War of 1812, Part 17: British Invade the North

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

After the collapse of Napoleon’s empire in the spring of 1814, Great Britain sent 28,000 veteran troops to North America, one quarter of which were sent to Lower Canada to invade the Champlain Valley and punish the United States for initiating a war Great Britain never wanted. The British army entrusted with this task was one of the finest ever put into the field in North America and was commanded by Sir George Prevost, Governor General of the Canadas. Strategically for Great Britain, it was critical to secure a direct overland route from the St. Lawrence River to an ice-free port on the Bay of Fundy, and to gain this route, they needed the northern portion of Maine.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses the British Army’s plan for invading up the Lake Champlain corridor, and why it still matters today. 

Images courtesy of Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Government of Canada, Yale University Art Gallery, Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, Internet Archive, Wikimedia. 

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Tom Hand
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War of 1812, Part 16: Battle of the Chateaugay