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Graeme Decarie, Canadian Historian
Further Reading |
The U.S. committed a serious tactical error by not taking KingstonIf I had been an American military commander in 1812, I would have made Kingston one of my first destinations.I think that Quebec would have been a tough nut to crack. That was where the British had concentrated their main strength. If they[the Americans] had taken Kingston, it was game over in the rest of the Great Lakes. There was no way the British armies could be supplied. There was no way the Indians could have been supplied. And with the benefit of hindsight, when the peace came, you could probably get this whole Great Lakes region as part of the United States, .o because at that point Britain would not likely have been willing to fight a war to get back territory that was largely undeveloped and whose future was uncertain. And you know, Britain had its own problems after the Napoleonic wars. Some say that General Brock saved Ontario, but I hesitate on that question. What Brock did was prevent Americans from grabbing Western territory, which they might or might not have been able to hold. I think that ultimately the real key was Kingston, and the fact that Kingston held, that it wasn't really ever even seriously attacked, was the real key to saving Upper Canada. |
