paired back to England, where in June 1811 he
gained a promotion to lieutenant general and
an appointment as lieutenant governor of
Nova Scotia. Sherbrooke was no stranger to
Canada, having served on Cape Breton Island
during 1784–1786.
Within a year of taking office at Halifax,
Sherbrooke faced the daunting prospect of
war with the United States. Over the next two
years, with rather scanty resources, he went
to great lengths to improve defenses within
the maritime provinces and to increase the
size and readiness of the militia. Sherbrooke’s
efforts were abated by the strident antiwar
sentiments of neighboring New England,
whose commercial-minded elites generally
opposed the War of 1812. Taking the hint, the
general went to great lengths to foster illicit
trade between the two regions, granting trade
licenses in wartime and promoting duty-free
American goods. He was especially careful to
remind Canadians that war against American
civilians accomplished little good and ex-
horted them to respect their persons and
property. Needless to say, the rapacious Yan-
kees availed themselves of such a favorable
clime and freely traded with the enemy. Both
sides accumulated much prosperity over the
next two years, being the only regions of
North America to do so. Sherbrooke was also
responsible for the outfitting of numerous
Canadian privateers who preyed upon New
England shipping.
British attitudes toward the United States
hardened following the downfall of Napoleon
in April 1814, and Lord Henry Bathhurst, sec-
retary of the colonies, instructed Sherbrooke
to assume the offensive. He was ordered to
occupy parts of northern Maine Territory that
would facilitate communications between the
Maritime Provinces and Lower Canada. It was
also hoped that such acquisitions, if not an-
nexed outright, would improve the bargaining
position of British peace negotiators at Ghent.
Accordingly, in September 1814 Sherbrooke
assembled Gen. Gerard Gosselin and 2,500
men of the 29th, 60th, 69th, and 98th Regi-
ments. They then embarked aboard the fleet
of Adm. Edward Griffith and made way for
their first objective, the port of Castine. In the
face of such an onslaught, the local militia
spiked their cannons and fled, leaving the
town in British hands without a shot being
fired. Gosselin then proceeded up the Penob-
scot River, where it was known that the
corvette USS Adams under Capt. Charles
Morris was anchored. Morris worked his ves-
sel as far upstream as Hampden, offloaded his
cannons, and prepared to fight. On September
3, British forces under Lt. Col. Henry John at-
tacked and routed the militia, forcing Morris
to burn his vessel and retreat overland. At this
point, the British were firmly in control of 100
miles of Maine’s coastline.
The following eight months proved a curi-
ous interlude in the history of border rela-
tions between America and Canada. Not sur-
prisingly, most inhabitants of Maine took an
oath of allegiance to the Crown and contin-
ued their lucrative trade with them. The abun-
dance of British gold more than compensated
for this distressing lack of patriotism. Fortu-
nately for the United States, the Treaty of
Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, required
Britain to relinquish all its newly acquired
holdings. Before leaving, the British had ac-
crued considerable sums of customs revenue
during their occupation of Castine. Sher-
brooke ordered that the funds be used to es-
tablish several libraries in Halifax, along with
present-day Dalhousie University.
Sherbrooke remained at Halifax until April
1816, when he replaced George Prevostas
governor-general of Canada. The residents of
Nova Scotia, who esteemed his excellent ser-
vices as governor, voted him an expensive
plate before he departed. Once at Quebec,
Sherbrooke inherited a province that was
badly divided across religious and ethnic
grounds, especially seeing that the so-called
English Party was tired of political appease-
ment toward the French. Sherbrooke, despite
his reputation for testiness, surprised every-
one by his impartial and clear-eyed approach
to Canada’s problems. In fact, impartiality in
dealing with all factions became his trade-SHERBROOKE, JOHNCOAPE