TOEONTO: AN HISTOEICAL SKETCH 



of seeing if the ball would take effect, ascended the 

 bastion. In the meantime the artilleryman, waiting 

 the word of command to fire, held the match behind 

 him, as is usual in such circumstances ; and the trav- 

 elling magazine, a large wooden chest, containing 

 cartridges for the great guns, being open just at his 

 back, he unfortunately put his match into it, and the 

 consequence was dreadful indeed. Every man in the 

 battery was blown into the air. The officers were 

 thrown from the bastion by the shock, but escaped 

 with a few bruises ; the cannon were dismounted, and 

 the battery was rendered completely useless. I was 

 standing at the gate of the garrison when the poor 

 soldiers who escaped the explosion with a little life 

 remaining were brought into the hospital, and a more 

 afflicting sight could scarcely be witnessed." 



The American general, Pike, was killed by the 

 explosion, as well as a large number of his men, and 

 on the capture of the town the Parliament Buildings 

 were burned. It was partly in reprisal for this act 

 that the British forces destroyed the Government 

 Buildings at Washington some months later, when 

 General Koss captured that city. That New Eng- 

 land was opposed to the war the Hartford Convention 

 clearly showed. While thus tending to separate the 

 Union it did much to consolidate the Provinces, for 

 the French were quite as vigorous in their defence 

 as the Loyalists of the Upper Province. There can 

 be no doubt that the success with which the Cana- 

 dians repelled the invader was mainly owing to the 



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