Caldwell, William

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: L. L. Kulisek, “CALDWELL, WILLIAM (d. 1822),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/caldwell_william_1822_6E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Army and militia officer, merchant, jp, and Indian Department official; b. c. 1750 in County Fermanagh (Northern Ireland), probably the son of William Caldwell and his wife Rebecka; father of a mixed-blood son, Billy Caldwell; m. 1783 Suzanne Baby, daughter of Jacques Baby, dit Dupéront, and they had five sons and three daughters; d. 20 Feb. 1822 in Amherstburg, Upper Canada.
    • William Caldwell came to North America in 1773. He served as an officer in the campaign of 1774 waged by the governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, against the Indians of the Pennsylvania and Virginia frontier. With the outbreak of the American revolution, Caldwell fought in Dunmore’s forces again, taking part in the storming of Norfolk, Va, early in 1776. Defeated, Dunmore had to withdraw his troops by sea to New York.
    • When Caldwell recovered from his wounds, he went to Fort Niagara (near Youngstown, N.Y.) and was appointed captain in Butler’s Rangers. In the rangers’ campaigns Caldwell was “a very active Partisan,” according to the fort’s commandant. He led, rather than ordered, his troops into battle and he demonstrated a ruthlessness that the Americans would remember
    • By the war’s end Caldwell and several associates had decided to settle in the Detroit area. In early 1783 he and Indian Department officer Matthew Elliott took up and began developing tracts of land on the east side of the Detroit River opposite Bois Blanc Island. Caldwell was less than successful in establishing the loyalists and disbanded rangers he had invited to come from Niagara and settle in the Detroit region. When they arrived, they found that all the lands along the river had been taken up. To remedy the situation Caldwell obtained from the Indians a parcel of land on the north shore of Lake Erie, which he called the New Settlement. 
    • In the autumn of 1812 Colonel Henry Procter, who commanded on the Detroit frontier, conceived the idea of establishing a ranger force of the sort that had been so effective during the American revolution. Early in 1813 he received authorization to create such a special corps, to be commanded by William Caldwell. These men, known as the Western Rangers or Caldwell’s Rangers, served in various actions south of Lake Erie that summer and when in the fall Procter decided that retreat from Amherstburg had become necessary, they accompanied him. Caldwell played his usual fearless role in the thick of the battle of Moraviantown in October. He and his rangers took up position beside their Indian allies and continued the battle long after the British regulars had surrendered or withdrawn.
    • Having escaped death or capture, Caldwell and his sons fought again as rangers at the battle of Longwood (near Thamesville) in March 1814. In May, Caldwell replaced Elliott as superintendent of Indians for the Western District.
  • Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1129
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64119021/william-thomas-caldwell