The First Nations’ perspective on the War of 1812 is just now beginning to be recognized. While parallels can be found, it is distinct from both the American and Canadian experience. Aboriginals fought on both sides of the conflict and paid a heavy price for that participation. Those who did not fight were not spared the impact of the conflict on their day-to-day lives.

The modern Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, have long-standing communities close to the international border of the United States and Canada. In the Niagara region, there is the Six Nations of the Grand River, near Brantford, Ontario. Across the Niagara, there is the Tuscarora reservation near Lewiston, New York. The Mohawks of Tyendinaga are on the Bay of Quinte, north of Lake Ontario, and the Mohawks of Akwesasne, Kanehsatake, and Kahnawake are located in the valley of the St. Lawrence River further to the east. Their locations brought the War of 1812 to their doorstep.

Nowhere was the divisiveness of the war felt more keenly than in Akwesasne. British and American officials had drawn the U.S./Canada border straight through the community. Early in the war, the British constructed a blockhouse in Akwesasne and stationed Canadian Voyageurs there to watch the border. This prompted an attack by American militia from French Mills (today’s Fort Covington) in which several Canadians were killed. The community was pressured to remain neutral in the conflict, but Akwesasne warriors were recruited by both sides. At least 60 of them agreed to fight for the British, only to see their families driven out of their homes for breaking the neutrality. There was also a small but notable faction that supported the American cause, led by Colonel Louis Cook, a veteran of the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.

Tensions between the various factions at Akwesasne plagued the community for decades after the war. Prior to 1812, residents were able to come and go across the international border with freedom. After the war, they were forced to permanently reside on one side or the other. Although Akwesasne is one community, geo-political divisions persists to this day, with separate elected governments and membership lists that correspond to the international border.

Neighboring settlers were frightened of native participation at the onset of the war, but the conduct of the warriors themselves helped to alleviate those fears, as historian Robert Sellar pointed out in 1888:

“The Indians, of whom such apprehensions were entertained, soon appeared, the first band being one of about a hundred braves, commanded by a French-Canadian, Capt. Versailles. Their appearance was terrifying enough, for beyond a girdle they were naked, their bodies and faces streaked with the war paint, and feathers stuck in their hair...

They were very civil to the settlers, much more courteous, indeed, than the regular soldiers proved to be, and would touch not even an apple tree without permission. One good woman who regarded a band of them, who came to her house one evening, with terror, had all her apprehensions set at rest when, on looking into the shed where they were to pass the night, she witnessed several on their knees in prayer. They were divided into bands of 40, and were constantly on the move along the frontier from Lake Champlain to St Regis, doing service as scouts and patrols which was simplyinvaluable, for while they watched the enemy like the hawk, they were as stealthy in their movements and as difficult to catch as the snake. Though the Americans repeatedly endeavored to surprise these Indians bands, and though they were constantly hovering around their lines, it is a curious fact, illustrative of their consummate craft, that not a single Indian was captured during the war...

 

When they became acquainted with them, the settlers rather liked to have a visit from an Indian patrol, as it gave them a sense of security. These children of the forest carried their food in small haversacks, and, except when the weather was cold or wet, rarely went near a house save to buy provisions.”

Native warriors recruited by the British were instrumental in turning back an American invasion of Canada on the Niagara frontier, the St. Lawrence River, and at Chateauguay. Their pro-American counterparts played an important role in the American victory at the Battle of Plattsburgh by conveying intelligence of enemy movements.

The War of 1812 marked the end of the classic age of aboriginal warfare, wherein native combatants engaged as separate war parties dressed in traditional attire. By the time of the American Civil War, native participants were uniformed, conscripted soldiers fighting in the same units as their non-native comrades-in-arms.

As the United States and Canada prepare for the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812, First Nations are sharing their perspective in the hopes that the lessons learned in the breakdown of peace are not lost on the people of today.

Further Reading:

• Benn, Carl. The Iroquois in the War of 1812. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1998.
• Graves, Donald E. Fields of Glory: The Battle of Crysler’s Farm, 1813. Robin Brass Studio, Toronto, 1999.
• Herkalo, Keith. September Eleventh 1814 - The Battles at Plattsburgh. Battle of Plattsburgh Association, Plattsburgh, 2007.
• Hough, Franklin B. A History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York. Little & Company, Albany, 1853.
• Lossing, Benson J. The Pictorial Field-book of the War of 1812. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1868.
• Sellar, Robert. The History of the County of Huntingdon and of the Seigniories of Chateaugay and Beauharnois from their first settlement to the year 1838. The Canadian Gleanor, Huntingdon, Quebec, 1888.

A First Nations Perspective in Printable Format: