Event record · occupation
York, Upper Canada · Great Lakes
Capture and burning at York
27 April 1813
American forces capture the colonial capital; looting and burning feed a later retaliation narrative.
Participants
- American landing force
- British regulars
- Upper Canadian militia
- York residents
Outcome
Americans occupied the capital; public and private property was looted or burned.
Why it matters
The raid widened a cycle of destruction later used to justify retaliation.
Location evidence
43.650, -79.380 · city precision
Coordinates locate the named site, city, or broad region; they do not reconstruct unit movements.
Where it sits in the story
This record belongs to a connected military, political, and human sequence. The chapter supplies causes, consequences, competing perspectives, and the limits of the surviving evidence.
Follow the evidence
Evidence behind this event
- 1812: One War, Four PerspectivesCanadian War Museum · digital exhibition
American, British, Canadian, and Indigenous interpretations shown side by side.