Canada Under Attack Read online

  Canada Under Attack

  CANADA

  UNDER ATTACK

  Jennifer Crump

  DUNDURN GROUP

  TORONTO

  Copyright © Jennifer Crump, 2010

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

  Project Editor: Michael Carroll

  Editor: Cheryl Hawley

  Design: Courtney Horner

  Printer: Marquis

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Crump, Jennifer

  Canada under attack : Canadians at war / by Jennifer Crump.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  ISBN 978-1-55488-731-6

  1. Battles--Canada--History.

  2. Canada--History, Military. I. Title.

  FC226.C782 2010 j971 C2009-907481-8

  1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10

  We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and The Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

  Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

  J. Kirk Howard, President

  Printed and bound in Canada.

  Printed on recycled paper.

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  To Alex, Laura, Emily, Alexandria, Kathleen, and Danielle.

  For everything you do.

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  Chapter One: The Battles of the Bays

  Chapter Two: Louisbourg Under Siege

  Chapter Three: The Battle of Quebec

  Chapter Four: The Fourteenth Colony

  Chapter Five: The Nootka Crisis

  Chapter Six: The War of 1812

  Chapter Seven: Rebels in Canada

  Chapter Eight: Aroostook — The Almost War

  Chapter Nine: The Irish Raids

  Chapter Ten: The Phantom Invasion

  Chapter Eleven: U-Boats in the St. Lawrence

  Chapter Twelve: The Fire Balloons — The Japanese Attack on Western Canada

  Chapter Thirteen: War Plan Red

  Notes

  Selected Bibliography

  Index

  INTRODUCTION

  In a December 2005 article in the Washington Post, journalist Peter Carlson concluded that while, “invading Canada is an old American tradition ... Invading Canada successfully is not.” Carlson made that observation while covering a story on the declassification of War Plan Red, a 1935 document outlining the most recent U.S. plans to invade Canada.

  Carlson may have had a point. Canada has been the scene of many invasions throughout its history. Our rich natural resources, kilometres of coastline, diplomatic ties, and proximity to the United States have made us a tempting target for the Americans and for other countries. Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, and even Canadians themselves have launched invasions.

  Some of these wars have been waged as part of a much larger conflict; others have focused on more local concerns. Wars that started on the European continent have frequently spread to Canadian shores and several have been concluded on Canadian soil. The Seven Years War involved nearly every major power in Europe and has been referred to as the first “world war.” Battles were fought in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and on Canadian soil when the French attacked St. John’s and the British invaded Louisbourg and Quebec City.

  Some invasions occurred as part of a larger North American crisis like the American Revolution. Others began as local squabbles that erupted into global incidents. The Nootka Crisis began as a battle over a small patch of coastline on Vancouver Island and brought Britain, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and France to the brink of war. The Nootka Crisis claimed few lives, the Aroostook War none, but other major invasions like the War of 1812 took thousands of lives. The Battle of the St. Lawrence lasted for three years, the invasion of James Bay just a few days.

  As Carlson pointed out, those invasions share one common theme: few succeeded and none succeeded for long. Invading Canada has been a long-time tradition for many nations. Invading Canada successfully has not.

  CHAPTER ONE:

  THE BATTLES OF THE BAYS

  For centuries the ships of numerous countries visited Canada’s eastern shores to reap the riches they found there. They would sail back to their home ports with their holds full and purses fat with profit. Norse, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, British, and French fishermen all plied the waters near present-day Newfoundland. Some of the more adventurous among them would venture deeper into Canada, exploring its rivers and great inland seas in the hunt for furs.

  Inevitably, they would clash.

  While the Norsemen quickly abandoned the eastern shores of Canada and the Italians, Spanish, and Portuguese never settled the area, the French and English were soon engaged in a race to control the lucrative fishery and fur trade. Their approaches were initially quite different. The French preferred to have the furs delivered to them at Montreal, while the English preferred to set up shop closer to where the furs were. In 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company was created and its founders established Fort Charles on Hudson Bay. As the company expanded, they built additional posts at the mouths of the Moose and Albany rivers on James Bay. During the winter the posts were abandoned as the traders returned to Britain with their ships full of furs of every description. The French sent their own expedition to the area and made a show of claiming the land in their king’s name, but there were no Englishmen there to witness it and whatever Native witnesses were in the area probably found the ceremony perplexing rather than threatening. For the next 10 years, the French and English traders grew more competitive although there were no outward signs of aggression until 1682, when traders from Britain, France, and New England all tried to claim the same trading post. The French won the initial argument but were pushed out by the British two years later.

  In 1686, the new governor of New France, Jacques René de Brisay Denonville, decided to avenge this challenge to French sovereignty and to once and for all put an end the English presence on what he considered to be French soil. When the French government refused to lend him naval support he decided to organize and fund his own audacious overland attack on the Hudson’s Bay Company posts on James Bay. In March 1686, Chevalier Pierre de Troyes was chosen to lead the attack. De Troyes began to gather provisions and recruit troops; 100 men would eventually join the expedition. Among them was the infamous Pierre le Moyne D’Iberville and two of his equally famous brothers. D’Iberville was one of 12 children born to one of the wealthiest citizens of Montreal, Charles le Moyne. Like his brothers, Pierre was a career soldier and a dedicated adventurer.

  The le Moyne Legacy

  Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay, was an adventurer, businessman, and considered the wealthiest man in Canada during his lifetime. His 12 children, the le Moyne brothe
rs, would become the most famous sons of early Canada. They found fame in the military as thorns in the sides of both the English and the Spanish, in politics as governors, and as the founders of several of the earliest settlements in North America. With an intriguing mix of personal ambition, respect for Native peoples, and intense loyalty to French Canada, they left a lasting legacy.

  Following his successes in Hudson Bay and Newfoundland, Pierre le Moyne con-tinued his adventures by founding Louisiana and the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. His eldest brother, Charles, achieved both military and political fame, receiving the title of baron and the successive governorships of Three Rivers and Montreal. Another brother, Jacques, was a respected warrior who whetted his military appetite by accom-panying Pierre on his missions, subsequently gaining the respect of the French regu-lars, militia, and especially their Native allies. In 1689 he led a tiny force of less than 200 men in a successful attack on a British force of more than 1,300 on the banks of the Saint-Charles River. Jacques and his men routed the British but he was mortally wounded in the fight. When word of his death reached the Iroquois they released two captives in his honour.

  Pierre’s younger brother Paul accompanied him to Hudson Bay, famously lead-ing a mission in which he captured a large English ship with only two small canoes.Paul also accompanied Jacques against the English invaders on the Saint-Charles River and helped defeat the Iroquois. He had spent many of his early years with the Iroquois and spoke their language fluently. Like several of his brothers, he developed a canny ability to undermine the English efforts to win the Iroquois over to their cause, alternately cajoling, bribing, and threatening during the councils of war he was regularly invited to join. Paul-Joseph, another brother, enjoyed an equally close rela-tionship with Canada’s Native peoples. He became governor of Detroit, Three Rivers, and Quebec City and rose rapidly in the military serving in France and Canada.At the age of 50, when many of his fellow officers retired, he was tasked with negotiat-ing the terms of peace with the Iroquois, who considered him a blood bother. Another younger brother Jean-Baptiste founded Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, and served as governor of Louisiana, leading the French there against the Spanish and capturing the Spanish fort at Pensacola (Florida). Jean-Baptiste was one of the few le Moyne brothers to enjoy a peaceful retirement. Eventually recalled to France, he lived on generous pension granted to him by the king until the age of 88.

  When the men prepared to strike out in the brittle cold of a Montreal spring day the excitement was palpable. In addition to a handful of regular soldiers, de Troyes had recruited 70 voyageurs, a hardened, independent group of fur traders known for their ability to survive under almost any conditions. Included in the expedition were two wealthy seigneurs and a priest, who watched as they began to assemble the sleds, canoes, and arms necessary for their journey. On March 30, the expedition set off on foot over the still frozen Lake of Two Mountains. Between them, the men carried their own heavy packs, guns, ammunition, and the eight 100 pound birch bark canoes they intended to use when the ice finally melted. The few sleds pulled by teams of oxen had been commandeered by the noblemen and the expedition’s officers and were used to carry their luggage and personal effects. As they slowly made their way across the lake, the ice suddenly broke and a sled holding most of the Seigneur St. Germain’s luggage almost plunged into the lake. The men were barely able to rescue the oxen, several of which did fall through the ice. A frustrated de Troyes ordered all of the oxen be sent back. The next day it was the men themselves who continually broke through the ice. The progress of the entire expedition paused as their fellow travellers dropped to their bellies and inched along the ice to attempt a rescue. De Troyes was out in front, leading them onward toward the Ottawa River, using his sword to test the thickness of the ice. Conditions worsened when a spring storm found them, pounding the river with heavy rain and high winds, and turning the frozen waters into dangerous slush.

  After a brief stay on an island, which did little to warm their bodies or their spirits, the tiny army pushed on. On April 9, an advance party rushed back with the news that the Long Sault Rapids were just ahead and the best option was to drag their canoes up the rapids through the waist deep, ice-choked water. Some of the men, including de Troyes and the priest, Father Sfivy, opted for a route that took them along the craggy shoreline. But that difficult path severely damaged several of the canoes. They continued their assault on the rapids over the next five days. By then the undisciplined, rambunctious voyageurs had had enough. A fight broke out, fuelled by alcohol and exhaustion. One of the men had his jaw broken with the butt of a rifle. Once the officers had broken up the fight and settled the men, de Troyes called out the worst offenders, took their “eau de vie” away, and made them carry a sack of corn in its place. De Troyes, a career soldier, frequently despaired at his men’s lack of discipline. By the end of the journey he would have even more to despair.

  In the days following the fight, several voyageurs decided to help themselves to a cache of moose skins that had been hidden by one of the Native tribes that frequented the area. When the men returned with their loot, de Troyes promptly forced them to put it back. On April 14, Father Sfivy held high mass. Afterwards de Troyes divided the men into three brigades, providing each brigade with separate marching orders. He also implemented nightly guard duty in the hopes of in stilling some semblance of discipline in the men, “which alone,” he lamented, “is lacking in the natural worth of Canadians.”1 Discipline would remain a problem but de Troyes was nothing if not creative in dealing with problems. One unfortunate soul was tied to a tree for the duration of an encampment. Desertion also became a problem as the men suffered through the horrifying conditions. One by one they disappeared into the dense bush, never to be seen again. On April 30, four men deserted, taking one of the now precious canoes with them.

  After that, progress was depressingly slow. Occasionally the men found themselves neck deep in water, their canoes held high over their heads, as they attempted to drag themselves through the rapids. Disgusted, a few of the voyageurs attempted to pole their way up the rapids only to wreck their canoes. On some days they managed to cover just eight kilometres in over 12 hours of travel. The rough conditions, boredom, and cold frequently caused serious illness and accidents. Burns were common. One man chopped a finger off while attempting to collect firewood. A keg of gunpowder exploded as the men celebrated May Day. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. At the end of May the entire invasion almost came to an abrupt end when a forest fire, touched off by a campfire, roared down a hill toward them during a portage.

  In May the force arrived at Lake Abitibi. De Troyes called a halt in order to build a replica of an English fort so that his men could practise capturing it. By June 8 he deemed the men ready to move on. But two days later one of his best soldiers, a man who had come the entire distance without being able to swim, drowned when the canoe he was travelling in tipped over while running a rapid. D’Iberville — who was travelling in the same canoe — survived, but lost most of his possessions. By then they were very near Moose Fort, de Troyes’ first objective. There was barely time to bury the soldier and no time to mourn him. De Troyes immediately sent D’Iberville and several others ahead to scout the fort. Finally, at dawn on June 21, they attacked.

  Moose Factory Fort.

  England and France were not at war and relations with the local Natives were mutually profitable; the English had no reason to suspect an attack might be imminent. The 17 inhabitants of Moose Fort were still asleep when the French attacked, but they quickly rallied.

  D’Iberville raced ahead of his men and made it through the gate just before the English managed to swing it closed. He was left stranded inside while his men outside tried to break down the gate and come to his rescue. D’Iberville managed to hold off the English soldiers for several long minutes before his men finally breached the fort. Within half an hour the English fur traders had surrendered, some still in their nightshirts.

&nb
sp; Three days later, the French attacked Fort Charles. The Craven, a Hudson’s Bay Company ship, was moored on the bay, just outside the fort. De Troyes dispatched D’Iberville and a handful of men to take the ship while he and the remaining men surrounded the fort.

  D’Iberville and his men rowed over to the ship and stole onto it, quickly overpowering the unsuspecting sailors on board. On the shore, de Troyes easily took the fort and commandeered D’Iberville’s newly conquered ship to hold the loot he had gathered from the conquered forts.

  On July 9, de Troyes attempted to return to Moose Fort, but became lost in the fog and did not find his way back for another week.

  De Troyes then set his sights on Fort Albany. While the French bombarded the fort with canon borrowed from Moose Fort, D’Iberville witnessed a terrified woman running right into the path of an explosion. He and Father Sfivy dashed forward and, candle in hand, went from room to room looking for her. They finally found her, badly injured, lying on the floor in one of the rooms. D’Iberville reportedly carried her to a couch and called for a surgeon, then stayed with her while she was tended to, refusing entry to everyone else.

  By the end of August, de Troyes was ready to return to Quebec. After naming D’Iberville as governor of the forts and assigning him 40 men to hold them, de Troyes headed back to Quebec to celebrate his victories. D’Iberville and his men survived the winter of 1686 before returning to Quebec in the summer of 1687, when no supplies arrived for their relief.

  The forts that de Troyes and D’Iberville had worked so hard to secure were not to remain in French hands for long. By 1693, the British had retaken Fort Albany and the Hudson’s Bay Company re-established the other forts by 1713.