20 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
not offered their services, remarked, “I am happy to say that the major 
part of those persons are people from the United States lately with a few 
of our malcontent settlers in the towns of Niagara and Queenston and 
village of St. Davids where Captain Robertson’s mostly reside.” ! 
‘In his well known proclamation, dated the day after entering the 
Western District at Sandwich, General Hull made a direct appeal to 
the recent immigrants in the most significant terms. 
“Raise not your hands against your brethren. Many of your fore- 
fathers fought for the freedom and Independence we now enjoy; being 
children therefore of the same family with us and heirs to the same 
heritage, the arrival of-an army of friends must be hailed by you with 
a cordial welcome. You will be emancipated from tyranny and oppres- 
sion and restored to the dignified position of freemen. Had I any doubt 
of eventual success, I might ask your assistance, but I come prepared 
for every contingency. I have a force which will look down all opposi- 
tion, and that force is but the vanguard of a much greater. 
. If you tender your services voluntarily they will be ac- 
cepted readily.’’? 
Two hundred copies of this proclamation were printed in English 
or French and distributed as rapidly and widely as possible with such 
effect that half of the militia assembled at Amherstburg promptly 
deserted. Sixty of these men reported at Hull’s headquarters within 
twenty-four hours to claim the protection promised by him and some of 
them enlisted under his command. A scouting party which advanced 
up the Thames as far as Allen’s Mills in the township of Delaware was 
immediately joined by Simon Zelotes Watson, Ebenezer Allen and 
Andrew Westbrook, who had quarrelled fiercely with Colonel Talbot 
over the location of lands. Watson was a land surveyor and speculator 
who had formerly held the office of justice of the peace in the Montreal 
District. Allen had served as a volunteer in the British Indian depart- 
ment during the Revolution but bore a very doubtful character. West- 
brook was a blacksmith lately from the Unitde States who had acquired 
a considerable quantity of land and desired more. These three men 
accompanied the invaders to Sandwich and possibly gave Hull an 
exaggerated account of the disaffection and apathy of the inhabitants. 
The title if not the rank of colonel was at once conferred on Watson 
who received authority to enlist a troop of mounted men. Allen and 
Westbrook were employed to distribute proclamations and undertook 
to exert themselves in dissuading the inhabitants from offering any 

! Colonel Ralfe Clench to Major-General Shaw, Apr. 1, 1812. Can. Arch. Militia, 
U.C. 1812. 
? Proclamation to the inhabitants of Upper Canada, July 13, 1812. 
