Expedition on Lake Nipissing François Castilloux

The Nipissing

region was

involved in the

War of 1812. In

July 1814, an

armed expedition

of the North-West

Company crossed

Lake Nipissing in

canoe. It consisted of 325 armed men, 47 canoes

and a large amount of fur. The fur trader Gabriel

Franchère was part of the expedition and wrote

the following passage in “A Voyage to the

Northwest Coast of America” (Lakeside Press

Ed., 1954):

“On the 21st the canoe in which I was a

passenger was sent to the mouth of French River

to observe the motions of the enemy. We

remained at the entrance of the river till the

evening of the 25th, when the fleet of 44 loaded

and 3 light canoes. The value of the furs which

they carried could not be estimated at less than

£200,000: an important prize for the American, if

they could have landed their hand upon it. We

were 325 men, all well-armed; a large camp was

formed with a breast-work of fur-packs, and we

kept watch all night. The next morning we began

to ascend, and were soon out of reach of the

dreaded foe. We reached Lake Nipissingue, of

which it is the outlet, the same evening and

encamped. We crossed that lake on the 27th,

made a number of portages, and encamped

again, not far from Mataouan. On the 28th we

entered, at an early hour, the river Outawas, and

encamped in the evening at the Portage des

Joachims.”

What was this event? Why it happen? Why an

armed expedition crossed Lake Nipissing? Here

is the story. During the War of 1812, the North-

West Company had to bring fur from Western

Canada to Montreal. The Company organized an

armed expedition to transport and protect the

fur. They planned to paddle eastward on the

Prairies’ waterways to Fort William (today

Thunder Bay) and then cross Lake Superior and

find a way to safely reach the St-Lawrence Strait

and finally Montreal. By this time, the War of

1812 was two years old and the Great Lakes

were a dangerous combat zone. In those days,

lakes and rivers were extremely important.

Waterways were the main line of transportation,

supply and communication whereas railroad

systems were not yet introduced in Canada. Into

this light, lakes and rivers were really the

highways of the time and Lake Nipissing was not

an exception.

There were two main routes linking the Great

Lakes to Montreal. One of them was the Ottawa

River Route which was used by the expedition in

question. In fact, the Ottawa River Route crosses

French River, Lake Nipissing, the Ottawa River

and then the St-Lawrence Strait to reach

Montreal. However, it wasn’t the most popular

route. The most popular route was the Lake Erie

and Lake Ontario corridor: a route going

southeastward from Lake Huron through Lake

Erie, Lake Ontario to finally reach the St-

Lawrence Strait. It was also larger and more

convenient for larger ships. So, why the

expedition used the Ottawa River Route instead?

During the War of 1812 the Americans

controlled Lake Erie and therefore a part of the

corridor. In other hand, the Ottawa River Route

was safer. It was more isolated and crossed

Indian Territory. It went on a northeastward

direction to connect with the St-Lawrence Strait

while bypassing Lake Huron, Erie and Ontario. A

contemporary of the war, Thomas H. Palmer,

wrote: “The only practicable lines of

communication with the lower country, while

the Americans were masters of Lake Erie, was

with Montreal by Outawas [River], which is

connected by means of a portage or carrying-

place, with lake Nipissing, which latter empties

itself into Huron by means of French River.”

The North-West Company didn’t like the military

situation in the Great Lakes. The Americans were

not far and the expedition carried a large amount

of fur representing, according to Gabriel

Franchère, a “rich prize for the Americans”. This

is why the company assigned armed men to

carry the expedition. In this case, it was a

contingency of the Canadian Corps of Voyageur

who Gabriel Franchère later specified in his

narrative. These men were up to the task: they

were trained to wield the paddle and firearms.

They also knew the waterways and the rigor of

the voyage. On July 25 1814, the expedition

reached the entrance of French River. Should

they use the Ottawa River Route or the Lake Erie

and Lake Ontario corridor? For the crew, the

Ottawa River Route was an obvious choice. On

July 26 1814, an expedition of 325 men and 47

canoes paddled into French River towards Lake

Nipissing.

If we fallow Gabriel Franchère, we can imagine

the following scenario. In the morning of July 26,

the expedition started paddling on French River

to reach “Lake Nipissingue, of which it is the

outlet, the same evening and encamped.” Then,

supper was served, the canoe shell lubricated

and the crew fell asleep under the sound of

waves. The next day in early morning of July 27,

the crew got up and judged the water. We must

be careful on Lake Nipissing; the waves are

tough and particularly unpredictable. The crew

decided to undertake the lake. Breakfast was

served, the camp was dismantled and the canoes

were reloaded and launched. Under a summer

sky, the expedition crossed Lake Nipissing. On

that day, the rhythmic noise of paddles and

Voyageurs cheers surely echoed far on the lake.

This event is important for the history of the

Nipissing region. However, it’s incomplete and

the work of Gabriel Franchère lacks precision.

According to him, the expedition reached Lake

Nipissing and encamped. However, he doesn’t

say the exact location of the camp. Also,

archeological excavations around Lake Nipissing

uncovered nothing on that matter.

Unfortunately, the location remains unknown. As

we can see, history is incomplete. Other

supportive documents must be found. There’s a

few hypothesis, but the subject needs more

discussion. The Nipissing region was involved in

the War of 1812 and this armed expedition is

part of our history.