The appointment of Colonel Nichol to this position is another instance of General Brock's foresight and judgment in choosing men for special work. In 1804, when Brock was a colonel in command at Fort George, this Mr. Nichol kept, in the village near by, a small shop or general store, where all sorts of wares were sold. He was a clever little Scotsman, and the colonel soon became his warm friend, and invited him often to dine with him at the mess. At this time there was a menace of war, and Colonel Brock soon discovered that his friend {207} had a very good knowledge of the country. At his request Mr. Nichol drew up a statistical account of Upper Canada, showing its resources in men, horses, provisions, and its most vulnerable and assailable points. The sketch was in fact a military report, embracing every detail which the commander of an army would desire to have in the event of a war. The statement proved most valuable in after years to General Brock, and now that he was choosing his men for service in the various posts required, Colonel Nichol, to the surprise of some who thought themselves entitled to the position, was given an appointment where his particular qualities would be of use. Lieutenant-Colonel Nichol had been in command of the 2nd Norfolk Militia, a regiment composed almost entirely of native Americans, and naturally not much to be depended on at the beginning of the war. Colonel Nichol, in a letter to Captain Glegg, gives his idea of how to manage such a regiment. He says: "You know well, sir, that in a militia composed as ours is of independent yeomanry, it would be both impolitic and useless to attempt to introduce the strict discipline of the line. Just and fair conduct and a conciliatory disposition on the part of their commanding officer will do much, and this was the line I had marked out for myself." Strange to say, the official communication of the declaration of war did not reach Sir George Prevost until about July 7th, at Montreal. He writes on {208} that date to General Brock: "It was only on my arrival here that I received Mr. Foster's notification of the congress of the United States having declared war against Great Britain." The actual declaration took place on June 18th. The vote in the American senate was one hundred and ninety-three to thirteen, in the lower house seventy-nine to forty-nine. So unpopular was it in Massachusetts that on the receipt of the news the flags in the harbour of Boston were placed at half-mast. The declaration of war did not reach England until July 30th, and when it arrived, the government, thinking that the revocation of the orders-in-council would bring a suspension of hostilities, only ordered the detention of American ships and property. It was not until October 13th that directions were issued for general reprisals against the ships, goods and citizens of the United States.