The 1814 Raid on Sault Ste. Marie

On July 21, 1814, in the final year of the War of 1812, American military forces raided Sault Ste. Marie, aided by the naval schooners Scorpion and Tigress. 

Located on the St. Mary’s River, connecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron, Sault Ste. Marie was an important economic hub situated near numerous strategically valuable Upper Great Lakes islands and military outposts that both the British and Americans viewed as essential to achieving their ultimate victory and territorial ambitions in the War of 1812.

Sault Ste. Marie was home to a significant North West Company depot that served as the economic heart of the surrounding region, including Sault Ste. Marie’s vibrant Métis community which, over generations, had built a distinct and prosperous Métis way of life around the Upper Great Lakes fur trade.

The July 21, 1814 American raid on Sault Ste. Marie and resulting “ruins the enemy had left” were observed by North West Company trader, Gabriel Franchère, who later recalled: 

“The Americans had come, with a force of one hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major Holmes; and that after having pillaged that they all considered worth taking, of the property of the N.W. Company and that of a Mr. Johnston, they had set fire to the houses, warehouses, &c.”

Although the War of 1812 would officially end with the Treaty of Ghent’s ratification the following February, its impacts would continue to be felt by the Upper Great Lakes Métis for generations to come.

For example, in the post-war boundary commissions, the British ceded Drummond Island to the Americans, forcing the island’s Métis community—who had allied with the British against the Americans—to relocate once the new international border was enforced in 1828. While some of the Métis who called the island home went to Sault Ste. Marie and other locations, many relocated across Lake Huron to re-establish their community at Penetanguishene.

See Our Sources

• Narrative of a Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America in the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814

• The Historical Roots of Métis Communities North of Lake Superior

• The Dispossession of Métis Land in Sault Ste. Marie

• The Migration of Voyageurs from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene

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