..CANADA MILITARY NEWS- Nova Scotia-DEADMAN'S ISLAND- the War of 1812 Archives and USA and Canada data honour

  

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Photographs of
Deadman's Island

(actually a peninsula, not an island)

War of 1812
1812 – 1814

Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 people from
around the world...prisoners of war...quarantine patients...
refugees...brought to Melville Island to be housed by
the Royal Navy...a considerable number died...
— Debate, Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004

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Northwest Arm

Halifax
Nova Scotia

GPS location
Entrance:   44°38'00"N   63°36'33"W
Memorial:   44°38'05"N   63°36'41"W

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Photographed on 31 May 2005
the day after the official commemorative ceremony
on United States Memorial Day 2005

The view from Deadman's Island looking toward Melville Island

Photographed on 31 May 2005

Photographed at high tide on 31 May 2005

Photographed on 26 December 2003

“2.5 acres of forlorn bogland surmounted by a spruce knoll”
— Boston Globe, 12 May 2000

Photographed on 28 September 2004

Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive

Photographed on 31 May 2005

Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive

Photographed on 26 December 2003

Improving the entrance to Deadman's Island

Photographed on 13 May 2005

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Links to Relevant Websites Deadman's Island Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe page A01 (front page), 12 May 2000 What started as a very local controversy over this land became a history lesson that reverberated on both sides of the border... US veterans groups and historical societies got wind of the island's past, and they were soon pressing Congress, Canada's ambassador, and the US State Department to protect Deadman's Island. The Sons of the American Revolution passed a resolution that "any desecration of this sacred place would dishonor the memory of these patriots"...     http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: Old war's victims forgotten no longer Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax Boston Globe, 12 May 2000 Archived: 2000 September 02 http://web.archive.org/web/20000902095607/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2001 August 20 http://web.archive.org/web/20010820100340/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2002 October 21 http://web.archive.org/web/20021021012014/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2003 December 11 http://web.archive.org/web/20031211131128/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2004 September 05 http://web.archive.org/web/20040905090314/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2005 June 19 http://web.archive.org/web/20050619083931/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2006 April 05 http://web.archive.org/web/20060405112425/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2007 February 05 http://web.archive.org/web/20070205075311/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html Archived: 2008 January 16 http://web.archive.org/web/20080116024233/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010. Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe Staff, 12 May 2000 [another copy of the above item]     http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/BOWIE/2000-05/0958305382 City Buys Deadman's Island Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000     http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: City Buys Deadman's Island NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000 Archived: 2002 July 23 http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/       stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm Archived: 2003 May 21 http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/       stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010. Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs of fallen brethren Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000     http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs of fallen brethren NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000 Archived: 2002 July 23 http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/       stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3 Archived: 2003 May 21 http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/       stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3 These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010. Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812 On 30 May 2005, a colour party from the USS USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat, took part in a ceremony on a tiny island at Halifax...     http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/050530/n0530141A.html The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812 Archived: 2006 January 04 http://web.archive.org/web/20060104125150/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/       National/050530/n0530141A.html Archived: 2006 May 16 http://web.archive.org/web/20060516162915/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/       National/050530/n0530141A.html Archived: 2007 March 14 http://web.archive.org/web/20070314024801/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/       National/050530/n0530141A.html These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 January 2012. Deadman's Island monument honours War of 1812 POWs Trident: Maritime Forces Atlantic newspaper, 13 June 2005     http://tridentnews.ca/Portals/0/pdfarchives/2005/jun13_2005.pdf Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005     http://ap.lancasteronline.com/4/canada_us_memorial The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005 Archived: 2006 January 14 http://web.archive.org/web/20060114110852/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/       4/canada_us_memorial Archived: 2006 February 19 http://web.archive.org/web/20060219025707/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/       4/canada_us_memorial These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 January 2012. Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead Calkins Newspapers Inc., Levittown, Pennsylvania The Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, The Record and the Burlington County Times    http://web.archive.org/web/20060516210638/http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/articlePrint.cfm?id=496195 Nova Scotia Honours Graves of U.S. PoWs – 1800-1815     http://genforum.genealogy.com/warof1812/messages/4624.html HRM News Release: Ceremony to Commemorate U.S. Military Prisoners 20 April 2005     http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/         050420DeadmansIsland.html HRM News Release: "Old Ironsides" Colour Party to Attend Commemorative Ceremony 12 May 2005     http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/         050512DeadmanIslandCeremony.html HRM News Release: Commemorative Ceremony for Unmarked Graves 24 May 2005     http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/         050524DeadmansIslandCeremony.html HRM Notice to Editors: Commemorative ceremony on Memorial Day (Monday, May 30, 2005) for the close to 200 American War of 1812 prisoners who died while imprisoned at Halifax, Nova Scotia     http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/       pr2005/050526DeadmanIslandnoticetoeditors.html Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohio     http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story: Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohi Archived: 2000 Oct 31   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20001031112824/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2000 Dec 10   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax http://web.archive.org/web/20001210172700/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm Archived: 2001 Nov 23   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20011123115409/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2002 Apr 15   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax http://web.archive.org/web/20020415050802/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm Archived: 2002 Jun 16   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20020616211814/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2003 Mar 17   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20030317224057/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2004 Feb 24   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20040224033730/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2004 Aug 06   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax http://web.archive.org/web/20040806182603/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htmp Archived: 2005 Apr 03   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20050403164903/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2006 Mar 04   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax http://web.archive.org/web/20060304102100/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm Archived: 2006 Jun 20   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20060620021447/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2007 Aug 05   Deadman's Island http://web.archive.org/web/20070805210146/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html Archived: 2007 Oct 23   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax http://web.archive.org/web/20071023233040/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010. Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park by Kelly Shiers, Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003     http://www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html The Wayback Machine has an archived copy of: Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003 Archived: 2003 December 23 http://web.archive.org/web/20031223130243/http://     www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html This link was accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010. Deadman's Island S. S. G. S. News, 20 March 2000 South Shore Genealogical Society The battle for an historical North West Arm site is finally over. The Halifax Regional Municipality has reached an agreement to purchase the peninsula known as Deadman's Island. The Deadman's story caught the eye of an influential newspaper in the US because as many as 188 American prisoners of war likely were buried on the woody knoll during the War of 1812. About 8,000 Amerrican soldiers captured during the War of 1812 served time in the Melville Island military prison...     http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsmar0.htm Graves on Development Site S. S. G. S. News, July 1998 South Shore Genealogical Society After a preliminary survey of the site, an independent archaeologist concluded it might contain 35 burial sites. "There was little doubt that Deadman's Island was used as a burying ground from the early-to-mid-19th century," he wrote in his report, which indicates that from 1804 to at least 1856, Deadmans Island was a likely burial site for French and American prisoners of war, refugee blacks from America, Irish and European immigrants, and British military prisoners...     http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsjul8.htm Melville Island by Iris Shea originally published in the Lake Erie Ledger, October 1998 ...Melville Island Prison became "home" to more than 8000 Americans between 1812 and 1815, 1, 200 of whom served with the US Army Land Forces. The prison became a place of death for more than 100 American prisoners. A burial ground nearby, now known as Deadman's Island, may contain the remains of those Americans. No longer an island, nor is there evidence it ever was an island, Deadman's Island is actually a peninsula situated on the shores of the North West Arm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, within a stone's throw of Melville Island... Deadman's Island in Jeopardy Summer 1998     http://www.mcnabsisland.ca/RuckSack/RS7_Summer1998.htm#Island Deadman's Island by Mike Campbell ...The people of Halifax purchased the property in the year 2000 to protect its special significance as a war grave and local historic site...Members of the 164th Civil Engineering Squadron, Memphis, Tennessee Air National Guard were working with Canadian colleagues on joint exercises in Nova Scotia when they learned of the grave site. On June 23, 2000, they went to the site and installed 188 small American POW/MIA flags...     http://www.mikecampbell.net/deadmansisland.htm Deadman's Island NovaNewsNet Digest for Feb. 10, 2000 Halifax Regional Council has agreed to buy Deadman's Island on Halifax's Northwest Arm. Halifax Regional Municipality will pay $200,000 for the island, which is the graveyard of historic Melville Island prison. There may be up to 400 soldiers buried on the island, most of them American PoWs captured by British Forces during the War of 1812. Deadman's Island has been the subject of several development proposals, including a plan in 1998 for a 60-unit apartment building...     http://lists.spine.cx/archives/nnn/2000-February/000015.html

Deadman's Island in Hansard Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 26 May 1998 Resolution No. 114: Whereas the proposed development of Deadmans Island in the Northwest Arm has aroused opposition...     http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/         han57-1/h98may26.htm#[Page%20182] Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004 ...We asked the question, why is it called Deadmans Island, did the research, and although the City of Halifax felt that it was not worth the designation of heritage and the province by extension because of somewhat weak municipal heritage laws, although that was not worthy of designation as heritage, at the moment the American Foreign Legion is preparing to erect a monument there. The French Government is interested and the Spanish Government is interested, as well, because Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 – I won't break it down for you – people from around the world, because people from around the world at different times, either as prisoners, as quarantine patients, or as refugees, were brought to Melville Island to be housed by the Royal Navy, either as prisoners or receiving sanctuary and of those people, a good number died.  Those people were buried in unmarked graves on Deadman's Island, a place not worthy of heritage designation. Luckily, that much at least is now being corrected, but it is as a result of the pressure of governments from outside this province...     http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/         han59-1/house_04apr29.htm#H[Page%202886]

War of 1812: Battles at Sea War of 1812: The War on the Waters ...In only one case, that of HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake did the British prevail, and the victor brought the unfortunate Chesapeake to Halifax harbour...     http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/military/025002-2031-e.html Full text of "American vessels captured by the British during the revolution and war of 1812" Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia     http://www.archive.org/stream/americanvesselsc00nova/americanvesselsc00nova_djvu.txt American Vessels Captured by the British American Revolution and War of 1812 Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia     http://web.archive.org/web/20040224191329/http://www.maritime-scotland.com/halifax_prizes.html The Standing Interrogatories The 32 questions listed here are the Standing Interrogatories which were used in the War of 1812.  They are the questions which were put to the captured crew of a prize vessel and give a good indication of the range of material which can be found in Prize court records.  To be administered on behalf of Our Sovereign Lord George the Third... To all Commanders, Masters, Officers, mariners, and other Persons found on board any Ships and Vessels, which may have been, or shall be seized or taken as Prize by any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels... examined as Witnesses in preparatory during the present hostilities with the United States of America.  Let each witness be interrogated to every of the following Questions; and their answers to each Interrogatory written down...     http://www.1812privateers.org/Privateers/interrog.html Overview: American Privateer, Prince of Neufchatel ...The American frigates were bigger, faster, tougher, and more lethal than their British counterparts and could defeat them in one-on-one conflict. However, British numbers were far superior, and a British blockade eventually tied the frigates up in harbor...     http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/         life/war1812/privateer/overview.htm Events of the War of 1812: A Chronology compiled by Robert Henderson     http://www.warof1812.ca/1812events.htm Chapter 6: The War of 1812 American Military History, Army Historical Series Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army To Great Britain the War of 1812 was simply a burdensome adjunct of its greater struggle against Napoleonic France.  To the Canadians it was clearly a case of naked American aggression.  But to the Americans it was neither simple nor clear.  The United States entered the war with confused objectives and divided loyalties...     http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/AMH-06.htm

The period 2012-2014 is the 200th anniversary of the  War of 1812 1812-1814

War of 1812: Official Documents International Treaties, etc. A Provisional Agreement, for the Exchange of Naval Prisoners of War November 28, 1812 by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School The Government of the United States of America having sent to Halifax JOHN MITCHELL, Esquire, late Consul of the United States of America at St. Jago de Cuba, to act as Agent on the Part of the United States of America, for the purpose of adjusting with the Admiral Commanding at Halifax and the West-Indies the Exchange of Prisoners taken at sea; And His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir JOHN BORLASE WARREN, a Privy Counsellor in the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland, Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight of the Crescent, Admiral of the Blue, and Commander in Chief of all His Majesty's Ships of War stationed on the coasts of North America and the West-Indies, having appointed RICHARD JOHN UNIACKE, Esquire, a Member of the Honourable His Majesty's Council, and the Attorney and Advocate General of His Majesty for the Province of Nova-Scotia, and WILLIAM MILLER, Esquire, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and Agent for Prisoners of War at Halifax, as Agents to treat with the said JOHN MITCHELL on the part of His Majesty's Government for the Exchange of such of His Majesty's Subjects as have been or may hereafter be captured at sea, by the public or private Ships of War belonging to the United States of America, for the American Prisoners which have been or hereafter may be taken at sea by His Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers; and the said Agents having met and discussed the Matters to them referred, have agreed upon the following Articles...     http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cartpre.htm Cartel for the Exchange of Prisoners of War Between Great Britain and the United States of America May 12, 1813 by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School The Provisional agreement for the exchange of naval prisoners of war, made and concluded at Halifax in the province of Nova Scotia on the 28th day of November 1812 between the Honourable Richard John Uniacke His Britannic Majestys attorney and advocate General for the province of Nova Scotia and William Miller Esquire Lieutenant in the Royal navy and agent for Prisoners of War at Halifax; and John Mitchell Esquire late consul of the united states at St Jago de Cuba, american agent for Prisoners of war at Halifax, having been transmitted to the Department of state of the United States for approval and John Mason Esquire Commissary General for Prisoners for the United States having been duely authorised to meet Thomas Barclay Esquire his Britanic Majestys agent for Prisoners of war and for carrying on an exchange of Prisoners for the purpose of considering and revising the said provisional agreement and the articles of the said agreement having been by them considered and discussed-it has been agreed by the said Thomas Barclay and John Mason subject to the ratification of both their governments that the said provisional agreement shall be so altered and revised as to stand expressed in the following words...     http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cart1812.htm Decision of the Commissioners under Article 4 of the Treaty of Ghent, signed at New York November 24, 1817 by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School Commissioners, appointed by virtue of the fourth Article of the Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and The United States of America concluded at Ghent on the twenty fourth day of december One Thousand eight hundred and fourteen to decide to which of the two Contracting parties to the said Treaty the several Islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy which is part of the Bay of Fundy and the Island of Grand Menan in the said Bay of Fundy do respectively belong in conformity with the true intent of the second Article of the Treaty of Peace of One Thousand seven hundred and eighty three between His said Britannic Majesty and the aforesaid United States of America...     http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/ghentcom.htm

War of 1812 Records Relating to American Prisoners of War Records Relating to American Prisoners of War, (1812-1815) eleven microfilm reels Special Collections Division, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri — The records relating to Americans taken prisoner by British forces during the War of 1812 form a portion of the Admiralty records in the Public Records Office. The largest group of material is Medical Department: Registers. This consists of ledgers of information on American prisoners-of-war for prison ships and depots. The records were generated in the process of receiving and housing prisoners and monitoring their passage through the prison system. The ledgers recorded prisoners by number, name, place of birth, age, and physical attributes. They also recorded how the prisoners were taken, time and place of capture, ship from which prisoners were taken, supplies issued, and disposition of the prisoners. American prisoners were detained in England (8 locations), Canada (3 locations), Bermuda, New Providence, Barbadoes, Jamaica, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cape of Good Hope.     http://system.missouri.edu/spec/britrecmf.htm

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Photographs of War Memorials, Historic Monuments and Plaques in Nova Scotia
    http://ns1763.ca/remem/plaques.html


Halifax City Hall Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/cityhall.html

Halifax war memorial The Cenotaph, Grand Parade
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/hfxwarmem.html

Sailor's Statue, Sackville Landing Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/sailor-statue.html

Norwegian memorial, Sackville Landing Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/norwayhfx.html

Welsford-Parker monument, Crimean War Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/crimeamon.html

Old Burying Ground plaque Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/oldburygnd.html

Fort Massey Cemetery Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/fortmasseycem.html

Last Post Fund veterans memorial Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/lastpostmem.html

Shannon vs. Chesapeake plaque, 1813 Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/shannon.html

Admiral Walter Hose plaque Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/admwhose.html

Sir William Alexander monument Victoria Park, Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/alexwill.html

Captain James Cook monument Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/cookjmon.html

Sir John Wentworth plaque Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/wentworthj.html

Alexander Keith monument Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/keithal.html

John Taylor Wood tombstone Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/woodtaylor.html

Joe Cracker, HMS Tribune plaque Herring Cove
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/tribuneplq.html

Memorial, Unidentified Dead, Halifax Explosion 1917 Halifax
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/unidentified1917.html

Military Engineers Alderney Landing, Dartmouth
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/alderneylanding.html

Windsor Junction war memorial Windsor Junction
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/windsorjctm.html

Duc d'Anville's 1746 Encampment at Chebucto Rockingham
    http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/danvillemon.html

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    http://planter2010.ca/proc/proclamations-ndx.html
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Home   Contents   Site map   Halifax Regional Municipality
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First uploaded to the WWW:   2004 January 02
Latest update:   2012 January 25

 http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/deadmansnd.html

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Unit Lists



PERPETUATION OF WAR OF 1812 UNITS BY MODERN UNITS OF THE CANADIAN FORCES



Modern Unit                                                                 1812 Unit

Governor General's Horse Guards, Toronto                     1st York (Button's) Troop of Horse

The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), Oshawa                        Provincial Light Dragoons (Fraser's Troop), 1st Leeds, 2nd Grenville, 1st Lennox, 1st Addington, 1st Prince Edward Troops of Horse

The Queen's York Rangers, Toronto                               1st York (Button's) Troop of Horse

The Sherbrooke Hussars, Sherbrooke                            Canadian Light Dragoons

12e Régiment Blindée du Canada (Milice), Three Rivers   Quebec Volunteer Cavalry, Dorchester Provincial Light Dragoons

1st Hussars, London                                                     1st and 2nd Troops, Niagara Light Dragoons

The Royal Canadian Hussars, Montreal                           Royal Montreal Troop of Cavalry

Windsor Regiment (RCAC)                                             1st Kent and 2nd Essex Troops of Horse

Queen's Own Rifles, Toronto                                          1st York Regiment

Les Voltigeurs de Québec, Québec                                Voltigeurs Canadiens   

Royal Regiment of Canada, Toronto                               1st York Regiment

Canadian Grenadier Guards, Montreal                            1st Battalion, Montreal Militia

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Hamilton                          2nd York Regiment

Princess of Wales' Own Regiment, Kingston                   1st Frontenac, 1st Lennox and 1st Addington Regiments

Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, Picton                1st Hastings, 1st Prince Edward,1st Northumberland  and 1st Durham Regiments

Lincoln and Welland Regiment, St Catharines                1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Regiment of Lincoln                                                                                          Militia

4th Battalion/ Royal Canadian Regiment, London             1st Middlesex Regiment and the Norfolk militia

Highland Fusiliers, Cambridge                                        1st Oxford Regiment   

Brockville Rifles, Brockville                                             1st Grenville, 2nd Grenville, 1st Leeds and 2nd    Leeds Regiments

Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, Cornwall  Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles, 1st Glengarry, 2nd Glengarry, 1st Stormont, 1st Prescott and 1st Dundas Regiments

Fusiliers St. Laurent, Rimouski                                       4th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Régiment de la Chaudière, Lévis                                     6th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

4e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, Montreal                     2nd Battalion, Montreal Militia  

6e  Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment, Drummondville           Frontier Light Infantry

Fusiliers Mont-Royal, Montreal                                       3rd Battalion, Montreal Militia   

Royal New Brunswick Regiment, Fredericton                   104th Regiment of Foot, New Brunswick Fencibles

Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, Montreal                          1st Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Essex and Kent Scottish, Windsor                                 1st Essex, 2nd Essex and 1st Kent Regiments 

48th Highlanders, Toronto                                              3rd York Regiment

Régiment du Saguenay, Jonquière                                 6th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Hamilton                   2nd York Regiment

Lake Superior Scottish, Thunder Bay                            Michigan Fencibles, Mississippi Volunteers, Mississippi Volunteer Artillery, Dease's Mississippi Volunteers, Canadian Volunteers

Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke                              2nd Battalion, Select Embodied Militia 
Royal Montreal Regiment, Montreal                               5th Battalion, Select Embodied Militia

Toronto Scottish, Toronto                                              3rd York Regiment

Royal Newfoundland Regiment, St. John                        Royal Newfoundland Fencibles



General Perpetuations

All infantry regiments in Nova Scotia                               Nova Scotia Fencibles

All infantry regiments in Quebec                                     Canadian Fencibles

                                                                                    Voltigeurs Canadien

All infantry regiments in southern Ontario                         Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada

Naval Reserve Units in Ontario                                        Provincial Marine



Summary



Honour our 1812 Heroes is a group of concerned Canadians dedicated to:

 a)  secure official recognition of the Canadian military units that fought in the War of 1812; and

 b) perpetuate that recognition through the award of Battle Honours to units of the Canadian Forces.

Our aim is to accomplish these objectives by June 18, 2012, the commencement of the bicentennial commemoration of the War of 1812. Unlike the United Kingdom and the United States, Canada has never officially recognized our 1812 military heritage in this way.   Achieving our two goals will redress  this longstanding neglect and create a lasting legacy that will make future Canadians proud of their forbearers.

Quick Facts

·     The year 2012 marks the bicentenary of the War of 1812, a seminal event in Canadian history

·     In this conflict English and French Canadian militia regiments fought with valour to repel a foreign invader, and suffered hundreds of casualties

·     By the end of the war, 7,000 Canadian regulars were on active service and another 89,000 militiamen were available if required  (equal to 16% of the population)

·     Sir George Prevost, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of British North America praised the militia and recommended they receive Battle Honours 

·     The British Army was awarded 5 Battle Honours for the War of 1812 –Detroit, Queenston,  Miami, Niagara and Bladensburg, but none was granted to the Canadian militia

·     The Department of National Defence (DND) refuses to authorize the award of Battle Honours for the War of 1812.  An arbitrary decision by DND a century ago refuses to recognize the Canadian military prior to 1855.

·     DND policy refuses to recognize the perpetuation of current Canadian Forces units to War of 1812 units and refuses to award Battle Honours to those units, also stating that these awards cannot be retro-actively awarded.   Yet official DND publications state that the 1812 battalions “can be considered as the forerunners of the regiments today “  (Title CFP 267) and the awarding of Battle Honours for the War of 1812 would fulfill most principles outlined in DND policy (Title CFP 200)

·    Many precedents already exist for the retro-active awarding of Battle Honours.

·     Despite Prime Minister Harper’s direction to DND to “Recognize the War of 1812 heritage embraced by some units”, this recognition has not happened.

In our research section there is a more comprehensive document which goes into great detail all the points made above.   This document begins with a selection of relevant quotes concerning the importance of the forthcoming bicentenary of the War of 1812. It continues with a discussion of the achievements of Canadian soldiers during that conflict and how those achievements have been deliberately slighted by the British and Canadian governments. It concludes with a plan to redress this neglect as we approach the celebration of a major milestone in the history of Canada.



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Boileau, John. Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England and the War of 1812. Halifax: Formac Publishing Company, 2005. 176 pages, illustrated, bibliography, index. ISBN# 0887806570. Softcover. C$19.95 (Canadian).

The War of 1812 is a fascinating conflict. Fought between June 1812 and the spring of 1815, it was the last war between the United States and Great Britain. The 1814 Treaty of Ghent resolved none of its causes, leading many to believe that the "Second American War" (the first being the American War of Independence) would be followed by a third and a massive fortifications project was undertaken in Canada in anticipation of that event. The War of 1812 was not limited to a series of skirmishes along the frontier of the interior, but included operations from the area of modern Sault Ste. Marie to the eastern seaboard of the United States from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Naval engagements occurred on the Great Lakes, the Upper St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea. It was a significant and complex war that is often lost in the shadow of the struggle against Napoleon, but it is witnessing increased popular and academic interest.

Half-Hearted Enemies focuses on an important, albeit secondary theatre of war, promising to examine Nova Scotia and its "ambiguous wartime" relationship with the New England states. It promises, at least according to the jacket notes, a "new perspective on a key period." Unfortunately, it never really gets there and treads into waters that have limited relation to the overall topic. The book is in effect, a series of essays rather than an overview of a region during wartime.

John Boileau retired as a colonel, having served throughout Canada, the United States, West Germany (as it was then called), Cyprus and Great Britain. He commanded Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians in the late 1980s, and this reviewer's first commanding officer) and later served with the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff (London). An avid history buff, Boileau has, since retirement taken to writing, producing a history of Canadian hydrofoils, several articles and served as consulting editor for A Century of Service: Canada's Armed Forces from the Boer War to East Timor, by Jim Lotz. This is his first book on the War of 1812.

In 1812, Nova Scotia was a separate colony within British North America that with Cape Breton, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, formed Atlantic Command, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. Halifax was home of the North American Squadron of the Royal Navy. Considered largely a backwater before the war, the North American squadron rapidly grew in strength and prominence and established the blockade of the American coast in 1812. The British Castine Expedition, which culminated in the occupation of a portion of Maine, was launched from Halifax, while the remains of Major-General Robert Ross, who led British troops into Washington and who was killed in September 1814, rest there. Nova Scotia was also base for a large privateer fleet that on the one hand, which seriously damaged the American economy, while continuing trade and smuggling with the United States. Indeed, despite the state of war, the frontier, like that on the Upper St. Lawrence, remained open to social and economic "intercourse" (using the terminology of the time) that was only interrupted when a local commander actively sought to end it. Lieutenant John Coteur, later of the 104th Foot, observed this first hand noting, "how uncomfortably like civil war it seemed."[1] One might indeed think the local populations did not fully support the war, hence the title.

The chapters examine five single-ship engagements fought in the Atlantic, the privateer war, American prisoners held on Prison Island near Halifax, the burning of Washington and the fate of Black refugees. These military, economic and social themes could have supported the thesis but lose focus in their presentation. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to British operations in the Chesapeake, the occupation and burning of Washington and the battle of Baltimore. Why cover this in such detail? Simply to highlight that the remains of the British land force commander, General Ross, rest in Halifax? He and his brigade came from Europe, while the naval vessels were from the Inshore Squadron, based in Bermuda. Its' commander, Rear Admiral George Cockburn suggested Ross make a dash for Washington and then enthusiastically pushed for the city to be torched, but what is the relevance of this to the relations between Nova Scotia and New England? Certainly, Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, commanding at Halifax, had his hand in the devastating raids conducted along the American coast, but this becomes lost by focusing on movements and tactics? Why not discuss the raids Cochrane ordered on New England that were supported by the provinces' governor, Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke? Nothing is said of Cochrane's cancellation of the licences that had made possible a lucrative coastal trade between New England, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

This problem continues with the discussion of the high seas war. Following an overview of naval events from 1793 to 1812, the focus remains on the action, noting American naval strength lay in "the three 44 gun super-frigates … as strong as British ships of the line and faster than any British 38 gun vessel, that seriously challenged the Royal Navy" (p. 30).  American frigates proved more heavily gunned than their nominal rating would suggest, but the lesson of the naval war on the high seas, and the effect on the region in particular, is missed. The Americans achieved several spectacular single-ship victories, but the British later gave as good as they got. Although the Royal Navy and the United States Navy had some 26 encounters on the high seas, they proved a draw. The spectacular events surrounding these duels are overshadowed the fact that the frigate war had little strategic importance. The real American success, at least according to Mahan, lay in the Americans forcing the Halifax squadron to concentrate, thus delaying the implementation of the blockade of the American coast in the early months of the war. The weakness of the blockade continued through 1812 and into 1813, with, one might assume implications on Nova Scotia - New England relations. But this is not discussed.

While these criticisms may not be appropriate for what is purportedly a popular history, they demonstrate the difficulties and dangers of this genre. Historians are often criticized for dry, academic prose and for repeating one another. While certain historians have a knack for turning a phrase that is so good that it must be quoted, over time their work can become less reliable or even dated. This is not their fault, just the reality that historical knowledge advances and as more sources are studied or reexamined in an effort to confirm earlier conclusions. Secondary sources are therefore a reflection of the state of the literature at a particular time and relying on them, without a solid understanding of the literature can be dangerous. Furthermore, while popular authors may be able to craft a readable, even exciting tale, they often achieve this by ensuring the facts do not get in the way of a good story. Having said that, there are popular authors who are capable of writing superb pieces of work.

While it is evident that Boileau made a careful read of his sources, Half-Hearted Enemies does not present the story of Nova Scotia and New England during the War of 1812. Rather it presents a series of vignettes dealing with various aspect of the war. The merit of the book lays with the examination of the prison on Melville Island and the fate of Black refugees that arrived in Nova Scotia. There is little said about New England or the manifestation of opposition to the war, while the Hartford Convention, which threatened secession of the New England states, is not even mentioned. The result is six chapters that give glimpses of the War of 1812 from the perspective of Nova Scotia and does not, as the publisher states on the jacket notes, of offer "a new perspective on a key period in Canadian British and U.S. history."



Reviewed by Major John R. Grodzinski, CD
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It's about time Canada and Canadians learned about Canada's history..... seriously......used to have 7 libaries in our old house.... and all of it was Canadian..... and National Geographic; of course, and Maclean's etc...


Damn Yankees are trying to steal our victory in 1812
As plans are made to commemorate the War of 1812, the U.S. tries to re-write the ending

by Peter Shawn Taylor on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 11:00am - 73 Comments

Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London, Ont. (Colin O'Connor/Maclean's)

Meet Col. Joel Stone, Canada's newest hero of the War of 1812.

Born in Connecticut in 1749, Stone moved to Upper Canada during the tumult of the American Revolution and settled at Gananoque, in eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River, where he opened a sawmill and got himself appointed to a variety of government posts, including commander of the local militia. But his quiet life as a gentleman settler ended when the United States declared war in June 1812. Suddenly Col. Stone and his small community found themselves in the midst of the fight for Canada.

The St. Lawrence was the British army's sole supply route to Upper Canada and the Great Lakes. If the American military cut river access, the whole province, from Kingston to what is now Windsor, would inevitably fall to the invaders. If Canada was to exist as an independent country, Col. Stone and the Gananoque militia had to keep their part of this vital supply route open.


A challenge wasn't long in coming. On Sept. 21, 1812, in one of the first engagements of the war, a raiding party led by Capt. Benjamin Forsyth, and comprising 100 skilled riflemen from North Carolina and Virginia, attacked Gananoque in a night raid. Their aim: create havoc, control the river and starve the British army.

"Colonel Joel Stone, commanding the Gananoque militia, successfully defended Gananoque during the first raid into Canada by American troops from Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812," reads a recent release from the federal government, recollecting the efforts of Col. Stone and his men that night long ago. To commemorate this important but little-known battle, Ottawa is paying half of the $600,000 cost to build the Joel Stone Heritage Park-a tribute to "the founder of Gananoque and a local hero of the War of 1812."

With the bicentennial of the war fast approaching, Canadians can expect to hear a lot more about Col. Stone and many other familiar and unfamiliar names from the conflict. It's often said that Canada suffers from an excess of geography and a deficit of history, and so the anniversary is a rare and welcome opportunity for the entire country to celebrate a time of daunting heroes, dangerous invaders, grave perils and miraculous triumphs. Over the next three years, Ottawa is undertaking a massive campaign to remind everyone of the drama and importance of these 200-year-old stories. Expect plenty of period-dress re-enactments, well-publicized investments in existing historical sites, a new national war memorial at Parliament Hill and plenty of money for smaller local commemorations, like Col. Stone's park.

The defence of Canada between 1812 and 1814 should be seen as a foundational moment for modern Canada. What was a disparate group of recent immigrants spread across a broad and lonely frontier became, once the war was over, a burgeoning nation with a distinct Canadian identity. The War of 1812 is as significant to the birth of Canada as Confederation. And considerably more action-packed.

Yet if war is the continuance of politics by other means, the War of 1812 may well prove the opposite is true as well. Canada is not the only former combatant gearing up for the bicentennial. Our former adversaries, those rebellious and aggressive Americans, are planning their own commemorations, and with a different take on the war. They think they won.

If Canada intends to claim victory in the War of 1812 we're going to have to fight for it. All over again.

Often called the "forgotten war" by historians, the War of 1812 has, until now, occupied a rather small corner of the Canadian collective consciousness. Sir Isaac Brock and Laura Secord are well-known names, but largely because they've been appropriated for other purposes-a university and candy company. Keen history buffs may recall a few notable addresses, such as Queenston Heights, Crysler's Farm or Lundy's Lane, but these glimmers of recognition typically pale in comparison to the mighty nation-building narratives built around Confederation, the construction of the CPR or Vimy Ridge.

By the time James Moore, the federal heritage minister, is finished, however, he expects all Canadians to understand the war's importance. "Canadian identity was largely shaped by the War of 1812," says Moore. "It was a fight for Canada and the beginning of our independence."

Unusual for an historical event, the War of 1812 found itself a key plank in the federal Conservatives' recent election platform, which promised a new national memorial in Ottawa, proper interment for soldiers' remains from the battle of Stoney Creek, belated recognition of many Canadian militia units from the war and "hundreds of events and re-enactments across the country." Later this month, Moore will unveil a new federal secretariat to oversee an $11.5-million War of 1812 commemoration fund.

"This war leads directly to Confederation in 1867," Moore explains, ascribing the most basic characteristics of Canada-a constitutional monarchy, the preservation of a French-speaking Quebec, an accommodating native policy and our healthy economic and political relationship with the Americans-to the successful defence of Canada's borders. "We were invaded and we repulsed that invasion. Because of the War of 1812 we grew up to be uniquely Canadian."

Putting the heroes and storylines of the War of 1812 up on a national stage scratches a great many Conservative itches as well. It plays up the resurrected importance of the military in everyday Canadian life, emphasizes our ties to the British Crown and, according to Moore, strikes a blow against efforts of previous Liberal governments to define Canada as a series of modern Liberal accomplishments such as medicare and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "There is this leftist mythology that Canadian history began with the election of Pierre Trudeau and was solidified in 1982 with the signing of the Charter," he gripes. "That's utterly irresponsible. There is a Canadian identity that goes back much farther and we should be very proud of it."

The War of 1812 had its origins in a maritime conflict between America and Britain. The British practice of intercepting American shipping to enforce a blockade against Napoleon Bonaparte's Europe irked American pride and pushed Congress to declare war in June 1812. Britain was keen to avoid such a war, however, and immediately offered to rescind the practice. No matter, U.S. president James Madison authorized multiple invasions of Canada as the means to punish Britain. The main battle zone was to be Ontario, then called Upper Canada.

At the time war was declared, a majority of the 75,000 inhabitants in Upper Canada were recent American immigrants, lured across the border by cheap land and low taxes. Expecting to be greeted as compatriots and liberators, most Americans figured the conquest of Canada would be, to use former president Thomas Jefferson's memorable phrase, "a mere matter of marching."

Getting in the way of this walking holiday was the charismatic and energetic Gen. Brock. Facing invasion by a nation of 7.5 million, Brock had just 1,200 British troops and whatever help he could muster from natives and Canadian settlers to defend Upper Canada.

Despite these odds, Brock pulled off three stunning victories within the first few months of the war. He ordered the capture of the U.S. army outpost Fort Mackinac, at the strategic junction of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, before that garrison even knew war had been declared. Then he stunned the continent by bluffing a nervous U.S. Gen. William Hull into surrendering his entire army at Detroit without firing a shot. Two months later he died on the battlefield at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, in the process of repelling another American force. Brock's boldness embarrassed the Americans, encouraged Britain's native allies to join the fight and rallied the population to the Union Jack.

The final two years of war proved much less invigorating, perhaps because Brock was no longer around. Each side traded victories and defeats in what became an increasingly bitter struggle. American forces burned Toronto, then called York, as well as Niagara-on-the-Lake. The British torched Buffalo, N.Y., and Washington, pillaged the width and breadth of Chesapeake Bay, and blockaded most of the eastern seaboard.

Significantly, though, every attempted incursion into Canada along the crucial St. Lawrence valley was turned aside, as much due to incompetent U.S. leadership and indifferent troops as to Canadian military prowess. Still, in 1813 a small force of Canadian-born soldiers under the command of Quebecer Charles de Salaberry defeated a far larger American army at Châteauguay, Que. This has become a signature moment in Canadian military mythology; Moore describes it as his favourite moment of the war.

By 1814, both sides were eager for peace. And yet the Treaty of Ghent, crafted on Christmas Eve 1814, was a curious agreement. All borders were left as they were prior to the war. And the original reason for the conflict, maritime law, wasn't mentioned. It was as if the war never happened. To underline the oddity of it all, the biggest and bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred after the peace treaty had been signed.

This absence of a conclusive end to the war had its advantages for Canada. If Britain had kept northern Maine or the other bits of American territory it had captured by 1814, festering American resentment could have easily led to another war. Alternatively, if the War of 1812 had never happened, it's possible Canada might have been overrun by American settlers in the same manner the U.S. grabbed California from Mexico. As it was, the war solidified the existing border, Canadians began to think of themselves as different from their neighbours, and the two countries learned to get along. "Only once the war was over did the settlers really start to consider themselves as Canadian," remarks Alan Taylor, author of the recent political history of the conflict The Civil War of 1812.

This lack of a declared winner, however, has allowed the former combatants considerable licence in interpreting the war however they wish. History has always been subject to lively revision and prejudice, but the War of 1812 seems extraordinary in its diversity of interpretations.

Canadians, with the assistance of Ottawa, quite rightly tell themselves a story of how a few plucky British and Canadian soldiers fought off a massive American invasion and created for themselves a nation. It's David versus Goliath in the woods of Ontario and Quebec.

That's not a story likely to stir much interest south of the border. As aggressors who failed repeatedly in their attempts to conquer Canada, the war has always presented a dilemma for practised American mythmakers. "The land war has never played well in the U.S.," observes Taylor. "So it has been shunted to the side and ignored. For Americans, the 'real war' was fought on the high seas."

In declaring war on Britain, the U.S. put its six frigates up against the mighty 1,000-ship Royal Navy. And in the first few months of the war, this handful of ships scored several surprising one-on-one victories over British frigates. While these victories mattered little from a strategic point of view, they provided a competing David versus Goliath tale that has since allowed the U.S. to remember the entire conflict as a victory.

Stephen Budiansky is the author of last year's Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, and typical of a long line of American writers who have picked up on this naval underdog narrative. The U.S. navy was the "unambiguous victor of the war," Budiansky writes. He further claims the Americans achieved everything they wanted in the war, evidence of the peace treaty be damned. "We stood up to the mightiest sea power on earth. And after it was over, the British never again tried to mess with American ships," he says in an interview. He then makes a rather bizarre analogy between the Vietnam War and the War of 1812, in which the Americans play the role of the Viet Cong. Whatever it takes to create a winner.

Of course, as Taylor notes, turning the War of 1812 into an American victory at sea requires ignoring everything that happened along the Canadian border. The origins of this national amnesia can be traced back to Theodore Roosevelt. Before he became president in 1901, Roosevelt wrote a celebrated history of the war that focused exclusively on those few American naval victories. Discussing the legendary Canadian defence at Châteauguay, for example, Roosevelt sniffed that "This affair . . . has been, absurdly enough, designated a 'battle' by most British and Canadian historians." Rather, he explained, it barely rated a "small skirmish." Defeat at Châteauguay? Never happened!

"The Americans have been getting away with this nonsense for two centuries," grouses Canadian historian Donald Graves, one of Canada's most prolific writers on the War of 1812. "In their version of the war, the fact that they got defeated doesn't even rate a mention."

This imperative to turn the War of 1812 into a victory for American audiences has carried through to upcoming bicentennial commemorations as well. Maryland has seized on the War of 1812 as a way to sell itself to tourists as the birthplace of the national anthem. Shortly after burning Washington, a British force attempted to take Baltimore, too. But after bombarding a nearby fort with a spectacular, but entirely ineffective, rocket attack, the British gave up. It was during this attack that poet Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. A new Maryland promotional video claims this is the moment that "helps America win the war."

That claim proves something of an awkward moment for Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission. "Did the U.S. really win the war? Not really," he admits when pressed. "It was more of a draw." Nonetheless, money must be raised and tourists attracted. And no one wants to celebrate a loser.

The same goes at New Orleans, where the 1815 battle is remembered today by the U.S. National Parks Service as proof of "American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement."

And as might be expected, the U.S. Navy is also planning a big splash with the War of 1812, on par with its efforts in 1976 recognizing the American bicentennial. "Two hundred years ago we fought for free trade and sailors' rights," says Capt. Patrick Burns, director of the Office of Navy Commemorations. "And we are still doing that today." Capt. Burns emphasizes that both the Canadian and British navies are getting friendly invitations to attend the American ceremonies, although he adds with obvious enthusiasm: "That a six-frigate navy could take on the world's largest superpower at the time is just amazing."

Donald Hickey of Wayne State College in Nebraska is one of the few American historians to call the war a loss for the U.S. Nonetheless, he considers the conflict to be an opiate of history. "Everybody's happy with the outcome of the War of 1812," Hickey notes wryly. "Americans are happy because they think they won. Canadians are happier because they know they won. And the British are happiest of all because they've forgotten all about it."

In fact, British historians have recently risen to defend their national honour. In How Britain Won the War of 1812, author Brian Arthur argues that the British naval blockade strangled the American economy (no pennies were minted in 1815 because the country had ran out of copper) and forced Washington to sue for peace. "Britain won the war because the Americans simply ran out of money," he says. Of course this version also ignores the Canadian land war.

Against these entrenched positions, Canada does have one advantage. Of the three former combatant nations, only Canada's federal government is investing heavily to commemorate the war. Maryland is rare among states in giving it major play. Many historic sites in the former battle zones of New York and Michigan are facing budget cuts and layoffs due to financial stresses. And despite the efforts of the U.S. Navy, there is no U.S. federal office to recognize the war as there is in Canada. This gives us a rare opportunity to finally out-point our neighbours on North American history. "You already won the war once," quips Hickey. "Now you get to win it all over again."

Not that the Canadian government intends to rub it in. While promising to "make the most of this moment in Canadian history," Heritage Minister Moore promises to avoid gloating for fear of antagonizing our sensitive southern neighbours. "This is not a competition," he says of the upcoming commemorations. "One of the great outcomes of the war is the very healthy relationship we've had with the U.S. ever since it ended." Indeed, every press release from Ottawa regarding the War of 1812 includes at least one boilerplate reference "celebrating two centuries of peaceful coexistence with the United States."

Then again, if the Americans insist on imaginatively claiming they won the war, Canadians aren't above a little creative mythologizing of our own. Consider once more Col. Stone, recently honoured with a park by the federal government for "successfully defending" Gananoque from attack early in the war. The fact is, that's not exactly what happened on Sept. 21, 1812.

When American invaders waded ashore that night, Col. Stone was nowhere to be found. His leaderless militia fired one volley at the American raiders and then scampered into the woods, after which Capt. Forsyth's men set fire to the government storehouse, shot up Col. Stone's house (wounding Mrs. Stone, who was at home) and absconded with all the loot they could carry-30 barrels of flour, 12 prisoners, 41 muskets and a large supply of Stone's personal belongings. "They plundered the place pretty thoroughly," notes historian Taylor.

For the rest of the war, however, Col. Stone and his militia did keep the vital St. Lawrence supply route open for the most part. If his decidedly unsuccessful defence of Gananoque on Sept. 21, 1812 is remembered today by Ottawa as a triumph worth celebrating, it must be because history is written by the victors.







------




It's about time Canada and Canadians learned about Canada's history..... seriously......used to have 7 libaries in our old house.... and all of it was Canadian..... and National Geographic; of course, and Maclean's etc...


Damn Yankees are trying to steal our victory in 1812
As plans are made to commemorate the War of 1812, the U.S. tries to re-write the ending

by Peter Shawn Taylor on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 11:00am - 73 Comments

Fanshawe Pioneer Village, London, Ont. (Colin O'Connor/Maclean's)

Meet Col. Joel Stone, Canada's newest hero of the War of 1812.

Born in Connecticut in 1749, Stone moved to Upper Canada during the tumult of the American Revolution and settled at Gananoque, in eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River, where he opened a sawmill and got himself appointed to a variety of government posts, including commander of the local militia. But his quiet life as a gentleman settler ended when the United States declared war in June 1812. Suddenly Col. Stone and his small community found themselves in the midst of the fight for Canada.

The St. Lawrence was the British army's sole supply route to Upper Canada and the Great Lakes. If the American military cut river access, the whole province, from Kingston to what is now Windsor, would inevitably fall to the invaders. If Canada was to exist as an independent country, Col. Stone and the Gananoque militia had to keep their part of this vital supply route open.


A challenge wasn't long in coming. On Sept. 21, 1812, in one of the first engagements of the war, a raiding party led by Capt. Benjamin Forsyth, and comprising 100 skilled riflemen from North Carolina and Virginia, attacked Gananoque in a night raid. Their aim: create havoc, control the river and starve the British army.

"Colonel Joel Stone, commanding the Gananoque militia, successfully defended Gananoque during the first raid into Canada by American troops from Sackets Harbor during the War of 1812," reads a recent release from the federal government, recollecting the efforts of Col. Stone and his men that night long ago. To commemorate this important but little-known battle, Ottawa is paying half of the $600,000 cost to build the Joel Stone Heritage Park-a tribute to "the founder of Gananoque and a local hero of the War of 1812."

With the bicentennial of the war fast approaching, Canadians can expect to hear a lot more about Col. Stone and many other familiar and unfamiliar names from the conflict. It's often said that Canada suffers from an excess of geography and a deficit of history, and so the anniversary is a rare and welcome opportunity for the entire country to celebrate a time of daunting heroes, dangerous invaders, grave perils and miraculous triumphs. Over the next three years, Ottawa is undertaking a massive campaign to remind everyone of the drama and importance of these 200-year-old stories. Expect plenty of period-dress re-enactments, well-publicized investments in existing historical sites, a new national war memorial at Parliament Hill and plenty of money for smaller local commemorations, like Col. Stone's park.

The defence of Canada between 1812 and 1814 should be seen as a foundational moment for modern Canada. What was a disparate group of recent immigrants spread across a broad and lonely frontier became, once the war was over, a burgeoning nation with a distinct Canadian identity. The War of 1812 is as significant to the birth of Canada as Confederation. And considerably more action-packed.

Yet if war is the continuance of politics by other means, the War of 1812 may well prove the opposite is true as well. Canada is not the only former combatant gearing up for the bicentennial. Our former adversaries, those rebellious and aggressive Americans, are planning their own commemorations, and with a different take on the war. They think they won.

If Canada intends to claim victory in the War of 1812 we're going to have to fight for it. All over again.

Often called the "forgotten war" by historians, the War of 1812 has, until now, occupied a rather small corner of the Canadian collective consciousness. Sir Isaac Brock and Laura Secord are well-known names, but largely because they've been appropriated for other purposes-a university and candy company. Keen history buffs may recall a few notable addresses, such as Queenston Heights, Crysler's Farm or Lundy's Lane, but these glimmers of recognition typically pale in comparison to the mighty nation-building narratives built around Confederation, the construction of the CPR or Vimy Ridge.

By the time James Moore, the federal heritage minister, is finished, however, he expects all Canadians to understand the war's importance. "Canadian identity was largely shaped by the War of 1812," says Moore. "It was a fight for Canada and the beginning of our independence."

Unusual for an historical event, the War of 1812 found itself a key plank in the federal Conservatives' recent election platform, which promised a new national memorial in Ottawa, proper interment for soldiers' remains from the battle of Stoney Creek, belated recognition of many Canadian militia units from the war and "hundreds of events and re-enactments across the country." Later this month, Moore will unveil a new federal secretariat to oversee an $11.5-million War of 1812 commemoration fund.

"This war leads directly to Confederation in 1867," Moore explains, ascribing the most basic characteristics of Canada-a constitutional monarchy, the preservation of a French-speaking Quebec, an accommodating native policy and our healthy economic and political relationship with the Americans-to the successful defence of Canada's borders. "We were invaded and we repulsed that invasion. Because of the War of 1812 we grew up to be uniquely Canadian."

Putting the heroes and storylines of the War of 1812 up on a national stage scratches a great many Conservative itches as well. It plays up the resurrected importance of the military in everyday Canadian life, emphasizes our ties to the British Crown and, according to Moore, strikes a blow against efforts of previous Liberal governments to define Canada as a series of modern Liberal accomplishments such as medicare and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "There is this leftist mythology that Canadian history began with the election of Pierre Trudeau and was solidified in 1982 with the signing of the Charter," he gripes. "That's utterly irresponsible. There is a Canadian identity that goes back much farther and we should be very proud of it."

The War of 1812 had its origins in a maritime conflict between America and Britain. The British practice of intercepting American shipping to enforce a blockade against Napoleon Bonaparte's Europe irked American pride and pushed Congress to declare war in June 1812. Britain was keen to avoid such a war, however, and immediately offered to rescind the practice. No matter, U.S. president James Madison authorized multiple invasions of Canada as the means to punish Britain. The main battle zone was to be Ontario, then called Upper Canada.

At the time war was declared, a majority of the 75,000 inhabitants in Upper Canada were recent American immigrants, lured across the border by cheap land and low taxes. Expecting to be greeted as compatriots and liberators, most Americans figured the conquest of Canada would be, to use former president Thomas Jefferson's memorable phrase, "a mere matter of marching."

Getting in the way of this walking holiday was the charismatic and energetic Gen. Brock. Facing invasion by a nation of 7.5 million, Brock had just 1,200 British troops and whatever help he could muster from natives and Canadian settlers to defend Upper Canada.

Despite these odds, Brock pulled off three stunning victories within the first few months of the war. He ordered the capture of the U.S. army outpost Fort Mackinac, at the strategic junction of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, before that garrison even knew war had been declared. Then he stunned the continent by bluffing a nervous U.S. Gen. William Hull into surrendering his entire army at Detroit without firing a shot. Two months later he died on the battlefield at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls, in the process of repelling another American force. Brock's boldness embarrassed the Americans, encouraged Britain's native allies to join the fight and rallied the population to the Union Jack.

The final two years of war proved much less invigorating, perhaps because Brock was no longer around. Each side traded victories and defeats in what became an increasingly bitter struggle. American forces burned Toronto, then called York, as well as Niagara-on-the-Lake. The British torched Buffalo, N.Y., and Washington, pillaged the width and breadth of Chesapeake Bay, and blockaded most of the eastern seaboard.

Significantly, though, every attempted incursion into Canada along the crucial St. Lawrence valley was turned aside, as much due to incompetent U.S. leadership and indifferent troops as to Canadian military prowess. Still, in 1813 a small force of Canadian-born soldiers under the command of Quebecer Charles de Salaberry defeated a far larger American army at Châteauguay, Que. This has become a signature moment in Canadian military mythology; Moore describes it as his favourite moment of the war.

By 1814, both sides were eager for peace. And yet the Treaty of Ghent, crafted on Christmas Eve 1814, was a curious agreement. All borders were left as they were prior to the war. And the original reason for the conflict, maritime law, wasn't mentioned. It was as if the war never happened. To underline the oddity of it all, the biggest and bloodiest battle of the war, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred after the peace treaty had been signed.

This absence of a conclusive end to the war had its advantages for Canada. If Britain had kept northern Maine or the other bits of American territory it had captured by 1814, festering American resentment could have easily led to another war. Alternatively, if the War of 1812 had never happened, it's possible Canada might have been overrun by American settlers in the same manner the U.S. grabbed California from Mexico. As it was, the war solidified the existing border, Canadians began to think of themselves as different from their neighbours, and the two countries learned to get along. "Only once the war was over did the settlers really start to consider themselves as Canadian," remarks Alan Taylor, author of the recent political history of the conflict The Civil War of 1812.

This lack of a declared winner, however, has allowed the former combatants considerable licence in interpreting the war however they wish. History has always been subject to lively revision and prejudice, but the War of 1812 seems extraordinary in its diversity of interpretations.

Canadians, with the assistance of Ottawa, quite rightly tell themselves a story of how a few plucky British and Canadian soldiers fought off a massive American invasion and created for themselves a nation. It's David versus Goliath in the woods of Ontario and Quebec.

That's not a story likely to stir much interest south of the border. As aggressors who failed repeatedly in their attempts to conquer Canada, the war has always presented a dilemma for practised American mythmakers. "The land war has never played well in the U.S.," observes Taylor. "So it has been shunted to the side and ignored. For Americans, the 'real war' was fought on the high seas."

In declaring war on Britain, the U.S. put its six frigates up against the mighty 1,000-ship Royal Navy. And in the first few months of the war, this handful of ships scored several surprising one-on-one victories over British frigates. While these victories mattered little from a strategic point of view, they provided a competing David versus Goliath tale that has since allowed the U.S. to remember the entire conflict as a victory.

Stephen Budiansky is the author of last year's Perilous Fight: America's Intrepid War with Britain on the High Seas, 1812-1815, and typical of a long line of American writers who have picked up on this naval underdog narrative. The U.S. navy was the "unambiguous victor of the war," Budiansky writes. He further claims the Americans achieved everything they wanted in the war, evidence of the peace treaty be damned. "We stood up to the mightiest sea power on earth. And after it was over, the British never again tried to mess with American ships," he says in an interview. He then makes a rather bizarre analogy between the Vietnam War and the War of 1812, in which the Americans play the role of the Viet Cong. Whatever it takes to create a winner.

Of course, as Taylor notes, turning the War of 1812 into an American victory at sea requires ignoring everything that happened along the Canadian border. The origins of this national amnesia can be traced back to Theodore Roosevelt. Before he became president in 1901, Roosevelt wrote a celebrated history of the war that focused exclusively on those few American naval victories. Discussing the legendary Canadian defence at Châteauguay, for example, Roosevelt sniffed that "This affair . . . has been, absurdly enough, designated a 'battle' by most British and Canadian historians." Rather, he explained, it barely rated a "small skirmish." Defeat at Châteauguay? Never happened!

"The Americans have been getting away with this nonsense for two centuries," grouses Canadian historian Donald Graves, one of Canada's most prolific writers on the War of 1812. "In their version of the war, the fact that they got defeated doesn't even rate a mention."

This imperative to turn the War of 1812 into a victory for American audiences has carried through to upcoming bicentennial commemorations as well. Maryland has seized on the War of 1812 as a way to sell itself to tourists as the birthplace of the national anthem. Shortly after burning Washington, a British force attempted to take Baltimore, too. But after bombarding a nearby fort with a spectacular, but entirely ineffective, rocket attack, the British gave up. It was during this attack that poet Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. A new Maryland promotional video claims this is the moment that "helps America win the war."

That claim proves something of an awkward moment for Bill Pencek, executive director of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission. "Did the U.S. really win the war? Not really," he admits when pressed. "It was more of a draw." Nonetheless, money must be raised and tourists attracted. And no one wants to celebrate a loser.

The same goes at New Orleans, where the 1815 battle is remembered today by the U.S. National Parks Service as proof of "American democracy triumphing over the old European ideas of aristocracy and entitlement."

And as might be expected, the U.S. Navy is also planning a big splash with the War of 1812, on par with its efforts in 1976 recognizing the American bicentennial. "Two hundred years ago we fought for free trade and sailors' rights," says Capt. Patrick Burns, director of the Office of Navy Commemorations. "And we are still doing that today." Capt. Burns emphasizes that both the Canadian and British navies are getting friendly invitations to attend the American ceremonies, although he adds with obvious enthusiasm: "That a six-frigate navy could take on the world's largest superpower at the time is just amazing."

Donald Hickey of Wayne State College in Nebraska is one of the few American historians to call the war a loss for the U.S. Nonetheless, he considers the conflict to be an opiate of history. "Everybody's happy with the outcome of the War of 1812," Hickey notes wryly. "Americans are happy because they think they won. Canadians are happier because they know they won. And the British are happiest of all because they've forgotten all about it."

In fact, British historians have recently risen to defend their national honour. In How Britain Won the War of 1812, author Brian Arthur argues that the British naval blockade strangled the American economy (no pennies were minted in 1815 because the country had ran out of copper) and forced Washington to sue for peace. "Britain won the war because the Americans simply ran out of money," he says. Of course this version also ignores the Canadian land war.

Against these entrenched positions, Canada does have one advantage. Of the three former combatant nations, only Canada's federal government is investing heavily to commemorate the war. Maryland is rare among states in giving it major play. Many historic sites in the former battle zones of New York and Michigan are facing budget cuts and layoffs due to financial stresses. And despite the efforts of the U.S. Navy, there is no U.S. federal office to recognize the war as there is in Canada. This gives us a rare opportunity to finally out-point our neighbours on North American history. "You already won the war once," quips Hickey. "Now you get to win it all over again."

Not that the Canadian government intends to rub it in. While promising to "make the most of this moment in Canadian history," Heritage Minister Moore promises to avoid gloating for fear of antagonizing our sensitive southern neighbours. "This is not a competition," he says of the upcoming commemorations. "One of the great outcomes of the war is the very healthy relationship we've had with the U.S. ever since it ended." Indeed, every press release from Ottawa regarding the War of 1812 includes at least one boilerplate reference "celebrating two centuries of peaceful coexistence with the United States."

Then again, if the Americans insist on imaginatively claiming they won the war, Canadians aren't above a little creative mythologizing of our own. Consider once more Col. Stone, recently honoured with a park by the federal government for "successfully defending" Gananoque from attack early in the war. The fact is, that's not exactly what happened on Sept. 21, 1812.

When American invaders waded ashore that night, Col. Stone was nowhere to be found. His leaderless militia fired one volley at the American raiders and then scampered into the woods, after which Capt. Forsyth's men set fire to the government storehouse, shot up Col. Stone's house (wounding Mrs. Stone, who was at home) and absconded with all the loot they could carry-30 barrels of flour, 12 prisoners, 41 muskets and a large supply of Stone's personal belongings. "They plundered the place pretty thoroughly," notes historian Taylor.

For the rest of the war, however, Col. Stone and his militia did keep the vital St. Lawrence supply route open for the most part. If his decidedly unsuccessful defence of Gananoque on Sept. 21, 1812 is remembered today by Ottawa as a triumph worth celebrating, it must be because history is written by the victors.









-------












































CANADA WAR 1812-   NOVA SCOTIA

Photographs of
Deadman's Island
(actually a peninsula, not an island)

War of 1812
1812 - 1814
Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 people from
around the world...prisoners of war...quarantine patients...
refugees...brought to Melville Island to be housed by
the Royal Navy...a considerable number died...
- Debate, Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004





Northwest Arm
Halifax
Nova Scotia

GPS location
Entrance:   44°38'00"N   63°36'33"W
Memorial:   44°38'05"N   63°36'41"W







Photographed on 31 May 2005
the day after the official commemorative ceremony
on United States Memorial Day 2005





The view from Deadman's Island looking toward Melville Island
Photographed on 31 May 2005





Photographed at high tide on 31 May 2005





Photographed on 26 December 2003


"2.5 acres of forlorn bogland surmounted by a spruce knoll"
- Boston Globe, 12 May 2000




Photographed on 28 September 2004





Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive
Photographed on 31 May 2005





Entrance to Deadman's Island, Pinehaven Drive
Photographed on 26 December 2003





Improving the entrance to Deadman's Island
Photographed on 13 May 2005


Links to Relevant Websites
Deadman's Island
Old war's victims forgotten no longer:
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe page A01 (front page), 12 May 2000
What started as a very local controversy over this land became a
history lesson that reverberated on both sides of the border...
US veterans groups and historical societies got wind of the island's
past, and they were soon pressing Congress, Canada's ambassador, and
the US State Department to protect Deadman's Island. The Sons of the
American Revolution passed a resolution that "any desecration of
this sacred place would dishonor the memory of these patriots"...
    http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Old war's victims forgotten no longer
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
Boston Globe, 12 May 2000

Archived: 2000 September 02
http://web.archive.org/web/20000902095607/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2001 August 20
http://web.archive.org/web/20010820100340/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2002 October 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20021021012014/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2003 December 11
http://web.archive.org/web/20031211131128/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2004 September 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20040905090314/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2005 June 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20050619083931/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2006 April 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20060405112425/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2007 February 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20070205075311/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2008 January 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20080116024233/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe Staff, 12 May 2000
[another copy of the above item]
    http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/BOWIE/2000-05/0958305382




City Buys Deadman's Island
Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000
    http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
City Buys Deadman's Island
NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000

Archived: 2002 July 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

Archived: 2003 May 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs of fallen brethren
Halifax NovaNewsNet, 14 February 2000
    http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Internet alerted American 'War of 1812' buffs
of fallen brethren
NovaNewsNet Digest, 14 February 2000

Archived: 2002 July 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20020723190406/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3

Archived: 2003 May 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20030521141458/http://novanewsnet.ukings.ns.ca/
      stories/99-00/000211/deadman.htm#link3

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812
On 30 May 2005, a colour party from the USS USS Constitution,
the world's oldest commissioned warship afloat, took part in
a ceremony on a tiny island at Halifax...
    http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/050530/n0530141A.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Monument Created for N.S. Burial Ground
of U.S. PoWs from War of 1812

Archived: 2006 January 04
http://web.archive.org/web/20060104125150/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

Archived: 2006 May 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20060516162915/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

Archived: 2007 March 14
http://web.archive.org/web/20070314024801/http://www.recorder.ca/cp/
      National/050530/n0530141A.html

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Deadman's Island monument honours War of 1812 POWs
Trident: Maritime Forces Atlantic newspaper, 13 June 2005
    http://tridentnews.ca/Portals/0/pdfarchives/2005/jun13_2005.pdf



Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005
    http://ap.lancasteronline.com/4/canada_us_memorial

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Intelligencer-Journal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 30 May 2005

Archived: 2006 January 14
http://web.archive.org/web/20060114110852/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/
      4/canada_us_memorial

Archived: 2006 February 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20060219025707/http://ap.lancasteronline.com/
      4/canada_us_memorial

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Canadian Ceremony Honors U.S. 1812 Dead
Calkins Newspapers Inc., Levittown, Pennsylvania
The Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer,
The Record and the Burlington County Times
    http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/articlePrint.cfm?id=496195



War of 1812 U.S. PoWs Honoured in N.S.
    http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2005/05/30/1063516-cp.html



Nova Scotia Honours Graves of U.S. PoWs - 1800-1815
    http://genforum.genealogy.com/warof1812/messages/4624.html



HRM News Release: Ceremony to Commemorate U.S. Military Prisoners
20 April 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050420DeadmansIsland.html



HRM News Release:
"Old Ironsides" Colour Party to Attend Commemorative Ceremony
12 May 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050512DeadmanIslandCeremony.html



HRM News Release: Commemorative Ceremony for Unmarked Graves
24 May 2005
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2005/
        050524DeadmansIslandCeremony.html



HRM Notice to Editors: Commemorative ceremony on Memorial Day
(Monday, May 30, 2005) for the close to 200 American War of 1812
prisoners who died while imprisoned at Halifax, Nova Scotia
    http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/
      pr2005/050526DeadmanIslandnoticetoeditors.html




Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II
President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohio
    http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Deadman's Island, by Harrison Scott Baker II
President (1996-1999), War of 1812 Society in the State of Ohi

Archived: 2000 Oct 31   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20001031112824/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2000 Dec 10   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20001210172700/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2001 Nov 23   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20011123115409/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2002 Apr 15   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20020415050802/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2002 Jun 16   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20020616211814/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2003 Mar 17   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20030317224057/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2004 Feb 24   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20040224033730/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2004 Aug 06   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20040806182603/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htmp

Archived: 2005 Apr 03   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20050403164903/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2006 Mar 04   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20060304102100/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

Archived: 2006 Jun 20   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20060620021447/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2007 Aug 05   Deadman's Island
http://web.archive.org/web/20070805210146/http://udata.com/users/hsbaker/island.html

Archived: 2007 Oct 23   U.S. Prisoners, War of 1812, died at Halifax
http://web.archive.org/web/20071023233040/http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/halifax3.htm

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park
by Kelly Shiers, Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003
    http://www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html

The Wayback Machine has an archived copy of:
Where Dead Men Sleep: Halifax's newest park
Halifax Sunday Herald, 30 November 2003

Archived: 2003 December 23
http://web.archive.org/web/20031223130243/http://
    www.halifaxherald.com/stories/2003/11/30/fYourTime184.raw.html

This link was accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Deadman's Island S. S. G. S. News, 20 March 2000
South Shore Genealogical Society
The battle for an historical North West Arm site is finally over.
The Halifax Regional Municipality has reached an agreement to purchase
the peninsula known as Deadman's Island. The Deadman's story caught
the eye of an influential newspaper in the US because as many as
188 American prisoners of war likely were buried on the woody knoll
during the War of 1812. About 8,000 Amerrican soldiers captured during
the War of 1812 served time in the Melville Island military prison...
    http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsmar0.htm



Graves on Development Site S. S. G. S. News, July 1998
South Shore Genealogical Society
After a preliminary survey of the site, an independent archaeologist
concluded it might contain 35 burial sites. "There was little doubt that
Deadman's Island was used as a burying ground from the early-to-mid-19th
century," he wrote in his report, which indicates that from 1804 to
at least 1856, Deadmans Island was a likely burial site for French and
American prisoners of war, refugee blacks from America, Irish and European
immigrants, and British military prisoners...
    http://www.rootsweb.com/~nslssgs/newsjul8.htm



Melville Island by Iris Shea
originally published in the Lake Erie Ledger, October 1998
...Melville Island Prison became "home" to more than 8000 Americans
between 1812 and 1815, 1, 200 of whom served with the US Army Land Forces.
The prison became a place of death for more than 100 American prisoners.
A burial ground nearby, now known as Deadman's Island, may contain the
remains of those Americans. No longer an island, nor is there evidence
it ever was an island, Deadman's Island is actually a peninsula situated
on the shores of the North West Arm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, within
a stone's throw of Melville Island...



Deadman's Island in Jeopardy Summer 1998
    http://www.mcnabsisland.ca/RuckSack/RS7_Summer1998.htm#Island



Deadman's Island by Mike Campbell
...The people of Halifax purchased the property in the year 2000 to protect
its special significance as a war grave and local historic site...Members of
the 164th Civil Engineering Squadron, Memphis, Tennessee Air National Guard
were working with Canadian colleagues on joint exercises in Nova Scotia when
they learned of the grave site. On June 23, 2000, they went to the site and
installed 188 small American POW/MIA flags...
    http://www.mikecampbell.net/deadmansisland.htm



Deadman's Island NovaNewsNet Digest for Feb. 10, 2000
Halifax Regional Council has agreed to buy Deadman's Island on Halifax's
Northwest Arm. Halifax Regional Municipality will pay $200,000 for the island,
which is the graveyard of historic Melville Island prison. There may be up
to 400 soldiers buried on the island, most of them American PoWs captured by
British Forces during the War of 1812. Deadman's Island has been the subject
of several development proposals, including a plan in 1998 for a 60-unit
apartment building...
    http://lists.spine.cx/archives/nnn/2000-February/000015.html


Deadman's Island in Hansard
Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 26 May 1998
Resolution No. 114: Whereas the proposed development
of Deadmans Island in the Northwest Arm has aroused opposition...
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/
        han57-1/h98may26.htm#[Page%20182]



Deadman's Island: Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004
...We asked the question, why is it called Deadmans Island, did the research,
and although the City of Halifax felt that it was not worth the designation of
heritage and the province by extension because of somewhat weak municipal
heritage laws, although that was not worthy of designation as heritage, at the
moment the American Foreign Legion is preparing to erect a monument there.
The French Government is interested and the Spanish Government is
interested, as well, because Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450
- I won't break it down for you - people from around the world, because
people from around the world at different times, either as prisoners, as
quarantine patients, or as refugees, were brought to Melville Island to be
housed by the Royal Navy, either as prisoners or receiving sanctuary and of
those people, a good number died.  Those people were buried in unmarked
graves on Deadman's Island, a place not worthy of heritage designation.
Luckily, that much at least is now being corrected, but it is as a result of the
pressure of governments from outside this province...
    http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/hansard/
        han59-1/house_04apr29.htm#H[Page%202886]


War of 1812: Battles at Sea
War of 1812: The War on the Waters
...In only one case, that of HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake did the
British prevail, and the victor brought the unfortunate Chesapeake
to Halifax harbour...
    http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/13/h13-5010-e.html



American Vessels Captured by the British American Revolution and War of 1812
Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/halifax_prizes.html



American Vessels Captured by the British
A list of American prizes recorded on the Halifax station
American Revolution and War of 1812
(These webpages only cover ship's names beginning with the letter A)
Prize List A1
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A.html
Prize List A2
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A2.html
Prize List A3
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/prize_A3.html



The Standing Interrogatories
The 32 questions listed here are the Standing Interrogatories which were
used in the War of 1812.  They are the questions which were put to the
captured crew of a prize vessel and give a good indication of the range of
material which can be found in Prize court records.  To be administered
on behalf of Our Sovereign Lord George the Third... To all Commanders,
Masters, Officers, mariners, and other Persons found on board any Ships
and Vessels, which may have been, or shall be seized or taken as Prize by
any of His Majesty's Ships or Vessels... examined as Witnesses in
preparatory during the present hostilities with the United States of
America.  Let each witness be interrogated to every of the following
Questions; and their answers to each Interrogatory written down...
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/interrog.html



The Canadian Privateering Homepage by Dan Conlin
    http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/~jacktar/privateering.html



Prince of Neufchatel, American Privateer in the War of 1812
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/princeINDEX.html



Overview: American Privateer, Prince of Neufchatel
...The American frigates were bigger, faster, tougher, and more lethal
than their British counterparts and could defeat them in one-on-one conflict.
However, British numbers were far superior, and a British blockade eventually
tied the frigates up in harbor...
    http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/
        life/war1812/privateer/overview.htm



William James
A writer on naval history, William James was from 1801 to 1813 enrolled
among the attorneys of the supreme court of Jamaica, and practised as a
proctor in the vice-admiralty court.  In 1812 he was in the United States,
and on the declaration of war with England was detained as a prisoner.
After several month's captivity he effected his escape, and reached Halifax
towards the end of 1813...In March 1816 he published a pamphlet entitled
"An Inquiry into the Merits of the Principal Naval Actions between
Great Britain and the United States"...The excitement which the pamphlet
caused both in Nova Scotia and the States was considerable...
    http://www.maritime-scotland.com/james.html





The information below was compiled
by William James
from contemporary accounts



Naval Actions

USS Constitution
 HMS Guerriere
 19 August 1812

USS Wasp
 HMS Frolic
 18 September 1812

USS United-States
 HMS Macedonian
 25 October 1812

USS Constitution
 HMS Java
 28 December 1812

USS Hornet
 HMS Peacock
 24 February 1813

USS Chesapeake
 HMS Shannon
 1 June 1813

USS Argus
 HMS Pelican
 14 August 1813

USS Enterprise
 HMS Boxer
 5 September 1813

USS Essex
 HMS Phoebe
 28 March 1814

USS Frolic
 HMS Orpheus
 20 April 1814

USS Peacock
 HMS Epervier
 29 April 1814

USS Wasp
 HMS Reindeer
 28 June 1814

USS Wasp
 HMS Avon
 1 September 1814

USS President
 HMS Endymion
 15 January 1815

USS Constitution
 HMS Levant & Cyane
 20 February 1815

USS Hornet
 HMS Penguin
 23 March 1815

USS Peacock
 HEICS Nautilus
 30 June 1815

HEIC: Honourable East India Company
HMS: His Majesty's Ship
USS: United States Ship

 
Privateer Actions

Saratoga
 Rachel
 11 December 1812

Decatur
 HMS Dominica
 5 August 1813

Chasseur
 HMS St. Lawrence
 26 February 1815





Events of the War of 1812: A Chronology compiled by Robert Henderson
    http://www.warof1812.ca/1812events.htm

Chapter 6: The War of 1812 American Military History, Army Historical Series
Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army
To Great Britain the War of 1812 was simply a burdensome adjunct of its
greater struggle against Napoleonic France.  To the Canadians it was
clearly a case of naked American aggression.  But to the Americans it
was neither simple nor clear.  The United States entered the war with
confused objectives and divided loyalties...
    http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/amh/AMH-06.htm



War of 1812: Official Documents
International Treaties, etc.
A Provisional Agreement, for the Exchange of Naval Prisoners of War
November 28, 1812
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
The Government of the United States of America having sent to Halifax
JOHN MITCHELL, Esquire, late Consul of the United States of America at
St. Jago de Cuba, to act as Agent on the Part of the United States of
America, for the purpose of adjusting with the Admiral Commanding at
Halifax and the West-Indies the Exchange of Prisoners taken at sea;
And His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir JOHN BORLASE WARREN,
a Privy Counsellor in the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland,
Knight of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight of the Crescent,
Admiral of the Blue, and Commander in Chief of all His Majesty's Ships
of War stationed on the coasts of North America and the West-Indies,
having appointed RICHARD JOHN UNIACKE, Esquire, a Member of the
Honourable His Majesty's Council, and the Attorney and Advocate General
of His Majesty for the Province of Nova-Scotia, and WILLIAM MILLER,
Esquire, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and Agent for Prisoners of War
at Halifax, as Agents to treat with the said JOHN MITCHELL on the part
of His Majesty's Government for the Exchange of such of His Majesty's
Subjects as have been or may hereafter be captured at sea, by the public
or private Ships of War belonging to the United States of America, for
the American Prisoners which have been or hereafter may be taken at sea
by His Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers; and the said Agents having
met and discussed the Matters to them referred, have agreed upon the
following Articles...
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cartpre.htm

Cartel for the Exchange of Prisoners of War Between Great Britain and
the United States of America May 12, 1813
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
The Provisional agreement for the exchange of naval prisoners of war,
made and concluded at Halifax in the province of Nova Scotia on the
28th day of November 1812 between the Honourable Richard John Uniacke
His Britannic Majestys attorney and advocate General for the province
of Nova Scotia and William Miller Esquire Lieutenant in the Royal navy
and agent for Prisoners of War at Halifax; and John Mitchell Esquire
late consul of the united states at St Jago de Cuba, american agent
for Prisoners of war at Halifax, having been transmitted to the
Department of state of the United States for approval and John Mason
Esquire Commissary General for Prisoners for the United States having
been duely authorised to meet Thomas Barclay Esquire his Britanic
Majestys agent for Prisoners of war and for carrying on an exchange
of Prisoners for the purpose of considering and revising the said
provisional agreement and the articles of the said agreement having
been by them considered and discussed-it has been agreed by the said
Thomas Barclay and John Mason subject to the ratification of both
their governments that the said provisional agreement shall be so
altered and revised as to stand expressed in the following words...

    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/cart1812.htm

Decision of the Commissioners under Article 4 of the Treaty of Ghent,
signed at New York November 24, 1817
by the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
Commissioners, appointed by virtue of the fourth Article of the
Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and The
United States of America concluded at Ghent on the twenty fourth
day of december One Thousand eight hundred and fourteen to decide
to which of the two Contracting parties to the said Treaty the
several Islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy which is part of the
Bay of Fundy and the Island of Grand Menan in the said Bay of Fundy
do respectively belong in conformity with the true intent of the
second Article of the Treaty of Peace of One Thousand seven hundred
and eighty three between His said Britannic Majesty and the
aforesaid United States of America...
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/britian/ghentcom.htm



War of 1812
Records Relating to
American Prisoners of War
Records Relating to American Prisoners of War, (1812-1815)
eleven microfilm reels
Special Collections Division, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri -
The records relating to Americans taken prisoner by British forces
during the War of 1812 form a portion of the Admiralty records in the
Public Records Office. The largest group of material is Medical Department:
Registers. This consists of ledgers of information on American
prisoners-of-war for prison ships and depots. The records were generated
in the process of receiving and housing prisoners and monitoring their
passage through the prison system. The ledgers recorded prisoners by
number, name, place of birth, age, and physical attributes. They also
recorded how the prisoners were taken, time and place of capture,
ship from which prisoners were taken, supplies issued, and disposition
of the prisoners. American prisoners were detained in
England (8 locations), Canada (3 locations), Bermuda, New Providence,
Barbadoes, Jamaica, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cape of Good Hope.
    http://system.missouri.edu/spec/britrecmf.htm





http://ns1763.ca/hfxrm/deadmansnd.html


------------------









THE BEST VIDEO ON OUR CANADIAN TROOPS....




OCTOBER 2011       Canadian Forces Tribute -  BRILLIANT..... HONEST..... DIGNITY.....INTEGRITY-   (The World isn't perfect.... BUT AT LEAST OUR TROOPS ARE TRYING)- THIS VIDEO IS ONLY FOR THE STRONGEST OF HEART........ AND THE GUTS TO BE CANADIAN




CANADIAN FORCES TRIBUTE-   April 2011 (this voice and these words.......will stand the testament of time...... whilst our youngbloods enjoy the fun and their iddy daily safe lifestyles....our troops...face extreme sacrifices....... for God, Flag and Canada)....


TRIBUTE TO CANADIAN TROOPS- 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRWNfURvXGI&feature=fvsr


Uploaded by canadamatt94 on Apr 2, 2011

----------------












Page 1...



Canadian  youngfolks are finally recognizing the privilege of being Canadian and our enormous cultural history and the incredible ties of our First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples-    IT'S TIME WE THANK THEM.... and bring our love and pride of our First Peoples and their enormous contributions to our Canada- and Canada's war of 1812 is truly the highlight of Canada's First Nations and Canada Militia- who were brilliant and determined NOT TO BECOME America...


- one of the very huge differences in Canada and USA is our cultural significance of our First Peoples whereby, America is so integrated into the black slave culture- and rarely gives credence to their First Peoples..... Charles Dickens son Frances served the the first (what is now Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in 1834 onwards and his stories on the huge difference in attitutde and behaviour of Queen Victoria's reign of Canada and that of the United States- America.... towards the First Peoples of America- ..... the war of 1812 is VERY significant.... and it's sad that political games can't step back and reflect and honour- our Canada and magnificant historical significance of the people of the times. 








Canadian students are becoming much more interested in Canada and our history.... ie the War of 1812 and the huge part Canadian Militia and above all First Nations heroes played -  the First Nations knew they had to win our Canada.... and created the start of Confederation..... regardless of political identity-  Canada and our history and our youth must come above all else..,.. wonderful for educators... students.... and Canada and our National Identity ...




War of 1812 Bicentennial Highlights Unsung Aboriginal Heroes in Canada’s Creation


By ICTMN StaffJune 16, 2012

     
Submit this story  

Though not much remembered south of the 49th Parallel, the War of 1812, seminal in the creation of Canada, was marked by alliances between aboriginals and the British. In fact, there are those who say that First Nations were integral to British victory and thus the very existence of Canada.

This weekend officially begins three years of bicentennial celebrations of the conflict in Canada, kicked off with a major ceremony in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where the Battle of Queenston was fought. Attended by Governor General David Johnston, the country’s commander in chief and the Crown’s representative in Canada, the events will also honor the role that aboriginals played in the war, a contribution that generally has been left out of history books and curricula.

“Ontario, and probably a good part of the rest of present day Canada, would now be part of the United States were it not for the native warriors who overwhelmingly came to the defense of the British Crown in the first year of the War of 1812–1814,” writes James Bartleman, Chippewas of Rama First Nation and a sixth-generation descendant of an 1812 warrior, in The Globe and Mail.

“When Congress declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812, former president Thomas Jefferson, speaking from his estate at Monticello in Virginia, said ‘the acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching.’ Henry Clay, speaker of the House of Representatives, claimed the conquest of Canada could be handled by the militia of Kentucky without any other help.”

With Britain enmeshed in fighting against Napoleon, Bartleman points out, it was left virtually to the First Nations of the area to defend what would become Canada. For many key battles, the aboriginals, fighting alongside sparse British troops, were instrumental in driving back the American invaders. Most notable on that front was the memorable battle led by the great Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, who headed forces so formidable that they frightened the Americans into submission by preying on their fear of scalping.

Some thanks the aboriginals got, though: The ensuing decades brought the residential schools era, the Indian Act and the reserve system as Canada’s thirst for industrial development came to the fore. And that betrayal started at the tail end of the war.

“On April 27, 1813, Ojibwa and Mississauga sharpshooters were left to stop the landing of more than a thousand American soldiers at the Battle of York as the British troops conducted a strategic retreat out of the capital of Upper Canada,” Bartleman writes. “On October 5, 1813, British troops under Major-General Henry Proctor fled the scene of battle at Moraviantown (the Battle of the Thames), leaving behind Tecumseh to be killed and his men to be mauled and eliminated as a fighting force.”

Aboriginals are busy highlighting their role in the conflict and their contribution to Canada’s formation as a nation, both to get their contributions recognized and to draw continued attention to Canada’s origins as a cooperative venture that was supposed to take the best of what each side, aboriginal and European, had to offer, rather than subjugate one set of parties.

The Dakota Whitecap nation in Saskatchewan stands out when it comes to what was then the western frontier. They sent a few hundred fighters, headed by Scottish fur trader Robert Dickson (known as the Red-Haired Man in aboriginal circles), to help capture American installations on Mackinac Island on the western end of Lake Huron, Postmedia News reported. It was the war’s first victory.

The Dakota Sioux still know the War of 1812 as Pahinshashawacikiya, “When The Red Head Begged for Our Help,” Postmedia News said.

“In Western Canada, there’s not really a lot of awareness of the War of 1812,” Chief Darcy Bear, leader of Whitecap’s 600-member community, told Postmedia News. “But it’s basically the humble beginnings of our nation. Canada didn’t just happen in 1867—turn on a switch and Canada was there. There were actually relationships prior to that, and the British really relied on their First Nations allies.”


Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/06/16/war-of-1812-bicentennial-highlights-unsung-aboriginal-heroes-in-canadas-creation-118826 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/06/16/war-of-1812-bicentennial-highlights-unsung-aboriginal-heroes-in-canadas-creation-118826#ixzz23XPj2etH




... AND..




CANADA WAR 1812-   NOVA SCOTIA- Memorial Site- Deadman's Island

Photographs of
Deadman's Island
(actually a peninsula, not an island)

War of 1812
1812 - 1814
Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 people from
around the world...prisoners of war...quarantine patients...
refugees...brought to Melville Island to be housed by
the Royal Navy...a considerable number died...
- Debate, Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004




Links to Relevant Websites
Deadman's Island
Old war's victims forgotten no longer:
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe page A01 (front page), 12 May 2000
What started as a very local controversy over this land became a
history lesson that reverberated on both sides of the border...
US veterans groups and historical societies got wind of the island's
past, and they were soon pressing Congress, Canada's ambassador, and
the US State Department to protect Deadman's Island. The Sons of the
American Revolution passed a resolution that "any desecration of
this sacred place would dishonor the memory of these patriots"...
    http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Old war's victims forgotten no longer
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
Boston Globe, 12 May 2000






Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe Staff, 12 May 2000
[another copy of the above item]








and...



The WAR OF 1812  is crucial to Canada and it's time that political cheating national pride of our young Canadians (and by the by...in actuallity... their growing interest and awareness and pride in being Canadian) came before vicious political games..... IT'S ALL ABOUT FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES OF CANADA AND CANADA MILITIA.... and everyday folks.....of Canada and the beginning of our Confederation-  Get used to it!... celebrate our First Nations, Inuit and Metis..... of Canada- millions of us do every day.



Heroes of the War of 1812

There were many heroes and heroines of the War of 1812, many unsung. Perhaps Brock, Tecumseh and Secord are the best known but there were others:
 •British Regulars ?Major-General Sir Isaac Brock: The Hero of Upper Canada (1769-1812)
 ?Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, Canadian Officer in the British Army, Hero of Chateauguay (1778-1829)
 ?James Prendergast, Unsung Hero of Crysler's Farm (1789-1834)

•First Nations ?Tecumseh, Shawnee War Chief (1768-1813)
 ?John Norton  (Teyoninhokarawen or "The Snipe") Six Nations War Chief (approx. 1765-1831)
 ?John Brant , (Dekarihokenh, Ahyouwaeghs, or Tekarihogen), Mohawk War Chief (1794-1832)
 ?Matthew Elliott, British Indian Department Superintendent, (approx. 1739-1814)

•Women ?Laura Secord, Heroine of Beaver Dams (1775-1868)
 ?Mary Henry, "A Heroine Not to Be Frightened" (approx. 1770-1830)

•Naval/Maritime ?Charles Frederick Rolette, Canadian Officer of the Royal Navy (1783-1831)
 ?Joseph Barss, Privateer (1776-1824)

•African Canadian ?Richard Pierpoint, Black Veteran of three wars, (1744-1838)

•Upper Canadians ?William Hamilton Merritt, Cavalry officer and Canal Builder (1793-1862)


British Regulars

1. Major-General Sir Isaac Brock:  The Hero of Upper Canada (1769-1812)

Major-General Sir Isaac Brock was born in St Peter Port, Guernsey on October 6, 1769. He was a British Army officer who was stationed in Canada in the early 1800s.

His early attempts to prepare the province for war were frustrating, especially in dealing with the Legislative Council in Upper Canada. Although the Council was willing to grant funds to strengthen the militia, they refused the suspension of habeas corpus once the war began. With the arrival of war in 1812, Brock initiated an aggressive campaign even though he was advised by his superiors to remain on the defensive.



Major General Sir Isaac Brock (a hero of the War of 1812 known for his efforts to ensure the preservation of Upper Canada).

Brock's most daring exploit occurred August 16, 1812, when he led a force of regulars and First Nations warriors in the successful capture of Detroit by creating the illusion of a much larger Canadian force with the help of Tecumseh, a leader of the Shawnee, and his warriors. He continued to strengthen Upper Canada after Detroit in preparation for an American assault somewhere on the Niagara frontier. The first major American attack occurred at Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812.

After losing his initial advantage in which the important Redan Battery cannon was captured, he rallied the troops that were present at the bottom of Queenston Heights and prepared to re-capture the Redan Battery position. Brock allegedly turned to his men and said "Take breath boys-you will need it in a few moments."

Brock led the troops himself in an attempt to charge up the Heights where he was singled out by an American marksman and killed instantly. British forces, Canadian militia, and First Nations warriors then rallied and drove back the Americans and forced nearly 1,000 to surrender. Today Brock's story serves as a reminder for all Canadians of his sacrifice at the Battle of Queenston Heights and his efforts that ensured the preservation of Upper Canada.


2. Charles de Salaberry, Canadien Officer in the British Army, Hero of Châteauguay (1778-1829)

Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry was born on November 19, 1778 in Beauport, Québec. He was a French-Canadian of the seigneurial class who served as an officer of the British army in Lower Canada (now Quebec) and raised a unit of light infantry from among his primarily French Canadian compatriots, known as the Canadian Voltigeurs.

In October 1813, Salaberry was summoned to proceed quickly from Châteauguay with his troops, which included French-Canadian militia and Mohawk warriors, to the Châteauguay River in order to fend off the much larger American force that was preparing to attack Montreal in order to cut off the British army in Upper Canada.



Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry (an officer of the British army in Lower Canada who raised a unit of light infantry from among his primarily French Canadian compatriots, known as the Canadian Voltigeurs).

Having foreseen that the Americans would cross the Châteauguay River, Salaberry placed forces, including the Canadian Voltigeurs, along with some Aboriginal forces, to form a blockade, while sending a small number of men across the river. A mile behind the blockade, about 1,400 militiamen, under Lieutenant-Colonel George Richard John Macdonell, were divided among four entrenchments one behind the other.

When the Americans began to approach the blockade, the American General Wade Hampton split his troops and sent about 1,000 men across the Châteauguay, leaving about another 1,000 in reserve at his encampment. The American troops did not manage to surprise Salaberry’s militiamen as he had succeeded in creating the illusion that his force was much stronger than it actually was and discouraged the Americans.

After about four hours of fighting on October 26, 1813, the American general ordered his troops to retreat. The Canadians remained at the blockade, ready to resume combat the following day. But the American general, who had received orders to take up winter quarters in American territory, thought that his superior had called off the attack on Montreal, and he moved his troops back towards the United States. The battle of Châteauguay therefore saved that town from a large-scale attack, with about 1,700 Canadians repelling around 3,000 Americans.


3. James Prendergast, Unsung Hero of Crysler’s Farm, (1789-1834)

James Prendergast was born in County Monaghan in 1789. In 1803, he joined the 100th Regiment of Foot of the British Army and came to Canada with that regiment soon afterwards. James worked his way up the ranks and by 1812 had been promoted to a staff sergeant, the paymaster sergeant for the regiment.

Soon after the War of 1812 broke out, James was stationed with his company on Île aux Noix in the Richelieu River in Lower Canada (Quebec). When two American gunboats, the Eagle and the Growler, which had sailed up the river, threatened the British garrison there, James Prendergast proved that he had courage and initiative. Leading some men of the 100th, he opened fire from the shore. When the American gunboats grounded in a desperate manoeuvre, James was able to capture the crew of one of the boats. For his initiative, he was promoted as Adjutant to the Corps of Canadian Voltigeurs, a French-Canadian regiment incorporated into the British Army.

While serving with the Voltigeurs, Prendergast was active in the Battle of Crysler’s Farm on November 11, 1813, when an outnumbered British force, together with the Canadian Voltigeurs militia and Mohawk warriors, drove off an American army twice the size. During the height of the battle, James led a group of soldiers in a wild charge to capture an American cannon. All but James and one other man were shot down during the charge but they managed to take the gun and then turn it on the Americans to fire into their retreating ranks.
Once again stationed in the Richelieu Valley, Prendergast again distinguished himself. When an American army invaded Lower Canada and besieged a small British force holding a blockhouse at Lacolle Mill, Prendergast rushed with reinforcements to the scene and immediately launched a desperate bayonet charge at the American cannon, carrying on through fearful casualties. The Americans were eventually forced to retreat. His commanding officer said of him: “on all occasions when engaged with the enemy, he has never failed to display the greatest energy and bravery.”

After the war and the reduction of the army, James Prendergast was given an appointment as the land agent for the settlement of Clarendon Township in Pontiac County, Lower Canada. During a visit to Quebec City in 1834, he died of cholera. James Prendergast was one of the most active and courageous soldiers of the war of 1812, but his story is largely unsung. Being of humble origins without the patronage of the Upper Classes, a private soldier who had risen in the ranks in an army that was anything but egalitarian, there was no one to sing his praises and launch his name into the history books.

First Nations

4. Tecumseh, Shawnee War Chief, (1768-1813)

Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief born in 1768. He was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy that opposed the United States during the War of 1812. Tecumseh attempted to stop the advance of white settlement into the Old Northwest. Tecumseh believed that Aboriginal peoples must return to their traditional ways, forgetting intertribal rivalries and holding onto land that all Aboriginals held in common.

Tecumseh joined the British against the Americans in the War of 1812. His support for Major-General Sir Isaac Brock at the capture of Detroit was decisive. Before the British approach, Tecumseh's warriors showed themselves in a never-ending line to the Americans. The warriors at the head of the line doubled back to join the end of the line and it appeared to the American General that he was besieged by a massive force of warriors. This manoeuvre convinced the American General to surrender to avoid a massacre after Brock allegedly warned that the large support from Tecumseh's warriors would be beyond his control once a conflict had begun.



Tecumseh (Shawnee War Chief who joined the British against the Americans in the War of 1812).

Legend has it that Tecumseh rode beside Brock when he entered Detroit and that Brock gave him his sash as a mark of respect. Of Tecumseh Brock wrote: “a more sagacious or more gallant Warrior does not I believe exist. He was the admiration of everyone who conversed with him”. As a brigadier general, Tecumseh led over 2,000 warriors and fought at the sieges of Fort Meigs, and Fort Stephenson, and his last battle was the Battle of the Thames at Chatham Ontario. There, clothed in traditional Aboriginal deerskin garments, he was killed leading his warriors in a final stand against the invading Americans.


5. John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen or “the Snipe”) ca 1765-ca 1831, Six Nations War Chief

John Norton was born in Scotland to a Cherokee father and Scottish mother. As a young man he joined the British Army in Ireland in 1784. His regiment was shipped to North America in 1785. While stationed at Fort Niagara in Youngstown, New York Norton befriended a number of Six Nations people and began to learn the Mohawk language. He also became fascinated with his First Nations heritage. He deserted the army in 1787 and began teaching school to Mohawk children at the Teyendinaga settlement. He left that profession in 1791 to begin a career as a fur trader and eventually as an interpreter for the British Indian Department at Fort Niagara and Fort George in Niagara. His skills in the Mohawk language were formidable and he translated the Gospel of John from the New Testament into that language. Norton was adopted by the Mohawk Nation and was appointed to be a diplomat and war chief for that nation in 1799.



Major John Norton (Six Nations War Chief during the War of 1812, who recruited hundreds Six Nations and Delaware warriors to assist the British forces at several key battles during the war).

Soon after the declaration of War of 1812, Norton recruited a few hundred Six Nations and Delaware warriors to assist Major-General Sir Isaac Brock on the Niagara frontier, which was threatened by a huge American army at Lewiston. On October 13, 1812, the Americans invaded at Queenston Heights. Norton and 100 warriors played a key role in the defeat of the American invasion force. Norton led more warriors at the Battle of Fort George, Stoney Creek, Beaver Dams and several other actions during the war. Norton was recognized at the time as the principal leader of First Nations allies in Upper Canada. While Norton was a War Chief and Pine Tree Chief of the Six Nations, he was also commissioned as a Major in the British Army.

In 1815, after the war ended, Norton spent more than a year in Britain and there published his journal that has proven to be an invaluable historic resource for studying First Nations History. He moved back to Upper Canada, settling on the Grand River in 1816 but legal and financial troubles beset him. In 1823 he headed off to Arkansas territory in the US and for the next few years wandered the southern states, dying around 1831. His burial site is unknown.


6. John Brant, ( Dekarihokenh, Ahyouwaeghs, Tekarihogen) (1794-1832), Mohawk War Chief

John was the son of the famous Mohawk War Chief Joseph Brant and he became, along with Norton, a leading war chief of the Haudenosaunee or Six Nations during the War of 1812.

When the War of 1812 broke out, Brant and Norton immediately recruited a number of Six Nations warriors and offered their services to British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, commander of the British forces and President of Upper Canada (Ontario). The Six Nations under Brant and Norton played a key role in the Battle of Queenston Heights and at several important battles during the three-year conflict.

Brant remains an interesting character with feet planted in both worlds. He was brought up primarily at his father’s mansion in Burlington, eating off fine china plates and silver service, tended to by the Brant family’s slaves, but also was at home in buckskins among his Six Nations cousins on the Grand River. He moved to the Grand River reservation following the death of his father in Burlington in 1807. He was a well educated man, having studied in schools in Ancaster and Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and may have gone on to bigger things if he had not died young of cholera in 1832.

Following the War of 1812 Brant worked tirelessly to secure Six Nations land rights and have the British supply the Six Nations with deeds to their lands. In 1821 he travelled to England with Robert Johnson Kerr to petition the Crown to come to an agreement with the Six Nations over land rights. Their efforts proved unsuccessful and Brant returned to Upper Canada. The land issues remain unsettled.
At the end of the War of 1812 Brant had been given a commission as a Lieutenant in the British Indian Department and in 1828 was appointed as the superintendent of the Six Nations of the Grand. Two years later he was elected to the House of Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada but lost the seat when the election was contested and the decision went against him.

Brant died in his 38th year during the cholera epidemic of 1832 and is buried in Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks in Brantford.

7. Matthew Elliott, British Indian Department Superintendent, (ca 1739-ca 1814)

Matthew Elliott was born around 1739 in County Donegal, Ireland and came to America in 1761, settling on the frontier of Pennsylvania. During the 1763 Native uprising, Elliott served in the army, marching to the relief of Pittsburgh. During this campaign he made friends with Shawnee people accompanying the British expedition. After hostilities ended in 1764, Elliott became a merchant and trader working among the Shawnee, Delaware and Mingo people in the Ohio Valley and learning the Shawnee language.

At the beginning of the American Revolution, Elliott tried to remain neutral and continue his trading enterprises. However, he chose sides in 1778 and rapidly became one of the most successful British agents who worked to forge alliances with First Nations against the rebellious colonies. Elliott continued to operate as a merchant but also led some very successful forays against the rebels, even capturing the famous American frontiersman Daniel Boone in a raid on Blue Licks, Kentucky.

After the revolution, Elliott established a large farm in Amherstburg, eventually owning 4000 acres of land. He continued to be a very effective agent for the Crown in their dealings with First Nations people in South-western Upper Canada, and the territories of surrounding Lake Erie, Lake Michigan and the Detroit River. Elliott was also appointed the Superintendent on the Detroit frontier by the British Indian Department. He continued to trade and lost his post as Superintendent when financial irregularities were suspected but was reappointed in 1808 when tensions with the US threatened war.

Elliott was heavily engaged with various First Nations leaders to strengthen alliances between the British and various Nations from the Detroit frontier as well as the Ohio Valley. Following an American invasion of Sandwich (Windsor) in July 1812, Elliott facilitated a meeting between Major-General Brock and key Aboriginal Native leaders including the Shawnee War Chief Tecumseh. Together they launched a bold and daring but successful campaign to capture Detroit, defeating a much larger American force.

Over the next year Elliott was active in campaigns against the Americans in the Ohio Valley. In the autumn of 1813, following the recapture of Detroit by the Americans and the abandonment of Amherstburg by the British, Elliott retreated with the army to Burlington area. He was now in his mid 70’s and the retreat led to a decline in his health which ultimately led to his death in 1814. He is buried in Burlington.

Women in the War of 1812

8. Laura Secord, Heroine of Beaver Dams (1775-1868)

Laura Secord was born on September 13, 1775 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
Early in the War of 1812, Laura’s husband James Secord, a sergeant in the 1st Lincoln militia, was wounded in the battle of Queenston Heights and was rescued from the battlefield by his wife.

On June 21, 1813, Laura overheard that the Americans intended to surprise the British outpost at Beaver Dams and capture the officer in charge, Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. With her husband having been wounded in battle, Laura resolved to take the message to the British herself.



Image of Laura Secord meeting British forces after travelling more than 12 miles to warn of an American invasion at the British outpost at Beaver Dams.

The distance to the outpost by direct road was 12 miles but Laura feared she would encounter American guards, so she took a route through fields and forests, making her journey extremely challenging and physically exhausting. Finally, after crossing Twelve Mile Creek on a fallen tree, Laura came unexpectedly on a First Nations’ encampment. Although initially frightened, she explained her mission, and the chief took her to FitzGibbon.

Two days later, on June 24, 1813, an American force was ambushed near Beaver Dams by some 400 First Nations warriors led by Dominique Ducharme and William Johnson Kerr. FitzGibbon then persuaded the American forces to surrender with 462 men to his own 50 men. However, in the official reports of the victory no mention was made of Laura Secord.

An American victory at Beaver Dams would have given the U.S. control over the entire Niagara peninsula, jeopardizing Upper Canada. The successful battle assured British control over the region, and is credited foremost as a victory by the First Nations peoples.


9. Mary Henry, “A Heroine Not to be Frightened” (ca 1770-ca 1830)

Mary Madden was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and married Dominic Henry, a Royal Artillery gunner from County Derry in 1790. Dominic was soon shipped back to North America and posted to Niagara, bringing Mary with him. By 1803, Dominic was a retired pensioner and was appointed the keeper of the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes, built in the Town of Niagara (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) in 1803.

One year into the War of 1812, on May 27, 1813, a large American Army made an amphibious assault on Niagara, landing not far from the lighthouse. The Battle of Fort George was fierce, with 5000 American soldiers resisted by 800 British regular soldiers, Canadian militia and Aboriginal allies. The Americans had more than 80 cannons covering their landing, firing so many cannon balls, bursting shells and iron grapeshot that the American shot was described as falling like a hailstorm on the British defenders. The British put up a stiff resistance but were slowly driven back. The Americans captured the Town and Fort George and occupied the area for the next seven months.

During the landing and the extremely heavy bombardment, casualties were heavy with half the British and Canadians killed or wounded. During this entire action, Mary Henry walked the battlefield, bringing coffee and food to the troops and tending the wounded. A chronicler describes her selfless bravery:

“Suddenly they saw a vision. Walking calmly through the shower of iron hail came Mary Madden Henry with hot coffee and food, seemingly as unconcerned as if she were in her own small garden on the shore on a Summer evening before peace was shattered. Time and again she went and came back with more sustenance, apparently guarded by some unseen angel from the peril which menaced her every step. Through the day until darkness brought respite she was caterer and nurse, the only woman in the company to bind the wounds of those maimed in the fight. These who survived never forgot that day, nor the courage of Mary Henry.”

On December 10, 1813 the Americans abandoned Fort George and Niagara, burning the entire town on their departure. The inhabitants, primarily older men, women and children, were given an hour’s warning before they were forced to abandon their homes and all of their belongings to the flames. The weather was frigid and the snow deep and many faced starvation as these refugees sought shelter. Because it was an aid to shipping for both the Americans and the British, the lighthouse and keepers house were spared. Mary brought the refugees out of the cold and provided medical care, hot drinks and food. “Many a family was saved that night by the hospitality of the old soldier’s wife.”

After the war, the Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada recognized Mary’s courage by granting her a gift of L25 (pounds sterling) and referred to her “a heroine not to be frightened.”

While Laura Secord seems to have received much more attention and is the only well-known heroine of the war, Laura’s life was never at risk during her famous walk. Mary Henry’s deeds of selfless bravery should not be forgotten.

Naval/Maritime

10. Charles Frederick Rolette, Canadian Officer of the Royal Navy, (1783-1831)

Charles Frederick Rolette was born in Quebec City in 1783 and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman while a young teen. He served under Admiral Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1799 and at Trafalgar in 1805.

Returning to his native soil in 1807, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Provincial Marine, the government’s maritime service on the Great Lakes in British North America. Just before the outbreak of the War of 1812, Rolette was posted to Amherstburg as a First Lieutenant in charge of the brig General Hunter. When word of the outbreak of war reached Amherstburg on July 3, 1812, Rolette acted immediately, capturing an American vessel, the Cuyahoga, before the Americans in the Detroit area even became aware that their country had declared war on Britain. The first shots of the War of 1812 were fired in this brief engagement. On board the Cuyahoga were American commander General Hull’s papers and dispatches, providing the British with a great deal of intelligence on American strengths and deployment. Also captured on board were the wives of American officers and the instruments of the regimental bands. The British kept the papers and the musical instruments but returned the wives to Detroit.

Rolette was very active in the war, conducting several daring captures of American supply vessels and participating in land battles at the Capture of Detroit, the Battle of Frenchtown and the skirmish at the Canard River. He was severely wounded at Frenchtown in January 1813 but was able to return to duty by late summer of that year and commanded the British vessel Lady Prevost at the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813. The Americans won that battle. Rolette was again gravely wounded and captured when his vessel surrendered to the Americans. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner-of-war.

When the war ended, Rolette returned to Quebec City but never fully recovered from his wounds, dying in 1831 in his 49th year.

 11. Joseph Barss, Privateer (1776-1824)

Joseph Barss was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia at the time of the American Revolution. While still a young boy, he began sailing on his father’s fishing schooners operating out of Liverpool and by the time he was 20 was commanding one of his father’s vessels. At that time, England was at war with France in a conflict that would continue until 1815. As part of the war effort, the English offered “letters of marque” to ship owners who turned their vessels into “privateers,” armed vessels that preyed on enemy merchant shipping. In 1798, Barss began his career as a privateersman on one of his father’s largest ships as third-in-command and the following year was given his own small schooner to command. In this vessel he managed to capture a few French prizes of war but ran his schooner up on a reef soon afterwards. He took command of one of the French prizes and continued his life as a privateer for a few years but a lack of French shipping and an abundance of British privateers chasing them made this occupation less profitable. So Joseph turned to trade and used his vessel for strictly mercantile business by the time of the Peace of Amiens in 1803.

Word of the outbreak of war arrived in Liverpool on June 28, 1812, when the fast schooner the Liverpool Packet brought dispatches to the port. This vessel was owned by entrepreneur Enos Collins of Nova Scotia and three other shareholders including two of Barss’s brothers. In late August, the government began to issue “letters of marque” to prey on American shipping. Collins received permission to turn the Liverpool Packet into a privateer and later appointed the experienced Joseph Barss as its captain.

For the next several months, Barss cruised near the American ports off Boston and Cape Cod and during the course of the war, he captured more than 50 American vessels. More than 30 of these were taken to British ports and sold, which earned huge profits for Collins and the shareholders. His luck finally ran out in June 1813 when Barss was forced to surrender to a large American privateer out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Barss was imprisoned in Portsmouth but was later paroled, that is released from custody on the promise that he would not fight again against the Americans. Barss reportedly broke that parole, captured some more American shipping but was taken again in 1814 and this time kept behind bars until the war was over.

After the war, Barss gave up sailing, buying a farm near Kentville where he died at the age of 48. The dashing Joseph Barss was the most successful privateersman of the War of 1812.

African Canadian

12. Richard Pierpoint, a Black Veteran of three wars, (1744-1838)

Richard Pierpoint was a lad of 16 in Senegal, Africa when he was seized and sold into slavery in 1760. He was purchased by an English officer named Pierpoint who had settled in New York’s Hudson Valley. Richard became this officer’s servant and adopted his surname. The officer and Richard were mustered during the 1763 Aboriginal uprising in British North America, but likely saw no action.

After the outbreak of the American Revolution, Richard was given his freedom and eventually became a soldier, joining John Butler’s corps of Rangers operating out of Fort Niagara. When the war of the revolution ended in 1783, Butler’s Rangers were disbanded and the men were provided with land grants in what would become the Niagara region of Ontario. Richard received 200 acres of land in present-day St. Catharines and became somewhat of a community leader among Niagara’s Black population.

When the War of 1812 broke out Richard Pierpoint petitioned Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, proposing the formation of an all-Black company of militia to fight alongside the British during the war. Brock agreed with the proposal and ordered the formation of what was known as the “Coloured Corps,” a small company of about 40 men from the Niagara and York districts mustered under white officers. The 68 year-old Richard Pierpoint served as a private in the corps and served on active duty throughout the conflict, including the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812 when the corps was mentioned in dispatches as having played a key role in that British victory.

The Coloured Corps fought at the Battle of Fort George in May 1813, and were active in the Niagara campaign of 1813. In 1814 they worked on construction of fortifications, many of the men of the company having skills in carpentry and masonry.

When the war ended, the British offered land grants to the veterans of the Coloured Corps, establishing settlements in Oro and Garafraxa Townships. He petitioned the government to provide passage for him back to Senegal in Africa but this was never granted. He was given another land grant of 100 acres in Garafraxa in 1822 and was able to build a house and clear a few acres there but he was too old to farm it properly. Pierpoint died there in 1838.

Upper Canadians

13. William Hamilton Merritt, Cavalry officer and Canal Builder, (1793-1862)

William Hamilton Merritt was born in New York State but moved with his family to Upper Canada in 1795, settling in Niagara where the city of St. Catharines would one day be established. Merritt was well educated and proved to be a brilliant businessman. While still a teenager he became a partner in a store but sold that interest in 1812 to take up scientific agriculture on the family farm.

When the War of 1812 broke out, his father Thomas, a Revolutionary War cavalry officer, formed a squad of light dragoons (cavalry) to operate in the Niagara Region during the war. Young Hamilton Merritt was commissioned as an officer in that troop and most often led the unit in action during the war. Merritt was very active through 1812 and 1813, often experiencing hair-raising adventures behind enemy lines as a scout and dispatch rider. He spent long hours in the saddle riding the back ways of the Niagara Peninsula and, in doing so, formed a plan to link Lake Ontario to Lake Erie through a canal system that would follow the path of existing creeks and waterways. This idea would give rise to the Welland Canal in the decade following the war.

Merritt was at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane in July 1814 when he mistakenly rode into the American lines and was captured. He spent the rest of the war in captivity in Massachusetts, returning to Niagara in 1815. On his return, he built a store in the village of St. Catharines, and began operating a grist mill nearby. He continued to petition the government to build a canal to link the Chippawa River to the 12 Mile Creek, climbing the Niagara Escarpment to provide passage between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. In 1824 the provincial legislature began work on the Welland Canal.

Merritt continued to be a pillar of the community, investing in major projects including the construction of a suspension bridge across the Niagara River. He also got involved in provincial politics and was elected to serve in the legislative assembly of Upper Canada. Merritt was on a business trip when he died near Cornwall in 1862.
http://1812.gc.ca/eng/1317828221939/1317828660198
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Speaking Notes for the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages on the Occasion of the Official Launch of Commemorative Events for the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812

Toronto, Ontario
June 18, 2012

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Honourable colleagues,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Students from G.A. Brown Middle School who are here
— and I also know that the Willowdale Christian School students are going to be with us as well later on this morning—

Welcome to historic Fort York, site of the battle of York during the War of 1812 and home to Canada’s largest collection of the original War of 1812 buildings.

Thank you to the staff of Fort York and indeed to the City of Toronto for the outstanding work that they have done to make today possible. It’s a pleasure to be here on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

You know the War of 1812 was a defining moment in our country’s history. The War of 1812 was the fight for Canada.

And it was here where the Battle of York came to its violent climax in 1813. The U.S. Navy stormed our shores from Lake Ontario and occupied this fort and burned our Parliament buildings during the five-day occupation.

But our British, Canadian, First Nations and Métis troops persevered. After several more U.S. raids, British troops returned to York and rebuilt these fortifications.  And, in 1814, our troops successfully repelled another American invasion using the fortifications that are still standing today.

As Canadians, we are used to thinking of our neighbours to the south as friends and allies. But, 200 years ago, American troops stormed our borders. Thomas Jefferson said the American invasion would be “a mere matter of marching.”

British troops, Canadian militia and First Nations and Métis allies joined together to defend our borders. They fought bravely. They repelled the American invasion, and the Canada that we know today was the ultimate result.

Which is to say that without the War of 1812, Canada as we know it would not exist.

Without their bravery in the War of 1812, we might be flying a very different flag here at Fort York today.

Without the War of 1812, the French fact in Canada would not exist.

Without the War of 1812, the identity of our Aboriginal population would have been fundamentally changed.

The War of 1812 paved the way to Confederation for Canada in 1867.

The War of 1812 was the fight for Canada.

Those who demonstrated bravery and love for our country during the War became Canadian heroes: Sir Isaac Brock, Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel de Salaberry, Tecumseh, Laura Secord and many others.

The 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 is an opportunity for all Canadians to take pride in our traditions and our collective history.

The War of 1812 was instrumental in the creation of our military as well, and we are honoured today to be joined by the members of the Mississauga First Nations, whose ancestors served during the Battle of York.

And I would also like to acknowledge the presence of members of the Queen’s York Rangers.

It was just last month, in the presence of Prime Minister Harper and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, that the Queen’s York Rangers were recognized for two regiments of the York militia that served in defence of Toronto during the Battle of York.

This honour, won by the sacrifice of early Ontarians just two centuries ago, will now also be carried by the Queen’s York Rangers and three other Ontario regiments of the Canadian Army.

For more than 200 years, the Rangers have come to embody the spirit of sacrifice and service to our country.

I know the Rangers and their comrades in arms across the Canadian Armed Forces are proud to commemorate the War of 1812. That’s because today’s men and women in uniform will be the first to tell you of the importance of remembering the sacrifices of those who fought for Canada. These regiments perpetuate the legacy of those who fought for Canada, as do the proud descendants of our heroes from the War of 1812.

And, with respect to those heroes and their descendants, I would just like to point out some special guests who are with us here today. Actually, I would like to ask them to rise, if they wouldn’t mind.

Shari Graydon, who’s a direct descendant of Laura Secord is with us here today.

Nicholas de Salaberry, who’s a direct descendant of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry is here with us today.

And Gilbert Wahiakeron, a descendant of Major John Norton is also with us here today.

We’ll have the opportunity to hear from them briefly in a moment.

Recognizing Canada’s past is so essential to this country’s health and well-being today and indeed for the generations to come.

Over the next few years, our Government will continue to promote and recognize Canada’s history and our historic moments like the War of 1812.

We’ve already announced improvements to approximately 40 national historic sites, including here at Fort York, and we will continue to recognize and honour current Canadian Forces regiments in 1812 ceremonies.

During this bicentennial period, I invite all Canadians to visit a national historic site, take part in a local celebration or re-enactment, visit a local museum, talk to your friends and family, and learn about our country’s rich history so we can appreciate and cherish our heritage.

As I often say, Canada is the second-largest country in the world. But, in terms of population, we’re the 36th-largest country in the world. What binds us together is culture, a shared history, and the ability to talk to one another and understand our past and why we are the way we are today so we can pave the way for a prosperous and united future together.

Recognizing today’s anniversary, the bicentennial of the War of 1812, is an important step in recognizing our past, celebrating our heroes and understanding all those who have sacrificed so that Canada can today stand tall and proud.

Thank you all very much for being here. I appreciate your attendance. And thank you so much to all those who’ve made this day a reality. Thank you very much.

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Canada and the War of 1812
by Tony Brown




Introduction

Considering its historical significance to Canada it is surprising that so few stamps have been issued to commemorate the War of 1812. A by-product of the Napoleonic Wars that preoccupied most of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, the War of 1812, declared by the United States on Great Britain under President James Madison on 18 June 1812, is a source of pride to Canadians as many inhabitants, principally of Upper Canada, fought alongside the Regular British Army and Indian allies to thwart American plans to capture  what were then the British colonies on their northern flank.

The war was primarily caused by the British Navy's boarding of American ships to forcibly enlist any sailors of British origin and its attempts to prevent the United States from trading with France. In addition, the Americans, who were encountering strong resistance from Indians in their push westward, believed that Great Britain was encouraging Indian opposition.

The United States planned to take over Upper Canada (the basis of modern-day Ontario) and Lower Canada (the basis of modern-day Québec) in a single mass attack. The invasion was to occur at four strategic locations: across from Detroit, in the Niagara area, at Kingston, and south of Montréal. If they succeeded, they would isolate and then capture the stronghold of Québec City, thereby cutting off any further British troop movement up the St Lawrence River and into the Great Lakes.

There were wins and losses on both sides during the two years that the war lasted, with no clear victory for either of the warring parties (the Treaty of Ghent signed on 24 December 1814 maintained the status quo). The British colonies, however, remained independent of the United States and their inhabitants would continue to forge what would become some fifty years later the new Canadian nation.

Only three Canadian stamps featuring themes related to the War of 1812 have been issued: one commemorating the birth of Sir Isaac Brock, "the Hero of Upper Canada," one commemorating Laura Secord, and one in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel de Saleberry. Tecumseh, who was an important ally, has never been portrayed on a Canadian stamp. He has, however, been honoured by Guernsey in a 1996 souvenir sheet that was produced for CAPEX 96.




Isaac Brock


 Sir Isaac Brock was the commander of the British forces at the time of the American  invasion. Born in 1769 to a military family in Guernsey (an island in the English Channel, then known as Sarnia), he joined the army at the age of 16. He was sent to Canada with the 49th Regiment in 1802 where he rose in rank to become in 1811 a major-general and Commander-in-Chief of the forces of Upper Canada. In truth, he was not entirely happy with his assignment and would have preferred the battlefields of Europe. Nevertheless, he planned the territory's defence brilliantly and became a legendary hero when he was felled by a sharpshooter at the Battle of Queenston Heights on 13 October 1812.

The stamp, which was issued in 1969, commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Isaac Brock. In addition to his portrait, the stamp features Brock's Monument, which marks his grave and is located near Queenston, Ontario. The statue of Major-General Brock stands atop a 56-metre column overlooking the territory that his troops successfully defended. The monument was completed in 1856.




Laura Secord

Laura Secord, nee Ingersoll, was born in Massachusetts. She moved to Queenston, which is situated at the mouth of the Niagara River, with her family following the US War of Independence and then married James Secord, a Queenston merchant and volunteer "citizen soldier." James was seriously wounded in the battle of Queenston Heights and was still disabled a year later in 1813 when American forces occupied his farmhouse. Overhearing the soldiers' careless chatter about their mission to occupy the village of Beaver Dam, Laura slipped away to warn the British who were in that location. It was one of the compelling stories of the war; how she lost her shoes and walked in darkness, barefoot, through the woods, finally running into a British patrol under a Lieutenant Fitzgibbon to warn them of the American plans. In the meantime, Indians had learned of the American movements also and ambushed them on their way to Beaver Dam. A small band of Canadian militia also fired upon the rear of the American force. Fearing total annihilation, the American force, which comprised some 570 men,  immediately surrendered to Lieutenant Fitzgibbon when he arrived on the scene.


The stamp is one of a 1992 se-tenant issue commemorating four legendary heroes. It depicts Laura courageously travelling through the woods to warn the British of an impending American attack on their position. The figures of Indians, who were preparing to ambush the Americans and whom she met along the way, are visible in the background.




Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel de Salaberry

Charles de Salaberry (1778-1829) was commanding officer of the Provincial Corps of Light Infantry in Lower Canada (Canadian Voltigeurs), 60th Regiment of Foot. He received the rare Field Officers Gold Medal for his exceptional service in turning back a superior force of American regulars at the Battle of Châteauguay on 26 October 1813, thus saving Montréal from attack.
This stamp is from a se-tenant pair issued in 1979.






Tecumseh

Tecumseh was a charismatic Shawnee native leader who was brought up with a hatred of Americans, known as "Long Knives" to the Indians, following the death of his father in a bloody clash with Virginian militia. Concerned about the American westward expansion and encroachment onto Indian territory, Tecumseh supported the British in the War of 1812 in the hope that a British victory would assure the Indians of possession of their lands. Indian support to the British side of the war was a key factor in many of the British successes.

Although no Canadian stamp has been issued commemorating Tecumseh, he has been honoured by Guernsey in a souvenir sheet that  was produced for CAPEX '96.



This sheet features a map showing Lake Erie, the cities of Detroit, Sarnia (named after Guernsey), York (Toronto) and Queenston Heights. On the £1 stamp Sir Isaac Brock is shown on his horse Alfred. The 24p stamp depicts Brock shaking hands with Tecumseh before their joint attack on Detroit. At this meeting, Brock gave Tecumseh the red sash from his uniform, and Tecumseh in turn gave Brock his elaborately beaded belt. Brock was wearing Tecumseh's belt when he was killed in the battle of Queenston Heights.



Conclusion

The War of 1812 was of enormous significance to Canada. Had the United States been successful in their endeavour it is likely that Canada would not have evolved as a separate country. In light of this, it would perhaps be fitting for a special issue to be produced featuring the major events of the two-year war or participants in addition to the two who have already been portrayed on Canadian issues.


Updated: 4 October 1998


http://www.rpsc.org/Library/1812/warof1812.htm

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CANADA WAR 1812-   NOVA SCOTIA- Memorial Site- Deadman's Island

Photographs of
Deadman's Island
(actually a peninsula, not an island)

War of 1812
1812 - 1814
Deadmans Island is the burial site of some 450 people from
around the world...prisoners of war...quarantine patients...
refugees...brought to Melville Island to be housed by
the Royal Navy...a considerable number died...
- Debate, Nova Scotia Legislature, 29 April 2004




Links to Relevant Websites
Deadman's Island
Old war's victims forgotten no longer:
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe page A01 (front page), 12 May 2000
What started as a very local controversy over this land became a
history lesson that reverberated on both sides of the border...
US veterans groups and historical societies got wind of the island's
past, and they were soon pressing Congress, Canada's ambassador, and
the US State Department to protect Deadman's Island. The Sons of the
American Revolution passed a resolution that "any desecration of
this sacred place would dishonor the memory of these patriots"...
    http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this news story:
Old war's victims forgotten no longer
Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
Boston Globe, 12 May 2000

Archived: 2000 September 02
http://web.archive.org/web/20000902095607/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2001 August 20
http://web.archive.org/web/20010820100340/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2002 October 21
http://web.archive.org/web/20021021012014/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2003 December 11
http://web.archive.org/web/20031211131128/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2004 September 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20040905090314/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2005 June 19
http://web.archive.org/web/20050619083931/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2006 April 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20060405112425/http://usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2007 February 05
http://web.archive.org/web/20070205075311/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

Archived: 2008 January 16
http://web.archive.org/web/20080116024233/http://www.usmm.org/halifax1812.html

These links were accessed and found to be valid on 24 April 2010.





Old war's victims forgotten no longer: Privateers of War of 1812 buried in Halifax
by Colin Nickerson, Boston Globe Staff, 12 May 2000
[another copy of the above item]
    http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/BOWIE/2000-05/0958305382


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BLACK HISTORY CANADA- War of 1812


Image: Death of General Brock at the battle of Queenston Heights, October 13th, 1812 (artwork by John Walker, courtesy Library and Archives Canada/C-006487)
On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain, which was at that time in a life and death struggle with Napoleon and France. Much of the war was fought at sea and on the Great Lakes but the American army also tried to invade Canada, then part of the British Empire.

Blacks fought on both sides of the war, many with the US Navy. (Blacks made up somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of sailors manning the American ships on the Great Lakes.)

In Canada thousands of Black volunteers fought for the British. Fearing that the invading Americans would return them to slavery, many Blacks in Upper Canada served heroically in Black and regular regiments. The British promise of freedom and land united many escaped slaves under the British flag. Despite many restrictions barring them from service in the army, exceptions were always made for Black musicians. For example, it is thought that Black musicians filled out the ranks of the mostly Gaelic-speaking Glengarry Light Infantry Regiment of Upper Canada.

Another notable exception was the Coloured Corps, an Upper Canadian regiment made up of Blacks from the Niagara region. In 1812 Richard Pierpoint, a former slave who had won his freedom by fighting for the British in the American Revolution, petitioned the government to form a Black regiment. His request was granted with the condition that the commanding officer would be a White man. Pierpoint himself joined on as a private. The unit consisted of about 30 men from the Niagara region, many of whom had escaped slavery in the United States. The men fought bravely at the critical Battle of Queenston Heights.

The British Royal Navy did not have the same racial restrictions imposed by the British army. (Canadian hero William Hall had served with the Royal Navy earlier.) In 1814, Black regiments from the West Indies were employed during the naval campaign against New Orleans. After the war, the British settled a significant number of these sailors and their families in Canada, particularly Nova Scotia.

To Stand and Fight Together: Richard Pierpoint and the Coloured Corps of Upper Canada
A review of a book that chronicles the participation of Black men who fought for the British during the War of 1812. From the Manitoba Library Association website.

To Stand and Fight Together: Richard Pierpoint and the Coloured Corps of Upper Canada
Click on “Preview this Book” and then scroll down to page 73 for an account of the formation of the “Coloured Corps” in Upper Canada during the War of 1812. From From the Google Books website.

Admiral Cochrane's proclamation
Read a digitized copy of Admiral Cochrane's proclamation which invited Americans to desert to the British side during the War of 1812. A Government of Nova Scotia website.

The Black loyalists: the search for a promised land in Nova Scotia
Scroll down to page 389 for information about the Cochrane Proclamation. From Google Books.

Richard Pierpoint
A biography of Richard Pierpoint, soldier, militiaman, labourer, and farmer. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Richard Pierpoint
Read the text of "The Petition of Richard Pierpoint" submitted by Richard Pierpoint to Lieutenant Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland following his service to the British during the War of 1812. From the website for Parks Canada.

African Americans at war: War of 1812
Click on “Preview this Book” and then scroll down to page 151 for an overview of the role of Blacks in various military services on the British side in the War of 1812. From Google Books.

Edith Clayton
Scroll down to page 24 to read a profile of renowned basket weaver Edith Clayton, a descendent of “refuge Blacks” who arrived in Nova Scotia aboard British ships during the War of 1812. From the book The Haligonians: 100 Fascinating Lives from the Halifax Region. From Google Books.

We Are Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History
Scroll down to page 32 to "The Women Among Them" for a brief note about actions leading to the War of 1812 and the subsequent plight of Africans who migrated to Nova Scotia from the US. By Sylvia Hamilton. From the Our Roots website.


http://blackhistorycanada.ca/events.php?themeid=21&id=5



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Operations on the Great Lakes and Canadian border

Isaac-brock.jpg Major General Sir Isaac Brock skillfully repulsed an American invasion of Canada, but his death was a severe loss for the British cause.[edit]Invasions of Canada, 1812
While they had expected little from their tiny navy, the American people had assumed that Canada could be easily overrun. Former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson dismissively referred to the conquest of Canada as "a matter of marching." However, in the opening stages of the conflict, British military experience prevailed over inexperienced American commanders. The American Brigadier General William Hull invaded Canada on July 12 1812 from Detroit, with an army mainly composed of militiamen. British Major General Isaac Brock drove back the Americans and, with the aid of Tecumseh, forced Hull to surrender at Detroit on August 16.

Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where the American General Henry Dearborn was attempting a second invasion. Brock fell in action on October 13 at the Battle of Queenston Heights. While the professionalism of the American forces would improve by the war's end, British leadership suffered after Brock's death.

In contrast to the American militia, the Canadian militia performed well. French-Canadians, who found the anti-Catholic stance of most of the United States troublesome, and United Empire Loyalists, who had fought for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War and had settled primarily in Upper Canada, strongly opposed the American invasion. However, a large segment of Upper Canada's population were recent settlers from the United States who had no such loyalties to the Crown, but American forces found, to their dismay, that most of the colony took up arms against them.
http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/War_of_1812
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