In 1775, an American army under the command of General Robert Montgomery captured Montréal on behalf of the thirteen American colonies. Montgomery joined with General Benedict Arnold to lay siege to Québec city, however the attack ended in failure and by June of 1776 the Americans were driven from Montréal. The colonies issued their Declaration of Independence in 1776 and finally, after years of battle, England acknowledged the independence of the United States by the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

In 1812, the United States of America declared war on Great Britain, claiming that the latter had violated her neutrality. Most of the battles between the two countries took place in Canada and the northern United States. Canadian militia units participated in the war, along side the British regulars. Sir George Prevost, 1767-1816, was the governor-in-chief of the Canadas and the military commander in chief during the war. Sir Issac Brock, 1769-1812 was the military commander of Upper Canada and the provisional Lieutenant-Governor until his death at Queenston Heights in 1813. Other military officers included Major General Edward Baynes, the adjutant general and the commissary general, W.H. Robinson.

Frederic Lumb “Fred” Wanklyn was born on February 25, 1860, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He was educated at Marlborough College, England, where he studied engineering. He became an engineer of the Tramways and General Works lines and later a general manager and engineer of the Lombardy Roads Railway company in Italy. Upon coming to Canada, he was named assistant mechanical superintendent of the Grand Trunk railway and manager of the road locomotive works. In 1897, he was appointed general manager and chief engineer of the Toronto Street railway. In 1910, he was elected a member of the first board of commissioners of the City of Montreal. He also worked as a Canadian Pacific Railway executive; vice-president of the Windsor Hotel, Montreal; President of the Montreal Terminal Railway, and a vice-president and later a director of the Dominion Coal Company.

In 1887, he married Edith Margaret Angus (d. 1907). In 1912, he married Lucy Helen Mc-Connel. He died on August 3, 1930, Grimsby, England, and is buried in Montreal, Quebec.