Battle of York - Background

Background

York, the provincial capital of Upper Canada, stood on the north shore of Lake Ontario. During the War of 1812, the lake was both the front line between Upper Canada and the United States, and also part of the principal British supply line from Quebec to the various armies and outposts to the west. At the start of the war, the British had a small naval force, the Provincial Marine, with which they seized control of the lake, and also of Lake Erie. This made it possible for Major General Isaac Brock, leading the British forces in Upper Canada, to gain several important victories during 1812 by shifting his small force rapidly between threatened points to defeat disjointed American attacks individually.

The United States Navy appointed Commodore Isaac Chauncey to regain control of the lakes. He created a squadron of fighting ships at Sackett's Harbor, New York by purchasing and arming several lake schooners and laying down new purpose-built fighting vessels. However, no decisive action was possible before the onset of winter, during which the ships of both sides were confined to harbour by ice. To match Chauncey's ships, the British laid down a sloop of war at Kingston, and another in the dockyard at York. This vessel was named Sir Isaac Brock after the general, who had been killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights the previous October.