Upon the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 the officers and men of the 1st Battalion , King’s Royal Regiment of New York, together with many of the 1st Battalion , 84th Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment, settled with their wives and families in the Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The personnel of these regiments had been drawn from two large groups of people who had emigrated to America under dramatic circumstances from the Palatinate on the banks of the German Rhine in 1710, and from the Highlands of Scotland in 1773. On their arrival in New Johnstown (present day Cornwall, Ontario), the settlers drew by lottery under the supervision of the Government Land Agent, the lands that had been granted to them. There was no possibility of examining the comparative quality of the ground for it was primeval forest, untamed, gloomy and wild, stretching back from the banks of the St Lawrence river in the townships of Lancaster, Charlottenburg, Cornwall, Osnabruck, and Williamsburg. But these first settlers were no strangers to hardship and privation; the fathers of many of them had served with Prince Charles Edward Stuart in the ill-starred Jacobite Rising in 1745, and they themselves had just finished a war in which they had fought tirelessly and relentlessly, month after month for seven long years in the course of which, to retain their British nationality, they had sacrificed all they possessed. To the new task now confronting them they brought the practical knowledge with them - the meaning of real teamwork among them, the value of orderly, systematic and disciplined effort in the work of any kind and the consciousness of being able to play a citizen’s part in peace and war. Seven negro soldiers were included among the settlers and were allotted land in the Lake Township (now Lancaster, Ontario). They had probably been military servants to the officers. Some of their descendants served and died with the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles in the War of 1812 - 14. An ordinance "for better regulating the militia of this province and rendering it of more general utility towards the preservation and security thereof", was enacted by the Executive Council of the Province of Quebec on the 23rd of April 1787. Sir John Johnson was appointed to the command of all the militia in the new settlements in the Upper Country. The first return of enrollments in Lunenburg, or Point du Baudet, showed a total of 1,525 liable to service. Two battalions were organized and Captain John Macdonell was appointed to the command of that composed of men resident in the townships of Lancaster and Charlottenburg, with the rank of Major. With the prospect of war with Spain in 1790. The Governor General called for a special return with a view to draft two thousand men for a period of two years service. This return showed that Macdonell’s battalion consisted of 22 officers and 313 other ranks, who had in their possession only 65 muskets. The dispute with Spain over the aggression at Nootka Sound became known as "the Spanish armament", and is said to have cost Britain three million pounds sterling in the equipment of the navy alone. The original settlers had been joined by a party of 500 Highland emigrants who arrived under the leadership of the Reverend Alexander Macdonell (Scouts), founder of the Parish of St. Raphaels. (he died on the 24th of may 1803, at Lachine, on his way to Montreal, where he was bound for medical treatment, and the Reverend Fitzsimmons took over the pioneer parish.) Other small detachments arrived in 1792 (Macdonell of Greenfield) and in the spring of 1794. Then, in 1804, a large body of Highlanders arrived, with their families, under the guidance of the Reverend Alexander Macdonell who became the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada. These were disbanded soldiers of the Glengarry Fencibles, a corps that had been formed in Scotland in 1794, served through the Irish Rebellion and had been disbanded in 1802. The spoons that were used in the Officers Mess of the Glengarry Fencibles are now part of the silver of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders. In 1791, Canada was divided into two separate provinces, Upper and Lower Canada; Colonel John Graves Simcoe was appointed Governor of Upper Canada and arrived in the spring of 1792. The first session of Assembly, held in September of that year, gave no consideration to defense measures, but at the following session in 1793 an Act was passed for "the better regulation of the Militia". Simcoe’s plan was to organize the militia on the model of the British system of that day and to this end he introduced the office of Lieutenants of Counties, an office held in England by a distinguished citizen as military deputy for the King. Thus, in each County, Simcoe appointed a Lieutenant whose duty was the delimitation of the militia districts, with power to appoint officers to the militia force. In Stormont the Lieutenant was Archibald Macdonell, late Captain, 1st King’s Royal Regiment of New York; in Dundas it was Richard Duncan, late Captain, 1st King’s Regiment of New York; and in Glengarry John Macdonell, late Lieutenant, 84th Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment was appointed. This office eventually disappeared and the granting of commissions was vested in the Crown through Government recommendation. Captain Archibald Macdonell (County of Stormont) came from the family of Leek and had left Scotland with his kinsmen in 1773 for the Mohawk Valley in New York State. He was the first Colonel of the Stormont Militia and there is in the Dominion Archives an officer’s commission signed by Archibald Macdonell in 1796 appointing Mr. John Beikie to the command of a troop of horse attached to the Stormont Militia. During the war of 1812 - 14 the Colonel was employed on the staff as Assistant Adjutant General for the Upper Canada Militia. Captain Richard Duncan (County of Dundas) had married Maria Fraser. With the beginning of Parliamentary government the Captain was called to the Legislative Council in 1792. Early in 1800 he moved to Schenectady, NY where he died some time before the war of 1812. Captain John Macdonell (County of Glengarry) was one of the sons of Alexander Macdonell of Aberchalder who had been an aide-de-camp to Prince Stuart in 1745 and who has emigrated to America with his children in 1773. He was an Ensign and later a Lieutenant in the 84th Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment and had served as Captain in Butler’s Rangers. He was one of the first Members for Glengarry, 1792, Speaker of the first house of Assembly, Upper Canada, and Colonel of the Glengarry Militia. He died at Quebec in 1809. The officers of the disbanded regiments assumed leadership in the settlements. The governing principle of the first militia law was practically universal liability to service. With very few exceptions the whole male population between the ages of 16 and 50 composed what was named the "Sedentary Militia". Every youth on attaining the age of sixteen was required to enroll himself with the militia officer in charge of the district under penalty for neglect, a fine of four dollars. The force was divided into regiments and companies, and every company had to be paraded and inspected by a captain at least twice a year; in itself a serious obligation when the difficult means of communication are considered. Though there was no provision to pay for these parades, the officer who absented himself was liable to a fine of eight dollars, and the private to one or two dollars for each offense. The first enrollment under the Act produced a force of 4,213; this included the first Sedentary Militia companies raised in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The militiaman was expected to provide his own arms, but in 1794 provision was made for a considerable distribution of arms throughout the province at the public expense This increase in arms was brought about to the current events of the time. During the year there were rumors of invasion, first from the French and Spanish forces coming up from Louisiana via the Mississippi and Michigan and then by a hot-headed American General named Wayne who threatened to defy General Washington and his cabinet and attack British posts in the West. This year of anxiety and menaced invasion resulted in the formation of the Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment of Foot, a Corps of two battalions, this was the first Volunteer Militia unit formed in Canada. This unit was not carried on by the establishment of the British Army. The 1st Battalion, raised in Lower Canada (Province of Quebec) , was commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel de Longueuil; the 2nd Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell who had served in the 84th Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment and Butler’s Rangers, and who, after the Revolutionary War, had settled in Glengarry, was Lieutenant of the County, and represented it in the Legislature. Although a few of the companies were raised in lower Canada, the 2nd Battalion was largely recruited in the counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The headquarters of the 2nd Battalion were at Fort George (Niagara) and detachments were stationed at Kingston, St. Joseph’s Island, Amherstburg, Fort Erie and Fort Chippawa. The Regiment conformed to the dress of the British Army. The Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment of Foot, together with many British Regiments, was disbanded in 1802 due to the Peace of Amiens. By 1805, Britain’s European wars had resulted in the departure from Canada of practically all of the British regular regiments. At this time a steady development of unfriendliness, almost hostility, in the United States was present. The question of national defence became a matter of importance. This resulted in the distribution of some 4000 arms amongst the Upper Canada Militia, the strength of which in 1805 was 652 officers and 7,947 men, very few of whom had received any training whatsoever for several years. In 1807 one-fifth of the militia in Canada was called out, embodied and trained. On the 26th of November, Lieutenants of the counties in Upper Canada were directed to call out the militia, and by volunteers or by ballot to form detachments of one-quarter of the whole, which, after being inspected and dismissed, were to be held in readiness to assemble at an hour’s notice. War of 1812 During these years the battalions of the of militia in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry were developed and when in the spring of 1812 it was clear that war was inevitable, they were not unprepared. Altogether there were about 12,000 men ready for the first shock of war in Canada. Of these 4,450 were British regulars, less than 4000 were Canadian regulars, and about 4000 were "embodied" or "incorporated" militia, who had been partially trained already and were under the same military discipline as the regulars. While some of the "Sedentary Militia" appeared in action, their general duty was to relieve better trained men at the base, from time to time, as opportunity offered or emergency arose. The British forces in Canada were few in numbers, but on the whole superior to their adversaries in training and discipline. It was only because of their training and discipline that they succeeded in stemming the tide of invasion that would otherwise have made Canada a conquered province of the United States. In the spring the war clouds grew thicker; recruiting commenced in the United Counties for Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles, a Corps that was carried on the establishment of the British Army and was permanently embodied for a period of four years. In June 1812 war was declared. Guards were posted at different points above and below Cornwall. One guard was placed on the farm of Captain Joseph Anderson (Stormont Regiment) where, on the opposite side of the river at Massena Point, an American piquet had been posted. These two detachments used to amuse themselves and waist their Governments ammunition by firing across the river. This pastime continued for some days until one of the Americans was wounded, and then an armistice seems to have been observed. Another guard was stationed at Glengarry Point, where Colonel John Macdonell had lived. On July 10th 1812, Colonel Baynes, the Adjutant-General, instructed Colonel Lethbridge, Commanding at fort Prescott, to inspect all Militia Corps between Cornwall and Kingston in order to estimate their efficiency and obtain information regarding the arms and equipment possessed by each unit. He was informed that 200 muskets had been sent to Prescott, 100 to Cornwall and 60 to Dundas, with 50 rounds of ball cartridge for each weapon. 12 cases containing 144 muskets in the Court House at Cornwall were to be returned to Montreal for repair. On the morning of the 16th of September 1812 a brigade of bateaux (river boats) laden with military stores, en route from Montreal to Kingston, under the escort of a detachment of the Newfoundland Regiment commanded by Major Heathcote, and a flank Company of the Dundas Militia under Captain Ault, was suddenly attacked at Van Kamp’s Point, a short distance above Iroquois, by about 500 American militia. This force had taken up a position on Toussaint’s Island and had a gunboat stationed at the foot of the Island. Major Heathcote had made preparations to defend the boats in case the enemy should attempt to dispute the passage. Ensign Clark and part of Captain Ault’s company were ferried across to Presq’Isle and reached the south side of this small island just as two American vessels filled with troops were preparing to land. Clarks party, covered by trees and bushes, suddenly opened fire on them, and with such effect the Americans immediately retreated to Toussaint’s Island, where they took shelter in the woods. In the confusion one of the small boats went adrift and was picked up by the Canadians; it contained seven muskets, two swords and a quantity of provisions. In a short time a large number of the inhabitants from different parts of the County were assembled on Presq’Isle among them Captain Ault, Captain Shaver with Colonel Allan Macdonell commanding the Dundas Militia at their head. News that blood had been drawn and that too, in their own County, fired the enthusiasm of the old warriors who had served under Sir John Johnson in the revolutionary war. Many of them, tottering under a load of year’s, seemed now to renew their youth at the prospect of meeting the descendants of their ancient foe in combat, and hurrying to the scene were soon foremost in the fight. Two companies of the Grenville Militia under Captains Moore and Dulmage arrived in the course of a day, and a nine-pounder which had been captured from the French at Chimney Island in 1760 was brought from Prescott by Lieutenant R.D. Fraser. The attack having commenced, the shots of this gun, directed into King Peter’s Bay, compelled the Americans to evacuate the island on which they were posted and retire to their own side of the St. Lawrence, with some losses. The casualties of the Canadian side were one soldier killed and several wounded. On October 4th Colonel Lethbridge, commanding at Prescott, determined to assault the American fort at Ogdensburgh. He took with him eight artillery men, two companies of the Canadian Fencibles, about 40 of the Newfoundland Regiment under Captain Skinner and 150 Glengarry Militia, who, after traveling the whole night, had arrived in carts from Cornwall, 48 miles away. Captain Skinner advanced with a small detachment on board two gunboats toward Ogdensburg, attacked and silenced the American battery upon the point below the town. However the small force had little or no impression upon the so strong a position and the boats therefore returned with small losses. It was afterwards ascertained, however, that General Brown was preparing to abandon the fort, so had Colonel Lethbridge assembled a larger force of militia the result might have been different. General Brock and Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell died on October 13th 1812 at the Battle of Queenston Heights. On November 23rd a detachment of the Stormont and Glengarry Militia with a company of the Glengarry Light Infantry attacked the American post on the Salmon River, near St. Regis, in retaliation for a raid by the Americans at St. Regis in the preceding month. The whole force, about 150 strong, was under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Alex Mc Millan, 1st Regiment Glengarry Militia. Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Mc Lean, of the Stormont Militia, was in charge of the embarkation. The attack was a success, the enemy fled to a blockhouse for protection and were then surrounded. 50 men surrendered. 4 riverboats and 57 muskets were captured. On the 7th of February 1813, Colonel Neil McLean received word that 400 regular troops had arrived at Salmon River and had been reinforced by 2000 American Militiamen and 12 pieces of artillery. This information was passed on to Major-General de Rottenburg, who the took immediate action. He first instructed a transport of 40 sleighs en route to Upper Canada, loaded with ordinance and naval stores, and 5 twelve-pounder guns to remain at Coteau du Lac; he ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Neil Mc Millan, of the 1st Glengarry Militia to call out his unit and march towards the Raisin River, and Lieutenant-Colonel Mc Lean of the Stormont Militia, to assemble his battalion at Cornwall. The function of these units was to include protection of the convoy of sleighs and to defend Cornwall in the event of an attack. Coteau du Lac was reinforced with the Vaudreuil battalion of the sedentary militia. The Battle of Ogdensburg On the 8th of February 1813, Major (Red George) Macdonell of the Glengarry Light Infantry was relieved of the command of the companies stationed at Kingston, it being found expedient to employ him in command and general superintendance of the district between Kingston and the boundary line of Lower Canada, where it was thought his local knowledge and personal influence with the settlers would be of considerable advantage to the service. He was granted the local rank of Lieutenant-Colonel while so employed. When Sir George Prevost passed through Prescott on his way to Kingston on February 22nd 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell seen him and urged that an attack on Ogdensburg be made. This town had been a thorn in the side of the British, for from it, vessels went up to Sackett’s Harbour during the navigation season and raids were undertaken in winter across the ice. Macdonell’s plea for action won the favor of the Governor, and plans for the attack were soon underway after the Governor departed for Kingston. Macdonell initiated such speed that the British regulars on guard duty had no time to remove their heavy watch coats and became much fatigued after plowing through deep snow near the American shore. There were two goods reasons for the haste in the attack. (1) A raid from Ogdensburg could easily cut off Governor Prevost at Brockville on his way to Kingston. (2) There was the ever threatening presence of a large body of American troops near the Salmon River. Macdonell’s principal column, on the left, consisted of about 120 men of the King’s Regiment and 30 of the Royal Newfoundland Fencible Regiment, with about 230 militiamen. The right column was composed of the right Flank Company of the of the Glengarry Light Infantry and 70 militiamen, and was commanded by Captain John Jenkins of the Glengarry Light Infantry. The troops began there advance at 07:00hrs on the signal of a gun. The advanced guard consisted of the Newfoundland Detachment and the Volunteer Light Company of the Militia, under the command of Staff Adjutant Ridge of the King’s Regiment and was followed by the men of the King’s Regiment under Captain Eustace, and the militia under Colonel Thomas Fraser, 1st Regiment Dundas and Captain LeLievre of the Newfoundland Regiment. The enemy’s advanced battery opened fire on this column with grape and canister shot from a twelve, nine and six pounder. The depth of snow and the commanding position of the batteries gave the enemy a great advantage, but the advance continued in front of the guns, while the King’s Detachment rushed up a parallel street to take the position in flank, where, driving the enemy’s infantry off, they captured the guns. Leaving the guns in charge of the militia, the column pursued the enemy through the main street leading to the bridge of the Black River. On reaching the ground near the river the men were halted. Small parties were sent to dislodge the enemy from houses and woods, while a portion of the militia was brought forward to reinforce the column. The Canadian artillery also came up from the banks of the St. Lawrence, under the leadership of Ensign McKay of the Glengarry Light Infantry and Ensign Kerr of the militia, their guns were directed on the houses occupied by the enemy. While this action was taking place on Colonel Macdonell’s front, the right column was advancing steadily under the command of Captain Jenkins. It moved along steadily, in extended order, with the militia in reserve, in the face of deep snow and heavy fire from five guns. When the column reached a suitable distance, bayonets were fixed and it push forward. Captain Jenkins received heavy casualties in the advance, losing his left arm from grape shot, and heavy lacerating his right arm from canister shot. He ran on, cheering his men to the attack, until his arms, dangling before him utterly useless and becoming faint from the loss of blood, compelled him to stop. His company continued to advance with Lieutenant Macaulay and Ensign Macdonell. Having reached the Fort, Colonel Macdonell called upon the Fort to surrender, receiving a negative response it was charged and taken with bayonet by a storming party under the command of Captain Eustance, with Ensigns Powell and Lowrie. With the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and the Glengarry Militia in close support, the Fort was entered just as enemy evacuated it on the other side and retired to the woods. A number of officers and 70 men were captured. The action lasted an hour and a half and the enemy force consisted of about 500 men. Before returning to the Canadian side of the river the magazine was emptied, and the barracks was burned along with two schooners, gunboats, guardhouses and a number of other boats. All the Ordinance, Marine Stores and Fort equipment was brought back to Canada, where it was disposed of in the usual way of cash Sterling Pounds. Each Private received 2.1 pounds, each Sergeant’s 4.2 pounds and each Subaltern’s received 16.7 pounds. The Canadian casualties amounted to six soldier’s and eight officers, 56 other ranks were wounded. The victory at Ogdensburg was communicated to the troops through a General Order published at Kingston on the 23rd of February 1813. A Royal commendation came later, when on the 14th of June 1813, His Royal Highness the Duke of York wrote to Sir George Prevots - "I highly approve the Arrangements you had adopted for this essential Enterprise and the conduct of Major Macdonell and his Detachment in carrying it to Execution." On February 24th 1814, Lieutenant - Colonel Macdonell was appointed Inspecting Field Officer of Militia in Canada with the rank of Lieutenant - Colonel in the British Army. In March 1813 , three companies of the Glengarry Fenfibles stationed at prescott and Kingston were ordered to Niagra, one of them arriving in time to take a slight part in the battle that resulted in the lamented captitulation of the Capitol. Major-General Shaw, Adjutant General of the Militia, led a portion of the Militia as rear guard. The three companies were with Brigadier-General Vincent's force in the strategic retreat from Fort George after its bombardment and the American landing there on the 27th of May 1813. Vincent had a garrison of 2400 regulars and Militia while the American force was 6000 supported by the guns of the men-of-war. Suffering severe losses against an overwhelming force, and seeing the enemy threatening his retreat, General Vincent withdrew towards Queenston in good order, evacuating Fort George after dismantling it, destroying the stores and spiking the guns. The withdrawal was ably covered by the companies of the Glengarry Fencibles, strenghened by a detachment of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and the Militia, which skirmished with the American riflemen advancing through the brush. On the same day that Vincent's force fought so hopelessly at Fort George, an attempt on Sackett's Harbour was initiated by Sir George Prevots from Kingston. The military were under the command of Colonel Baynes, and a task force included a company of Glengarry Light Infantry commanded by Captain Donald McPherson. The flotilla and transports were off their objective on the 28th May, but were becalmed, so the attack was postponed until daybreak on the 29th. The engagement commenced in confusion, for instead of landing on the shore side of Horse Island, the vessels lost their bearings in the dark, and landed the troops on the seaward side, with the result that they had to fight their way inland at the point of the bayonet through thickly wooded country. The American militia, 500 strong were soon overcome and the British troops began to push back the regulars. They set fire to the barracks and the Americans fired their own warehouses and a new ship in the harbour. Victory was certain when , on the ground that adverse winds prevented naval cooperation in silencing the enemy’s batteries, orders were issued for a retreat from an enemy who had fallen back for up to four hours and who was incapable of offering the slightest opposition to the re-embarkation of the British troops. Battle at Crysler’s Farm: Early in November 1813, General Wilkinson’s army, which had been menacing Kingston, suddenly shifted its plan of attack and came down the river toward Prescott and Ogdensburg. Unwilling to expose his troops to the British batteries at Prescott, he landed them on the American Side, two miles above the town and marched them about the same distance below Ogdensburg. The boats hugged the shore and passed Prescott under the cover of darkness. The Americans re-embarked the following morning, the 8th of November, and were not challenged until they reached Iroquois, where the river narrows. Here they were seen and were fired upon by a piquet of the Dundas Militia. The sound of the firing brought up the flank company of the Dundas Militia and another volley was poured into the boats. The Americans landed and in view of their superior forces, the Canadians retired to the woods and let the enemy pass. Camp was made by the Americans about one mile below the village of Iroquois. On the morning of the 9th the American force again re-embarked and proceeded to the lower limits of Williamsburg. Here they halted for the purpose of obtaining pilots, lightening the boats and making arrangements for descending the Long Sault Rapids. At this location, General Wilkinson was reinforced by General Brown’s Brigade of 2000 men and a body of dragoons from the American side. These, with a portion of Wilkinson’s troops, were sent in advance by land, to clear the Canadian shore as far as Cornwall and to take possession of the Government stores and ammunition there. Brown, on his march to Cornwall, had been intercepted by the Glengarry Militia, 1300 strong, under Major Dennis (a British officer) near Hoople’s creek. He accordingly placed two guns in position on the elevated ground there and prepared to force his way. Fighting commenced at noon and after a few volleys, Major Dennis ordered a retirement into the woods. Dennis did all he could to hold the Americans back by frequently firing upon them, breaking the bridges and annoying them generally. However some of Brown’s cavalry passed though Cornwall on the morning of the 11th. In the meantime another American force under General Boyd, about 2000 strong, had been landed on the Canadian side, and on the 10th of November the little British force under Colonel Morrison that had been following Wilkinson down the river made contact with Boyd’s rearguard. If Wilkinson’s overwhelming numbers could be brought to bear, or if Brown could get though him, Boyd had nothing to fear. But they were not and did not. When Wilkinson heard of Brown’s arrival at the foot of the rapids he ordered the flotilla boats to go down, but as the boats put out, the British Navy opened fire on them and prevented their dispatch. Wilkinson accordingly ordered Boyd to turn about and attack in force; thus an advancing army was obliged to fight a rearguard action. The odds were 1800 to 800 in favour of the Americans. The battlefield was like may others in the war - woods in one side, a waterway on the other, and the undulating clearing about seven hundred yards wide - Crysler’s Farm - smack in the middle. Wilkinson must have assumed that Boyd’s force alone would be sufficient to defeat the British. The engagement began shortly after two o’clock and was exceedingly sharp. By five o’clock the Americans were in full retreat, in fact they were fast becoming a disorderly mass when a reinforcement of 600 men arrived, too late to do more than give confidence and safety to the fleeing troops, who took their boats and hid their flight in the darkness of that November night. The Americans retired in comparative safety after the Battle of Crysler’s Farm to about seven miles above the village of Cornwall. Here they crossed the river without loss, save from a body of Highland Militia, from Glengarry, who made a sudden attack on their cavalry while embarking. By firing into the boats by which the Americans were swimming over the horses, the Highlanders made the men let go of the bridles, and the animals returning to the Canadian sore were seized by the Glengarrians, "Who thus came into action foot soldiers and went out of it dragoons". On the 29th of January 1814, instructions were issued that in future the Fortress at Prescott was to bear the name Fort Wellington. In February 1814, Colonel Pearson with a force of 500 men went from Cornwall to Salmon River across the ice, burned the boats left there by General Wilkinson and advanced to Malone NY, where they captured and brought away a large quantity of government stores left by General Brown, and destroyed all that could not be removed.