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America moves on Canada -

American combatants first invaded territory north of the border in 1775 when the Continental Army attempted to seize the Province of Quebec in the early days of the Revolutionary War.

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Rallying support for the Patriot movement -

American leaders hoped to induce the province, defended by the British, to join the rebellion by rallying French-Canadian support for the Patriot movement against the British.

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Invasion of Quebec -

The Continental Army began moving into Quebec, a region frequently referred to as "Lower Canada," in September 1775. It was a two-pronged assault: forces of General Richard Montgomery (pictured) approached via St. John's, while troops serving under Colonel Benedict Arnold moved up the Kennebec River.

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Fall of Montreal -

Blocking Montgomery's path to Quebec was Fort Saint-Jean and Montreal. However, both fell easily and, in fact, Montgomery was greeted as a liberator.

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Advancing through wilderness -

Arnold's progress, meanwhile, was labored. His men had marched 400 miles (over 640 km) through untracked wilderness, and by the time they reached the outskirts of Quebec his force was reduced to 600 malnourished men.

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The Plains of Abraham -

The two forces united on open land called the Plains of Abraham on December 2. Montgomery and Arnold turned and faced a fortified city.

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The Battle of Quebec -

The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775. The American attack was made in a blinding snowstorm. The plan was for American units to enter the city separately and then converge on the lower ramparts of the fortress. But in the fighting that followed, Montgomery was killed.

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American defeat -

Arnold himself was wounded early in the battle. His second-in-command, Daniel Morgan, ordered his men to regroup and lay siege to the city. However, British reinforcements accelerated an American retreat. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came with significant losses. In addition, over 400 Continental Army personnel were taken prisoner.

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War of 1812 -

A few decades later, the United States again tried to invade Canada, by waging war against the British, from whom the American colonies had won their independence in 1783. With Anglo-American tensions boiling over from long-standing differences over territorial expansion in North America, hostilities commenced on June 18, 1812.

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Reasons for targeting Canada -

America's decision to target Canada stemmed from the fact that with only 16 warships, the United States could not directly challenge Britain's Royal Navy, which had at least 500 vessels in service in 1812.

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An attempt to win concessions -

The tipping point was the Royal Navy's imposition of an effective blockade on US maritime trade, specifically with France. To even the playing field, the Americans were hoping to use the conquest of British territory north of the border as a bargaining chip to win concessions on the maritime issues.

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Invasion of Upper Canada -

American armies invaded Canada in 1812 at three points. On July 12, 1812, Brigadier General William Hull led an incursion into Upper Canada from Detroit, crossing the Detroit River east of Old Sandwich Town (the area around modern-day Windsor, Ontario).

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In retreat -

Hull's forces met with stiff resistance and they were forced to withdraw to the American side of the river on August 7. A reserve of 600 troops led by Lieutenant Colonel James Miller remained in Canada, ostensibly to resupply the American position, an ultimately futile decision.

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Siege of Detroit -

Hull surrendered to British forces under Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh's Shawnee warriors in Detroit on August 16, thus thwarting further American invasion efforts.

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Battle of Queenston Heights -

An attempt by the Americans to establish a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River resulted in the Battle of Queenston Heights—the first major military engagement of the War of 1812.

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Decisive confrontation -

The battle was fought on October 13, 1812, near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). It was a decisive confrontation, with the bulk of American forces unable to cross the river because of heavy and sustained British artillery fire.

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Another American surrender -

The Americans, led by Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer, were beaten into a retreat and eventually surrendered. British victory, however, was tempered by the death of Isaac Brock on the battlefield.

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Battle of St. Regis -

On October 22, 1812, a military skirmish took place on the St. Lawrence River at the frontier. In what became known as the Battle of St. Regis, about 100 New York state militia commanded by Major Guilford Dudley Young attacked a military post manned by British regulars and French Canadian voyageurs (fur trappers) just outside the village of St. Regis. Dudley was able to surprise the camp and take most of the occupants captive. A small detachment of Americans remained to occupy the site.

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Battle of York -

United States forces fared better in 1813. On April 13, American troops, supported by a naval flotilla, landed at York in Upper Canada (today's Toronto, Ontario) and captured the provincial capital. British losses numbered nearly 100. Among the American casualties was Brigadier General Zebulon Pike.

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Battle of the Thames -

Victory at York paved the way for the Battle of the Thames, which took place on October 5 in Upper Canada, near Chatham.

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Death of Tecumseh -

The battle resulted in an American victory, with the Shawnee chief Tecumseh among those killed. His death precipitated the end of his intertribal confederacy. The British, meanwhile, lost control of Southwestern Ontario.

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William Henry Harrison -

The American forces that drove back the British and then defeated the Indigenous peoples were under the command of Major General William Henry Harrison, later the ninth president of the United States.

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The War of 1812 ends -

Ultimately, the War of 1812 ended in a draw on the battlefield. The British held on to Canada and their maritime rights, while the Americans celebrated the fact that they'd held back a major European power, which in turn vindicated their sovereignty.

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"Manifest Destiny" -

Annexation and invasion fears continued through the American Civil War. Canadians were reminded early on of the so-called "Manifest Destiny," a phrase that represented the belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America—and how American imperialist ambitions could easily swallow up land in the north, beyond the frontier.

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Reinforcing Canada -

As the Civil War progressed, London became increasingly concerned that the conflict could spill over into Canada. To help protect its colonies from a possible attack by America, Great Britain sent troop reinforcements across the Atlantic. The illustration shows members of the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Fusiliers marching across Westminster Bridge to a railroad mustering point in 1861.

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Canadians and the American Civil War -

It's a little-known fact that as Union and Confederate armies battled in the United States, Canadians got involved on both sides of the conflict. In fact, around 30,000 to 50,000 Canadians enlisted to fight. Furthermore, the war played a significant role in how and when Canada became an independent country.

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Enlisting in the Union Army -

Most Canadians signed up for the Union Army under the United States' abolitionist President Abraham Lincoln.

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Enlisting in the Confederate Army -

There were others who pledged allegiance to the Confederate Army, eager to see a win for the independence of the Southern states and the upholding and expansion of the institution of slavery.

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Sympathy for the Confederacy -

The Confederacy had its supporters north of the border. The political and financial elite in particular sympathized with the rebels, with Montreal (pictured in 1863) a notable hotbed of Southern spies and agent provocateurs seeking to launch attacks on the Northern states.

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Constitution Act, 1982 -

As the war drew to a close, Canadians still expressed fear of a US invasion. Simmering tensions between America and Great Britain only served to fuel concern for the security and independence of the colonies. The 1864 Conference of Quebec laid out the framework for uniting British colonies in North America into a federation. However, it would take another 181 years and the Constitution Act, 1982 for Canada to establish complete sovereignty as an independent country.

Sources: (USS Constitution Museum) (The Hill) (World History Encyclopedia) (American Battlefield Trust) (Canada's History) (The Canadian Encyclopedia) (North County Now) 

See also: United States-Canada: the longest international border in the world

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