r Canada was entirely free from the
army of the republic, the Union Jack floated above the fort at Detroit,
and the ambitious plan of invading the French province and seizing
Montreal was given up as a result of the disasters to the enemy in the
west. The party of peace in New England gathered strength, and the
promoters of the war had no consolation except the triumphs obtained at
sea by some heavily armed and well manned frigates of the United States
to the surprise of the government and people of England, who never
anticipated that their maritime superiority could be in any way
endangered by a nation whose naval strength was considered so
insignificant. But these victories of the republic on the ocean during
the first year of the war were soon effaced by the records of the two
subsequent years when "The Chesapeake" was captured by "The Shannon" and
other successes of the British ships restored the prestige of England on
the sea.

During the second year of the war the United States won some military
and naval successes in the upper province, although the final results of
the campaign were largely in favour of the defenders of Canada. The war
opened with the defeat of General Winchester at Frenchtown on the River
Raisins in the present state of Michigan; but this success, which was
won by General Procter, was soon forgotten in the taking of York, the
capital of the province, and the destruction of its public buildings.
This event forced General Sheaffe to retire to Kingston, while General
Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights as soon as the invading army
occupied Fort George and dominated the Niagara frontier. Sir George
Prevost showed his military incapacity at Sackett's Harbour, where he
had it in his power to capture a post which was an important base of
operations against the province. On the other hand Colonel George
Macdonell made a successful attack on Ogdensburg and fittingly avenged
the raid that an American force had made a short time previously on
Elizabethtown, which was called Brockville not long afterwards in honour
of the noted general. An advance of the invading army against General
Vincent was checked by the memorable success won at Stoney Creek by
Colonel Harvey and the surrender at Beaver Dams of Colonel Boerstler to
Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, whose clever strategy enabled him to capture a
large force of the enemy while in command of a few soldiers and Indians.
When September arrived, the small, though