The following information comes from the Canadian Home Journal issued Oct. 12, 1875.

"Col. McPherson, accompanied by Col. Moffat of London, reached town by the 10 o'clock train, and immediately proceeded to the Town Hall, where a considerable number of veterans were already assembled. Mr. Macdougall, M.P., Mr. Casey, M.P., and Dr. Wilson, M.P.P., were present, and assisted in settling the claims.

McQueen, Col. James Is a resident of the township of Southwold, and is 81 years of age. Was enrolled in 1812 in the 2nd Norfolk battalion, in Capt. Rapelje's company, and discharged at Port Dover in 1815. Was present at the taking of Detroit in 1812; at the battle of Black Rock in the same year; at the battle of Longwoods in 1814, and took a company of U.S. soldiers prisoners at Chatham; took 18 prisoners at the battle of Nanticoke; on guard at Port Dover with 25 men and fired upon enemy; and finally at Lundy's Lane. Was wounded in the thigh with a marine shot at Black Rock, and also in the wrist with a marine pike. Was promoted from the ranks on the eve of Lundy's Lane, and appointed a number of years ago Lieut.-Col. of the 4th Battalion Elgin Militia. Col. McQueen was of great assistance in settling the claims of the applicants - his memory being very retentive, and his acquaintance with the men pretty wide".

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James came with his parents to Port Dover, Woodhouse Twp., Norfolk Co. on 1802.2 During the War of 1812, James served as a Sergeant in Captain Abraham A. Rapelje's Flank Company (1813) and then as an Ensign in Captain Benjamin Mead's Company (1814) of the Norfolk County Militia.4 The evening before the Battle of Lundy's Lane, he was made a Captain.2

On 5 Sep 1816, James purchased from his father the north part of Lot 11, Concession 2, Woodhouse Twp.5 On 16 Oct 1817, a bench warrant was issued against James McQueen for gambling. On 16 Oct 1817 he posted a bond of £2000 for his future appearance before the court.6

James and his brother Jacob settled on Lots 24 and 25 South Talbot Road Concession east of the present village of Fingal in Southwold Twp., Elgin Co. James called his location "Southwold Heights." In 1828, James opened a store and operated it for ten of years until moving the business to Tyrconnell. In 1837, he purchased 21 acres in Lot 40 Talbot Road South from Samuel Smith on the southwest corner of Five Stakes. present Talbotville Royal. He moved his stock there and started a store, hotel and ashery in partnership with his brother-in-law Richard Drake. The store was run by Frank McQueen and Richard Drake.7,8

James later served as Colonel of the Middlesex County Militia. After James died, his widow moved to St. Thomas.

On 30 May 1853, James McQueen was issued a Crown Patent for 200 acres in Lot 144 (renumbered Lot 3), South of Talbot Road Concession, Middleton Twp., Norfolk Co. which he sold.

Elgin County historian Hugh Joffre Sims wrote of him:

"Overlooking the road to Fingal on a high knoll in the Fingal cemetery is a sturdy monument erected to the memory of Colonel James McQueen, who died on December 11, 1877. The Colonel was an extraordinary man in many ways. He was born in Bertie Township, Niagara District, on May 12, 1794, and when he was eight years old, his Parents moved to Port Dover , where he spent his youth. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, he enlisted as a private when General Brock, leading his small force towards Detroit, stopped at Long Point. The General, impressed by the vigorous and accurate

manner in which young McQueen behaved as drill sergeant, promptly made him an ensign. In a few days Brock sent the new junior officer with a half company of Norfolk volunteers to Fort Malden on the Detroit River . Thenceforth until the end of the war, he fought along the Niagara and Thames Rivers . Within two days after his arrival at Fort Malden , his company was ordered to cross the Detroit River to engage the American troops marching north to reinforce the fort at Detroit . Ensign McQueen's company, which consisted of Canadians and Indians, met the American troops near the Maumee River and drove them into the nearby swamps where even the Indians could not follow

them. Upon his return to the Canadian side of the Detroit River , he took part in the preparations for the seige of Detroit and marched into the fort when it fell. After the

engagement he was sent to the Niagara frontier where he was sounded trying to repulse the enemy landing at Fort Eire during the autumn of 1812. "The next year saw the defeat of the British at Moraviantown by the American forces

under General Harrison, the sacking and burning of mills and farms in the path of the invaders, and the scarcity of food. Colonel Talbot, remebering the government herd of cattle pastured at Rondeau, immediately ordered Lieutenant McQueen, who was at home recovering from a wound to gather up twenty-four men (three of whom were also recovering from wounds) to march through the Long Woods to Rondeau. When Lieutenant McQueen and his company arrived at Rondeau, they found that the foragers had gotten there before them. Hides and bones were all that were left. This action angered Lieutenant McQueen and he sought revenge. Acting on a tip from one of the settlers, he decided to capture the Americans who he learned were stationed near Chatham , near the middle point on the Thames River . The Americans had made three houses where Chatham now stands into a barracks for the Kentucky riflemen. The officers were living in one house and the rest of the men were in the other two houses.

Lieutenant McQueen was informed that the riflemen had learned of the Canadians' arrival at Rondeau. To make the enemy believe the cattle escort had returned to Long

Point, McQueen ordered his little force to camp by a wood where they lay hidden from American scouts for three days. McQueen's force struck at midnight on the third day.

The Americans were so surprised that they managed to fire only a few shots that inflicted no harm on the Canadians, but in the return fire one American was killed and two were wounded. The rest were taken prisoner. Outnumbered by more than two to one, the Canadian party had to be constantly on the alert while conducting their prisoners through the forest to the Talbot Settlement. They marched them along the banks of the Thames River without trouble during the daylight hours, but where Clearville now stands they lost two prisoners, who escaped while their captors were preparing a campfire. The rest of the prisoners were taken to Port Talbot first and then to General Riel's headquarters at Burlington Heights . The general congratulated McQueen's volunteers and ordered them to be given a bonus of two months' pay.

"McQueen's final engagement took place at Lundy's Lane. He was now a Captain at the age of twenty-one. During the battle many of his fellow officers fell but somehow he escaped injury. The ememy was driven back to Buffalo , and McQueen returned to Port Dover , where he stayed for a short time. In 1817 he took up land in Southwol Township, put away his sword and uniform and used them thereafter only in the volunteer unit of which he became colonel."

written by and copied from: McQueen Genealogy compiled by R. Robert Mutrie

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Col. James McQueen is an interesting man. He was born in Bertie Township near Fort Erie in 1794. The McQueens moved to Port Dover in 1802 and are considered founders of the town. On the outbreak of war in 1812, James enlisted as a private. When Gen. Brock led the attack on Detroit , McQueen was with him as a sergeant. Brock saw something special in the young man and commissioned him as ensign. For the rest of the war, McQueen served in the Thames and Niagara theatres. In 1813, Lt. McQueen led a small force against some Americans who had seized three houses near where Chatham is today. He took all the enemy prisoner and marched them to Port Talbot and Burlington Heights . In 1814, Capt. McQueen fought at Lundy's Lane. With the end of the war, McQueen moved to Southwold Township and opened a store. In 1820, he married Elizabeth Wood, sister of Amasa Wood. He was later a colonel of militia and died aged 83 in 1877.

from "The Original Talbot Road, following the original Talbot Road from Brantford to Tyrconnell".

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