Canadian Volunteers The Canadian Volunteers was a unit composed of pro - American citizens or inhabitants of Upper Canada which fought for the United States of America during the Anglo - American War of 1812 . Background . Before the War , Americans had been encouraged to settle in Upper Canada by generous grants of land . The Lieutenant Governors and military commanders in the province were concerned that in the event of war with America , the Americans would receive active help from many of these , and from Canadians whom they induced to support them . In March 1812 , Major General Isaac Brock claimed that many of them influenced the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada . When the War broke out , several Canadians in the western districts of Upper Canada did indeed support the American army of Major General William Hull when it invaded Canadian territory from Detroit , though not as many as the Americans had hoped . Near York , the provincial capital , many militiamen avoided duty by marching to comparatively remote settlements such as Newmarket , where they could avoid the authorities . Brock however , induced the Executive Council to prorogue the Legislature , which had been slow to support war measures and was sometimes obstructive , and proclaim Martial Law . He then won a victory over Hull at the Siege of Detroit . No other American force successfully occupied any Canadian territory before the end of the winter . Brock ' s successes stiffened the resolve of many Canadians , and he was also able to issue large numbers of captured muskets to the hitherto badly - armed militia units . Brock was killed at the Battle of Queenston Heights in October , and his successor , Major General Roger Hale Sheaffe , introduced harsh restrictions against American immigrants and those expressing pro - American sentiments . During the ensuing winter , although there was no longer open disaffection , many Canadians of American origin applied for permission to return to the United States . Many others crossed into America unlawfully , across the Niagara River or across the frozen Lake Erie . Formation . In July 1813 , Joseph Willcocks , a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada who had participated on the British side during the early days of the war ( as an envoy to the Six Nations ) , defected to the Americans . Willcocks , like others who later became prominent members of the Canadian Volunteers , was not a recent American immigrant to Upper Canada , but believed that the harsh measures taken against those considered to be disloyal by the military authorities violated natural justice and the rule of law . He was commissioned as Major in the United States Army and formed the Canadian Volunteers at Fort George , which the Americans had captured in May . By the autumn , the corps numbered about 120 men . During the later part of 1813 , they were active as skirmishers , foragers and scouts around the Fort . In November , the corps was reinforced by more volunteers under Benajah Mallory , another former member of the Upper Canada Legislature , who became second in command with the rank of Major . ( Willcocks held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by this time ) . Burning of Newark . By December 1813 , almost all the United States regular troops had been withdrawn from Fort George . Faced with a British advance , Brigadier General George McClure of the New York State Militia ordered the post to be abandoned . During the evacuation , an order was given to set fire to the nearby village of Newark . The Canadian Volunteers were the most active participants in this operation , which the British maintained was an outrage . Other houses in Queenston were also burned down . When the British launched a reprisal raid over the Niagara into New York , practically none of the New York State Militia turned out to defend their homes . The Canadian Volunteers were almost the only troops to offer resistance , setting fire to a bridge over the Tonawanda Creek to halt the British advance . Some at least of the Canadian Volunteers fought in the Battle of Buffalo near the end of the year , when the British launched another punitive expedition across the upper part of the Niagara . Later service . During the spring of 1814 , the unit enrolled more recruits and reorganised . Abraham Markle , yet another former member of the Legislature , became a company commander . In May , Markle accompanied the American Raid on Port Dover , in which the village was burned down . Markle witnessed the destruction of the property of Robert Nichol , who had moved for Markle ' s expulsion from the Legislature . During July , the Canadian Volunteers , which was listed as a regiment but little stronger than a company , formed part of a brigade of militia volunteers commanded by Brigadier General Peter Buell Porter in the American army on the Niagara . They fought at the Battle of Chippawa and the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane . The Americans subsequently withdrew to Fort Erie . During the ensuing Siege of Fort Erie , Brigadier General Porter departed for three weeks to recruit fresh volunteers from the militia , and Lieutenant Colonel Willcocks assumed command of his brigade . He clashed with the New York militia contingent and on 4 September , he declined to take command of an attack by the brigade against a British siege battery . He accompanied the attack as a volunteer instead , and was shot in the chest and killed . Abraham Markle succeeded to command of the Canadian Volunteers . Other Canadians in U . S . service . Other Canadian renegades , not officially part of the Canadian Volunteers , were attached to the American garrisons at Amherstburg and Detroit . They accompanied or instigated many foraging expeditions or punitive raids against undefended Canadian settlements , and caused much hardship . Disbandment . At the end of the war , the Canadian Volunteers were disbanded on 15 June 1815 at Batavia , New York . As most of them were wanted for treason , it was impossible for them to return to their former properties or occupations in Upper Canada ( although some at least tried to do so ) . All Canadians who had performed military service for the United States were indemnified by the United States Congress for their losses , and were rewarded for their services with grants of land in the United States territory , in proportion to their rank .