William Brown Bradley
104th Regiment of Foot

William Brown Bradley and his twin brother Lewis Turner
Bradley  were born in Savannah, Georgia c1771. Their father, Richard Bradley, died c1780-81. During the Revolutionary War he was employed by the  Commissariat, a non-uniformed civilian body. Their mother was Sarah Turner, daughter of Lewis and Jeston Turner of Whitemarsh Island, Georgia.

Bradley headstone, Captain and Sands footstone, 100th Reg. re-enactors
Bradley headstone, Captain and Sands footstone, 100th Reg. re-enactors

The Bradley family originated in England, came to the Colony of Georgia in 1736. William Bradley, their grandfather, was hired to teach agricultural methods to the Trustees as part of the Oglethorpe settlement.

The Bradley’s and Turner’s settled on plantations near Savannah on Whitemarsh Island and Bradley Point. At the end of the Revolution Turner’s kept their land as they were Patriots. There is no surviving record of Richard’s property.

Rev. Young officiated at the service.
Rev. Young officiated at the service.

William Brown and Lewis Turner Bradley were 12 years old when the Revolution ended. Sarah Bradley, now widowed, married Lieutenant John Jenkins, a British Officer appointed to serve in a Loyalist Regiment. He was late of the New Jersey Volunteers and Deputy Muster Master of the Provincial Forces in South Carolina. He served in the British Army for 17 years in the 10th Regt. of Foot and 7 years in the Loyalist Corps. They had several children and amongst them Capt. John Jenkins, Jr., the hero of the Battle of Ogdensburg 1812 War.

Mr. Hughes and Dave Aldus Bradley descendant and organizer of the event
Mr. Hughes and Dave Aldus Bradley descendant and organizer of the event

At the end of the Revolutionary War Lt. Jenkins and his family sailed from New York to New Brunswick and settled, near others of his Regiment, on a land grant at Kingsclear near Fredericton.

William B. Bradley began his military career as an Ensign with the New Brunswick Provincials on Oct. 3, 1793. He was promoted to Lieutenant July 1795. When the Regiment disbanded in 1802 Bradley went on half pay which meant that if called upon was to return to duty. On August 27, 1803 Lt. Bradley returned to duty again as Ensign in the Nova Scotia Fencibles and promoted to Lieutenant in the reorganized New Brunswick Fencibles. In 1810 it became the 104th Regt. of Foot, a line regiment of the British Army. At age 41 he became a Captain in the 104th, Public Record Office, London, England. W.0.25/751. Return of Half-Pay Officers, 1828, p. 117.

Mr. Hughes from the New Brunswick Museum brought the 104th Regimental colours to display them at the plaque ceremony.
Mr. Hughes from the New Brunswick Museum brought the 104th Regimental colours to display them at the plaque ceremony.

Captain Bradley was in command of a Company that completed the Winter March of February 1813. His obituary of 1850 states:

“In the winter of 1812 he, with the 104th Regiment, marched on snow shows from St. John, New Brunswick to re-enforce the army in Canada, where they were threatened by the American Army with invasion by an overwhelming force. This march through the forest by a whole regiment, in the midst of a very severe Canadian winter, has no precedent and the attempt was only afterwards made by the 8th or King’s Own and a party of sailors who suffered most severely.

“The regiment took an active part with a handful of British troops at the time in the country, to repel invasion by an overwhelming army. He was present at the attack on Sackett’s Harbor and at the surrender of Colonel Butler at the Beaver Dams, now the Township of Thorold, previous to which he with his party captured two six-pounder guns and was present at several skirmishes which is well known took place with a mere handful of British, in many instances against ten times their number.”

Dr. Bruce Elliott, Carleton University professor of History.
Dr. Bruce Elliott, Carleton University professor of History.

It is confirmed in the book Merry Hearts Make Light Days, Donald E. Graves, Editor, page 210, Oct. 29, 1814, that Capt. Wm. Brown Bradley was at Kingston according to Lt. John Le Couteur’s Diary. He participated in the second battle of Sackett’s Harbor, Beaver Dams and Lundy’s Lane on July 25, 1814, as well as the blockade of Fort George and the assault on Fort Erie.

In later years following the War of 1812, Captain Bradley settled on land grants in Carleton County. He was granted 800 acres as part of the Richmond Military Settlement in 1822. He received 200 acres in Gloucester, 200 acres along the Rideau River near Billings and 400 acres in March Twp. and some in Lower Canada.

He was appointed Lt. Colonel, 1st Regiment Carleton Militia in Carleton County, Jan. 26, 1826.

William Brown Bradley
Captain Bradley’s photograph was taken in Bytown wearing his 104th Regiment of Foot uniform. The only known photograph of an Officer of the War of 1812 in uniform.

Captain Bradley’s photograph, a Daguerreotype, was taken in Bytown wearing his 104th Regiment of Foot uniform. This photograph was authenticated by the Canadian War Museum as the only known photograph of an Officer of the War of 1812 in uniform.  It was reproduced, courtesy of Mrs. Marie-Antoinette Roig (formerly Mrs. G. Bradley Snow), Toronto, now copyright,  Mr. Michael Snow, Toronto, in Our Times, a Pictorial Memoir of Ottawa’s Past, page 6, published in The Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road, Ottawa, Ontario. Copyright 2000 by The Ottawa Citizen, ISBN 0-9698908-5-0.

100th Regiment re-enactors lead march to Bradley grave.
100th Regiment re-enactors lead march to Bradley grave.

Captain Bradley married Catherine Clements, August 9, 1797, Fredericton, NB. She was the daughter of Captain Peter Clements, King’s American Regiment , U.E.L. and Abigail Julia Palmer, Colony of New York. The Clements’s family settled in Douglas Parish, York County, NB.

The Bradley’s had five children:

  • Arabella Jeston b 1798
  •  Edward Sands Bradley b 1799
  •  Mary Emma Catherine b 1801
  •  George Edward Clements b 1803
  •  William Brown Bradley Jr. b 1805

References:  Wm. Brown Bradley

Transcript from the Montreal Gazette, October 1850

Merry Hearts Make Light Days, Lt. John Le Couteur’s Diary, Donald E. Graves, Editor

Photograph of Capt. William Brown Bradley. Reproduced with permission of Michael Snow, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Obituary reproduced below from the Montreal Gazette: National Library of Canada (now LAC), Newspaper Division, Ottawa, Reel N3728, Montreal Gazette, Quebec, October 25, 1850 – August 19, 1851, Vol. LXVIII

“[Montreal Gazette], Thursday Morning, October 31, 1850, Number 200

“DIED

“On the 2nd instant at the residence of his son, Clements Bradley, Esq. Gloucester, Colonel William B. Bradley, of March, aged 78. The deceased commenced his military services as Ensign in the New Brunswick Regiment, on the 5th October 1793. The regiment being disbanded in August 1802, he was placed on half-pay.

“He was again commissioned in a Nova Scotia regiment in August 1804 in which he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in July 1805, and to the rank of Captain in the same regiment 16th April, 1812, and in the winter of 1813 he, with the last-named regiment, marched on snow shoes from St. John, New Brunswick to re-enforce the Army in Canada, who were threatened by the American army with invasion by an overwhelming force. This march through the forest by a whole regiment, in the midst of a very severe Canadian winter, has no precedent and the attempt was only afterwards made by the 8th or Kings Own and a party of sailors who suffered most severely. The deceased’s Regiment took an active part with the handful of British troops at the time in the country, to repel invasion by an overwhelming Army. He was present at the attack on Sackett’s Harbor and at the surrender of Colonel Butler at the Beaver Dams, now the Township of Thorold, previous to which, he, with his party, captured two six-pounder guns; and was present at several skirmishes which it is well known took place with a mere handful of British, in many instances, against ten times their number.”

As some dates differ in the obituary we assume was written by his son, George Edward Clements Bradley, the following is the official return by Capt. Bradley, PRO, London, England.

“Age 22 on first appointment
Appointed Ensign 3 Oct. 1793 N.B. Provincials
Promoted Lieut. July 1795
Regt. reduced 24 Augt. 1802
Appointed Ensign 27 Augt. 1803 Nova Scotia Fencibles
Promoted Lieut. 27 July 1804 N.B. Fencibles
Promoted Capt. 12 April 1812 104 Regt. of Foot
Placed on H. P. 25 May 1817 104 Regt.
Placed on Half Pay by the Regt. being Reduced 24 May 1817”

Kurt Johnson, local military historian.
Kurt Johnson, local military historian.

BradleyWilliam-07-web

Veteran Summary