Home


CHARACTERS

Major General Henry Dearborn

At 61 he was appointed senior major general in the United States Army in command from the northwest sector to the Niagara River to the New England coast. During the war he was referred to my the rank and file as Granny Dearborn.

Dearborn prepared plans for simultaneous assaults on Montreal, Kingston, Fort Niagara, and Ft. Malden, but was unable to coordinate any of the assaults.

Technically Dearborn is in command of all American forces facing Canada, but his letters to the War department show a man with no desire or drive to fill his own post. Her writes to Secretary of War Eustis: "Who is to have command of the operations in Upper Canada? I take it for granted that my command does not extend to this distant quarter."

Dearborn picks Greenbush New York as his headquarters near Albany. A site about as far removed from his men, subordinates and Washington D.C. as it is possible to get.

Although Dearborn had minor successes at the capture of York and at the capture of Ft. George, his command was, for the most part, unproductive. He was recalled from the frontier on July 6, 1813, and reassigned to an administrative command in New York City. .