I wasn’t the only one who was concerned about the Americans who flooded into Upper Canada. Many Loyalists were prominent in their
places of settlement, as they held important posts in the local districts. As
settlers, however, they were outnumbered by the Americans, only some of whom
had taken oaths of allegiance to Britain.
The make up of Upper Canada’s population was well known both
north and south of the border. When relations between Britain and the US soured
and then escalated into the War of 1812, American leaders thought that the
Americans in Upper Canada would be only too happy to welcome their American
liberators. That’s not how it turned out.
At the beginning of the hostilities there was more rhetoric than
military might on the American side. They were not prepared for war. Neither
were those on the other side of the border but there was time to prepare a
defence. The war lasted for several years and ended with both sides declaring
that they had won. That would be funny, except that people lost their
lives and livelihoods.
Part of the problem facing the antagonists was trying to fight with militia raised
from the ordinary farmer citizens. They were only part time soldiers with other
things on their mind, like protecting their homes and families as well as being
on hand to bring in the harvest. The regular troops on the Canadian side of the
border gave them an advantage, one they needed given the sparsely populated western
reaches of Upper Canada where some of the battles occurred. There was also activity close to Kingston at Gananoque,
not far from Percy, where Charles Tripp and his family lived.
Marker in Old Fairfield, Ontario
Photo by
Ernest Mettendorf*
How were the Tripps affected by the hostilities? I was
unable to find any lists which named the men in the local militia during the
time of the 1812 war. Charles would have been in his early 50s by that time,
probably too old to serve but at least two of his sons, Solomon and Jonathan,
may have been old enough to serve. But where did their loyalties lie?
Sources:
Bumsted, J.M. The
Peoples of Canada: A Pre-Confederation History. Oxford University Press,
Toronto, 1992
Craig, Gerald M. Upper
Canada: The Formative Years, 1784-1841. Oxford University Press, Don Mills,
Ontario, 2013
Hall, Roger and Gordon Dodds, Ontario: 200 Years in Pictures: A Celebration of Ontario, 1791-1991. Dundurn
Press Limited, Toronto, 1991
