planning of military operations during the War of 1812–1815, the “Niagara” became the focus of repeated campaigns to control Upper Canada and thereby determine the future of North America. Conversely, the existing physical landscape of this region and the limitations it imposed on movement of large bodies of troops and supplies also played a major role in the determination of plans, the selection of points for attack and defence, and the course of subsequent events during the war that was to occur. As it plays a major part in this story, the physical geography of this region needs to be briefly reviewed before continuing.
Although painted in the postwar period, these images give a good idea of what Upper Canada looked like in the early nineteenth century.
The York Road, J.P. Cockburn, artist, circa 1830. Part of the main road linking Kingston to York under good travelling conditions for the period.
Library and Archives Canada, C-012632.
Corduroy Road near Guelph, Upper Canada, H.B. Martin, artist, circa 1832. A “corduroy” road, constructed of baulks of cut timber, designed to create a raised pathway for wagons to drive (bone-jarringly) through regions of wet or swampy ground.
Library and Archives Canada, C-115040.
Encampment of the Royal Regiment at London, Upper Canada, F.H. Ainslie, artist, circa 1842. British troops encamp as best they can amidst the oversized stumps of the ever-present trees.
Library and Archives Canada, C-000526.
THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
OF THE NIAGARA REGION
The Niagara region is composed of a roughly rectangular strip of land some fifty miles long (80 kilometres) and thirty wide (50 kilometres), running in a generally east-to-west line between the basins of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. It might more properly be referred to as an isthmus of land, connecting the greater landmasses to the northwest and southeast, but because the Niagara River cuts a definitive path from the eastern end of Lake Erie, down into the western end of Lake Ontario, the area is commonly referred to as a peninsula. Because the bedrock consists of intermixed layers of types of stone, ranging from the softer limestones, clays, and shale, to the harder sandstones and dolomites, the effects of erosion by weather, glaciation, and running water has produced a variety of landforms and sceneries that fall into five distinct bands.
The Lake Ontario Plain
Running along the length of the northern edge of the Niagara Peninsula at the shoreline of Lake Ontario, the plain varies in width from less than half a mile (.8 kilometres) to over seven miles (11 kilometres), and terminates on its southern border at the foot of the bluffs of the Niagara Escarpment. Numerous rivers and streams, fed by water running north from the high ground of the escarpment, wend their way into Lake Ontario, dividing the land into a series of well-watered parallel sections. In addition, this zone has particularly fertile soils and a moderated climate (derived from the proximity of the lake and sheltering influence of the escarpment), which historically was particularly well suited for settlement and ease of movement along its length. As a result, historically, this plain became the principal land route that connected the Niagara River with the Head-of-the Lake, the Detroit frontier, and the Lower province. It therefore also became the route along which all armies, from both sides, marched, as the various campaigns developed during the War of 1812–1815.
The Niagara Escarpment
Standing like a wall to the south of the plain rears the Niagara Escarpment. Averaging 240 feet in height, its dominating contours vary from vertical rock faces to steep-sided hills, and even today it presents the single largest obstacle to movement around the region. Breaks in this wall do occur as the numerous watercourses wend their way north and cascade off the lip of the escarpment, cutting openings that range from narrow clefts to wide valleys and culminating in the spectacular feature of the Niagara Falls and Gorge. At the time of the war, however, the escarpment created a definitive barrier that effectively channelled all military movement into routes that ran either above or below its length.
The Central Niagara Plain
Divided along an east-west axis by the Chippawa, known today as the Welland River, the Central Niagara Plain is composed primarily of extensive areas of bare rock, impervious clay, silt, and post-glacial gravels that encourage the retention of groundwater. As a result, even today it remains unsuitable for extensive agricultural development, as the numerous creeks and rivers that cross this region meander widely across the landscape, and undrained, open fields are often partially submerged following a heavy rain. In 1812, this region was considered to be impassable for military formations as, apart from isolated farmsteads, it was primarily composed of huge swamps, peat bogs, and winding waterways, only penetrated by the most primitive and narrow of trackways.
The Lake Erie Shoreline
Extending some five miles (8 kilometres) inland from the north shore of Lake Erie, the predominantly flat sand-and-clay belt of this area presents an exposed flank to the main weather systems moving up the Great Lakes basin, creating a poorer agricultural foundation that in the early nineteenth century left it lagging behind in terms of development and settlement, compared to the more fertile areas bordering Lake Ontario and the Niagara River. While it had a small road network connecting the lakeside communities in an east-west direction, the relatively easier option of sailing along the lake left these routes in an undeveloped condition, while the great wilderness of swamps and bogs to the north effectively cut it off from direct communications on a north-south axis, making it relatively impassable to troop formations.
The Niagara River
By far the most dramatic geographical feature of the region is the thirty-six-mile-long (58 kilometres) Niagara River. It leaves Lake Erie at its eastern end and cuts northward across the central Niagara Plain for about eighteen miles (29 kilometres), dropping around eight feet (2.4 metres) in the process, and therefore can be easily crossed by small boats, or in 1812 by an invading army. Reaching the Chippawa River, the Niagara River then becomes an unnavigable series of rapids as it drops some fifty-five feet (16.7 metres) over a distance of two miles (3.2 kilometres) before cascading over the world famous “Falls” with a drop of around 170 feet (51.8 metres).
The turbulent torrent of water now enters the seven-mile-long (11 kilometre) Niagara Gorge, with almost vertical sides that reach heights of over 200 feet (61 metres) and maintain a width of about 800 yards (731 metres), making it historically a virtually impenetrable obstacle to any prospective troop movement across the river.
Locations along the Niagara River.
Dropping a further 116 feet (35.35 metres) within the confines of the gorge, the river eventually emerges from the escarpment at Queenston/Lewiston, becoming navigable once more as it gently flows nine miles (14 kilometres) across the Lake Ontario plain, for a mere eight inches (20 centimetres) of descent before finally entering Lake Ontario.
For the modern visitor, however, the spectacle of the falls is a mere shadow of its earlier natural glory, as the modern demand for vast volumes of water
