Cabinet ministers at Washington and rabid politicians looked upon the
forcible annexation of Canada as a foregone conclusion.

One Massachusetts general officer, a professional fire-eater, said he
"would capture Canada by contract, raise a company of soldiers and take
it in six weeks." Henry Clay, another statesman, "verily believed that
the militia of Kentucky alone were competent to place Upper Canada at
the feet of the Americans." Calhoun, also a "war-hawk," had said that
"in four weeks from the time of the declaration of war the whole of
Upper and part of Lower Canada would be in possession of the United
States." All of this was only the spread-eagle bombast of amateur
filibusters, as events proved, but good cause for Brock, who had been
appointed janitor of Canada and been given the keys of the country, to
ponder deeply.

Canada's entire population was nearly 320,000--about the same as that of
Toronto to-day--that of the United States was 8,000,000! To defend her
broken frontier Canada had only 1,450 British soldiers and a militia--at
that moment--chiefly on paper. If the Indians in the West were to be
impressed with British supremacy--for they were making a stand against
2,000 American soldiers on the banks of the Wabash, in Ohio, where
eighteen years before they had been beaten by General Wayne at
Miami--then Amherstburg must be greatly strengthened and the Americans
deterred from attack. How was Brock to obtain troops, and how were they
to be equipped? The stores at Fort York were empty, provisions costly,
and no specie to be had. All the frontier posts needed heavier
batteries. On Lake Erie the fleet consisted of the _Queen Charlotte_ and
the small schooner _Hunter_. As to the militia, he had been advised that
it would not be prudent to arm more than 4,000 of the 11,000 in all
Canada prepared to bear arms.