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Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, British army officer (born 29 January 1717 near Sevenoaks, England; died 3 August 1797 near Sevenoaks). Jeffery Amherst was the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America during the Seven Years' War, which saw France surrender Canada to the British. Several streets and towns in North America — including Amherst, Nova Scotia, and Amherstburg, Ontario — were named in his honour. However, Amherst’s legacy is controversial, given his policy towards Indigenous peoples. This included his suggestion in 1763 to deliberately infect Indigenous peoples with smallpox during Pontiac’s War. In 2019, Montreal’s Amherst Street was renamed Atateken Street; Atateken means “brothers and sisters” in Kanien'kéha, the Mohawk language.

James Wolfe, British army officer (born 2 January 1727 in Westerham, Kent, England; died 13 September 1759 near Quebec City). Wolfe fought in the War of the Austrian Succession, the suppression of the Jacobite Rebellion and the Seven Years’ War. He is best known for his role in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. Both Wolfe and his opponent, Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm, died from wounds sustained during the battle. The British victory was a turning point in the Seven Years’ War, leading to the capture of Montreal in 1760 and the acquisition of Canada by Britain in 1763.

Sir George Arthur, soldier, colonial administrator (b at Plymouth, Eng 21 June 1784; d at London, Eng 19 Sept 1854). After an undistinguished military career and 2 minor colonial appointments, he became lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada in 1838.

James Alexander Gordon, naval commander (b 1782; d 1869).

Robert Heriot Barclay, naval officer (b at Kettle [Kettlehill], Scotland, 18 Sep 1786; d at Edinburgh 8 May 1837). Robert Barclay was only 11 when he began his naval career in 1798, joining the crew of the 44-gun ship Anson as a midshipman.

Baron Francis de Rottenburg, soldier, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b at Danzig [now Gdansk], Poland, 4 Nov 1757; d at Portsmouth, England, 24 Apr 1832). Francis de Rottenburg was the son of Franz Rottenburg, a merchant and landowner.

Sir James Lucas Yeo, naval commander (b at Hampshire, Eng, 7 Oct 1782; d at sea 21 Aug 1818). The eldest son of a naval victualler, James Lucas Yeo left school to volunteer for the Royal Navy at age 10. Within four years he had risen to the rank of acting lieutenant.

John Keane, British army officer, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b at Belmont, Ireland, 6 Feb 1781; d at Burton Lodge, Hampshire, England, 26 Aug 1844). John Keane's military career began in 1794 when he was appointed to the rank of captain in a newly raised regiment that was soon broken up.

The British land forces that defended British North America during the War of 1812 were drawn from a number of organizations. The British "army" of the time consisted of the infantry, cavalry, the Royal Waggon Train and the Royal Sappers and Miners.

John Lambert, British army officer, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b 1772; d at Weston House, Thames Ditton, Surrey, England, 14 Sept 1847). The son of a naval officer, John Lambert was commissioned as an ensign in the 1st Foot Guards in 1791.

Arthur Brooke, career soldier (b at Ireland 1772; d at London 1843). Colonel Arthur Brooke is best remembered as one of the two key British commanders during the Battle of North Point (part of the Battle of Baltimore) in the War of 1812.

Joseph Wanton Morrison, British army officer and field commander, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b at New York, NY, 4 May 1783; d at sea, 15 Feb 1826). Morrison was born under the British flag in New York City, where his father served as commissary-general of North America.

Thomas Brisbane, British army officer, colonial governor, astronomer (b at Brisbane House, near Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland, 23 Jul 1773; d there 27 Jan 1860).

William Howe Mulcaster, Royal Navy officer, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b 1785; d at Dover, Kent, England, 2 Mar 1837). William Mulcaster joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman when he was 10 years old and immediately saw action against the French.

Edward Baynes, soldier, military officer in the WAR OF 1812 (b unknown; d at Sidmouth, England, Mar 1829). Edward Baynes entered the army as an ensign in 1783.

James Miranda Steuart Barry, FRS (probably born Margaret Anne Bulkley), military surgeon, physician (born c. 1789–99; died 25 July 1865 in London, England). Posted across the British Empire, Barry reformed medical standards in the British army. His final and highest-ranking position was as inspector-general of military hospitals in the Province of Canada in the 1850s. After his death, it was reported that Barry’s assigned sex at birth was female. This has sparked significant debate about his identity.

Note on pronouns: This article refers to James Barry with masculine pronouns, as this was how Barry referred to himself throughout his life.

John Graves Simcoe, army officer, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (born 25 February 1752 in Cotterstock, Britain; died 26 October 1806 in Exeter, Britain). Simcoe served as an officer with the British army in the American Revolutionary War, but is best known to Canadians as the first lieutenant-governor of the new British colony of Upper Canada, which later became Ontario.

The War of 1812 (which lasted from 1812 to 1814) was a military conflict between the United States and Great Britain. As a colony of Great Britain, Canada was swept up in the War of 1812 and was invaded several times by the Americans. The war was fought in Upper Canada, Lower Canada, on the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, and in the United States. The peace treaty of Ghent (1814), which ended the war, largely returned the status quo. However, in Canada, the war contributed to a growing sense of national identity, including the idea that civilian soldiers were largely responsible for repelling the American invaders. In contrast, the First Nations allies of the British and Canadian cause suffered much because of the war; not only had they lost many warriors (including the great Tecumseh), they also lost any hope of halting American expansion in the west, and their contributions were quickly forgotten by their British and Canadian allies. (See also First Nations and Métis Peoples in the War of 1812.)

This article focuses primarily on land campaigns; for more detailed discussion of naval campaigns, see Atlantic Campaign of the War of 1812 and War on the Lakes in the War of 1812. Additionally, this is a full-length entry on the War of 1812. For a plain-language summary please see War of 1812 (Plain-Language Summary).

Sir Gordon Drummond, army officer, colonial administrator (born 27 September 1772 in Quebec; died 10 Oct 1854 in London). The first Canadian-born officer to command both the military and the civil government, Sir Gordon Drummond is best remembered for his conduct during the War of 1812.