He may have been promoted due to his avoidance of military parades in times of peace. He knew it was time-consuming and expensive on the frontier for members of the militia to assemble for drill or other activities. They survived based on their farming and other occupations. War of 1812 The young American settlements along Lake Ontario had enjoyed a vigorous trade with Kingston and other Canadian sites before the United States imposed a boycott in 1808 on trade with Britain (and Canada) during rising tensions. Jacob Brown was nicknamed "Potash Brown" because of his activities as a smuggler of this product from Sackets Harbor, New York and along the Saint Lawrence River during this period. Sackets Harbor and other towns were the bases of widespread smuggling of goods with Canada. During the War of 1812, Brown came to be characterized by his swift action and opportunism on the offensive. He also was known for directing meticulously planned, defensive field works, including for Sackets Harbor. His fortifications there were instrumental in fending off British and Canadian advances. Sackets Harbor had become a major military shipyard for construction of American naval war ships to sail on the Great Lakes, and its protection was critical. Some 3,000 shipyard workers were recruited to the shipyard, and thousands of federal troops were eventually bivouacked in the area. They overwhelmed the small town. When the War of 1812 began, Brown was a brigadier general in the New York militia, having been appointed to that rank in 1811. Though he opposed the war, he organized defenses in the Great Lakes region. On May 29, 1813, troops led by Brown defeated the British at the Second Battle of Sackets Harbor, based on his fortifications. As a result of his actions there, Brown was commissioned as a brigadier general in the regular army. The next year Brown showed his aggressiveness during the Niagara Campaign, beginning with the capture of Fort Erie on 3 July 1814 in Upper Canada after invasion by the Americans across the Niagara River. This was followed by the Battle of Chippawa on 5 July, when he achieved overwhelming success. The following Battle of Lundy's Lane on 25 July 1814, resulted in such high casualties on both sides that it was considered one of the bloodiest engagements of the war. It resulted in a stalemate. Brown was wounded twice in this engagement. Brigadier General Winfield