Richard Feltoe - Redcoated ploughboys: the Volunteer Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada, 1813-1815

THE CAREERS OF SELECTED INDIVIDUALS FROM THE INCORPORATED MITLITIA OF UPPER CANADA

1. James Kerby (17851854) (twenty-seven years old in 1812), Captain, No. 1 Company, Major (1814)

In the pre-war years, James Kerby had engaged in a forwarding/shipping business with Robert Grant. This business and its warehouses, located near Fort Erie, were destroyed during the siege. However, following the war, the business was re-established and for a time prospered.

Prior to joining the Incorporated Militia, he had served as both the adjutant in the 2nd Lincoln Militia and commander of an artillery detachment in the shelling of the Caledonia and Detroit (October 9, 1812). He also commanded an artillery unit in the Frenchmans Creek action (November 29, 1812). On December 2, 1812, while engaged in firing on the American batteries at Black Rock, his 24-pound cannon ruptured, severely wounding Kerby in the right hand and arm. He also sustained wounds at Lundys Lane and Fort Erie.

1817: Justice of the peace for Bertie Township, Lincoln County.

1822: Major, 2nd Lincoln Militia.

1823: Lieutenant colonel, 2nd Lincoln Militia (honorary colonel and regimental commanding officer).

1826: Town warden, township postmaster, Bertie Township, Welland County.

1831: Appointed to the Provincial Legislative Council.

1834: Appointed customs collector, Fort Erie.

1837: Authorized to raise the Queens Niagara Fencibles as a special military unit to counter rebel incursions.

1838: Appointed senior officer of militia for the Niagara region.

1846: Commanding officer, Welland Militia Regiment. Committee member of the Brocks monument project for Queenston Heights.

2. Archibald McLean (17911865) (twenty-one years old in 1812), Captain, No. 6 Company

A law student when war broke out, McLean served in the 3rd York Militia. Prior to serving in the Incorporated Militia, he saw action at the taking of Detroit (August 6, 1812), Queenston Heights (October 13, 1812), and York (April 27, 1814). He was taken prisoner at Lundys Lane (July 25, 1814). Upon his return, he was offered a commission in the regular British army, but declined in favour of resuming his law studies.

182034: Served as a Member of the Upper Canada House of Assembly (MLA) for Stormont.

183436: Elected MLA for Cornwall.

1836: Elected Speaker of the House.

1837: Colonel of the York Militia. Commanded the left wing of the Crown line in the action against the rebels at Montgomerys Tavern. Appointed judge (Kings Bench).

1850: Appointed judge (Court of Common Pleas).

1856: Appointed senior judge (Queens Bench).

1862: Appointed chief justice (Queens Bench).

1863: Appointed senior presiding judge (Court of Error and Appeal); president of the St. Andrews Society.

3. Jonas Jones (17911848) (twenty-one years old in 1812), Captain (181314)

A student-at-law at the time war broke out, Jones had previously served in the 1st Leeds Militia. He previously saw action at Ogdensburg (February 22, 1813). Following the war, he returned to his studies and came to the bar in 1815. In later life, he became one of the leading breeders of purebred horses and cattle in eastern Ontario.

181628: Served as MLA for Grenville.

1818: Appointed to serve on the joint Parliamentary committee for the improvement of the St. Lawrence River canal system. Appointed public notary for the Johnstown District.

1822: Appointed trustee to the Johnstown Board of Education. Appointed judge (Bathurst District and Surrogate Court). Appointed colonel of 3rd Leeds Militia.

1824: Appointed judge, Johnstown District (present-day United Counties of Leeds and Grenville).

1833: Elected president of the Brockville Board of Police.

183437: Elected MLA for Brockville.

1837: Appointed judge (Kings Bench). Saw action in the 1837 rebellion at Montgomerys Tavern.

183940: Elected Speaker of the Upper Canada Legislative Council.

4. William Morris (17861858) (twenty-six years old in 1812), Lieutenant, Regimental Adjutant (181314)

Proprietor of a mercantile store in Elizabethtown (Brockville) prior to the war, Morris served in the 1st Leeds Militia. He saw action at Ogdensburg (February 22, 1813).

1818: Appointed justice of the peace for Perth.

181936: Served as MLA for Carleton County and later Lanark County.

1822: Lieutenant colonel, 2nd Regiment, Carleton Militia.

1836: Appointed to the Legislative Council.

1837: Appointed senior colonel for Lanark County.

1841: Founding trustee and principal advocate for Queens College, Kingston.

1841: Appointed to the Legislative Council for the United Canadas.

1844: Appointed receiver general for the United Canadas.

184647: President of the Executive Council for the United Canadas.

5. Henry Ruttan (17921871) (twenty years old in 1812), Lieutenant, No. 5 Company

Proprietor of a mercantile store in Grafton, Ruttan returned to his business following the war. He was a recognized technological innovator and inventor of several heating and cooling technologies later adopted for use in buildings and railway carriages.

182024: Served as MLA for Northumberland.

1827: Appointed sheriff of the Newcastle District.

183641: Re-elected as MLA for Northumberland.

183738: Elected Speaker of the Upper Canada Legislature.

1846: Colonel of the Northumberland Militia.

1849: Appointed sheriff of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham.

6. Henry Burritt (17911872) (twenty-one years old in 1812), Lieutenant, No. 10 and No. 2 Companies

A farmer and landowner, he is best known as the founder of the Burritts Rapids community on the Rideau Canal.

1818: Major in 3rd Grenville Militia.

1828: Appointed justice of the peace for the Johnstown District.

183040: Lieutenant colonel, Grenville Militia.

183941: Served as MLA for Grenville.

7. Henry (Heinrich) Davy (17681832) (forty-four years old in 1812), Captain (181314)

Veteran of the Revolutionary War and a United Empire Loyalist, he served as a captain in the Addington Militia in 1812. Postwar he became a major landowner and farmer in the Earnstown and Camden area.

8. John Kilborn (17941886) (eighteen years old in 1812), Ensign, No. 7 and No. 10 Companies.

A store clerk at Elizabethtown at the outbreak of war, he served with the flank company of Leeds Militia, and saw action at Ogdensburg (February 22, 1813). He acted as quartermaster to Frasers company in 1813. Following the war, Kilborn returned to the mercantile trade at Unionville (inland from Elizabethtown) and was employed as a forwarding agent by the Commissariat Department, responsible for the settlement of new immigrants to Perth County. Later in life he relocated to Newboro (south of Smiths Falls) where he established a hotel on the banks of the Rideau Canal that is still operating to this day.