On June 18, 1812 the United States declared war on Great Britain. The following month, Major General Isaac Brock would tell the Legislature of Upper Canada (now Ontario) that "we are engaged in an awful and eventful contest." The ensuing war lasted for three years, and dramatically affected the lives of people living on both sides of the border.
The United States had almost ten times the population of Canada in 1812, and had a larger regular army in place with access to nearly 500,000 militia compared to the estimated 11,000 militia that could be mustered in Upper Canada. Many settlers in Upper Canada were relatively new migrants out of the United States, and did not have a strong loyalty to Great Britain, and out of the 11,000 only about 4,000 could be counted on. The Six Nations and other First Nations in the Grand River area did have a history of alliance and loyalty with Britain stemming from the American revolutionary war, but Major General Brock still met with them in order to verify support during this conflict.
The Six Nations in our area were still reeling from a devastating blow and an act of betrayal, by Britain, following the American Revolution. The British had not supported Tecumseh’s rallying of the western First Nations other than with some supplies and minor military advisors scattered amongst his warriors.
Photo at right: Canadian War of 1812 survivors. Photo courtesy of Zig Misiak.
The Six Nations maintained regular communication with their cousins the Seneca, Oneida and Tuscarora on the other side of the Niagara River, much to the dismay of both the British and Americans. The Mohawks in Tyendinaga, Akwesasne and Kanesatake still came to the call of councils holding on to their traditional form of governance via the Great Law. The distance between them made it more difficult but did not extinguish the fire of the Grand Council.
As far as the Six Nations were concerned the borders were created by the British and Americans therefore they felt very entitled to cross the “other nations” borders without consequence. In any case the British and United States, through the Jay Treaty, had addressed the free movement of the First Nations People.
The Six Nations often met and were very concerned about the luminous rumours of war and what effect this conflict would have once again. Both the Americans and British had constant meetings with the Six Nations around their respective territory hoping to maintain their alliance. In fact the Americans and British were secretly crossing their borders attempting to entice the other First Nations allies to their side. A complicated web was being woven.
The British, especially, needed the assurance that the First Nations from the west, here in the Grand River Territory north of Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence, were on their side. It was critical in Upper Canada that Sir Isaac Brock, the commander of the British forces, had First Nations support. The militia was another important source of soldiers and had to be created and maintained.
In our area, now known as Brantford, Six Nations, Brant County, and Mississaugas of the New Credit, our ancestors grew a great deal of food and had the mills to process what was grown. This “food basket” was important for the feeding of the regular army. However, it was also important in order to sustain the people that planted and harvested these crops in order to feed their own families.
This dilemma of “what to do and when” faced the Six Nations warriors and their settler neighbours. When to leave in support of the army? How many should go? When to stay home in order to protect their families? How much time needs to be dedicated to farming and how was this “time sharing” to be implemented?
Photo at right: Studio portrait of Six Nations warriors who fought with the British in the War of 1812 [July 1882], Library and Archives Canada/C-085127. Pictured L-R are Young Warner (born ca. 1794), John Tutela (born ca. 1797) and Sakawaraton - John Smoke Johnson (born ca. 1792).
The Six Nations warriors were very skilled fighters. Had the numbers of warriors during the American Revolution been more balanced compared to the American soldiers the outcome would have clearly been different. Unfortunately the number of warriors available during the War of 1812 was still very small in comparison to the American regulars and militia, yet, the fear they extracted from their adversaries prior to and during a confrontation was immense. This “fear factor” was well understood by the First Nations warriors and their British allies and used quite often. One of the earliest and best examples is the warriors’ impact during the 1812 campaign organized by General Brock against Fort Detroit. The fort surrendered without a fight recognizing and fearing the First Nations warriors present event though the American were fortified and greatly outnumbered their attackers.
The militias from our area were also seasoned fighters, not simply an “unreliable” bunch of men as some historians have described. Perhaps they did not know how to march in unison but on the other hand they did not just stand unwillingly in formation allowing them to be mowed down by opposing musket fire and/or cannon shot. Many were veterans of the American Revolution. They were tough individuals - hunters, husky men who from a young age knew the what it was like to work outside from dawn to dusk, hold on to rugged horses as they uprooted tree trunks making way for new fields. They were men of the wilderness and much of what they knew was taught to them by the “masters of the forest” their Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) friends.