foreword | Historical Narratives | Resources | Links | Contact

BROCK AT THE OUTBREAK OF WAR, PART 1

History is the past shot through with passion.

Review Questions

Vocabulary:
Insipid, desolation, camaraderie, palisade, bastion, repine, indebtedness, exemplary, carronades, foresight, disperse, requisite, morale, consternation, beacons, vested, chafe, prestigious, pre-emptive, perforated, provisional, interspersed, alienation, entourage, succumb, augur, cataclysmic, enticements, resolve, calamities, blackguards.

1. Brock wanted to put the province on a total war footing. What does this mean?

2. (a) What were the issues over which Brock and the Assembly disagreed. (b) Identify the positions taken, explain the rationale for each and indicate which you support.

3. Describe the differing attitudes of residents of Upper Canada during this critical period.

4. Explain: (a) those rousing words sounded hollow; (b) the militia served as rallying points for the more patriotic citizens; (c) public alienation existed in the southwest; (d) the citizens had good reason to be wary; (e) animated by a zeal for honour; (f) go west for awhile; (g) courage like fear is contagious; (h) wavering tribes; (i) the military existed only on paper; (j) loyalty could not be legislated; (k) placed high on a shelf; (l) neither defiance nor deference but defence; (m) the beau monde of York; (n) languished in obscurity; (o) pining for a post; (p) winning laurels; (q) hectic hero; (r) had just placed himself in the cauldron of history; (s) he feared the weight of his sword.

5. What was Brock's greatest strength during this period?

6. Brock was a strong family man and an individual who enjoyed life. Provide proof of this description of him.

7. "The shot aimed at a crow brought down an eagle." Explain this and indicate how it relates to the significance of Robert's capture of Fort Michilimackinac.

8. Define the following terms relating to a fort: bastion; stockade; palisade; rampart; parapet; battlement.

9. Upper Canada and its miniscule militia were about to be attacked by the military might of its much larger neighbour. The small colony and its tiny band of troops fully expected to be defeated and many saw little reason to resist. In the face of this widespread doubt, defeatism and despair, Brock decided on a brash and very bold strategy. What was it and why do you think it worked?

10. Explain Brock's philosophy.

11. Identify and explain the figure of speech, he "needed swords as sharp as those he expected to face."

12. Why was it 'ironic' that Brock won "the honour of the Bath"?

13. Do you agree or disagree with Brock's statement that confidence was the soul of success? Justify your answer.

14. "History is the past shot through with passiion." Identify the occasions in this narrative that substantiate the truth of this definition.

15. Identify and explain these figures of speech: (a) like a cold mist; (b) Your political vessel freighted with your laws and liberties was blown about to and fro at the will of the military storm.

16. Fortune found Brock. Explain.

17. Brock was a man of thought and pen. What was so remarkable about his dispatch to Sir George Prevost?

18. Compare and contrast Brock and Prevost.

Back