprised when he found himself
there. It was against the order of the Commander-
in-Chief that he entered the enemy's lines and he did
not know that he was there till it was too late to
retire. The general /pinion of Englishmen is that
he ought to have been treated as a military prisoner,
taken in lawful enterprise, and exchanged as a prisoner,
not hanged as a spy, an end he so much abhorred-
As to the changing of his clothes, when he found him-
self in the camp of the enemy, he did this on the
suggestion of Arnold, who advised him to doff his
military uniform and put on civilian's clothes. If the

i'lifr

:^in

I '

.iwilr^*^-''
' PjI'

T/te Life and Times of General Sinicoe.

London General Evening Post of November 14th,
1 780, is to be credited, when being led to the scaffold
to be executed as a spy, his last words were, "Remem-
ber that I die as a British officer, while the manner of
my death must reflect disgrace on your commander."
Miss Seward, Major Andre's early friend, on
reading the account in the London General Evening
Post just quoted, wrote thus in her " Monody on
Major Andr^ " :

Oh Washington ! I thought thee great and good,
Nor knew thy Nero-thirst for guiltless blood.
Severe to use the power that Fortune gave.
Thou cool, determined murderer of the brave !
Lost to each fairer virtue that inspires
The genuine fervour of the patriot fires !
And you, the base abettors of the doom
That sunk his blooming honours in the tomb.
The opprobrious tomb your hardened hearts decreed
While all he asked was as the brave to bleed !

Major Andr^ was a thorough soldier, and if in the
fortunes of war his doom was sealed, all he asked
and prayed for was that he might be shot, and so end
his life in a soldier's death. To be treated as a spy,
when he knew he was but doing his duty as a soldier,
was abhorrent to his nature. The execution, although
fixed for the ist of October, did not actually take place
till the 2nd October, 1780. On the morning of the

day fixed for his execution he sketched with a pen
a likeness of himself. Up to the day of his execution
he was not without hope that an exchange would be
effected. When being conveyed to the place of
execution he suddenly came in view of the gallows,
when he involuntarily started backward and made
a pause. "Why this emotion, sir."*" said an officer
by his side. • Instantly recovering his composure he
said, '* I am reconciled to my death, but I detest
the mode." He seems to have been determined
that never should an executioner perform the task of
adjusting the rope to his neck, for when he reached
the gallows, and the ghastly rope hung before him, he
slipped the noose over his head and adjusted it him-
self ; the waggon on which he stood was removed from
under him, he was suspended and almost instantly
expired. The American historian, quoting from The
Military youmal, says : " He was dressed in his
royal regimentals and boots. His remains, in the
same dress, were placed in an ordinary coffin and
interred at the foot of the gallows, and the spot was
consecrated by the tears of thousands. Thus died, in
the bloom of life, the accomplished Major Andr^,
the pride of the royal army and the valued friend of
Sir Henry Clinton."

Though committed to the dust in America his
remains were taken up in 1831 by Mr. Buchanan, the

■ .1

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

British Consul at New York, removed to England, and
deposited near his monument in Westminster Abbey.

Let us now see how Lieut. -Col. Simcoe viewed
the taking off of his intimate friend Major Andre,
and how he would have prevented it if he could.

Upon the first intimation of Major Andre's deten-
tion, Lieut. -Col. Simcoe by letter, desired Lieut.-Col.
Crosbie to inform the Commander-in-Chief " that if
there was any possibility of rescuing him, he and the
Queen's Rangers were ready to attempt it, not doubt-
ing to succeed in whatever a similar force would effect."
At the same time he sent out persons to watch the
road between Washington's Camp and Philadelphia ;
for he reasoned that without the concurrence of Con-
gress that general would not proceed to extremities,
and that probably he would send Major Andr^ to
Philadelphia, in which case he might possibly be
retaken upon the road thither. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe
wrote to Col. Lee, of whose generous temper he had
personally received so many proofs, to procure an
interview with him, ostensibly for the exchange of
prisoners, but really to converse with him relative to
Major Andr^.

Col. Lee answered his letter on the 2nd October,
the day of Andre's execution ; stating his intention to
attend to the release of certain prisoners, and added
the following postscript, ** Since writing the foregoing

I find that Sir Henry Clinton's offers have not come up
to what was expev-'ted, and that this hour is fixed for
the execution of the sentence. How cold the friend-
ship of thof e in power ! "

This postscript plainly referred to Andrd, and
amounts to a distinct statement that Sir Henry Clinton
had made offers for a release of Andr6, but that these
offers were not such as could be accepted.

Lieut. -Col. Simcoe in his answer said, " I am at a
loss to express myself on the latter paragraph (post-
script) of your letter ; I have long accustomed myself
to be silent, or to speak the language of the heart.
The useless murder of Major Andre, would almost,
were it possible, annihilate that wish which, consen-
taneous to the ideas of our Sovereign and the Govern-
ment of Great Britain, has ever operated on the officers
of the British army — the wish of a reconciliation and
speedy reunion with their revolted fellow-subjects in
America.

" Sir Henry Clinton has the warmest feelings for
those under his command, and was ready to have
granted for Major Andre's exchange, whatever ought
to have been asked.

*' Though every desire that I had formed to think,
in some instances, favourably of those who could urge,
or of him who could permit, the murder of this most
virtuous and accomplished gentleman, be now totally

eradicated, I must still subscribe myself with great
personal respect, sir,

" Your most obedient and obliged servant,

"J. G. SiMCOE."

Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, in the Appendix to his Mili-
tary Journal, has stated that as a matter of fact Sir
Henry Clinton did not make any offer to the American
Commander for the delivering up or release of Major
Andr^. We may well regret this. Was it due to
over punctiliousness, that an offer was not made for
an officer in such imminent peril as Major Andrd?
Surely it would not have been unbecoming in the
British Commander to have offered to exchange
prisoners in his custody for Andr6 without waiting for
an overture from the American Commander. I make
this statement with all the modesty of a civilian not
skilled in military tactics. Although Col. Lee stated
that offers were made by Sir Henry Clinton, but that
they had " not come up to what was expected," Lieut.-
Col. Simcoe states the opposite in his own language,
as follows : — " There were no offers whatsoever made
by Sir Henry Clinton. Amongst some letters which
passed on this unfortunate event, a paper was slid in
without signature, but in the hand-writing of Hamilton,
Washington's Secretary, saying, ' that the only way to

save Andr6 was to give up Arnold'" Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe, still adhering to his opinion that Major Andr^
was murdered, thus proceeds : — " Major Andr^ was
murdered upon private, nov public, considerations. It
bore not with it the stamp of justice, for there was not an
officer in the British army whose duty it would not have
been, had any of the American Generals ofi- ed to quit
the service of Congress to have negotiated to receive
them, so that this execution could r ., by expiiiple,
have prevented the repetition of the same of.'nre.

" It may appear that from his change c( dress, etc.,
he came under the description of a spy ; but when it
shall be considered against his stipulation, intention and
knowledge, he became absolutely a prisoner, and was
forced to change his dress for self-preservation, it may
safely be asserted that no European General would on
this pretext have had his blood upon his head. He
fell a sacrifice to that which was expedient, not to that
which was just ; what was supposed to be useful super-
seded what would have been generous, and though by
imprudently carrying papers about him he gave a
colour to those who endeavoured to separate Great
Britain from America to press for his death, yet an
open and elevated mind would have found greater
satisfaction in the obligations it might have laid on the
army of his opponents, than in carrying into execution
a useless and unnecessary vengeance.

-J.

TAr Life and Times of General Simcoe.

"It has been said that not only the French party
from their customary policy, but Mr. Washington's
personal enemies urged him on, contrary to his inclina-
tions, to render him unpopular if he executed Major
Andr6, or suspected if he pardoned him."

The officers and soldiers of the Queen's Rangers
personally knew and highly esteemed Major Andre.
Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, in order to evince their grief at his
fate, and respect for his memory, took the opportunity
in his orders to inform them that " he had given direc-
tions that the regiment should immediately be provided
with black and white feathers as mourning for the late
Major Andre, an officer whose superior integrity and
uncommon ability did honour to his country and to
human nature. The Queen's Rangers will never sully
their glory in the field by an undue severity : they will,
as they have ever done, consider those to be under
their protection who shall be in their power, and will
strike with reluctance at their unhappy fellow-subjects,
who, by a system of the basest artifices, have been
seduced from their allegiance and disciplined to revolt ;
but it is the Lieutenant-Colonel's most ardent hope that,
on the close of some decisive victory, it will be the regi-
ment's fortune to secure the murderers of Major Andre,
for the vengeance due to an injured nation and an
insulted army."

With the orders superadded to the expression of

Campaign of lySo.

opinion of Lieut. -Col. Simcoe above given, I close my
narrative of the circumstances under which a very
gallant and noble officer of the British service was
done to death. Much controversy has been had rela-
tive to his tragic end. He was a close and personal
friend of Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, hence my desire to pre-
sent the facts as he regarded them, at the same time
embodying much of what an American historian has
given on the same subject. At this date, looking back
on the time and concurrent events, the favourable dis-
position and respect which the Americans had for Major
Andre, it may be conjectured at least, that had not
America been in alliance with France, and a foreign
policy introduced in the case, the life of Major Andr^
might have been preserved to adorn the land of his
birth and the profession of his adoption.

Lieut.-Col. Simcoe was a great favourite of the
Loyalists of America, whose battles he was fight-
ing. Soon after Major Andre's death the Loyalists of
Pennsylvania gave him a paper begging him to for-
ward to the Colonial Secretary Lord St. Germain,
their requisition which accompanied it : " That he,
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, might be detached with a thousand
men to a certain place with arms, and that they, to
the amount of some thousands, would instantly join
and declare for Government ; " it concluded with the
strongest encomiums on the character ot the officer

TAe Life and Times of General S mcoe.

whom they wished to command them, and of the
confidence with which they would take up arms.

This communication was so personal to himself
that the Lieutenant-Colonel informed the deputation
that he could not, as a subordinate officer, forward it to
Great Britain without the knowledge of the Comman-
der-in-Chief. The requisition was afterwards put in
a shape, which made it not imperative for him to
show it to the Commander-in-Chief, and then, with his
approbation, he made answer, in substance, thanking
them for their confidence, and saying that " they could
not but see that the system of the Commander-in-
Chief was to unravel the thread of the rebellion from
the southward; and that in its progress your most
valuable assistance will be depended upon."

* The campaign of 1780 is now coming to a close.
On the 1 2th November we find Lieut.-Col. Simcoe at
the post of Richmond, Staten Island. The Fkench
General La Fayette was in the neighbourhood of
Elizabethtown, in force and with boats on travelling
carriages. It was supposed that La Fayette meditated
an attack on Richmond. Official information was sent by
the Adjutant-General to Lieut.-Col. Simcoe that his post
was the object of La Fayette's design, and that it would
probably be attacked on the ensuing night ; he imme-
diately declared in orders : '* The Lieutenant-Colonel
has received information that M. Fayette, a Frenchman,

Campaign of lySo.

at the head of some of His Majesty's deluded subjects,
has threatened to plant a French colony on Richmond
redoubts. The Lieutenant-Colonel believes the report
to be a gasconade ; but as the evident ruin of the enemy's
affairs may prompt them to some desperate attempt,
the Queen's Rangers will lay in their clothes this night ;
and have their bayonets in perfect order."

The Highlanders immediately assembled and
marched to the redoubts which, in the distribution of
posts, was allotted them to defend, and displaying their
national banner, with which they used to commemorate
their Saint's day, fixed it on the ramparts saying, " No
Frenchman or rebel shall ever pull that down."

The rumoured attack proved to be only a false
alarm, and the Rangers were permitted to pass the
remainder of the year in comparative peace.

ill';. '

i '

CHAPTER V.

Campaign of 1781.

|HE Campaign of 1781 commenced with an
expedition into Virginia under command of
General Arnold. The Queen's Rangers
formed a part of the force' in this expedition,
which sailed from Sandy Hook, reaching the point of
their destination at Hood's Point, on James' River,
on 3rd January. General Arnold ordered Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe to land with one hundred and thirty of the
Queen's Rangers, and the Light Infantry, and Grena-
diers of the 80th Regiment. Shortly after landing the
expedition was pushed on up the river to Westover,
and thence on for Richmond, the intended point of
attack. On the second day's march from Westover
towards Richmond, some of the enemy's militia were
met ; they were deceived by the dress of the Queen's
Rangers, and met with one of those military jokes on
the part of Lieut.-Col. Simcoe which surprised the
Continentals not a little. As the militia approached
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, they thought that the Rangers,
dressed in green like themselves, were of their party.

Lieut. -Col. Simcoe reprimanded them for not coming
sooner, held conversation with them, and then sent
them prisoners to General Arnold. The word now
came, " On to Richmond !" The command was obeyed ;
the heights in rear of the town were gained ; then the
lower town ; the defenders \v °re panic-stricken, fled
from the place ; were pursued several miles, and some
of the enemy captured, besides horses, much wanted for
the service. On Lieut. -Col. Simcoe's return, he met
with orders from General Arnold to march to the
foundry at Westham, six miles from Richmond, and
to destroy it ; this he accomplished, taking the powder
stored in the magazine there and pouring it into the
water. Soon after this, while the troops were halting
at Westover, information was obtained that the enemy
was assembled at the Charles City Court- House ; an
advance was made to surprise and attack the enemy
at this point. The advance guard made a prisoner
of one of the patrols met on the way, gained the
enemy's countersign, which stood them in good stead
in the prosecution of the enterprise, marched on and
succeeded in their undertaking. The Continental
Militia were at that place commanded by General
Nelson, and consisted of seven or eight hundred
men ; they were completely frightened and dispersed.
Serjeant Adams of the Queen's Rangers Hussars was
mortally wounded in the attack on Charles City Court-

House. This gallant soldier, sensible of his situation,
said, "My beloved Colonel, I do not mind dying but
for God's sake, do not leave me in the hands of the
rebels." Serjeant Adams died at Westover on the
9th January : the corps attended his funeral ; he was
buried in the colours which had been displayed and
taken from Hood's battery. The British troops had
much reason to know at this time that they were really
in the enemies' country — there were enemies to the
right of them, to the left of them, and in front of
them. The Rangers were on constant duty, ranging
over the country feeling the enemy, skirmisning and
attacking outposts. Stratagem to capture the enemy
was often resorted to. General Arnold employed the
garrison in fortifying the post at Portsmouth, the
primary object of his expedition. On the 29th January
Lieut. -Col. Simcoe was sent to fortify the post at
Great Bridge : here the rebels continually fired at the
Ranger sentries at night, which became very annoy-
ing ; the troops had much hard and fatiguing duty
during the day, which demanded of them as much
quiet as possible during the night ; this induced them
to place decoy sentinels for the enemy to fire at instead
of the real ones they supposed them. A figure was
dressed up with a blanket coat, and posted in the road
by which the enemy would probably advance, and files
resembling those of a piquet, were placed at the cus-

Campaign of 1781.

tomary distance. At midnight the rebels arrived, and
fired twenty or thirty shots at the effigy. As they ran
across the road, they exposed themselves to the shots
of two sentinels ; they then made off. The next day
an officer happening to come in with a flag of truce,
he was shown the figure, and was made sensible of the
inhumanity of firing at a sentinel, when no further attack
was intended. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe says in his journal,
" This ridicule probably had a good effect, as during
the stay of the Queen's Rangers at Great Bridge, no
sentinel was fired at."

General Arnold on the 1 3th of February received
information of the arrival of three French ships of the
line. < Captain Alberson, the gallant master of the
Empress 0/ Russia, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe's transport, was
anxious and offered his services to lay him and the
Queen's Rangers on board any of the French ships.
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, like many others, felt that without
the assistance the French afforded to the Revolution-
ists the war would be brought to a speedy determination.
Hence his wish at any and all times to engage in an
attack on the French, the American allies.

The campaigning in Virginia still continued. The
American Militia assembling at Hampton, Lieut -Col.
Dundas passed over from Portsmouth to dislodge them.
What part the Rangers bore in this expedition cannot
be better detailed than in the modest recital of Quarter-

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

master McGill, of the Queen's Rangers, who went with
Col. Dundas, and whose bravery and conduct were
honoured with high commendations by that most
respectable officer : "Col. Dundas, with part of his regi-
ment, a few Yagers, Lieut. Holland, myself (McGill) and
twelve Hussars of the Queen's Rangers went on an
expedition towards Hampton. We embarked on the
night of the 6th of March, and landed early next
morning at Newport ; next from thence marched to a
village about three miles from Hampton, where we
destroyed some stores and burned four large canoes
without opposition ; but on our return to the boats we
saw about two hundred militia drawn up on a plain and
a wet ditch in front. As I was advanced with the
Hussars and first saw them, I informed the Colonel and
at the same time asked his permission to advance
against them, without thinking of Lieut. Holland,
whom, in truth, I did not see at the time. He granted
my request and ordered the mounted men of the 8oth
to join me, who had, as well as the Rangers, been
mounted in the morning upon the march. With these
and some officers of the 8oth, who also got horses, we
made up twenty-six horsemen. The rebels were about
three hundred yards from the road, and I had to wheel
to the left full in their view, which discovered our
numbers and, I believe, encouraged them a good deal,
as they did not fire till we were within thirty yards of

ill;':;

them. This checked us and gave them time to give
us a second salute, but not with the same effect, for with
the first they killed Captain Stewart, of the 8oth ;
wounded Lieut. Salisbury, of the navy, who commanded
the boats and came for pleasure ; Col. Dundas, myself,
and Sergeant Galloway were unhorsed, and some of the
infantry who were a hundred yards in our rear were
wounded. My horse had three balls through him, and
he received a fourth before all was over.
The rebels had sixty killed, wounded and taken ; among
the latter was their commander. Col. Curl, and a few
of their officers. I cannot ascertain our loss more than
I have mentioned. They let us embark quietly, and
we landed at Portsmouth the same evening." The
McGill who made this report was that John McGill
who has been mentioned in Scadding's work, "Toronto
of Old," page 260 : "In the number of the Gazette
for May, 1793, we have ten guineas reward offered for
the recovery of a government grindstone ; ten guineas
reward is offered to any person that will make discovery
and prosecute to conviction the thief or thieves that
have stolen a grindstone from the King's wharf at
Navy, between the 30th of April and the 6th instant.
John McGill, Com. 0/ Stores, etc., for the Province of
Upper Canada. Queenstown, i6th May, 1793."

Lieut. -Col. Simcoe always felt himself bound as
much to protect the defenceless people in the country

as to make war on those in open rebellion. An instance
of this occurs in this campaign, on the occasion, in this
month of March, when reports coming in of the enemy
making a road through the Dismal Swamp, to the left
of the great bridge, and small parties infesting the
country, he sent Captain McKay out to disperse the
enemy. Captain McKay entered on the enterprise
with spirit and resolution, altogether in a soldier-like
manner. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, in public orders, thought
proper to mark his appreciation of the conduct of
the force in the following terms : — " It is with great
pleasure the Lieutenant-Colonel hears of the orderly
and soldier-like behaviour of the whole party stationed
at Kemps. He hopes the regiment will equally pride
themselves in protecting, as in the present case, un-
armed inhabitants of the country, as in scourging the
armed banditti who oppress it."

On the 1 9th March, on information of a squadron
with French colours being at anchor in Lynnhaven
Bay, Lieut. -Col. Simcoe was sent there with a parole
to observe them. He had the pleasure to find that it
was Admiral Arbuthnot's fleet, and of seeing a rebel
cruiser, deceived by their colours, taken by them. The
action which the Admiral had with the French fleet
saved the armament in Virginia from a serious attack.

Early in April, 1781, the Americans being in pos-
session of Yorktown, means were taken to dislodge

Campaign of lySi.

lOI

them. General Phillips had command of the force
charged with the carrying out of this project, but
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe and the Rangers took part in this
affair, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe being the first to enter the
town, when he directed the guns of the batteries that
the Americans had already loaded to be fired, as a
signal to the Bonetta sloop, which sailed up and
anchored off the town, and he burnt a range of the
rebel barracks. It is one thing to take a town and
another thing to hold it, as we shall see in the sequel.

The next expedition we have to notice is that
made for the purpose of taking Petersburgh and
destroying the public stores at that place. Major-
General Phillips issued orders directing the movement
the expedition was to make. Inter alia he said, " The
march will be conducted with the greatest caution, and
the soldiers will pay the strictest obedience to orders ;
the conduct of the officers is not to be doubted. When
the troops form, it is to be done in the following man-
ner: The Infantry and Hussars of the Queen's Rangers,
with a detachment of Yagers and Althause's Rifle
Company, form the advanced guard, under Lieut.-Col.
Simcoe. . . . The Cavalry of the Queen's Rangers
to form with the reserve, till such time as they may be
called upon, on the wing of the first or second line."

The result of the expedition was that Petersburgh
fell on the 20th April. The enemy were said to have

I02

The Life and Times of General Stmcoe.

lost near a hundred men, killed and wounded, while
that of the British was only one man killed and ten
wounded of the light infantry. On the 25th May we
find the wh'^Ie army, the Queen's Rangers included,
at Petersburgh, under the command of General Earl
Cornwallis.

Up to this time in this campaign, until the final
disaster of York Town, the British troops had been
generally successful in their encounters with the
enemy. The Queen's Rangers had done great service,
as was admitted by everyone, friend and foe alike.
After the 20th May and up to the 26th of June, the
regiment was constantly on the alert, moving here,
there and everywhere in the coast district of Virginia ;
capturing men, out-posts, stores, and munitions of war
of the enemy. It was a succession of pursuits, ambus-
cades, night attack and day attack, culminating in the
action at Spencer's Ordinary, on the 26th June, and in
a complete victory. There were many valiant deeds in
this action. I will quote from Lieut. -Col. Simcoe's
journal in regard to it, not only on account of its
intrinsic value, but because several names are men-
tioned familiar to Canadian ears, names of men who
themselves or whose kin had afterwards a name also
in Upper Canada when Lieut. -Col. Simcoe became
Lieut. -Governor. The Journal says : — " The Grenadier
Company commanded by Captain McGill, signalized

Campaign of 1781.

103

by their gallantry as well as by their dress, lost several
valuable men. Captain Stevenson was distinguished
as usual ; his chosen and well-trained infantry were
obstinately opposed, but they carried their point with a
loss of a fourth of their men killed and wounded. An
affair of this nature necessarily afforded a great variety
of gallant actions in individuals. Captain McRae
reported .0 Lieut. -Col. Simcoe that his subaltern,
Lieut. Charles Dunlop, who had served in the Queen's
Rangers from thirteen years of age, led on his division
on horseback without suffering a man to fire, watching
the enemy and giving a signal to his men to lay down
whenever a party of them was about to fire.
The whole of the loss of the Queen's Rangers amounted
to ten killed and twenty-three wounded ; among the
latter were Lieut. Swift Armstrong and Ensign Jarvis,
acting with the Grenadiers. The Yagers had two or
three men wounded and one killed. It may be supposed,
in the course of so long a service, there was scarcely a
man of them whose death did not call forth a variety of
situations, in which his courage had been distinguished
or his value exemplified, and it seemed to every one as
if the flower of the regiment had been cut off. As the
whole series of the service of light troops gives the
greatest latitude for the exertion of individual talents
and of individual courage, so did the present situation
require the most perfect combination of them. Every

JjIflW IJ, I

division, every officer, every soldier, had his share in
the merit of the action ; mistake in one might have
brought on cowardice in the other, and a single panic-
stricken soldier would probably have infected a platoon,
and led to the utmost confusion and ruir ; so that Lieut.-
Col. Simcoe has ever considered this action as the
climax of a campaign of five years ; as the result of true
discipline, acquired in that space by unremitted dili-
gence, toil and danger ; as an honourable victory earned
by veteran intrepidity."

Respecting this engagement Lord Cornwallis, on
the 28th June, gave out in public orders, that " Lord
Cornwallis desires Lieut.-Col. Simcoe will accept of
his warmest acknowledgments for his spirited and
judicious conduct in the action of the 26th instant,
when he repulsed and defeated so superior a force of
the enemy. He desires that Lieut.-Col. Simcoe will
communicate his thanks to the officers and soldiers of
the Queen's Rangers, and to Captain Ewald and the
detachment of Yagers."

On this same day, 28th June, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe
with the cavalry escorted Lord Cornwallis to Yorktown.
The enemy fired a random shot or two from Gloucester
at the escort when it marched into Yorktown, and were
prepared to repeat it on its return, but this was avoided
by keeping to the heights. The Queen's Rangers were
employed principally at about this time in feeling for

Campaign of ij8i.

105

the main body of the enemy. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe often
went out with a party, and, after proceeding; several
miles, allowing the larger part of his accompanying force
to return, he himself, with a small escort, cautiously
continued the march, with his cavalry only, through
by-paths and woods in order the better to conceal his
operations, and carefully felt the enemy's position to
discover the disposition of his force.

On the 20th July the Rangers were at Ports-
mouth. There they embarked in vessels, and it was
supposed they were intended to co-operate in an attack
on Philadelphia. It was countermanded, and the troops
sailing up the river, landed at Yorktown on the 2nd
August. Several patrols were made from Yorktown to
Williamsburg, by the cavalry of the Queen's Rangers
under the command of Captain Shank, the health of
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe being much impaired. This Captain
Shank was the same Captain Shank who afterwards,
during Lieut.-Col. Simcoe's reign as Governor of
Upper Canada, settled at York (Toronto), and acquired
there a large tract of land in what is now the western
part of that city, in the vicinity of Bathurst Street.

Before proceeding further in the relation of the
events of this period, I think it right to go back a little
—which is excusable if for no other purpose than to
make reference to another Canadian who distinguished
himself in the Revolutionary War. I have before

io6

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

mentioned Captain Saunders' Cavalry Corps. This
corps did good service in many ways, especially in
Leslie's expedition in the spring of this year. Captain
Saunders, at the close of the expedition, communi-
cated with Lieut.-Col. Simcoe by letter, detailing the
movements and incidents which had taken place while
he was absent on that service. In this communi-
cation he specially mentions Cornet Merritt, of the
corps, who had been a member of it when Lieut.
Wilson was in command of this body of cavalry, b' '•e
he himself was appointed to the command. Cornet
Merritt, in the beginning of March, had been sent with
a flag to carry a letter to General Marion, and was de-
tained as a prisoner in retaliation for the detention of
one Captain Postell. The communication proceeds : —
" They crammed Merritt, with about twenty others,
sergeants and privates of different British regiments,
in a small, nasty, dark place, made of logs, called a
bull-pen ; but it was not long before he determined to
extricate himself and his fellow-prisoners, which he
thus effected : After having communicated his inten-
tion to them, and found them ready to support him, he
pitched upon the strongest and most daring soldier, and
having waited some days for a favourable opportunity,
he observed that his guards (militia) were much
alarmed, which he found was occasioned by a party of
British having come into the neighbourhood. He then

Campaign of lySi.

107

ordered this soldier to seize the sentry, who was posted
at a small square hole cut through the logs, and which
singly served the double purpose of door and window,
which he instantly executed, drawing the astonished
sentry to the hole with one hand, and threatening to
cut his throat with a large knife which he held in the
other, if he made the smallest resistance or outcry.
Then Cornet Merritt and the whole party crawled out,
the one after the other, undiscovered by the guard,
though it was in the daytime, until the whole had got
out. He then drew them up, which the officer of the
guard observing, got his men under arms as fast as he
could, and threatened to lire on them if they attempted
to go off. Merritt replied that, if he dared to fire a
single shot at him, he would cut the whole of his
guard to pieces, which so intimidated him that, although
Merritt's party was armed only with the spoils of the
sentry and with clubs, yet he permitted them to march
off unmolested to a river at some distance, where
Cornet Merritt knew, from conversation which he had
had with the sentries, that there was a large rice-boat,
in which he embarked and brought his party, through
a country of about fifty miles, safe into Georgetown.
To you the undaunted bravery and spirit of this young
man is not unknown ; they obtained for him in his
distress your friendship and protection."

Col. Balfour, in a letter approving of Merritt's

io8

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

conduct on this occasion, said, " I rejoice most sincerely
that your Cornet has escaped. His conduct and resolu-
tion do him great credit."

Col. Balfour again, when Captain Saunders was
in command of this corps of cavalry at Georgetown,
in the month of April, wrote to him and said, " Being
empowered by Lord Cornwallis to raise a troop of
Provincial light dragoons, I have for some time wished
to try your Lieut. Wilson as Captain, and this gentle-
man (Merritt) as Lieutenant. They have both been
recommended as good and active officers, and if you
agree with me that a troop could be raised in or near
Georgetown, I should have no hesitation in making
the appointments."

Cornet Merritt was Cornet Thomas Merritt, the
father of the well-known patriot, the late William
Hamilton Merritt, of St. Catharines, a former member
of the Parliament of Upper Canada, and projector of
that great work, the Welland Canal. William Ham-
ilton Merritt seems to have inherited his father's love
for the cavalry, performing distinguished service as
commander of the militia cavalry of Upper Canada
in the War of 1812.

On the 31st August, 1781, the advance ships of
the French fleet blockaded the river York. General
Washington, on the 23rd September, invested York-
town, occupied by the British under the command of

Lord Cornwallis. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, still in command
of the Rangers, was in bad health. His robust
strength was shattered by the incessant fatigues, both
of body and mind, which for years he had undergone.
While lying on a sick bed he was informed that
Lieut. -Col. Tarleton had marched out with the cavalry.
About mid-day firing was heard in the direction taken
by the cavalry. Some people galloped in in great con-
fusion, one of the forage masters saying Col. Tarleton
was defeated. Lieut-Col. Simcoe sent him to Lord
Cornwallis, ordered the troops to the front, and being
carried from his bed to his horse, went himself to the
redoubt occupied by the Rangers.

The fortunes of war were now against the British.
The enemy were in greatly superior numbers. The
works at Yorktown were rendered untenable by the
superior fire of the French. Lord Cornwallis deter-
mined to evacuate the place and draw off his troops
by way of Gloucester, and a principal part of his force
was sent over to that place. A violent storm arising,
prevented the succeeding division of the garrison of
Yorktown passing over ; the first division which had
arrived returned to Yorktown, and the firing soon after
ceasing, the news came that Cornwallis had proposed
a cessation of hostilities, for the purpose of settling
the terms on which the posts of York and Gloucester
were to be surrendered. The capitulation was signed

'<r „;?

''^ M

<•«»!

on the 19th October. On account of Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe's dangerous state of health, Cornwallis per-
mitted him to sail for New York in the Bonetta,
which by an article in the capitulation was to be
left at his disposal, a sea-voyage being the only
chance, in the opinion of the physicians, by which he
could save his life. On board of this vessel sailed as
many of the Rangers, and other corps, deserters from
the enemy, as she could possibly hold. They were to
be exchanged as prisoners of war, and the remainder
of Cornwallis' army were marched prisoners into the
country. Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, on his arrival in New
York, was permitted by Sir Henry Clinton to return to
England ; and His Majesty was graciously pleased, on
the 19th December, 1781, to confer upon him the rank
of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army, the duties and tide
of which he had enjoyed from the year 1777, and which
had been made permanent to him in America in 1779.
Soon after the preliminaries of peace had been
signed, or at least divulged, in America, Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe received a testimonial which gave him great
pleasure and satisfaction. The Associated Loyalists,
in the upper part of the Chesapeake, through an agent
and one of the principal of their number, presented
him with a written statement of the esteem in which
they held him. The writer, on behalf of the Loyalists,
made his statement as follows : —

Campaign of ijSi.

Ill

" I have the honour, on behalf of the deputies of
the Associated Loyalists in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and the lower counties on the Delaware, by their par-
ticular direction, and being fully authorized by them
for that purpose, now to express to you the high sense
they entertaiii of your military and political conduct
during the late rebellion in America. They are at a
loss whether most to admire your activity and gallantry
in the field or your generous and affectionate attach-
ment to His Majesty's loyal subjects in America,
and your unwearied exertions as well to promote
their true interest as to preserve and protect their
property.

" As they have with pleasure and satisfaction had
frequent opportunities of seeing your army crowned
with success, so have they as often experienced the
marks of your favour, attention and protection ; these
acts have endeared you to them and claim their warmest
gratitude. Your particular countenance to and zeal for
the Associated Loyalists, and your ready concurrence
in the measures proposed for their relief, and kind
solicitations on their behalf, have made an impression
on their minds words cannot express and time only can
erase ; and they have exceedingly to regret that the
opportunity was not afforded them of evincing to the
world, under your command, the sincerity of these pro-
fessions and their attachment to their Sovereign.

112

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

t-fl

" They would deem themselves culpable if they
did not take this opportunity to mention that your
abhorrence of the pillage that too generally took place
in this country, and the success that attended your
vigilant exertions to prevent it, have marked your
character and ensured to you the esteem of all orders
and ranks of good men.

" Your sudden and unexpected departure from
America prevented their paying this tribute of respect
to you personally, which they entreat you now to
accept, and that you will be assured under all changes
and circumstances your name will be dear to them, and
that their wishes and prayers will always be for your
prosperity and happiness."

The Queen's Rangers, under Lieut.-Col. Simcoe,
it has already been shown, performed most distinguished
service during the campaigns about which I have been
writing. We have seen that His Majesty recognized
the services of the Lieutenant-Colonel by making him
Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army ; nor did His
Majesty forget the other officers of that regiment, for
we find that on the 19th December, 1782, His Majesty
was graciously pleased to make the rank of every
officer of that regiment universally permanent, which
they had hitherto only held in America, and the
Queen's Rangers, cavalry and infantry, were honour-
ably enrolled in the British army. The corps was

disbanded at the ensuing peace, and many of the
officers and most of the soldiers settled on the lands
to which they had a claim in Nova Scotia. Many
others of the force settled in Upper Canada, following
the fortunes of their trusty leader.

Simcoe went to England on parole. Arriving
there in bad health he left his case in the hands of min-
isters who, according to his Journal, did not neglect his
interests in the matter of exchange and restoration to
complete liberty. In the Appendix to his Journal,
speaking of himself as he did invariably in the Journal
in the third person, he says, " Lieut.-Col. Simcoe has
always thought himself under the highest obligations to
His Majesty's ministers for this mark of attention" (his
exchange). The terms on which he was exchanged are
here inserted, verbatim from Dr. Franklin's discharge :
" Being informed by William Hodgson, Esquire, chair-
man of the committee of subscribers for the relief of
American prisoners in England, of the benevolent and
humane treatment lately received by the said prisoners
in consequence of orders from the present British
ministers ; and that the said ministers earnestly desire
that Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, on parole to the United States
of America, should be released from his said parole ;
and being further of opinion that meeting the British
Government in acts of benevolence is agreeable to the
disposition and intention of the Congress, I do hereby,

^i^w-YT"

! A

lli

as far as in my power may lie, absolve the parole of the
said Lieut. -Col. Simcoe, but on this condition, — that an
order be obtained for the discharge of some officer of
equal rank, who being a prisoner to the English in
America, shall be named by Congress or by General
Washington for that purpose, and that three copies of
such order be transmitted to me.

"Given at Passy, this 14th January 1783.

" B. Franklin,

' Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of

America at the Court of France."

Thus was ended the military career of Lieut. -Col.
Simcoe — a man who during the whole of his military
life was honoured and beloved by all who knew him,
of most generous impulses and well entitled to pro-
motion in the service of the Crown whose battles he
had fought, if with varying success, at least with
devotion and loyalty not surpassed by any of the
King's subjects of high or low degree.

CHAPTER VI.
Civil Government in Upper Canada.

|PPER CANADA had its beginning as a
separate province in 1791. The Act of
the Imperial Parliament dividing the old
Province of Quebec into the two Provinces of Upper
and Lower Canada has generally been known as
the 31st of the King. It was an Act of immense
importance to the English-speaking people of the
province, entailing fai -reaching consequences to all
who should make the new made Province of Upper
Canada their future home. We have followed Lieut. -
Col. Simcoe in his military career in the Revolution
till it was brought to a close, and his return to
England as a prisoner on parole, to his subsequent
release, in 1783. Now in England, at his old
1 ome, enjoying a life of tranquillity, his mind was
restored to its former tone, and his constitution to a
state of health, which, if not perfect, was apparently so.
Soon after retiring from active service he determined

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to change his condition in life, taking to himself for
wife a Miss Guillem, a near relation of Admiral
Graves who had commanded at Boston in the Revo-
lution, and who was a distant relative of his own.

Lieut.-Col, Simcoe in 1790 was elected a member
of the British Parliament to represent the borough
of St. Maw's, Cornwall, and he took part in the debates
on ihe Bill by which the Province of Quebec was
divided into Upper and Lower Canada, the Constitu-
tional Act of the 31st of the King to which I have
referred. He had therefore an intimate knowledge of
what was intended by that Bill, and of the course which
the English Government desired to be pursued in the
affairs of the then new and distinct Province of Upper
Canada. No man better qualified to be Governor of
this new Province than Simcoe could have been
selected.

In the Revolutionary struggle he had associated
himself with the Loyalists of America, and had become
acquainted with their every want. He knew that
when the struggle was over the Loyalists, unused and
unwilling to live under the Republican Government,
would flock into Canada, and thus escape the tyranny
of the Sons of Liberty.

The better to understand this matter of the Act
of 1 79 1, and the circumstances attending it, I may
state that the debate in the House of Commons on

that Bill was commenced on the 8th April, 1791, and
was championed by Mr. Pitt on the Government side
of the House, and criticised by Mr. Fox, leader of the
Opposition in the Commons. It is too important a
matter to be in any way neglected in dealing with the
the life of Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-
Governor appointed to administer government under
it, so I state the facts as they appeared in the Journal
of Parliament.

The order of the day being read for taking the
report of the Quebec Government Bill into further
consideration, Mr. Massey presented a petition from
several merchants, warehousemen and manufacturers
concerned in the trade of Quebec, praying that the
Bill might not pass into a law, inasmuch as after
having duly weighed the consequence of it, they con-
ceived it would be attended with great injury to the
said province, and particularly to the trade and com-
merce of the petitioners. It was ordered to lie on
the table. The Speaker then put the question : " That
this report be now taken into consideration."

Mr. Massey moved " That the Bill be recom-
mitted." He made the motion because he thought
there were many objections to various parts of the Bill.

Mr. Fox seconded the motion. He observed
that the Bill contained a great variety of clauses, all of
them of the utmost importance, not only to the country

^'1

^mm^m

to which they immediately referred, but also to Great
Britain. He hoped that in promulgating the scheme
of a new constitution for the Province of Quebec the
House would keep in their view those enlightened
principles of freedom, which had always made a rapid
progress over a considerable portion of the globe, and
were becoming more and more every day universal.
As the love of liberty was gaining ground in conse-
quence of the diffusion of literature and knowledge
through the v/orld, he thought that a constitution
should be formed for Canada as consistent as possible
with the principles of freedom. This Bill, in his
opinion, would not establish such a. government, and
that was his chief reason for opposing it.

The Bill proposed to give two Houses of Assem-
bly in the two provinces, one to each of them, and
thus far it met with his approbation, but the number of
persons of whom these Assemblies were to consist
deserved partici'.lar attention. Although it might be
perfectly true, that a country, three or four times as
large as Great Britain, ought to have representatives
three or four times as numerous, yet it was not fit to
say that a smaller country should have an Assembly
proportionately small. The great object in the institu-
tion of all popular Assemblies was, that the people
should be freely and fully represented, and that the
representative body should have all the virtues and

vices incidental to such Assemblies. But when they
made an Assembly to consist of sixteen or thirty per-
sons, they seemed to him to give a free Constitution in
appearance, when in fact they withheld it. In Great
Britain we had a Septennial Bill, but the goodness of
it had been considered doubtful, at least, even by many
of those who took a lead in the present Bill.

The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had himself supported a vote for the repeal of that Act.
He did not now mean to discuss its merits ; but a main
ground on which he thought it indispensable was that
a general election in this country was attended with a
variety of inconveniences. That general elections in
Great Britain were attended with several inconveni-
ences could not be doubted ; but when they came to a
country so different in all circumstances as Canada, and
where elections, for many years at least, were not likely
to be attended with the consequences which they
dreaded, why they sho'-'d make such Assemblies not
annual or triennial, but septennial, was beyond his
comprehension. \ Septennial Bill did not apply to
many of the most r "spectable persons in that country ;
they might be persons engaged in trade, an*.' '■'■ :hosen
for seven years they might not be in a situadon to
attend during all that period ; their dttk'rs might call
them to England, or many other circumstances mi^ht
arise effectually to prevent them from attending the

mmr

service of their country. But although it might be
inconvenient for such persons to attend such Assembly
for the term of seven years, they might be able to give
their attendance for one, or even for three years, with-
out any danger or inconvenience to their commercial
concerns. By a Septennial Bill the country of Canada
might be deprived of many of the few representatives
that were allowed by the Bill. If it should be said
that this objection applied to Great Britain, he com-
pletely denied it ; because although there were persons
engaged in trade in the British House of Commons,
and many of them very worthy members, yet they
were comparatively few ; and therefore he should think
that, from the situation of Canada, annual or triennial
parliaments would be much preferable to septennial.
Of the qualification of electors he felt it impossible
to approve. In England a freeholder of forty-five
shillings was sufficient ; five pounds was necessary in
Canada. Perhaps it might be said that when this was
fairly considered it would make no material difference ;
and this he suspected to be the case. But granting
that it did not, when we were giving to the world, by
this Bill, our notions of the principles of elections, we
should not hold out that the qualifications in Great
Britain were lower than they ought to be. The
qualifications on a house were still higher — he believed
ten pounds.

Civil Government in Upper Canada.

121

In fact, he thought that the whole of this Consti-
tution was an attempt to undermine and contradict the
professed purport of the Bill, namely, the introduction
of a popular Government into Canada. But although
this was the case with respect to the two Assemblies,
although they were to consist of so inconsiderable a
number of members, the legislative councils in both
provinces were limited as to numbers. Instead of
being hereditary councils, or councils chosen by elec-
tors, as was the case in some of the colonies in the
West Indies, or chosen by the King, they were com-
pounded of the other two. As to the points of heredi-
tary honours, to say that they were good or that they
were not good, as a general proposition, was not easily
maintained ; but he saw nothing so good in hereditary
powers and honours as to incline us to introduce them
into a country where they were unknown, and by such
means distinguish Canada from all the colonies in the
West Indies. In countries where they made a part of
the Constitution, he did not think it wise to destroy,
but to give birth and life to such principles in countries
where they did not exist, appe^iared to him to be exceed-
ingly unwise. Nor could he account for it, unless it
was that Canada having been formerly a French colony,
there might be an opportunity of reviving those titles
of honour the extinction of which some gentlemen so
much deplored, and to revive in the west that spirit of

chivalry which had fallen into disgrace in the neigh-
bouring country. He asked if those red and blue
ribbons, which had lost their lustre in the old world,
were to shine forth again in the new? It seemed to
him peculiarly absurd to introduce hereditary honours
in America, where those artificial distinctions stunk in
the nost, '3 of the natives. He declared he thought
these po ( ?\nd honours wholly unnecessary, and
tending to nu ' ^ a new Constitution worse rather than
better. If the council were wholly hereditary he should
equally object to it : it would only add to the power ot
the King and the Governor, for a council so formed
would only be the tool and engine of the King. Here
the Speaker, Mr. Fox, condemned the Clergy Reserves
clauses of the Bill and the clause relating to appeals to
the Privy Council instead of the House of Lords in the
first instance, and then went on to say further, as to the
Bill, that of all the points of the Bill, that which struck
him the most forcibly was the division of the Province
of Canada. It had been urged that, by such means, we
could separate the English and French inhabitants of
the province ; that we could distinguish who were
originally French from those of English origin. But
was this to be desired ? Was it not rather to be
avoided ? Was it agreeable to general political expedi-
ency .-* The most desirable circumstance was that the
French and English inhabitants of Canada should

Civil Government in Upper Canada.

123

coalesce as it were, in one body, and that the different
distinctions of the people might be extinguished for-
ever. If this had been the object in view, the English
laws might have pre^'^ailed universally throughout
Canada ; not from force, but from choice and con-
viction of their superiority. He had no doubt that,
on a fair trial, they would be found free from all
objection. The inhabitants of Canada had not the
laws of France. The commercial code was never
established there ; they stood upon the exceedingly
inconvenient custom of Paris. He wished the people
of that country to adopt the English laws from choice
and not from force ; and he did not think the division
of the province the most likely means to bring about
this most desirable end. He trusted the House
would also seriously consider the particular situation
of Canada. It was not to be compared with the West
Indies ; it was a country of a different nature ; it did
not consist of a few white inhabitants and a number of
slaves ; but it was a country of great growing popula-
tion, which had increased very much, and v/hich, he
hoped, would increase much more. It was a country
as capable of enjoying political freedom, in its utmost
extent, as any other country on the face of the globe.
This country was situated near the Colonies of North
America. All their animosity and bitterness on the
quarrel between them and Great Britain was now over,

and he believed that there were few people among
those colonies who would not be ready to admit every
person belonging to this country into a participation of
all their privileges, and would receive them with open
arms. The governments now established in North
America were, in his opinion, the best adapted to the
situation of the people who lived under them of any of
the governments of the ancient or modern world ; and
when H ' had a colony like this, capable of freedom
and capable of a great increase of population, it was
materipJ that the inhabitants should have nothing to
look to among their neighbours to excite their envy.
Canada must be preserved to Great Britain by the
choice of its inhabitants. But it should be felt by the
inhabitants that their situation was not worse than that
of their neighbours. He wished the Canadians to be
in such a situation as to have nothing to envy in any
part of the King's dominions. But this should never
be the case under a Bill which held out to them some-
thing like the shadow of the British Constitution, but
denied them the substance. In a country where the
principles of liberty were gaining ground, they should
have a government as agreeable to the genuine prin-
ciples of freedom as was consistent with the nature of
the circumstances. He did not think that the govern-
ment intended to be established by this Bill would
prove such a government ; and this was his principal

-J

motive for opposing it. The Legislative Council ought
to be totally free and repeatedly chosen, in a manner
as much independent of the Governor as the nature
of a colony would admit. Those he conceived would
be the best, but, if not, they should have their seats
for life ; be appointed by the King ; consist of a
limited number, and possess no hereditary honours.
Those honours might be very proper, and of great
utility in countries where they had existed by long
custom, but, in his opinion, they were not fit to be
Introduced where they had no original existence ; then
there was no particular use for introducing them,
arising from the nature of the country, its extent, its
state of improvement, or its peculiar circumstances,
where instead of attracting respect they might excite
envy ; and as but few could enjoy them, those who
did not, might be induced to form an unfavourable
comparison between their own situation and that of
their neighbours, among whom no such distinctions
were known. It was upon these grounds which he had
stated that he felt himself justified in seconding the
motion of his honourable friend.

Mr. Pitt replied to Mr. Fox in a short address, in
which he endeavoured to strengthen the reasons he
pressed for the passing of the Bill when it was further
introduced, and added : " As to the Legislative Council,
he entirely differed from the Right Hon. gentleman.

I i

126

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

who thought it would be better to be an elective
council, in the manner in which it had been lately
established in America. An aristocratic principle being
one part of our mixed Government, he thought proper
that there should be such a council in Canada as was
provided for by the Bill, and which might answer to
that part of the British Constitution which composed
the other House of Parliament.

'* As to the division of the province, it was, in a
great measure, the fundamental part of the Bill ; and
he had no scruple to declare that he considered it
as the most material and essential part of it." He
agreed with the Right Hon. gentleman in thinking it
extremely desirable that the inhabitants of Canada
should be united, and led universally to prefer the
English Constitution and the English law. Dividing
the province he considered to be the most likely means
to effect this purpose, since by so doing the French
subjects would be sensible that the British Government
had no intention of forcing the English laws upon
them, and therefore they would with more facility look
at the operation and effect of those laws, and probably
in time adopt them from conviction. This he thought
was more likely to be the case than if the British Gov-
ernment were all at once to subject the whole inhabi-
tants to the Constitution and laws of this country.
Experience would teach them that the English laws

Civil Gcvemment in Upper Canada.

127

were the best ; and he admitted that they ought to be
governed to their satisfaction. If the province had
not been divided there would have been only one
House of Assembly ; and there being two parties, if
those parties had been equal or nearly equal in the
Assembly, it would have been the source of perpetual
faction. If one of the parties had been much stronger
than the other the other might justly have complained
that they were oppressed. It was on that persuasion
that the division of the province was conceived to be
the most likely way of attaining every desirable end."

1"he Bill was then ordered to be recommitted.
The Bill was debated clause by clause in committee on
May 6th, nth, 12th and 16th, and finally passed the
second reading on the i6th May, 1791.

I am not able to state the exact date of the
appointment of Lieut.-Col. Simcoe to the Lieutenant-
Governorship of Upper Canada, but it must have been
immediately on or immediately after the passing of the
Act, for among the Smith manuscript papers, now
deposited in the Public Library of Toronto, there is a
letter, dated the 20th day of May, 1791, written by
Lieut.-Col. Simcoe from some place in England (name
of place not given) to D. W. Smith, afterwards Acting
Surveyor-General of the province, in which he gives
directions to him on matters which he deemed to be of
public service, shewing also as it does an intelligent

appreciation of the duties he was called upon to per-
form. The letter was as follows : —

" It being necessary for the public service that an
analysis should be made of a salt spring, reported by
the Surveyor- General to be on the river Trent, I have
directed Mr. Angus Macdonell to proceed immedi-
ately to analyze its quality. He will receive particular
instructions for this purpose ... As soon as the
expedition shall be over, be ready to report to me as
soon as I shall arrive in Upper Canada."

The letter was indeed an order and very explicit
in its directions. Particular care was taken to direct
the surveyor to do nothing which would tend to make
the Indians jealous or to lead them to think " that they
will in any way be impeded from the customary resort
to the salt springs. Furthermore directions were given
that the surveyor should " note down as particularly as
possible the nature of the soil and of the country he
should pass through, or any other observations that
may be serviceable to His Majesty's Government.'
The letter goes on to say : "If the experiment prove
successful, it is much to be desired that a haven for
small vessels be procured on Lake Ontario, opposite to
the Presqu'Isle of Quint^."

In another letter of the same date he writes direct-
ing the party to whom it was addressed, but whose
name is not given, "to proceed with Mr. Chewett to

Civil Government in Upper Canada.

129

the salt springs on the river Trent, and to make a par-
ticular and methodical analysis of the salt spring and
report to him (Lieut.-Col. Simcoe) at Kingston or
wherever he should be."

These letters show that Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, from
the moment he was appointed Governor of the prov-
ince, even before setting foot on the soil, took a keen
and lively interest in all that was likely to add to its
welfare even in the smallest minutiae. Referring to the
salt spring there deemed of great importance, he says :
"It being necessary for the public service that an
analysis should be made of a salt spring." How could
the newly-appointed Governor have known of a salt
spring on the Trent unless he had made himself familiar
with the written evidences in the hands of the Govern-
ment, or by enquiry have satisfied himself that such
spring existed.'* In those early days a salt spring was
estimated of as much value, or nearly of as much value,
as a gold mine.

Then again let it be noticed what paternal solici-
tude he evinces for the Indians : " Particular care is
to be taken to do nothing which would tend to make
the Indians jealous or to lead them to think th:.. hey
will in any way be impeded from the customary resort
to the salt spring." Not only was a salt spring prized
for its intrinsic value, but because of the veneration in
which it was held by the Indians. The Indians who

lived by the hunt and the chase could not but deem of
especial value these places where the animals they
hunted for sport and sustenance came for their f -'
and drink. Salt or lick springs were considered sac. -u
by the Indiams because of their being the resort of the
deer, the elk, the bear and the buffalo. It may have
been that Governor Simcoe, in his experience gained
in the Revolutionary War, knew of this almost super-
stitious regard which the Indians had for these springs,
and therefore pressed upon his surveyors in the pro-
vince the necessity of preserving them.

A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe
having visited the Governor of Virginia during t*^e
Revolution on matters of business, the Governor a;
them some questions relative to their country, anu
among others what they knew or had heard of the
animal whose bones were found on the Salt Licks on
the Ohio. Their chief speaker immediately put him-
self into an attitude of oratory, and with a pomp suited
to what he conceived the elevation of his subject,
informed him that it was a tradition, handed down from
their fathers, that in ancient times a herd of these
tremendous animals came to the Bick-Bone Licks, and
began an universal destruction of the bear, deer, elk,
buffalo, and other animals which had been created for
the use of the Indians. " That the Great Man above,
looking down and seeing this, he seized his lightning,

Civil Governvimt in Upper Canatia.

'31

descended on the earth, seated himself on a neigfh-
bouring mountain, on a rock — on which his seat and
the prints of his feet are still to be seen, — and hurled
his bolts among them, until the whole were slaughtered
except the big bull, who, presenting his forehead to the
shafts, shook them off as they fell, but missing one, at
length, it wounded him in the side, whereupon, spring-
ing round, he bounded over the Ohio, over the Wabash,
the Illinois, and over the Great Lakes, where he is
living this day." The big bull here referred to is the
mammoth ; so that, according to the tradition, Canada
over the Great Lakes was made tne home of this
tremendous animal.

Before Lieut.-Col. Simcoe left England his friend,
the Duke of Northumberland, himself a Chief, had no
doubt impressed him with the English policy of treating
the Indians, the original owners of the soil, with kind-
ness and consideration. On the 3rd September, 1791,
the Duke gave him a letter to his brother Chief, Captain
Joseph Brant ( Thayendanegea), which I transcribe, as
indicative of the spirit which animated the breast of
the colonial minister voicing the sentiments of the
Crown as regarded the aborigines. The letter was as
follows : —

It: t .•' ''' " •.

Ii!ii

" Northumberland House,

" September 3rd, 1791.

' My Dear Joseph,-

" Col. Simcoe, who is going out as Governor of
Upper Canada, is kind enough to promise to deliver
this to you, with a brace of pistols which I desire you
will keep for my sake. I must particularly recommend
the Colonel to you and the nation. He is a most
intimate friend of mine, and is possessed of every good
quality which can recommend him to your friendship.
He is brave, humane, sensible and honest. Vou may
safely rely upon whatever he says, for he will not
deceive you.

"He loves and honours the Indians, whose noble
sentiments so perfectly correspond with his own. He
wishes to live upon the best terms with them, and,
as Governor, will have it in his power to be of much
service to them. In short, he is worthy to be a
Mohawk. Love him at first fjr my sake and you
will soon come to love him for his own.

" I was very glad to hear that you had received
the rifle safe which I sent you, and hope it has proved
useful to you. I preserve with great care your picture,
which is hung up in the Duchess's own room.

" Continue to me your friendship and esteem, and
believe me ever to be, with the greatest truth,

" Your affectionate friend and brother,

" Northumberland,

" Thorighwegeri.
"Captain Joseph Brant,

" Thayendenagea."

Governor Simcoe on setting out from England for
his new government sailed for Quebec. We find him
on the 17th January, 1792, at Montreal, en route for
Kingston and Niagara. In a private letter of that
date, addressed to Sir George Yonge, Secretary of
War, in which he announced to him his arrival in
Montreal, he reported that Captain Shaw had just
successfully marched with his division of the Queen's
Rangers all the way from New Brunswick to Montreal
in the depth of winter on snow shoes. In this letter
Captain David Shank is spoken of as being on his way
to the same destination in command of a portion of
the Queen's Rangers, in company with Captain Smith.

The Captain Shaw here referred to was Captain
^neas Shaw (who became a resident of York), the
great-grand father of Col. Shaw, late of the loth Royal
Regiment, now called the Royal Grenadiers, The
Captain Smith referred to was afterwards Col. .Samuel

Smith, appointed a member of the Executive Council
in 1815, and subsequently President of the Province.
Captain David Shank and his position I have referred
to. in the military life of Governor Simcoe. I have
mentioned that on leaving Montreal the Governor was
en route for Kingston and Niagara. The ordinary way
of travelling up the River St. Lawrence those days
was by bark canoe. Governor Simcoe, in ascending
the river, had a fleet of bark canoes. On the way up
the party stopped at a hostelry at Johnstown. From
the fact that the Governor and his party stopped there
on the occasion of his coming to the province as its
Governor the hostelry obtained quite a local import-
ance. It is described as St. John's Hall, and the usual
sign is not on the building, but at the top of a tapering
pine. The inscription on the sign was : " Live and let
live — peace and plenty to all mankind." The name of
the Hall (St. John's), would seem to indicate that there
were a good many Masons in that part of the country.
In this house Governor Simcoe held his first levee in
Upper Canada. He was received by the inhabitants
of the neighbouring country, who assembled there to
attest their loyalty, with a salvo of artillery, the
ordnance used for the occasion being an old cannon
obtained from the old French Fort on the Island
below Johnstown. Soon after the Governor left on his
journey up the river, the gentry of the surrounding

country, in their queer old broad-skirted military coats,
their low tasseled boots, their looped chapeaux, with
faded feathers fluttering in the wind, collected together,
retired to St. John's Hall, and there did honour to the
occasion in speech making and health drinking, as
was the custom of the time. The names of those who
attended that meeting are quite familiar to me, born,
and living in my boyhood, not far from the homes of
the gentry assembled, some of whom I knew per-
sonally. In the speech-making Col. Tom Fraser
said, "Now I am content — content, I say, and can go
home to reflect on this proud day. Our Governor,
the man of all others, has come at last. Mine eyes
have seen it — a health to him, gentlemen — he will do
the best for us." Those who assisted the eloquent
Colonel Fraser in chanting his Nunc Dimittis were:
Dr. Solomon Jones, Captain Elijah Bottum, Major
Jessop, Captain Dulmage, Captain Campbell, Pay-
master Jones, Commissary Jones, Captain Gid Adams,
Lieut. Samuel Adams, Ephraim Webster, Captain
Markle, Captain Grant and numerous other officers.
After leaving Johnstown the fleet ascended the
river, and in due time reached Kingston, the first
fortified place met with in journeying from Montreal
to Niagara. It was here that the Governor in 1791
first organized his government, by selecting his Execu-
tive and Legislative Council. The organization and the

mWw^

n ii

ceremonies on the occasion partook of a religious char-
acter. The event was one of solemnity ; the place, the
old wooden church opposite the market place, Kingston.
Here in this church were read and published His
Majesty's commissions. The Governor was attended
by the Honourable William Osgoode, C.J., the Hon-
ourable James Baby, the Honourable Peter Russell,
together with the Justices of the Peace and principal
inhabitants, when the commission appointing His
Excellency Lord Dorchester, Captain-General and
Commander-in-chief, etc., of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada, and John Graves Simcoe, Governor of the
Province of Upper Canada, was solemnly read and
published. The oaths of office were then adminis-
tered to His Excellency. According to the Royal
instructions to General Simcoe he was to have five
individuals to form his first Executive Council. The
five named were : William Osgoode, William Robert-
son, James Baby, Alexander Grant and Peter Russell,
Esquires. These appointments were made on the 8th
July. On the following Monday, Messrs. Osgoode,
Russell and Baby were sworn into office ; Robertson
was not then in the province ; Grant was sworn ' in a
few days afterwards.

The Legislative Councillors were not selected till
17th July, 1792, when a meeting of the Executive
Council was held at Kingston, and the following

gentlemen appointed : Robert Hamilton, Richard
Cartwright and John Munro.

Kingston, at the foot of Lake Ontario, which
in the old French days had an historic name, being a
military post, the Governor, being a military man,
appropriately seized upon as a fit place where he
might announce to the inhabitants of the province that
the first Governor of the province was in their midst.

Fort Frontenac, the Kingston of the time of the
arrival of Governor Simcoe and of the present day,
was captured by the English under Colonel Bradstreet,
in 1758, a year before the fall of Quebec. The history
of the time points to the fact that Governor Simcoe
sojourned during the winter in Montreal, and did no
leave that place till May or June, 1792. I have seen a
sketch, a water-colour drawing of Sorel, made by Mrs.
Simcoe, on the back of which is written, "Sorel, 12th
June, 1792," which shows that the Governor was either
in Montreal or Sorel at that date.

In a letter written by Governor Simcoe to the
Secretary of War, on the 13th June, 1792, he men-
tioned that "Captain Littlehales has overtaken me on
the St. Lawrence as I was on my passage up the most
august of rivers (St. Lawrence). It has given me
great satisfaction," he says, " that the Queen's Rangers
have arrived so early. Captain Shaw, who crossed in
the depth of winter on showshoes from New Bruns-

wick, is now at Kingston with the troops of the first
two ships ; and Captains Shank and Smith are, I trust,
at no great distance from this place, as the wind has
served for the last thirty-six hours, and I hope with
sufficient force to enable them to pass the rapids of the
Richelieu, where they have been detained some days."

These letters show that the Governor was slowly
but surely making his way to Niagara, where there was
another fort, and that he had not come to the province
without military support, for we see that the " Queen's
Rangers," his old regiment reorganized, were on the
way with him, and in command of officers who had
been with him in the Revolutionary War. Captains
Shaw and Smith had with him gone through all the
campaigns of the Revolutionary War.

Mrs. Simcoe, who accompanied the Governor on
his journey, was something of an artist. She could
draw and paint well, was a good maker of maps, and
was an accomplished and accurate artist. She was not
idle in making her journey up the St. Lawrence, but
occupied herself in making pencil and water-colour
drawings of the principal places, mountains and plains
she passed on her way up the rapids of the St. Law-
rence, not omitting the rapids themselves. That the
reader may have an idea of some of these places
and scenes, as sketched by Mrs. Simcoe, I give in the
illustrations some woodcuts of Mrs. Simcoe's original

Civil Government in Upper Canada.

139

sketches, which I have been enabled to secure throug^h
the kindness of Mr. Isidore Hellmuth, of London.

The Government being now organized (July,
1792), we may close this chapter and proceed in the
next to say something of the country and people the
Governor came to govern, first remarking that the
Governor left Kingston, for his new capital of Newark,
on 2ist July, 1792,

CHAPTER VII.

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

IHE Governor is now, 1792, at Newark
(Niagara), his seat of Government for the
present, at least. How Newark became
the Capital it is hardly necessary to enquire.
It is sufficient to know that the Governor on coming
to the Province made this place his headquarters, and
summoned his first parliament to meet him at Newark-
The place itself was but a village of some four hun-
dred houses, but then opposite on the point was old
Fort Niagara, which had alternately belonged to the
French, and to the English, and was now in pos-
session of the English, as one of the trading posts
retained by the English notwithstanding the treaty of
^7^3> which granted to the United States their inde-
pendence. The British, in consequence of a claim
made by them that the Americans had not carried out
some stipulation of the treaty, held the trading posts
of Niagara and Detroit till another treaty, called the
Jay Treaty, was made in 1796.

Newark was well protected by the guns of Fort
Niagara ; that and other considerations, such as the

l'()Rrj!AH Ol' WILLIAM J. \K\IS.

roiii ;iii (irigiii.il raiiiliiiij: by Sir Thoma.s Law

■^

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

141

fact that many of the Loyalists of the Queen's and
Butler's Rangers, after the treaty of 1783, came to
Upper Canada, and pitched their tents on the Niagara
peninsula induced the Governor to make Newark his
capital. Governor Simcoe would thus at Newark find
himself, as it were, among his own people. But the
settlers on the Niagara peninsula were not the only
people of Upper Canada at this time. In addition,
there were about ten thousand English-speaking
people, and about ten thousand Indians in the pro-
vince. The body of the people were, however, settled
over widely scattered districts. The U. E. Loyalists,
who came into the province after losing their all in
the revolted colonies, were glad to procure a resting
place wherever fortune or accident landed them.
Some parties entered the province at this place, some
another. A number came in by crossing the St. Law-
rence in the vicinity of Cornwall ; others at Montreal ;
others again, would land at Cataraqui or Kingston ;
the greater number perhaps on the Niagara frontier.

When one is writing the history of a governor it
is as well to know who were the people he came to
govern, if a just conclusion as to the Governor's merit
is to be arrived at.

Governor Simcoe was fortunate in coming among
a people who had all the refinements of the civilization
of the old colonies from which they had been driven

by the chances of war. Many had left their American
firesides and hearthstones because of their devoted
loyalty to the King and monarchical government.
They had been inured to the hardships of the war, and
were therefore prepared to be watchful and patient.
They were not novices in the art of agriculture, the
most of them leaving good, well-cultivated farms on
coming to Canada. Nor were they without the refine-
ments of education ; having had the advantage of the
schools of New England and other States, which were
as good and efficient at that time as were the schools
of Canada at the expiry of fifty years of their settle-
ment in Upper Canada.

The United Empire Loyalists were the principal
inhabitants of the Province. Still there were others
besides the Indians that the Governor had within his
jurisdiction. There were the settlers around the posts
and fortified places, discharged soldiers, and others
who, for security from the Indians, chose to settle on
land in the vicinity of these places. As far back as the
time of the attacks on the British posts by the great
Chief Pontiac there is evidence that persons were placed
in charge of these out-posts and forts about Fro'Ucn.
These men invariably received grants of 1 ' 4^ thus
formed the sparse beginnings of settk iits. The
province had since its settlement in lyb^ l)een jnder
the jurisdiction of Governor Haldimand and the Legis-

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

143

lature of Lower Canada, which was founded by the
Quebec Act of 1774. In 1784 Governor Haldimand
had settled the celebrated Iroquois Chief, Thayend-
anegea, Joseph Brant, with his Indians, who had
followed the fortunes of Britain, on a reserve granted
to them on the banks of the Grand River. This grant
of Governor Haldimand was dated 25th October, 1784,
and was made to the Mohawk tribe. Another reserve
was assigned the Mohawk tribe of Indians on the
Grand River by Governor Simcoe on the 14th Janu-
^''Y' 1 793- Both of these grants are on record in the
office of the Provincial Secretary.

As to the country itself, it was essentially a
woodland country ; a country of native forest trees and
uncultivated land, in fact, almost a wilderness, when
Governor Simcoe first entered it as Governor. There
were settlements here and there which the U. E. Loy-
alists had formed in distant parts of the province,
where they had felled the large trees and in some
manner subjugated the soil — but they were few and
far between. So late as 18 12 the venerable William
Ryerson, when aide-de-camp to a British General
during the war of 1812, was sent on a message from
the River St. Clair to Little York, now Toronto, and
his road through all that country was but an Indian
track through unbroken forests. When we come to
tell of Governor Simcoe being fully installed as Gov-

144

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

ernor, and his first session of Parliament, we may be
able to describe his journey through the same territory,
and see how he found it.

Coming to a country in such a primitive, almost
primaeval, state as Upper Canada was at this cime it
will be confessed the Governor had no ordinary task
to perform, to produce form out of chaos, and put the
machinery of government in good working order. It
required a man of good mind, sober judgment, and
great discretion to adapt himself to the state of affairs
he found in Upper Canada.

The Governor, on assuming the duties of govern-
ment, was especially interested in having around him
a set of officials in whom he himself personally could
have the utmost confidence, and whom he felt would
loyally support him in carrying out the instructions he
had received from his master, the King. In those
days of colonial government the Governor was King,
so far as the colony was concerned. The principles of
colonial government as they exist at the present day
were not understood at that time, or if understood,
were not practised. There was, in fact, no responsible
government as there is now. The Governor himself
did not acknowledge any responsibility but to the
government that appointed him, while his officials
assisting him to carry on the government were his
nominees, acknowledging no responsibility to the

"iw^:

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

people's representatives, but only to the Governor and
the Crown. Thus it was that a great responsibility
was thrown upon the Governor in the choice of his
officers. Let us now see how he exercised his office
in this particular. He chose for his Military Secretary
Major Littlehales, an officer of acknowledged me? it
and ability, who afterwards was for some time Secre-
tary of War for Ireland during the Lord-Lieutenancy
of the Marquis of Cornwallis. One of his Aides-de-
Camps was Thomas Talbot, the Col. Talbot so well
and long known in the province as the founder of the
Talbot settlement in the western district, and who had
been an officer in the Queen's Rangers. Mr. Gray
was appointed Solicitor-General.

The Clerk of the Executive Council was Mr.
Small, the head of the family of Small in York and
Toronto. For Civil Secretary he had William Jarvis,
generally known as Mr. Secretary Jarvis, who had
also been an officer in the Rangers. Peter Russell
was appointed Receiver-General ; D. W. Smith Sur-
veyor-General ; and Thomas Ridout and William
Chewett, Assistant Receivers-General. Thomas Ridout
was the father of Thomas G. Ridout, formerly Cashier
of the Bank of Upper Canada, and long known in the
province as a distinguished citizen and Masonic Grand
Master. William jarvis was the first Grand Master of
the Masonic order in the province. D. W. Smith was

146

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

in 1779 an Ensign in the 5th Regiment of Foot. He
was in 1790 secretary of the Land Board of Detroit,
and held many other offices, civil and military, at
that place. In the same year of 1792 that he was
appointed Surveyor- General, he was also appointed
Deputy Quartermaster-General and Secretary to Com-
modore Dante. He was Deputy Judge Advocate and
member of all the Land Boards and Vice-President of
the Agricultural Society. In 1793 he was articled to
the Attorney-General and was called to the Bar in
1794. He was a Privy Councillor in 1796, Deputy
Lieutenant for the County of Lincoln, and Member of
the Second Parliament ; and from that time down to
the 28th September, 1836, he held a great many civil
and political offices in the Dominion. This is the
D. W. Smith whose manuscripts have been secured
for the Public Library in Toronto.

From the names I have given it will be seen that
the Governor selected for his subordinates gentlemen of
acknowledged respectability and worth, many of whom
had like himself been active in support of the King In
the Revolutionary War.

Let us now see who were returned to the First
Parliament of the province, which was opened at
Newark on the 17th September, 1792. Referring to
the Constitutional Act of 1791, we find that that Act
entitled the province to send fifteen members to the

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

147

Legislative Assembly. The names of the fifteen
returned as representatives of the people in the first
Assembly were : John Macdonell, who was elected
Speaker ; John Booth ; Mr. Baby ; Alexander Camp-
bell ; Philip Dorland, who, being a Quaker, would not
be sworn in, and did not take his seat ; Peter Vanal-
stine, elected in Mr. Dorland's place; Jeremiah French;
Ephraim Jones; William Macomb; Hugh Macdonell;
Benjamin Rawling ; Nathaniel Pettit ; David William
Smith ; Hazelton Spencer ; Isaac Swayzy ; — Young ;
John White.

John White was the first Attorney-General of the
province. In his day duelling was the fashionable way
of settling personal affront. Following the custom the
Attorney-General, on January 3rd. 1800, fought a duel
with Mr. John Small, the Clerk of the Executive
Council, and received a wound from which he died a
few days afterwards.

The Governor had called the House together for
the 17th September, little thinking at the time the call
was made that circun 'ances might arise which would
prevent many of the members attending. This, how-
ever, turned out to be the case. The settlers of these
days could not afford just at this season, when they
were housing their crops and doing their fall work, to
leave their homes, although it might be to perform
Parliamentary duties.

, II!
fell l|i

il »!

148

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

Looking back to these times, we cannot altogether
realize, but are able to conjecture, the pride gentlemen
of the Commons must have felt in being summoned to
legislate on provincial affairs. Those were Arcadian
days, when the demon of Party had not yet appeared
to disturb the tranquillity of a united people. It was
with difficulty that members reached Newark in time
to answer the roll-call. Still they gathered in sufficient
numbers to enable His Excellency to open the House
on the day named. Governor Simcoe was present, as
we may suppose in military uniform, soldier as he was,
to receive his faithful Commons come to hear the
first speech of the Governor of the newly constituted
province.

The Governor, in order to impress the province
with the fact that it had become an offshoot of the great
Empire whose servant he was, determined to open
Parliament with all the ceremonial that distinguished
the opening of the English Parliament, as far as the
same could be adapted to the condition of the colony.

Niagara was still, as one of the posts retained by
the British, as previously mentioned, garrisoned by
British troops. Then the Governor had with him the
Queen's Rangers, which had followed him from Eng-
land. This was not the old corps of Queen's Rangers
that he had commanded during the Revolutionary
War, but a new regiment with the old name, raised for

Z'm

The First Parliament of Upper Canada.

149

the

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tuted

vince

great ; |

open 1

ished

■

s the

lony. ■

.dby I

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n the :B

Eng- \ B

igers 1 1

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colonial service, many of the officers of which were
companions-in-arms with Governor Simcoe during the
Revolutionary struggle.

At the opening of the House soldiers were drawn
from the fort to act as guard of honour to His Excel-
lency, and to accompany him to the place of meeting of
the Assembly. It was something novel for the few
people and Indians then gathered to witness the pag-
eant of a military Governor, attended by his Staff, pro-
ceeding to perform the solemn act of dedicating, as it
were, an outlying province to the care of representa-
tives called together to deliberate on affairs concerning
the weal or woe of the future inhabitants of the province.

In opening the House, His Excellency delivered
the following speech : —

''Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and
Gentlemen of the House of Assembly :

"I have summoned you together under the author-
ity of an Act of Parliament of Great Britain, passed
in the last year, which has established the British
Constitution and all the forms which secure and main-
tain it in this distant country.

•' The wisdom and beneficence of our Most Graci-
ous Sovereign and the British Parliament have been
eminently proved, not only in imparting to us llie same
form of government, but in securing the benefit I>y the

many provisions which guard this memorable Act, so
that the blessings of our invulnerable Constitution, thus
protected and amplified, we hope will be extended to
the remotest posterity,

"The great and momentous trusts and duties which
have been committed to the representatives of this
province, in a degree infinitely beyond whatever till
this period have distinguished any other colony, have
originated from the British nation upon a just considera-
tion of the energy and hazard with which the inhabitants
have so conspicuously supported and defended the
British Constitution.

"It is from the same patriotism now called upon to
exercise, with due deliberation and foresight, the various
offices of the civil administration that your fellow-
subjects of the British Empire expect the foundation
of union, of industry and wealth, of commerce and
power, which may last through all succeeding ages.
The natural advantages of the Province of Upper
Canada are inferior to none on this side of the Atlantic.
There can be no separate interest through its whole
extent. The British form of government has prepared
the way for its speedy colonization, and I trust that
your fostering care will improve the favourable situa-
tion, and that a numerous and agricultural people will
speedily take possession of a soil and climate, which,
under the British laws and the munificence with which

intic.
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ed

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that

titua-

vvill

Ihich,

^hich

i; t

y "

•^ -3

■' ' Is!

piiv ,i

■Uiliie

His Majesty has granted the lands of the Crown, offer
such manifest and peculiar encouragements."

It will be seen from this address that the Gover-
nor treated Upper Canada as the most favoured of
colonies. He speaks of " the great and momentous
trusts and duties which have been committed to the
representatives of this province, in a degree infinitely
beyond what, till this period, have distinguished any
other colony." Then he refers to " the energy
and hazard with which they had so conspicuously
supported and defended the British constitution " —
evidently alluding to the sacrifices made by the United
Empire Loyalists during the American Revolution.
The British Constitution was, in the mind of
the Governor, superior to all other constitutions. He
referred to it more than once during his address, and
in terms which must have fired the members with
new hopes and aspirations for their future home. Up
to this time they had been under French rule and
French or French-Canadian laws, as imposed by the
Quebec Act of 1774 ; but now they were released from
their thraldom and were to be under a government
modelled after the form of the old British Constitution,
and that government was to be administered by a
Governor, who, above most other men, placed a high
value upon the privileges and liberty guaranteed by
that Constitution.

The legislators, profiting by the Governor's
expression of admiration for the Constitution, at
once set about legislating, and passed " An Act to
repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth
year of His Majesty's reign, entitled, ' An Act for
making more effectual provision for the government
of the Province of Quebec, in North America,' and to
introduce the English law as the Rule of Decision in
all matters of controversy, relative to property and
civil rights." This Act may be said to be the great
charter of the people's liberty in Upper Canada, as it
was under it that the law of England was made to
supersede the old laws of Canada founded on the
French civil law.

Following up the determination of the Legislature
to be governed by English law, and by that only, the
next Act passed by this First Parliament was, " An
Act to establish Trial by Jury."

There were only eight Acts passed this session,
but they were Acts of a practical character, and such
as were required for the early development of a new
province, working under a new constitution. The
first session of the Legislature lasted till the 15th of
October, 1792, or for a period less than a month by
two days, when it was prorogued by His Excellency
after he had, in the accustomed form, thanked the
members for the legislation they had perfected.

^F^

CHAPTER VIII.
Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

O sooner had the Legislature been prorogued
than the Governor set about giving direc-
tions to his officers on matters relative to
the development of the province. There
is among the Smith manuscripts an autograph letter of
the Governor, written from Navy Hall to D. W. Smith,
Acting Surveyor-General, Upper Canada, drawing his
attention to the care which should be observed in
guarding the interests of the Crown in regard to
mill sites.

" Navy Hall," at the top of this letter, reminds us
that Navy Hall was the name of the residence of
the Governor in Newark. It was a plain frame build-
ing, and until taken possession of by the Governor, on
his arrival in Newark, had been used for the housing of
navy stores — that is, stores of the Government for use
in the lake navy, which consisted of vessels of war
adapted to the navigation of Lake Ontario, and manned
by men from the Royal Navy.

t 1?

154

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

Speculation has been indulged in as to where
Navy Hall really was located. I have procured from
the archives at Ottawa information which establishes
without doubt that the site of the Hall was on the
bank of the Niagara River, just under where Fort
George stands. The Fort, which is a wreck of what it
was, was constructed nearly a century ago, and was one
of the forts in the system of fortifications intended to
counteract the designs of an enemy on the old Fort
Niagara on the opposite side of the river.

In a report by Gother Mann, commanding the
Royal Engineers, dated the 22nd September, 1789, on
the state of the fortifications, etc., Niagara and Navy
Hall are reported upon together. After referring to
Fort Niagara and the re-establishing of the north demi-
bastion, which had been greatly damaged and partly
washed away by the fury of the lak<i, the report goes on
to state: "A survey of the heights also, on the opposite
side of the river about Navy Hall, has been made
with a view to ascertain the best system for fortifying
the same so as to establish a permanent post there, and
which might also counteract the designs of an enemy
in his attack on the Fort of Niagara."

Again, on the ist March, 1790, Mann reports
"that the space on which Fort Niagara stands is
diminishing from the depredations of the lake " ; and
as to Navy Hall, "that the ground above Navy Hall,

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

155

if chosen for a principal post, will admit a wall of good
capacity, but, as it will be retired from the river, there
must be subordinate batteries on the banks thereof to
command the passage ; it will be about sixteen hundred
yards distant from the Fort at Niagara, which, though
within the distance of annoying an enemy, could not
prevent his carrying on operations against the Fort."

It was on the report of Gother Mann that the
ground above Navy Hall was chosen as the site of
Fort George. Navy Hall itself was not so much a
building as a cluster or group of buildings. The map
of Newark, in the Smith collection of papers. Public
Library, Toronto, proves this to have been the case.
This map, prepared by Mr. Chewett in 1804, shows
four buildings as comprising Navy Hall. One of these
buildings was a long structure, standing at right-angles
to the river, and there were three others just beside
this main building to the north-west, and built par-
allel with the river.

It was not to be supposed that the Governor, on
taking up his residence in the Capital, would find either
a castle or palace to receive him. Nor did he. The
Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, who visited Gov-
ernor Simcoe in 1795, referring to the house occupied
by the Governor, described it as a "small, miserable,
wooden house, which was formerly occupied by the
commissaries." There is every reason to believe that

' mi

|:^rf:??,V

156

T/'e Life and Times of General Simcoe.

a torch was applied to the main building by the Ameri-
cans in 18 1 3.

The frame building still to be seen near the ruins
of Fort George formed a portion of the original Navy
xiall. Mrs, Simcoe's sketch of Navy Hall, made in
1794 from the deck of the government sloop Mis-
sisagua, then lying at the mouth of the Niagara River,
shows two buildings forming Navy Hall, one a long
building at right-angles to the river, the other parallel
to the r\\*tx. The long building at right-angles to the
river is not there now. It was the main building, the
one occupied by the Governor as his residence, and
preponderance of tradition says was burnt by the
Americans in 18 13, though I have not been able to
find any historical record of the fact.

' Governor Simcoe, while he occupied Navy Hall,
generally had on duty four men from Fort Niagara,
opposite, which we must remember was still in pos-
session of the British. The Queen's Rangers were
quartered in Fort Niagara, but a guard from the
regiment was regularly posted at Navy Hall.

Mr. Brymner, the archivist at Ottawa, says that
it appears from the records there that on the 7th Sep-
tember, 1796, David Shank, Major-Captain Queen's
Rangers commanding, forwarded to Captain Greene,
Military Secretary, two estimates of the expense of
removing the surplus ordnance stores to Quebec, one

'■^■^ifA

'^4»^^',

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

157

signed by Allan McLean, Assistant Commissary and
Store- Keeper, and the other by Robert Pilkington,
Lieutenant Royal Engineers, both dated " Navy Hall,
29th August, 1796." Major-Captain David Shank's
letter, in sending in his esti^nates, was dated from
" Navy Hall," and as he was an officer of the Queen's
Rangers it is surmised that some portion of the regi-
ment was at that post ; the main body of the regiment
were no doubt quartered in Fort Niagara.

But to return to the Governor. We have seen
that the Legislature was prorogued on the 15th
October, 1792. The good men and true who had
represented the people were now wending their way
homewards, some by land, some by water, in those
primitive days many an M.P. travelled to Niagara, to
attend the sittings of the House, from his far-off
home, on horseback, with saddle-bags in which was
carried food To. man and provender for horse on their
way, frequently having to camp out in the woods,
not unfit qv.endy receiving good offices from friendly
Indians, or, it may have been, from settlers of some
distant clearing out on the hunt. Some of the Mem-
bers of Parliament would return to their homes in bark
canoes, skirting the margin of Lake Ontario, and by
this route and the Saint Lawrence reaching their
eastern homes.

The Governor himself had enough to occupy him

158

T/ie Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

at Navv Hall in setting the machinery of government
in motion. His Government was in the nature of a
paternal government. He had great solicitude for the
Indians, and as for the people, he regarded every man,
woman and child m the province as under his special
care or that ot his officers. He could not dissociate
himself from the idea that he was in some way at the
head of a regiment, with himself and soldiers always
on the qui vive and ready for active service.

The granting of land to settlers, and seeing that
justice was done them, occupied much of his attention.
To relieve himself of some of these responsibilities
he appointed lieutenants of counties, the same as Lord
Lieutenants in England, and committed to them
the right of appointing magistrates and officers of
of militia ; besides this a magistrate could, under his
direction, assign in the King's name two hundred acres
of land to every settler whom he knew to be worthy,
and the surveyor of the district was to point out to the
settler the land allotted to him. In appointing lieu-
tenants of counties, the Governor evidently had in view
the organization in time of a militia force for the
defence of the country. The Governor, aware of the
fact that the province was principally settled by United
Empire Loyalists and Rangers, and that a greater
influx of United Empire Loyalists was likely soon to
take place, had confidence that he could have at hand

Visii to Detroit and the Mohawks.

159

a force sufficient for the protection of the country, and
with the Indians as allies had hopes that in the event
of the American Revolutionists becoming dissatisfied
with their situation, a restoration of the British rule
might be gained on the south side of the great lakes.
We cannot doubt that this was in the Governor's
mind if we closely examine into his acts during the
whole time he was Governor of the province. It
must not be forgotten that during the whole of that
period the posts of Detroit, Niagara and Michilimac-
kinac were still in possession of the British, occupied
by British troops, though within the territorial limits
of the United States. The Americans had not carried
out the treaty in its integrity. Might not then the
English close up the Continental War, pay special
attention to the colonies, and with accession of
strength recover what had been lost through the
weakness of England, in engaging in foreign war, and
through the malign alliance of French and American
Revolutionists in the work of the disintegration of the
colonies? One great point gained would be in keeping
the military posts well in hand, and in communi-
cation with one another. Directing his attention in
this direction we find Governor Simcoe soon after the
Christmas season of 1792, and while the year 1793
was yet young, making a trip through he woods from
Niagara to the post of Detroit, and reviewing the

i6o

Tlie Life and Times of General Stmcoe.

troops (the 24th Regiment of F'oot) at that place. He
set out on Monday, February 4th, 1793, accompanied
by Captain Fitzgerald, Lieut. Smith, of the 5th Regi-
ment, Lieut. Talbot, formerly of the Queen's Rangers,
Gray, Givins and Major Littlehales in sleighs — the
starting point Navy Hall, the destination Detroit, the
post of the Straits. This trip is a memorable one and
it is interesting to read of it in the journal kept by Major
Littlehales, the Governor's secretary, the details of
which have been given to the public by Dr. Scadding
in a pamphlet, with introduction and notes. It would
take up too much space to give all the particulars and
incidents of the excursion, and yet there are some of
the incidents which it would not be proper to omit.
One of the incidents is, that on the fourth day out,
i.e., on the 7th February, the party arrived at Captain
Brant's, at the Mohawk Village, about seventy miles
from Niagara, or Newark. On the arrival at the
village the Indians hoisted their flags and trophies of
war, and fired a feu de joie, in compliment to His
Excellency, the representative of the King, their
father. We have seen that the Duke of Northumber-
land had by letter introduced Governor Simcoe to
Brant — in Indian, " Thayendanegea." The meeting
with Brant at his own Mohawk village, on the Grand
River, must have been a pleasant surprise to the
Governor, and the firing of \h& feu de joie must have

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

i6i

satisfied him that he might depend on the Mohawks,
the faithful alHes of England, in any well-conceived
enterprise on the continent.

Captain Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) was un-
questionably the greatest chief of his day among the
Indians. He was, in fact, a chief of chiefs. The Six
Nation Indians, made up of the Mohawks, Senecas,
Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas and Tuscaroras, formed
a confederacy stronger than any other confederacy
of Indians on the Continent of America, and Brant
was their chief. The tribes separately had their own
chief, but Brant was the chief of the united nations.
Not only was he Chief of the Six Nations, but he
had the respect of all the other tribes of the abori-
gines on the continent. He was directly or indirectly
engaged in the wars between the United States and
the Indians from 1789 to 1795, during which the
bloody campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne
took place, and he took an important part in the affair
of the North-Western posts, to which I have before
referred, as retained by the British after the Treaty
of Peace of i 783. He was an educated and civilized
Indian, and is said to have beei: the son of Nickus
Brant, a Mohawk chief, whose Indian name was Aro-
ghyadagha, according to Sir William Johnson, but as
given by his family, Tehowaghwengaraghkwiu. Brant
was, in fact, of the noblest descent among his nation.

frmm^

162

T/ig Life and Times of General Simcoe.

When but seventeen years of age, in 1759, he accom-
panied Sir WilHam Johnson, the British Superintenderil
of Indians, during the Niagara Campaign of that year.
This resulted in the capturing of Fort Niagara by
Sir William, with his British troops and Indians, of
whom Brant was one. The taking of this fort was a
great blow to the French, as thereby they were cut off
from their project of keeping up a line of fortified
communications with Louisiana. Brant, it is said,
behaved uncommonly well on this occasion. After the
capture of the fort, and when a comparative lull in mili-
tary campaigning took place, Sir William Johnson,
anxious to improve the moral and social condition of
his Mohawk neighbours — for, as is well known, Sir
William had his hospitable residence in the beautiful
valley of the Mohawk, in the State of New York —
selected a number of young Mohawks, and sent them
to the Moor Charity S'^hool, established at Lebanon,
Connecticut, under the immediate direction of the Rev.
Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, afterwards President of the
Dartmouth College, of which, by its transfer, that
school became the foundation. Among the youths
thus selected was Thayendanegea. In 1762 the Rev.
Charles Jeffrey, missionary to the Mohawks, took
Thayendanegea as an interpreter. He was, however,
shortly afterwards called out on the war path, as
appears by the following paragraph in one of the

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

103

Rev. Mr. Kirkland's earliest reports to the Rev. Dr.
Wheelock. Mr. Kirkland and Mr. Wheelock were
missionaries and teachers among the Six Nations :

"Joseph Brant, a Mohawk Indian, and of a family
of distinction in the nation, was educated by Mr.
Wheelock, and was so well accomplished that the
Rev. Charles Jeffrey Smith (a young gentleman, who
out of love for Christ and the souls of men. devotes
his life, and such a fortune as is sufficient to support
himself and his interpreter, wholly to this glorious
service) took him for his interpreter, when he went on
his mission to the Mohawks, now three years ago ;
but the war breaking out at that time between the
back Indians and the English, Mr. Smith was obliged
to return ; but Joseph tarried and went out with a
company against the Indians, and was useful in the
war, in which he behaved so much like the Christian
and the soldier, that he gained great esteem. He
now lives in a decent manner, and endeavours to teach
his poor brethren the things of God, in which his own
heart seems much engaged. His house is an asylum
for the missionaries in that wilderness."

In the early [part of the Revolutionary War the
Mohawks were neutral. It was not long, howev^er,
before they were prevailed upon by Sir William John-
son and Brint to take up the hatchet against the
Americans. They then left the Mohawk Valley and

w^m^^mmmfi

retired to Canada. Up to 1779 they lived quietly in
Tryon County, Mohawk Valley, cultivating; their
ground or following the chase at their pleasure.
When, however, the Mohawks did take up the
hatchet they did it effectually, and were fast allies
of the British till the end of the War of the Revo-
lution. In 1780 a raid was made by the Indians
under their gallant Captain Brant. In this raid the
Mohawks made a prisoner of a certain Captain
Jeremiah Snyder, and took him to Fort Niagara, and,
from his observations while there. Captain Snyder
afterwards wrote a description of Fort Niagara as it
was at that time, and also a description of Captain
Brant himself. In his narrative Captain Snyder
described Fort Niagara as a structure of considerable
magnitude and great strength, enclosing a area of six
or eight acres. Within the enclosure was a handsome
dwelling house, for the residence of the Superintendent
of the Indians. Describing Brant, Captain Snyder
says : "He was a likely fellow, of a fierce aspect, tall
and rather spare, well spoken, and apparently about
forty years of age. He wore moccasins, elegantly
trimmed with beads — leggings and breech cloth of
superfine blue — short green coat, with two silver
epaulets, and a small, laced, round hat. By his side
hung an elegant silver-mounted cutlass, and his
blanket of blue cloth, purposely dropped in the chair

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

165

on which he sat, to display his epaulets, was gor-
geously decorated with border of red."

The so-called border wars of the American
Revolution, which raged for several years, ending in
1783, were carried on principally to the north and
west of Albany. Brant \vas a prominent figure in
these wars. His allegiance to the British brought
on him the enmity of the American Revolutionists.
The consequence of this was, that no other section
or district of country in the United States, of the like
extent, suffered so greatly during the war as did that
of the Mohawks.

Brant's historian states : " The Mohawk Valley,
of all districts, was most frequently invaded and over-
run, and that too, by an enemy far more barbarous
than the native barbarians of the forest. Month
after month, for seven long years, were its towns
and villages, its humbler settlements and isolated
habitations, fallen upon by an untiring and relentless
enemy, until, at the close of the contest, the appear-
ance of the whole district, was that of a wide-spread,
heart-sickening and universal desolation. In no other
section of the confederacy were so many campaigns
performed, so many battles fought, so many dwellings
burnt, or so many murders committed."

It was stated at a public meeting held at Fort
Plain in 1783 that the close of the war left only about

^^^m

1 66

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

a third of the old population in the valley, and that in
that third there were three hundred widows and two
thousand orphaned children.

The treaty of peace with the United States in
1783 did not by any means put an end to the Indian
wars. In making that treaty the Indians were not
consulted, nor were they parties to the treaty. In
defining the boundaries of the country ceded to the
United States no mention was made of the boundaries
of the Indian lands. The Indians claimed all the
territory west of the Ohio River, and yet they found
that all that territory had passed from Great Britain
into the hands of the Americans. The Indians denied
that the Americans got any title to these lands ; they
claimed that the lands were not the property of the
British to give, but belonged to the native race of the
country. It was matter of great concern to the Ameri-
cans not to have an Indian war on their hands; they
consequently negotiated with the Indians, what they
considered was a settlement of their claims. Captain
Brant and his Mohawks stood aloof: they never could
be got to desert Great Britain, though at times they
had cause to complain of their treatment, especially
the neglect of Britain to provide for them in the treaty
of peace. It had been promised them that their case
would be considered in any treaty entered into, and
now they found themselves, deserted and left to their

own resources. Remonstrance was made by Brant,
and finally he secured for the Mohawks the reserve on
the Bay of Quintd.

Although Brant was Chief of the Six Nations, he

did not have all the tribes in hand. The majority of

them were willing at times to treat with the United

States and end the Indian wars raging over the whole

western territory. The view Brant took of their action

is pretty well shown in a letter he wrote in March,

1788, at his home on the Grand River, to the private

secretary of Sir John Johnson. Referring in that

letter to what was transpiring in the southern part of

the United States, and the course followed by the

Indians of that country, he said: "We have had no

particular news here from the southward, only they are

preparing to have another great council in that country

early in the spring, and I am obliged to attend myself

there. As for the Five Nations, most of them have

sold themselves to the Devil — I mean the Yankeys.

Whatever they do after this, it must be for the Yankeys,

not for the Indians or the English. We must speak to

them once more. We must, in the first place, get the

Mohawks away from the Bay of Quints. As soon as

we can get them here we shall begin to argue to the

Five Nations, and will show an example of getting

together ourselves ; also we shall know who is for the

Yankevs and who is not."

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This letter shows that Brant was looked up to by
the other Indian nations, besides the Five Nations of
which he was Chief, as he proposed to attend the great
council at the south, which was called to debate and
consider all the questions at issue between the United
States and all the tribes in regard to the boundary of
the Indian lands.

More than one council of the Indians was called
for the purpose of settling the boundary question if
possible. The English were interested in having a
settlement come to, and were appealed to by the
Indians both of Canada and the United States to exer-
cise their good offices to obtain for the natives the
rights they claimed. In 1790 the confederated nations
of the Chippewas, Pottawatamies, Hurons, Shawnees,
Delawares, Ottawas, Tustans, and Six Nations, after a
consultation at the foot of the Miami Rapids with Cap-
tain McKee, the Indian Agent at Detroit, deputed a
representation of chiefs and warriors to visit Lord
Dorchester, at Quebec, for the purpose of consultation,
and also to ascertain whether any, and if any, what
assistance might be expected from the British Govern-
ment. Lord Dorchester's views were at that time
pacific, as were also those of Captain Brant, provided
always that the United States would establish the Ohio
as the boundary and relinquish all claims of jurisdiction
beyond that river.

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

169

During this year and in 1 791-1792 Brant was con-
stantly employed in negotiating for the establishment
of peace between the Indians and the United States.
He often attended councils, corresponded with the
Government at Quebec, and with the Superintendent
of Indian Affairs and his agents, and in every way
endeavoured to promote peace, at the same time aiming
at getting substantial justice for the Indians.

We will now return to Governor Simcoe, whom
we left on the Indian trail with Brant on the Grand
River

Governor Simcoe and party did not leave the
Mohawk village, on the Grand River, till the loth of
February, 1793. When they set out Captain Brant
and about twelve Indians accompanied them. On the
15th we find them at the Delaware Indian village,
having walked on the ice of the La Tranche (Thames)
for five or six miles. Here they were cordially received
by the Delaware Chief. Major Littlehales, in his
Journal, says : " Captain Brant being obliged to return
to a council of the Six Nations, we stayed the
whole day."

It is not stated where this council was to be held,
but I suspect it was in Canada, perhaps in Captain
Brant's house in the Mohawk village on the Grand
River, as we find that on the return of the party from
Detroit Captain Brant again met them to welcome

!il

I > im

170

714* Zi/3? a«</ Times of General Simcoe.

their return. On the i8th February Governor Simcoe
and party arrived at a bend in the La Tranche (Thames)
and were agreeably surprised to meet twelve or fourteen
carioles coming to meet and conduct the Governor.
He and his suite got into them, and at about four
o'clock arrived at Dolson's, a well-known hospitable
house in that part of the province. In the vicinity of
Dolson's there was a considerable settlement on both
sides of the River Thames. The land was well
adapted for farming, and even at that time, behind
the settlement on the south, was a range of spacious
meadows.

From Dolson's the party went to the mouth of the
river in carioles, about twelve miles, where they found
the remains of a considerable town of the Chippewas,
where, it was reported, a desperate battle had been
fought between them and the Senecas, upon which
occasion the latter were totally vanquished and aban-
doned their dominions to the conquerors. Following
the borders of Lake St. Clair, the party came to the
north-east shore of the River Detroit, where they were
saluted by a feu-de-joie from the Canadian militia, and
soon after crossed the river in boats, meeting with
floating ice. Arriving on the opposite United States
side of the river, they entered the garrison of Detroit,
which was under arms to receive the Governor, and
upon his landing a royal salute was fired. Here the

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

171

\ of the

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States :■

Detroit, [■

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Governor reviewed the 24th Regiment and examined
the garrison, Fort Lenoult, and the rest of the works.
Thus we have the Governor of the British Province of
Upper Canada visiting a post within American or
United States territory, and there reviewing a regiment
of British troops ! Why may not the Governor then
have had some hopes that perhaps at no very distant
time the whole of the territory of the United States
would again become dependencies of the King of
England ?

The party, on the 2 5th February, start out from
Detroit on their return to Niagara by pretty much the
same route as they had travelled when going to the
west. On the 28th they stopped at an old Missisaga
hut, on the south side of the Thames, when, as Major
Litdehales relates, '* After taking some refreshment of
salt pork and venison, they, as usual, sang ' God Save
the King,' and went to rest." Thus were the woods
and way places of Upper Canada resounding with the
strains of the national anthem, joined in by the Gov-
ernor of the province and his friends exploring its
wilds in the then far west.

On the 2nd March the party struck the Thames
at one end of a low, flat island, enveloped with shrubs
and trees, where they walked over a rich meadow, and
at its extremity came to the falls of the river. The
Governor wished to examine this situation and its

Ui\

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Irs

172

TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe.

environs, and therefore remained there all day. He
considered it a situation eminently suitable for the
metropolis of all Canada. His reasons were its com-
mand of territory, mternal situation, central position
and facility of water communication by way of the
Thames into Lakes St. Clair, Erie, Huron and
Superior, navigable for boats to near its source, and
for small craft probably to the Moravian settlement.
To the northward by a short portage a way was had
to the waters flowing into Lake Huron ; to the south-
east by a carrying-place into Lake Ontario and so to the
River St. Lawrence. The soil was luxuriantly fertile,
the land rich and capable of being easily cleared and
put into a state of agriculture, and the climate was rot
inferior to that of any part of Canada. It will be
seen from all this that the modern London, capital of
the Canadian County of Middlesex, was nearly chosen
as the place for the capital of all Canada.

On the 6th March the party arrived again at the
Mohawk village, the Indians having brought horses
for the Governor and his suite to the end of the plains,
near the Salt Lick Creek, in that region. In the
evening all the Indians assembled and danced their
customary dances, the war, calumet, buffalo and feather
dances, etc. Most of His Excellency's suite, being
equipped and dressed in imitation of the Indians, were
adopted as chiefs.

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

173

The grant of the reserve on the Bay of Quint^ is
dated the ist April, 1793, which clearly proves that
Brant, ever on the alert to secure justice to the Mo-
hawks, had prevailed on the Governor to apportion to
them Crown lands as an additional reserve.

This trip of the Governor to Detroit and return
was evidently made with the object of seeing how
best communication between the two British posts of
Niagara and Detroit could be secured. The Americans
were threatening to attack Fort Niagara, and drive
out the British troops. !f they could succeed in this
they would easily be able to reach Detroit by the way
of Fort Erie and Lake Erie, and capture that post.
This operation the Governor felt it to be his duty to
forestall and prevent.

On his return from Detroit to Newark, under
date of the 5th April, 1 793, the Governor wrote to
Major-General Alured Clarke, at Quebec, informing
the Major-General that many Americin officers gave
it as their opinion that Fort Niagara should be
attacked; and Detroit must then fall of course. In
this letter the Governor further stated, " I hope by
chis autumn to show the fallacy of these officers'
reasoning by opening a safe and expeditious commu-
nication to La Tranche." But on this subject, he adds,
" I reserve myself until I have visited Toronto."

The Governor carrying out his project of visiting

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Toronto, on the 2nd May, accompanied by several
military gentlemen, set out in boats for Toronto,
around the head of Lake Ontario past Burlington Bay.
In the evening the government vessels, the Caldwell
and Buffalo also sailed for Toronto. Another govern-
ment vessel, the Onondaga was already there with its
commander, Joseph Bouchette, engaged in the first
survey of the harbour. Bouchette, in his " British
Dominions in North America," has left on record an
account of this survey, which I will transcribe : " It fell
to my lot," he says, " to make the first survey of York
Harbour in 1793. Lieut. -Governor the late General
Simcoe, who then resided at Navy Hall, Niagara,
having formed extensive plans for the improvement
of the colony, had resolved upon laying the foundations
of a provincial capital. I was at that time in the
naval service of the lakes, and the survey of Toronto
Harbour was entrusted by His Excellency to my per-
formance. I still distinctly recollect the untamed
aspect which the country exhibited when first I
entered the beautiful basin, which thus became the
scene of my early hydro-graphical operations. Dense
and trackless forests lined the margin of the lake and
reflected their inverted images on its glossy surface.
The wandering savage had constructed his ephemeral
habitation beneath their luxuriant foliage ; the group
then consisted of two families of Mississagas, and the

Vtsit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

175

bay and neighbouring marshes were the hitherto unin-
vaded haunts of immense coveys of wild fowl. Indeed,
they were so abundant as in some measure to annoy
us during the night."

The Governor and his suite returned to Navy
Hall on the 13th May. On the fourth day after his
return ( 1 7th May) he heard of the arrival at Queen-
ston of Col. Picken and Mr. Randolph, Commissioners
from the United States, appointed to confer with the
Indian tribes of the west, with a view to peace and the
settlement of the boundary between the Indian nations
and the United States. General Lincoln, another of
the commissioners, had come from Philadelphia by way
of Albany, instead of taking the direct route across the
countiy followed by Randolph and Picken, and had
arrived at Oswego.

General Simcoe, as soon as he heard of the arrival
of the commissioners, Randolph and Picken, sent invi-
tations insisting that they should consider themselves
his guests during their stay in Canada. He treated
the commissioners with great hospitality, and at their
request sent a vessel to Oswego to receive General
Lincoln and the stores of the expedition. The confer-
ence that was intended to have been had with the
Indians was to have been at Sandusky, and was to
have been a great Council to settle all outstanding
differences between the Indians and the United States.

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176

The Life and Titnes of General Simcoe.

The Indians had been very wary, and so early in the
year as February had invited the Six Nations to
meet the other nations at the Miami Rapids so that
they could confer between themselves before meeting
the commissioners. The invitation of the tribes was
couched in this quaint language : " Brothers, — We
desire you to be strong, and rise immediately to meet
us at the Miami Rapids, where we want the advice
and assistance of our elder brethren in the great work
which we are about. The Western Nation are all pre-
pared, and in daily expectation of the arrival of our
brothers, the Crees, Cherokees, and other Southern
Nations who are on their legs to join us, agreeable to
their promise. And we desire you will put the Seven
Nations of Canada in mind of their promise last F'all,
to be early on their legs to join us, and that you will
bri«"«g them in your hand."

On the invitation to attend this council at the
Miami Rapids reaching Brant he determined to be
present. W^hen the United States commissioners
reached Niagara, which was not till the 25th May,
they were informed that Brant had set off for the
west on the 5th May. The commissioners remained
the guests of the Governor throughout May, June,
and a part of July, as Brant and the deputation of
Indians to this preliminary council held at the Miami
Rapids did not return to Upper Canada till the 5th

July, and the commissioners waited there to hear
the result.

The United Statr.s commissioners while staying
with the Governor were enabled to see something of
Indian life, occasionally visiting some of the Indian
towns in the neighbourhood. Through advices received
by them from their own government they had got a
false impression of the views entertained by Governor
Simcoe in regard to his position with the Indians.
They had been made believe that the Governor was
advising the Indians, through Brant and otherwise, not
to relinquish their lands to the United States. When
the Governor came to know that such an imputation
was cast on him it was promptly and satisfactorily
disclaimed, and at the request of the commissioners
several British officers were detailed to accompany
them to the Indian Council. While the commissioners
were at Niagara the second session of the Upper
Canada Legislature was opened, on the 31st of May,
by the Governor with a speech, in which he uttered
the true patriotic sentiments he was known to enter-
tain, and impressed upon the representatives of the
people the duty of remodelling the militia. He did
not fail to remind them of the value to be placed on
the British Constitution as opposed to absolute mon-
archy, arbitrary aristocracy, or tyrannical democracy.
It may, without doing injustice in any direction, be

ijll

.'li

\ii''i

178

TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe,

suspected that in referring to other forms of govern-
ment in contrast to his own and that of the people
in Upper Canada, he was speaking to the United
States commissioners as well as to the representatives
of the people in parliament assembled.

This speech of the Governor in opening his
second session of Parliament is much too loyal and
forcible to be omitted. He thus addressed his faithful
legislators :

*' Honourable gentlemen of the Legislative Coun-
cil and gentlemen of the Legislative Assembly —

" The persons who at present exercise the sup-
reme authority in France having declared war against
His Majesty, I think it proper to recommend to your
early attention the new modelling of a Militia Bill
which the more urgent business of the last session
prevented you from accomplishing. I have the firmest
reliance that it will be framed in a manner suitable to
the principles of the British Constitution, so as to unite
the interest and convenience of individuals, with an
establishment necessary to the public protection.

"It is with great satisfaction I am able to com-
municate to you that the insidious attempts of those
who envy the prosperity of the British nation, or are
avowedly disaffected to the principles of its Consti-
tution, have been completely counteracted and defeated
by the wisdom of His Majesty's councils, and by the

li '"

sup-

Visit to Detroit and the Mohawks.

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unite

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com-

those

Dr are

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"79

affectionate attachment and spirited resolves of all
ranks and descriptions of His Majesty's subjects ;
and it is manifest that upon this important occasion
Britons have acted with that unanmity and loyalty
which might be expected from men who know how
to estimate the vain assumption of innovators, a:Kl
from the virtue, the wisdom, the struggles and experi-
ences, of their ancestors inherit those civil and reiij. ious
blessings which are derived under a free constitution,
equally abhorreiiL of absolute monirchy, arbitrary
aristocracy r tyrannical democracy.

"The principles on which those who exercise
authority over the French nation support the war,
which they have so unjustly begun, against His
Majesty's allies cannot fail to call to your recollection
how often it has been necessary for Great Britain to
stand forth as the protector of the liberties of man-
kind, and we may entertain a pious confidence that
under the guidance of the Almighty Giver of all
victory, His Majesty's arms, directed to the security
of His allies, will be ultimately crowned with success,
and that it will be the felicity of the British Empire
to maintain the independency of Europe against all
modern aggressions upon those equitable principles
which our ancestors so wisely contributed to accom-

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Jr.; .1

" Honourable gentlemen and gentlemen, — I have
to recommend to you to proceed in that laudable course
of unaniir<ity with which you have begun your legis-
lative functions, and to continue all your consultations
to advance the interests and happiness of this colony
by making those provisions for the due support of
public justice, for the encouragement of morality, and
the punishment of crime, which are necessary to the
existence of society. In all these measures that may
promote the real welfare of His Majesty's subjects in
this country, which may tend to the most intimate
union with every part of the British Empire, you
cannot fail of meeting His Majesty's paternal and
beneficent approbation, and you may always be
assured that my best endeavours will always be
excited to forward the public prosperity, not only
from the duty which I owe to the King, but from
the most sincere attachment which I bear to the
inhabitants of this province."

CHAPTER IX.

The Commissioners' Visit.

|HE Second Session of the Parliament of the
province was in its fifth day when the 4th
June, the King's birthday had its place in
the calendar. The King's birthday, in the
early era of the province, was kept with great show of
loyalty to the Crown. It was on this day that the
annual training of the militia took place. The men
would muster at a place indicated, vvhen they would
be put through their drill by some retired officer of
the line, dress with eyes front, salute, fire a feu de
joie, shout "God save the King," and the martial
duties of the day being ended, the afcernoon was
devoted to canteen duty and refreshments. It was
the amusement of the young to be present on ttain-
ing day to see, and possibly to criticize, the citizen
soldiery. The men appeared on parade some in
one dress, some in another, as uniformity was not
in the least thought of. If some goodman had an

i?S'

old military coat he would don it for the occasion : if
he had not he would appear in his best homespun and
beaver hat, while the officers generally were in full
dress, with their scarlet coats, large epaulets, and
fierce look, ready to trample under foot the very
demon of war should he be met in the path.

On the 4th of June, 1793, the garrison of Fort
Niagara and Navy Hall did all honour to the day — a
royal salute was fired from the big guns at the fort, and
the royal standard run up at the military post and on
the Governor's quarters at the Hall. The American
commissioners were still the guests of the Governor,
and have left their account of the way the Governor
and his accomplished wife observed this day of days in
honour of the King: "On the 4th June, the King's birth-
day was celebrated, on which occasion the Governor
gave a fete, ending with a ball in the evening, which was
attended by about twenty well-dressed and handsome
ladies, and about three times that number of gentle-
men. They danced from seven o'clock till eleven,
when supper was announced and served in very pretty
taste. The music and dancing were good, and every-
thing was conducted with propriety. What excited
the best feelings of the heart was the ease and affection
with which the ladies met each other, although there
were a number present whose mothers sprang from
the aborigines of the country. They appeared as well

ill ' \ ™

The Commissioners Visit.

183

dressed as the company in general, and intermixed
with them in a measure which evinced at once the
dignity of their own minds, and the good sense of
the others. These ladies possessed great ingenuity
and industry, and have great merit ; for the education
they have received is owing principally to their own
industry, as their father, Sir William Johnson, was
dead, and the mother retained the manners and dress
of her tribe."

The compliment paid by the commissioners to the
beauty of the ladies at the ball was not undeserved.
Even at that early period of the province the Cana-
dian ladies had gained a reputation for beauty and
comeliness. The daughters of Sir William Johnson and
his Indian wife were educated ladies of refinement.
Sir William Johnson was himself a most dignified man,
of good circumstances as superintendent of Indian
affairs, and took pride in giving his daughters all the
advantages of civilized life. From the number of men
at the ball, it may be inferred there were no wall-
flowers. The garrison of the fort, no doubt, furnished
a good contingent of officers to dance with the ladies
at the Governor's ball. Navy Hall, though not furn-
ished with modern electric light, was in the full blaze
of the light of women's eyes, and brilliant with men of
war in their scarlet coats, whirling in the dance with
the ladies of the Capital at the Governor's first ball.

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The great chief Thayendanegea, the friend of
the Governor, was not at this /e/e and ball but was
engaged in conferring with the Indians of the west
about the settlement of their boundary. A month
afterwards, however. Brant arrived at Fort Erie, where
he met the American commissioners. Brant brought
with him from Miami a deputation of about fifty
Indians from the North-Western tribes, attending the
Council. Brant and the deputation were instructed by
the Council to hold a conference with the commis-
sioners in the presence of Governor Simcoe. An
immediate interview between the deputation and the
commissioners was arranged, at the request of the
former, and a Shawanese chief, called Cat's Eyes,
opened the conference, and said : "We are sent by the
nations of Indians assembled at the Rapids of Miami
to meet the commissioners of the United States. We
are glad to see you here. It is the will of the great
chief of those nations that our father, the Governor
of this province, should be present and hear what we
have to say to you."

It might seem strange that the Indians of the
Western United States territory should send a depu-
tation to a Canadian Governor to consult with him
on a matter so foreign to his jurisdiction, as affairs of
the Indians, in their relation to the new Republic. It
only shows what confidence even the American abori-

U ,*:,'

The Commissioners' Visit.

185

gines of the west, no doubt inspired by Brant, had in
the fairness and honesty of the Governor of Upper
Canada. The commissioners having arrived at Navy
Hall, the conference commenced, in the presence not
only of the Governor, but also of a large aumber of
the civil and militaiy officers at the seat of government.
The proceedings were opened, on the part of the
western Indians, by Thayendanegea. There was
much talk, but nothing was accomplished at the first
conference. There was an adjournment, and the
conference re-opened on the 9th July, when Brant,
with the belt and strings of wampum, which had
been presented by the commissioners, in his hands,
made a spirited address to the English and Ameri-
cans, after which he announced that he and the
deputation were ready to proceed with them to San-
dusky — " Where under the direction of the Great
Spirit, we hope that we shall soon establish a peace
on terms equally interesting and agreeable to all
parties."

Captain Brant, the commissioners, and the depu-
tation of Indians of the west started on their way to
Miami, and arrived at the mouth of the Detroit River
on the 2 1st July, where they were obliged to land
—the British authorities at Detroit forbidding their
approach further toward the place of meeting. On the
30th July a deputation of twenty Indians from the

ff- -*

iB6

The Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

Council at Miami had an audience with the commis-
sioners on the subject of peace and the boundary.
The deputation reminded the commissioners that many
years before the Ohio was made the boundary, it was,
they said, '' settled by Sir William Johnson. This
side is ours ; we look upon it as our property."
Captain Brant remained at the Council at Miami
endeavouring to persuade the Indians to come to
an understanding and make peace. The discussions
were protracted, and no result being arrived at,
Brant despatched a messenger with a letter to the
Governor asking his good offices for the promotion of
peace. His Excellency wrote to Brant in answer that
he, Brant, well knew he had always both in private
conversation and in public messages, endeavoured to
impress a disposition and temper upon the Indians
that might lead to the blessing of peace. Still he
thought the Indians were the best judges as to the
terms upon which a treaty of peace should be negoti-
ated, and at their request he had directed the Indian
agents to attend their Council, and explain to them any
circumstances which they did not clearly understand.
There was another circumstance which Governor
Simcoe thought would render it improper for him
to interfere. He said: "Since the Government of
the United States have shown a disinclination to
concur with the Indian nations, in requesting of His

The Commissioners' Visit.

187

nmis-
idary.
many
t was,
This
)erty.
Miami
me to !
ussions
ed at, 1!
to the
otion of
ver that
private
ured to
Indians
Still he
to the
negoti-
Indian
em any
erstand.
ovprnor
for him
ent of
tion to
of Hib

Majesty for me to attend at Sandusky, as mediator,
it would be highly improper and unreasonable in me
to give an opinion relative to the proposed bound-
aries, with which I am not sufficiently acquainted,
and which question I have studiously avoided entering
into, as I am well aware of the jealousies entertained
by some of the subjects of the United States of the
interference of the British Government, which has a
natural and decided interest in the welfare of the
Indian nations, and in the establishment of peace
and permanent tranquillity. In this situation I am
sure you will excuse me from giving you any advice,
which, from my absen.:e from the spot, cannot possibly
arise from that perfect view and knowledge which so
important a subject necessarily demands."

The commissioners of the United States were
detained at the mouth of the Detroit River till about
the middle of August, and up to this time they had
neither been invited to attend the great Council at
Miami, nor had they received despatches conveying
intelligence whether there was to be peace or war
between the United States and the confederacy of
Indians of the west in the matter of the boundary.
Captain Brant and the Six Nations at the Council
held fast together in their efforts to make peace to the
last. All, however, was of no avail, as the other nations
objected. The Council under date of 13th August,

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1 88

T^e Life and Times of General Sitncoe.

1793, sent a despatch to the commissioners, with the
ultimatum of the Council, which was to the effect that
the Ohio River must be the boundary line between
the United States and the Indian territories, and that
all settlers — and they were many — who had taken up
lands on the Indian side of the Ohio should be removed
therefrom and the lands should be restored to the
Indian nations. The commissioners could not agree
to these terms. They accordingly wrote to the chiefs
and warriors at the Rapids that " the negotiation was
at an end." Thus ended this most important Council.
There had been a great deal of talk, but nothing was
accomplished. Unless another and more vigorous
effort is made and concessions given there will be a
renewal of hostilities between the settlers and the
Indians, and much bloodshed on the plains.

During this period of the life of Governor Sim-
coe we seldom lose sight of Thayendanegea, one of
the most prominent men of his day as Indian chief,
negotiator, friend and ally of the Governor. His
thorough knowledge of the Indians was of the greatest
consequence in the mind of the Governor, who had
ever before his mind the posts retained by the British
in American territory surrounded by Indians who
wished to be on friendly terms with the English.
We must, however, return to Governor Simcoe him-
self, and see in what administrative and executive

The Commissioners' Visit.

189

work he was engaged, while Brant was endeavouring
to promote peace between the Americans and the
Indians of the west and south.

The second session of the Parliament of Upper
Canada closed on the Qtli July, 1793. The Governor
having now determined to make Toronto, on the
north side of I.,ake Ontario, his capital, steps were
taken preparatory to the contemplated removal of
the government from Niagara. A few days before
the end of the month of July the first division of the
Queen's Rangers left Queenstown, and proceeded in
batteaux round the head of Lake Ontario along the
coast to Toronto. Shortly afterwards another divi-
sion of the same regiment sailed in the King's vessels,
the Onondaga and the Caldwell, for the same place.
On the 30th July the Governor himself left Navy Hall,
and embarked on board His Majesty's schooner, the
Missisa^a, which sailed immediately with a favourable
wind for Toronto, with the remainder of the Queen's
Rangers. We have the authority of Bouchette, who
surveyed the harbour of Toronto, for saying that His
Excellency, after landing on the north side of the lake,
within the bounds of what is now Toronto, " inhabited
during that summer, and through the winter following,
a canvas house, which he imported expressly for the
occasion; but frail as was its substance, it was rendered
exceedingly comfortable, and soon became as distin-

''ii'.'-

-a'

:•! % !!

guished for the social and urbane hospitality of its
venerated and gracious host, as for the peculiarity of
its structure."

The Governor literally pitched his tent in his
future capital, on ground that had been trodden by the
French and Indians when the territory was in posses-
sion of the French during their occupation of old Port
Toronto. The exact location of this old trading
post of the French was where the Rouill6 Monument
now stands within the Exhibition grounds. In 1760
the site of this fort was visited and reported on by
Major Rogers, an officer distinguished in the then late
French War. It is not of the fort itself, however, we
wish so much to know as of the surroundings. It is
uncertain whether Governor Simcoe placed his new
quarters in the woods or on cleared ground. In the
report of Major Rogers, to which reference has been
made, he stated that "the wood had been cleared away
over an area of about three hundred acres immediately
around it." It is more than probable that it was within
this clearing that the Governor established his home in
Toronto. It has come down to us traditionally that
the exact spot where the canvas tent was pitched was
where the old military hospital used to stand on the
margin of the old Garrison Creek, just immediately
north of the Northern Railway where it crosses the
Creek. Dr. Scadding in his memorial volume, " Tor-

if?

its

rity

his

The Commissioners^ Visit.

191

onto Past and Present," has referred to the tent of the
Governor thus : " It," he says, " must have been a
paviHon of considerable dimensions, and was doubtless
planted with considerable care by the soldiers and
others. It was literally the praitorium of the camp;
the General's headquarters ; only, unlike the pra;tor-
ium of old, it was movable and made of perishable
materials."

This house-tent in which the Governor established
his headquarters had a history. He had purchased it
in England for the accommodation of himself and his
family, when Captain Cook's effects were sold there.
If that tent could speak it would perhaps have told
us something of its owner Captain James Cook, one of
England's most celebrated navigators ; how he was
born near Whitby in Yorkshire, in the year 1727, and
at an early age was put apprentice to a shopkeeper in
a neighbouring viUage. His natural inclination not
having been consulted on this occasion, he soon quitted
the counter, and bound himself for nine years to the
master of a vessel in the coal trade. At the breaking
out of the war of 1755 he entered into the King's
service on board the Eagle, at that time commanded
by Captain Hamer, and afterwards by Sir Hugh
Palliser, who soon discovered his merit, and intro-
duced him on the quarterdeck. In the year 1758 we
find him master of the Northumberland, the flag-ship

'^: i

f «

192

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

of Lord Colville, who had then the command of the
squadron stationed on the coast of America. At the
siege of Quebec Sir Charles Saunders committed to
his charge the execution of services of the first import-
ance in the naval department. He piloted the boats
to the attack of Montmorency ; conducted the embark-
ation to the plains of Abraham ; examined the passage,
and laid buoys for the security of the large ships in
proceeding up the river. The courage and address
with which he acquitted himself in these services,
gained him the warm friendship of Lord Colville and
Sir Hugh Palliser, and through them he secured a
commission to survey the Gulf of St. Lawrence and
the coasts of Newfoundland. In this employment
he continued till the year 1767, when he was chosen
by Sir Edward Hawke to command an expedition
under the Royal Society to the South Seas for the
purpose of observing the transit of Venus, and pro-
secuting discoveries in that part of the globe.

He made two voyages round the world, and was
engaged in making his third voyage when unhappily
he lost his life at the hands of those he wished to
befriend.

On the 9th February, 1776, he received a com-
mission to command his Majesty's ship Resolutipn.
The ship was supplied with as much of every neces-
sary article as could be conveniently stowed. The

tent that Governor Simcoe set up in York as his
movable house formed part of the equipment. At
the time Captain Cook set out on his third voyage,
in July, 1776, the Revolutionary War was looming up.
Referring to the revolt and his own circumstances,
and his leaving England on a voyage of discovery, in
search of the north-west passage, by way of Behring's
Strait, he says, in the 1 j.irnal of his voyage: "It could
not but occur to us as a solemn and affecting circum-
stance, that, at the very instant of our departure upon
a voyage, the object of which was to benefit Europe
by making fresh discoveries in North America, there
should be the unhappy necessity of employing others
of His Majesty's ships, and of conveying numerous
bodies of land forces, to secure the obedience of those
parts of that continent which had been discovered and
settled by our countrymen in the last century. On
the 6th His Majesty's ships Diamond, Ambuscade and
Unicorn, with a fleet of transports, consisting of sixty-
two sail, bound for America, with the last division of
the Hessian troops and some horse, were forced into
the Sound with a strong north-west wind."

The Hessian troops here referred to are the
same that were joined with the Queen's Rangers,
and referred to in the chapters on the campaigns of
Simcoe in the Revolutionary War.

While Captain Cook was actively employed in

h ,A

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-■^' '"^

seeking out new lands, Lieut.-Col. Simcoe and
the Hessians were stri\ ing to stay the rebellion in
America, so much deplored by the best minds in
England and the loyal subjects of the Crown in all
countries. A time came when Captain Cook, who
had rendered eminent service in his voyages of dis-
covery, fell a victim to the passion and prejudice of
the natives of Owhyhee (Hawaii). In January, 1779,
he was directing a force that had landed from his ship
at Karakakooa Bay to regain possession of a cutter that
had been stolen by the islanders, when he was stabbed
in the back by one of the natives. He was at the
time giving orders to the men in the boats which had
left the ship to assist him in his enterprise. The cruel
stab given by the native caused him to fall on his
face into the water. On seeing him fall the islanders
set up a great shout, his body was immediately
dragged on shore and surrounded by the enemy, who
snatching the daggers out of each other's hands,
showed a savage eagerness to have a share in his
destruction. Thus fell this great commander after a
life of honourable service in the cause of science
— a life that did honour to the country of his birth.
I have incidentally mentioned the name of Major
Rogers, and his visit to Toronto in 1760. The reader
v.ill naturally wish to know more of this officer, who
took a very conspicuous part in the French and Indian

The Comtnissioners^ Visit.

195

War of 1 755- 1 760 ; in the old French War before
the Revolution, and also commanded a corps called
Rogers' Rangers. Major Rogers was the son of
James Rogers, originally from Ireland, or of Irish
descent, and one of the first settlers of Dumbarton,
New Hampshire. He was born in Londonderry, New
Hampshire, in 1727. When a boy, he became inured
to all the hardships of frontier life. He wris much
among the Indians and became thoroughly fa niliari2ed
with their ways and customs. When he arrived at
manhood he was six feet in height, well proportioned,
and had a reputation for strength, activity and endur-
ance not equalled by any man of his time. In the
French and Indian Wars he acquired a name and
fame not eclipsed by any officer then distinguished.
Governor Hill, of New Hampshire, in a letter written
by him to General Robert Davis in 1842, thus wrote
of him : " Major Rogers never resided in this State
permanently after the commencement of the Revolu-
tionary War. He was in the British service in Canada,
after the close of the old French War, partly in a
military and partly in a civil capacity. I consider him
to have been one of the most talented men of the
country — perhaps the best partizan officer this country
ever produced. I believe him to have been the author
of that perfect mode of attack and defence which
enabled a hundred of the Rangers to do more service

Uh^

than a thousand of the British regulars, especially in
the winter service of the old war of 1756. Such safety
to troops on fatigue, amidst the severest seasons of
a severe climate, was never before secured ; such
certainty in the results, either on the advance or
retreat, perhaps has never been realized by any other
force than the Rangers, under the perfect arrange-
ment and discipline invented by Rogers. I consider
him to have been as great a man, in his peculiar
sphere, as Napoleon Bonaparte, and for decision and
firmness equal to Andrew Jackson."

This eulogy, coming from an American, though
somewhat extravagant, gives a very fair account of
the man as handed down to us in history. When
Pontiac besieged Detroit in 1763 Major Rogers was
sent with a body of troops to the relief of that gar-
rison, and ht assisted in the sortie from the fort at
that time. Before this he had been most active in
the campaigns entered upon by General Amherst in
1760, for the capture of Montreal, and which ended
in the surrender, by Monsieur de Vaudreuil, to the
British of the ancient Province of Quebec, upon which
the P rench had set very high value, but which they
were unable to hold. In describing the surrender,
Major Rogers in his journal thus expresses himself:
"Thus, at the end of the fifth campaign, Montreal
and the whole country of Canada was given up, and

became subject to the King of Great Britain ; a con-
quest perhaps of the greatest importance that is to be
met with in the British annals, whether we consider
the prodigious extent of country we are hereby made
masters of, the vast addition it must make to trade
and navigation, or the security it must afford to the
northern provinces of America, particularly those
flourishing ones of New England and New York,
the irretrievable loss France sustains hereby, and
the importance it must give the British Crown among
the several States of Europe. All this, I say, duly
considered, will, perhaps in its consequences, render
the year 1760 more glorious than any preceding."
After the capitulation of the French at Mont-
real, Major Rogers was commissioned by General
Amherst to proceed with two companies of his
Rangers in whale-boats from Montreal to Michili-
mackinac, and on the way to accept the surrender
of Forts Niagara, Presque Isle (now Erie, Pa.) and
Detroit, and when this work was completed to report
to the Major-General at Albany, or wherever he
might be. In pursuance of this order Major Rogers
embarked at Montreal on 13th September, 1760, with
two hundred Rangers in fifteen whale boats, ascended
the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and arrived at a place
where stood the old Fort of Frontenac on the 23rd
September. From thence the Major, the Rangers

198

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

and the whale boats skirted the north shore of Lake
Ontario till they reached the "River Toronto," having
run "seventy miles" — thence they crossed over the
lake to Fort Niagara, accepted the surrender of that
fort, and then proceeded on their way, making the
portage to Lake Erie, where they again embarked,
continued their voyage to Detroit, having by the way
accepted the surrender of Presque Isle. The Majon
after some parleying, obtained the surrender of Detroit.
In consequence of meeting floating ice in Lake Huron
he was not able to reach Michilimackinac, which was
not surrendered till the following year. This voyage
of Major Rogers is a noticeable one, in showing
the means taken at that day to carry troops up the
rivers, rapids and lakes of the country, as well as
recording the surrender of the last vestige, of French
power in Canada. After taking part in the relief of
Detroit in 1763 he went to England and published
two books, one his Journal and the other his Concise
Account of North America. He remained in England
till 1766, when he was appointed commandant at
Michilimackinac, which after the conquest of Canada
and surrender of the posts to the English, had become
the most important military and trading post in the
interior. As commandant of the post at Michilimac-
kinac, Major Rogers was not a success. He thor-
oughly failed as an administrator. He was accused

t -rxn:

The Commissioners Visit.

199

of entering into trade with the Indians ; of incurring
expenses without authority, and drawing orders upon
the government which went to protest for non-pay-
ment. He was charged also with a design to plunder
the fort, and then to desert to the French. On these
charges he was arrested, brought a prisoner to Mont-
real, and acquitted after investigation of the matters
alleged against him. In 1769 he went to England.
Shortly after this (according to his own account) he
went to the Barbary States, and entering the service
of the Dey of Algiers, fought in two battles while in
his employment. On the breaking out of the Revolu-
tionary War he returned to America in 1776, and was
commissioned to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel Com-
mandant, to raise a partizan corps to be known as the
Queen's Rangers. This was in truth the origin of the
regiment, " The Queen's Rangers," afterwards com-
manded by Lieut.-Col, Simcoe. Rogers was not
successful in this new venture. He was surprised
by Americans near Long Island Sound in October,
1776, a portion of his command was captured and he
himself narrowly escaped. He surrendered his com-
mand, went to England soon after this, and remained
there till his death, which was in the year 1800.

We must now leave Major Rogers and return to
the Governor in Toronto with his Queen's Rangers
and other troops, besides the officials and civilians

■< M

who had come over with him or followed after him
from Niagara.

Going back to the opening of the Session of
Parliament in the year 1793, we remember that the
Governor in his address to that body specially referred
to the " war which the French had so unjustly begun
against His Majesty's allies." Now, after the Governor
had pitched his tent in Toronto, intelligence reached
him that the English on the Continent had contributed
materially to a success over the French, in Flanders, on
the 22nd May. This contingent of 10,000 men was
under the Duke of York, the King's son. It may be
mentioned in this place that the Governor, on his first
visit to Toronto had determined that the old Indian
name of Toronto, should be changed to that of York,
in honour of the Duke of York. There is no official
record of how the name came to be changed. It is
sufficient to say that the Governor so ordered and it
was done accordingly.

On the 26th August, 1793, the following order
was issued from the Governor's headquarters : —

"York, Upper Canada,

" 26th August, 1793.

" His Excellency the Lieut. -Governor having
received information of the success of His Majesty's
arms iuider His Royal Highness the Duke of York,

by which Holland has been saved from the invasion of
the French armies, and it appearing that the combined
forces have been successful in dislodging their enemies
from an entrenched camp supposed to be impregnable,
from which the most important consequences may be
expected, and in which arduous attempt the Duke of
York and His Majesty's troops supported the national
glory ; it is His Excellency's orders that on raising the
Union Flag, at twelve o'clock to-morrow, a royal salute
of twenty-one guns be fired, to be answered by the
shipping in the harbour, in respect to His Royal High-
ness and in commemoration of the naming of this
harbour from his English title, York.

" E, B. LiTTLEHALES,

" Major of Brigade''

The heading of this order "York," coupled with
the firing of guns, the running up of the Union Flag at
noon on the 27th August, 1 793, were doubtless designed
by the Governor, not only to express to the people his
appreciation of the victory won by His Majesty's arms,
under his son the Duke of York, but also to signify
that the capital was no longer to go forward under the
Indian name of Toronto ; but thereafter was to be
called " York," in honour of the noble Duke.

202

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

The first meeting of the Executive Council, after
the removal from Niagara, was held at the Garrison in
the month of August, 1 793.

On the 9th September, 1793, Mr., afterwards
Col. Talbot, a member of the Governor's suite, in a
letter to Col. McKee, Niagara, written from York,
said to him : " There is a most magnificent city laid
out here which is to be begun in the spring." From
this it appears that after all the capital was only in
embryo. There were no houses ; the population, such
as it was, dwelling in tents in the wilderness, having
for neighbours the Indians in their wigwams, and the
wild animals of the forest.

Governor Simcoe, in selecting Toronto for the
capital of the province, was no doubt influenced by the
fact that it had a magnificent harbour, and was distant
from the United States frontier. The Americans
were threatening to attack Fort Niagara, which they
held had no place within their territory as defined
by the treaty of 1783. The Governor, always keep-
ing in view the necessity of affording free and safe
access to the capital for the fur traders of the west,
in October, 1793, accompanied by a party of officers,
explored the country between York and Lakes
Simcoe and Huron. It was quickly seen by him that
a road through this region would in the future be a
most important highway between the two great Lakes,

after
on in

Awards
, in a
York,
y laid
From
nly in
a, such
having
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Lakes,

T/te Commissioners' Visit.

203

Ontario and Huron. The Governor was never idle,
but always intent on developing the resources and
testing the capabilities of the province. When one
looks back to the country as it was at thaf time, almost
an impenetrable wilderness, but now a land of promise
and fertile fields, too much credit cannot be given to
the men who were the pioneers of our civilization : and
at the head of them may be placed Governor Simcoe.
In the autumn of the year 1793 the Loyalists,
many in poor circumstances, were flocking into the
province from the United States. I find In the Smith
papers an order of the loth October, 1793, signed
by the Governor's own hand, in which he says, " I
approve of the issue of 138 rations to distressed Loyal-
ists at the post of Niagara:" and on 25th October, 1 793,
Major Littlehales, then at York, writes Major Smith,
at Niagara, that His Excellency Lieut.-Governor
Simcoe had ordered him to communicate to Mr. Smith
"that all the Loyalists under Mr. Wilson's superin-
tendence have permission, if they please, to come to
York by the first opportunity, also that whenever any
Loyalists or persons who may have business with His
Excellency at York are recommended by the Chief
Justices he will be pleased to order them a passage in
any of the King's vessels free of expense."

Again, there is another order made at York on
October 28th, 1793, signed by Major Littlehales, in

I!l

204

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

which he, by command of His Excellency, orders
provisions to the value of ^^150 be issued from the
government stores to one John Wilson, an American
Loyalist, and several other families, in all forty-six
persons, who had removed from the Province of New
Brunswick to Upper Canada, but arriving late in the
season were in want of assistance. Many orders of
the like kind were made, during this and the follow-
ing years.

POKTKAir OF siu c;i;()ii(;k yonok.

roiii iiii ciiyravcil portniit after Mather Umwii, in the possession of the
Toronto I'nlilic I.ilirarv.

I ; '»■

■w

CHAPTER X.

The Building of Fort Miami.

HE season of 1794 commences with active
operations being entered upon for opening
the road from Yorl< to Lake Huron, pro-
jected by the Governor. The Government
Surveyor, Augustus Jones, came over from Niagara to
York in January, 1 794, being sent for by the Governor
to direct the operations. The Queen's Rangers were
set to work felling the trees, and soon had, as it were,
hewn out, a highway from York to Lake Huron — this
highway is now Yonge Street, so called after Sir
George Yonge, Secretary of War in 1 79 1 . We have
seen in the last chapter that the Governor had per-
sonally gone over the ground, and now the work was
accomplished. Surveyor-General Smith in 1799 thus
described this highway to the north : "Yonge Street,"
he says, " is the direct communication from York to
Lake Simcoe, opened during the administration of
His Excellency Major-General Lieut. -Governor Sim-

*J >,

206

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

coe, who having- visited Lake Huron by Lake aux
Claies (formerly also Ouenteronk or Sinion, and now
named Lake Simcoe), and discovered the harbour of
Penetanguishene (now Gloucester) to be fit for ship-
ping, resolved on iniproving the communication from
Lake Ontario to Lake Huron by this short route,
thereby avoiding the passage of Lake Erie. This
street has been opened in a direct line, and the road
made by the troops of His Excellency's corps. It is
thirty miles from York to Holland's River, at the
Pine Fort, called Gwillimbury, \ here the road ends ;
from thence you descend into Lake Simcoe, and having
passed it, there are two passages into Lake Huron ;
the one by the river Severn, which conveys the
waters of Lake Simcoe into Gloucester Bay ; the
other by a small portage, the continuation of Yonge
Street, to a small lake, which also runs into Gloucester
Bay. This communication affords many advantages.
Merchandise from Montreal to Michilimackinac may
be sent this way at ten or fifteen pounds less expense
per ton, than by the route of the Grand or Ottawa
Rivers, and the merchandise from New York to be
sent up the North and Mohawk Rivers for the North-
West trade, finding its way into Lake Ontario at
Oswego (Fort Ontario), the advantage will certainly be
felt of transporting goods from Oswego to York, and
from thence across Yonge Street, and down the waters

b?iV

The Building of Fort Miami.

207

of Lake Simcoe into Lake Huron, in preference of
sending it by Lake Erie." Here we have a true
traveller's guide to the fur regions of the great west.
Governor Simcoe's prescience in laying the found-
ation of a great city has been literally fulfilled ; no
less so his laying out the pathway for trade to
the north.

The year of 1 794 was not far advanced when the
Governor was called upon by the Governor-General,
Lord Dorchester, to execute a very important duty — a
duty which required him to enter the territory of the
United States, and there construct a fort for His
Majesty's government. This was a proceeding fraught
with a good deal of danger, and much opposition from
the American government. Lord Dorchester had in
the spring of this year, and for some time previous,
been in England, returning to Quebec in April. On
his arrival in Canada he gave direcons to Governor
Simcoe to proceed to Miami, and there construct a
post, which he deemed nenesiii; ry for the protection of
that country. Early in Apiil Governor Simcoe
repaired over land to Detroit, and with a strong
detachment of troops proceeded to the foot of the
Miami Rapids, and commenced the erection of a
fortress at that place. This movement caused fresh
irritation among the American people, '"^ince the reten-
tion of this and other posts had been a continual

fm\

208

T/te Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

source of dissatisfaction. The movement of Governor
Simcoe into the Miami Country, and the erection of
a fortress there, awakened the strongest feelings of
indignation in the bosom of the President of the
United States.

Mr. Jay was at that time the American min-
ister at the Court of St. James, and the President
gave vent to his feeling of indignation in a private
letter to Mr. Jay : " Can that government " (the Gov-
ernment of Great Britain), asked the President in the
letter, " or will it attempt, after this official act of
one of their governors, to hold out ideas of friendly
intercourse toward the United States, and suffer such
conduct to pass with impunity. This may be con-
sidered the most open and daring act of the British
agents in America, though it is not the most hostile
or cruel ; for there does not remain a doubt in the
mind of any well-informed person in this country, not
shut against conviction, that all the difficulties we
encounter with the Indians— their hostilities, the
murders of helpless women and innocent children
along our frontiers, result from the agents of Great
Britain in this country. In vain is it then for its
administration in Britain to disavow having given
orders which will warrant such conduct, whilst their
agents go unpunished. Whilst we have a thousand
corroborating circumstances, and indeed almost as

The Building of Fort Miami.

209

many evidences, some of which cannot be brought
forward, to know that they are seducing from our
alliance, and endeavouring to remove over the line
tribes that have hitherto been kept in peace and
friendship with us at a heavy expense, and who have
no cause of complaint, except pretended ones of their
creating ; whilst they keep in a state of irritation the
tribes who are hostile to us, and are instigating those
who know little of us, or we of them, to unite in the
war against us ; and whilst it is an undeniable fact
that they are furnishing the whole with arms, ammu-
nition, clothing, and even provisions, to carry on the
war, I might go much further, and if they are not
much belied, add men also in disguise."

The proceedings of Lord Dorchester, through the
agency of Governor Simcoe, with respect to the con-
struction of this fort at Miami, naturally impressed the
Indians with the belief that now the British were
going to enter on an active war with the Americans
in defence of Indian rights. After the council held at
Miami, which, as we have seen, resulted in the put-
ting out of the council fire with no prospect of peace.
General Chapin, the American Superintendent, and
General Butler, the British-American Superintendent
of Indians, met the Six Nations again in council on
the 2 1 St April to receive their reply to a communi-
cation which had been received from the American

Secretary of State, proposing the holding of another
treaty at Venango. Captain Brant was at this meet-
ing, and in eloquent terms addressed the Superinten-
dents ; he was glad to meet General Chapin and
General Butler sitting side by side, with the intent of
hearing what the Six Nations had to say. He said :
" We wish to do no ■riisinerij but what is open and
above board." Then sdd' liising the American Super-
intendent separately, he saia ; " It is not in our power
to accept your invitation, to hold another treaty at
Venango ; provided we were to go you would con-
duct the business as you think proper ; this has been
the case at all the treaties held from time to time
by your commissioners."

Again addressing the American Superintendent,
he said : " Brother — we, the Six Nations , have been
exerting ourselves to keep the peace since the con-
clusion of the war, we think it would be best for both
parties. We advised the confederate nations to request
a meeting about half way between us and the United
States (at Sandusky) in order that such steps would be
taken as would bring about a peace ; this request was
then proposed by us, and refused by Governor St.
Clair, one of your commissioners."

Again, and here we have the independence of
the Indians stated in no doubtful language : " Bro-
ther ! "• Brant said, " Brother ! — we are of the same

opinion with the people of the United States ; you
consider yourselves as independent people ; we are
the original inhabitants of this country and sovereigns
of the soil, and look upon ourselves us equally indepen-
dent and free as any other nations. This country was
given to us by the Great Spirit above ; we wish to
enjoy it, and have our passage along the lake within
the line we have pointed out."

Brant went on to reiterate the desire the Indians
had, and the great exertions they had made for a
number of years to accomplish peace, without being
able to obtain it. He then said, " Our patience is
exhausted, and we are discouraged from persevering
any longer. VVe thvi^refore throw ourselves under the
protection of the great Spirit above, who we hope
will order all things for the best. We have tofd you
our patience is worn out ; but not so far but that we
wish for peace, and whenever we hear that pleasing
sound we shall pay attention to it."

We gather from this conference that the Six
Nations, who really represented the other nations as
well as themselves, were really desirous of peace on
honourable terms, but not for peace at any price.
They were still claiming the Ohio as their boundary,
and evidently thought that the Americans were trying
to drive a hard bargain with them. At previous treaty
meetings and treaty making the Americans had con-

ducted the business as they thought proper, without
regard to the Indian interests or Indian claims.

The President, in his communication to Mr. Jay,
had rather over-stated the disposition of the British
in regard to a peace being come to between the
Americans and the Indians. There was no doubt
of the alliance between the Mohawks and the English.
We see that Bran: chief of the Mohawks, plainly
stated to the Supermtendent that the Mohawks were
desirous of peace. The English, too, were desirous of
peace, but not at the sacrifice of the interests of the
Indians of the continent. There can be no doubt, how-
ever, that the erection of the fort at Miami, by Governor
Simcoe, inspired the traders, and the mixed multitude,
constituting the refugees and parti-coloured inhabi-
tants "of Detroit, with the hopes of a coming Indian
war. These traders and others were doubtless active
in promoting hostilities, and very probably made pro-
mises to the credulous chiefs, as coming from Governor
Simcoe, of which he himself was ignorant. Two
Pottawattamies were taken prisoners on the 5th June
by the troops of General Wayne operating in the west.
These Indian prisoners had a story to tell which, if
true, put things in a very bad light for the British.
They represented, and intelligence to that effect was
despatched to the interior tribes by their chiefs, that
Governor Simcoe was to march to their assistance

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T/ie Building of Fort Miami.

213

with fifteen hundred men. He was giving them
clothing and all necessary supplies, and " all the
speeches received from him were red as blood. All
the wampum and feathers were painted red."

The character of these stories may be best gath-
ered from the entirely different tale told by several
Shawanese prisoners soon after captured. They
said : " They could not depend upon the British
for effectual support ; that they were always set-
ting the Indians on like dogs after game, pressing
them to go to war and kill the Americans, but did
not help them"

In May of 1794 the Indians of the west had their
hopes further raised by a deputation from the Spanish
settlement on the Mississippi River visiting them and
declaring that the Spanish Indians "were on their feet,
grasping the tomahawk to strike them " (the Ameri-
cans). Said they : " We will strike together. Children
— you hear what these distant nations have said to us,
so that we have nothing further to do but to put our
designs into immediate execution, and forward this
pipe to the three warlike nations, who have been so
long struggling for their country, and who now sit at
the Glaize. Tell them to smoke this pipe, and forward
it to all the lake Indians and their northern brethren.
Then nothing will be wanting to complete our general
union from the rising to the setting of the sun, and all

Iff: «

■

-'■\i

214

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

nations will be ready to add strength to the blow we
are going to make."

The Spanish settlement deputation still further
declared that the Creeks, Cherokees and Chickasaws
had also charged them with a message, assuring them
that their hearts were with the confederacy, and that
eleven nations of the southern tribes were then on
their feet, with the hatchet in their hand, ready to
strike their common enemy.

The confederacy alluded to by the deputation
was the confederacy of Indians. Brant was the master
spirit of this confederacy. His ambition at one time
was to be chief or generalissimo of all the confederated
Indian nations of America, when he would have rival-
led the great Pontiac, so celebrated in Indian annals.

The chiefs to whom these messages from the
west and south were delivered at Miami liapids,
immediately convened a council composed of the
Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas, Mingoes, Munseys,
and Nantikokes, before whom the intelligence was
repeated.

The Americans were alarmed at these evidences
of determined hostilities on the part of the Indians.
An Indian war was likely to occur, with confederated
Americans on one side, and confederated Indians with a
British contingent of some kind on the other. General
Wayne, on the side of the Americans, was making the

most vigorous preparations for opening the campaign.
Besides this, the State of Pennsylvania claimed a
district of country on the south shore of Lake Erie,
including Presque Isle, under colour of a purchase
from the Corn-planter. This tract of country the
Indians also claimed as their property, and that the
United States had no interest therein. A council was
thereupon held at Buffalo Creek to take this and other
subjects into consideration, the meetings of which
were commenced on the 24th June. The determin-
ation of the council was to send a delegation of their
chiefs into the disputed territory to request a removal
of the intruders, and General Chapin, the American
Superintendent, was solicited to accompany the deput-
ation. He did so, but the mission was not successful.
On the return of the delegation to Buffalo Creek,
another council was held to receive the report. This
convention was on the 4th July. The general bound-
ary question was revived during the discussions, and
an address from the council to the President was
adopted and transmitted by General Chapin. In this
address the Indians re-asserted their determination to
insist on the Ohio boundary. Some idea of the force
of character of the Indians, and the opinions they
held in regard to their treatment by the Americans
may be gathered from this address in which was con-
tained, inter alia, the following paragraphs : —

" General Washington, attend : — What gives us
room for the making of so many speeches is be-
cause you relate all the former deceptions that
have been used.

" Brother — We are determined now as we were
before that the line shall remain. We have fully con-
sidered on the boundary we hive marked out. We
know all that we have received Irom time to time, and,
we think, if you establir^h this line (the Ohio) it will
make us about even.

" Brother — If you do not determine with our
request, we shall determine on something else, as we
are a free people.

" Brother — We are determined to be a free
people. You know. General Washington, that we,
the Six Nations have always been able to defend
ourselves, and we are still determined to maintain our
freedom."

Captain Brant was not present at the Buffalo
Creek council, being engaged in the erection of a coun-
cil house for hi? nation at Grand River. Brant was,
however, a watchful observer of passing events and
while others were deliberating in council and attempting
to negotiate, he was preparing to contest the disputed
Pennyslvania claim to the lands at Presque Isle by
force of arms. On the 19th July, 1794, he addressed
a letter to Col. Smith, for Governor Simcoe, in which

The Building of Fort Miami.

217

referring to the Presque Isle business, he said, on the
part of the Indians, that unless a favourable answer was
given at the time limited, "it is our business to push
those fellows hard, and, therefore, it is my intention to
form my camp at Point Appineau, and I would esteem
it a favour if His Excellency, the Lieut. -Governor,
would lend me four or five batteaux. Should it so
turn out, and should those fellows not go off, an
expedition against those Yankees must of consequence
take place. . . His Excellency has been so good
as to furnish us with a hundred-weight of powder, and
ball in proportion, which is now at Fort Erie ; but in
the event of an attack upon the Le Bceuf people, I
would wish, if consistent, that His Excellency would
order a like quantity in addition to be at Fort Erie, in
order to be in readiness ; likewise I would hope for a
little assistance in provisions."

The projected expedition of the Six Nations to
clear out the settlers at Presque Isle was relinquished,
in consequence of the President of the United States
interposing to prevent further encroachments by the
Pennsylvanians in that quarter.

The Indians of the west, on the 30th June, made
a raid for the purpose of capturing a large number of
pack horses recently arrived at Fort Recovery — a
fortress which had been thrown up by General Wayne
on the site of the battle ground of a previous engage-

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ment between the Americans and the Indians, where
General St. Clair suffered a defeat. The Indians now
in their turn were defeated by the Americans, under
Major McMahon, and were driven back with great
slaughter.

As an evidence that Captain Brant was regarded
as chief, chief adviser, counseller and friend of the
Indians, it appears that, although he was not present
at Fort Recovery, a despatch was on the 5th July
sent to him from Detroit, giving full details of the
engagement and the reverse suffered by the Indians.

We must now turn to Governor Simcoe and see
what was engaging his attention while the land diffi-
culties ^ere causing bloodshed on the American side
of the line. Just at this particular time he happened
to have his own difficulties in settling the disputes of
rival claimants, in regard to lands apportioned to
settlers in his own province. Among the Smith
manuscripts in the Free Library at Toronto there is a
petition from D. W. Smith, Acting Surveyor-General
to the Governor, dated 20th July, 1794, begging to
be informed whether the lands on Burlington Bay
" are vet to be reserved to the Abbe-des-Jardins and
the French emigrants." The facts connected with this
matter were that Governor Simcoe, who sympathized
very much with the French Protestant emigrants who
were driven out of France at the Revolution, had made

The Building of Fort Miami,

219

an order that certain lands on Burlington Bay should
reserved for the Abbe-des-jardins, and certain
others for the French emigrants, and that the council
had, by a subsequent order, and without consulting
the Governor, directed "that those lands should no
longer be reserved to the Abbe and French emigrants,
but that the same should be assigned to the Messieurs
McDonell. The Governor was by no means satisfied
with this subsequent order, and very soon gave it its
quietus by writing an order to the Surveyor-Gen ral
at the foot of the petition : "You will be so good as
inform the Messrs. McDonnell that I consider all
, promises made to them in respect to the lands as
void, and as such shall order it to be laid before the
council. I by no means intend to assign the parts
exclusively to one family."

This order of the Governor shows how careful he
was to guard against monopolies, and how ready also
to assert his authority in over-ruling the council, if
necessary, for the public good, and to maintain the
faith of the Crown. Still, if at the present day a
Lieut. -Governor were thus to over-rule his council
he would put a strain on the Constitution that
would endanger its existence, or his existence as
Governor.

Governor Simcoe at this time was as much, if not
more, concerned about matters abroad as with matters

at home. We have seen that on the 5th July he had
been advised by Brant of the defeat of the Indians at
Fort Recovery by General Wayne, the Commander of
the American army of the west. The letter of Brant
further advised the Governor that General Wayne was
only waiting for an augmentation of his force of
three thousand militia from Kentucky; that he then
intended to build a fort in the Indian country, another
fort at the Glaize, and proceed from thence to attack
the British fort at Detroit. This was unwelcome news
to the Governor, as he well knew that the Americans
were showing increased discontent at the continued
occupation of the posts of Detroit, Miami, Oswego,
Michilimackinac and other places within the bounds
of the territory ceded to the United States by the
Treaty of 1783. The richest and most extensive
towns of the hostile Indians lay about the confluence
of the Au Glaize and the Miamis of the lakes. The
Miami Rapids were only fifty miles from Detroit.
Shortly after the battle at Fort Recovery General
Wayne took up his march in the direction of the
Miami Rapids, and on the 8th August arrived within
about thirty miles of the fort at the Rapids, which
Governor Simcoe, acting under the directions of Lord
Dorchester, had erected as we have seen. General
Wayne, within thirty miles of the Rapids, and fortify-
ing as he was doing, was likely to prove a dangerous

The Building of Fort Miami.

221

enemy. Among the Indians he had acquired a greater
reputation for boldness and courage than any other
general opposed to them. He was so wary and careful
in his movements, so like the Indians themselves in his
mode of warfare, that they had given him the name of
"The Black Snake," one of the most venomous of
reptiles. The Indians had their own warrior chief,
"Little Turtle" (a very prudent chief he was), and their
chief " Blue Jacket," a Shawanese warrior of high
character and influence : but they had come to the
conclusion that " Black Snake" was a match for any
of them. When General Wayne made his advance,
and threw up works of defence within about ihirty
miles of the fort at Miami Rapids, the Indians collected
to about the number of nearly two thousand in the
immediate neighbourhood of the fort. The American
Legion under Wayne was of about equal strength,
exclusive of eleven hundred Kentuckians, under Gen-
eral Scott. There were a number of Indian villages
around the fort at the Rapids, in fact the fort was
in the heart of the Indian country, and General
Wayne rightly conceived if he could break the back
of the Indians at that place, he would have gone far
in putting an end to the Indian War. The Indian
chief, Little Turtle, got word of Wayne's rapid
approach, intending to attack the Indians about the
fort, and destroy their villages. Little Turtle was

!, ■ \\

222

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

too wary a chief to be taken by surprise. He had his
scouts out, and well arranged. As soon as he learned
that Wayne was approaching he retired upon the fort
at the rapids and prepared to give battle. Here was
a dangerous position for all parties engaged. Th
British with their fort within American territory were
surrounded by Indians who expected succour from the
fort if the American troops should attack the tribes.
The Indians were under cover of the fort if a conflict
should take place there. The Americans could hardly
be restrained from attacking the British fort if the
Indians were receiving assistance from that quarter.
Besides, among the Indians there were militia men
and refugees from Detroit. These were then ready
to take part with the Indians in the battle. The
result of the battle, whichever way it went, might, and
probably would, result in another war between Great
Britain and America, which would be much to be
deplored. Under these circumstances the American
commander thought it his duty to make another
attempt to come to terms with the Indians without
the further shedding, of blood. On the 1 2th August
General Wayne sent a messenger with a letter and a
flag to the camp of the Indians in close proximity to
the British garrison at the Rapids. The messenger
and letter were neither of them very cordially received
in the Indian camp, but nevertheless, their arrival

The Building of Fort Miami.

223

showed a pacific disposition on the part of the
Americans. The Indians were not unwilling to
treat, but, as was their custom, they required delay
and deliberation before determining to lay down
their arms. In reply to the letter of General Wayne,
the messenger in his turn took a message from the
Indians to the General, that if he would wait for
ten days where he was, they then would treat with
him, but if he advanced at an earlier day they would
fight. The message did not, however, check the
advance of the American force, and the General
(Wayne) arrived in the vicinity of the rapids on the
1 8th August. On the 19th the force was occupied
in reconnoitering the position of the Indians, and
throwing up a fortification for the protection of the
stores, which was very appropriately named " Fort
Deposit." The enemy (the Indians) had taken post
behind a thick wood, rendered almost inaccessible
by a dense growth of underbrush and fallen timber,
marking the track of a tornado, and almost under the
guns of the fort (Miami), which had been erected by
Governor Simcoe. The Americans advanced for the
attack on the morning of the 20th. The Americans
were very prompt in their movements, indeed such
was the promptness of movement and the impetu-
osity of the charge, that the Indians, together with
the Detroit militia and volunteers, were driven from

all their coverts in a short space of time. In the
course of an hour the Indians were driven more than
two miles. The victory was complete and decisive.
The forces of General Wayne were left in quiet posses-
sion of the field of battle. General Van Rensellaer,
who afterwards commanded the Americans at the
battle of Queenston Heights in the war of 1812, was
in this battle under the fortification of Miami. Major
Campbell, of the British service, was in command of
the British garrison at Fort Miami. Happily there
was no conflict between the British garrison and the
American forces. The battle was entirely one between
the Indians, some militia and volunteers from Detroit,
and General Wayne's army. On the day after the
engagement Major Campbell addressed a note to
General Wayne, expressing his surprise at the appear-
ance of an American force at a point almost within
reach of our guns, and asking in what light he was
to view such near approaches to the garrison, which
he had the honour to command. General Wayne
replied, expressing surprise that a British fort should
have been lately built within the limits of American
territory, and added, " Had it (the battle) continued
until the Indians were driven under the influence of
the fort and guns mentioned, they would not have
much impeded the progress of the victorious army
under his command, as no such post was established

The Building of Fort Miami.

225

at the commencement of the present war between the
Indians and the United States''

Major Campbell rejoined, complaining that men
with arms in their hands were approaching within
pistol shot of his works, where His Majesty's flag was
flying, and threatened hostilities should such insults
to that flag be continued. Upon this General Wayne
addressed a letter to the British commander, disclaim-
ing, as Major Campbell had previously done, any
desire to resort to harsh measures ; but denouncing
the erection of the fortress which had been erected
by Governor Simcoe as the highest act of aggression
towards the United States, and requiring him to desist
from any further act of hostility, and to retire with
his troops to the nearest British post occupied by
British troops at the peace of 1783. To this
requisition Major Campbell answered that he should
not abandon the post at the summons of any power
whatever, unless in compliance with orders from those
under whom he served. He likewise warned the
American commander not to approach within reach
of his guns without expecting the consequences that
would attend it. This correspondence between the
British and American commanders clearly demon-
strates that the war of the posts was now at its
height. Here we have the extraordinary spectacle
of the two nations who had signed a treaty of peace

.; ; ».

only ten years before, on the brink of war again
about fortifications and posts which one of the parties
had within the lines of the other, and which should
have been given up to the Americans had everything
gone smoothly and had the treaty been observed in
good faith. But the fact was that the treaty had not
been faithfully observed by the Americans, and the
British retained the posts which were in their posses-
sion at the time of the treaty as a kind of hostage for
performance of the treaty. But then, what is to be said
of the construction of the new fort at the Rapids of the
Miami ? This fort had been constructed under the
instructions of the Governor-General of Canada — being
planted there it had to be defended. The history of the
matter would seem to be that the Indians claimed that
territory as belonging to thetti, and never ceded to the
United States by any party who had a right to sur-
render their lands without their consent. As we pro-
ceed with the narrative the truth of the case will appear
plainly. The only notice taken by General Wayne of
Major Campbell's warning not to approach within
reach of his guns was his immediately setting fire to
and destroying everything within view of the fort.
Among the property thus destroyed were barns and
fields of corn, above and below the fort, together with
the barns, stores and property of Colonel McKee
(the British Indian Agent), whom the Americans

The Building of Fort Miami.

227

accused of stimulating the war between the United
States and the Indians. It will not be out of place to
give some description of what the Indian country was :
"The margins of those beautiful rivers, the Miamis of
the lakes and the Au Glaize," wrote General Wayne,
"appeared like one continued village for many miles,
nor have I ever before beheld such immense fields of
corn in any part of America, from Canada to Florida."
Yet all were laid waste for twenty miles on each side
of the river, and forts were erected to prevent the
return of the Indians.

It has been supposed, and not without reason, that
the Indians carried on their war with the Americans
longer than they would have done, had they not
supposed that in some way the English would come
to their aid if too hard pressed. Certainly this was
the view entertained by Captain Brant, who was not
at all satisfied at the failure of the British to give sup-
port to the Indians at the battle in the Miami country.
This appears from a letter written by Captain Brant
to Sir John Johnson, son of Sir William Johnson, in
1797, wherein the Baronet was reminded of various
wrongs alleged to have been suffered by the Indians
at the hands even of the King's government : "In the
first place," wrote the Mohawk chief to Sir John, " the
Indians were engaged in a war to assist the English —
then left in the lurch at the peace to fight alone until

228

TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe.

they could make peace for themselves. After fre-
quently defeating the arms of the United States, so
that they sent messengers to endeavour to get peace,
the Indians were so advised as prevented them from
listening to any terms, and hopes were given them
of assistance. A fort was even built in their country,
under pretence of giving refuge in case of necessity ;
but when that time came the gates were shut against
them as enemies. They were doubly injured by this,
because they relied on it for support and were deceived.
Was it not for this reliance of mutual support, their
conduct would have been different. I imagine that your
knowledge of these things, and judgment will point
out to you the necessity of putting the line of conduct
with the Indians on a more honourable footing, and
come as nigh as possible to what it was in the time of
your father."

Intelligence having reached Governor Simcoe of
the disaster at Miami he, on the 28th August, 1794,
communicated with Captain Brant, stating that he
himself would proceed in the first vessel for the scene
of action. It is a matter of history that the English
not only retained these posts in the then far west, but
posts within the boundaries of the State of New York.
In the summer of the year 1794, an American officer,
Captain Williamson, commenced a settlement on the
Great Sodus Bay, about forty miles from Oswego.

The Building of Fort Miami.

229

Governor Simcoe promptly despatched Lieutenant
Sheafife to that place to demand by what authority
such an establishment was forming, and that it
should be immediately relinquished. General Sim-
coe, pursuant to his letter to Brant, and Brant himself,
attended by one hundred and fifty of his warriors
(Mohawks), proceeded to the Indian country in the
vicinity of Miami Rapids in September. On the
30th September Governor Simcoe was at Fort Miami,
as was also Captain Brant. The Indians had already
made some advances to General Wayne toward a
negotiation for peace.

Governor Simcoe and Brant invited the Indians
to a council, to be held at the mouth of the Detroit
River on the loth October. This invitation was
accepted, as was also an invitation from General
Wayne, to attend a council, which a few of the chiefs
accepted. The Indians were, by their representatives,
in fact sitting in two councils at once, balancing
chances, and preparing to make peace only in the
event of finding little further encouragement to fight.
At the council of the loth October the Wyandot
chief addressed Governor Simcoe as follows :

" Father — We request you to give your senti-
ments candidly. We have been these many years
in wars and troubles. You have from time to time

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230

77;^ Z«y^ an(/ Times of General Simcoe.

promised us your assistance. When is your promise
to be fulfilled ? "

The Governor was somewhat embarrassed by this
very direct question ; still, conscious that every thing
he had done had been sanctioned by higher authority,
and knowing as he did know that the Indians had
only been fighting for their rights, he made answer
as follows :

" Children — Your question is very difficult to be
answered. I will relate an ancient history, perhaps
before any of you here were born. When I first came
to this country I found it in possession of your fathers,
the French. We soon became enemies of each other.
In time, the Great Spirit above gave the conquest in
our favour. We lived in this state for many years
after. At last the Americans began to act independ-
ently, which caused a rupture between us. The
contest lasted for a while ; at last we made peace.
From that period they have been encroaching upon
your lands. I looked on as a spectator — never would
say a word ; they have even named the rivers that
empty themselves into the Ohio.

" Children — I am still of the opinion^ that the
Ohio is your right and title. I have given orders to
the commandant at Fort Miami to fire on the Ameri-

The Building of Fort Miami.

231

cans whenever they make their appearance again. I
will go down to Quebec, and lay your grievances
before the great man. From thence they will be
forwarded to the King your Father. Next spring
you will know the result of everything that you and I
shall do."

The reply of Governor Simcoe to the chiefs in
council had a pacific effect. Governor Simcoe was,
however, so much impressed with the righteousness of
the claim of the Indians to the territory west of the
Mississippi, that he strongly advised the Indians not to
make terms with the Americans but upon the basis of
the Ohio boundary line. Brant was of the same opinion.
He told the chiefs to keep good heart and be strong ;
to do as their father (Simcoe) advised ; to return to
their homes for the winter — that he would do the same,

•

and come again in the spring with a stronger force.
The Indians, following the advice of Governor Simcoe
and the Mohawk chief, did return to their temporary
homes, consisting of huts and tents in the neighbour-
hood of the fort at the Rapids. It looked as if the
war between the Indians and Americans would be
resumed in the spring, with the force of the Indians
much augmented, and led by Brant, who claimed that
he had always been successful in war. He further
assured them that the English would, in the spring.

■'m

232

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoc.

come out from the fort, and join the Indians in attack-
ing the enemy, when they would drive them back
across the Ohio, and compel the restoration of their
lands to the Indians. From the language used by
Governor Simcoe in his address to the Council, there
would seem to be no doubt that he was of opinion that
on the state of the case being represented to Lord
Dorchester he would, as Governor-General of Canada,
furnish a large force to join with the faithful allies, the
Mohawks, in repelling the pretension of the Americans
to the lands west of the Ohio. Such was the position
of affairs at the close of the year 1794. The Indians
were buoyed up with hopes, but still depressed by
fear of General Wayne (Black Snake) and his army,
which was still hovering around their settlements.
When Governor Simcoe and Brant had left for their
homes, many of the Indian warriors, who had come
from a distance, were found to be re-crossing the
Mississippi, declaring that it was useless to attempt
to fight longer. Even the Six Nations, the Mohawks
excepted, were very much impressed with the useless-
ness of opposing Wayne and his victorious army.
All this gave great concern to Captain Brant, who
would have continued the war at all hazards. Matter
were shaping themselves, however, for peace, ana
before many months had passed negotiations were
entered upon for more than one treaty arranging

peace not only between Americans and Indians, but
between the Americans and the British in regard to
the posts within the territorial limits of the United
States.

Governor Simcoe's vigorous championship of the
cause of the Indians, and his vindication of his conduct
in regard to the building of Fort Miami, no doubt had
great effect in securing fair treatment for the Indians
in making these treaties. The United States Secretary
Randolph represented his conduct to Mr. Hammond,
the British Secretary of the Legation in the United
States, in such a way that he could not overlook his
statement, and he replied to those representations in a
despatch in which he vindicates his conduct in his usual
forcible style. He wrote as follows : —

Upper Canada, Navy Hall,

" October 20, 1794.

"Sir, — I was last night honoured with your
Excellency's despatch, enclosing the copy of a letter
to y( from Mr. Randolph, Secretary of State, dated
on the first of September ; and your answer, which
intimates the intention of transmitting it to me by the
first opportunity.

234

Tke Life and Times of General Simcoe.

"It appears, upon the perusal of Mr. Randolph's
letter, that I am called upon, by the respect due to his
official position, publicly to state the misrepresentations
of that gentleman ; and, on this consideration, not to
pass them over in that silence which would otherwise
best become the language and manner which the Secre-
tary of State permits himself to make use of in his
animadversion on my conduct.

" My having executed the order of His Majesty's
Commander-in-Chief in North America, Lord Dor-
chester, in re-occupying a post upon the Miami River,
within the limits ^f ihose maintained by the British
forces at the peace in the year i jST^y upon the principle
of self-defence, against the approaches of an army
which menaced the King's possessions, is what 1
presume Mr. Secretary Randolph terms 'Governor
Simcoe's invasion.'

"The motives which led to this re-occupation
furnish the true grounds for discussion, but the estab-
lishment of a military post, from its own nature, must
have been so unquestionable as not to have required
from you, Sir, on the part of Mr. Randolph, an avowal
or a denial ; nor does it appear to me that he has intro-
duced so public an event as a matter of doubt in itself,
but solely as a ground- work for ushering into the work!
'opinions' transmitted to the Executive Government
of the United States, which, however respectable,

are but 'opinions,' that British officers and British
soldiers aided an attack made by the Indians on ' Fort
Recovery.' Such an insinuation, Sir, introduced as
subsidiary evidence of a fact, which required no proof,
will undoubtedly on the undiscerning impress a belief
that the British troops, instead of adhering to that
principle of self-defence on which a post at the Miamis
was re-established, were united in arms with the Indians
in an attack upon a post held by the United States.

"As if to promote such a belief, Mr. Randolph
proceeds to comment on the protest delivered to Mr.
Williamson at the harbour of the Great Sodus. He
terms this protest, which I transmitted in obedience to
Lord Dorchester's orders, ' a mandate borne by Lieu-
tenant Sheaffe under a military escort, and, in its tone,
corresponding with the form of its delivery, being
unequivocally of a military and hostile nature.'

" Mr. Randolph seems peculiarly anxious to con-
sider every transaction of the King's Government, in
its mode as well as in its substance, as hostility ; other-
wise he could not but have seen in the protest deliv-
ered by Lieutenant Sheaffe to Mr. Williamson not a
tone of hostility but a spirit of conciliation, explanatory
of the first principle, on which the settlement in (|ues-
tion is termed an aggression, the inexecution of the
treaty on the part of the United States : nor Is It pos-

sible to conceive that less offensive language could be

, »

236

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

made use of, consistent with the formality necessary to
substantiate a protest requiring the suspension of the
exercise of a continental claim.

" Had Mr. Secretary Randolph made due enquiry,
he would have found that the military escort consisted
of an officer expressly sent to accompany Lieutenant
Sheaffe, and seven persons to row the boat, soldiers
most certainly, but unarmed, without military habili-
ments, and in the dress they wear for the purposes of
fatigue. It also might be presumed, from Lieutenant
SheafTe's leiter, that he was personally acquainted with
Captain Williamson, and in truth this circumstance
was of some weight in the appointment.

" The general language and conduct of Mr. Wil-
liamson, particularly in the proposals of his speculation
at the Sodus, have of late manifested a disposition so
incompatible with those views of conciliation which are
the true interests of Great Britain and the United
States, that it became proper to select such a person as
Mr. Sheaffe for this duty, being a gentleman of great
discretion, incapable of any intemperate or uncivil con-
duct, and certainly not disqualified by being a lieutenant
in His Majesty's service.

" Such, Sir, are the circumstances of this trans-
action, which Mr. Randolph is pleased to term my
* hostile views.'

" The following paragraphs do not seem to require

The Building of Fort Miami.

237

illustration. It can escape no person 'that what in the
beginning of Mr. Randolph's letter to you he has stated
as respectable 'opinions' transmitted to the Executive
Government, is no longer confined to 'opinions,' but
the Secretary of State asserts, as a matter of fact,
' that the Governor of Upper Canada associated British
with Indian force to assault our fort.'

"In respect to Mr. Randolph's assertion and his
appeal to you. Sir, that ' it is grown into a maxim, that
the affairs of the Indian, within the boundaries of any
nation, exclusively belong to that nation,' I cannot
admit so general and so novel an opinion as applicable
either to the territory or boundary under consideration.
1 do not recognize its birth nor any state of its exist-
ence. It will be difficult for the Secretary of State to
prove that it has governed the conduct of the United
States, it is not to be found in the express provisions of
the Treaty of Utrecht, It was never assumed by the
British nation prior to that compa , it is incompatible
with the national rights and injurious to the acknow-
ledged independence of the Indian Americans.

" The British Government has not involved itself
in disputes with the Indians by acting in so vague and
indeterminate a manner. It has ever done justice to
their natural rights ; nor has it violated the stipula-
tions purposely made for their support and definition.
In consequence of such a uniform conduct. Sir, the

Indians are constantly solicitous for the presence of
some of the King's officers or subjects at their public
meetings, and I have the most full persuasion that had
the United States concurred with the confederacy in
their request, that the King would extend his good
offices to the mediating power between them in the
present war ; and that in consequence His Majesty
would have graciously permitted, as requested, me, or
with more obvious propriety, yourself, to have been
present at the late treaty. In such a case, I am con-
fident that peace would have been established on the
continent, to the satisfaction of the United States and
the comfort of the Indian nations, and scarcely in a
lesser degree to the benefit of His Majesty's subjects
in this province, who are materially interested that
their neighbours should on all sides flourish in wealth,
peace, and prosperity.

" As the close of the S^retary of State's letter
seems intended, through you. Sir, to ' apprize me
of the consequences of self-defence, should I not be
restrained by remonstrances,' the date of it cannot
possibly escape my notice ; it bears that of the first
day of September, and on the 22nd of August General
Wayne advanced to the post at the Miamis, laid waste
the possessions of the King's subjects under its pro-
tection and summoned it to surrender. It may be
proper to observe that so ill-informed was that officer

lay be
officer

The Building of Fort Miami.

239

of the very principles on which he made hii invasion,
or 'self-defence,' that in his summons he requires 'the
garrison to remove to the nearest post occupied by
His Britannic Majesty's garrison in 1783.' Had this
requisition been complied with, the garrison must have
advanced up the Miami River into the Indian country
beyond the post whose evacuation had been demanded.
The discretion, good conduct and magnanimity of
Major Campbell, the Commander of that garrison,
prevented the commencement of war, and all its
dreadful consequences.

" Upon the comparison of circumstances, the march
of General Wayne, the date of Mr. Randolph's letter,
I cannot but conjecture that it was written not to
remonstrate against 'my excesses,' but to prepare the
minds of men for whatever consequences might have
arisen from the movement of General Wayne's army ;
and could the temperate forbearance of Major Camp-
bell, and the event of the enterprize, have been fore-
seen (if I may be permitted to revert to the object of
this letter), I cannot but believe that I should have
been spared the necessity of taking notice of Mr,
Secretary Randolph's publication, or of controverting
the assumptions of a gentleman for whom I have
always entertained the most profound respect.

" To all. Sir, who knew my private sentiments, to
yourself, Sir, who are acquainted with my public con-

' -i:

240

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

duct, to His Majesty's ministers, and the other chi'if
in command, who have approved of my strict adher-
ence to their orders, and the consequent impartiality
which I have maintained between the United States
and the Indian Americans, any justification or exposi-
tion of my sentiments is unnecessary. Even Mr.
Secretary Randolph has officially in his possession
sufficient proofs of good-will to the Government and
people of the United States. They ought to have
sheltered me from the imputations to which I have
been exposed. I have ever shown the utmost inclina-
tion to cultivate the most perfect harmony between
His Majesty's subjects and those of the United States,
and have looked forward to an honourable termination
of existing differences with the most anxious solicitude.

" I have the honour to be, etc.,

" J. G. Simcop:."

In October, 1794, Col. Simcoe was promoted to
the rank of Major-General. Before concluding^ his life
we may be able to chronicle that he has had yet further
promotion. But it will be in place to mention here
that during the administration of thi; Government of
Upper Canada by Governor Simcoe, the Duke of
Kent, father of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, visited

the Province. The Duke was at the time Prince
Edward, and was stationed at Quebec with his regi-
ment, having arrived a short time before the division
of the Province of Quebec into the Provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada. After the division of
the province and the appointment of Lieut. -Colonel
Simcoe as Lieut. -Governor, desiring to see Upper
Canada the Duke set out from Quebec in a caleche,
drawn by a French pony and accompanied by his suite.
At Oswagatchie the royal party was met by a pleasure
barge from Kingston, manned by seamen and military,
accompanied by Captain Clark of the Naval Depart-
ment at Kingston. From thence they were splendidly
rowed to Kingston, where the King's schooner the
Mohawk, Commodore Bouchette, Commander, received
them. The Prince went on board and after a tedious
passage reached Newark (Niagara), where he was
received by the firing of guns. The Prince visited
Niagara F'alls, and on his return dined at Mr. Hamilton's,
where he was much amused on witnessing a war dance
by the Mohawks headed by Captain Brant (Thayen-
danegea).

CHAPTER XI.

Establishing the Capital at York.

APPILY the year 1795 opens with improved
prospects of peace. Before the year is over
the Indian will have buried his tomahawk
and the white man's rifle will have been
consigned to its rack. The motto of Governor Simcoe
was to be ready for War, but still to cultivate the bless-
ings of Peace. He had a very difficult part to play
with the Indians. The ever-loyal Mohawks had ever
and always given him support. This was not always
the case with the other Iroquois or Six Nations. More
than one of these nations, and especially the Senecas,
all in their tents or wigwams in the valley of the
Mohawk and Genesee country, on the south side of
Lake Ontario, would have made common cause with the
Americans had it not been for the transcendent power
and influence of Brant over the tribes. The southern
Indians having left for their homes, the tribes of the
Six Nations within the lines of the United States were

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Establishing the Capital at York.

243

bent on making peace with the United States. Both
Brant and the Governor had thought and believed that
this spring would see the Indians on the war path
unless the Americans conceded to the Indians what
they claimed.

Governor Simcoe during the winter of 1794- 1795
was at York, engaged in projecting plans for the future
of the place, its civil and military administration. A
soldier himself, he could bivouac in his tent, but
arrangements had to be made for public buildings for
accommodation of officials and for the meeting of the
Legislature.

Dr. Scadding tells us that in the previous spring
materials could be seen lying about the nascent capital,
few and far between, along as yet the scarcely distin-
guishable King Street ; hewn logs and beams, some
scantling and plank, with bundles of cleft shingles,
drawn there over the snow from the several shanties
in the adjoining woods, where, by the help of broad-
axe, adze and whip-saw, such objects were prepared ;
a few heaps of lake shore stone or small surface boul-
ders, to aid in foundations, and a few bricks for the
chimneys, from a lonely kiln not far off, in the grounds
probably of the expected "palace."

In July of 1794 the Gazette, the Government
official paper, contained an advertisement: "Wanted,
Carpenters for the public buildings to be erected at

■Tfr

'4-

244

TAe Life and Times of General Sinicoe.

York. Applications to be made to John McGill, Es(i.,
at York, or to Mr. Allan McNab, at Navy Hall."
Thus we see that the Government had only in part
been removed from Niagara, leaving much to be done
by the Governor in the winter of 1 794-1 795 to set the
wheels of progress and improvement in full motion.

The Governor himself was in the habit of spending
a portion of the summer at Navy Hall, the Provincial
Parliament continuing to assemble there until suitable
accommodation could be provided for them at York.
The town plot of York as defined at this time was a
small place indeed ; any of the country villages of the
province at the present time are larger than York at
the period of which we are writing. The place was a
compact little parallelogram, bounded on the west by
George Street, on the east by Ontario Street, on the
north by Duchess Street, and on the south by Palace
Street, now Front Street. Palace Street was so styled
because it was expected to lead to the Parliament
buildings, the only palace York was to have for some
time to come.

While on the subject of York, its foundation and
surroundings, we must not omit to mention that the
Governor recollecting the old land, its great houses,
castles and cathedrals, was determined to have a casde
of his own in the capital. We have the authority of
Mr. Bouchette, for saying that His Excellency in the

Establishing the Capital at York.

245

winter of 1793- 1794 made his headquarters at his tent
or canvas house, planted as we have seen in the neigh-
bourhood of the old fort at the entrance to the harbour,
and far removed from the plot selected for the seat of
Government. The canvas house was well enough for
one Canadian winter, and the Governor made the most
of it. He here entertained his friends with true
English hospitality, the outcoming of an English heart.
The hospitality of the Governor at Navy Hall had so
impressed the Iroquois at Niagara that they gave
him an Indian title expressive of his hospitality. This
name was Deyonguhokrawen — " One whose door is
always open."

We have seen that on the loth July an advertise-
ment appeared in the Gazette for carpenters for the
public buildings to be erected at York. It was doubt-
less at this time that the Governor undertook also the
erection of his castle on the banks of the Don. A
description of this so-called castle will not be out of
place. It was situated on a point of land jutting out
and overlooking the beautiful valley of the Don, at the
head, or nearly at the head, and to the east of the present
Parliament Street and immediately north of the Necro-
polis. Parliament Street was cut out of the woods,
first as a bridle-path to lead from the castle to the old
Parliament Street near the old jail site, which was the
site of the first Parliament buildings erected in York.

246

T/ie Life and fimes of General Siincoe.

Dr. Scadding tells us in his "Toronto of Old" that
" Castle Frank (the Governor's castle or residence built
that year) was a rustic chateau or summer house, built
by Governor Simcoe in the midst of the woods, on the
brow of a steep and lofty bank, which overlooks the
vale of the Don. The construction of this edifice was
a mere divertissement while engaged in the grand work
of planting in a field, literally and entirely new, the
institutions of civilization. All the way from the site
of the town of York to the front of this building, a
narrow carriage road and convenient bridle-path had
been cut out by the soldiers and carefully graded.
Remains of this ancient engineering achievement are
still to be traced along the base of the hill below the
Necropolis and elsewhere. The brook — Castle Frank
Brook — a little way from where it enters the Don, was
spanned by a wooden bridge. Advantage being taken
of a narrow ridge, that opportunely had its commencing
point close by on the north side, the roadway here
began the ascent of the adjoining height. It then ran
slantingly up the hill side, along a cutting which is still
to be seen. The table land at the summit was finally
gained by utilizing another ridge. It then proceeded
along the level at the top for some distance through a
forest of lofty pines until the chateau itself was reached.
The cleared space where the building stood was not
many yards across. On each side of it, the ground

ll : i :

precipitously descended on the one hand to the Don,
on the other to the bottom of the ravine where flowed
the brook. Notwithstanding the elevation, the view
was circumscribed, hillside and tableland being alike
covered with trees of the finest growth. Cistle Frank
itself was an edifice of considerable dimensions, of an
oblong shape ; its walls were composed of a number of
rather small, carefully hewn logs of short lengths.
The whole wore the hue which unpainted timber
exposed to the weather especially assumes. At the
gable end, in the direction of the roadway from the
nascent capital, was the principal entrance, over which
a rather imposing portico was formed by the projection
of the whole roof, supported by four upright columns,
reaching the whole height of the building and consisting
of the stems of four good sized well-matched pines,
with their deeply chapped, mr-ugated bark unremoved.
The doors and shutters were all of double thickness,
made of stout plank, runring up and down on one side
and crosswise on the other, and thickly studded over
with the heads of stout nails. From the middle of the
building rose a solitary, massive chimney stack."

Castle Frank was named by the Governor after
his oldest son and heir, F/ank Simcoe. The modern
reader may think the title given to the house too big for
the house itself. Still a house of this kind with " doors
and shuttert. lo the windows of double thickness " built

I Qsmj'

1 1 'J

248

T/ie Life and Times of General Sitncoe.

of logs, and commandingly situated on a hill, mieht
well, while it was the headquarters of a military Gover-
nor, have applied to it a title in imitation of the
fortified places of England, v'len it, like Canada, was
ill its chrysalis and youthful state.

We have no particular record of the proceedings of
the Government during the winter, but we may be
assured that the Governor, who was never idle, was giv-
ing his attention to affairs of State. I n the early smp -iicr
of 1795 Mr. Hammond, the English Ambassador to the
United States, advised the Governor that he was about
to be visited by a distinguished nobleman from PVancc,
the Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt. The reader
will naturally enquire why a nobleman of France should
at this time be found visiting Upper Canada. When we
look at the time the reason is obvious. France was in
the throes of revolution— a revolution in which the
Duke was of the vanquished party, and of which, as one
of the old nobility, he decidedly disapproved. He was
therefore an involuntary exile from his native land, and
his estates were confiscated. As he has said of him-
self, " By the Government of my country I am treated
as a criminal or corrupt citizen ; severed from all I hold
dear, I have been reduced to extreme inexpressible by
Robespierre and the rest of the ruffians whom in}'
countrymen have suffered to become their tyrants."

This was the man who was recommended to the

^■P"

Establishing the Capital at York.

249

good offices of Governor Simcoe. We will see more
of this French nobleman by-and-by. We find the
Governor this year paying a visit to Brant at his home
on the Grand River. The object of this visit was to
ascertam the real wishes and condition of the Indians,
There had been dissatisfaction expressed by the Mo-
hawks at the intrusion of strangers, squatters on the
lands that 1 ad been granted to Brant and his tribe by
Governor Haidimand. The Provincial authorities had
alleged that the Government had been deceived in
rega*^ i to .he location and value of the Indian reserves
on th'j Lrrand River; that the Indians or their agents
had represented that the tract lay a long distance from
Niagara, and would not be approached by a white
population for an age to come. Brant sternly denied
the accusation in this regard, and declared that the
Commander-in-Chief at the time of making the grant
was thoroughly acquainted with the situation. The
true history of this matter was that unprincipled
land jobbers were settling on the reserve, setting up
claims to the lands occupied by them, and endeavouring
to influence the Government against the Indians, and
making themselves altogether disagreeable, especially
to the Mohawk chief

The valley of the Grand River, in which the
Mohawks had secured their reserve, was as fine and
attractive a territory as any part of Upper Canada —

250

T/ie Life aitd Times of General Simcoe.

none more so. It was naturally, therefore, the envy of
those who wished to possess themselves of lands at a
nominal rate, even at the sacrifice of the Indians and
their rights.

What with Indian difficulties, land difficulties, and
all the various matters attendant upon opening up a
new country, it can be well understood His Excellency
was without many idle moments. In the month of
June of this year he had to meet his Parliament, and
now we may avail ourselves of the information afforded
by the Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt as to the
ceremonies at the opening of this the fourth Session on
the sixth day of July, 1 795. Although the Governor
had moved his headquarters to York, the Parliament,
in consequence of there being no public building at
York fit to receive them, was obliged to be assembled
at Newark or Niagara as in previous sessions. The
French Duke had entered the province at Fort Erie
on the 20th June, 1795, and had been the guest of
the Governor and hospitably entertained by him at
Navy Hall from the time of his arrival to the pre-
sent time, the opening of the House. The Duke
in his history of his travels in America has acknow-
ledged the attention of the Governor in a manner
which shows that he deeply felt his kindness. He
says : "No sooner was the Governor informed of our
arrival than he sent his Adjutant-General to invite us

Establishing the Capital at York.

251

to dinner — having just alighced from his horse he could
not come himself. We accepted his invitation, and
shortly after dinner, he entreated us to remain with
him, to sleep in his house, and consider ourselves as at
home." This was true English hospitality ; so Navy
Hall had the Duke as a guest, and during this time he
was able to learn much of the Governor, his plans for
opening up the country, and famll'arize himself gener-
ally with all that was taking place In and around the
capital. We learn from his narrative that the Gover-
nor's plan of settlement was to line the frontier with
United Empire Loyalists and to place other applicants
for lands in the back settlements. He was not averse
to Americans from across the border coming into the
province and taking up lands, but then he wished them
to be settled behind the Ignited Empire Loyalists, so
that in case of war with the United States they would
be but the rear guard of the army of defence. He had
ever before him the probability, or at least the possi-
bility, of another war with the United States, In which
according to his ideas Canada, fortified by the stout
hearts and strong arms of the United Empire Loyalists
in the front, with the Indians and settlers in the rear,
would be able not only to hold her own, but to
recover from the new Republic much, if not all, that
she had lost during the Revolutionary War. Gov-
ernor Slmcoe was a true .soldier and took a military

252

The Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

view of everything. He never passed a hill or entered
a bay but he thought of a fortress or a fleet. He
directed the legislation of the Province in the direction
of fully organizing the militia of the country. It is
quite possible that had his views been carried out
London and not York would have been the capital
of the province. York was to him but a temporary
abode. He apparently believed that London from its
inland position was the proper place for the capital.
The site where London stands we know had been
visited by him ; he foresaw the day when the Indian
posto would be given up ; and then it behoved the
responsible authorities to have their principal city
as far removed from the frontier as possible, with a
dockyard, say at Chatham (named by him after the
Chatham of England), for the building of wooden walls
for the maritime service of the country.

We must not, however, dwell too long on military
and maritime affairs, but proceed to the opening of the
House of Assembly in July. At the opening of this Ses-
sion of the House there were present but two of the
members of the Legislative Council and five of the six-
teen members of the Legislative Assembly. Never-
theless the House had to be opened at the appointed
time, as within two days a year would have expired
since the last Session, and the law required that at
least one Session should be held each year.

Establishing the Capital at York.

253

The Governor opened the House with all the
formalities and ceremony which in a major degree
distinguished the opening of a Session of the House
of Commons in England. The Duke de Liancourt
says : " The whole retinue of the Governor con-
sisted in a guard of fifty men of the garrison of
the fort (Fort Niagara). Dressed in silk, he entered
the hall with his hat on his head, attended by his
adjutant and two secretaries. The two members of
the Legislative Council gave, by their speaker, notice
of it to the Assembly. Five members of the latter
having appeared at the bar, the Governor deliv-
ered a speech modelled after that of the King, on the
political affairs of Europe, on the treaty concluded with
the United States, which he mentioned in expressions
very favourable to the union, and on the peculiar con-
cerns of Canada."

The Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt had
every opportunity of forming a true estimate of Gov-
ernor Simcoe. As he was a foreigner and presum-
ably impartial he ought to be a good and impartial wit-
ness of the merits or demerits of the Governor. He
gives us to understand that he had an inveterate hatred
against the United States. We suspect, however, that
this was more in his manner than in reality. It perhaps
might be said ^hat he had an inveterate hatred of
Frenchmen. A:id so he had in one way, and in the

same way as in the case of the United States: he hated
all people who were the enemies of England. Still in
private life, officially and otherwise, he always was the
courtly and dignified Governor of a province and the
faithful servant of his King. His treatment of the
American Commissioners, who were in a measure
stranded in Canada, when in the province on Indian
affairs, and his treatment of the exiled Duke show
that his hostility either to Frenchmen or Americans
was only political, and not in the least personal.
De Liancourt says of him that he was "just, active,
enlightened, brave, frank, and possesses the confi-
dence of the country, of the troops, and of all those
who join him in the administration of public affairs.
To these he attends with the closest application ;
he preserves all the old friends of the King, and
neglects no means to procure him new ones. He
unites, in my judgment, all the qualities which his
station requires to maintain the important possession
of Canada, if it be possible that England can long
retain it."

The Uuke seems to have thought that England
might lose Canada as she lost the United States.
This, however, has not happened, and is not likely to
happen if England continues to pursue a liberal policy
towards the Dominion.

The Duke gives us to understand that the

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Establishing the Capital at York.

255

Governor lived in a noble and hospitable manner — in a
log house, it is true ; but it is the people that make a
house, and not a house the people. The Governor, he
says, was without pride, his record very enlightened,
his character mild and obliging ; that he discussed with
much good sense on all subjects but his favourite topics
were projects of war, which seemed to be the object of
his leading passion.

This estimate, coming from a foreigner, must
satisfy us that Governor Simcoe was just the man for
the age and for the time and place he occupied.

The Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt has
given us a very good idea of the Governor's hospit-
ality at Navy Hall. This hospitality was not a whit
the less while making his temporary abode in the tent
that had visited the South Seas, or while occupying
Castle Frank in York. Here again we may quote
Dr. Scadding. Referring to this he says : " We can
picture to ourselves the cavalcade that was wont from
time to time to be seen in the summers and autumns of
1 794-1 795 wending its way leisurely to the romantically
situated chateau of Castle Frank, along the rer-^hes
and windings, the descents and ascents of the forest
road, expressly cut out through the primitive woods as
a means of access to it. First,} mounted on a willing
and well-favoured horse, as we will suppose, there
would be General Simcoe himself, a soldierly person

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in J

256

T/ie Life and Times of General Sinicoe.

in the full vigour of life, advanced but little beyond his
fortieth year, of youthful and stern, yet benevolent,
aspect, as shewn by the medallion in marble on his
monument in the cathedral at Exeter, revolving ever
in his mind schemes for the development and defence
of the new society which he was engaged in founding,
a man just, active, enlightened, frank, as the French

Duke de Liancourt described him in 1795

By the side of the soldier and statesman Governor,
also on horseback, would be his gifted consort, small in
person, 'handsome and amiable,' as the French Duke
again speaks, ' fulfilling all the duties of the mother
and wife with the most scrupulous exactness ; carrying
the latter so far as to be of great assistance to her hus-
band by her talent for drawing, the practice of which,
in relation to maps and plans, enabled her to be
extremely useful to the Governor.'" Dr. Scadding
has added to the Duke's statement that the French
traveller might have added "that her skill, facility and
taste were attested by numerous sketch-books and port-
folios of views of Canadian scenery in its primitive
condition, taken by her hand, to be treasured up care-
fully and reverently by her immediate descendants,
but unfortunately not accessible generally to Canadian
students."

It is with pleasure I am able to say that through
the kindness of Mr. Isadore Hellm.uth, of London, On-

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Establishing the Capital at York.

257

tario, I have been enabled to give sketches from the
portfolio of Mrs. Simcoe, referred to by Dr. Scadding
as not generally accessible to Canadian students. At
the time of writing I have the original sketches in my
possession, for which I am indebted to Mr. Hellmuth.
Mrs. Simcoe's maiden name is preserved in Canada by
the designation borne by two townships, East and
West " Gwillim "-bury, the former in the County of
York, the latter in the County of Simcoe, named after
the Governor. Mrs. Simcoe's father, at the time one
of the aides-de-camp to General Wolfe, was killed at
the taking of Quebec.

In the beginning of this chapter I expressed the
hope that before concluding it I would be able to refer
once more to that fruitful source of trouble in the early
days of the Canadian Province of Upper Canada and
the United States, which, commencing in the inner
circle of the Indian war, extended to the posts and
places occupied by the British garrisons in American
territory ; and in so referring would be able to say
that not only was peace concluded between the Indians
and Americans, but war was averted by another treaty
between the English and Americans in regard of the
garrisons to which I have referred. The victory of
Wayne over the Indians at Miami was referred to in
the last chapter. The Indians were not all agreed as
to the propriety of continuing the war with the Ameri-

'I VtW: ■•■■\

II-./

258

T/te Life and Times of Getieral Sintcoe.

cans. On the 6th August, 1 795, the opposing forces
made a treaty, called the Treaty of Grenville, which
concludf^d the long, expensive and destructive Indian
war which had for so many years desolated the western
frontier. The boundary settled by this treaty was not
altogether as satisfactory to the Indians as could have
been wished and at one time hoped for, but, as the
weaker power, the Indians had to submit. Brant was
not at all pleased with the treaty, and would not
have submitted, or .ather, I should say, have coun-
selled (Brant himself never submitted) the Indians to
submit to it had he not become convinced that the
British themselves were about to give up the posts, and
thus deprive the Indians of the succour they might
have expected had these posts still remained in the pos-
session of the English. Brant, in one of his speeches
delivered long after the treaty was entered into, said :
"The Indians, convinced by those in the Miami fort,
and other circumstances, that they were mistaken in
their expectations of any assistance from Great Britain,
did not longer oppose the Americans with their wonted
unanimity. The consequence was that General Wayne,
by the peaceable language he used to them, induced
them to hold a treaty at his own headquarters, in which
he concluded a peace entirely on his own terms."

Before the treaty between the Indians and Ameri-
cans was signed, the two parties, the English and

Establishing the Capital at York.

259

Americans, had been negotiating for a settlement of
the differences in regard to the posts, and it is not
impossible that preliminaries had been arranged for a
treaty. The settlement, however, was not finally made
till the 19th November, 1795, when Mr. Jay, the
American Minister to France, and Lord Grenville for
the British, concluded a treaty by which the English
were to evacuate the posts in 1 796. And thus ended
a controversy which might have ended in war. Happily
the counsels of peace prevailed, and thus the whole
continent was enabled to pursue its course of progress
and development.

,'-'

CHAPTER XII.

Last Days in Canada.

OVERNOR SIMCOE, now in 1796, had
gained all the experience necessary to suc-
cessful rule in a new country. His career
in Upper Canada had been closely watched
by the British Government and by Lord Dorchester,
the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in Can-
ada, whose headquarters were at Quebec. Three years
before this, viz., in 1793, the Island of St. Domingo,
one of the West India Islands, had been taken posses-
sion of by the English troops from Jamaica. By the
time the year 1 796 was ushered in the British Govern-
ment had been looking round for a man fitted to
govern the natives in this island but recently occupied
by British troops. Governor Simcoe's name would
naturally attract the attention of the Government, but
still he had work to do before he could, or would be wil-
ling to leave Canada for an island so hot and so black
as St. Domingo. One work not yet altogether finished

Last Days in Canada.

261

was the opening up of Yonge Street to the north of
York. Augustus Jones, the surveyor, and his men had
in a rough way laid out the road, but now, on the 4th
day of January, 1796, he begins the formal survey of
the route, and on the 4th February he reported to the
Governor that the road was compl**ted. The entry in
the surveyor's journal is thus : " Went to the garrison
York, and waited on His Excellency the Governor,
and informed him that Yonge Street is opened from
York to the Pine Fort Landing, Lake Simcoe."

The Fifth Session of Parliarhent, which the Gov-
ernor called for this year, was a short but important
one. The Parliament met at Newark, and was opened
by Governor Simcoe on the i6th May and prorogued
by him on the 3rd day of June. The most important
Acts passed, and to which >he Governor gave his
assent, were an Act to amend certain parts of an Act
intituled " An Act for the Regulation of Juries," and a
certain jther Act intituled " An Act to Establish a
Superior Court of Civil and Criminal Jurisciction and
to Regulate the Court of Appeal," and another Act
intituled "An Act for the Regulation of Certain Coins
Current in the Province." There were in all only
seven Acts passed during the session when the House
was prorogued. After the prorogation of the House
the Governor took up the subject of lands. In all new
countries the land question is the one of all others that

it:'

gives the most trouble, and causes the most anxiety to
those charged with the administration of affairs. We
have seen that the Government had trouble with the
Indians about their reservations. Now those persons
who had served the Government, as soldiers during the
Revolutionary War or otherwise, were knocking at the
Government door for their rightful grants of lands of
the Crown. The Governor's policy, as we have pre-
viously mentioned, was to settle the military class of
settlers and United Empire Loyalists along the front
of the country, so as to form a barrier against intruders
on His Majesty's domain.

Alexander Grant, who will be remembered as
Commodore Grant of the Lakes during the War of
1 812, and sometime Administrator of the Government,
as we gather from the Smith papers, on the 6th June,
1796, petitioned the Governor "that he will be pleased
to allot him out of his or his family lands 3,000 acres
in the township in rear of York, upon the H umber;
one vacant front lot near Long Point, with 1,000 acres
in the back concessions ; 1,000 acres near Point aux
Pins, with two front lots on the lake ; 500 acres on
the River Connon, including as much of that river as .
falls to the northward of the Indian reserve."

On this petition the Governor made this order :
"It seems, agreeable to the general rule, proper that
Mr. Grant's location should be confined to the Lake

Erie districts." Thus we see that the Governor
adhered to his plan ot' allotting lands to those entitled
to locations along the frontier. On the 20th June,
1796, a list of applicants for lands in the Townships
of Walsingham, Charlotteville, Woodhouse, and Long
Point Settlement was filed in the office of the Acting
Surveyor-General Smith, and to this the Governor
appended his sanction as follows : " Approved, and to
be complied with as far as existing regulations in the
opinion of Mr. Smith will admit." The names of the
applicants for land in the townships above named, i.e.,
Walsingham, Charlotteville, Woodhouse, and Long
Point Settlement were persons well-known in the
Province. They were : Ryerse, May bee, Backhouse,
Secord and others. In the case of Mrs. Maybee, a
widow, about whose patent there was some delay in
the department, the Governor was very peremptory
in his order that, she being the widow of a Loyalist,
prompt attention must be given to her application.
The fact that Mr. Jones reported to the Governor
at the garrison at York shows that as soon as the
Session at Newark was over the Governor had come
to York, where he was residing for the summer, occa-
sionally, with his friends, visiting Castle Frank. Dr.
Scadding in the Semi-Centennial volume informs us
that Castle Frank was never permanently occupied by
the Governor or his family ; but pleasant excursions

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were repeatedly made to it while in course of erection
and afterwards, in boats up the Don, as well as by
the bridle road.

We mentioned in the previous chapter that Gov-
ernor Simcoe, in 1795, visited Grand River, and had
a conference with Brant as to the wishes of the Indians
in regard to their lands. At this meeting Brant had
delivered an elaborate speech containing the whole
history of the grant, the circumstances under which
it had been made, and the difficulties they had been
called upon to encounter. The conference with Brant
resulted in nothing more than a promise that the
speech of Brant (Thayendanegea) should be forwarded
to Lord Dorchester. As it was probable that the Gov-
ernor would leave the province before the end of the
year His Excellency confirmed such sales as had been
previously made by the Indians, but difficulties arose
on making the surveys, which once more disorganized
everything. Another hearing took place before Mr.
Glaus, the Indian Agent, at Niagara, during this year,
at which, in another written speech, the chief Brant gave
a historical argument of this case. The speech of
Brant clearly shows that it was the jobbers who stood
between the Indians and the government as to the
lands. Brant, in his speech, said : "I cannot help
remarking that it appears to me that certain characters
here, who stood behind the counter during the las:

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Last Days in Canada.

265

war, and whom we knew nothing about, are now dicta-
ting to your great men concerning our lands. I should
like to know what property these officious persons left
behind then in their own country, or whether, through
their loyalty, they ever lost any. I doubt it much.
But 'tis well known that scarcely a man amongst us
but what sacrificed more f" less property by leaving
our homes. I again repeat ihat if these officious per-
sons have made the sm; 'lest sacrifir. of property, then
I think, they may in some nieasure be allowed to
interfere, although it may be %ve!I known that personal
interest prompts them to it, not the public good."

Captain Brant always said plainly what he
meant. All of his speeches, of which I have quoted
several, show this. He was always honest and digni-
fied, and never let an opportunity pass of advocating
the cause of the Indians whenever necessary to do so.
He was perfectly fearless in all he did. It was always
the same with him, whether in presence of king or
commoner, he always maintained a manly bearing, and
gave utterance to his thoughts without equivocation or
embarrassment. In writing the history of Governor
Simcoe I would not have given so much prominence
to this chief were it not that he was not only a friend
but fellov/ worker with Simcoe in all that concerned
the welfare of the province, which he and his Mohawks
had come into, under the determination under all

R* *tti

266 TAe Life and Times of General Simcoe.

hazards and under all circumstances to be and remain
subjects of the Crown. The Mohawks are just as
much entitled to be called United Empire Loyalists as
were the most devoted of the adherents of the Crown
during the American Revolution who had not a drop of
Indian blood in their veins. As I may not mention
the name of Thayendanegea again before concluding
this work I wish to bear this tesL.mony to his worth ;
a worth which the country has recognized by erecting
a beautiful monument to him in Brantford, so appro-
priately named after the great chief

In reviewing the past, and what has been written
of Governor Simcoe, I think it must be admitted' that
throughout his whole career, whether in camp, on the
battle field or in the Senate he was entitled to a first
rank among his fellows. When he came to Upper
Canada as its Governor he came under an Imperial
Law, which he knew had separated Upper Canada
from Lower Canada, and that his lines were to be
distinctively British. Mr. Pitt in his speech on the
Canada Bill had fully explained the condition of things
as they existed in the then Province of Quebec. He
fondly hoped that by leaving the French of Lower
Canada in the enjoyment of the old laws of Canada,
as given to them by the Act of 1774, time and amal-
gamation with the English would in due course eradi-
cate their fondness for the old system, and lead them

Last Days in Canada.

267

to adopt in its entirety the English law as given to
Upper Canada by the Act of 179 1. He said that he
agreed in thinking it extremely desirable that the
inhabitants of Canada should be united, and led uni-
versally to prefer the English Constitution and the
English law. Dividing the province he considered to
be the most likely means to effect this purpose, since,
by so doing, the French subjects would be sensible
that the British Government had no intention of forc-
ing the English laws upon them, and, therefore, they
would, with more facility, look at the operation and
effect of these laws, and probably in time ado^jt them
from conviction.

The hard logic of events has proved that Mr.
Pitt was much too sanguine in his hopes of amalgamat-
ing French with English in Lower Canada, either in
people or laws. It is now nearly a hundred years
since the Act of 1791 was passed. Up to rhis time
the French have not looked at tl -^ operation and effect
of the English laws (as given to Upper Canada) and
adopted them 1.0m conviction. On the contrary, they
still cling to their old idols, the laws of Canada as they
existed in the reign of Louis XIV., before the spirit
of progress and reform had permeated the French
nation.

On the 3rd December, 1796, Governor, then
Major-General Simcoe, was appointed Civil Governor

268

T//e Life and Time, jf General Simcoe.

3/1'

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II:

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1*.

of St. Domingo and Commander-in-Chief, in the room
of Sir Adam Williamson. At the same time as he had
this distinction conferred upon him he was appointed
to the local rank of Lieutenant-General. These
appointments necessitated his leaving Canada.

The Gazette of September nth, 1796, contained
a proclamation from Peter Russell announcing that
"His Most Gracious Majesty has been pleased to
grant his royal leave of absence to His Excellency
Major-General Simcoe, and that subsequently the
government, pro tern., had devolved on himself. Mr,
Russell had been senior member of the Executive
Council, and, as was the custom of the time, became
administrator of the government during the Gover-
nor's absence. It will be seen from the proclamation
he issued on assuming the government, that Governor
Simcoe had not been recalled but had been given
leave of absence. When the new administrator issued
his proclamation he was living in Niagara. The
Gazette of November 4th, 1796, still published at
Niagara, announced, "Yesterday (November 3rd) His
Honour, the President of the province, and family
sailed in the Mohaivk for York. He was saluted
with a discharge of cannon at Fort George, which
was answered by three cheers from on board. " It
appears from this notice that the old historic Fort
George had, at this time, come into being.

Last Days in Canada.

269

There was at this time a navy on the waters of
Ontario, called the Navy of the Lake, which was really
a branch of the Royal Navy, manned by seamen from
the service of the Royal Navy on the Atlantic.
Rochefoucauld de Liancourt, the French Count, with
whom we met in the last chapter, has fortunately left
us an account of what this branch of the Royal Navy
was composed in 1 795, and I do not know that it had
been augmented by the time President Russell suc-
ceeded to the government in 1796. Rochefoucauld
wrote : " The Royal Navy is not very formidable in
this place ; six vessels compose the whole naval force,
two of which are small gun-boats, which we saw at
Niagara, and which are stationed at York. Two
small schooners of twelve guns, viz., the Onondaga,
in which we took our passage, and the Mohawk, which
is just finished ; a small yacht of eight tons, mounting
six guns, as the two schooners, which have lately been
taken into dock to be repaired, form the rest of it."
The Count in another part of his account wrote :
"Two gun-boats, which are destined by Governor
Simcoe to serve only in time of war, are at present
on the stocks."

Captain Bouchette commanded the naval force
on Lake Ontario, and was at the head of all the
marine establishments. De Liancourt tells us that
Governor Simcoe intended to make York the centre

270

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

of the naval force on Lake Ontario ; that in 1 795
there were four gun-boats on the lake, and that it was
the Governor's intention to build ten smaller gun-
boats on Lake Ontario and ten on Lake Erie. It is
to be regretted that Governor Simcoe did not remain
longer Governor of the province, as in that case the
naval armament of the lakes would have been kept
up, and the province been able to give a better account
of herself on the water than was shown in the war of
18 1 2. So little did the British Government know of
the capability of the province in the matter of furnish-
ing war vessels for the lakes, that in 181 2 the Admir-
alty sent out the frame- work, blocks, etc., of the Psyc/i'-
frigate, which could have been procured on the spot in
a tenth of the time, and at a twentieth part of the
expense. The Admiralty were as ignorant of the
quality of the water of the Lake, and evidently thought
the salt water of the Atlantic or some sea was the
fountain of supply to Lake Ontario, as at the same
time they sent out the frame-work and blocks of the
Psyche they furnished to each ship of war on the lake
a full supply of water casks, with an apparatus for
distilling sea water.

Canada took the lead in building the early vessels
upon the lakes. The first American ship that navi-
gated Lake Erie was purchased from the British in
1796. She was called the Detroit. The first vessel

Last Days in Canada.

271

built by the Americans for the lakes was constructed
in 1797. The first Canadian merchant vessel built
upon Lake Ontario was by Francis Crooks, brother of
the Hon. James Crooks. It was built to the east of
the present L nited States Fort, at the mouth of the
Niagara River in 1792, and was called the York. In

1800 a schooner of about seventy-five or one hundred
tons, was brought to Clifton, and during the winter of

1 80 1 she crossed by the portage road on immense
runners to Queenstown, where she again found her
native element in the Niagara river. Dr. Scadding
tells us that she was in 1801 lost in bringing a cargo
to Niagara, with all on board.

The subject of ships and shipping reminds us
that, in President Russell's time, 1796- 1800, the
channel of trade in the province was more with
Albany than with Montreal or Quebec. There were
two reasons for this. In the first place, many, if not
most, of the settlers who came into the province from
the United States at this period of the province's
history came by way of Albany and Western New
York. The second reason was that the obstructions
of the rapids of the St. Lawrence made it difficult to
carry on trade with Montreal with profit or advantage.
The consequence of a trade springing up between
New York, Albany, and Upper Canada was that the
province made rapid strides in its material growth and

,.• ''

\*>J,'

development. Posts of customs were established at
the frontier towns of Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston,
York, Niagara and Amherstburg. Goods imported
into these towns from the United States found a
ready market with the country people, and at good
prices. Commodities were exchanged between the
Republicans on the south of the St. Lawrence and
the lakes, with the John Bulls on the north side of
the river and the blue waters of Ontario, by which the
Canadians profited, and amassed considerable wealth.
Besides this, the tide of emigration after the Irish
trouble of 1 798 set in in great volume, giving to the
country just the kind of settlers she wanted, to clear
her forests, build her roads and till her soil. The
immigrants generally brought some means with them,
which speedily found its way into the pockets of the
thrifty Canadian. The construction of good roads
in the province was just as necessary as trade for the
full and complete development of the resources of the
country. People lived wide apart ; the mills and shops
were at a great distance from the homes of the settlers,
and without passable roads it was impossible to carry
on successful business of any kind. Governor Simcoe
had been a great promoter of road making. We have
in a previous chapter seen what care he took to have
a road opened up to the north of York; how his
Rangers were employed in hewing out for the people

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a road in the wilderness. Governor Simcoe had
intended to have a grand military road from one end
of the province to the other. This he lined out, and
gave it the name of Dundas Street. Had he remained
in the province his intentions would no doubt have
been carried out. In his time a small portion of the
road was constructed, and settlers located here and there
along the proposed road, who built houses with the
expectation that the great thoroughfare would shortly
be opened up. In this, however, they were doomed
to disappointment, the departure of Governor Simcoe,
and the fact that his successor. President Russell, was
more intent on acquiring land for himself than making
roads for the people, for a considerable time kept back
the improvement of the country. The people of York
were more fortunate in the road-making business than
the inhabitants of some other parts of the province.
In 1798, during the reign of President Russell, an
American gentleman, named Asa Danforth, came into
Canada, and made a contract with the Upper Canada
Government to open a road from Kingston through
Ancaster, at the head of Lake Ontario, which road he
completed. The work was commenced in 1 798, and
finished in three years' time. This road passed through
Prince Edward County by Wellington. F'or many
years the main road was called the Danforth Road.
I have said that President Russell was more concerned

I ^

'I)

274

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

in acquiring land than building roads. It was notorious
that during his administration large tracts of land were
acquired by private individuals and government officials
at a nominal price. Mr. President gained such a noto-
riety in this way that it got to be a common saying of
those who were concerning themselves about land
matters and the acquisition of territorial wealth, that
there were many deeds about in which the convey-
ance ran : "I, Peter Russell, convey to you, Peter
Russell." There may have been some truth in this,
but it was certainly the case that the management of
land grants was not exercised with the same circum-
spection as in Governor Simcoe's time. There was a
large number of land speculators — land jobbers they
were called at this time — swarming in the government
offices, very much to the injury of the country, but of
profit to themselves. However, land-jobbing was not
peculiar to Canada ; it had been said that " General
Washington was not only a surveyor but an extensive
land jobber, and thereby increased immensely his
private fortune."

We will pass on now from the land speculator to
the matrimonial speculator, and see what was being
done in President Russell's time to faciliate the mar-
riage relation. Before Peter Russell became head of
the government none but ministers of the Church of
England were permitted to perform the marriage

Last Days in Canada.

275

ceremony. This was felt to be a great evil as not
only inconveniencing those who were desirous of
entering the holy bonds of matrimony, but retarding
the growth of the country. In the year 1798, Peter
Russell being President, an Act was passed to extend
the provisions of a previous Act of 1793 (which had
been passed to confirm certain invalid marriages)
enacting " That it should be lawful for the minister
of any congregation or religious community of persons
professing to be members of the Church of Scotland,
or Lutherans, or Calvinists to marry according to the
rites of such Church," and it was necessary that one
of the persons to be married should have been a
member of the particular Church six months before
the marriage. The clergyman must have been regu-
larly ordained, and was to appear before six magis-
trates at quarter sessions, with at least seven members
of his congregation, to prove his office, or take the
oath of allegiance ; and then, if the dignitaries thought
it expedient, they might grant him a certificate that
he was a settled minister, and, therefore, could marry,
having published the intended marriage upon three
Sundays previous. Truly our forefathers were sur-
rounded with many difficulties before they could enter
upon the marriage state. No doubt this law was a
boon at the time, but a very poor one at that. It was
not till the year 1831 that the facility of marriage was

1^^^

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1 .'

276

T/ie Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

enlarged, and the right of i)errorming the ceremony
conferred upon the Presbyterians, Congregationalists,
Baptists, Independents, Methodists, Mennonists, Tun-
kers, or Moravians, in like manner as it had been
previously conferred on ministers of the Church of
Scotland.

Before concluding with President Russell and
his reign I must make some reference to that most
important subject, the militia service of the province.
When Major-General Simcoe was Governor the pro-
vince had been divided into districts and counties.
The sub-division of counties was purely military, and
related merely to the enlisting, completing and assem-
bling of the militia. The militia of each county were
assembled once a year in each county, and were
inspected by the captains of companies at least twice
a year. Every male inhabitant from the age of six-
teen to fifty was considered a militiaman. There
has not been preserved sufficient data on which to
base a statement as to the enrolment or number ot
the militia before Russell's time. But in 1793 we
have evidence that at that time there were Lieutenants
of counties, the same as Lords Lieutenant of counties
in England. I know that as late as 1804 there were
such Lieutenants. My maternal grandfather's brother,
Colonel James Breakenridge, was then Lieutenant of
the County of Leeds.

Kri-'

Last Days in Canada.

277

On the 29th November, ijQ^^, John Ferguson, of
Kingston, wrote to William Bell, of the Mohawk
village, in the County of Hastings, as follows: " Hav-
ing been appointed Lieutenant of the County of
Hastings, and being ordered to enrol the militia with-
out delay, I must request you will immediately proceed
with the enclosed notices and cause them to be put up
as requested. This is the beginning of your duty, as
I have recommended you to be Adjutant, as well as
Captain of a company, and I have the satisfaction of
telling you that the President has assured me that
he will approve of my appointments." In a separate
communication, Lieutenant Ferguson authorized Cap-
tain Bell " to give notice to the inhabitants to attend
a meeting of Lieutenancy on Saturday, the i8th of
December next, at ten o'clock, at the house occupied
by David Burns, on lot 35, in the loth Concession of
Sidney, for the purpose of enrolment." Ferguson
again writing on the 22nd February, 1799, says: "It
appears from the President's letter that there is some-
thing brewing to the westward." On the 25th of
February, 1799, Ferguson writes to Adjutant Bell
to require the officers commanding companies " to
cause the volunteers and drafts in their respective
companies to assemble, with such arms as they have,
at the house of Ferguson, on the Point of Sidney, lot
23, to be made acquainted with the purport of a letter

i$.^-.

Hi-::

received from the Hon. Peter Russell, President."
Col. Ferguson, writing again on February 26th to
Captain Bell, informs him that the President has
been pleased to approve of the appointments made,
and that he must meet him at Sidney, 5th March, to
receive his commission. On the ist of March he
further writes : *' There is some appearance of the
militia being embodied ne.xt spring, and that Captain
Bell is appointed to take command of the detachment
should such an event take place." In a communication
dated lOth March, 1799, Col. Ferguson refers Captain
Bell to an enclosure from President Russell, giving
directions as to teaching the volunteers and drafts,
" who are to assemble at Wallbridge every other
Saturday for platoon exercise, etc. The following is a
list of officers of the Hastings militia, as approved by
His Honour, the President, with the dates of their
commission : John Ferguson. Lieutenant of County ;
date of commission, 1 798. The following officers were
commissioned in December following : Major Alex-
ander Chisholm, Captain William Bell, Captain Samuel
Sherwood, Captain George W. Myers, Lieutenant
Matthias Marsh, Lieutenant Gilbert Harris, Lieutenant
John Stuart, Lieutenant John Chisholm, Lieutenant
John Fairman, Sen., Lieutenant L. W. Myers, Lnsigns
David Simmons, Jacob W. Myers, Alexander Chis-
holm, Robert Fairman, Samuel B. Gilbert, Adjutant

Last Days in Canada,

279

William Bell, Quarter Master John Mcintosh. At
the commencement of the War of 181 2 John Fergu-
son, of Kingston, was Colonel ; William Bell, of
Thurlow, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Alexander Chis-
holm, Robert Fairman, Simon McNabb, T. B. Gilbert,
Jacob W. Myers, L. VV. Myers. David Simmons, Gil-
bert Harris, and John Mcintosh, were Captains of ist
Regiment of Hastings Militia. John Thompson, who
had been a soldier in the King's Rangeis, was Major.

Dr. Scadding, in his "Toronto of Old," says,
" We are informed by Mr. Adiel Sherwood, that
James Breakenridge, who had been an officer in
Roger's Corps, was appointed the first Lieutenant of
the County of Leeds under Simcoe, with authority to
organize the body and appoint the officers. Mr.
Sherwood received his first commission from him, to
the ist Regiment of Leeds Militia in 1796."

From all this it would appear that at the very
threshold of Upper Canada's first emerging into a
separate and distinct province, the governing power
was alive to the importance of having a well-trained
body of militia to defend the country in times of peril
from without or within. The same spirit which ani-
mated her people in 181 2 existed in Simcoe's time,
and in Russell's time. To this may be attributed her
success in the many engagements which took place in
the W^ar of 181 2. President Russell laid down the

reins of power in 1799, and Governor Hunter reigned
in his stead for a period of six years,

Peter Hunter, lately appointed Governor of the
province, arrived in York harbour in the Speedy in
August, 1799. The Niagara Constellation oi August
23rd, 1799, had in it this notice of the Governor's
arrival. It said : "His Excellency Governor Hunter
arrived at York on Friday morning last, in the Speedy.
On landing he was received by a party of the Queen's
Rangers ; and at one o'clock, p.m., was waited on at
His Honour's, the President's, by the military officers,
and congratulated on his safe arrival and appointment
to the government of the province."

Governor Hunter did not become at once on his
arrival a permanent resident of York. He was not
Governor only but Commander-in-Chief of His Maj-
esty's forces in the province as well. His duties as
Commander-in-Chief called him shortly after his first
arrival away from the Capital to which he did not
return till the following May, 1800. The Gazette of
Saturday, May 17th, had in it this paragraph giving
notice of his arrival : " On Thursday evening last
(May 15th) His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esquire
Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of this
province, arrived in our harbour on board the Toronto,
and on Friday morning, about nine o'clock, landed at
the garrison, where he is at present to reside." Called

Last Days in Canada.

281

away from the Capital again, after having opened and
closed the Fourth Session of the Second Parliamenc
of the pro/ince he returned to Quebec, the head-
quarters of the King's troops in Canada. This session
of the parliament; opened on the 2nd June, 1800, was
a short one. Only six Acts were passed, the most
important of which were: ''An Act for the further
introduction of the Criminal Law of England into this
province, and for the more effectual punishment of cer-
tain offenders," and "An Act for making a temporary
provision for the regulation of trade between this pro-
vince and the United States of America, by land or
by inland navigation." On May i6th, in the following
year. Governor Hunter arrives again in the Toronto
from Quebec. The Gazette of May i6th, 1801, says,
"Arrived this morning on board the Toronto, Captain
Earl, His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor and
Secretary, from Quebec."

This visit was doubtless preparatory to the open-
ing of the First Session of the Third Provincial Parlia-
ment, which took place on July 9th, 1801. The writs
for this parliament were issued on or about the 20th
June, 1 80 1. In the Oracle of the 20th June, 1801,
there appeared an advertisement, signed by William
Allan, as Returning Officer for the County of Durham,
the East Riding of the County of York and the County
of Simcoe, which territories conjointly are to elect one

I: >

I 'Hi

I' II.

?1*

!4t

282

TAe Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

member. Mr. Allan announces that he will be in
attendance "on Thursday, the 2nd day of July next,
at ten o'clock in the forenoon, at the Hustings, under
the colonnade of the parliament buildings in the Town
of York, and proceed to the election of one Knight to
represent the said county, riding and county in the
House of Assembly, whereof all the freeholders of the
said county, riding and county are to take notice."
The writ, issuing from His Excell' y, Peter Hunter,
Esquire, directs the returning officer to cause one
Knight, girt with a sword, the most fit and discreet,
to be freely and indifferently chosen by those who
shall be present on the day of election. At this
period of Upper Canadian parliamentary history, the
voters were few and widely scattered. There were
two candidates who presented themselves to the
electors, Mr. A. Macdonell and Mr. J. Small. There
were only 144 votes polled, and Mr. Macdonell was
elected by a majority of eighty.

Governor Hunter was a military man, and not to
be trifled with by officials, whether of high or low
degree. He had not been long in office as Governor
when he was waited upon by a deputation of Quakers
from the Quaker settlement to the north of York, who
came into town to complain to him of the delay which
they and their co-religionists had experienced in obtain-
ing the patents for their lands. Dr. Scadding relates

Last Days in Canada.

283

that the Governor " received them in the garrison, and
hearing how coming to York on former occasions they
had been sent about from one office to another for a
reply to their enquiries about the patents, he requested
them to come to him the next day at noon. Orders
were at the same instant despatched to Mr. D. W.
Smith, the Surveyor-General, to Mr. Small, Clerk of
the Crown, and to Mr. Jarvis, Secretary and Registrar
of the province (all of whom, it appeared, at one time
or another had failed to reply satisfactorily to the
Quakers), to wait at the same house on the Lieutenant-
Governor, bringing with them, each respectively, such
papers and memoranda as might be in their possession
having relation to patents for lands in Whitchurch and
King." "These gentlemen complain," the Governor
said, pointing to the Quakers, "that they cannot get
their patents." Each of the official personages pre-
sent offered in succession some indistinct observations,
expressive, it would seem, of a degree of regret, and
hinted exculpatory reasons, so far as he individually
was concerned. On closer interrogation one thing
came out very clearly, that the order for the patents was
more than twelve months old.

At length the onus of blame seemed to settle down
on the head of the Secretary and Registrar, Mr Jarvis,
who could only say that really the pressure of business
in his office was so great that he had been absolutely

11 ti>

unable, up to the present moment, to get ready the
particular patents referred to. "Sir," was the Gov-
ernor's immediate rejoinder, " if they are not forth-
coming, every one of them, and placed in the hands of
these gentlemen here, at noon on Thursday next (it was
now Tuesday), by George, I'll un-Jarvis you!" It is
needless to say that by noon of the following Thursday
the patents were got ready, and placed in the hands of
the Quakers, who returned to their homes with the con-
viction that the Province had a firm, vigorous and just
Governor. Governor Hunter lived long enough to be
able to open the first session of the Fourth Parliament
of the Province, which was opened on the first day of
February, 1805. The election of this Parliament was
an exciting one. Heretofore candidates had been prin-
cipally of the official class, for at this time place men
were eligible for a seat in the House of Assembly,
Mr. Joseph Willcocks was sheriff and member of Par-
liament. He lost his office of sheriff by giving a vote
contrary to the policy of the Lieutenant-Governor for
the time being. He was returned as a member of the
House of Assembly, and after having been imprisoned
for breach of privilege he was returned again and con-
tinued to lead the party of Reform. In Governor
Hunter's time Independent candidates were just begin-
ning to come forward to do battle with the official class.
In the election of 1804 to send representatives to the

Last Days in Canada.

285

fourth Parliament, commencing in 1805, three candi-
dates presented themselves to the electors of the east
riding of York and asked their suffrages. The three
candidates were Mr. A. Macdonell, Mr. D. W. Smith,
and Mr. Weeks. The last named was Independent
and for reform. As was to be expected, he lost his elec-
tion, the official being elected. He was more successful
in 1806, when he was returned for the same constitu-
ency. He did not long enjoy his honours, being
killed in a duel in the same year. In the Oracle of nth
October, 1806, the following notice appeared : '* Died,
on Friday, the loth instant, in consequence of a wound
received that morning in a duel, William Weeks, Esq.,
Barrister-at-Law and Member of the House of Assem-
bly for the Counties of York, Durham and Simcoe."

The administration of the affairs of the Province
by Governor Hunter may be said to have been emin-
ently successful. He was an officer of unblemished
reputation. As a man and as Governor he was firm,
resolute, just, and of unswerving integrity. He died
at Quebec, on the 23rd August, 1805. In the Oracle
for September 28th, 1805, appeared the following notice
of his character : " As an officer his character was high
and unsullied ; and at this moment his death may be
considered a great public loss. As Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor of Upper Canada his loss will be severely felt ;
for by his unremitting attention and exertions he has in

F1J^^""fF

M-f

ife

■'•-1

the course of a few years brought that infant colony to
an unparalleled state of prosperity."

Alexander Grant, Esquire, on the death of Gov-
ernor Hunter, as senior member of the Executive
Council, was President of the Province until the
arrival of Governor Yonge in 1807. Mr. Grant, after-
wards well known as Commodore Grant, held the office
for so short a time that we can only make a brief
reference to his administration. He opened Par-
liament on the 4th February, 1805, and prorogued the
session on 2nd March, 1806. The Parliament during
his administration appropriated ;i^8oo for the purchase
of instruments for illustrating the principles of Natural
Philosophy. The instruments were purchased, and all,
or nearly all, found their way into the Home District
School. President Grant, in his speech at the close of
the session of 1806, alluded to the action of Parliament
in the following terms : " The encouragement which
you have given for procuring the means necessary for
communicating useful and ornamental knowledge to the
rising generation meets with my approbation, and I
have no doubt will produce the most salutary effects."

From the foregoing it will be seen that while
Major-General Simcoe was serving the Crown in other
quarters, the executive affairs of the Province were
administered by two presidents and one governor, the
latter a military man.

colony to

of Gov-
Lxecutive
until the
int, after-
the office
s a brief
led Par-
>gued the
It during
purchase
r Natural
1, and all,
I District
I close of
irliament
nt which
issary for
!ge to the
n, and I

effects."
at while
. in other
ice were
rnor, the

m n

W I

III
i!

^\>

CHAPTER XIII.

St. Domingo and the PoRTuguESE Mission.

|N order to have a correct understanding of
this mission of Governor Simcoe to St.
Domingo (or as it is now called Hayti),
it is fit, if not necessary, to give some
account of the causes which led the British Govern-
ment to vest in him the command of her forces in
that island.

The island was, after its first discovery by Chris-
topher Columbus (1492) down to 1698, a Spanish
possession, the largest and most valuable of the West
India Islands, and known to the world under the
Spanish name of Hispaniola. The island is in length
more than 450 miles from east to west, and 150 in
breadth. Columbus, in his voyage of discovery in
1492, landed at a small bay which he called St.
Nicholas, and then named the island Espagnola, in
honour of the country by whose king he was employed.
St. Domingo, by the treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle and
Nimeguen in 1668 and 1678, was partitioned between
the French and the Spaniards with no more regular

288

T/ie Life and Times of General Sintcoe.

r^.

I '5'

it,

boundaries established than a custom, constantly sub-
jected to change from a variety of circumstances. The
peace of Ryswick in 1668 afforded the first regular
cession of the western part of the island to the French,
which, however, formed a very small part of the island,
not more than a fourth part of the whole dependency.
The whole island abounds in fertility of soil, rich in all
tropical products, and was a most valuable accession to
the kingdoms of France and Spain. The French
colony, with fewer national advantages, presented a
marked contrast to the inactivity of the neighbouring
country, and procured for it a character almost equal
to that which has been so generally given to the whole
of the island at its discovery, which Columbus described
as the original seat of Paradise, and Edwards in his
historical survey in describing the western or French
part of the island "the garden of the West Indies,
which, for beautiful scenery, richness of soil, salubrity
and variety of climate, might justly be deemed the
paradise of the new world." Port-au-Prince was the
ostensible metropolis of the French colony, and the
seat of its government ; except in time of war, when it
was removed to Cape Fran9ois. The inhabitants of
the island were composed of pure whites, people of
colour, blacks of free condition, and negroes in a state
of slavery. The whole of the intermediate grades were
called generally mulattoes. The French Revolution of

Si. Domingo and the Portuguese Mission.

289

1789 extended its ramifications through the whole
French Empire, including its distant colonies. St.
Domingo did not escape the contagion. Restlessness
and contempt of authority seized upon the islanders
black and white. There were in the island revolution-
ists, republicans, monarchists, and people so vicious as
to be prepared to enter upon any enterprise which
might gain them notoriety of a good or bad character-
In 1 79 1 the slaves rose in rebellion, which threatened
an overthrow of the French Government and general
conflagration. The authorities sent commissioners to
the British Island of Jamaica to request the assistance
of troops, arms, ammunition and provisions, when
Admiral Affleck ordered the Blonde and the Daphne
frigates to repair to St. Domingo to overawe the
insurgents. Some time after this an armament was
formed at Jamaica, composed of the 13th Regiment o^
Foot, seven companies of the 49th Regiment and a
detachment of artillery, furnishing about eight hundred
and seventy rank and file. With the first division of
these, consisting of about six hundred and seventy-nine
rank and file, Lieut.-Colonel Whitlock arrived at Jeremie
on the 19th of September, 1793, and took possession
of the town and harbour on the following morning.
British colours were hoisted on the forts with royal
salutes, and the inhabitants swore allegiance to Great
Britain.

n» ■ .-

(

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t J.

\'h

290

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

The British continued to give aid and comfort to
the French authorities, obtained possession of many
forts and fortified places, and ultimately captured the
capital, Port-au-Prince. Shortly after the capture of the
capital that dread disease yellow fever attacked the
troops, decimating the force which up to this time had
done noble service in quelling the insurrection — in a
measure restoring tranquillity and exhibiting the force
and power of British arms. From the time that the
yellow fever set in till the spring of 1 796 the aspect of
affairs began to change. The insurrectionists, com-
manded by a very able general, taking advantage of
the deplorable condition of the British troops, attacked
the outposts of the British and regained lost ground.
So languid became the progress of the British arms
that the Republicans of the island, aided by the blacks
and mulattoes, commenced operations in every quarter
round the capital ; besides compelling General Forbes
to fortify the mountain called Grenier, and to occupy
all the suncimding heights, the/ employed some months
in the erection of batteries, and on the fortifications of
two forts at St. Laurent and Le Boutilliere, within five
miles of Port-au-Prince, without the smallest molestation
from the English.

"Affairs becoming desperate," says Rainsford in
his history of Hayti, " with misfortune and experience,
the Government determined on sending General Simcoe

Wms

St. Domingo and the Portuguese Mission.

291

to endeavour to recover the British character ; and if
experience and skill were all that were wanting, little
doubt could have been entertained of success. He
arrived at St. Nicholas Mole in the beginning of March,
1797, and immediately proceeded through the British
possessions to discover the evil, before the application
of the remedies with which he was so well acquainted.
But alas ! no ordinary remedies were applicable to
the desperate circumstances which he had to encounter ;
for, instructed in the science of government and
the relation of empires, by the inconsistency of one
power and improved in the art of war by the impolicy
of the other, the blacks had arrived at a degree of per-
fection in both, that, notwithstanding the inveteracy of
prejudice, compelled itself to be accredited by its effects.
An acknowledgment of this fact incontestably took
place the same month, in which the command of the
British army was confided to the wisdom and activity
of General Simcoe, by the appointment of Toussaint
L'Overture, the celebrated negro officer, by the French
Government to be General-in-Chief of the armies in
St. Domingo. General Simcoe commenced several
economical arrangements, which, even if his cause was
hopeless, could not fail to render it admirable service.
He compelled a surrender of all private leases obtained
of the vacated property of French absentees, to the
public use ; he reformed the Colonial Corps, placing on

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292

T'i^^ Life and Times of General Simcoe.

a temporary half-pay the officers necessarily withdrawn,
and rendering more eligible those who were the fittest
for service. . . . Toussaint adopted every mode
to harass him, and turn the war in his own favour, by
every stratagem that could be devised. He menaced
the important frontier post of Mireballais, which had
been erected with stone at considerable expense ; the
commandant immediately evacuated it, and retired to
Port-au- Prince, leaving the rich plain of the Cul de Sac
ope., to the enemy, thereby impeding the communica-
tion of the English with Banica and Spanish St. Dom-
ingo. With somewhat of spirit, and better success, the
batteries which had insulted the capital were carried ;
they required, however, a body of two thousand blacks,
besides a reserve of British troops and some artillery,
and cost the life of a brave officer of colour, as he was
leading the charge at St. Laurent, Major Pouchet.

" While these operations employed the vicinity of
the capital, Rigaud was active in his quarter. With
one thousand two hundred men he attacked the post at
Irois, and gave the first notice of his approach by his
fire on the fort. The fort was composed of a battalion
of black troops under Colonel De Grasse, a company
of British under Lieutenant Talbot and twenty black
artillery under M. de Brueil.

'• Fortunately the artillery of Rigaud was inter-
rupted by Captain Rickets, of the Magicienne frigate,

'■MM

Sf. Domingo and the Portuguese Mission.

293

which caused him to retire precipitately. To increase
the eclat of the repulse, another immediately followed,
of Toussaint, from the Town of St. Marc ; it was a
repulse, nevertheless, dearly bought.

" Wearied with the kind of warfare in which he
was thus unavailingly engaged. General Simcoe re-
turned to England in August (1797) to procure a force
sufficient to pursue a career of glory, or to abandon
a scene furnishing at best but negative honours.

" The ministry of Great Britain were employed in
the complicated affairs of Europe too much to give
more attention to St. Domingo, and General Whyte
supplied the place of General Simcoe with no addi-
tional means of success."

Rainsford, in his account of the proceedings in
St. Domingo adds this note referring to Major-General
Sim^-oo : " The writer cannot omit in this place paying
his tribute of respect to this excellent and gallant
officer. If all the abilities of the General, the suavity
&^ the gentleman, and the vigorous powers of a manly
understanding may be ex^>^v,ied to unite in one person,
it is in Lieutenant- General Simcoe. When command-
ing the Queen's Rangers, in the American War, he
distinguished himself on every occasion, and in a
variety of important battles crowned himself and his
corps with ;he h'^^hest military glory."

In exec ting his mission to St. Domingo, Gover-

294

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

' 11

<* •"

nor Simcoe was as successful as the condition of the
Island and its affairs would admit. In October, 1798,
not long after his return to England, he was made a
Lieutenant-General in the British Army.

During the time that Simcoe was in St. Domingo,
serving the English as their General, and commander
of their forces, at the same time assisting the French
to maintain their authority in the island. Napoleon
Bonaparte was rising into distinction and power in
France. He was then only twenty-seven years of age,
but was second in command of her army as an officer
of artillery. Before the year ( 1 796) was over Napoleon
had become Commander-in-Chief of the army of
France. He had no sooner attained supreme authority
in the army than he undertook the subjugation of
Italy, which he succeeding in effecting. The Siege
of Mantua was undertaken, the bridge of Lodi was
passed, and Italy became subject to the rule of the
French. Mr. Pitt was still in power in England, and
was being severely criticised for carrying on a war
with France, a country which was in a state of revolu-
tion within itself. Mr. Fox denounced the war as a
folly and an injustice to the tax-payers of England,
who were called upon to pay the expense. Still Eng-
land was so enraged at the successes of Napoleon on
the Continent that she determined the war must con-
tinue. Soon England's wooden walls are shaken by a

of the

, 1798,
made a

)mingo,
mander
French
apoleon
3wer in
; of age,
n officer
apoleon
irmy of
uthority
ition of
|e Siege
di was
of the
tnd, and
a war
revolu-
^ar as a
[ngland,
ill Eng-
lleon on
1st con-
len by a

mutiny in the fleet. The mutiny is suppressed and
by-and-by Admiral Jervis, seconded by Nelson and
Collingwood, gain a signal naval victory over the
Spanish at Cape St. Vincent. This victory delivered
England from all fear of invasion and inspired her
people with fresh courage.

Although England was victorious on the water,
France was pushing her successes on the Continent.
In twenty days after the opening of the campaign of
1797 Bonaparte had driven the Archduke Charles of
Austria over the Alps. Next he attacks and defeats
the Venetians, and at the close of the year is covered
with glory and conquest.

It is a singular circumstance, and only goes to
prove the magnanimity of England, that while she was
at war with France she was at the same time endeav-
ouring to assist the French in quelling a rebellion in
one of her colonies. But then it must be taken into
account that England, in giving aid to the French in
St. Domingo, was seconding the efforts of the ruling
powers of St. Domingo who were as much opposed to
Napoleon and Republicanism as was England herself

In the spring of 1798 Napoleon invades Egypt,
attacks and defeats the Mamelukes. Now comes the
Battle of the Nile and the great naval victory of
Admiral Lord Nelson. This was a sad blow and
great discouragement to the great Napoleon. Still he

296

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

was enabled to cross the desert, and with an army of
sixteen thousand men invade Syria, make an attack on
and suffer a defeat at the hands of Sir Sydney Smith.
In 1799 Napoleon is First Consul of France,
exercising despotic sway. On the 24th December a
.lew Constitution is proclaimed, a new revolution had
been effected, and France was in the hands of a mili-
tary chieftain. The First Consul thought it the interest
of France to offer peace to Great Britain, who was
much too troublesome in meeting the designs and
ambitions of the great General. Mr. Pitt, however,
would not make peace with a revolutionary power. In
1800 Bonaparte made his celebrated passage over the
Alps and gained a signal victory at Marengo. In
March, 1802, the Peace of Amiens was signed, which
gave to France a great accession of territory, the pos-
session of Belgium, and the whole left bank of the
Rhine. The years 1803-1804 were comparatively un-
eventful, but early in 1805 the three great European
Powers, England, Austria and Russia, entered into a
coalition with the purpose of curbing the power of
Napoleon. The French Emperor — for by this time
Napoleon had become Emperor of France — had
thought of invading England ; he was, however,
thwarted in this enterprise. He then turned his atten-
tion to Austria ; but before his armies could meet in
Germany, Nelson had gained the great naval victory

of Trafalgar, by which the naval power of France and
Spain was so crippled that England remained during
the continuance of the war mistress of the ocean.

On the ist of December, 1805, the battle of
Austerlitz was fought. This great battle, in which
Napoleon was completely successful, added greatly
to his glory and renown. Austria, humbled by the
Emperor, entered into negotiations for peace, which
were concluded by treaty at Presburg, on the 27th
December, 1805. Alas! the success of Napoleon at
Austerlitz so affected the spirits of the great statesman
Pitt that he sank under the disastrous intelligence ; he
died on the 23rd January, 1806, at the age of forty-
seven. His great rival. Fox, only survived him a few
months ; he died on the 1 3th September following.

The intention of the French, that is, of Napoleon
Bonaparte, to invade Portugal had for some time been
manifest in various ways during the summer of 1806,
and it appeared to the English Government that the
situation of that country was becoming critical. It was
felt that if France should succeed in establishing a
peace with the northern powers she would probably
attack the only reniaining ally of England upon the
Continent, and might even succeed in making herself
mistress of the Portuguese dominions.

Portugal, from its long alliance with England, was
regarded almost as a part of the English dominions.

p.*

298

T/te Life and Times of General Simcoe.

both in a commercial and political point of view.
Considerable as were the benefits England derived
from its trade, and great as was the preponderance of
England in its councils, the British people certainly
formed an exaggerated estimate of both. Seizing up-
on Portugal was like a direct defeat of England,

Bonaparte was smarting under the recent defeat at
Trafalgar, and had found not the least facility in his plans
of invasion, so that anything like a territorial advantage
over England would be a gratification, if it did not
amount to a compensation.

The possession of the Tagus was intimately con-
nected with our other great naval victory at St.
Vincent ; but, though the importance of that event in
rescuing England from the most complicated and most
inextricable embarrassments must have been well known
to him, he cared little p.bout anything that had happened
before in his own reign, so entirely did personal vanity
form a part of his character, more entirely than of any
other person of great renown. To be able to boast
that he had driven the English into the sea, captured
their only stronghold on the Continent, and dethroned
those who held it by and for them was his main object,
and probably nearer his heart than any substantial
injury done to England or any real advantage gained
to himself.

The courts, too, both at Lisbon and Madrid, were

feeble beyond all description ; their Governments, both
civil and ecclesiastical, as bad as possible ; the Queen
of Portugal and the Prince of Peace {her favourite
minister Godoy) more likely to assist the French in
destroying Portugal than to oppose any obstacle to its
destruction. Since the Peace of Presburg, Bonaparte
had nothing to occupy his attention, nor had anything
occurred to postpone the object — subduing the ally of
England and winning Gibraltar, the last stake Eng-
land had to lose on the Continent of Europe.

Early in August, 1806, the English Government
had received intelligence of the intention of France to
invade Portugal with an army of thirty thousand men,
then assembled at Bayonne. From perfectly reliable
information it was believed that the object and intention
of Bonaparte was to dethrone the Royal Family and to
partition Portgual, allotting one part to Spain and
the other to the Prince of Peace or to the Queen of
Etruria.

The ministers, therefore, resolved to send an army
to the Tagus, to be there met by a competent naval
force, the whole to be entrusted to the command of
Lord St. Vincent and Lieutenant-General Simcoe, with
full powers, conjointly with Lord Rosslyn, to negotiate
with the Court of Lisbon,

Mr. Brougham received from the Foreign Office
the following letter : —

ijoj^ls'i.

ffmyXPtf ' ■ '41

300

The Life and Times of General Simcoe.

" Downing Street,

" August 1 2th, 1806.

" Sir, — I am directed by Mr. Secretary Fox to
irform you that His Majesty having been pleased to
appoint the Earl of Rosslyn, the Earl of St. Vincent,
and Lieutenant-General Simcoe to proceed on a special
mission to the Court of Lisbon, you have been selected
to accompany them as Secretary to the said mission.
You will thereupon join the Earl of Rosslyn and
General Simcoe, who are proceeding without delay to
the place of their destination, where the Earl of St.
Vincent will be already arrived, and place yourself
under their directions ; and you will exert yourself to
the best of your ability in the execution of such matters
as may be entrusted to you.

" Benj. Tucker."

Mr. Brougham was further informed that to avoid
multiplying places unnecessarily he was named Secre-
tary, but in all other respects he was to act as a fourth
Commissioner.

Mr. Brougham, than whom no one could speak
with more knowledge of the circumstances and of the
men with whom he was associated as Secretary and
fourth Commissioner, has, in his Memoirs, borne testi-
mony to the fitness of his fellow Commissioner. He

Sf. Domingo and the Portuguese Mission.

301

says : — " The three Commissioners were as well selected
as possible for this delicate and difficult service. The
Admiral's name renowned all over the world, was
particularly an object of veneration in these countries
which had witnessed his great exploits. Of the
Generals, Lord Rosslyn had served in the country and
was distinguished by his great knowledge and talent
for business ; and the third one, General Simcoe, son
of that great captain of the navy who had been sent to
Lisbon at the time of the great earthquake with the
liberal grant of money, given to relieve the distress
which it had occasioned."

Major-General Simcoe was taken ill on the voyage
undertaken to execute the mission to Portugal, and his
malady increased so rapidly that he was under the
necessity of speedily returning to England where he
died shortly after his arrival. In the Upper- Canada
Gazette or American Chronicle, under date of February
7th, 1807, was published the following notice as a
communication from London : —

"London, November 6th, 1806.

"General Simcoe, we regret to state, died on Tues-
day last, at Topham, in Devonshire. He arrived at
Torbay a few days before, and was conveyed from
thence by water to Topham."

fe-ii

K-

11) ,

302

T/ie Life and Times of General Simcoe.

It now only remains to say that it is hoped that a
suitable monument may be erected to the memory of
Upper Canada's first Governor, in some public place
in the Province, a fitting tribute to the memory of a
truly great man and worthy Governor. The date of
his death and some of his many virtues are recorded
on a monument erected to his memory in Exeter
Cathedral.

The legend upon this monument is in the fol-
lowing words : —

Sacred to the Memory

JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE,

Lieutenant-General in the Army, and Colonel of the
22ND Regiment of Foot,

Who died on the 2jth day of October, 1806,
AGED 54 YEARS,

IN WHOSE life and CHARACTER THE VIRTUES OF THE HERO,
THE PATRIOT, AND THE CHRISTIAN WERE SO EMINENTLY CON-
SPICUOUS, THAT IT MAY BE JUSTLY SAID, HE SERVED HIS KING
AND HIS COUNTRY WITH A ZEAL EXCEEDED ONLY BY HIS PIETY

TOWARD GOD,

Above this inscription is a medallion portrait. On
the right and left are figures of an Indian and a soldier
of the Queen's Rangers.

APPENDIX.

Act of 1792 Founded on Imperial Constitutional

Act of 1 79 1.

N Act to repeal certain parts of an Act passed in the
fourteenth year of His Majesty's reign, intituled
"An Act for making more effectual provision for
the Government of the Province of Quebec, in
North America," and to introduce the English law as the rule
of decision in all matters of controversy relative to property and
civil rights.

[Passed 15th October, 1792.]
Whereas, by an Act passed in the fourteenth year of His
present Majesty, intituled " An Act for making more effectual
provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, in
North America," it was among other things provided, that in
all matters of controversy relative to property and civil rights,
resort should be had to the laws of Canada as the rule for the
decision of the same, such provision being manifestly and
avowedly intended for the accommodation of His Majesty's
Canadian subjects ;

And whereas, since the passing c<" the Act aforesaid, that
part of the late Province of Quebec . ^' comprehended within
the Province of Upper Canada, having become inhabited prin-
cipally by British subjects, born and educated where the English
laws were established, and who are unaccustomed to the laws
of Canada, it is inexpedient that the provision aforesaid, con-
tained in the said Act of the fourteenth year of His present

^^^
Wi*

'■•{

304

Appendix.

Majesty, should be continued in this Province. Be it enacted
by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Legislative Council ai : embly of the

Province of Upper Canada, constituted and assembled by
virtue of, and under the authority of, an Act passed in the
Parliament of Great Britain, intituled " An Act to repeal
certain parts of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of His
Majesty's reign, intituled ' An Act for making more effectual
provision for the Government of the Province of Quebec, in
North America,' and to make further provision for the govern-
ment of the said Province," and it is hereby enacted, that from
and after the passing of this Act, the said provision contained
in the said Act of the fourteenth year of His present Majesty,
be and the same is hereby repealed ; and the authority of the
said laws of Canada, and every part there- s forming a rule
of decision in all matters of controversy ve to property

and civil rights shall be annulled, made void and abolished
throughout this Province, and that the said laws, nor any part
thereof as sucli shall be of any force or authority within the
said Province, nor binding on any of the inhabitants thereof.

n. Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that nothing in this Act shall extend to extinguish,
release or discharge, or otherwise to affect any existing right,
lawful claim or incumbrance to and upon any lands, tenements
or hereditaments within the said Province, or to rescind or
vacate, or otherwise to affect any contract or security already
made and executed conformably to the usages prescribed by the
said laws of Canada.

HI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
that from and after the passing of this Act in all matters of
controversy and civil rights resort shall be had to the laws of
England as the rule for the decision of the same.

ib^'

Appendix.

305

IV. Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that nothing in this Act shall extend, or be construed
to extend, to repeal or vary any of the ordinances made and
passed by the Governor and Legislative Council of the Province
of Quebec previous to the division of the same into the Provinces
of Upper and Lower Canada, otherwise than as they are neces-
sarily varied by the provisions hereinafter mentioned.

V. And be it further enacted by the authority aftresaid,
that all matters relative to testimony and legal proof in the
investigation of fact, and the forms thereof in the several Courts
of Law and Equity within this Province, be regulated by the
rules of evidence established in England.

VL Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that nothing wi this Act contained shall vary or inter-
fere, or be construed to vary or interfere with any of the existing
provisions respecting ecclesiastical rights or dues within this
Province or with the forms of proceeding in civil actions, or the
jurisdiction of the Courts already established, or to introduce
any of the laws of England respecting the maintenance of the
poor, or respecting bankrupts.