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War of 1812 and Nova Scotia

Ships Duke of Kent, Charles Mary Wentworth and Earl Spencer from a modern drawing by C.H.J. Snider. Medium: drawing Artist: C.H.J. Snider Reference no.: NSARM Photo Collection: Ships: C.M. Wentworth

The War of 1812 began in June 1812, and the remaining British North American colonies — Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island (then separate from Nova Scotia), New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario) were automatically at war with the United States.

The role of Nova Scotia during the war was mainly at sea. The Royal Navy from its North Atlantic Squadron base at Halifax, joined by privateer vessels from home ports along the Atlantic coast and Bay of Fundy – like the ports of Halifax and Liverpool.

There are several virtual exhibits –

Spoils of War: Privateering in Nova Scotia – Read about the history of privateering in Nova Scotia. For example, there  are digitized original log-books for the privateers Charles Mary Wentworth (1799), Nelson (1802) and Dart (1813).

Acadian Reporter – This newspaper was published in Halifax beginning in January 1813, and this is four-page weekly newspaper. This newspaper “carried local, provincial, British and international news stories, a weekly almanac, shipping news, marriage and death notices, and a wide range of advertisements”

Black Refugees 1812 – 1834 - This is a virtual exhibit made up of 75 digitized documents, news clippings, documentary art and print items.


Go to http://gov.ns.ca/nsarm/war1812