3.3.1 The War of 1812: The Fight for Canada

At the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte lost his fleet. From then on Britain controlled the seas. Canada was part of the British Empire, and that empire was resisting Bonaparte's attempt to rule all of Europe. Britain therefore interfered with American shipping, which made Americans resentful. Conquering Canada looked easy to the United States, so in June 1812 it sent an invasion force north. That judgement was wrong.

Britain's soldiers did not defend Canada alone. Canadian volunteers stood with them, and so did First Nations, among them Shawnee warriors under Chief Tecumseh. Detroit fell in July to Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. Brock died later at Queenston Heights, close to Niagara Falls, holding off an attack by the Americans; they lost that battle. In 1813 the Americans were beaten again. At Châteauguay, south of Montreal, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry stopped 4,000 invaders from the United States with only 460 soldiers, most of them French Canadiens.

The Parliament Buildings and Government House in York - the town now called Toronto - were burned by American forces in 1813. Britain struck back a year later. In 1814 an expedition sailed from Nova Scotia under Major-General Robert Ross. His men burned down the White House in Washington, D.C., together with other public buildings there. Ross himself was killed in battle soon afterwards. Halifax is where he was buried, and he was given full military honours.

The American plan to conquer Canada had collapsed by 1814. Britain then paid for a costly defence system in the colony. Halifax and Quebec City each received a Citadel. Halifax also gained a naval drydock, while Kingston gained Fort Henry. All of those places are busy historic sites now. Where the Canada-U.S.A. border sits today comes partly out of the War of 1812. The biggest result of all was this: Canada stayed independent from the United States.