The naval expedition to Denmark was intended to destroy the Danish Navy, thereby breaking a league of Northern Powers arrayed against Britain.[16] The commander was Sir Hugh Parker, but the victory was won by his second-in-command, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, who took his ships almost under the guns of the Danish forts to get at the enemy’s vessels. After some four hours of cannonading, it appeared that the battle was lost and Parker signalled the order to discontinue the action. The story is that Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye, thereby claiming he could not see the admiral’s signal and so continued the fight. Brock did not witness Nelson’s action but no doubt he heard about it as did the whole world. Isaac and his brother Savery, with the 49th, were on board the Ganges stationed next to Nelson’s flagship Elephant and part of a line of ships bombarding the Danish batteries. According to Tupper, while Savery was pointing a gun “his hat was torn from his head by a grape shot.” Isaac exclaimed, “Ah! Poor Savery is dead!” but, unwounded, Savery quickly jumped up to resume his task.[17]
The 49th was expected to land to storm the Danish batteries but the battle was won by sea power alone. Near the close of the combat, Brock accompanied Captain Fremantle to the Elephant. There he saw the admiral coolly send his famous message to the prince of Denmark. In it, Nelson demanded that the Danish vessels that had struck their flags cease firing or he would burn them without being able to save the men on board. After the letter had been written, he sent for wax to seal it. When the first messenger was killed he sent another, his explanation being that the message should be properly sealed so that there could be no hint of haste or fear on the part of the British. Nelson’s calmness under pressure as well as his aggressive leadership may have influenced Brock’s thoughts and behaviour when he commanded Upper Canada at the opening of the War of 1812. Nelson’s success in Copenhagen harbour proved a major factor in ending the hostile northern coalition.
After a period in England, in 1802 the 49th was ordered to proceed to Canada. Early in July, Brock, with the first division of the regiment, boarded the Tartar for the voyage. During his brief exposure to fighting, he had caught glimpses of great leadership in Abercromby and Nelson. Although it would be a decade before he would again face combat, he would need qualities of foresight and leadership to prepare his troops and Canadians for a future desperate struggle. In the meantime, he would carry out a wide range of duties while yearning to return to Europe to join in the fight against Napoleon. It would be in battles that fame and promotion would be won, not in garrisons in far off colonies.
NOTES
1. Vice-admiral of the Blue, first Baron de Saumarez, 1757–1836. See Adkins, The War for All the Oceans, Chapters 1 and 2. The Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Sir L. Stephen and Sir S. Lee. Oxford: O U P, 1959–60, v. 17, 803–06, for his brothers, Thomas and Richard, see 806–08.
2. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 4 for both quotations. Tupper’s daughter, Henrietta, compiled Who Was Isaac Brock? Short Summary of the Life of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, K.B. to inform “some of the younger folk” of Guernsey about him.
3. See Appendix E.
4. General Orders and Regulations for the Army, 1811. I want to thank Ron Dale for finding and explaining these figures. He estimates the present-day cost of an ensign’s commission would be about $100,000. Sutherland, His Majesty’s Gentlemen, 4, 13, n. 21, provides different and higher costs for commissions.
5. 1812 Army List. Again, I want to thank Ron Dale for providing these figures. Spier, The Army and Society, 14–15, gives the figure of £365 for a lieutenant-colonel. He also mentions additional payments that an officer might receive.
6. Sutherland, His Majesty’s Gentlemen, 3–4. Holmes, Redcoat, xix–xx, 111–13.
7. Holmes, Redcoat, 174–75 gives a variety of reasons for exchange.
8. Turner, British Generals, 59–60, Chapter 4. DCB, 8, 793–96.
9. S. Sutherland, His Majesty’s Gentlemen, 4–5, 13, n. 21. In cavalry regiments a much higher percentage (45 to 80 percent) of commissions were purchased. For full discussion see Bruce, The Purchase System, and Glover, “The Purchase of Commissions,” 229–35. Holmes, Redcoat, 157–66.
10. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 5–6; Fryer, Bold, Brave, 43–4.
11. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 87–9, 92–4, letters of January 10 and February 19, 1811.
12. Fryer, Bold, Brave, 44–50. Turner, British Generals, 60. On the dangers to the health of troops in the West Indies see M. Duffy, Soldiers, Sugar and Seapower: The British Expeditions to the West Indies and the War Against Revolutionary France (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987).
13. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 6, 18; Turner, British Generals, 60–1.
14. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 349.
15. Edgar, General Brock, 13–21, and Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 6–17.
16. Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, and Russia. O. Warner, A Portrait of Lord Nelson (London: 1963), 238–62; Adkins, The War for All the Oceans, 73–91.
17. Tupper, Life and Correspondence, 18–22. He was quoting the words of a naval officer, Captain Percy Grace, who was present. Edgar, General Brock, 27. Adkins, The War for All the Oceans, 84, shows the positions of the ships in Nelson’s line.
CHAPTER TWO
Early Years in the Canadas, 1802–07: From Regimental Commander to Commander of the Forces
A small fleet docked at Quebec, the capital of the Canadas and residence of the governor, on August 20, 1802, with the first part of the 49th on board two ships. On September 7, the second division under Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Hale Sheaffe arrived, and on September 11, the third division under Captain Charles Plenderleath. In that same month, Brock was in Montreal and concerned about the state of the barracks and of the hospital. He pushed for repairs to be made before the cold of winter descended.[1] Many military facilities were in disrepair because in peacetime soldiers were not required to perform fatigue duties (such as building repairs) unless paid extra. Whether or not Brock achieved some improvement is not clear, but the incident shows his concern that the men under his command be properly housed and looked after.
In February 1803, the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Peter Hunter, ordered the 49th to the upper province in order to replace the Queen’s Rangers, which was being disbanded.[2] York, the capital of Upper Canada, with a population between 300 and 400, had sixty to seventy wooden houses, surrounded by a few farms and large expanses of forest. Situated at the eastern edge of town, Government House served for the assembly and courts of justice. Near it was a blockhouse situated by a large marsh at the mouth of the Don River. Some two miles to the west were barracks, known as the “Garrison,” situated on “a dry bank.”[3] In midsummer, Brock wrote to Hunter’s civil secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel James Green, about the large number of soldiers quartered in the eastern blockhouse and falling ill. If this continued he intended to move them all “to the Garrison,” which so far was a much healthier situation.
Brock was soon to become acquainted with the great difficulties facing British troops in distant outposts, particularly close to the United States border. Early in August, eight men deserted from Fort George, where Sheaffe was in command, crossing the Niagara River to the American side. According to Sheaffe’s official account, they were captured by native warriors and brought back to the fort. A different story