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Ontario History

Capital in Flames: The American Attack on York, 1813 By Robert Malcomson Chris Raible

Volume 100, Number 2, Fall 2008

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1065702ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1065702ar

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Publisher(s) The Historical Society

ISSN 0030-2953 (print) 2371-4654 (digital)

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Cite this review Raible, C. (2008). Review of [Capital in Flames: The American Attack on York, 1813 By Robert Malcomson]. Ontario History, 100(2), 241–242. https://doi.org/10.7202/1065702ar

Copyright © The Ontario Historical Society, 2008 This document is protected by copyright law. Use of the services of Érudit (including reproduction) is subject to its terms and conditions, which can be viewed online. https://apropos.erudit.org/en/users/policy-on-use/

This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ book reviews 241 Capital in Flames: The American Attack on York, 1813 By Robert Malcomson. Montreal: Robin Brass Studio, 2007. xxii + 489 pag- es. $39.95 hardbound. ISBN 1-896941-53-2 (www.rbstudiobooks.com)

obert Malcomson, author of two civilians to negotiate terms of surrender. The other volumes—on the final section, “Repercussions,” has four more naval war of and on the chapters on the occupation, the consequenc- Rbattle of Queenston Heights—is a stickler es of the campaign, the legacies of the battle, for detail. This comprehensive volume on and what happened to York (including Fort the American invasion of York is packed (but York) afterwards. never padded) with particulars. Yet the spe- For those who want more, there is much cifics never overcrowd the more. Exhaustive endnotes author’s central purpose: (fifty-nine pages!) and a tracing the full story of twelve-page bibliography an event well dubbed “the combine to reveal the ex- most traumatic day in the tent of Malcomson’s re- history of .” search into military records, Capital in Flames is government documents divided into four sections. and personal papers. He The three chapters of “The sifted through unpublished Town and the War” describe records in twenty-two ar- York in 1812, the problems chives, particularly the na- the British faced in defend- tional archives of the United ing , and the States and Canada, and the first year’s campaign for the Archives of Ontario. Nine control of Lake Ontario. appendices offer additional The next four chapters, information, most specifi- headed “Strategies and cally statistics on casualties Armed Camps,” alternate and prisoners, as well as the between the two sides, de- names of all those recorded scribing British operations as military participants: during the 1813 Upper Canadian winter, British regulars, militia, and American army American goals of the second year of the and navy personnel. The volume opens with a War, fortifying York, and assembling the in- dramatis personae, helpful to readers unfamil- vasion force at Sackets Harbor. “The Battle” iar with the names of key characters. carries the narrative through advance plan- Capital in Flames is more than a military ning, landing, taking the garrison and the history. Part of its importance is Malcomson’s ultimate capitulation. Malcomson consumes careful consideration of civilian events such as a full sixty-one pages leading readers through ’s role in rallying York’s leadership, events of Tuesday April 27, the day of the at- problems of coping with looting and vandalism tack. The most dramatic incident was the un- by unpatriotic locals, and the deep resentment expected intensity of the explosion when the aroused in York’s citizenry by Sheaffe’s rapid British deliberately torched their own powder retreat. The Americans were guilty of destroy- magazine, killing dozens, mostly Americans. ing some private as well as public property, but Nonetheless General Sheaffe quickly quit many residents were amazed that the Yankees the field and fled the town, leaving surprised freely distributed to the populace much of the 242 ONTARIO HISTORY

loot. They handed out captured British sup- the American army and navy. It had been ex- plies, including agricultural implements and ecuted with speed and precision, marred only other goods that had been gathered and ware- by the totally unanticipated explosion. For housed by Lieutenant Governor Simcoe but Canadians, the defeat at York was not defini- never dispersed to settlers. tive. It influenced but in no way determined Those interested in “myths” —soldiers the course of a war that ended as it began, af- crashing through the ice of Grenadier Pond, firming and confirming the status quo. Mal- traditions of militia sacrifices and gallantry, comson begins and ends his book focusing on captured supplies affecting the naval battle the town of York, but he rightly refrains from at Put In Bay on —will find much speculating on what might have been had the to ponder as Malcomson sifts the facts from outcome of the war been different. the fantasies. Among the oft-debated ques- Once again Robin Brass Studio has pub- tions he considers are who actually burned the lished a work that is fully and accurately il- Parliament buildings, what were the compara- lustrated, artfully designed and a pleasure to tive strengths of the opposing forces, and how read. Maps, in particular the hour-by-hour de- important was the whole affair in the ongoing pictions of the progress of the battle, are clear war. Trivia buffs will delight in details of the and informative. Numerous archival images scalp found in the Parliament building and of and modern photographs (many by Malcom- the death of U.S. General Pike with his Brock- son) enhance the written words throughout. like admonition to his troops: “Push on my Here, at last, is a comprehensive, meticu- brave fellows and avenge your general.” lously researched history of the battle of York. Nonetheless, Malcomson is no debunker. So much has been written that is shallow, His passion for accuracy does not mute his biased and laden with legend. This brilliant enthusiasm for the narrative. The whole affair book tells the whole story from both Canadi- was marked by myriad errors, miscalculations, an (i.e. British) and American points of view. and other evidences of human fallibility. Yet It is basic reading, essential for understanding Malcomson is judicious without being judg- early Toronto as well as the War, and destined mental, neither blaming nor scoffing as he to become the definitive study of the subject. presents the evidence. In the context of the entire War of 1812 (and, from a British per- Chris Raible , Creemore, Ontario spective, the larger context of the Napoleonic Bibliography: wars) the American invasion of York may not Malcomson, Robert. A Very Brilliant Affair: The have amounted to much, but, Malcomson Battle of Queenston Heights, 1812. Toronto: insists, “the taking of a capital city is no small Robin Brass Studio, 2003. potatoes.” Despite major losses, for Americans Malcomson, Robert. Lords of the Lakes: The Na- the battle was significant and successful, being val War on Lake Ontario, 1812-1814. Toron- the first ever combined military operation of to: Robin Brass Studio, 1998. Narrow Gauge Through the Bush By Rod Clarke. Streetsville, Ontario: Privately published, 2007. 400 pages. $65.00 hardcover. ISBN 0-9784406-0-2. (www.cvrco.com)

arrow Gauge Through the Bush formation, Clarke shows his deep commit- is an immense work of Ontario ment to highly detailed research. His subject railroad history. Throughout more is the Toronto, Grey & Bruce (TG&B) and Nthan 370 oversized pages, crammed with in- the Toronto & Nipissing (T&N) Railways,