Eayrs Hugh Sterling
Sir Isaac Brock
Brock recognized the veiled threat in the words “effective opposition” and was convinced that Jefferson and that section of the United States for which he stood wanted war. Hence his quick return to Canada. He knew that Jefferson’s first act in the event of war would be to try and get control of the lakes and rivers and to capture the fortified posts. Brock realized better than any man how weak was the resistance that could be offered unless the defences of the Canadas were immediately strengthened. As soon as he had taken up his new command he set about preparing the defence Canada was to offer. In this he was hampered rather than helped by the civil authorities. The governor-general of the Canadas at this time, Sir Robert Prescott, does not seem to have taken his position very seriously, and Thomas Dunn, president of the Executive Council, the man with whom Brock had directly to deal, appears to have been of one mind with Prescott.
Early in 1807, Brock was greatly heartened by proposals from Colonel John Macdonell, who was lieutenant of the county of Glengarry and had been for four years commanding officer of the Glengarry Militia Regiment, for forming a company of Highland Fencibles. Brock forwarded the scheme to the war office in London and backed it up. It would be, he said, “essentially useful in checking any seditious disposition which the wavering sentiments of a large population in the Montreal district might at any time manifest.” This is an indication that Brock was by no means sure which way the habitant would go in case of war.
Brock thought he had ground for his suspicions, and he decided to get to know the folk of Lower Canada better. When Sir James Craig arrived in Quebec, Brock’s tenure of the office of commander-in-chief ended. Sir James became that and governor-general in one, but he appointed Brock as acting brigadier-general. This was confirmed in London. Brock was sent to Montreal in command of the troops there and quartered in the old Chateau de Ramesay at Montreal, then a rich centre and the only city of pleasure and gaiety in Canada.
In Montreal he managed to see a good deal of the fur lords and great business men of the place. He entered into their social life, and the French-Canadian then, as now, knew how to be hospitable. This gave the brigadier a chance to judge somewhat as to where French-Canada stood, and he had even better facilities when, in September, 1808, he was superseded in the Montreal command by General Drummond and was moved back to Quebec. Here he had many friends and he entertained and was entertained. All sorts of regattas and land sports were held by the officers of the garrison and, here, as in Montreal, he found a good deal of pleasure in social affairs. He writes of “a vast assemblage of all descriptions” – an occasion when he entertained Lieutenant-Governor Gore, of Upper Canada, and his wife at a dinner and ball. During these days he unquestionably became reassured as to the loyalty of the people of Lower Canada.He had perhaps been unduly suspicious. The people of Lower Canada, of course, were almost entirely of French descent. They spoke French, and Brock feared that in a Franco-America alliance, French Canada would remember its descent and support Napoleon. There were signs of leaning France-wards. The French Canadians publicly rejoiced when news of a fresh victory for Napoleon reached them, and Brock at first certainly deemed them disloyal. He so expressed himself in his letters again and again. He could not understand why they should be, for they were much freer and happier under British rule than they had been when Bigot and others, during the French regime, had governed them. Yet even in the early days, Brock was in two minds about them for he wrote: “It may appear surprising that men petted as they have been and indulged in everything they could desire should wish for a change, but so it is, and I am inclined to think that were Englishmen placed in the same situation they would show even more impatience to escape from French rule.”But, on the whole, Brock need not have feared. The French Canadians did not want another rule. Their priests and men in high authority were loyal to Britain, and they represented the mass of opinion more than the Napoleonic or American agent who was to be found here and there in Lower Canada.In these days, Brock was not particularly happy. He was worried by the possibility of war, and taking it on the whole he was not in love with Canada. Perhaps he was homesick. He heard of former comrades winning their spurs on the battlefields of Europe, and he compared their lot to his in a “remote, inactive corner” as he dubbed Canada in a letter to England. And we know that he had enlisted his brother Savery’s efforts to have him transferred. It was natural. He was a man of action and had as keen a desire as any soldier for risk and fame.Brock’s first measure in strengthening the defences of Canada was to make Quebec attack-proof. Sir Guy Carleton, in 1775-1776, had defended Quebec against American forces under General Montgomery. There might soon be another attack, and Brock wanted to have Quebec in such shape that it could repel invasion. He appealed to the council for a thousand men and sufficient carts for six months to strengthen the walls. But the civil government of Lower Canada thought his move was a political one and gave little or no aid. They told him he must do the work himself, and he did. In a letter to the president of the council he scouts the suspicions of the civil government and states that his “sole object was to state the assistance required by the military to remedy a glaring defect in the fortifications of Quebec, should his Honor conceive that preparatory measures were necessary to be adopted in consequence … of the … aggressive proceedings in the proclamation of the American Government.”He went ahead and erected a battery mounting eight thirty-six pounders in the centre of the citadel at Quebec, commanding the heights opposite. This was first christened “Brock’s Battery,” but when the newly-arrived governor-general, Sir James Craig, saw it, he thought, says Brock, “that anything so pre-eminent should be distinguished by the most exalted name.” It was therefore called “The King’s Battery,” and, wrote Brock, “this is the greatest compliment that he could pay to my judgment.”Altogether, at great expense, the fortifications of Quebec were greatly improved. Proper drill grounds were made and a good hospital created. Quartermasters at Amherstburg and Kingston were appointed to take charge of new fleets of schooners and military batteaux which he had constructed.He was not a moment too soon with his work. The international situation was rapidly complicating. Mention has been made of Britain’s stopping and searching American vessels for British deserters. This continued and became more general, and there does not seem to be room for doubt that, in some cases, British commanders were very autocratic. They gave the United States legitimate cause for complaint by sometimes carrying off seamen whom they pretended were British, but who were really American citizens. The case of the Chesapeake brought matters to a head. It was suspected by Admiral Berkeley, stationed at Halifax, that some sailors, whose offence was particularly flagrant, had deserted from the British sloop Halifax and had found refuge on the Chesapeake. The Admiral ordered Captain Humphreys of the frigate Leopard to insist on the return of these deserters. Commodore Barron commanding the Chesapeake refused point blank to surrender the men in question, and Humphreys fired on the United States frigate, which did not return the fire. She was seized, and the deserters secured by the British commander. Naturally the United States threatened war. This was answered by an honorable apology from Britain, however, and the war cloud passed for the moment. But Brock thought it could not long be delayed. The heart of the trouble was still there, and sooner or later the irritation which each nation felt at the other was bound to find outlet in actual conflict. Hence Brock’s rush to make preparations for adequate defence.
He had perhaps been unduly suspicious. The people of Lower Canada, of course, were almost entirely of French descent. They spoke French, and Brock feared that in a Franco-America alliance, French Canada would remember its descent and support Napoleon. There were signs of leaning France-wards. The French Canadians publicly rejoiced when news of a fresh victory for Napoleon reached them, and Brock at first certainly deemed them disloyal. He so expressed himself in his letters again and again. He could not understand why they should be, for they were much freer and happier under British rule than they had been when Bigot and others, during the French regime, had governed them. Yet even in the early days, Brock was in two minds about them for he wrote: “It may appear surprising that men petted as they have been and indulged in everything they could desire should wish for a change, but so it is, and I am inclined to think that were Englishmen placed in the same situation they would show even more impatience to escape from French rule.”
But, on the whole, Brock need not have feared. The French Canadians did not want another rule. Their priests and men in high authority were loyal to Britain, and they represented the mass of opinion more than the Napoleonic or American agent who was to be found here and there in Lower Canada.
In these days, Brock was not particularly happy. He was worried by the possibility of war, and taking it on the whole he was not in love with Canada. Perhaps he was homesick. He heard of former comrades winning their spurs on the battlefields of Europe, and he compared their lot to his in a “remote, inactive corner” as he dubbed Canada in a letter to England. And we know that he had enlisted his brother Savery’s efforts to have him transferred. It was natural. He was a man of action and had as keen a desire as any soldier for risk and fame.
Brock’s first measure in strengthening the defences of Canada was to make Quebec attack-proof. Sir Guy Carleton, in 1775-1776, had defended Quebec against American forces under General Montgomery. There might soon be another attack, and Brock wanted to have Quebec in such shape that it could repel invasion. He appealed to the council for a thousand men and sufficient carts for six months to strengthen the walls. But the civil government of Lower Canada thought his move was a political one and gave little or no aid. They told him he must do the work himself, and he did. In a letter to the president of the council he scouts the suspicions of the civil government and states that his “sole object was to state the assistance required by the military to remedy a glaring defect in the fortifications of Quebec, should his Honor conceive that preparatory measures were necessary to be adopted in consequence … of the … aggressive proceedings in the proclamation of the American Government.”
He went ahead and erected a battery mounting eight thirty-six pounders in the centre of the citadel at Quebec, commanding the heights opposite. This was first christened “Brock’s Battery,” but when the newly-arrived governor-general, Sir James Craig, saw it, he thought, says Brock, “that anything so pre-eminent should be distinguished by the most exalted name.” It was therefore called “The King’s Battery,” and, wrote Brock, “this is the greatest compliment that he could pay to my judgment.”
Altogether, at great expense, the fortifications of Quebec were greatly improved. Proper drill grounds were made and a good hospital created. Quartermasters at Amherstburg and Kingston were appointed to take charge of new fleets of schooners and military batteaux which he had constructed.
He was not a moment too soon with his work. The international situation was rapidly complicating. Mention has been made of Britain’s stopping and searching American vessels for British deserters. This continued and became more general, and there does not seem to be room for doubt that, in some cases, British commanders were very autocratic. They gave the United States legitimate cause for complaint by sometimes carrying off seamen whom they pretended were British, but who were really American citizens. The case of the Chesapeake brought matters to a head. It was suspected by Admiral Berkeley, stationed at Halifax, that some sailors, whose offence was particularly flagrant, had deserted from the British sloop Halifax and had found refuge on the Chesapeake. The Admiral ordered Captain Humphreys of the frigate Leopard to insist on the return of these deserters. Commodore Barron commanding the Chesapeake refused point blank to surrender the men in question, and Humphreys fired on the United States frigate, which did not return the fire. She was seized, and the deserters secured by the British commander. Naturally the United States threatened war. This was answered by an honorable apology from Britain, however, and the war cloud passed for the moment. But Brock thought it could not long be delayed. The heart of the trouble was still there, and sooner or later the irritation which each nation felt at the other was bound to find outlet in actual conflict. Hence Brock’s rush to make preparations for adequate defence.
CHAPTER V
Moved to Upper Canada
In 1809 Brock learned that Brigadier-General Baron de Rottenberg was coming to Canada. He knew that as the Baron was his senior in the service he would probably be the appointee of Sir James Craig to the commanding position. About this time he wrote to his sister-in-law, Mrs. W. Brock: “The spirit of insubordination lately manifested by the French Canadian population of this colony naturally called for precautionary measures, and our worthy chief (Sir James) is induced, in consequence, to retain in this country those on whom he can best confide. I am highly flattered in being reckoned among the number, whatever inward disappointment I may feel. Some unpleasant events have likewise happened in the upper country which have occasioned my receiving intimation to proceed thither, whether as a permanent station, or merely as a temporary visit, Sir James Craig has not determined.” Evidently Brock still had at the back of his mind an idea that the French in Lower Canada would welcome again the suzerainty of France.
In July Sir James, when Rottenberg came, sent Brock to Upper Canada and, in September, with his goods and chattels, chiefly consisting of books which, we have seen, he learned to love as a boy, he moved to Fort George, Niagara. He had not been there a month before he again felt restless and anxious to get back to some post where he might see service, for he expressed a desire to serve with the British forces who were then in Spain and Portugal. The adjutant-general, Colonel Baynes, however, replied that Sir James Craig informed him that he did not think the state of the public service would warrant his relieving Brock from duty in Upper Canada.
Brock busied himself with the duties attendant on his position and seems to have spent a good deal of time, as he had done in Quebec, in trying to gain the confidence of the people. He early saw that the upper province was by no means restful and his suspicions of a few years ago that the American immigrants were unsettling the province were thus confirmed.
In June, 1811, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. Sir James Craig, with the excuse of ill-health, resigned the position of governor-general and left for England. Sir James was ill, but he had incensed Lower Canada so much that his departure at this time was the best service he could render the country. Before he went he begged Brock to remain in Canada. “Your presence is needed here,” he said. And a little later, as an earnest of what the governor-general thought of him, Brock received a letter from Colonel Baynes in which he said: “He (Sir James) requests that you will do him the favor to accept as a legacy and mark of his very sincere regard his favorite horse Alfred, and he is induced to send him to you, not only from wishing to secure for his old favorite a kind and careful master, but from the conviction that the whole continent of America could not furnish you with so safe and excellent an horse?”
Three months later Sir George Prevost, who was the new governor-general of and commander of the forces in Canada, appointed Brock president and administrator of the government of Upper Canada, in place of the lieutenant-governor who had obtained leave to visit England. Upper Canada needed him, and Sir George Prevost made a wise move in this appointment. Bad feeling between Britain generally and the United States had developed in connection with the Canadas.
Before Craig left for England, amongst the matters he had discussed with Brock was that of possible trouble between the Indians in Canada and United States border citizens. Sir James Craig’s policy is outlined in a letter to Brock: “Upon every principle of policy our interests should lead us to use all our endeavors to prevent a rupture between the Indians and the subjects of the United States.” Brock appreciated the wisdom of this and followed it out. He instructed those under him, who had charge of territory inhabited by these Indians, to keep a tight rein on their maraudings and pillagings and did all he could to discourage border crime. But, doubtless to his amazement, in the summer of 1811, the government of the United States accused British officers in Canada of actually aiding and abetting the Indians in their lawlessness. Brock, naturally, had a hard enough row to hoe, for though he must deprecate the cruelty of the Indians, he was anxious to preserve friendliness with them, since, should war come, he desired them as allies, or at any rate, did not want them as enemies. His position was difficult.
This was but one of the perplexities which the new administrator of Upper Canada had to face. Just about this time, domestic trouble caused him great anxiety. He had two brothers in London, William and Irving. They were partners in a private bank. Serious financial troubles had been caused by the wars in Europe, and in New York failures had been many. Brock, in a letter to his brother Irving, reporting these, prophesied a financial crash in London. He hoped they had “withheld their confidence in public stock.” Unfortunately, they had not, and owing to the depredations of Napoleon’s privateers upon the boats belonging to his banker-brothers, the latter had had to close their house. When the books were examined there was an item of £3,000, which appeared as a debt owed to the bank by Isaac Brock. This was really a personal loan by William Brock to Isaac, but as the transaction appeared in the books, Brock deemed himself liable. That was a small matter, however, compared to the trouble which the bank’s affairs had made between William and Irving. Irving blamed his brother William for the smash.
Brock wrote from Canada to Irving imploring his kindliness to William. “Hang the world! It is not worth a thought,” he wrote. “Be generous, and find silent comfort in being so.” Brock knew how his brother William, who had been so kind to him, was suffering. “Why refuse him consolation”? his letter to Irving read. “Could tears restore him he would soon be happy… My thoughts are fixed on you all and the last thing that gives me any concern is the call which Savery prepared me to expect from the creditors.”
Great hearted Brock! It meant much to him just now to find £3,000, but the suffering of William and the breach between the brothers meant far more.
He felt that, with an effort he could wipe out his own debt. To Irving he offered his salary as acting lieutenant-governor, which was about $5,000 a year. He might, had he been any but the just and honorable man he was, have paid his debt by money made unfairly out of his office; but, unlike many public men in Canada before and since, he refused to be a profiteer. Speaking of his opportunities for finding the money, he wrote to Irving Brock: “Be satisfied that even your stern honesty shall have no just cause to censure one of my actions.”
Brock was a great soldier, but he was also a great public servant, and greater in nothing than his rugged and immaculate honesty. Canada to-day would be better for more Isaac Brocks!
We are coming to an important time alike for Brock and Canada and some description of his appearance will be interesting. A lionlike head crowned a splendidly tall body. It was said that he did not find it easy to get a hat in Canada to fit him. He was fair-headed and of a ruddy complexion. The gray-blue eyes, added to his fairness, made him more Anglo-Saxon than Norman in type. He was bluffly handsome, and his genial smile was the index to a pervading and unceasing kindliness. He was indeed a gentle man, and so a gentleman. Somebody might aptly have said of him, in Martin Tupper’s words: “Yet is that giant very gentleness.”
We have touched, before this, on the abundant largeness of his heart. He had nothing petty about him. He was glad to praise others when they deserved it, and he was too big a man to steal the credit that belonged to subordinates. He was a man of example as well as of precept, and he knew the greater worth of the example. He was essentially humane and therefore human. And he had the saving grace of a sense of humor.
He was a man of real lovingkindness – with all that that grand old word means – towards his fellows. Once a certain Hogan deserted from the 49th. Describing this he said: “A fair damsel persuaded him to this act of madness, for the poor fellow cannot possibly gain his bread by labor, as he has half killed himself by excessive drinking, and we know he cannot live upon love alone.” Brock was not angry; he was compassionate. He was always sensible of difficulties and never underestimated them. But he never appraised them too highly. FitzGibbon, afterwards the hero of Beaver Dam, tells an experience which shows this. At the time FitzGibbon was a sergeant-major. Brock ordered him to do something which was admittedly difficult. FitzGibbon said he was sorry, but it was impossible. “By the Lord Harry,” cried Brock, “don’t tell me it is impossible. Nothing should be impossible to a soldier. The word 'impossible’ should not be in a soldier’s dictionary.” FitzGibbon never forgot that and often quoted it to the men under him, when they were downhearted and inclined to deem things impossible of attainment.
Brock’s outstanding characteristic was his white humanity. His men loved him because, though far removed from them in position and station, he was one with them and one for them.
His headquarters were now at York. He was sure and surer of war with the United States, and even in December of 1811, he told Sir George Prevost that, in case of war, he thought Canada should seize Mackinaw and Detroit immediately. This, he submitted, would impress the Indians, and also hold up an invading army. Acting on his advice, Sir George Prevost ordered two armed schooners, the Prince Regent and the Lady Prevost to be equipped, one for each of the two lakes, Ontario and Erie.
Early next year, Brock declined a command in Spain which the home government offered him, requesting to stay in Canada. He had a great deal on hand. He had a frontier of 1,300 miles to defend, and that needed many men and much material. He was greatly concerned about securing these.
In his first address to the House of Assembly at York in February, 1812, Brock gave striking evidence that he was thoroughly master of the political situation in Upper Canada. He had in his ears the shrill bombast of the political leaders in the United States and knew just how to estimate it. A president had recently declared that the capture of Canada was a “mere matter of marching.” A Massachusetts officer offered to “capture Canada by contract, raise a company, and take it in six weeks.” Henry Clay “verily believed that the militia of Kentucky alone were competent to place Canada at the feet of Americans.” Said Brock: “We wish and hope for peace, but it is nevertheless our duty to be prepared for war.”
He received the support of the Assembly, and, that spring, was more soldier than governor. He got to know the Six Nations Indians on the Grand River. He raised companies of militia. He set about the additional defence of the Niagara frontier and saw that through. He had only 1,450 British regulars, – and just how far it was safe to arm Canada’s dozen thousand men who were said to be ready to bear arms, he did not know.
Meanwhile war was almost upon him. May saw large detachments of United States soldiers sent to Detroit and Niagara. At the latter border they were drilling busily, and this and kindred signs of war seems to have got on Brock’s nerves. Since war was to come, he was impatient at delay. He wanted to take the two posts he had mentioned in the first sharp attack, and thus hearten his people. He knew the value to be placed upon morale. On June 18th, 1812, war against Great Britain was declared by President Madison, with the consent of the Congress of the United States of America. The president placed an embargo on shipping. He raised a public subscription fund and issued a call for a hundred thousand volunteers.