Reverend John Strachan British

Reverend John Strachan was the outspoken chaplain of the York Garrison. A sobering, but proud man, who felt he was master of his emotions, Strachan had wide-ranging interests which he pursued and wrote about with considerable energy. He was fascinated by military tactics, and disagreed with the defensive policy of the British in North America. Above all, he detested the politics and land-grabbing tendencies of the United States. Strachan assumed leadership of the British negotiating team after the fall of York when the regular British army retreated. He was primarily responsible for the agreement that all public buildings and property would be turned over to the Americans, while private property would be respected. Later, with considerable risk to himself, he opposed American troops who did not observe the rules of the agreement. Having made a name for himself in York during the war, Strachan went on to become a member of the Executive Council of Upper Canada in 1818, a position that he held for almost twenty years. He became Bishop of Toronto in 1839, as well as the first president of King’s College. Strachan exercised an enormous influence in Canadian politics up until his death in 1867 at the age of ninety.