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The story of the American capture and occupation of York in April 1813 is not an edifying one. Quite apart from marking a defeat for British and Canadian arms, it was a stew of inappropriate strategic plans, weak leadership, disloyalty, faction, and bad luck. This is the story told in brimming detail in Robert Malcomson’s worthwhile new book, Capital in Flames: The American Attack on York, 1813.
York did not live up to the dream of its founder, John Graves Simcoe, to become a formidable military and naval post. A lack of investment by the British government and an unsuitably shallow harbour worked against it. Nevertheless, York was the capital of Upper Canada, and by the time war with the United States became certain in 1812 it had a population of about 700. Malcomson sets the stage well, describing the layout, architecture, and life of the town and introducing the personalities who, as actors and memoirists, animate his narrative. This section is wonderfully illustrated with contemporary sketches, surveys, and charts, some of Mrs. Simcoe’s watercolours, and modern aerial photographs of the Toronto lakefront overlaid with the shoreline and other features of 1813 York.
Delegated in 1811 to assume military responsibility for Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock revived Simcoe’s plan of establishing a dockyard at York and of improving the town’s fortifications. Brock was killed in October 1812 at Queenston Heights, however, and his place was taken by Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe. As Malcomson sketches Sheaffe’s career there are early intimations of his unsuitability. Even after his careful leadership permitted British and Canadian forces to recover from the crisis of Brock’s death and turn the battle at Queenston into a brilliant victory, Sheaffe was plagued by rumour and gossip about his qualifications, his abilities, and even his loyalty. This is the man who will command the defenders of York when the Americans arrive in April 1813.
The dilatoriness and infighting that plagued shipbuilding at York contrasted badly with the industry and initiative of U.S. Commodore Isaac Chauncey in his station at Sackets Harbor, New York. Prior to 1813, the Americans had had a dismal war. Early British and Canadian victories at Michilimackinac, Detroit, and Queenston had embarrassed the army and the government. A victory was required. In this context, Malcomson introduces the American personalities: Chauncey; the old and slow Major General Henry Dearborn; the zealous and popular Brigadier General Zebulon Pike; and many other officers, soldiers, and sailors. Serious planning went into the determination of new strategic goals, which included an attack on the town and dockyards at Kingston. Uncertain weather conditions argued against such an undertaking, while rumours of ships building and increased naval activity at York suggested it as an easier target with equal attractions. The die was cast.
Before the Americans attack, Malcomson pauses to provide a comparison of the social composition of the British and American armies, and a primer on their uniforms, armament, drill, and discipline. He has already described the social and organisational structure of the Canadian militia, and the reader’s understanding of what is to come benefits from this digression.
The heart of the book is the three chapters in which Malcomson reconstructs, minute-by-minute, the American attack and the British and Canadian defence on April 27, from the time that the American armada is sighted from Scarborough Bluffs late the night before to the minute that Sheaffe retreats to Kingston with what remains of his regular troops, leaving the townsfolk and militia to negotiate what terms they can with the invaders. This section is particularly well done, balancing the need to reconcile various and sometimes differing accounts, to provide reasoned speculation where information is lacking, while still keeping the flow of a compelling narrative. The tale is well supported by maps. At one or two points his subject tempts Malcomson into overly literary flights, but these are brief distractions.
The story, of course, does not end with Sheaffe’s withdrawal. The Americans occupied York for six days, during which they petulantly negotiated terms of capitulation with Canadian militia officers, bickered amongst themselves about who should receive credit for the victory, seized and carried off public goods, and invaded and plundered private homes. For their part, many citizens of York openly expressed pleasure at the American success and abetted the occupiers in their depredations. And somebody burned the provincial parliament buildings.
Malcomson has done exhaustive research in archives and private sources in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom as well as through published primary and secondary sources, and his fidelity to detail is evident throughout the book. This does not distract from the story, although occasionally his obsessions show through. Malcomson himself wonders in his preface about ‘overdoing it with too much detail in the notes,’ and one is inclined to agree with his misgivings.
Still, this is a generous sin, and the payoff is in the book’s nine appendices. In an impressive display of patience and scholarship, Malcomson has attempted not only to calculate the strengths of the two forces at York on April 27, but to list the name, rank, and status of every individual who was present for duty that day: Canadian, American, and British, soldier, sailor, militiaman, or citizen volunteer. The only place where his sources and diligence cannot help is in listing the Native warriors who were the first to meet the American landing. Other appendices outline the subsequent history of Fort York, from the day after the Americans left to current plans to enhance the historic site; survey monuments to and graves of the participants in the battle on both sides; calculate the amount of gunpowder in the Grand Magazine when it exploded; and provide transcripts of the various versions of the Terms of Capitulation of the unhappy town of York. The corollary to Malcomson’s concern with detail is his compelling desire to get things right. This leads him to correct some of the mythology generated by the events at York, and in so doing to address briefly some persistent flaws in the historiography of the War of 1812.
Malcomson is nevertheless modest in his preface about the reach of his book. He expects that others will make their own enquiries and ‘paint a more elaborate and truer picture.’ This is likely – no history is ever static – and Malcomson’s research does indeed, as he hopes, lay ‘out the ground for researchers who might come after. For all such future discussions and explorations, Malcomson appears to have produced the essential point of departure.
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