Presented by Mr. John Paul Francis to the Rideau Township Historical Society; November 16, 2005.

Mr. Francis provided a vivid account of the American operations directed against Upper Canada from 1812 to 1814. In particular, two operations in late 1813, aimed at taking Montreal, were defining moments for Canadians.

Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry stopped the American advance from Lake Champlain in the swamps at Chateauguay on 26 October 1813. This was followed by the battle of Crysler’s Farm on 11 November 1813, when a mixed force of less than 2,000 British regulars of the 49th and 89th Regiments along with some Canadian Fencibles, Canadian Voltigeurs, Tyendinaga Mohawks and Provincial Light Dragoons defeated some 8,000 US soldiers led by the elderly and timid Major-General James Wilkinson. Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Morrison of the 89th ably commanded the British, Canadians and Indians on the shore of the St. Lawrence in his first battle. These two actions foiled the American attempt to cut the supply line to Upper Canada which might have allowed the US to complete its objective of conquest.