History of cities in Canada located. The British purchased of land from the native peoples in 1787 and Governor John Graves Simcoe chose the site for the capital (which he named York) of the newly created Upper Canada. Concerned with military transportation to protect the new colony from US attack, he built roads west to what is now Windsor, east towards Montreal, and north, the present day Yonge Street. York was attacked and burned to the ground by the American Army in 1813 and the Canadians, in retaliation, attacked and burned the White House in Washington to the ground in 1814. Another US attack that
USS Mohawk (1814) Chauncey for service against the British on Lake Ontario, "Mohawk" departed Sackets Harbor on 31 July 1814 in Chauncey’s squadron to challenge the British squadron of Captain Sir James Yeo, Royal Navy, for control of the lake during the crucial Niagara campaign of 1814. Sailing up to the head of the lake seeking the British squadron, the American ships found the enemy had retired to Kingston, Ontario. In mid-July, "Mohawk", in company with the full-rigged ships USS "Superior", USS "General Pike", and USS "Madison", began a blockade of the Canadian port, remaining there for 45 days, providing valuable support for