Roger Hale Sheaffe
Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, 1st Baronet was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served during the War of the Second Coalition and the War of 1812. After the death of Major General Isaac Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights, Sheaffe became the military commander and acting Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. He was created a baronet in January 1813 in recognition of his leadership during the battle. In June 1813, Sheaffe was relieved of his civil and military responsibilities due to his decision to retreat at the Battle of York. He was recalled to England later that year. Sheaffe continued serving in the British Army and received a promotion to lieutenant general in 1821 and to full general in 1835.
Early life
Roger Hale Sheaffe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the third son and eighth child of Susannah Child and William Sheaffe. His father was a graduate of Harvard University who became Deputy Collector of Customs at Boston.After Sheaffe's father died in 1771, his mother took in boarders to support her children. One of the boarders was Hugh Percy, later the 2nd Duke of Northumberland, who commanded the 5th Regiment of Foot. Percy was struck by Sheaffe's leadership potential and sponsored his attendance at a military academy in London. Percy continued to be a benefactor, purchasing Sheaffe's first commission as an ensign in the 5th Foot in 1778 and a lieutenancy two years later.
Military career
Sheaffe served with the 5th Regiment in Ireland from 1781 until 1787, when it was sent to the Province of Quebec, then part of British North America. Over the next ten years, Sheaffe's postings included Quebec, Montreal, Detroit, and Fort Niagara. In 1791, Sheaffe was at Fort Niagara when the Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In August 1794, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, sent Sheaffe and an escort to Sodus Point on the south shore of Lake Ontario to deliver an official protest regarding the establishment of an American settlement on Indigenous territory. Simcoe described Sheaffe as a “gentleman of great discretion, incapable of any intemperate or uncivil conduct.” In May 1795, Sheaffe purchased a captaincy in the 5th Foot, again paid for by Percy. The following year, Sheaffe was tasked with the evacuation of British personnel from Fort Niagara prior to the British turning the fort over to the Americans as stipulated in the Jay Treaty.Sheaffe returned to Great Britain in September 1797, and three months later purchased a majority in the 84th Regiment of Foot. He subsequently transferred to the 49th Regiment of Foot as a lieutenant colonel. His immediate superior in the 49th Foot was Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Brock, who had recently assumed command of the regiment.
In 1799, during the War of the Second Coalition, the 49th Foot was assigned to the Anglo-Russian expedition against the Batavian Republic. The expedition faced minimal opposition when they landed at Callantsoog, south of Den Helder, on 27 August. Sheaffe first saw combat when the 49th Foot helped fend off a French attack on 10 September. On 2 October, the 49th Foot was actively involved in heavy combat at the Battle of Alkmaar. During the engagement, the regiment was in the vanguard of a column that steadily proceeded south along the beach from Petten towards Egmond aan Zee. As it advanced, the column was increasingly harassed by French sharpshooters hiding in patches of thick scrub. Eventually, the French blocked the advance by taking up a strong position in the dunes overlooking the beach. The 49th Foot was ordered to dislodge the French from their position. Brock wrote that he "ordered a charge, which I assure you was executed with the greatest gallantry, though not in the greatest order, as the nature of the ground admitted of none." The engagement continued for several hours until the French finally gave way and the British were able to push forward.
The 49th Foot returned to Great Britain at the end of October and garrisoned Jersey for several months beginning in July 1800. Early in 1801, the regiment was chosen to act as marines for a naval expedition against Denmark. The 49th Foot was tasked with assaulting the forts at Copenhagen, however, the outcome of the naval battle made such action unnecessary.
The 49th Foot was posted to Upper Canada in 1802. Sheaffe, an "old-fashioned disciplinarian" who "knew much about soldiering but little about leadership," was given command of Fort George in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake. In August 1803, Sheaffe was faced with an incipient mutiny. He sent an urgent message to Brock stating that some soldiers were planning to confine or murder their officers then escape to the United States. Brock quickly came to his subordinate's aid. The mutineers were disarmed, arrested and sent to Quebec for court-martial. At their trial, the mutineers complained of Sheaffe's "harsh and severe" treatment of them. Four of the mutineers were sentenced to death, while the rest were transported for life. Brock was subsequently ordered to move his regimental headquarters to Fort George while Sheaffe took command of the small garrison at York.
Sheaffe was censured by Brock for being “indiscreet and injudicious." He felt that Sheaffe was too strict in applying the rules, and criticized the harsh and contemptuous manner when he spoke to the men. Brock also faulted Sheaffe for reducing non-commissioned officers to the ranks for minor infractions. Sergeant Major James Fitzgibbon of the 49th Foot noted that Sheaffe "was the best teacher I ever knew, but he was also a martinet and a great scold."
Sheaffe became the commanding officer of the 49th Foot in November 1805 after Brock was promoted to full colonel. Sheaffe was brevetted colonel in 1808 and subsequently served at different posts in the Canadas until he was promoted to major general in June 1811. This last promotion may have hurt Sheaffe financially because as an unassigned general officer he only received a colonel's half-pay. He then took extended leave in England. Meanwhile, Brock, who had also been promoted to major general, was given command of all British forces in Upper Canada. In October 1811, he was appointed administrator of Upper Canada when Francis Gore, the Lieutenant Governor, departed for England on leave. Brock was now both the senior military officer in Upper Canada and the leader of its civil government.
War of 1812
Sheaffe returned to Quebec in July 1812 shortly after the United States had declared war on the United Kingdom. Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada, appointed Sheaffe to take command of British troops on the Niagara frontier. Meanwhile, Prevost arranged a temporary armistice with Major General Henry Dearborn, who commanded American forces in the northeastern United States, aiming to foster potential peace negotiations. When Sheaffe arrived at Fort George in mid-August, he took things a step further by negotiating agreement with his American counterpart, Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer. The agreement prevented the forwarding of troops and supplies westward, but did little to prevent the buildup of American forces on the east side of the Niagara River. Prevost privately criticized Sheaffe for overstepping his authority but took no disciplinary action. Prevost's armistice was quickly repudiated by President James Madison and hostilities began anew.Battle of Queenston Heights
Brock arrived at Fort George on August 22, a week after American Brigadier General William Hull's surrender following the siege of Detroit. Prevented by the armistice from taking further offensive action, Brock and Sheaffe spent the next few weeks working to strengthen British defences along the Niagara River.Shortly before dawn on 13 October 1813, American regulars began crossing the Niagara River at Queenston, a village a few miles south of Fort George. Brock who had returned to Fort George following the successful Siege of Detroit, galloped to Queenston, arriving in time to witness the Americans capture the British artillery positioned on the heights overlooking the village. He sent orders to Sheaffe to bring up reinforcements, but before they could arrive Brock was shot and killed by an American sniper while leading a detachment of regulars and militia in an unsuccessful counterattack. The senior surviving British officer, Captain James Dennis, ordered his forces to abandon Queenston and pull back to Durham's Farm, a mile north of the village. Meanwhile, American regulars and militia, unimpeded by British artillery, crossed the river in large numbers and substantially reinforced the position on the heights.
Sheaffe arrived at Durham's Farm at mid-morning followed closely by the first of the British reinforcements from Fort George. Sheaffe had a Royal Artillery detachment advance on the village, supported by a company of the 41st Regiment of Foot under Captain William Derenzy. When the British artillery opened fire, it once again became hazardous for American boats to cross the river. Two boats were sunk, and the American six-pounders across the river were repeatedly silenced by shrapnel fire. Meanwhile, Derenzy slowly began pushing the Americans out of the village. At the same time, Mohawk warriors from the Grand River under John Norton climbed the escarpment west of the village and began harassing the Americans on the heights. Norton later wrote that they "discharged Leaden death among them" A significant number of American soldiers began to abandon their posts, unnerved by the sight of the dead and wounded, and the war cries of the Mohawk.
Sheaffe set out from Durham's Farm with roughly 650 men and marched across fields to ascend the escarpment, following the path that Norton had taken earlier. His forces then circled around to the south of the Americans. Sheaffe positioned the main body of his regulars facing the American line at a distance of about 400 yards. Two light companies of regulars, Runchey's Coloured Company, and Norton's Mohawks moved into position west of the Americans. When three companies of the 41st Foot from Chippewa arrived, Sheaffe ordered them into position on the eastern flank.
Sheaffe gave the order to advance. His regulars marched forward to within 100 yards of the American line then volleyed en masse. The Americans fired a ragged volley in return then began to pull back. The British advanced by platoon, halting and firing as they did so, until they were exchanging point-blank fire with the retreating Americans. Meanwhile, the light companies, the Coloured Company and the Mohawks moved in from the west. While some of the Americans were able to make an orderly retreat towards the river, others panicked and threw down their weapons. When they reached the river they discovered that no boats were waiting to evacuate them. Some tried to swim to safety and were shot at. The American commander on the heights, Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott, claimed that it took three attempts with a flag of truce to surrender before the British finally ceased firing roughly an hour after the attack began.
After the battle, Sheaffe proposed a three-day truce and invited the Americans to send surgeons to assist in treating the wounded. Within days most of the American wounded as well as all of the militia prisoners were paroled and sent back across the river. The regulars, including Scott were escorted to Quebec, and but were repatriated in a prisoner exchange seven weeks later.
Sheaffe was criticized by Prevost for agreeing to an American proposal to extend the truce. He was also criticized for paroling the senior American militia officer, and for not immediately moving to take Fort Niagara. In recognition of the victory, however, the Prince Regent conferred upon Sheaffe the title of baronet on 16 January 1813.