CHARACTERS

Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe

Sheaffe took command of the forces at Ft. George when Brock went to meet William Hull's army, and took over completely from Brock when that General died in Queenston.

Despite his talent, neither fellow officers nor the ordinary rank and file were content to serve under him. He was known to be overly serious, and to hold the Canadian militia in contempt. Sheaffe was so disliked that some men in Ft. George even plotted to kill him.

The fact that Sheaffe could never seem to get on George Prevost's right side only added to his problems. As 1813 unfolded, Upper Canada was at its most vulnerable and Sheaffe sustained a large part of the blame for the situation. Many thought Sheaffe to have acted wisely in saving his badly outnumbered troops by abandoning York in April of 1813. This action however, earned him the ire of many Upper Canadians. When U.S. raids on the Niagara Peninsula became more frequent, Prevost removed Sheaffe claiming that he had lost the confidence of the province and the ability to command. He was recalled to England in the fall of 1813.