This application is sponsored by the City of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

George Shore was born in England in 1787.  He was commissioned as an Ensign in His Majesty’s New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry on 9 July 1803.  His promotion to Lieutenant was effective 25 March 1804 and he was made Captain on 23 August 1810.  With the retirement of Captain Duguald Campbell that year, he took command of the Light Company which he retained until the regiment was disbanded in 1817.  In 1810, his regiment was elevated to the line as the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot. 

The 104th was ordered to reinforce the Canadas in early 1813.  Shore’s company was the last to depart Fredericton on 21 February 1813 as the regiment made its epic march to Kingston, Upper Canada (Ontario).  On 5 March, his company overtook Captain Armstrong’s company at Dgelis where they had been storm stayed.  With their food virtually exhausted and facing starvation, Lieutenant Charles Rainsford set out on a heroic march to the St. Lawrence River to obtain fresh supplies of food.  The rescue was successful and the two companies safely reached Quebec City.  The two flank companies, Grenadier and Light, were the first to leave Quebec City on 25 March and arrived at Kingston on 12 April.

Four companies of the 104th, including the Grenadier company, took part in the attack on Sackets Harbor, New York, on 29 May 1813.  Shore was wounded during the battle but recovered.  He went on to serve along the Niagara frontier during the campaign seasons of 1813 and 1814.  His Light Company was at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane (25 July 1813) where he was commended for his skillful handling of his company.  He was briefly captured by the Americans during the attack on Fort Erie (15 August 1813) but managed to escape.  Peace negotiations were taking place and, with the coming winter, military operations tapered off which left time for personal matters.  While on leave in Fredericton, he married Ariana Margaretta Jekyll, a daughter of Chief Justice John Saunders, on 8 February 1815.  After the regiment was disbanded in 1817, he returned to New Brunswick where he received land grants.

Like many half pay officers, he sought public office to augment his income.  He held several appointments including short term ones as auditor general and surveyor general, and longer term ones as member of the Council (later the Legislative Council) and clerk of the common pleas of the Supreme Court.  He maintained his military activities and become a lieutenant colonel in the militia.  In conjunction with this, he served as the adjutant general of the New Brunswick Militia for many years and was noted for his efforts to make it an effective force.  His efforts proved their worth during the border crisis, known as the Aroostook War of 1839, when the provincial militia were called out to help defend against a threatened American invasion.  He died in his home on 18 May 1851 after a brief illness.

References

David Facey-Crowther. The New Brunswick Militia Commissioned Officers’ List, 1787-1867 (1985).

Donald E. Graves, ed. Merry Hearts Make Light Days: The War of 1812 Journal of Lieutenant John Le Couteur, 104th Foot. Third Edition. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1994.

The St. John River Society. Report of the March of the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot, accessed 18 June 2013).

W. Austin Squires. The 104th Regiment of Foot (The New Brunswick Regiment) 1803-1817. Fredericton: Brunswick Press, 1962.

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick:
MC 300 MS 15. Major G. Harold Markham fonds.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Biography of George Shore, accessed accessed 29 July 2013.