MORRISON, JOSEPHWANTON
Morrison, Joseph Wanton
(May 4, 1783–February 15, 1826)
English Army Officer
M
orrison won the
hard-fought Bat-
tle of Crysler’s
Farm in 1813 against an
American force three
times his size. His victory
single-handedly turned
aside a major attack upon
Montreal and was the
most dramatic display of
British military prowess
during the War of 1812.
Joseph Wanton Morri-
son was born in New
York City on May 4, 1783,
a son of John Morrison,
then deputy commissary
general in North America.
Following the American
Revolution, Morrison re-
located back to England
with his family, and he
was commissioned an en-
sign in the British army in 1783. After several
years on half-pay with an independent com-
pany, he joined the 17th Regiment of Foot in
1799 and first experienced combat at Egmond
aan Zee, Netherlands. The following year he
reported to Minorca for garrison duty, remain-
ing there until 1802. Two years later he was
stationed in Ireland as an inspecting officer of
yeomanry (volunteer militia), and in 1805 he
joined the unit most closely associated with
his career, the 89th Regiment. This was an
Irish-recruited regiment, distinct in red jack-
ets and black facings (collars and cuffs). After
several more years of garrison duty, Morrison
transferred with his regiment to Halifax in Oc-
tober 1812. The War of 1812 against the
United States was then in full swing, and he
marched his battalion to Kingston, Upper
Canada (Ontario), as part of the garrison. An
excellent drillmaster, he spent several months
constantly inspecting his
troops, training them,
and in every way honing
the 89th to a fine tactical
edge. Curiously, the 30-
year-old Morrison had
never personally com-
manded a battle by him-
self despite fifteen years
of active service.
The fall of 1813 gave
rise to an ambitious Amer-
ican strategy for the con-
quest of Canada, con-
ceived by Secretary of
War John Armstrong,
which involved two dis-
tinct strategic thrusts
from the west and south.
The first column was
under Gen. James Wilkin-
son, who commanded up
to 8,000 soldiers at Sack-
ets Harbor, New York. His objective was to pile
his army onto a vast armada of boats and con-
duct an amphibious foray down the St.
Lawrence River. Meanwhile, a force of 4,000
men under Gen. Wade Hampton would concur-
rently advance from Plattsburgh, New York, up
the Champlain Valley and into Lower Canada.
There the two columns would unite in antici-
pation of a rapid conquest of Montreal. Cap-
ture of that strategic city would all but ensure
the fall of Upper Canada and points west. It
was the largest American offensive conducted
thus far in the war, but sheer numbers belied
its overall inadequacy. First off, the campaign
commenced too late in the fall to have any
prospects of success, for the moment winter
weather arrived operations would have to
cease. Second, the choice of generals to lead
this critical conquest was poor, as Hampton
and Wilkinson were bitter personal enemiesJoseph Wanton Morrison
McCord Museum