The War of 1812

The War of 18 12. Securing the Upper Great Lakes. , By the end of 1813, Fort Mackinac was critically low on provisions. A relief expedition via the Nottawasaga Route was organized under the command of Lt. Col. Robert McDouall of the Glengarry Light Infantry of Kingston. , In January 1814, an advance party of shipwrights and workmen left Kingston for Fort Willow with orders to improve the Nine Mile Portage and, using timber cut in the area, begin building 29 batteaux (shallow draft, flat bottom boats). Lt. Col. McDouall’s main party, including two companies of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment lead by Lt. Andrew Bulger, followed from Kingston a month later laden with supplies for Mackinac. , After arriving at Fort Willow, the relief expedition launched their boats on the Nottawasaga River on April 22. They travelled downstream to the mouth of the river at what is now Wasaga Beach. Travelling through the breaking ice on Lake Huron, they arrived at Fort Mackinac on May 14. These soldiers had moved the supplies 900 km through snow and ice from Kingston to Mackinac , a truly heroic feat! , Three months later, on August 14, the Americans attacked Wasaga Beach and sunk the British supply ship Nancy. Her commander, Lt. Miller Worsley, retreated with his wounded to Fort Willow, pursued part of way by the Americans. He sent his wounded south and using three bateaux and a large canoe set out for Mackinac with the troops and supplies that were awaiting shipment. He avoided the blockading American ships, which he sighted just east of his destination. , Joined by Lt. Bulger, and employing only a few bateaux, Worsley subsequently capture the American ships Scorpion and Tigress. This daring act sealed the fate of the Americans on the Upper Lakes, which remained under British control until the war formally ended in February 1815 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.