Nipissing and the War of 1812

François Castilloux

The Nipissing Region

experienced the War

of 1812 in a special

way. No battles were

fought nearby, but

our region still

contributed to the

war. It provided two

important things to

the British and

Canadian Forces: military support and a

transportation route through Lake Nipissing. My next

column will examine the military contribution of our

region. For now, I would like to examine the subject

of transportation and how much Lake Nipissing was

an important link for the War of 1812.

Lake Nipissing is located on the Ottawa River Route,

which was used for naval transportation and as a

supply and communication line during the War of

1812. Here is the course of this route. From Georgian

Bay, we go in French River to Lake Nipissing beside

which Trout Lake or Talon Lake allows us to follow

Mattawa River, Ottawa River and finally the St-

Lawrence Strait. Therefore, the Ottawa River Route

links the Great Lakes to Lower Canada and important

cities on the strait such as Montreal and Quebec.

Moreover, it also bypasses Lake Erie and Lake

Ontario that runs along the Canadian and American

border. During the war, the Great Lakes experienced

many confrontations and this route became an

important supply line. At some point, this route

became the only safe route in the Great Lakes for the

British and Canadian Forces. Thomas H. Palmer

experienced the War of 1812 and 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

lake Huron by means of French River […]”. In some

way, the War of 1812 highlighted the Ottawa River

Route and the Nipissing Region as a transportation

route. Around the end of the war, an armed

expedition took this route to bypass Lake Erie and

the Americans. Therefore, the expedition crossed our

region. A few documents testify this event. The main

source on this subject is Gabriel Franchère who

participated in this expedition.

Gabriel Franchère was an explorer, author and fur

trader in Canadian history. He was an employee of a

fur trade company who gathered a rich quantity of

fur in the West. The War of 1812 caused many

administrative changes and the North-West Company

was assign to carry the fur to Montreal. Into this light,

the company organized an expedition who planned to

cross in canoes British Columbia, Columbia River,

Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg and the Great

Lakes to reach Montreal. Safety and protection were

not forgotten. The company added an armed

contingency of Canadian Corps of Voyageurs to follow

the expedition and protect the fur cargos. After all,

this kind of cargos represented an easy and profitable

capture for the Americans. This expedition made an

impression on Gabriel Franchère. A few years after

the war, Gabriel Franchère wrote his extraordinary

experience. In 1820, he published “A Voyage to the

Northwest Coast of America”. Today, his work allows

us to redraw the course of the expedition in question.

The latter reached the Great Lakes and Georgian Bay

in July. Soon after, it was at the entrance of French

River. Gabriel Franchère wrote:

“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 (sic), 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

[…]”

This extract contains many important elements for

the history of the Nipissing Region. The expedition

camped twice around here: the first time on the shore

of Lake Nipissing and the second time not far from

Mattawa. Gabriel Franchère doesn’t specify the

location of these encampments and, unfortunately,

archaeological excavations around Lake Nipissing

didn’t reveal anything on the subject. In addition, his

work doesn’t go into details to describe the crossing.

Nonetheless, we can imagine this extraordinary

event.

The expedition started to ascend French River on July

26th. After crossing this torrential river, the

expedition reached Lake Nipissing and set a camp on

the shore. The crew ate supper, grease the canoe

shells and then went to sleep. The next day, the

expedition will cross the lake if nature allows it. Since

immemorial time, Lake Nipissing has a shady

reputation: its waves are rough and canoeing on it is

generally not an easy task. Moreover, its waters are

unpredictable and can quickly become violent. The

expedition must be careful. In the early morning, the

crew got up and the captain judged the water. They

decided to undertake the endeavour. Breakfast was

served, the crew disassembled the camp and

launched the canoes. Under a summer sky, 325 men

on 47 canoes paddle at full strength on Lake

Nipissing while yelling rhythmic songs of voyageurs.

For the history of the Nipissing Region, this was an

unusual event. Around the afternoon, the expedition

reached the other side of Lake Nipissing and was

confronted to do a portage before reaching Trout

Lake or Talon Lake. Unfortunately, Gabriel Franchère

doesn’t specify the location again. The expedition was

likely to choose the shortest portage on foot through

Portage La Vase. Be that as it may, it had to empty the

canoes and then carry by foot the cargos and canoes

to the next lake. After reloading and launching the

canoes, the expedition continued on Mattawa River

and made a few other small portages. It decided to

stop for the day and camped not far from Mattawa.

According to Gabriel Franchère, the expedition

reached Montreal on September 1st. It was a success.

Because of the Ottawa River Route, the expedition

was able to bypass Lake Erie and the Americans. The

Nipissing Region has contributed to the War of 1812

in this special way. This was a milestone for the

Nipissing Region as a transportation route. However,

it wasn’t the only contribution. A troop of Nipissing

warriors fought in the war. In fact, the Nipissing

Natives provided military support to British and

Canadian Forces. As we will see in my next column,

the Nipissing Natives had good reason to get involved

in the war. The War of 1812 was an important

episode in the history of our region.