Re: "Drakon" by S. M. Stirling

The Horny Goat wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2024 15:36:21 -0400, William Hyde
<wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
 

However, Ontario also received a number of "delayed loyalists", i.e.
Americans attracted by free land, well after the war(1).  As these
proved far from loyal to the British in the war of 1812(2), perhaps your
grandmother had a point.
>

 I've never seen a source that suggested land in modern day southern
Ontario was free though it was a fraction (I've read 1/3) of what the
US was selling land for in what is now the Midwest.
 Again - in British eyes there were enough of them that it was felt to
be a security threat in the region between London (ON) and York (now
Toronto) though in the event these settlers chose loyalty to their
land rather than to their former country.

My sense of it is that most of them hunkered down and were content to go with whoever won.  Any pro-American action they might have been tempted to take was nipped in the bud by the Americans themselves, as James mentioned.
Some did join the militia, however. So they were not all as neutral as I implied above.  Some Canadian army units include battle honours from this war in their record which I believe descend from contemporary militia units.
But the inhabitants of Quebec and the Maritimes did far better. The defenders of this province were largely British regulars and native forces.
You are quite right about the Berton, though I confess it's been a long time since I read it.  I gave it and "Vimy" to an American friend who wondered if Canada had been in the world wars.
William Hyde