ABSTRACT
W HILE HARRISON'S ARMY threw the allies back from Fort Meigs, the American main effort against Upper Canada was being developed on the northern front. After a change of plan described earlier, Dearborn accepted the notion of attacking York (later Toronto), the provincial capital of Upper Canada and so on 22 April, 1,700 regular soldiers and volunteer militia embarked in Chauncey's flotilla of 14 vessels after the winter ice broke. The town of York, although the capital of Upper Canada, was much smaller than Kingston and in 1813 it consisted of
York was not strongly garrisoned. Brock had planned a fort, but only a temporary blockhouse, magazine and ditch had been built along with some barracks and protective batteries. The available troops, commanded by Major-General Sir Roger Sheaffe, consisted of three companies of embodied militia, three companies of Canadian regulars and two of British regulars, some Royal Artillery gunners, and 50 to 100 Indians: in all, about 700 men.
