CUTTING OUT ON THE NIAGARA OCTOBER 1812
CUTTING OUT ON THE NIAGARA RIVER OCTOBER 1812 The enemy is making every exertion to gain a naval Superiority on both Lakes which if they accomplish I do not see how we can retain the Country. – Major General Isaac Brock, October 11, 1812 THE NIARARA REGION Ever since Europeans began exploring the interior of the American continent, the straits between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario were a crucial choke point to communications, navigation, and commerce. The significant interruption to movement posed by the cataracts at Niagara Falls forced establishment of portage points, routes over-land, the creation of boat building yards above the falls [1] , and attendant trading outposts. Alternative routes were few, as roads from the east to west, in either Canada or the U.S., were scarce, largely undeveloped, and vulnerable to the muddy seasons at either end of brutally cold winters. Boat traffic up the St. Lawrence, across Lake Ontario, and on the Niagara, gave the British the best means