Sheppard demonstrates that the colony was a fragmented and pluralistic community before the war and remained so after it. Upper Canadians were divided by racial, religious, linguistic, and class differences and the majority of settlers had no strong ties to either the United States or Britain, with most men avoiding military service during the war. Reviewing the claims submitted for damages attributed to the fighting, he argues that British forces as well as enemy troops were responsible for widespread destruction of private property and concludes that this explains why there was little increase in anti-American feeling after the war. Much of the wartime damage occurred in areas west of York (now Toronto). This was the cause of grievances harboured by settlers in the western part of Upper Canada against their eastern counterparts long after the war had ended. As well, some Upper Canadians profited from wartime activities while others suffered greatly. Only later, in the 1840s when these issues had faded from memory, did Canadians begin to create a favourable version of wartime events. Using garrison records, muster rolls, diaries, newspapers, and damage claims registered after the war, the author delves beyond the rhetoric of wartime loyalties and reveals how the legacy of war complicated colonial politics.

George Sheppard's profile page

"This is the best account to date of the war of 1812-14 in Upper Canada ... Sheppard has provided a fine analysis of social and economic conditions prevailing in the colony during wartime, in particular the changing relationship of the Upper Canadian population to the conflict through militia service and the exigencies arising from wartime economic change ... His argumentation is well-founded in scholarly terms, clear and persuasive ... A fine study ... It will be regarded as one of the finest contributions in many years to the historical scholarship on Upper Canada." Gerald Tulchinsky, Department of History, Queen's University.
"This study is genuinely revisionist and conveys important new information ... It contains a particularly valuable analysis of war losses claims and connects the dealings and inequities involved to later economic and political discontent ... It achieves a breakthrough in the difficult area of estimating population statistics in the pre-census period through an innovative use of militia records." J.K. Johnson, Department of History, Carleton University.

"This is the best account to date of the war of 1812-14 in Upper Canada ... Sheppard has provided a fine analysis of social and economic conditions prevailing in the colony during wartime, in particular the changing relationship of the Upper Canadian population to the conflict through militia service and the exigencies arising from wartime economic change ... His argumentation is well-founded in scholarly terms, clear and persuasive ... A fine study ... It will be regarded as one of the finest contributions in many years to the historical scholarship on Upper Canada." Gerald Tulchinsky, Department of History, Queen's University. "This study is genuinely revisionist and conveys important new information ... It contains a particularly valuable analysis of war losses claims and connects the dealings and inequities involved to later economic and political discontent ... It achieves a breakthrough in the difficult area of estimating population statistics in the pre-census period through an innovative use of militia records." J.K. Johnson, Department of History, Carleton University.