The War of 1812 was considered the Second War of Independence for the United States of America. Britain was flexing her might on the high seas and war became inevitable for the new Republic to prove its worth to the world. The Canada’s were a prime target for the young nation. Many of its inhabitants were of American stock and were actually considered near cousins by many. It was to be a short march north of the border with the expectation that the Canadians would flock to the American flag to overthrow the oppressive British rule. That the British nearly lost the war, at the outset, is true. The two nations entered a conflict from which they would ultimately become friends. At the very outset, an elite group of frontiersmen were handed the best weapon that America could produce and sent to the border to annoy the British and prosecute the war in Northern New York. Their story and the story of the commanding officer, Benjamin Forsyth, is the basis for this tale. Almost all of it is fact or fiction that could have been true had we been transported to that time two hundred years ago and really knew what had transpired. On the surface it may have appeared that Lieutenant-Colonel Forsyth was a man-killer and a brute, as some have described him but is that so? Or is it the sour grapes of enemies vanquished? It is known that the men of the First Regiment of Rifles fought hard and that the troops in that Regiment were the bravest of men, assets firmly described by many of their contemporaries. Their enemies described the Rifle Regiment as looters and freebooters but were they any more so than their peers on either side of the conflict? Discipline was scarce in the Regiment, but these were men of the forests, used to forest warfare, ideal skirmishers and crack shots. They were led from the front by a man they all worshipped and how could any other have earned that grudging respect, without being a peerless and fearless leader? Nelson had it, Napoleon had it and I think Forsyth had it. Enjoy a recounting of the exploits of the First US Regiment of Rifles, led by the indomitable Benjamin Forsyth, pioneer from Stokes County, North Carolina. He and his beloved Rifle Regiment take point in the line of battle along the St. Lawrence River in Northern New York and later on the Niagara Peninsula. He leads a Forlorn Hope in the taking of York, now Toronto and is almost blown to Kingdom Come and rebounds to lead his men in a similar attack on Fort George. Gananoque, Brockville, Ogdensburg, Stony Creek, French Creek, Hoople’s Creek and Lake Champlain are among the names of the numerous battles where he and his men fought the Redcoats toe to toe. Be reminded of the steps along the way where two great nations fought each other to a standstill. That they have remained friends since those times makes the losses on either side more poignant. These are times worth remembering and men worth honoring on the brink of the two hundred year anniversary of War of 1812.
