Events from the year 1812 in Canada.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Federal government

Parliament of Lower Canada The Parliament of Lower Canada was the legislature for Lower Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Lower Canada and Upper Canada in 1791. As in other Westminster-style legislatures, it consisted of three component ...

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

Parliament of Upper Canada The Parliament of Upper Canada was the legislature for Upper Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791. As in other Westminster-style legislatures, i ...

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...

(until March 6) then 6th (starting July 27)

Governors

* Governor of the Canadas: Robert Milnes * Governor of New Brunswick:

George Prévost Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet (19 May 1767 – 5 January 1816) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who is most well known as the "Defender of Canada" during the War of 1812. Born in New Jersey, the eldest son of Genevan Augu ...

Governor of Nova Scotia The following is a list of the governors and lieutenant governors of Nova Scotia. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in Nova Scotia came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1867, the po ...

: John Wentworth then

John Coape Sherbrooke General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, (29 April 1764 – 14 February 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spa ...

* Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland:

Charles Morice Pole Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial governor and banker. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the Ame ...

* Governor of Prince Edward Island:

Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres (22 November 1721 or April–May 1729 – 24 or 27 October 1824) was a Canadian cartographer who served in the Seven Years' War, as the aide-de-camp to General James Wolfe. He later went on to serve as the L ...

Events

* June 18 – The U.S. declares war on Britain, beginning the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. There were about 4,000 British troops in Canada. George Prevost is Governor. Four Canadian battalions are assembled, and the Citadel at Quebec is guarded by the inhabitants. * July 11 – Americans under General

William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Ame ...

invade Canada from Detroit. * August 16 –

Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he c ...

with a force of 1,350, nearly half Aboriginals, takes

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He paroles many of Hull's 2,000. * August 20 – Launch of John Molson's second steamboat, the ''Swiftsure'', at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. * August to October – The Red River Colony is begun in Canada's northwest on lands granted to Thomas Douglas by the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

. * October – Almost half of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

's Legislators regard war as needless and impolitic; but Vermont imposes a penalty of $1,000 for every unauthorized communication with Canadians. * October 13 –

Stephen Van Rensselaer IV Stephen Van Rensselaer (March 29, 1789 – May 28, 1868), known as the "Young Patroon" and sometimes the "last of the patroons" was the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck. Early life Van Rensselaer was born on March 29, 1789 in Albany, New York. H ...

's command is repulsed, on

Queenston Heights The Queenston Heights is a geographical feature of the Niagara Escarpment immediately above the village of Queenston, Ontario, Canada. Its geography is a promontory formed where the escarpment is divided by the Niagara River. The promontory fo ...

by Gen. Sheaffe and Governor Brock, who is killed. Of the 10,000 under Van Rensselaer, many were unwilling to invade, though willing to defend the United States. * Fighting on the same side as British militia and

Mohawk Indians The Mohawk people ( moh, Kanienʼkehá꞉ka) are the most easterly section of the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy. They are an Iroquoian-speaking Indigenous people of North America, with communities in southeastern Canada and northern Ne ...

, a group of black soldiers helps force American invaders to retreat in the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

. * October 25 – Battle at St. Regis. * November 20 – Henry Dearborn's command cross the Lacolle. Charles de Salaberry eludes them, and, in the haze, U.S. troops fire upon each other. * David Thompson retires to

. * The Americans gain several victories, on the water, as

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

engages the British attention. * The United States calls out 175,000 men, Canada 2,000. * For all purposes Canada votes 87,000 pounds.

Births

* May 12 – John Simpson, merchant, miller, banker, and politician (d.

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

) * October 21 – David H. Armstrong, United States Senator from Missouri from 1877 till 1879. (d.

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

) * November 2 – William James Anderson, physician, amateur geologist and historian (d.

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat ...

) * November 6 –

Louis-Victor Sicotte Louis-Victor Sicotte, (November 6, 1812 – September 5, 1889) was a lawyer, judge and politician in Lower Canada. He was born Louis Cicot in Boucherville, Lower Canada in 1812. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1839. He helped foun ...

, lawyer, judge and politician (d.

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

) * December 12 –

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Conf ...

, Premier of Ontario (d.

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

)

Deaths

* January – Thomas Walker, advocate and politician (b. c. 1759) * January 12 – James Henry Craig, officer, colonial administrator (b.

1748 Events January–March * January 12 – Ahmad Shah Durrani captures Lahore. * January 27 – A fire at the prison and barracks at Kinsale, in Ireland, kills 54 of the prisoners of war housed there. An estimated 500 prison ...

) * March 11 –

John Burbidge John Burbidge (c.1718 – March 11, 1812) was a soldier, land owner, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He was a member of the 1st General Assembly of Nova Scotia in 1758 and represented Halifax Township from 1759 to 1765 and Cornwal ...

, soldier, land owner, judge and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. (b.

1718 Events January – March * January 7 – In India, Sufi rebel leader Shah Inayat Shaheed from Sindh who had led attacks against the Mughal Empire, is beheaded days after being tricked into meeting with the Mughals to discus ...

) * October 13 – Sir

, military commander, administrator of Upper Canada (b.

1769 Events January–March * February 2 – Pope Clement XIII dies, the night before preparing an order to dissolve the Jesuits.Denis De Lucca, ''Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture in ...

) * December 2-

Pierre-Louis Panet Pierre-Louis Panet (August 1, 1761 – December 2, 1812) was a Canadian lawyer, notary, seigneur, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1761, the son of Pierre Panet, a lawyer. Panet qualified to practice a ...

, lawyer, notary, seigneur, office holder, politician, and judge (b.

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, and restore the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II. * January 16 – Siege of Pondi ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1812 In Canada 12 1812 in North America