MattyG

The HMS Sir Isaac Brock was a ship that was built by the British Army in Canada during the War of 1812, commemorating General Sir Isaac Brock, a well-known Canadian war hero who died in action. In the process of its construction at Fort York, which is present-day Toronto, the ship was burnt by the British during a raid on the fort by American forces in 1813. The ship was burnt upon orders from British General Roger Hale Sheaffe, who was in charge of the forces at Fort York at the time. While the ship was never completed, the HMS Sir Isaac Brock brings focus to the importance of the ship and naval supremacy during the War of 1812. The HMS Sir Isaac Brock being burnt at Fort York showcases that the British were willing to lose all of their military equipment, including their hold on the fort, to keep the frigate from reaching American hands. The British were willing to risk losing the frigate they were building and the battle to win the long-game strategy of the war. Looking at the HMS Sir Isaac Brock and its story helps provide a strategic look into the War of 1812 and how this game of strategy ended up with a British and Toronto Harbour victory.

The War of 1812 was dictated by who had control over the waters of the Great Lakes, especially Lake Ontario, making shipbuilding a critical component of either victory or defeat. United States President at the time, James Madison, described that “the command of those waters is the hinge on which the war will essentially turn” . The British had naval control in the early parts of the war, allowing for early victories and easier movement of troops and supplies along the lakes . In the beginning, it was a race to arm and use civilian schooners or ships owned by the North West Trading Company but then ports like York, Kingston, and Sacketts Harbour became shipbuilding yards with these war goals in mind . The goal for the British and the Americans was to build as many ships as possible to tip the balance of the war in their favour . The Americans began to build and design war-capable ships under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey with the British matching their efforts. The Americans built the corvette USS Madison while the British matched it with their own corvette built at Kingston and began to build the HMS Sir Isaac Brock at Fort York . The brunt of the manpower and supplies for this war went to Lake Ontario in this ‘battle of carpenters’, to achieve the end goal of naval supremacy and control of the lakes . Building larger and better ships was a part of this game of strategy and every ship made was valuable in the long-term war effort. President Madison stated that “if they build two ships, we should build four. If they build thirty- or 40-gun ships, we should build them of 50 or 60 guns”, showcasing the importance of building a formidable provincial marine would be in winning the war . The burning of the HMS Sir Isaac Brock rather than being captured was a British loss but it was also a loss for the Americans, as they did not gain an important frigate in their efforts for naval supremacy.

With the ongoing battle for control of the lakes with large quantities of ships, military officials on both sides of the conflict began preparing for 1813 through the winter months. British officials and Fort York’s General Sheaffe were becoming increasingly worried about the American naval build-up occurring in Sacketts Harbour and around the lakes going into 1813 . Sheaffe made recommendations to the British to up their production of shipbuilding in Upper Canada heading into the winter of 1812 to 1813, especially at Port York . With the rise of shipbuilding at Port York, General Sheaffe stated in a letter that York needed better defences with the belief that the Americans were planning to launch an attack on the port to stagger their ship production . As for Chauncey, he had failed to capture the important shipbuilding port of Kingston in 1812 causing him to be cautious and shift his focus towards York . He and President Madison both agreed that the provincial marine had to be better to win the war, especially with the rumours that the British in Canada were receiving reinforcements after winter from Britain.

The Americans were well aware that to defeat the British, they had to beat them in terms of shipbuilding and naval dominance. Chauncey, along with Major-General Henry Dearborn, suggested attacking York as it was understood to be poorly equipped to defend against an attack . In letters between Chauncey and the Secretary of U.S. Navy, William Jones, Chauncey describes that there is “Not much of a force at York” and that he is keeping up to date with the movements of the enemies, setting his focus on York as a primary target . Fort York became a target of Chauncey’s and the Americans situated at Sacketts Harbour due to the rumours of naval supplies and two important frigates being stationed at York . The Prince Regent, an armed schooner, was docked at York for the winter and the more intriguing Sir Isaac Brock was being built at York . The frigate Sir Isaac Brock was set to be the largest ship on the great lakes and would keep the Americans pinned in at Sackett’s harbour on the lakes . The frigate was supposed to be armed with twenty-six 32-pdr, carronades and four long 18pdrs, making the Brock a formidable force on the lakes . General Sheaffe quickly heard of the impending attack and moved the Prince Regent to the ports of Kingston as soon as he could . This left the unfinished Sir Isaac Brock up for the Americans to try and acquire to use to their advantage on the lakes.

The issue with the Sir Isaac Brock being moved to Kingston was that there was a significant delay in its building leaving the ship at risk of capture in an American raid. Historian Malcomson states that the frigate was:

“Its starboard side was barely half-planked and only the first few strakes of oak had been bent and fastened around its ribs on the larboard side. The lower masts were fully assembled on shore and two large sails were ready, as was most of the ironwork, and the ship’s boats had been framed, but all the inner structures of the ship needed to be put in place, followed by its armament, equipment, mast, and rigging.”

The ship was behind on its construction and did not have as much progress as was expected, with the ship being doubtful to sail before the spring of 1813 . York’s port production in comparison to Kingston’s port was considerably worse, with Kingston being better equipped with supplies and manpower to achieve what the British wanted . York was so poorly equipped that the plan for the Sir Isaac Brock was to sail to Kingston to acquire the rest of the armaments required for the frigate to be fully complete due to the guns needed for the ship not being at York until after Spring . The winter made it extremely challenging for the supplies needed to get to the port of York and the Sir Isaac Brock, making the construction process continually delayed . On top of this, there were bad relations between the shipbuilder and the government officials, which further delayed the construction of the Sir Isaac Brock . The poorly executed construction of the Sir Isaac Brock opened up the opportunity for the Americans to attack York and try to acquire the frigates for their provincial marine, especially one of the Brock’s stature at the time.

On the morning of April 27th, 1813, Dearborn and Chauncey led a large fleet and squadron of men towards Fort York . The Americans outnumbered the British greatly, allowing them to land west of the York dockyards, which is today Parkdale, near Dowling Avenue . The Americans began marching westward towards the garrison and York with relative ease and had the American fleet providing covering fire against the poorly defended port . General Sheaffe was present at Fort York during the attack and was active in the resistance against the American forces . Sheaffe quickly realized during the battle that his forces were greatly outnumbered and that York was all but lost . Sheaffe decided to let York fall and not let his regulars surrender by retreating to Kingston down the open road to the east as the Americans came from the west . While retreating, Sheaffe, or another high-ranking officer, burned all the government documents and then ordered the destruction of the Grand Magazine to minimize the enemy’s gains from victory . The explosion from the Grand Magazine was catastrophic and killed large quantities of American and British soldiers in the process . Recollections of the explosion have caused historians to believe that the explosion could have been the biggest detonation before the great Halifax explosion during World War I . Sheaffe did not want the enemy to gain the munitions and supplies that York had, thus making the strategic decision to destroy it all. Along with the Grand Magazine, Sheaffe also ordered the burning of the Sir Isaac Brock and a large portion of naval supplies to prevent them from getting into enemy hands . At the time, the Sir Isaac Brock was situated at the ports of York, where present-day University Avenue is . It was out of reach for the Americans and the British were able to burn the frigate before they could obtain it. The Americans ended up claiming Fort York at the end of the day with little to gain from their efforts.

After the battle, Chauncey wrote letters to William Jones discussing the outcomes of the battle at York. He discussed the death of General Pike from the explosion being a major loss for the Americans, as well as the absence of vessels they acquired from their victory . From Chauncey’s letter books, it is seen that the Americans gained very little from their attack on York and were displeased with the targets from before the raid, including the Sir Isaac Brock, not being theirs in the aftermath of the battle. The clear strategic importance of York during the War of 1812 was its ability to be a ship-building port for the British, and the Americans wanted to stop this production. For their efforts, they received little in terms of equipment to use themselves and the Prince Regent was able to continue sailing and be a part of the British war effort on the Great Lakes. The Americans were however able to capture the old schooner, Duke of Gloucester, but were dismissed by Dearborn as unfit for use therefore not being much of a gain . With this anger of little gains from York, the Americans retaliated against the destruction by Sheaffe by looting and plundering the town, destroying their government buildings and parliament buildings . Resentment towards the Americans grew from these actions in York and helped to fuel the British push to victory in the war, including the retaliation from the British in the raid and the burning of the White House in 1814 . The British ended up rebuilding York after American occupation and in 1814 were able to repel the American attack using the Fort . The port of York was able to survive another day and able to build a stronger defence to help the British win the overall war effort.

The battle of York ended in a short-term victory for the Americans in claiming the fort, but in the long run, it was a victory for the British forces. The Americans exhausted many of their resources and time in their attempt on York to capture their supplies and ships docked there, especially the Sir Isaac Brock, leaving them frustrated that they did not gain the frigate for their use . The Americans also suffered a large number of casualties and allowed Sheaffe, with his men, to escape and fight on . The Americans suffered a 20 percent casualty rate with 320 losses, making York a way too costly loss with the little monetary gains of the plunder . Sheaffe’s orders to leave York behind were a success from the viewpoint of the long-term war effort. The Prince Regent was safe at Kingston along with Sheaffe and his regulars, and the Sir Isaac Brock was out of the American’s hands, leaving the British provincial marine with little loss to the Americans. With a frigate such as the Sir Isaac Brock out of the American’s hands, it allowed the British to not be outnumbered and outgunned on Lake Ontario. Sheaffe’s decision to burn the ship left Chauncey’s plans of taking advantage of Fort York’s shipbuilding prowess during the war mostly a failure, with no physical gains. While this was the case, the Americans did succeed in cutting off the York supplies that were meant to be used in Lake Erie, leading to American victory during the battle of Lake Erie in September later that year . Even with Lake Erie’s victory, the Americans still lost a considerable number of men and supplies while gaining little to none for themselves to use in their attempts for naval supremacy. This decision to burn the Sir Isaac Brock is one that at first seemed like a loss for the British but allowed for the long-term supremacy of the lakes to continue. Fort York and the British prevailed in this game of strategy, allowing the British to fight another day and preventing the American fleet from becoming too powerful.