Defender of Canada: Sir George Prevost and the War of 1812

by Tanya Grodzinski, Donald E. Graves (Foreword by)

Overview

When war broke out between Great Britain and the United States in 1812, Sir George Prevost, captain general and governor in chief of British North America, was responsible for defending a group of North American colonies that stretched as far as the distance from Paris to Moscow. He also commanded one of the largest British overseas forces during the Napoleonic Wars. Defender of Canada, the first book-length examination of Prevost’s career, offers a reinterpretation of the general’s military leadership in the War of 1812. Historian Tanya Grodzinski shows that Prevost deserves far greater credit for the successful defense of Canada than he has heretofore received.

Earlier accounts portrayed Prevost as overly cautious and attributed the preservation of Canada to other officers, but Grodzinski challenges these assumptions and restores the general to his rightful place as British North America’s key military figure during the War of 1812. Grodzinski shows that Prevost’s strategic insight enabled him to enact a practicable defense despite scarce resources and to ably integrate naval power into his defensive plans.

Prevost’s range of responsibilities in British North America were daunting. They included overseeing joint endeavors with Indian allies, managing logistical matters, monitoring naval construction and personnel needs, supervising colonial governments, and commanding the defense of Canada. Tasked with protecting an extensive and complex territory, Prevost employed a mix of soldiers, sailors, locally raised forces, and indigenous people in taking advantage of the American military’s weaknesses to defeat most of its plans.

Following his recall to Britain in 1815 after the defeat at the Battle of Plattsburgh, Prevost would have been court-martialed had he not died unexpectedly. In carefully examining the charges leveled against Prevost, Grodzinski shows the general to have preserved the integrity of Canada, allowing diplomats to ensure its continued existence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806194103
Publisher:	University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date:	02/26/2024
Series:	Campaigns and Commanders Series , #40
Pages:	398
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.89(d)

About the Author

Tanya Grodzinski is Associate Professor Emerita of History at the Royal Military College of Canada and past editor of the online War of 1812 Magazine. She is the author of The War of 1812: An Annotated Bibliography and Defender of Canada: Sir George Prevost and the War of 1812.


Military historian Donald E. Graves is the author of several books, including most recently Dragon Rampant: The Royal Welch Fusiliers at War, 1793–1815.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Foreword Donald E. Graves ix

Acknowledgments xv

Note to the Reader xvii

Introduction: The Untold Story of Sir George Prevost's Leadership in the War of 1812 3

1 The Making of a General, 1767-1808 10

2 Nova Scotia, Martinique, and Quebec, 1808-1811 28

3 Planning the Defense of British North America, September 1811-June 1812 50

4 Declaration of War and Military Operations in 1812 78

5 Operations around Lake Ontario Intensify: January to May 1813 98

6 The Canadas Survive Repeated Invasion: June to December 1813 122

7 "Give Jonathan a Good Drubbing": January to August 1814 145

8 Preparing for the Plattsburgh Campaign 160

9 A Single Stain: The Plattsburgh Campaign 171

10 "Respecting my conduct at Platsburgh …": The Fate of Sir George Prevost 205

Epilogue: A Reexamination of Sir George Prevost's Leadership, 1811-1815 237

Appendix A Correspondence respecting British Strategy in North America 243

Appendix B The Land and Naval Forces at Plattsburgh, 11 September 1814 254

Appendix C The Pring and Robertson Letters to Yeo 258

Appendix D The Court-Martial of Major General Henry Procter 268

Appendix E Composition of the Court-Martial Board and Witnesses for the Trial of Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost 271

Appendix F On the Court Martial held at Chelsea Hospital in February 1816 of the Conduct of Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost, Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Forces in Canada 274

Notes 289

Bibliography 351

Index 363

Editorial Reviews

Prevost’s role as governor general of Canada has long been diminished or underestimated. In this well-written, thoroughly researched account, John R. Grodzinski successfully restores Prevost to his rightful place as British North America’s key military figure during the War of 1812.”—John H. Schroeder, author of Commodore John Rodgers: Paragon of the Early American Navy


“This full-dress study and reassessment of Sir George Prevost is long overdue. John R. Grodzinski does a masterful job of tracing Prevost’s career and demonstrates that this much-maligned leader deserves to be remembered as the savior of Canada.”—Donald R. Hickey, author of The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict


“Sir George Prevost has had many critics and almost no defenders. In the course of rehabilitating Prevost’s reputation, John R. Grodzinski gives us a fresh, comprehensive analysis of British strategy and policy-making in North America, 1811 to 1815. This book will stand as one of the more significant studies to emerge from the bicentennial of the War of 1812.”—J. C. A. Stagg, author of The War of 1812: Conflict for a Continent


“In a major contribution to scholarship, John R. Grodzinski shifts the focus from the drama and glory of battles and campaigns to the higher direction of war. His focus on the combined civil-military command that defeated a succession of American invasions places Sir George Prevost in the wider context of imperial power, and makes a strong case in Prevost’s defense.”—Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain against America in the Naval War of 1812

From the Publisher