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Guy Carleton | Jay's
Treaty | Black
Loyalists | Alexander
Mackenzie | Simon Fraser |
David Thompson |
John Graves Simcoe |
Captain George Vancouver |
The Northwest Company |
Prevost's
Conciliation |
Tecumseh | The War of 1812 |
Lord Selkirk |
Newfoundland |
Constitution Act 1791
Sir George Prevost was born on May 19,
1767 Geneva Switzerland of a English army officer with a
rich banking grandfather. His father had served in the
seven years war under General Wolfe during the attack on
Quebec City in 1759. Prevost entered military service in
1779 in his fathers regiment with a commission as an
ensign. He saw action quickly in the West Indies against
the French. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel of the 60th foot in 1794 and Brigadier General
in 1798. He was also appointed to the position of
Lieutenant Governor of St Lucia that same year. He was
transferred to the Governorship of Dominica in 1802 and
fought the French there and in St Lucia in 1803. This
was the period of the Napoleonic wars and war would be a
constant factor in his life for the rest of his career.
By 1805 he was promoted to Major-General and was
transferred home to England.
It was during this time that the
Chesapeake Incident occurred which almost led to war
between Britain and the US. One of the outstanding
issues between the two countries was Britain's
insistence on board U.S. ships and searching for
deserters. On the 22nd of June, 1807 the British frigate
Leopard barded the U.S.S. Chesapeake and took four men
from her claiming that they were British deserters. The
sailors were taken to the British Naval base in Halifax
where two of them died form the punishment inflicted.
Tensions between the US and Britain rose to a fever
pitch and Provost was sent to Nova Scotia to help
prepare it for war with the US if hostilities did in
fact break out. He arrived in Halifax on April 7th, 1808
with 3 regiments and quickly began to repair and improve
the fortifications of the Citadel and other smaller
forts around the harbour.
Provost was ordered to Martinique on
December 6th 1808 to capture it and did so returning to
Halifax by April 15th 1809. During his 3 years as
Governor of Nova Scotia he worked hard to get the colony
moving and encouraged the development of many industries
including the creation of coal mining. A coal industry
would compete with those of Britain but Provost's
influence was successful at helping start the business
in the colony. By 1811 relations with the US were
becoming severely strained and war seemed just around
the corner. The British decided to send Provost to
Canada as Governor where his military abilities and
skills could best be utilized if war did break out.
War did break out the next year and under
Provost and some of his brilliant generals such as Sir
Isaac Brock he managed to pre-empt American attacks and
defend the frontier against all US attempts to invade
and conquer the British Colonies in North America. He
was successful on almost every front with the only real
setback occurring at Plattsburgh Bay on Lake Champlain
where the British Naval forces were defeated by the
Americans. His enemies however managed to convince
British authorities that he had been irresponsible
during that engagement and he was recalled at the end of
the War of 1812. The politics of this issue dominated
the rest of his life and he passed away on January 12,
1816 before he had the opportunity to clear his name.
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