a “Brown Bess.” The official name for this weapon was the East India Pattern Long Land Musket and it was a muzzle-loading gun. A good, well-trained soldier could load and fire this weapon three to four times in a minute. It should never be referred to as a rifle because it had a smooth bore in the barrel. “Rifling” the barrel was a later invention designed to add accuracy to the shot.
You may also discover that one of your ancestors served with the American forces during the war as a “licensed freebooter.” These were men, many of whom were former “late Loyalists” (families who came up to Canada seeking free land in the years following the American Revolution before the War of 1812), who made the decision to join a band of American-sponsored marauders to terrorize their former neighbours. Men like Abner Chapin, William Markle, and Andrew Westbrook led bands of guerrillas who burned mills, destroyed crops, drove off cattle, and burned the homes of anyone who was a government official or served in the Upper Canada militia. Interestingly, they could often rely upon former neighbours to provide them with information about British troop movements.
As a matter of fact, following the capture of York and the burning of Newark, the whole Niagara frontier settled into a conflict between neighbours. British forces rampaged up and down the American side of the river burning Buffalo, Tuscarora, and Little Rock. In response to the threat from American raiders, the British eventually detached Lieutenant James FitzGibbon from his regular duties and assigned him a group of Mounted Regulars. His job was to intercept communications between American forces and seek out and destroy American freebooters. The American forces called his men the “Green Tigers” because of the green facings on their uniforms. It was FitzGibbon who, with help from his Native allies, was able to take the information provided by Laura Secord and prepare an ambush of a far superior American force at the Battle of Beaver Dams.
Following the war, the civil authorities in Canada initiated court proceedings against former settlers accused of high treason. Angela Files and Tess Rowe compiled a list of these.[6] At Ancestry.com you can access the nominal roll of the men who belonged to the Canadian Corps of Volunteers who fought with the American forces during the war.
Your ancestor may have served with the British Army as a regular and chose to remain in (or return to) Canada following his term of service. Archives Canada has acquired a significant number of microfilm reels concerning the British Army (1713–1940) all of which can be borrowed on interlibrary loan. At present there are 844 microfilm reels. However, the following are British Army regiments that would be of interest to anyone doing family history research related to the War of 1812:
a. Infantry of the Line
1st Regiment of Foot
6th Regiment of Foot
8th Regiment of Foot
9th Regiment of Foot
13th Regiment of Foot
37th Regiment of Foot
41st Regiment of Foot
42nd Regiment of Foot
49th Regiment of Foot
52nd Regiment of Foot
57th Regiment of Foot
60th Regiment of Foot
77th Regiment of Foot
81st Regiment of Foot
82nd Regiment of Foot
89th Regiment of Foot
99th Regiment of Foot
100th Regiment of Foot
103rd Regiment of Foot
104th Regiment of Foot
De Watteville’s Regiment
7th West India Regiment
b. Fencible Regiments
Canadian Fencible Regiment
Glengarry Light Infantry Fencible Regiment
New Brunswick Fencible Regiment
Newfoundland Fencible Regiment
c. Royal Marines
d. Canadian Militia Units
Canadian Voltigeurs
Incorporated Militia Battalion of Upper Canada
e. Native Warriors
Caughnawaga
Huron
Micmac
Oneida
Ottawa
Tuscara
You can find many of the nominal rolls/muster, pay rolls for these units in the LAC manuscript groups. Records for Native Warriors are mostly non-existent. You may, however, discover a Military General Service Medal with the name of a Native Warrior engraved around the rim. These are very scarce.
Those who wish to learn more about the British regiments and Canadian militia should consult Michael Gregory’s book, Compendium of Canadian Regiments (Ottawa: Lorimer Printers Ltd., 2005).
What Has My Own Research Proven?
Is there any truth to the Hind’s story that an ancestor served at the battle of Waterloo and earlier at New Orleans? And did a member of the Turcott family also serve during the War of 1812 and eventually settle on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ontario?
William Hinds is listed as receiving the Waterloo Medal and Military General Service Medal with two clasps. A search of the Military General Service Medal rolls shows the same individual entitled to this medal as a gunner in Ross’s E Troop Royal Horse Artillery. So this individual must have transferred from the Corps of Drivers to become a gunner in a Troop of Artillery. Ross’s troop, Royal Horse Artillery (R.H.A.) served in the Peninsula and Southern France, (1809–14), from Busaco to Orthes with the Light Division, and at Helder in 1799 and at Waterloo in 1815. A check of the Battery Records of the Royal Artillery, 1716–1859, definitely shows three batteries in service at New Orleans: Carmichael’s Corps, Michell’s Corps, and Munro’s Corps, but not Ross’s Corps. Also, no mention was made of any Royal Artillery officer by this name on any medal rolls. My next step was to search for a will left by William Hinds and any online records of the British East India Company’s European Regiments organized for service in India following the war with Napoleon. I also discovered an Edward Cox, ensign 6th Foot, 17th September 1805, Captain 6th Foot, 18 May 1809, who served in North America, November 1814–February 1815 at Fort Erie and died 27 August 1825 in Bombay, India! Perhaps the Hinds portrait was incorrectly identified. Maybe it was sent by a relative on the Cox side of my family? The 6th Regiment of Foot was a Warwickshire unit and the Coxes are all from the Birmingham region. This could take my research in a new direction. Now I have to research early parish records in Warwickshire/Derbyshire England and check the Indian army records at the National Archives in England.
The Turcott story is a little more interesting. I already knew a Turcott had fought at the battle of Châteauguay and so was entitled to the Military General Service Medal with Châteauguay clasp. Originally this medal was to be issued to senior officers only. However,
