Canadian Volunteers 1813-14

  In doing my Niagara 1814 armies I have put off doing this regiment.  Their reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness against the civilian population appears to be well deserved.  But to complete my armies I have decided to include them.  And perhaps they will play a role in a skirmish against Captain Merritt's Niagara Provincial Horse?

   Born in Ireland, Joseph Willcocks was an ambitious young man who was  interested in making a name and fortune for himself after emigrating to Canada. He turned to politics and was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.  Initially, Willcocks served General Brock as part of a mission to secure the allegiance of the Six Nations to fight with the British.  He is reported to have fought alongside the Six Nations at the Battle of Queenston Heights.   After Brock's death, stricter martial law was applied and Willcocks protested against these efforts. In July 1813, he turned traitor and went over to the United States while still a serving member of the governing body of Upper Canada.

  Commissioned a major in the American army, Willcocks raised the Canadian Volunteers,  comprisied mainly of  recent immigrants from the United States.  The "regiment" was never larger then a reinforced company.  They served alongside the Americans and served as skirmishers and scouts.  Willcocks also used this opportunity to settle scores with old political  foes and those who did not offer him due respect.  The volunteers were accused of numerous hostile actions against the Canadian civilian population. This reached a peak with the needless burning off the town of Newark (presnt day Niagara-on-the-lake) on 10 December 1813. In the dead of winter and at dusk the town was torched and it's civilians forced out into the freezing winter.   An eye witness wrote, "Willcocks had led his banditti through the town on that fateful night . . . applying the epithet of Tory to any who disapproved of this flagrant act of barbarity."

    Women and children stood in the snow and the cold that night and watched their homes and everything they owned go up in flames. One witness wrote  about the refugees, "they were exposed  to all the severities of the deep snow and a frosty sky, almost in a state of nakedness.  How many perished by the inclement of the weather, it is , at present, impossible to ascertain."   The Volunteers had earned their reputation for ruthlessness and cruelty.

  Captain William Merrit and his Niagara Provincial Horse (recruited from this area) were sent to investigate.  They came across the retreating volunteers and charged them scattering their rear guard, taking a number prisoners and killing two men.

   During the 1814 campaign the Canadian Volunteers were part of Potter's 3rd Brigade.  They fought at Chippewa and Lundy's Lane.  During the siege of Fort Erie Willcocks was killed leading a raid on the British siege lines in September 1814.  He  is buried in a unmarked grave and forgotten by both sides.  His volunteers settled in the United States after the  war.

   The uniform of the Volunteers were makeshift to say the least.  In 1813 they were to be issued gray jackets and United States equipment.  In 1814 the were to be issued standard blue uniforms.  There is also the possibility in 1813 some members wore brown jackets.  A round hat (top hat) with a green ribbon round the crown and white  cockade  was worn.

  My recreation is dressed in a mixture of uniforms. This makes them more interesting as a table top regiment and possibly closer to his they might have appeared.   I feel officers, and non commissioned officers would have tried to obtain and wear the correct uniform. So I have used figures in regulation uniforms for them.

 The enlisted men I have dressed in mixed blue, grey and brown jackets.  All have standard United States equipment.  I feel a mixture of coat colors adds a variety  of  interest to a table  too war game regiment.

 I have fielded them as a full regiment although they never obtained this size. This way I can use them in imaginative campaigns or historical actions.    I have found no evidence of regimental colors so none are here.

   All figures are from the Knuckkeduster line of miniatures.  I used the late war officers and NCO packs to represent these fellows in regulation uniforms.  The rank and file I used uniform militia in round hats.  Although  the figures had lapels and waistcoats I painted over these details to represent jackets.  Again, this is all based on my best guess on what little research is out there tempered by what makes a interesting wargame  regiment.  I have based them  on split stands so they can skirmish.

 All in all a curious but colorful unit on the table top.  I am sure there will be various encounters between them and the Niagara Provincial Horse!