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The following is excerpted from The Writings of David Thompson edited by William E. Moreau.
Although Thompson’s involvement in the War of 1812–1814 was minor, he was to play a pivotal role in the settlement of the issues that had led to the hostilities. Under the terms of the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the International Boundary Commission (IBC) was established in order to survey and settle the border between the United States and British North America. The IBC began its work in 1816, and from 1817 to 1827 Thompson served as the astronomer and surveyor under articles 6 and 7 of the treaty, dealing with the boundary from St Regis on the St Lawrence River to the northwest corner of Lake of the Woods. Eight summers were filled with rigorous travel in this area, as the IBC teams conducted field surveys, and the intervening seasons were devoted to the preparation of maps and charts, correspondence with officials, and several conferences in New York City and Albany. Thompson considered this work to be of such significance that in later life he habitually signed himself “Astronomer and Surveyor Under the 6th and 7th Articles of the Treaty of Ghent.” With this role, which came with an annual salary of $2,000, and with his continued stake in the North West Company, Thompson enjoyed high social status and material prosperity at Williamstown, and he was able to purchase several properties, including four large parcels of farmland in Glengarry County, two potash works, and an island in the St Lawrence River. But this prosperity did not last. Reflecting on his post-IBC years, Thompson later wrote to British Secretary of State Lord Stanley, “[H]aving a large family, I endeavoured to increase what I had, but unfortunately lost all I had.”
From more information on David Thompson and the War of 1812 read the most recent David Thompson Bicentennial newsletter.
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