The youngest son of George Chisholm Sr., George Chisholm Jr., like his brothers grew up in East Flamborough Township when much of the land was still virgin forest. Among his friends were the children of Joseph Brant and the King family, both neighbours of the Chisholm family. George and his friend, George King enlisted in the 2nd York Regiment and saw action in 1812, first at Detroit and then Queenston.
After the American surrender at Detroit in August, it was recognized that it would not be long before another attempt would be made before winter brought a temporary halt to the hostilities. On the night of October 12, a small American army of regular troops and militia crossed the Niagara River and seized the village of Queenston.
General Brock, stationed at Fort George, immediately marched to Queenston with available troops. Realizing that the key to the American position was the high ground behind the village, he led an assault against it, only to be killed. The British and Canadian militias fell back, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. To assist in the delaying tactic, a detachment of First Nation warriors from the Grand River, led by Mohawk war chief John Norton, kept the American force off balance and gradually forced them back towards the river. The arrival of more regular troops helped push the invaders to the edge of the Niagara River. Recognizing it was a hopeless position, the American commander surrendered and almost 1,000 soldiers became Canadian prisoners of war. This second victory by a combined British and Upper Canada militia resulted in high morale among the people of Upper Canada and with the onset of winter, an end to military activities.
George Chisholm, Jr. remained in the militia and saw action in all the major hostilities along the Niagara frontier, including the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. After the war ended, he returned to his East Flamborough farm to look after his aging parents. He remained associated with the militia at the Head-of-the-Lake, with promotions to Lieutenant-Colonel and then Colonel. He helped burn what was left of Buffalo, watched as the steamer ‘Caroline’ went over Niagara Falls in 1837 and marched with Sir Allan MacNab and 72 volunteers to assist in squelching the rebels north of Toronto on December 7, 1837. George and his wife, Eliza McCarter, a granddaughter of Robert Land, are buried in St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Dundas Street, just east of the Guelph Line.
Sylvia Wray is the former archivist with the Flamborough Archives. She can be reached through the Archives at archives@flamboroughhistory.com.
This article was originally published in the Flamborough Review, 21 June 2012.
