Post 14: The War Of 1812 Ends!

December 24, 1814

The day has finally come! The War of 1812, (As we've begun to call it...) is now officially over! The Treaty of Ghent was signed today, and now it has ended the war. Well, at least in official terms. After the Battle of Lundy's Lane, we really were done fighting because the war in Europe had ended. So, the Crazy Rebels got scared that Britain would send over more troops for us. Not to mention we got rid of the "Blockade" and stopped with the impressing of people. So, there wasn't even a logical reason for them to attack anyways. (But hey, since when did they start using their heads, right?) However, it wasn't officially over. When it's officially over, all of the fancy important people have talked about a treaty and everything for months, and have sat there drinking tea together. So it's officially over now. I have heard all of the terms (Or at least all of the important ones...) and now I will explain some major points!

- All of the borders between us and the Crazy Rebels have now gone back to normal, as in the way they originally were, before the war. I'm happy with that because the border between me and the Crazy Rebels had gotten closer, and I want them as far away as possible thank-you very much!

- We have now dropped the idea of letting the Natives have their own land. So, it's back to square one for all of those guys. I do feel a little bad, I mean, we did promise them that. Oh well I guess. It's their problem, not mine. 

- Another thing about the Natives is now both us and the Crazy Rebels have agreed to never use the Natives in war as allies again. Well, even if I’m not that big of a fan of them, that SUCKS! They did give us an advantage in a lot of fights, and now we can't get their help at all! At least the Crazy Rebels can't either, but it still is really annoying.

- Some things that weren't mentioned in the treaty were the "Blockade" and the Impressment. Why, I don't know. I guess it just wasn't important enough for the government to get their hands dirty over.

So, that's what was in the treaty. I do have more things to talk about concerning the Crazy Rebels and such, but it’s getting late, and I'm exhausted. So, I will be sure to continue writing tomorrow. (This time, I promise I will!)

December 25, 1814

See! What did I tell you! For once I ACTUALLY did write the next day! (Yes, you may clap.) Anyways, the other two important things that I wanted to talk about were the Alien Act and the Recognition for Loyalty. The Alien Act was passed to punish people who had helped the Crazy Rebels during the war. (Which is an insane thing to do if you ask me... Why would ANYONE do something like that?!?) This act says that it's illegal to have gone to Crazy Rebel Land after the War of 1812 began in July. I think that they caught about 15 or something people who did really horrible things against us, and I’m not even going to get into the details of what happened to them...(This is a G rated Blog, or journal, or whatever...) Recognition for Loyalty was something a lot happier. All the people and their families wanted to get something in return for fighting and staying loyal to our own country. (This includes me.) In exchange, we were given land grants, but sadly, most of the grants were near the border. Oh well. One of the conditions of the grant was that the next war, we would have to come back to fight. I was already planning on fighting if there was another war, so that didn't affect me. Widowed women also got something, which I believe was a pension, but I'm not exactly sure. Well, that's all that I know about the Treaty of Ghent, which has both down and upsides to it. I'm just glad that the war is over, and I hope that I won't see another one in my lifetime. So, until more happens, that's all from me for now. Until then.

Post 13: Battles Of Importance

May 21, 1814

I once again have returned from war, since my injury had healed and my nation needed me. (Not to mention Kaden pressured me into going again...) I have now fought many battles, and have learned about many others that have been considered key battles in the war. I have also learned how Overly-confident those dumb Crazy Rebels are. They were all saying, "Oh, winning this war against the stupid British will be like a walk in the forest." (Which is stupid if you ask me, walking through a forest isn’t that easy...) Their reasons for saying such stupid things? Well they say that they have many more people than us (Which doesn't matter if those guys all have less than a quarter of a brain in their head...), That the British are too busy fighting the war in Europe to care about us and send in troops (Yeah, as if.), and they think no one from here will try to fight them. That last one has got to be the most stupid reason I have ever heard. We all rushed to the front lines to defend our precious land, so that was a dumb thing to assume. Anyways, I believe that I was going to tell you about some of the important battles in the war, so, allow me to begin! 

The first battle I will talk about is The Battle of Queenston Heights. This battle started with General Brock on October 13,1812. He heard some gunshots, so he thought "Oh, I'll be fine going into a battle with only a quarter of a force." Needless to say, he died. (*Moment of silence*) Luckily, reinforcements showed up commanded by General Sheaffe, who also brought some native people to help out. Because we had so many people fighting, the Crazy Rebels ran away. Ha! Cowards! 

The second battle Is the Battle of Put-in-Bay. (Nice name, right? Though I’m not sure how the name has to do with any thing...) Anyways, in Amherstburg, we were having problems supply wise because of some people blocking supply ships from getting in through the Great Lakes. Now you might be wondering, "So Alister, why didn't the British come in with their Navy and kick the Crazy Rebels butts?" Well, I'll tell you. Remember that little thing called the "blockade"? Well that was using most of our ships. So when we did take action, we got defeated miserably...

The next battle is a show of how stupid those Crazy Rebels are. The Battle of Chateauguay was on October 25, 1813. In this battle, the Crazy Rebels were trying to invade and take over Montreal to cut off one of supply lines. Thankfully, the Crazy Rebels had horrible communications and bad leadership. I heard that they even accidentally would shot their own men! How crazy is that! They thought they were outnumbered (When in reality, we were the ones outnumbered), and they retreated. How funny is that?!

The last battle I know of that is important is The Battle of Lundy's Lane. This battle has been considered the deciding one. This battle was fought at night, so it was very hard to see. Because of this, there was much confusion, and each side caused injuries on themselves. Eventually, the Crazy Rebels retreated, and we prepared for a second attack. The Crazy Rebels didn't come back for more, so I think we were the ones who won, but the Crazy Rebels think otherwise...

Well, those were the battles that I know of. Most of them showed how absolutely idiotic those Crazy Rebels are, with the exception of Put-In-Bay, but that one was because of the "Blockade". Kaden is finally coming back home, so I really have to go. Me and Jeffery have to go welcome him back, and I'm being called now. I will most definitely keep you posted about the war!

Post 12: There Are A Lot Of People To Talk About...

July 18, 1813

After a year, I finally have come home, and have the chance to sit down and write. Much has happened since my last entry. As always, my instincts were correct, a war has begun! It happened on June 19, 1812, or at least that's when the Crazy Rebels declared war on us. As for when they took real action however, that was on July 12, 1812. I can't believe what they did! They invaded us with some crazy amount of people and took over sandwich! Now they are trying to get people from our side to join them! At least no one I know is joining. The reason that I haven't wrote for a while is because I could not stand back. I joined the fight on the front lines for the past year. Sadly, I got injured and they sent me back home. At least the upside to the situation is that I learned that while in the military, you hear quite a bit of what’s going on, and I have a lot of news about many different people. So, here is what I know about A Few of the different people.

General Isaac Brock is the first person that I know about. He's a General on our side, and from what I've heard, he's a really whiny guy. The whole time he's been stationed here before the war, he's been begging, "Oh PLEASE let me go to Europe. PLEASE! I don't like this place. Let me go! Everything is boring here!" And stuff like that. In any case he's has been doing a lot for us now. The only problem I have with him is something called "The question of loyalty". Let me explain what it is. He had all of his troops running around and questioning the loyalists to see if they are still on our side. The reason why is because a lot of the loyalists have been running back to the Crazy Rebels, and we don't want any more of that to happen. Now that's all fine and dandy, but he went to question JEFFERY. That REALLY got me mad. If there is a Loyalist who would never betray our country, it's Jeffery. They went and gave him a really hard time, when he is one who is extremely loyal and would never go join those psycho Rebels. That's the reason why I don't really like that guy. Oh, and he's a complete coward! 

The next guy I've heard about is Tecumseh. I know, nice name right? This guy is a Native from the Shawnee nation. He is this guy who was really upset about the selling of "His peoples" land. Ha! He's lucky that we're letting him and his "People" continue living there! Anyways, he has made an alliance with us, and we have promised to let him keep the land they own in exchange. Apparently, he's a fan of General Brock over there, though I’m not sure why. His support has helped us win many battles against the Crazy Rebels, or at least that's what others think...

I have to go right now, so I will continue in my next entry. Until then!

July 21, 1813

Okay, so I'm back. I guess there is no point in wasting time, so I'll just get straight to it.

Okay, so where did I leave off? Oh yeah! Next would be Richard Pierpoint. He lived in Bondu, Africa and was made a slave when he was only a Teenager. He escaped during the Crazy Rebel Revolution, and joined a team on our side. However after the war, the Crazy Rebels would send in people to find all of the slaves that escaped during the time. So, this guy got permission to gather all of the former slaves in the area to live together so that they could help each other from being re-captured. Now that this war has started, he's organized a Military group to help fight, which is what they have done.

Laura Secord, who is my personal favourite, is who I will talk about now. The reason I like her so much is because not a lot of women really get recognition. Not to mention she was very brave to do what she did, which is something I admire. Laura Secord was forced to live in a house with Crazy Rebel soldiers, and one night, she heard them talking about an attack they were planning on us. Where they were going to attack would give them a huge advantage in the war if they won, So Laura knew she had to take action. She walked 32 Km through a FOREST until she ended up meeting with some Native people. They took her to the General of the area, to who she explained the situation. Because of what she did,  we won the battle. Not bad, right?

Okay, so the last person I've heard about for now is John Strachan. I don't see why he's so important but, oh well. John was a Chaplin for our troops. In a battle against the Crazy Rebels, we were forced to retreat, and those Crazy Rebels were running all around town doing Crazy Rebel things. This Strachan guy went to the leader of the Crazy Rebel troops and negotiated with him. In the end, the Crazy Rebels got York, and apparently it was better terms for the people living there, but that's still pretty stupid to just give up York.

Anyways, that's all that I heard about while I was in the Army. It's not much, but it's more than I would have known before, if I didn't join. Kaden is still out there fighting, and Jeffery is too, so I'm a bit lonely. Thankfully, I heard that Jeffery is coming back soon. That's all I have to write at the moment, but I will write again soon. It's important to write now, while so much is happening. So, when something else happens, I'll be sure to write! 

Post 11: I Have a Bad Feeling About This...

May 9, 1812

I can't believe what I have done! I haven't written in years, and I suppose there is simply no excuse I could give to make up for this. I do know that lately, I have been quite anxious, and at first, I couldn't figure out why. However, in the last few weeks, I believe that I may have come up with the reason. I have been very worried about the Crazy Rebels seriously thinking of declaring war on us! Now, before you say, "Alister, you have gone completely and utterly insane, and you are way too paranoid. Maybe you should go see a doctor." Hear me out. I have some reasons why I think such a thing, and it's NOT just because they're Crazy Rebels.

First of all, I think that the Crazy Rebels are simply very angry with us, and anger is an emotion that can cause people to do things without logically thinking it through. One of the reasons that they must be very angry is the "Impressment" as they call it, that our Navy has been committing. Mainly, the conditions on all of our ships are very horrible, and because of this, many of our people run off to join the American Merchant Navy, who have much better ship conditions than us, and are used for trade, not war. We have started to stop these ships to try to find the runaways of ours, and also try to force the Crazy Rebels to join us too. If I was a Crazy Rebel, I would be angry too!

The second reason that I think the Crazy Rebels are angry is the "Blockade" that we created. Because of the war raging in Europe, (Oops... did I forget to mention that?) we sent out our Navy to block France from trading with The Crazy Rebels and such. (Hence the name, "Blockade") By doing this, we were trying to give the French army a hard time, but it also had a negative effect on those Cray Rebels as well. Since they aren't being traded with as much, their Economy isn't doing so hot. Oh well. I used to trade with someone who traded with them, and now he isn't coming around. So I guess this isn't exactly helping me either...

The next factor is our alliances with the Natives. We have influenced the Natives greatly, and the Crazy Rebels aren't too happy about that. Actually, they are down-right furious about it. We apparently have encouraged the Natives to be very un-friendly with the Crazy Rebels and we apparently told the Natives to keep a large amount of land for themselves and to stop selling their land to the Crazy Rebels. Because of this, the Crazy Rebels are unable to expand, and they are extremely upset about it.

The last reason that I have to explain is those imbecile War Hawks. I don't care what anyone says, these guys are completely INSANE. I'm not joking. They are all going, "Crazy Rebel Land is meant to expand and take up this WHOLE continent." The WHOLE continent? Are they Crazy? Actually, as I mentioned before, they are. I say they can take their "Crazy Rebel Land" And shove it where- oh. I really shouldn't say stuff like that... *Ahem* As I was saying, we live here too you know Crazy Rebels! If you think that we don't deserve too, well neither do they! The problem is, the Crazy Rebels actually like these guys. They are all saying, "Yeah! War Hawks are SO smart, because I am a complete Idiot with less than a Quarter of a brain in my head!"

I guess I'll just have to deal with it. However, now that I think about it, some of these reasons have negative factors on us British too! That's got me thinking, does the government even care if we are having a hard time too? I wonder... Oh well. I have to go, and I PROMISE that this time I won't forget about my journal for years.

Post 10: Fur and Farming and Wood: Huzzah!

November 12, 1793

I recently discovered that the fur industry is something that I could really get into. At times they can keep some of the furs that they trade for, and I could sell them for a lot of money back home. So, because I was interested in the fur trade, I decided to do a little bit of research on it. So here it is:

- The Hudson's Bay Company set up the first trading post in 1670.
- There are now two systems of fur trade.
- The HBC's system is to wait at trading posts for Natives to come with fur to trade.
- The North West Company use Montreal as their base, then travel west to find fur to trade for.
- At the Moment, The NWC has dominated the market.
- The NWC are the ones who have the very high quality furs that everyone wants.
- Another reason that NWC has been so successful is because they have the Métis. The Métis have trader fathers and Native mothers. They have connections with the Natives and usually work with the NWC, so they get all the good furs.

I consider The HBC's method the "Lazy method" and the NWC's method the "PLEASE GIVE US FUR!!" method. I haven't decided who I should consider yet, maybe I will ask my friends for advice. Until next time.


December 2, 1793

After a long time and many discussions with my family and friends, Jeffery and Kaden, (Yay! He's back!), I decided (Or, they convinced me...) that the fur trade industry isn't a good idea. Kaden said that he thinks that the fur trade is eventually going to die down, and when that time comes, I'll be left with no supply of income. Both him and Jeffery think that agriculture and timber will soon become the main industry. I reluctantly chose to believe them. After all, they are usually right... I already have been farming since I was a child, and my family and I farm now too. So, agriculture won't be much of a problem. I didn't get why they thought timber would be a main industry at first, but then they told me all of their reasons. They said that everyone is going to need wood, they already do! To build boats and houses and make paper. Also, it's used for shoes, furniture, wagons, and forks and knives, you get the picture. They think that I should continue farming, and then work half of the time in the lumber industry when everything turns around. I suppose that their idea is a good idea, and joining the fur industry would result in me having to leave my family often, and if I can avoid that situation, by all means count me in. That's all for today, I'm meeting Kaden and Jeffery, and I don't want to be late.

Post 9: York again!

September 4, 1793

York has been quite the topic for conversations lately. Everyone I talk to has brought it up, and because of this, I have learned more than I knew before. One thing that has been mentioned very often is Elizabeth Simcoe, John Simcoe's wife. Because of her enthusiasm, many have been convinced that York is a good place to live. As a matter of fact, many of my neighbors or people I know in general have packed their bags and left for York. It has my town feeling a bit empty, so I’m not sure what to think of it. I myself have briefly thought of moving there, but after thoroughly considering the good and bad, I decided to stay, and my family fully agreed. Anyways, back to the topic of Elizabeth, She has been doing everything she can to create the image of York being an okay place. Hah. She might as well be begging on her knees going "PLEASE COME!!! PLEEEAAASE!! I BEG OF YOU!!" The funny thing is, it actually works. She just disguises it as painting or letters. I have heard that people die there, and that many become very sick. Me and Jeffery spend many nights with a smaller party than we'd like, and York is to blame. One of my friends, Kaden, left for York and I haven't heard from him since, despite his promises to write. I truly hope he's alright. I have to go; Jeffery and I are going out for the night.


September 28, 1793

I have very good news! I got a letter in the mail today addressed from York, and at first I was confused. Then I thought that it was another invite to come live there. I've gotten those before, they say "York. It's a new place with new opportunities BLAH BLAH DE BLARGH DE BLARG." Or something along those lines. Anyways, so I was GOING to throw it out, but someone (*COUGH, COUGH* My wife *COUGH, COUGH*) told me that "It might be something important, you should always check." So I opened it. I am SO happy I listened to her. (Don't tell her I said that by the way...) It was a letter from my friend Kaden! (Remember him?) I guess he really wasn't dead! I have recorded the letter here.

My good friend Alister,

I cannot express my apologies enough for not keeping my promise. Though I can't stop myself from making excuses. Things up here in York are very different than I thought they would be. My original impression of York was that things were already going well there, and that there would not be very many problems to deal with. Of course I didn't think there wouldn't be any problems at all, but I thought that most would have been resolved by now. I was dead wrong, and I would pay for my mistake later. When my family and I arrived, things were in disarray. We settled into a tent for the night, as I began to worry that this was not the best idea. Weeks passed as we tried to settle in and the days grew colder and shorter. We all struggled in our new home with new surroundings, and I tried to keep faith in my decision. It was later into the winter when disaster struck. My young son Joseph caught a horrible fever that refused to cease. One week later it got worse and three days after that he could barely take the pain. That night the moans from his bed suddenly stopped. I went to check on him to find that he had left us for good. My son was taken from me because of this place! I should have listened to your protests Alister. Needless to say, I will be moving back to our settlement next month, where we are at least safe. We have to leave, before this land claims another of my family. I hope all is well with you, tell Jeffery I say hello. That is all to say for now good friend, until I return.

-Kaden


When I read that his son Joseph died, I couldn't believe such a thing. At least his daughter Mary and his eldest son Alexander are all right. I am glad to here he is alive though, he was always a good friend of mine. I have to go, my nights have been busy lately and today is as well.

Post 8: New Governor, New Rules

March 8, 1792

I have a big piece of news! There is a new governor here in Upper Canada, and his name is John Graves Simcoe. He arrived in Newark a few days ago, and thanks to some of my friends, I was able to find out quite a bit about him. He had led a loyalist unit by the name of "The Queen's Rangers" during the war against the Crazy Rebels, but was injured in 1781 and had to return to England. When he came here, he still had mental scars from the Crazy Rebels, so he happened to be very concerned of future wars between them. He thought that our capital, Newark, wasn't a good one because it was too close to the border between us and the Crazy Rebels. I have to say that I totally agree. Those Rebels are NOT to be trusted. They are bound to attack again sometime soon for another stupid reason. Maybe this time it will be because we accidentally looked at their cows funny or something. Well THEY threw all of their tea into the harbour. HOW COULD THEY!!! THE TEA!!!! I STILL can never forgive them for doing such a thing! Oh, back to Simcoe. In any case, I also heard that he wants to build a city called London to be our capital, but first, we need a military base. According to other people, he wants the new base to be in York, because it is further than Newark is from the border. I haven't heard much about York, so I am going to do some studying on it. I will write again soon.


August 4, 1793

I am so horrible at keeping up with my Journal, but I have done much studying about York and the recent events. It seems York used to be a very important part of the Natives transportation routes, and a small French fort was built there in 1620. In 1787, we bought it from the Natives. It doesn't seem like much to me, but I guess Simcoe thinks other wise. Speaking of Simcoe, he travelled to York five days ago to make sure that the fort was built right. He also had some town plans made because he was going to live there I guess. I also heard that Sir Guy Carleton (You remember him right?) doesn't like Simcoes choice, so he isn't supporting him. I couldn't believe that when I heard it. We are all part of the same proud country are we not? Why couldn't he put his preferences aside and think of what is best for the country instead? Because if this, Simcoe has to convince other governors to live in York, which is basically the wilderness right now. I wish him luck in that. However, protecting the city was easy because Simcoe has The Queen's Rangers. They also help build some of the buildings and roads. I also heard that he needs people to come and live at his settlement, but due to a war going on in Europe, no one from there is moving here. So even though he doesn't trust the Rebels, he is trying to get them here with tempts of more land. I think this is a horrible idea, but oh well. He is also trying to create an upper class, like in England, by giving some people more land than others. I rather liked it here without an upper class, and trying to add one isn't such a good idea in my opinion. One thing that I actually liked from his plans was that he is continuing to let "Late Loyalists" in and giving them land. At least that was a good idea! That is all that is available to me right now, I will try to write again soon, but I can't make any promises.