Lugares de interés (POIs) del Mapa
2: Route 1812: The Longwoods Road
Marked here from the Tecumseh Monument to Delaware, Longwoods Road, the old King's Highway #2, is one of Canada's oldest roads.
Más sobre Route 1812: The Longwoods Road8: Memorial Park, Port Glasgow
OldBoys Memorial Park; 8650 Furnival Road.
The mill stones thatsurvived the burning of Col. Thomas Talbot's mill on September 9th,1814, were reused in mills in this area and now sit in the Memorial Park atPort Glasgow.
Plaque text:
“Following the burning of the mill at PortTalbot 1814 by American forces after the War of 1812 Colonel Talbot donatedthis stone to Peter McKellar to use in the "Valley" mill he wasbuilding on 16 Mile Creek in Aldborough west of New Glasgow adjacent to theValley saw mill.
The mill operated from 1820to 1890’s when it was demolished. Thisstone was brought to the Duncan & Angus Gray farm opposite what is nowLakewood Trailer Park where it was used to support the corner of a barn. Later, Ernest G Lusty had it removed to thepark at its present site. “
"During the War of1812 the mill was burned by the Americans. My father [Peter McKellar] having goodmechanical talents, Colonel Talbot suggested to him the building of a gristmill on the Sixteen creek, and he would give him the irons of his burned milland an additional fifty acres of land. Themill was built, and in operation in 1821, but the fifty acres were not granted. This mill did the grinding for a largearea of country for many years. Myfather sold it in 1837 and it was in operation many years afterwards. As theSixteen Mile Creek was not a living stream, the provisions for the summer hadto be ground between the middle of March and the middle of June. To do the grinding for the settlement in soshort a time, my father ran the mill day and night and did it all alone. He would start the mill at 2 a.m. on Mondaymorning and never leave it until 9 p.m. Saturday evening. I have seen womencome to the mill, each carrying a bag of grain on her back. When the grain wasground, they carried the bags of meal home again. Meantime the husbands were at home preparingthe land for a spring crop."
Reminiscences of Sheriff McKellar
Reminiscences of Early Settlers and Other Records
Being the fourth publication of the Elgin Historical and ScientificInstitute, 1911
9: McColl Cemetery
24724Talbot Line, West Elgin, ON
Here the Talbot Roadcrosses Brock's Creek named in commemoration of General Brock's encampment onthe shore at the mouth of the creek in August 1812, during his trek to FortMalden.10: Backus-Page House, 29424 Lakeview Line Wallacetown
29424 Lakeview Line, Wallacetown
Thesettlement of this area was begun in 1809, with the arrival of Leslie Pattersonand his extended family. Patterson,whose house is nearby, was commissioned a captain in the First Regiment ofMiddlesex Militia on 15 February 1812, by General Isaac Brock.
“Whenthe war commenced, Col. Talbot having to go on duty, got Col. Patterson, whowas paroled, to move down to his house in order to manage affairs in thesettlement. Patterson was visited several times by “Blue-eyed Indians,” apeople from Delaware so named because they were white men with their facesstained so as to resemble Indians. These were Americans and rebel Canadians.Their object seems to have been the destruction of the settlement. What theycould carry away conveniently they took and what they did not want they destroyed.Coming one time they made such a clean sweep of everything that for the nextthree months the Colonel and his wife had nothing but the clothes which theyhad on.
Allsupplies were hidden out in the woods, and a settler would not go to his store unlessthere was a storm sufficiently strong to cover his tracks.
ColonelTalbot came back to the settlement whenever it was possible, but his enemieswere on the lookout for him. Upon oneoccasion he stayed in the kitchen dressed in women’s clothes, talked to therebels and informed them that he was the cook. Another time, making a prisoner of Col.Burwell, the “blue-eyed Indians” rode to the Talbot settlement, where theColonel was to be made a prisoner also. Pattersonsaw them coming, and recognizing the prisoner, begged of Colonel Talbot to hidehimself by going to the mouth of the creek and crossing on a sand bar there. By doing this he would get behind the enemy. Delaying too long, he was seen by the rebels,who fired three times, but failed to hit their mark. When first seen by the rebels, standing amongthe sheep, he looked very much::text like a workman. S eeing that the Colonel waslikely to be shot, Patterson told the rebels that the man took care of thesheep, and it would be a shame to shoot the poor fellow. This saved his life, for the rebelsimmediately rode west to overtake the Colonel, whom they believed to be inadvance of them.”
Historical Essays of Elgin,Georgina Blackwood, 1895
Col Talbot's Grave (at Backus-PageHouse)
Final resting place of Col.Thomas Talbot,
Col. Talbot commanded themilitia of the London District which included Middlesex (which then includedElgin), Oxford, and Norfolk. He waspresent with the militia at Lundy's Lane and Fort Erie. Col. Patterson whosehome is nearby was one of his officers. He was frequently away at hisheadquarters at Turkey Point in the Long Point Settlement and managed to evadecapture several times.12: Talbot Settlement National Historic Sites Plaque
32109 Fingal Line, Wallacetown, ON
“THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT”
The settlement, begun in May 1803, by Thomas Talbot was, despite the controversial practices of its founder, one of the most successful in Upper Canada. Major roads were constructed throughout the settlement and by a system of close and personal control Talbot managed effectively to keep out land speculators and secure hardworking settlers. His extensive powers eventually brought him into conflict with the Executive Council which in 1837, transferred control of settlement in the vast territory between Norfolk County and Amherstburg to the Crown Lands Commissioner."
Talbot’s controversial practices were his control over the settlers and distribution of lands which led not only to conflict with the Executive Council of Upper Canada but also created distrust among the settlers. This was the location of the home built by Col. Talbot who became the chief settlement officer for a large part of southwestern Ontario running as far west as Windsor and east to Woodstock.
On August 11th, 1812, due to inclement weather, General Brock and his men could only travel seven miles and were forced to pull their boats on shore and spend the night on the beach at Port Talbot.
Col. Talbot was the officer commanding the London District militia which included Oxford, Middlesex and Norfolk (Elgin wasn’t established until 1852). He was away at Turkey Point much of the time and so evaded several attempts to capture him. Col. Mahlon Burwell who also lived nearby was captured in August of 1814 and spent six months in captivity in Chillicothe Ohio.
Petition of Colonel Talbot to the Loyal and Patriotic Society
Thomas Talbot, 2 September, 1814
"On the 16thof last month (August, 1814) the enemy, amounting to upwards of 100 men, composed of Indians and Americans painted and disguised as the former, surprised the settlement of Port Talbot, where they committed the most wanton and atrocious acts of violence by robbing the under mentioned fifty heads of families of all their horses and every particle of wearing apparel and household furniture leaving the sufferers naked and in the most wretched state."
Thomas Talbot, Letter to Chief Justice Scott, 24 October, 1814
"The vagabond enemy, not being satisfied with the plunder they carried off from Port Talbot on the 16th August, returned in greater force about the middle of September, when they burnt my mills and other buildings, destroyed all my flour and killed my sheep. Poor Burwell’s house and barn were likewise sacrificed; thence the enemy extended their violence down my road fifteen miles. . . . My mills having been burnt the farmers will be obliged to take their grain at least 120 miles to have it ground, the expenses attending the transport in these hard times will be heavy indeed.
Port Talbot Raids
On September 9th, 1814, Andrew Westbrook and a band of men, including some First Nation Warriors, re-visited Port Talbot to complete the work of destruction. They burned down the grist and saw mills and several houses and barns, including those of Col. Burwell. They destroyed all of Colonel Talbot’s flour and killed several of his cattle. They then proceeded eastward along the Talbot Road, plundering and paroling the inhabitants as they went. They destroyed all the weapons they could get a hold of and could not conveniently carry.
Andrew Westbrook was a resident of Delaware who joined the Americans and led several raids in the area.
From C. O. Ermatinger, The Talbot Regime, 190413: Col. Burwell's Grave
St.Stephen's Anglican Church graveyard, 33105 Fingal line, Dutton-Dunwich
These corners are named forCol. Mahlon Burwell, a surveyor and associate of the settlement’s founder Col.Thomas Talbot. He surveyed much of theland under Talbot’s control and also acted as the registrar of deeds for thearea covered by Middlesex and Elgin counties. This office was the place whereproperty transactions such as sales and mortgages were registered. While thisnormally would have been done in the court house at London after 1829, theoffice stayed here until 1843. The County of Elgin was separated from Middlesexin 1852.
Mahlon Burwell was born in1783 and accompanied his parents to Upper Canada following the end of theAmerican War of Independence. He trainedas a land surveyor and among his first undertakings was laying out the TalbotRoad from Port Talbot to what is now the Town of Delhi. In later years he extended the road west toSandwich (Windsor). Besides the roadsand a large number of townships, Burwell surveyed the town plot of London in1826 and laid out the village of Port Burwell most of which he owned. He alsoserved as a Justice of the Peace and was chairman of the Quarter Session whichbefore the late 1840’s was essentially a regional government. He served in the Upper Canada Assembly and waspost master for Port Talbot.
Burwell was a militiacolonel during the War of 1812, making him a prime target for enemy raiders whoplundered southwestern Ontario unopposed for most of the last year of the war.He was taken prisoner on August 16, 1814 and held in Ohio for six months. Thediary he kept during his confinement is now in the collection of Library andArchives Canada (excerpt below). Followingthe war he built a new brick house on the northwest corner of the crossroadswhich served as both home and registry office. The farm was left to his son, Hannibal, afterhis death in 1846. He gave the land forthe St. Stephens Anglican Church and for Anglican Churches in Port Burwell andin Caradoc Township. Mahlon Burwell andhis wife, who died in 1870, are both buried in St. Stephen’s grave yard. Más sobre Col. Burwell's Grave14: Talbot Road Plaque
“Thisroad named after Col. Thomas Talbot, the founder of the Talbot Settlement, wasone of Upper Canada's earliest pioneer highways. Surveyed in 1804, by JohnBostwick, it ran from Sayle's Mills (Waterford) to Port Talbot. In 1809,portions of the road line were changed by Mahlon Burwell who ran it through thesite of St. Thomas. Two years later he was ordered to extend the road toAmherstburg and to survey branch lines connecting with the settlements to thenorth. By means of this earlycolonization road much of the north shore of Lake Erie was settled.”
Más sobre Talbot Road Plaque15: Rapelje Farm
140 Talbot Street
OnNovember 11, 1814, McArthur's troops plundered the Rapelje Farm located nearhere and stayed overnight on the location of the present Town Hall Towers (140Talbot Street).
16: Christ Anglican Church, Port Stanley, ON
Christ Anglican Church, 283 Colborne Street, Port Stanley, ON
Col. John Bostwick plaque:
General Brock arrived at this point near the mouth of the Kettle Creek August 9, 1812, en route to Fort Malden. He and his men camped here and then moved on to Port Talbot and stopped there for the night largely because of the bad weather. Port Stanley became the home of Col. John Bostwick shortly after the end of the war. Both he and his brother Henry were militia officers during the war. His beamed and brick-nogged house on Cornell Drive above the Main Street, built in the late 1820’s, is still standing.
"Born in Massachusetts, Bostwick came as a child to Norfolk County. He was appointed high constable of the London District in 1800 and sheriff in 1805. A deputy-surveyor, he laid out some of the earliest roads in the Talbot Settlement and in 1804 was granted 240 ha here at the mouth of Kettle Creek. After serving as a militia officer throughout the War of 1812 he settled on the site of Port Stanley and founded this community. Bostwick represented Middlesex in the Legislative Assembly 1821-24. He donated the land for this church, which was completed in 1845, and is buried in its churchyard."
Más sobre Christ Anglican Church, Port Stanley, ON17: Jonathan Doan and the Settlement of Sparta
SpartaCommunity Hall, 46272 Sparta Line, Sparta, ON
TheDoan family left Pennsylvania at the end of the American Revolution and fled tothe Niagara region of the Canadas. TheDoans, as had all the other Quakers, refused to fight for either the British orthe Americans during the revolution and were therefore persecuted by bothsides. Many of the lands owned by theQuakers were confiscated by the Americans at the end of the war. So they came north and settled in the SugarLoaf region in the Niagara area.
During the War of 1812, theNiagara region was invaded by the Americans and Doan feared that the same thingwould happen to his family as had happened during the revolution. He set out in 1813, down Lake Erie with hisnine year old grandson, Jonathan Steele, to seek out a new place to settle. He landed at Kettle Creek and hiked inland tothe terminal moraine that parallels current day Sparta Line and followed iteast to what he later called the Oak Plains. He believed the area was not likely to be aseasily invaded being halfway down Lake Erie. He purchased 200 acres of land from ColonelJames Baby and stayed the winter here. In the Spring, he returned to the Niagararegion and convinced other Quaker families to settle in this area, now known asSparta. The Quaker community grewpurchasing and settling over 3000 acres over the next three to four years. In 1820, they officially became a preparativemeeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). This Quaker Meeting has remained active to thepresent day. 18: Port Burwell
Port Burwell Fred Bodsworth Library, 21 Pitt Street, PO Box 189, Port Burwell ON N0J 1T0
LieutenantColonel Mahlon Burwell historic plaque.
LIEUT-COL.MAHLON BURWELL 1783-1846
Born of Loyalist parents,Burwell became a deputy-surveyor in 1809 and was instructed to lay out theTalbot Road for settlement. He wasgranted 600 acres of land in Southwold Township where he settled in 1815. A close associate of Col. Thomas Talbot,Burwell carried out extensive surveys in southwestern Upper Canada whichprepared the way for settlement. Heserved in the War of 1812 as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 1st MiddlesexMilitia, was a justice of the peace and for some 20 years represented this areain the Legislative Assembly. Thiscommunity, named in his honour was laid out by Burwell in 1830.
19: Defield's Farm
Deflield's Farm, the site of the current town of Richmond,was a stopping point for the troops under McArthur as they made their way backto Detroit.
The Talbot road throughBayham was lightly settled by the time war started with approximately fifteenfarms. Most where visited by McArthur’stroops on their return to Detroit. Claimsfor lost and damaged property included a sail, shoe maker’s tools, much livestockand large amounts of field crops. T he Raid was timed well to remove foodstuffsfrom the farms and put them out of use for the militia and regular army. 20: Tecumseh Monument / Battle of the Thames
14434 Longwoods Road, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
Tecumseh was killed on Oct. 5, 1813, during what is now called the Battle of the Thames. Site of the Tecumseh Monument. Also refered to as the Battle of Moraviantown.
Más sobre Tecumseh Monument / Battle of the Thames25: Francois Baby House
254 Pitt St W, Windsor, Ontario, N9A 5L5
The Francois Baby House in downtown Windsor was built in 1812 and houses Windsor's Community Museum, dedicated to local history. François Baby was a soldier, political figure and businessman in Upper Canada. He belonged to one of the richest and most powerful families in the Western District of Upper Canada of the time. In 1792, he was elected to represent Kent County in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. He joined the British forces during the War of 1812 and was captured by the Americans in 1814. It was during the war that Baby's newly-constructed house at Sandwich (Windsor) was taken over by the invading American troops. The position of the house was crucial: not only would it allow the Americans a convenient location to plan for an invasion of Fort Malden downriver in Amherstburg, it was strategic to Fort Lernoult directly opposite in Detroit. Several hundred soldiers pitched their tents in the orchards and gardens around the house while senior officers occupied the house.On Baby’s return, he discovered that his home had been plundered and damaged. Baby managed to repair and complete his three-story house before winter. Built in the Georgian style with two rows of symmetrical windows and another row of dormer windows, the house had thick brick walls. Today more than 14,000 artifacts telling the history of Windsor are kept in the Windsor Community Museum located here.
Más sobre Francois Baby House34: Ward's Tavern
Thelong stretch of uninterrupted forest between Fairfield and Delaware took twoand a half days to walk. In 1810, aretired soldier named George Ward was asked by the British government toestablish a stopping place half way at present day Wardsville in the midst of a dense Carolinian Forest.
Whenthe War came, his young family ran dispatches, managed a military depot, andkept three horses ready at all times. They were hard workers. Heclaimed “there is no better garden between York and Amherstburg”. Little is known of Margaret Shaw, his wife. In a letter, she tells of hurrying soldiers carrying dispatches to theBritish Army out one door while American soldiers arrived from the otherdirection.
Natives,British and Americans frequently plundered the family. Their horses were never returned and theirstable and house were burned. The propertydisappeared as a result of Andrew Westbrook’s forays and General McArthur’sraid. After Proctor’s defeat downriverat the Battle of the Thames in October 1813, refugees passed by their door.
In early March of 1814 when the weather had turned cold, and withoutpermission, George Ward, the 71-year old innkeeper and retired military man, lefthis militia post in Delaware to return home to look after his wife and youngchildren. His two sons, William (20) andJames (19) were active in the militia, so Margaret was at home alone with AlexDaniel (12), Talbot St. John (10) and Mary Ann (9).
On his journey home, Ward was overtaken by Lt. Gill of theMichigan Mounted Rangers. Stripped ofhis coat, Ward was torturedand hanged from the Traitor’s Tree near Strathburn to get information aboutthe British. He was then taken to theAmerican abattis at Twenty Mile Creek and further tortured/questioned. Despite this herefused to give any information about the British Troops at Delaware. He was finally released the evening of March3, 1814 and went to Big Bend to getword to the British. Alas, WilliamCaldwell saw him leaving the American compound and assumed he was playing bothsides.
The accusation of being a traitor stuck. George Ward lost his army pension and spentthe rest of his life writing letters to the authorities requesting a fair trial. He never got his trial. At the age of 93, George died in 1837 with acloud still hanging over his head.
There is a plaque about George Ward in front of the WardsvilleApartments, at 1809 Longwoods Road. Ward's gravestone is in the Wardsville cemetery on Kennedy Street. Thereis a barn quilt close to the gravestone honouring Mr. and Mrs.George Ward.
35: Big Bend
TheBig Bend on the Askumissippi River [Antlered River, later named the ThamesRiver] is sacred. It is a burial place,a canoe portage, and a hunting ground. In the late 1790s, the families of James and Thomas Edwards settledthere but neighbour relations with the Natives were notfriendly.
In 1809, Thomas Edwards wasshot by local Natives while hoeing a field of corn. Later, his home was burnt. During the war, his widow, Milly, experiencedplundering from the Natives, British and Americans. Horses, food, clothing and equipment wereclaimed in war losses by both families.
On the morning of theBattle of the Longwoods, March 4, 1814, George Ward walked to the Edwards farmafter being released by the Americans from an interrogation. Ward asked Mathewsto take his horse and warn the British but Mathews refused. The battle started at 5 p.m. and the Edwardscould hear the battle from the Big Bend.
36: Battle Hill National Historic Site
Actual site of the Battle of the Longwoods.
On March 4, 1814, Colonel Holmes of the 24th U.S. Infantry was traveling on Longwoods Road with 160 men toward the settlement of Delaware, which he planned to attack. Near Strathburn, Holmes learned that Captain James Basden was leading 150 British Regulars of the 1st and 89th regiments, 100 militia from Middlesex and Kent, Caldwell's Western District Rangers, and about 30 natives to repel his advance. Holmes retreated to 20 Mile Creek (Battle Creek) where his soldiers had built an abatis and had slept the night before.
Arriving on the eastern crest of the valley of Twenty Mile Creek at about 5:00 p.m. on March 4th, Basden and his men were close enough to smell the enemy campfires and hear their voices across the valley. Determined to push forward immediately and crush the invaders where they stood; the British wasted no time to attack. As they crossed the log bridge over the valley’s narrow creek, they came under hot fire. Taking losses at each step, the men surged over the creek, and with a cheer they pushed up the snow-covered slippery slope advancing through the trees. The coordinated forces on the British side marched to the eastern edge of the Twenty Mile Creek ravine and towards 5:00 pm., the British attacked the U.S. Infantry. Captain Basden and his Red Coats led a frontal attack from the east, across the creek and up the hill. The militia attacked from the north and the natives from the south. The exposed Red Coats were hampered by the snow and ice on the hillside while the Americans, hidden behind their barricade, easily shot at the British troops. The British withdrew, and the Americans did not follow them. Instead the Americans returned to Detroit just after the British retreat.
As twilight closed in both Captain Johnstone from the Royal Scots and Lt. Graeme, chief of the 89th Regiment were shot down. Discouraged and bloodied, the British fell back to the other side of the creek, leaving their wounded and dead behind as they retreated to Delaware. There were 52 British wounded and about 14 to 16 killed. The Americans suffered 5 killed and wounded. Captain Holmes' impression was that there were at least 80 "casualties”, but would not allow his men plunder the dead. Captain Andrew Hunter Holmes, fearing further British columns, led his Americans back to the frontier. The vicious, inconclusive frontier skirmishing would continue until the return of peace at the end of 1814.
Más sobre Battle Hill National Historic Site37: Wigwam Shelters
In order to travel the Longwoods Path it would take two and ahalf days, so it was necessary to sleep overnight. Often natives or seasoned travelersconstructed cone shaped wood structures called wigwams to stay overnight andstay dry.
Several of these structures were reported to have existed overthe years and John Howison in 1816 reported finding one of them, nine milesbeyond Delaware.
George Ward was in one when he was overtaken by the Americans. Several of these shelters were probablylocated along the Longwoods Road.
38: Traitor Tree
In early March of 1814 when the weather had turned cold, and withoutpermission, George Ward, the 71-year old innkeeper and retired military man, lefthis militia post in Delaware to return home to look after his wife and youngchildren. His two sons, William (20) andJames (19) were active in the militia, so Margaret was at home alone with AlexDaniel (12), Talbot St. John (10) and Mary Ann (9).
On his journey home, Ward was overtaken by Lt. Gill of theMichigan Mounted Rangers. Stripped ofhis coat, Ward was torturedand hanged from the Traitor’s Tree near Strathburn to get information aboutthe British. He was then taken to theAmerican abattis at Twenty Mile Creek and further tortured/questioned. Despite this herefused to give any information about the British Troops at Delaware. He was finally released the evening of March3, 1814 and went to Big Bend to getword to the British. Alas, WilliamCaldwell saw him leaving the American compound and assumed he was playing bothsides.
Theaccusation of being a traitor stuck. GeorgeWard lost his army pension and spent the rest of his life writing letters tothe authorities requesting a fair trial. He never got his trial. At the age of 93, George died in 1837 with acloud still hanging over his head.39: Wooden Bridges
TheLongwoods Road is intersected by many streams wending their way to the ThamesRiver. In 1811, the British government constructedprimitive wooden bridges to span these creeks and streams in order allowpassage of troops and artillery in case of war. Unfortunately, many of these bridges were often washed out. There was a bridge at the bottom of TwentyMile Creek on March 4, 1814 as described during the Battle of the Longwoods.
Más sobre Wooden Bridges40: Fourteen Mile Creek
On the evening of March 4, 1814, the British Troops made theircamp here after suffering defeat at the hands of the Americans at the Battle ofthe Longwoods. Among their number therewere over 50 wounded soldiers and perhaps the bodies of two of the BritishOfficers killed at the battle, Captain David Johnston and Lieutenant PatrickGrahaeme.
Here Captain Andrew Stewart of the Royal Scots signed the firstdispatches informing General Vincent of the defeat. Preliminary treatment was given to the woundedCaptain James Basden of the 89th who led the British charge. Twice shot, Captain John McGregor’s arm wasamputated the next day at Delaware. Thecamp was abandoned the next morning when Stewart and the survivors made theirway to Delaware and a few days later, to Oxford. It is unknown if any of the wounded who diedwere buried at this site.
This location is beside the "Devil's Tunnel" of theold Wabash Railway.
41: Longwoods Barn Quilt Trail
This trail of barn quilts interprets the war from a women's point ofview, telling stories of the impact of the war on the lives of families. Thisrural folk art is installed on barns from Tecumseh's Monument to the village ofDelaware.
Youwill also see barn quilts at other points along Route 1812. Google "Longwoods Barn Quilt Trail"for more information.
Más sobre Longwoods Barn Quilt Trail42: Middlesex Militia Picquet
In order to prevent surprise attacks it was common practice toestablish a barrier of a dozen men under a corporal to monitor the movements oftravelers. From George Ward's letters weknow there was such a picquet located three miles along the Longwoods Road fromFebruary to early March of 1814 as a result of the Westbrook Raid on Delawareat the end of January 1814.
The twelve militia would each take turns standing guard. Some would have hidden in the bush as ameasure of caution. There would have been a wooden shelter, a large fire,perhaps a tent for overnight accommodation as well as horses to communicatewith the Army headquarters at Delaware. Theywould have maintained constant contact with the main camp at Gideon Tiffany’s[Belvoir Farm] in Delaware.
43: Tiffany's Cemetery
Established as early as 1794, this cemetery is one of the oldestcemeteries in Southwestern Ontario. Nearby is the site of the Christ AnglicanChurch, which was supposed to have been built by Ebenezer Allan in 1794. Over ten years later Allan finally completedthe church. Allan was not only beaten byhis neighbours for his failure to complete thechurch but also lost his entire land grant of 2200 acres as a result.
In this cemetery are buried the earliest of Delaware's pioneers including theBrighams, the Tiffanys and Daniel Springer. Gideon Tiffany was a former printer of theUpper Canada Gazette before he settled in Delaware in 1807. Andrew Westbrook captured Daniel Springer,Captain of the Middlesex Militia, during the first raid into this region inJanuary 1814. Springer later escaped andtook part, according to the story, at the Battle of Lundy's Lane on July 25,1814. Those who died at the Battle ofthe Longwoods on March 4, 1814 may also be buried here.
44: Three Delaware Traitors
The First mills built inMiddlesex County in 1794 were located here. This was referred to as Allan’s Mills or Allan’s Cove. This site was a rendezvous point among spies during the Warof 1812 to pass information on to the Americans.
In July 1812, following General Hull's invasion of Sandwich, Ebenezer Allan,Andrew Westbrook, and Simon Watson chose to side with the Americans. As a result they were condemned and theirproperties confiscated. Allan andWestbrook were captured but Watson escaped. Westbrook later escaped and subsequently wreaked havoc in the Western Corridorduring the War. Andrew Westbrook ledAmerican raids to disrupt the British Military and to obtain supplies forDetroit, the main American base. Westbrookbecame a notorious figure in Southwestern Ontario.
Ebenezer Allan had been a Loyalist who served with Butler's Rangers during theAmerican Revolution. As a result of hisloyal service he was granted 2200 acres of land in Delaware Township in 1794 oncondition of building mills and a church. He settled on his homestead, probably the land later owned by GideonTiffany and set about building his mills. He brought with him two of his four wives and family including twodaughters by a Native wife. By 1797, helost most of his Delaware property and moved across the Thames River to Lobowhere he lived on his Native daughters' Indian grants. He remained active in the affairs of thecommunity and operated a store as well as a mill.
Afterhis arrest in July 1812, Allan was released and returned home to “serve HisMajesty” probably as a spy. However he diedin April 1813, and although originally arrested as a traitor, his name wasnever included as an Enemy Alien.
45: Belvoir Farm
Thislarge farm belonged to Gideon Tiffany. It was the location of a British Encampment for almost 300 men,including British Regulars, Militia and Native Warriors, during the War of 1812for three weeks between February and March 1814. They were located in detached dwellings,barns, outbuildings and huts constructed of timber from Tiffany’s sawmill. It is opposite the presentCatholic School and Church.
TheBritish troops consisted of the Light Companies of the Royal Scots and the 89thRegiments. The Militia consisted ofcompanies of the Middlesex, Loyal Kent Volunteers and Caldwell's WesternRangers. The Natives had warriors fromthe Muncey, Chippewa, Pottawatomie, Kickapoo, Shawnee and Wyandot Nations. Thecommander of the base was Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Stewart of the RoyalScots. The British Indian DepartmentOfficer was Colonel Matthew Elliott. Thebuildings at this site and other farmhouses in the vicinity became hospitals totreat over 50 wounded after the Battle of the Longwoods. Perhaps, also this was the site of EbenezerAllan’s first home in Middlesex when he settled in 1794. This large farming complex included a sawmill and grist mill as well as numerous farm buildings. The British base wasabandoned on March 7, 1814, and moved to Oxford and eventually to Burford afterthe defeat suffered at the Battle of the Longwoods. As a result, the Thames Valley and the TalbotTrail Regions were subjected to frequent damaging raids by marauders from theU.S. Troops stationed at Detroit and Amherstburg.
46: Andrew Westbrook's Farm
Thisis the site of the main farm of Andrew Westbrook, located near the current siteof the Delaware Raceway. AltogetherWestbrook owned 4500 acres of land including mills, farms, distilleries andstores. This entrepreneur decided toside with the Americans early in the war and was forced to go to the U.S. afterthe British arrested him and he managed to escape. From early in the War, the Middlesex Militiaused his farm as a base for their soldiers. His family, with wife Nancy, remained at thisfarm until January 30, 1814 when Westbrook returned in the evening with 30Americans and captured the Middlesex Militia guards and 3 British militiaofficers, Lt. Col. Francois Baby, Captain Daniel Springer, and CaptainBrigham. These men were taken to Detroitas prisoners. Westbrook deliberatelyburned all his property so the British could not use it. Watch for the Fire and Smoke barn quilt. Más sobre Andrew Westbrook's Farm47: McMillan's Tavern
In preparation for war with the United States, a road was driven through the bush from Burlington Bay to the Detroit River. On that road, at what is now the corner of Commissioner’s and Boler roads stood McMillan’s Tavern which was built in 1809 by Archibald McMillan on Lot 45. Throughout the War it served many functions in the community. It became a base for the local militia following the abandonment of the British Army after March 1814. It was a meeting place of local settlers to discuss the affairs of the War and the colony. In July 1812, William Merritt, leader of the Provincial Dragoons, in disguise, arrested a dozen of McMillan's patrons for uttering “disloyal statements about His Majesty” when he came to the area to arrest Westbrook, Watson and Allan in early August 1812. McMillan may have been a spy or at least a double agent as he arranged a meeting with Westbrook later in August 1812 when Westbrook had escaped from the British and was hiding in Delaware.
It is said that British General Henry Proctor spent the night at the McMillan Tavern following a skirmish with American troops near Reservoir Hill. General Proctor had been fleeing to the east following his defeat at the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. The tavern no longer stands, having burned down in the early 1900s having served a community as it grew from the wilderness and was a witness to history.
Más sobre McMillan's Tavern48: Reservoir Hill
"There’s been an ambush at Hungerford Hill, as we call it. August30th, 1814. I, Abraham Rapelje, laid in wait for the American marauders returning from Oxford. Lt.Servos and Delaware’s traitor, Andrew Westbrook, were returning from Oxfordwhere they captured three Oxford Militia Captains. We surprised them.
"TheMarauders suffered at least two wounded but our Captain John Carroll, theircaptive, was killed in the cross fire. Westbrook was lagging behind, herdingstolen cattle he refused to leave behind. He missed the ambush and guided the escapingAmericans back to Detroit.
"That'smy story but the historians tell a tale of a skirmish between General HenryProctor and pursuing Kentucky riflemen after his defeat at the Battle ofMoraviantown."
Más sobre Reservoir Hill49: Brick Street Cemetery
362 CommissionersRoad West, London
The northern concessions of Westminster Township, through whichCommissioners Road passes, were first surveyed in 1809 by an American, SimonZelotes Watson. After a land dispute with Colonel Thomas Talbot, during whichWatson challenged Talbot to a duel (a challenge which Talbot contemptuouslyrejected), Watson returned to the United States.
Early settlers, Phoebe McNamos and her husband Peter, once ownedLot 34, Concession 1, Westminster Township on which this church and its cemetery are now located.
The first burials occurred in about 1813, making this one of theoldest cemeteries in the area.
American Methodist circuit riders travelling along CommissionersRoad preached to local settlers, and a Methodist Episcopal church was organizedin 1816. The congregation erected theirfirst church on this site shortly thereafter. They replaced it in 1852, with the present church using brick suppliedby one of the many brickyards that gave Commissioners Road its local name,Brick Street.
In 1925, the congregation became part of the United Church ofCanada. The church was stuccoed in the early 1930’s, and was sold in 1962 tothe Free Christian Reformed Church.
It is the second oldest church building in London, and currentlyhouses a Montessori School.
50: Eldon House
John Harris, the builder of Eldon House, was born in Devon, England and, after a brief service in the merchant marine, was “impressed” (ordered) into the Royal Navy in 1803. Through active service on several ships, he rose to the rank of Master which in 1813, when serving aboard H.M.S. Zephyr the ship’s company was ordered to “particular service in North America.” The task preformed by the crew was in connection with the War of 1812, transporting British troops from Kingston to Chrysler’s Farm in November 1813. On August 15, 1814, John Harris was severely wounded in an attack on Fort Erie. On October 4, 1814 he was appointed Master of H.M.S. Prince Regent, based out of Kingston, where he conducted topographical surveys of the great lakes. In this capacity, he met his future wife Amelia the daughter of the Port’s founder, a United Empire Loyalist named Samuel Ryerse.
The war of 1812 had greatly affected the Ryerse clan and the settlement in which they lived. In a retrospective paper in 1859, Amelia would clearly write about the burning of the Ryerse farm in 1814 by American invaders. From this context, John and Ameila Harris emerged as a dynamic couple who would be actively engaged in the growing settlement of Upper Canada and the London District.
After retiring from the British Navy and establishing himself in civil service, John Harris was appointed Treasurer of the district. The district capital had been in Vittoria, but in 1826, royal assent was given to a provincial bill, designating London at the Forks of the Thames the new administrative and legal centre of the London District. Harris bought eleven acres of land just outside the town limits of London, north of the forks of the Thames River and contracted a builder to erect “Eldon House.” The family moved into the house in September 1834, when the population of London was approximately 786 people. This residence would remain the Harris family home for 125 years. In 1960, the family donated the house with its acreage and majority of its contents to the City of London. The property was divided to create Harris Park by the Thames River and Eldon House, which opened as a historical museum housing the varied furnishings and collections of the family.
Más sobre Eldon House51: Thomas Ingersoll's Cabin
Thomas' daughter, Laura, married James Secord of Queenston and later became the herone of Upper Canada. Many travelers used Ingersoll’s farm as a stop over.
Más sobre Thomas Ingersoll's Cabin52: George Nichols House
Thetraitor, Alan Westbrook, destroyed his old friend's property during his raid ofthe area on August 28, 1814. Nichols wasa British scout and had inherited the 200 acres granted to his father, JohnNichols, an United Empire Loyalist.
In Novemberof 1814, General Duncan McArthur and his Kentucky Mounted Militia arrived inOxford-on-Thames almost undetected. Jacob Wood and George Nichols learned of their arrival and left at 3 o’clock in the morning, traveling to Burford towarn the troops stationed there of McArthur’s arrival. As a result they had their properties destroyed and George Nichols amember of the Oxford Militia and a known scout for the British spent severaldays hiding from McArthur. If discoveredhe would have been hung. When theNichols’ property was burned it killed two of the three black walnut treesplanted in 1805 near the cabin. Thethird one still stands today.
Más sobre George Nichols House53: Burdicks Mill
Builtby James Burdick Esq., in 1806-1807, this was a small saw and grist mill andwas the only one in Oxford at the time. The traitor, Andrew Westbrook and hisraiding party burned it in 1814 along with the adjacent Nichols' property.
Más sobre Burdicks Mill54: West Oxford United Church
In April of 1814, Andrew Westbrook and his Michigan Rangers arrived in Oxford-on-Thames and captured Major Sykes Tousley of the Middlesex Militia. During his stay in Oxford-on-Thames, Westbrook and the Rangers plundered the settlement and burned the West Oxford Methodist Church. The church still exists today as the West Oxford United Church, the oldest congregation in Oxford County.
The present church is located on the Church Line east of Ingersoll
Captain John Carroll and Ichabod Hall are buried in the Ingersoll Rural Cemetery. George Nichols, David Curtis, Joel Piper and Comfort Sage, veterans of the War of 1812 are buried in the West Oxford Church Cemetery.
Más sobre West Oxford United Church55: Simon Mabee
This is the original house from 1809, owned by Simon Mabee. The Mabee’s were also pioneers near Turkey Point.
Más sobre Simon Mabee56: Second Raid by Westbrook
Then in August of 1814, Andrew Westbrook and Lt Servos again arrived in the Beachville settlement and captured Captain John Carroll, Major Sykes Tousley, Ichabod Hall, David Curtis and Sergeant Dowland. They took their prisoners to Fort Detroit. However, during their march back to Fort Detroit they were ambushed by the Middlesex Militia at Hungerford Hill where Captain John Carroll was killed. During his stay in the area Westbrook also burned the James Burdick Mill at Centerville which was built in 1806 and the only one in the area at the time.
Más sobre Second Raid by Westbrook 57: Turtle Rock
Therock was the marker to locate the best location to cross the Thames River onthe original Native path, the Detroit Trail. Now hard to find, local legendsays the rock was in this area.
Más sobre Turtle Rock58: The Indian Hill Legend and the Martin Tavern
Locatedon the corner of present Karn Road and the Dodge Line, the popular MartinTavern was the scene of skullduggery during the early 1800’s. It was favoured asa stop by the military while transporting supplies to General Proctor. A robbery occurred when one of the supplywagons stopped at the tavern. While thewagon master and his aids were being entertained with liquor, boxes containingcash, Spanish coins, American 10 and 20 dollar gold pieces were emptied andreplaced with rocks. The robbery wasnever solved, but a local family became suddenly very prosperous and not longafter, several farm mortgages were reported to have been paid in gold. There are people who still believe the goldis buried in Indian Hill.
Más sobre The Indian Hill Legend and the Martin Tavern 61: Old Stage Road
Thisroad, which follows in part the Indian trail, known as the "DetroitPath", across East Oxford Township, was opened by settlers at the expenseof Major Thomas Ingersoll in 1796-97. It joined a wagon road opened acrossBurford Township by local settlers, connecting near Brant's Ford on the GrandRiver with a road to Long Point from Ancaster. Extended later to Delaware, itbecame the preferred highway to Sandwich and was used by British and Americantroops in 1812-14. After 1826 it became the stage route from Ancaster to Londonuntil the building of the plank road from Brantford to Woodstock in 1842-3.Sections of the road are still open between Ingersoll and Cathcart.
Archaeological and HistoricSites Board of Ontario
Más sobre Old Stage Road63: Burford
Fowler's House and Yeigh's house; used by the British as army HQs. Both Buildings still stand. Also the location of Benajah Mallory's home - a traitor
Most of the early settlers of Burford took part in the War of 1812, when, the English troops being engaged in European warfare, the brunt of the contest had to be sustained by the brave farmers of Canada, and well did the men of Burford respond to the call of patriotic duty! One of the oldest settlers, Henry Lester, fought as Quartermaster Sergeant all through the war, and distinguished himself at the battle of Lundy's Lane. Jacob Yeigh served as Lieutenant, and both he and his brother acted with much gallantry; a silver medal of great beauty was to have rewarded his services, which however, he forfeited by the prominent part he took in the rising of the Patriots of 1837. His countrymen's regard for his memory as a true Canadian does him more honour than any court decorations. The military history of Burford has a comic aspect owing to the stampede of the Burford Militia, known as "the Races of Malcolm's Mills." Then, as now Burford was zealous in the volunteer movement. In October, 1814, a company of Burford Militia, consisting of about fifty men, under the command of Captain White, was stationed in the neighbourhood of Mr. John Fowler's farm, at Burford. News arrived of the approach of the American General, McArthur, with seven hundred cavalry. Lieutenant Jacob Yeigh was absent procuring supplies for the commissariat, but Captain White lead his men to the rendezvous at Malcolm's Mills in Oakland Township. There Colonel Ryerson, a relative of the late Superintendent of Education, with captain Salmon and Bostwick, at first determined on resistance, and threw up a breastwork on the bank of the creek; but cool reflection taught them that discretion was the better part of valour, and that there was truth in the poet's words-
"He who fights and runs away; May live to fight another day."
Más sobre Burford65: D'Aubigny Creek ("Indian Mill")
In 1814, American General McArthur’s 750 mounted cavalry and warriors met their first resistance between D’Aubigny Creek and Brant’s Fording Place. This is also the site of what was called the “Indian Mill” and homestead. The log D’Aubigny home, the only remaining structure from this area, is now at Westfield Village. A handful of British soldiers, militia and warriors exchanged shots across the Grand River. This eventually led to the last battle of the War of 1812, in Upper Canada, at Malcolm’s Mills in present day Oakland on November 6, 1814.
Más sobre D'Aubigny Creek ("Indian Mill")66: Brant's Fording Place
Theancient path across Southern Ontario forded the Grand River at the place JosephBrant selected to settle the loyal Six Nations after the Revolutionary War in1784. This settlement was known as “TheMohawk Village” or “Brant’s Town”. GeneralBrock visited the Village on his way to Detroit in August, 1812.
In 1810, the Government ofUpper Canada opened what became the principal road leading through the Countyof Brant from Hamilton to London, replacing the original trail. When the war broke out in 1812 a considerablesum was expended in improving this road for military reasons. It was cross-wayed with logs in order torender it available for the transport of troops and military stores. In 1815, this road was greatly improved, beingplanked for a considerable distance, graded, and, when the requisite labour could be obtained, levelled up with gravel.
67: Mohawk Chapel
Situatedin a beautiful park::text like setting, this chapel was the first Protestant churchin Ontario, built in 1785, by the Crown for the Haudenosaunee (Mohawks of theSix Nations Iroquois) who settled here in 1784. The church was dedicated to St. Paul in 1788,by the Reverend John Stuart. Firstcalled St. Paul’s Chapel until 1904, when it was given Royal designation byEdward VII and is now referred to as Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks. The chapel replaced the Queen Anne Chapel(1712) at Fort Hunter, New York, which the Mohawk lost, along with their lands,as a result of their alliance with the British during the American War ofIndependence. It’s the only Royal Chapelin North America.
Had American GeneralMcArthur, in November of 1814, crossed over to the east side of the Grand Riverthis chapel may have been subjected to serious damage. But fortunately the Six Nations stoppedMcArthur and saved their village and chapel from his raid. Más sobre Mohawk Chapel68: Mohawk Village
Now called Six Nations Village
Allies of the British during the American War of Independence, the Six Nations Iroquois received extensive lands along the Grand River in 1784. Some 400 individuals were here by 1788. The community was situated near an important crossing point on the river ("Brant's Ford") and prospered as a resting place for travellers on the "Detroit path", a trail linking the Niagara and Detroit Rivers. Increasingly European settlers encroached on Six Nations' lands. to the point where only a small section remains, known as the Six Nations Reserve today, which includes the Mohawk Institute (Woodland Cultural Centre) and the Mohawk Chapel.
Más sobre Mohawk Village70: Duff's Corners
Itscurrent name derives from the third owner of the property, Adam Duff, who movedto Ancater in 1838. The previous owners were the Vanderlip Family, who hadpurchased the land from the widow of the original patentee, William McLeese,who died in 1796. The Vanderlip family owned the land until 1838. WilliamVanderlip and his father were members of the Butler's Rangers. Duff's Corners is an important junctionbecause it links the old trade route from Brant's Ford to the escarpment farmsabove Ancaster and Barton.
Más sobre Duff's Corners71: Bloody Assizes
Looting,Loyalty & the Bloody Assizes
Bythe summer of 1813 it was apparent to the British that the storehouses atBurlington Heights did not contain enough provisions to feed the men and draftanimals. Brigadier General Proctor’sorderly retreat from Fort Maiden in the fall of 1813 had turned into a routafter his force was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Thames nearMoraviantown. As a result, some 3,000men, women and children arrived at Burlington Heights in search of provisionsand protection. But there was littlepermanent shelter and less food to go around.
Theregular troops and native allies took matters into their own hands. Civilianfarmers were robbed of pigs, wood and money and some were violently assaulted,to the extent that civilian vigilante groups were formed in response.
Themilitary presence centred at Burlington Heights in the dark days of 1813could be repressive and domineering in its dealings with these surroundingcommunities. Property was commandeeredfrom the civilian population without recourse. Reluctant militiamen received threats fromGeneral Vincent that their homes would be burned if they did not serve. The local population may have occasionallywondered who the actual enemy was, considering that a tally of the war lossclaims of residents from the surrounding communities shows that approximately50% of all losses were attributed to British troops and their native allies.
Fromthe point of view of the military in Upper Canada, there was a lack of civiliancooperation in support of the war. Fedup with domineering military officials, many citizens had refused to providefood and provisions to the provincial defenders. Frequent militia desertions,treasonous acts such as aiding American raiders, or participation as disloyalelements in units such as the Canadian Volunteers was symptomatic of a widerproblem. This spreading disaffection needed to be checked.
Martiallaw was declared, waving the necessity for habeas corpus. Citizens could bearrested and tried on suspicion of a crime without evidence being producedbeforehand. The result was that a number of individuals were arrested and triedfor treason during the court of Assizes held in Ancaster in 1814. At the end ofthe trial, eight men were sentenced to death. The execution was carried out insight of the garrison on Burlington Heights later that year.
Ontario Heritage Trust Plaque Text
During the War of 1812marauding bands of renegade settlers, many of whom had defected to the UnitedStates from the Niagara and London Districts, were active in Southwestern UpperCanada. A number were captured, and in May, 1814, nineteen prisoners wereindicted for High Treason. A special court was authorized to sit at Ancaster,and the acting attorney-general, John Beverly Robinson, instructed toprosecute. The trials were conducted by Chief Justice Thomas Scott and PuisnéJudges William Dummer Powell and William Campbell. Fifteen were condemned to death as traitors. On July 20, 1814, eight were executed atBurlington Heights and the remainder sentenced to exile. These trials becameknown as the "Bloody Assize".
73: Union (Wilson's) Hotel
Theold Rousseau Hotel was built in 1797. The first structure was made of heavy logs and stood across the streetfrom the present site. During the war itwas used as a hospital for British soldiers, but General Vincent had it clearedtemporarily for the "Ancaster Assizes Trials" in 1814. The hotel was chosen because it was the onlybuilding large enough to hold the crowd, and it was close to Vincent's armybase in Burlington Heights.
Más sobre Union (Wilson's) Hotel74: Wilson's Mill
Theoriginal mill, a wooden structure, was burnt down during the War of 1812 andwas rebuilt out of stone. It reputedlyfunctioned as the prison for the men tried at Ancaster in the Bloody Assize.
Más sobre Wilson's Mill75: TerryBerry Inn
The Inn was built in 1810 on the principal route between the Niagara region and the interior of Upper Canada, the Mohawk Trail. It was also at the top of the Mountain Access from Durrand’s House.
Más sobre TerryBerry Inn76: Durand House
James Durand bought the lot between John and James Streets in Hamilton, below the Mountain, in 1809. General Brock dined at his imposing stone house in August 1812, when Brock was on his way to take Detroit. Durand sold the property to George Hamilton in 1809. Durand was a Captain in the 5th Lincoln Militia and fought at Queenston Heights.
Más sobre Durand House77: Bloody Assizes Execution site, 1814.
In June of 1814, after verdicts of guilty were reached at the Courts of Assize in Ancaster, eight condemned prisoners were transported to Burlington Heights where they were executed in front of the military fortifications. The fate of the men was to be as follows: “You are to be drawn on Hurdles to place of execution, hanged by the neck but not until dead, cut down while alive and your entrails taken out and burnt before your faces, your heads cut off, bodies divided into four quarters, heads and quarters to be at the King’s disposal”.
Clearly, His Majesty’s government was very interested in providing a riveting example for the loyal as well as the disloyal in the province, of what would happen to those who helped American forces or refused to cooperate with British forces. Fortunately for the condemned, no one had the stomach to carry out the sentence to the letter. Instead, a simple scaffolding was built, with 8 nooses suspended, and the prisoners - standing on a wagon - were trundled underneath. With nooses around necks, the wagon was to be pushed aside and the condemned left to dangle. Tragically, the scaffold was poorly constructed and the weight of the hanging unfortunates caused it to collapse. This caused at least one of the convicts to be killed by violent trauma to the head, while the others faced the indignity of having to be re-hanged.
It is said that the condemned were decapitated and their heads put on public display.
Más sobre Bloody Assizes Execution site, 1814.78: Burlington Heights
By the summer of 1813, the defense of Upper Canada hung by a thread. In late May, a month after the sacking of the provincial capital at York, American General Henry Dearborn successfully captured Fort George by ship-borne invasion. In the aftermath of the battle, British commander Brigadier General John Vincent retired his force from Fort George and sent orders that Fort Erie and the post at Chippawa were to be evacuated. After a brisk march along the south shore of Lake Ontario, Vincent concentrated his contingent of British regulars and militia at Burlington Heights (Hamilton). Strategically located at the western extent of navigation on Lake Ontario, the Heights had great potential as a depot of supply — provisioning armies operating in the Niagara Peninsula, and as far west as Fort Maiden (in the Windsor area). Due to its long narrow, steep sided peninsular shape, it also had great potential for fortification. With the loss or abandonment of the British strong points on the Niagara River to an occupying force of Americans, Burlington Heights became the last British position capable of challenging an American army from the Niagara Peninsula. The hastily established encampment of British troops had a perilous future ahead of them if the American army threatened to sack the mill centres of Ancaster, Flamborough, and Dundas on its sweep around the Head-of-the-Lake and on to the eventual conquest of Upper Canada. Early in June, an American force came into contact with the outlying British pickets left in place by Vincent at 40 mile creek (modern day Grimsby) and then marched on to camp at the Gage farmstead near the Stoney Creek. With no time to fortify the Heights, Vincent decided to take the offensive and raid the enemy encampment. The American force, made up of infantry, cavalry and artillery was surprised - “had at” with the bayonet and put into confusion by British musketry. At the end of several hours of intense night-time fighting, two American generals (Winder and Chandler), several junior officers, and three pieces of cannon were captured. The captured field pieces would soon be very useful in the development of fortifications on Burlington Heights. The urgent need for substantial defensive works was underscored when on July 29, an American force under Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott landed on the northern part of the sand spit that separated Burlington Bay from the rest of Lake Ontario. However, after a short reconnaissance, Scott retired to the ships of his naval escort. Given the presence of several hundred men in Scott’s contingent it is very likely that his intention was to attack the Heights. No shrinking violet, Winfield Scott must have been impressed by the natural defensive potential of the Heights, along with the well organized appearance of the British camp. Both in combination gave him good reason to retire his force.
As the Americans invaded the Niagara Peninsula in the summer of 1813, the British were forced to retreat from Fort Erie, Fort George, York (Toronto) and the Amherstburg area. They converged at the Head-of-the-Lake (Ontario) on Burlington Heights where they dug in and built a defensive earthen fort to defend Upper Canada.
The Fort at Burlington Heights
The fort was an engineering masterpiece, built for maximum kill and defense. With multiple embankments, configured on diagonals, they created a bottleneck that the Americans would have to enter and created a protective shield for British troop movements. There were multiple hills and valleys, a deep moat, a high embankment with cannon positions and ramparts, triangular salients and long entrance ways. Inside the fort were elevated cannon positions, powder magazines and proposed barracks. This fort was built as the last stand to defend Upper Canada and was built in just 3 days by the Runchey’s Coloured Corps. No battle ever took place here because of the Battle of Stoney Creek, but the fort was used as a military region for many years after the war. Today the fort of 1812 is still visible in the Hamilton Cemetery and in front of Dundurn Castle National Historical Site.
History provided by Robin McKee as compiled by Canadian Art Cards.
Más sobre Burlington Heights79: Richard Beasley's House ca. 1800
On June 1 1813, an exhausted British force arrived at Burlington Heights after the disastrous loss of Fort George. Desperate times required desperate measures. Fearing entrapment by an American force, within the confines of the Niagara peninsula, Beasley’s property was commandeered for the purpose of establishing a new base of operations at the head of the lake. The British commander Major General John Vincent was quick to inform landowner Richard Beasley that he was to gather his wife, his eight children, and one servant, and vacate the premises. According to Beasley, he and his dependants were turned out of house and home without prospects. The army rapidly transformed Beasley’s property in several ways. They used his fence rails, orchards and several stands of hard wood for fuel. Bushels of cereal grain, hay and straw, were used as bedding and to feed draft animals. The majority of the soldiers camped out in tents, but some also made use of Beasley’s barn as a temporary barrack. At least some of the officers moved into his house which also served as army headquarters. Allan MacNab later incorporated Beasley’s “commodious brick cottage” within the walls of Dundurn Castle.::text Like the rest of his property, Beasley claimed that his house had been damaged by the military during their stay. Perhaps these damages could be explained away as purposeful alterations to the house, but given the large amount of alcohol purchased by soldiers and officers alike from Beasley’s store, it is possible that some of the damages were due to behaviour brought on by bouts of heavy drinking. It was in Beasley’s house that the plan for the daring nighttime raids on the American encampment at Stoney Creek on June 6 1813was planned.
Más sobre Richard Beasley's House ca. 180080: Richard Beasley’s Wharf Complex
One of the truly attractive aspects of Burlington Heights to the British army was that it was at the western limit of navigation on Lake Ontario with easy access to good roads leading to Fort Malden at Amherstburg, as well as Forts George and Erie along the Niagara river. For a few decades prior to the War of 1812, Richard Beasley had been running a store, trading mostly with Native groups such as the Six Nations Iroquois. The storehouse/wharf complex, which consisted of three buildings and a wharf, were located on the lakeshore, with access to the top of the Heights by road. The British took advantage of all these features in establishing a fortified supply depot. It would serve as a rallying point for the defense of the Niagara Peninsula as well as the important mills located in nearby Dundas, Flamborough, and Ancaster. It would also serve as a supply depot providing the necessities of life for British troops, militia men and His Majesty’s native allies operating in the Niagara peninsula and as far west as Fort Malden. Extensive arachaeological excavations have been undertaken at this complex by the Anthropology Department at McMaster University and the City of Hamilton.
For a few decades prior to the War of 1812, Richard Beasley had been running a store, trading mostly with Native groups such as the Six Nations Iroquois. The storehouse/wharf complex, which consisted of three buildings and a wharf, were located on the lakeshore, with access to the top of the Heights by road. The British took advantage of all these features in establishing a fortified supply depot. It would serve as a rallying point for the defense of the Niagara Peninsula as well as the important mills located in nearby Dundas, Flamborough, and Ancaster. It would also serve as a supply depot providing the necessities of life for British troops, militia men and His Majesty’s native allies operating in the Niagara peninsula and as far west as Fort Malden.
Extensive arachaeological excavations have been undertaken at this complex by the Anthropology Department at McMaster University and the City of Hamilton.
Más sobre Richard Beasley’s Wharf Complex81: Burlington Races Ontario Heritage Trust Plaque
Plaque - Burlington Races, 1813 The term “Burlington Races” is derived from accounts of residents in the area watching the American fleet chase British ships towards Burlington Bay, or the Head-of-the-Lake in late September of 1813. After stalking each other for several hours, the British and American fleets clashed off of York. Close range cannonades caused serious damage to both the H.M.S. Wolfe (British flagship) and the U.S.S. Pike (American flagship). With the weather worsening, both squadrons flew on the high winds towards Burlington. It is at this point that the myth of the Burlington Races begins. The traditional story which graces the Federal Heritage Marker in Harvey Park celebrates the narrow escape of the British squadron as it was guided by local pilot James Richardson through the shifting gap between Lake Ontario and Burlington Bay. Current research now suggests that the reference to Burlington which the British squadron used as an anchorage after the chase could be any area along the north shore of the lake from Hamilton to Oakville. In addition, the recent rediscovery of the log of the H.M.S. Wolfe contains no direct reference to the passage through the “gap” into Burlington Bay. Further, American naval records show that contemporary soundings, of the depth of water at the sand bar in question record it as too shallow to allow the passage of ships. Finally, contemporary British Admiralty charts show that there was a bridge spanning the “gap” in the sand bar, which would have precluded a fleet from entering the bay. This riveting account can now be relegated to its proper place as an entertaining but mythical tale. The myth made its first appearance in a book called In the Wake of the l8l2ers, written by C.H.J. Snyder, published in 1912.
Más sobre Burlington Races Ontario Heritage Trust Plaque83: Head of the Lake
Theterm "Head-of-the-Lake" is placed at the sandbar separating HamiltonBay from the Lake. The term originally referred to Barton (Hamilton), Ancasterand Coote's Paradise (Dundas), and retained this meaning throughout the War of1812. It appears in several volumesdescribing the region after the war.
Más sobre Head of the Lake 84: Landing of Winifield Scott, 1813
The urgent need to buttress defensive works on Burlington Heights was underscored on July 29, 1813, when an American force, under Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott, landed on the northern part of the sand spit that separated Burlington Bay from the rest of Lake Ontario. However, after a short reconnaissance, Scott retired to the ships of his naval escort. Given the presence of several hundred men in Scott’s contingent it is very likely that his intention was to attack the Heights. No shrinking violet, Winfield Scott must have been impressed by the natural defensive potential of the Heights, along with the well organized appearance of the British camp. Both in combination gave him good reason to retire his force.
Más sobre Landing of Winifield Scott, 181385: King's Head Inn
In 1794, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe had a Government House, later called the King’s Head Inn, built at the head of Lake Ontario, at the intersections of the Upper Canada trails that connected York (Toronto), Niagara, and the Thames Valley. The Inn’s strategic site on the beach strip, located at the “Carrying Place” or Indian portage, was between Lake Ontario and Burlington Bay.
The Inn was a 2-storey 8-room wooden building which was the first government building in the area and was also used as a public house and way station.
History provided by Robin McKee as compiled by Canadian Art Cards.
After their successful raid on York, April 27, 1813, the Americans sent a 200-man raiding party in the schooners, USS Conquest and USS Governor Tompkins, to clear the lakeshore between Niagara and Burlington Bay of any military installations and their supplies. The American naval squadron had a free hand on Lake Ontario because Commodore Yeo had not yet arrived in Kingston to take command of the British naval squadron.
On May 10th, 1813, according to a report made by Major Samuel Hatt of Dundas, 14 soldiers under the command of Major Fitzgerald of the 49th Regiment of Foot were stationed at the Inn, augmented by 25 militiamen of the 2nd York.
When the American raiding party came ashore under the covering fire of their naval guns loaded with grapeshot, the outnumbered and outgunned depot guard, after a desultory discharge of their muskets, prudently withdrew. The Americans sacked the military supplies and burned the Inn to the ground. Major Hatt was on his way with a relief force of the 5th Lincoln Militia, but arrived too late.
History provided by Robert J. Williamson CD Commander, RCNR Ret’d, HMCS Star, Hamilton as compiled by Canadian Art Cards.
Más sobre King's Head Inn86: Hamilton & Scourge Memorial
Prior to the War of 1812, there was a bustling trade on Lake Ontario made possible by merchant ships, acting as carriers, between ports in New York State and Upper Canada. The Scourge, or as it was named originally “Lord Nelson”, was built at Niagara, in 1811, for William Crooks and his brother James for the freighting of flour and other cargo. Mere weeks before war broke out the Lord Nelson was illegally taken by American authorities and pressed into service with the new designation “Scourge”, as part of the American Naval squadron on Lake Ontario. The “Diana”, renamed the “Hamilton”, after U.S. Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton, had originally been an American carrier in the salt trade. Unlike the Scourge, the Hamilton was purchased by the United States Navy prior to its war service. Designed and built for the carrying trade, the great weight of cannon installed on the top decks of these small ships made for a lack of maneuverability and a sluggish rate of speed even under full sail with a stiff wind to fill them. So slow were these small craft, they had to be towed into battle behind the larger, faster, purpose-built warships. As Scourge crewman Ned Myers relates: “Our squadron sailed very unequally, some being pretty fast, and others as dull as droggers”. In the summer of 1813, while deployed off Port Dalhousie, and waiting to engage the British squadron, a sudden storm ripped through the anchorage causing the Hamilton and Scourge to capsize almost immediately. The cannons on the top deck rolled or slid over the hatches thereby trapping the majority of both crews below decks. 53 men lost their lives which makes this incident one of the single greatest losses of life in any naval engagement during the War of 1812. 162 years later the ships were rediscovered. The two vessels are sitting upright and almost intact 100 metres below the surface of Lake Ontario. A display on the Hamilton and Scourge consisting of underwater photographs and scale drawings of the ships can be found at the Hamilton Military Museum. Symbolic grave markers for the men who lost their lives can be seen here at Confederation Park.
More information can be found www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca
Más sobre Hamilton & Scourge Memorial88: Smith's Knoll Monument to the dead at Stoney Creek, 1813
In 1889, seventy-six years after the Battle of Stoney Creek, Allen Smith was ploughing his father's farm when he uncovered human bones and bits of cloth with the insignia of both British and American regiments. The discovery led to more intensive digging and soon the bodies of 23 unknown soldiers were found. This area was known as Smith's Knoll and it was here where the American guns had been placed during the battle. In 1908, a cairn was erected at Smith's Knoll to mark the last resting place of soldiers from both sides who had died in the short but violent battle. Recently, five cannon from this location were restored by the City of Hamilton. Restoration work, and the archaeological excavation, study, and reburial of human remains at the site are ongoing, in anticipation of the bicentennial of the Battle of Stoney Creek in 2013. Smith's Knoll is on King Street in Stoney Creek, just across the street and slightly east of Battlefield House Museum.
Más sobre Smith's Knoll Monument to the dead at Stoney Creek, 181389: Gage (Battlefield) House
BattlefieldHouse was the homestead of the widow Mary Jones Gage, sister of Augustus Jones,and her two children, James and Elizabeth, who journeyed to the area from NewYork State in 1790. Mrs. Gage received agrant of 200 acres and in exchange was required to swear allegiance to theCrown. Battlefield House was constructedfirst as a rough-hewn log house and in 1796 this was replaced by astorey-and-a-half frame house.
On June 5, 1813, the Gageresidence was forced to become headquarters of the invading American troops whooccupied the house. After the British victory at the Battle of Stoney Creek,the family overcame the aftermath of war and returned to a normal lifestyle andprosperity. James went into business andin 1830 the house was completed to a full two storeys.
In 1835, Mary Jones Gagesold the farm and the family went to live in Hamilton. The house changed handsmany times and parts of the property were sold. In 1899, the house was in a badstate of repair and in danger of being torn down. But a granddaughter of Jamesand Mary, Sara Calder, had the foresight to recognize the historical value ofthe property. She purchased the house and four-and-a-half acres of land aroundit. Later this property was transferred to the Women's Wentworth HistoricalSociety of which she was President.
This Society restored andrefurnished the house and opened it as a museum -- one of the first museums inCanada. Eventually they purchased moreland and opened the surroundings as a public park. The Society was alsoinstrumental in building the impressive monument, which commemorates the fallensoldiers of the Battle of Stoney Creek and 100 years of peace with the UnitedStates.
In 1962, when the Societywas unable to keep up the house and grounds, Battlefield House and Park weretaken over by the Niagara Parks Commission. The house was restored to the 1835period during the 1970’s. In 1988, theCity of Stoney Creek assumed responsibility for the property. Today a group ofdedicated volunteers assists the staff in all aspects of the museum'soperation.
Stylistically, BattlefieldHouse represents the Georgian colonial home. Its frame structure is of uncluttered designwith symmetrically balanced windows and door openings. Typical of the Georgian style are the twelveover twelve multi-paned sash windows and flat window heads. The steep roof,large chimneys and verandah are other noteworthy features. Más sobre Gage (Battlefield) House90: Battlefield Park
BattlefieldPark is 32 acres of field and forest, nestled at the foot of the NiagaraEscarpment. It sits on the border between the Stoney Creek and Hamilton, andprovides a welcome green space and access to the Bruce Trail.
When the Women's WentworthHistorical Society purchased Battlefield House in 1899, there was onlyfour-and-a-half acres left of the original 600. That year, the ladies openedthe grounds as a park. Over the years adjacent land was purchased to bring thepark to its present 32 acres (15 ha.).
With its tall trees,winding stream and stretches of open space, Battlefield Park is open for thepublic to enjoy throughout every season of the year. Winter sees both childrenand adults enjoying outdoor recreation, summer brings families and friends fora picnic, and every season sees people out for a quiet walk, appreciating thenatural beauty of the park.
The Park is an importantpart of Battlefield House Museum's Educational & Environmental Programs,Museum Tours, as well as our Special Events, such as the Re-enactment of theBattle of Stoney Creek. Más sobre Battlefield Park91: Battlefield Monument
The monument was constructed after the turn of the century when men and women actively sought to improve their communities by developing schools, libraries and museums. During this period, leaders in the community wanted to honour their relationship to the British crown and remind future generations of the War of 1812. It was a time of nation-building and consciousness-raising.
A small group of citizens formed the Wentworth Historical Society on December 6, 1888. Sara Calder was president of the Ladies' Committee of the Society and they were responsible for organizing fundraising events and for preserving historical artifacts.
Tension began to grow as early as 1894 between the men and women of the Wentworth Historical Society. The Society thought the building of a monument to honour the soldiers that fought in the battle of Stoney Creek was very much needed but they did not agree on the site.
The men were more interested in erecting a monument on the north side of the road on a knoll that Hiram Smith was willing to sell for $50.00. It was on this piece of land that the American forces had placed their cannons and it was also the site where the heaviest action took place during the battle.
In the fall of 1895, the ladies started raising funds to build a museum which led to a very successful week-long event called the Military Encampment in the Hamilton Drill Hall . On average, about 2000 people came per day and a profit of $1000 was raised.
The women, under the leadership of Sara Calder, formed their own historical group, the Women's Wentworth Historical Society in 1899. Through their organizing and fundraising drives, the women partly rebuilt and refurbished the Gage House. In 1899 Battlefield House Museum and the surrounding park were opened to the public by the Women's Wentworth Historical Society.
Between 1899 and 1908, the Women's Wentworth Historical Society and the Wentworth Historical Society corresponded with the Federal Minister responsible for monuments on the subject of where the monument should be located. Finally the groups agreed on the construction of two monuments - one at Smith's Knoll and the monument at Battlefield Park.
In 1900 the architectural firm of F. J. Rastrick and Sons submitted a design for a monument to cost $18,715.00. In 1908 the federal government granted $5000.00 to the WWHS toward the monument. The sod was turned on May 28, 1909, and the corner stone was laid by General French in a ceremony on May 26, 1910.
Problems securing government funding caused construction delays throughout 1911. Work recommenced in 1912 when the Department of Militia and Defense guaranteed additional funds. The entire cost was approximately $12,000.
On the centennial of the Battle of Stoney Creek, June 6, 1913, the completed monument was unveiled by Queen Mary in London, by means of a transatlantic cable. School children were given a half-day off school. Approximately 15,000 people were in attendance, including local military forces.
The Dedication stone at the base of the Monument reads:
UNVEILED BY ELECTRICITY JUNE 6TH 1913BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARY
THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA, COLONEL THE HONOURABLE SAM HUGHES BEING MINISTER OF MILITIA AND DEFENCE, TO COMMEMORATE THE BATTLE OF STONEY CREEK JUNE 6TH 1813.
THE BRITISH TROOPS UNDER COMMAND OF GENERAL VINCENT AND LIEUT. COLONEL HARVEY CONSISTED OF THE 49TH REG'T IN COMMAND OF MAJOR PLENDERLEATH AND FIVE COMPANIES OF THE 8TH OF KING'S IN COMMAND OF MAJOR OGILVIE, TO WHICH WAS ADDED THE VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE OF THE SETTLERS HEREABOUTS LED BY CAPT. W.H.MERRITT OF THE CANADIAN MILITIA, THE TOTAL NUMBER BEING ABOUT SEVEN HUNDRED. THE AMERICAN FORCE NUMBERED UPWARDS OF THREE THOUSAND UNDER COMMAND OF GENERALS CHANDLER AND WINDER.
THEY WERE ENCAMPED IN THIS IMMEDIATE VICINITY WITH STAFF HEADQUARTERS IN THE GAGE FARM HOUSE, NOW MAINTAINED BY THE WOMENS WENTWORTH HISTORICAL SOCIETY THROUGH WHOSE REPRESENTATIONS AND UNDER WHOSE DIRECTION THIS MEMORIAL WAS BUILT.
IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT THE BRITISH ADVANCED FROM BURLINGTON HEIGHTS AND SURPRISING THE ENEMY, PUT HIM TO CONFUSION. THIS IS HELD TO HAVE BEEN THE DECISIVE ENGAGEMENT IN THE WAR OF 1812-13.
HERE THE TIDE OF INVASION WAS MET AND TURNED BY THE PIONEER PATRIOTS AND SOLDIERS OF THE KING OF ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
MORE DEADLY THAN THEIR LIVES THEY HELD THOSE PRINCIPLES AND TRADITIONS OF BRITISH LIBERTY OF WHICH CANADA IS THE INHERITOR.
After 80 years of exposure to the elements, the monument began to deteriorate. The community demonstrated its pride by raising approximately $70,000 through the Preserve the Monument Committee and $230,000 was received from provincial and federal governments.
In the summer of 1993, extensive work was completed on the monument. The restoration work included the reconstruction of the building fabric, masonry repairs and repointing, window restoration and the disassembly and reconstruction of sections of the tower.
The National Historic Sites and Monuments Board acknowledges that...
"The Stoney Creek monument is by far the most impressive of the contemporary monuments erected to commemorate a battle of the War of 1812 and is arguably the most successful monument to address the broader loyalist theme as understood at the end of the century".
Más sobre Battlefield Monument 92: Dr. Case Homestead
Hamilton’s first doctor was Dr. William Case. William Case was born in New Hampshire in 1776. He received his medical education from the Philadelphia Medical College. By 1809, the Case family had settled on land at the head of Lake Ontario near the present day Delta area of Hamilton. There they cleared a lot and worked as farmers.
Dr. Case performed his Hippocratic Oath for his fellow settlers and had to travel long distances to service his patients from Burlington to Grimsby.
After the Battle of Stoney Creek, the wounded soldiers, from both sides, were brought to his home for treatment. Being half way between the battlefield and the defensive fort on Burlington Heights, and being the closest doctor, his home became the first hospital in Hamilton. His home remained a military hospital for over two years and when the war ended and the military surgeon was recalled, Dr. Case, his wife Ruth, and their children were left in charge of the wounded soldiers. Dr. Case died in 1848 at the age of 72. History provided by Robin McKee as compiled by Canadian Art Cards.
Más sobre Dr. Case Homestead93: Military Artifacts
Military Artifacts, including two cannon balls were found in a yard at the end of Sanders Boulevard.
Más sobre Military Artifacts94: The Olde Smithy
Built in 1804, it eventually served as the first Dundas Post Office from 1818. Hatt was a merchant, miller, politician and Major in the 5th Lincoln Militia. He was injured at Lundy’s Lane and died in 1819.
Más sobre The Olde Smithy96: The Mills of Dundas, Flamborough and Ancaster
The best preserved early 19th century mill connected to the War of 1812 is the Darmley grist mill at Crooks Hollow in Flamborough. It was constructed by James Crooks between 1811 and 1813 to provide milling services to the surrounding area including the military garrison at Burlington Heights. Given the desperate food shortages at the garrison caused by the unexpected arrival of a large body of provincial defenders in October 1813, it was vital that mill production be maintained if the troops, their dependants and draft animals were to be fed. The 3,000 natives at Burlington Heights alone were consuming close to 25 barrels of flour per day (c. 750 barrels per month). The capacity of the Red Mill at Ancaster was about twenty barrels of flour per day, and if the mills at Crooks’ Hollow and Dundas had a similar capacity, then the overall output would be woefully insufficient to feed the troops as well as the local civilian population. And of course an even greater concern was the possibility that the mills might end up in the hands of the Americans. In the lead up to the British raid on Stoney Creek in June of 1813, the Americans exercised a controlling influence over the majority of the Niagara Peninsula. However, the American forces were unable to advance around the Head-of-the-Lake, or towards the mills in Ancaster, Flamborough, or Dundas without neutralizing the British concentration at Burlington Heights. The British presence posed a constant danger to an advancing American army, threatening to cut its line of supply from Fort George. If not for the presence of defenders at the fortified supply depot on the Heights it is very likely that the mills would have been burned by marauding American raiders as was the mill at Port Dover on the Lake Erie shore.
Más sobre The Mills of Dundas, Flamborough and Ancaster 97: Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur
In November 1814, during his raid into the Grand River area, Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur learned that militia were gathering at Malcolm’s Mills. Thwarted in his attempt to reach Burlington Heights by crossing the Grand River at Brant’s Ford, he turned south towards Malcolm’s Mills. En route, he passed through the settlement of Mount Pleasant, where he looted valuables and food supplies and burned Perrin’s Mill (on War Road), the store and homes of several militiamen.
Más sobre Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur 98: Perinas Hill
Thomas Perrin was awarded 400 acres on Lots 6 and 7, 2nd Range, East Side of Mount Pleasant Road, and here he built a mill. Perrin was a Captain in the 5th Lincoln Militia and he and his men fought at Lundy’s Lane. His mill was burned by Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur on November 6th, 1814, but was quickly re-built.
Más sobre Perinas Hill99: Battle of Malcolm Mills
Historic plaque:
In October 1814, an invading American force of about 700 men under Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur advanced rapidly up the Thames River Valley. He intended to devastate the Grand River settlements and the region around the head of Lake Ontario which supplied British forces on the Niagara Frontier. McArthur reached the Grand River, and after an unsuccessful attempt to force a crossing, attacked a body of some 150 militia at Malcolm's Mills (Oakland) on November 6th. British forces, comprising elements of the 1st and 2nd Norfolk, 1st Oxford, and 1st Middlesex regiments, put up a spirited resistance but were overwhelmed.
Malcolm endeavoured to save his mill by letting the water out of the dam and flooding the river so the enemy could not cross. McArthur, seeing this, took his men two miles down river to Gate’s Mill which they burned and then crossed the river. They then burned Malcolm’s Mill. Lt-Col Bostwick and his militia were defeated with losses of 1 captain and 17 privates. 9 privates, 3 captains and 15 subalterns were wounded and 103 privates were taken prisoner. The American’s suffered one causality and 6 wounded.
This skirmish marks the last battle on Canadian soil against an invading foreign power.
Más sobre Battle of Malcolm Mills100: Sovereign’s Mills
Founded along Nanticoke Creek in 1790, this was a stop for Brock on his way to Port Dover.
On November 7th, 1814, Brigadier-General Duncan McArthur and his army moved south to Waterford where they approached the mill of Morris Sovereen (Sovereign). When he heard the bugle notes of the American advance, he ordered his men to carry sacks of flour to safety. The mill with two run of stone was complete in every respect and several hundred pounds currency had been spent on its erection. McArthur, well mounted on a black horse, ordered half a dozen men to fire the mill and re-cross the creek Sovereen and William Schuyler thought the Americans had departed and extinguished the flames. The Americans halted and an officer and six men were instructed to fire the buildings and hang to the nearest tree any man who attempted to save it. Again the fire was extinguished.
This was too much for McArthur and in a few minutes Sovereen and his faithful men were dragged across the stream, a rope was secured over the branch of a massive oak tree which stood on the hill of Waterford, south of the mill. A rope was secured around Schuyler’s neck. Sovereen rushed to McArthur, made a Masonic sign and shouted “Spare our lives and burn all I have!” McArthur shouted to his men to let them down.
After the destruction of Malcolm’s Mills, the Americans continued on the road to Dover, made many prisoners and destroyed five valuable mills which supplied the British forces in Niagara. They took 9,000 rations and 800 bushes of forage and subsisted on the residents.
The plaque for the burning of Sovereign’s Mills is under the bridge on Old Highway 24 at Waterford. A monument to the encounter stands in front of the town hall.
Más sobre Sovereign’s Mills101: Culver’s Tavern
The site is the present-day brownstone located at 812 Norfolk Street South, Simcoe.
During the War of 1812, Brock held a meeting on August 7th, 1812, at the tavern and home of William Culver in the Gore of Woodhouse for the purpose of recruiting volunteers for the Detroit expedition. The locals, disaffected with Colonel Talbot, did not heed his attempt to raise the local militia. In addition, they did not wish to abandon farms at harvest time or leave families unprotected. After Brock’s stirring speech, 173 volunteered to go with him to Detroit.
Later, in 1814, during Brigadier-General McArthur’s raid, the swarthy Kentuckians painted Culver’s Tavern a howling scarlet. They filled themselves with pioneer “budge” and turned everything inside out. After committing all the “deviltry” they could think of, they ‘borrowed’ Mrs. Culver’s favourite New Jersey horse and proceeded on their pillaging tour.
Más sobre Culver’s Tavern102: Port Ryerse
The settlement of Loyalists in Long Point began after the Peace Treaty was signed in 1783. After the new Republic confiscated the properties of New Jersey Loyalists, brothers Captain Samuel Ryerse of the New Jersey Volunteers and Colonel Joseph Ryerson, the Crown granted them lands near Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 1794, Samuel accepted Lt-Gov Simcoe’s invitation to settle in Long Point to create a loyal population along Lake Erie opposite the United States.
Captain Ryerse, granted 2,700 acres, selected an area on Ryerse Creek with an ever-flowing water supply. As agreed with Simcoe, he built mills in 1797 and 1798. The mills were destroyed during Colonel John B. Campbell’s raid on May 14th, 1814. Sarah Ryerse entreated the officers to spare her property for she was a widow and defenseless. The mills and all other buildings were ignited. The excuse given was that the buildings had been used as a barracks and the mills furnished flour to the British troops. She claimed the Loyal and Patriotic Society for loss of her house, mills and distillery, a total of 2,500 pounds. There is a historic plaque in the cemetery beside the historic board and batten church.
Más sobre Port Ryerse103: Vittoria
The former village of Tisdale’s Mills, was spared General McArthur’s torch in November 1814. It was named after Wellington’s Spanish Battle of Vittoria in 1814. Located about three miles from Lake Erie, the little village had become, in the early 1800's, the most active and important commercial centre between Niagara Falls and Detroit. It was not only the hub of the Long Point Settlement, but also, from 1815 to 1825 the judicial capital of the London District of Upper Canada, hosting the district courts and the Registry offices. This era of distinction came to a disappointing conclusion when the Court House burned down in 1825. The courts were removed to London, and the Registry Offices to nearby Simcoe.
Más sobre Vittoria104: Turkey Point
Here stood the town of Charlotteville, capital of the London District from 1802 to 1814, when the capital was then moved to safety in Vittoria. It was a British military and naval post in 1814-15 but never fully developed. Today its beaches appeal to boaters and cottagers.
Brock slept here on his the first night on his route from Port Dover to Detroit.
The plaque for Turkey Point is at the top of a winding road to the golf course.
Más sobre Turkey Point105: Backhouse Mill
John Backhouse built a water-powered mill in 1798 in Walsingham. It was not burned by McArthur during the War of 1812 due, it is recorded, to a Masonic signal. Other accounts say it couldn’t be located or straw had been ignited and McArthur thought the mill had been burned. It is the oldest ‘working’ mill. In 2002, it was designated a National Historic Site.
Más sobre Backhouse Mill107: Long Point Settlement
When the Neutrals First Nation, who hunted in this territory, were expelled the area became known as the Iroquois Beaver Ground. In 1759, the Ojibway or their kindred, the Mississagas, were the sole occupants of western Ontario. It was the latter who ceded, in 1784, territory which subsequently became the County of Norfolk. Lt-Governor John Graves Simcoe ordered the survey of the area into 200 acre lots and United Empire Loyalists settled here. Between 1783 and 1832, hundreds of Loyalists, their sons and daughters received grants of land in the Long Point Settlement for loyalty during the American Revolution. The part Long Point played in the War of 1812 included Brock’s departure from Dover Mills (Port Dover) and the devastation suffered during Campbell and McArthur raids in May and November, 1814.
Más sobre Long Point Settlement108: Long Point Portage
This historic portage was an important link in the canoe route along the north shore of Lake Erie. It was first recorded by Dollier de Cassson and de Galinee in 1670. During August, 1812, the men who accompanied Brock from Dover to Detroit, found it difficult to pull the boats over the portage and called for help from men in the other boats. They could not find the creek so spent the night amid the rushes.
The Provincial plaque is just inside the entrance to the Long Point Provincial Park.
Más sobre Long Point Portage109: Billy Green House
1820 home of Billy Green Billy Green - The Scout Published in The Hamilton Spectator, in March 1938
Here in the Niagara Peninsula, one of the chief settling places of the United Empire Loyalists who flocked over the border from the United States late in the 18th century, one of the greatest heroes of Canadian history has passed on with his deeds hardly noticed. He was William Green of Stoney Creek, better known as Billy the Scout.
He was the Paul Revere of Canada. Sighting the American Army massing below the mountain at Stoney Creek, Billy, a staunch British subject felt it his duty to inform the English troops of their nearness, for the British, he knew were encamped on Burlington Heights. Jumping on his brother's horse, this young man, but 19 years of age, rode around the escarpment to the lines of the British. Here he told the colonel in charge of the close proximity of the foe. Thus it was that the English troops marched through the night and defeated the Americans, who were completely taken by surprise, just before dawn on June 6th, 1813.
Billy the Scout was the first white child born in Stoney Creek district. His father, Ensign Green, who had resided with his family in Sussex, New Jersey, felt the call of the British flag in 1791, and taking all his household possessions, trekked up to the Canadian border. The family crossed at Lewiston and made their way up the peninsula to the point now known as Stoney Creek. Ensign Green chose the top of the mountain as his abode and today the descendants still live on the same property.
It was here in a little log cabin, still standing but covered with laths, that Billy was born on Feb. 4, 1794. He roved the countryside as a child and knew every inch of the ground. How well was he to later become the guide of the British army and lead them to a victorious battle which was one of the kingpins of the War of 1812?
Billy died in 1874, leaving three sons, John, Freeman and William, and today this gallant lies in the cemetery at Stoney Creek but no special monument commemorates his historic deed.
In the brick house, almost on the mountain brow, overlooking Stoney Creek, and not a quarter of a mile from the original home of Billy the Scout, today lives the wife of his Grandson, John, and his great grandson Philip, and his wife. This home was built by William, Billy's son who was born in 1821. John died in 1925 as a result of an accident. His wife, Sarah, celebrated her 90th birthday on Feb. 28th of this year (1938).
The Spectator called at the home on the occasion of Mrs. Green's birthday and was shown one of the great treasures of the family, a statement made by Billy the Scout to his grandson, John, as to the whole happenings on that memorable day when he warned the British troops. The complete story ensues.
BILLY'S STATEMENT
"I was the first white child born at Stoney Creek, being born Feb. 4, 1794, and at the time of the Battle of Stoney Creek I was 19 years old, my home being in Stoney Creek up to that time. My father, brothers and sisters lived there also. We heard that the American Army were camping down east below the Forty, so my brother Levi and I went down the road on top of the mountain about 6 O'clock in the morning June 5. We got to the Forty and stayed out on the peak of the mountain above the Forty until noon when we espied troops marching up the road. We stayed there until all the enemy but a few had passed through the Village. Then we yelled::text like Indians. I tell you those simple fellows did run. Then we ran along the mountain and took down the road the Americans had just passed over. Levi ran across a soldier with his boot off, putting a rag on his foot. The soldier grabbed for his gun, but Levi was too quick for him, hitting him with a stick until he yelled in pain and some of the scouts fired at us.
We made our way to the top of the mountain again. I whooped::text like an Indian and Levi answered. By this time the settlers came out to the brow of the mountain to see what was going on. Among them were the Lee brothers, who lived near the brow of the mountain at that time. They went home and the rest of us went to brother Levi's place on the side of the mountain. When we heard them (the enemy) coming through the village of Stoney Creek, we all went out on the brow of the hill to see them. Some of them espied us and fired on us. One ball struck the bars where Tina, my brother Levi's wife was sitting holding Hannah, her oldest child in her arm. We all went to the mountain to one of Jim Stoney's trapping huts. Tina went to the house with Hannah her child.
Not long after, two American officers came up to the house and asked her if she had seen any Indians around there. She said there was a band of Indians on the mountain. The officers left, and Tina came out to where we were hiding and whistled. I answered her and told them I would go down to Isaac Corman's. When I got there I whistled, and out came Keziah, my sister (Corman's wife). I asked her where Isaac was and she said the enemy had taken him prisoner and had taken the trail to the beach. I asked how she knew. She said Alf had followed them to the swamp (Alf was their oldest son). I asked "Where is Alf?" and she said he was in the cellar with Becky and Jamie, his two sisters. I went down in the cellar and Alf told me where to find his father. I started and ran; every now and then I would stop and whistle until I got across the creek. When I heard Isaac's hoot::text like an owl I thought the enemy had him there, but he was coming alone. I was going to raise an Indian war-whoop and scare them when I saw Isaac coming. I asked him how he got away and he said, "The major and I got to talking and he said he was second cousin to General Harrison. I said I was a first cousin of General Harrison and came from Kentucky. After a little longer a message came for the major; he said "I must go: you may go home Corman". I said I couldn't get through the lines. He said "I will give you the countersign", and he did. Isaac gave the countersign to me - I got it and away I came. When I got up the road aways I forgot it and didn't know what to do, so I pulled my coat over my head and trotted across the road::text like a bear.
I went up the hill to Levi's house, got Levi's old horse 'Tip' and led him along the mountain side until I could get to the top. Then I rode him away around by the gully where I dismounted and tied old Tip to the fence and left him there, making my way on foot to Burlington Heights.
When I got there they took me for a spy, and I had to tell them all I knew before they would believe me. It was about 11 o'clock p.m. I explained to Colonel Harvey where and how the American army was encamped near Stoney Creek. He suggested a night attack on the enemy. After Colonel Harvey had a short interview with General Vincent, it was decided to start at once for Stoney Creek, and they commenced to hustle.
We got started about 11:30 p.m. Colonel Harvey asked me if I knew the way and I said, "Yes, every inch of it". He gave me a corporal's sword and told me to take the lead. Sometimes I would get away ahead and go back to hurry them up. I told them it would be daylight before we got there if we did not hurry. Someone said it would be soon enough to be killed.
We got down to the east side of Red Hill Creek near William Davis' when three sentries fired at us and then ran over to the south side of the creek. Then we came on more carefully after that. I espied a sentry leaning against a tree. I told the man behind me to shoot him, but Colonel Harvey said "No, run him through", and he was dispatched. The next sentry was at the church. He discharged his gun and demanded a pass. I grabbed his gun with one hand and put my sword to him with the other. His old gun had no load in it. He had shot the ramrod away.
Then we could see the camp fire. We cut across and got in Lewis' lane. The order was given to 'Fix flint! Fire!' We fired three rounds and advanced about one hundred yards. Then we banged away again. There was a rush in our middle rank. Their south flank charged, then came orders for our flank to charge. This is where we lost most of our men. We got bunched right under then. The centre rank captured two of their guns. Then the general order was given to charge and we drove them back. We could hear them scampering. We were ordered to fire and we shot all our powder away. When it commenced to get daylight, we could see the enemy running in all directions.
In the flat across the creek near Lewis' lane about 500 American soldiers were encamped in advance of their artillery, which was situated on a hill directly in front of the road that our troops must pass. The 500 on our left were the first that were discovered excepting those that were taken prisoner in the church. Two thousand of their men were on the hill to the right and about one thousand on the hillside just east of the James Gage house. They were burning James Gage's fence rails for their camp fires.
Major Plenderleath, with thirty men of the 49th, and Major Ogilvie with the 8th or King's Regiment, charged and captured four field pieces in a very gallant style. Generals Chandler and Winder were captured near their cannon. Our General Vincent came in the rear of his army to Stoney Creek that night and somehow got lost in the bushes and the dark foggy night. He was found in the morning after the battle, down near Van Wagner's. He had lost his hat. Seth White and George Bradshaw found him.
We lost about eighty killed and one hundred and fifty wounded. Their loss was two hundred killed and two hundred and forty wounded.
The settlers helped to scare the enemy by giving war-whoops from the top of the hill. After the battle was over, we got William Gage's oxen and stone boat and his son Peter, John Lee, John Yeager, I and several others buried the dead soldiers on a knoll near the road where the enemy placed their guns and where the road turned south towards the Gage house. The road went south of the Gage house and south of the cemetery, also north of Red Hill past William Davis' house. William Davis kept a hotel there at that time, and it was used as a hospital for some of our wounded soldiers after the battle was over. The old Dr. Case homestead, near Hamilton, was also used for the same purpose. John Brady kept hotel at Stoney Creek at the time of the War of 1813 and the Americans refreshed themselves and their horses at his expense and did not leave his premises until they had eaten and drunk all they could find around his place."
The writer has in his possession the sword that Col. Harvey gave to Billy the Scout, part of the uniform worn by him, also his army drum, upon which he was an expert. His brother Levi was a good fifer. These two brothers took an active part in furnishing music for the militia on their June 4 training days and other occasions when good martial music was needed.
(Signed) JOHN K. GREEN; Grandson of Billy Green the Scout; Stoney Creek, Ont.
Más sobre Billy Green House110: Nixon Blacksmith Shop
In the early 1800’s, across the road from “Nixon Hall”, Allan Nixon Jr., built the Nixon Blacksmith Shop, one of only three fieldstone buildings surviving from the early settlement period. In 1799, as Junior Warden of Grimsby’s Masonic Lodge, Allan fashioned the first tools and implements, ‘jewels’, of the newly formed Lodge, without doubt in
this building. Thirteen years later at the start of the War of 1812, Allan was the one to preserve these ‘jewels’ safe from invading American forces in a secret cave in the escarpment, near his original 1200 acre 1796 Loyalist land grant stretching along the western border of the Thirty Mountain Road.
In the middle of the War of 1812-14, this was the blacksmith shop used by retreating American soldiers to make repairs to their wagons as they fled back to Niagara.
25-year-old William Nixon had lost both his parents, Allan & Mary, to the scourge of War just a couple months earlier. The “first white child born in this district” was just angry enough and cunning enough to ensure that
those American horses that had been shod at the Stone Shop would come up lame
before they got anywhere near Queenston. William grew older to become not only
a blacksmith, but a successful farmer, carriage maker, and inventor and patent
holder of farm machinery.
Más sobre Nixon Blacksmith Shop111: Nelles Manor
126 Main Street West, Grimsby
Considered to be the oldest inhabited dwelling between Niagara and Kingston, Nelles Manor was built in Georgian style by Colonel Robert Nelles, of locally quarried stone, over a ten year period (1788-98). It was written in the "Annals of the Forty" to be "carefully cut and laid, with flat arched windows and doorways and kitchens wing on the West End". Built facing north, on an old path called Squire Nelles' Lane, the main entrance was later moved to the south with a pillared porch facing on to the "new" Stone Road (now Main Street).
Col. Nelles' Office was a small room on the north, where his capacity is Justice of the Peace, he performed many marriages before clergy were available. The house was a center for gala events and remained in Nelles family possession until 1963, when it was purchased by it's current owners. Restoration is an on-going project in this warm welcoming home, with its seven fireplaces, walnut woodwork and spacious halls and rooms.
Más sobre Nelles Manor112: Nelles Fitch House
Built in 1791 by Col. Rogert Nelles, served as a barracks during the War of 1812 with a prison cell in the basement. Inhabitated by the Nelles family until 1852. The back part of this house is said to have been a log cabin built in 1788 by Robert Nelles as a home while building Nelles Manor from 1788 to 1798
Más sobre Nelles Fitch House113: Engagement at the Forty
After the Battle at Stoney Creek the American forces retired to the Forty (Grimsby) where, when reinforced by General Lewis and resupplied by bateaux from US controlled Fort George, they planned to resume their attack on the British position at Burlington Heights. On the morning of June 8th 1813, Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo’s Royal Navy squadron appeared at the Forty but, due to the calm conditions, could not bring the squadron close on shore to engage the enemy. Two small schooners, the Beresford and the Sidney Smith were towed close enough to bombard the American forces who returned fire with “hot shot”. While the bombardment was taking place, a band of First Nations warriors under John Norton and a number of militiamen fired on the camp at the Forty and pursued the retreating Americans back to Fort George.
Más sobre Engagement at the Forty114: Selkirk Provincial Park
Thissite was formerly the farm of Captain William Francis. Capt Francis was a confidante of GeneralBrock. He was part of the NorfolkMilitia and testified at the Ancaster Assize against a number of the American'swho were captured during the Battle of Nanticoke. He was murdered at this farm in October of 1814by American Marauders, in retaliation for his testimony.
Más sobre Selkirk Provincial Park115: Battle of Nanticoke NHS
Nanticokewas designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924 because:
On13th November 1813, Norfolk volunteer militia, led byLieutenant-Colonel Henry Bostwick, routed a band of American marauders who hadterrorized the country, an exploit that inspirited the military forces,restored the confidence of the people, and was an important factor in theimmediate recovery of lost ground. [Plaque text 1928/1977]
Duringthe War of 1812, the British withdrew their regular troops from southernOntario to the Fort at Kingston after suffering several defeats by Americanforces in the fall of 1813. This retreat and the reduced military enforcementprompted a band of American marauders to pillage district farms. As a result, a number of resident settlersformed a volunteer militia, and on 13th November 1813, they attackedthe Americans on the farm of John Dunham, south of the present village ofNanticoke.
Threeof the marauders were killed, several wounded, 18 captured, and others escaped.This effectively ended plundering expeditions in the area, and over 3,000kilograms (7,000 pounds) of provisions were saved for the British militia onthe Niagara frontier, enabling them to continue a winter campaign.
Historic Sites and MonumentsBoard of Canada, Minutes, 1924; September 2009
116: Port Dover
In Powell Park a stone with plaque marks Brock’s departure for Detroit:
WAR OF 1812 MAJOR-GENERAL ISAAC BROCK WITH 40 MEN OF HIS 41ST REGIMENT AND 200 OF THE YORK, LINCOLN, OXFORD AND NORFOLK MILITIA SET OUT ON THE 8TH OF AUGUST 1812, TO RELIEVE THE INVADED WESTERN BORDER WITH A MUCH SMALLER FORCE SAVED THE DAY AND MADE BROCK THE HERO OF UPPER CANADA
Brock and his men left Dover Mills in boats of every description, usually used for fishing and transporting corn and flour, collected from farmers and fishermen by James Cummings upon order by Robert Nichol, Quarter Master General of the Military. Captains John Bostwick and William McCracken, Lieutenants George Ryerse, George Rolph and Titus Williams, 3 sergeants and 59 privates of the 1st and 2nd Norfolk Militia and Captain John Eakens, 2 sergeants and 11 privates of the Oxford Regiment accompanied Brock to Detroit. Major George Salmon was in command of the detachment that sailed aboard a small schooner Chippawa. The remaining men, about 100, were left in charge of Major William D. Bowen with orders to rendezvous with Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Bostwick in Oxford, then march overland to Amherstburg, a distance of about 200 miles. Plaque at entrance to Port Dover: Relates the destructive military raid made on the settlement of Dover and surrounding area on May 14, 1814 by an American force led by Lt-Col. John Campbell.
Campbell, with his force, sailed across Lake Erie in six ships and came ashore at Dover Mills and with instructions to “only burn mills - to prevent food supplies from reaching the British in Niagara”. Campbell burned mills, distilleries, barns and every house, except one, in Dover Mills. They butchered the animals, took the prime cuts back to the ships and left the carcasses to rot.
Campbell was called before a court of inquiry. He admitted the act was not the order of the US government, but his own. He was validated for burning mills and distilleries but only given a rap on the knuckles for burning the houses of the unoffending inhabitants.
Más sobre Port Dover117: Cainsville-Cayuga Heights
Cayuga Heights: The height of land to the north of the flats in the Grand River oxbow, Cayuga Heights, has a long history of Iroquoian use and settlement. The Cooper site, a 13th century village and 17th century Neutral burial site, was partially excavated by the Ministry of Culture archaeologists to save it from destruction by erosion of the river bank in 1980. Early 19th century maps locate a Cayuga settlement in the vicinity of Colborne Street and Garden Avenue. Between Cayuga Heights and Salt Springs Road, the Mohawk Martin settlement was laid out as a series of cabins and farms on the east bank of the river. Thomas House in Cainsville was used during the War of 1812 to garrison British troops.
Más sobre Cainsville-Cayuga Heights118: Salt Springs Mission
Themission took its name from the Onondaga Nation of the Six Nations, theirprincipal settlement being in the eastern part of the township. In the north-western end, there was asettlement known as the Upper Cayugas’, which extended into Brantford Townshipat Cainsville, where there was a village and burial place. The Mohawks were located in the River Bend,where they had some well-tilled farms. Herethe Wesleyan Methodists established a Mission Church and school in 1822, underthe superintendence of Reverend Alvin Torrey. Along the banks of Fairchild's Creek, on thefarms of Joseph Charlton and John Hartley, are the remains of what was known asKick's Settlement. It was located on theold Whiting and River roads, where to-day can be seen the remains of some oldorchards, and several chimney-places which belonged to their dwellings. A native burying-ground was also in theimmediate vicinity.
Más sobre Salt Springs Mission119: Tuscarora Settlement
Theterritory between the mouth of Fairchild's Creek and Middleport was occupiedprincipally by the Tuscaroras. A MissionChurch and school were established by the Church of England about a mile belowOnondaga Village, under the charge of Reverend Robert Luggar, about 1827 or1828. Near the Onondaga Village was anotherhouse of public entertainment, where liquors were dealt out for an equivalentin current coin or produce. In about the year 1845, David Smith embarked in thegrocery business in Onondaga Village. Helikewise kept, as an adjunct to his business, a liquor saloon, with a bowlingalley attached, and drove a thriving trade.
Más sobre Tuscarora Settlement120: Middleport-Long House Council House
The Six Nations formerly held their councils in a building called the Council House, until they were removed from that part of the reservation; it was located on the farm near Middleport. Subsequently they for some time held their councils in a hall at Middleport, until a proper edifice for that purpose was built in the Tuscarora Reservation. Relics of great antiquity are frequently found on the reservation, and on various farms in the township. They comprise mainly old pipes, pottery and arrow-heads, many of which are in the possession of residents of the township. For a period of about ten years prior to 1841, there were great disputes over land titles, leases and squatters in this area, which resulted in the relocation of the Onondagas to the west side of the Grand River. At Middleport Arthur Smith had a general store, which for a time was under the management of George Yonell, who subsequently became the proprietor. The Middleport Site is a national historic site, first excavated by W.J. Wintemberg in 1930. The Ministry of Transportation completed some excavations in advance of highway construction in 1985. The site was used over thousands of years by Aboriginal people, especially in the 10th century A.D. (Princess Point settlement), 14th century A.D. (Middleport village), and in the early 19th century by Onondaga and Mohawk families. Middleport was home to the Onondaga Council House until the late 1850’s.
Más sobre Middleport-Long House Council House121: Tuscarora Township/Ohsweken
TuscaroraTownship is all that remains of the former large territory given to the SixNations by the Haldimand Treaty of 1784. The youngest son of Captain Joseph Brant,Captain John Brant (Ahyouwaeghs) (1794-1832), was a leader respected by hisfellow Iroquois and British administrators alike. He was the first native appointedsuperintendent of the Six Nations, and the first aboriginal elected to thelegislative assembly. Natives in Canada had a well-established history offighting on the side of Great Britain, dating back to the activities of theMohawk Chief Joseph Brant during the 18th Century. Brant was just a teenager when he fought withthe British in the Seven Years' War. Aswell, in 1775, he and 1500 other members of the Six Nations Iroquois (or LongHouse) Confederacy fought alongside Great Britain's Royal Regiment during theAmerican Revolution.
Más sobre Tuscarora Township/Ohsweken122: Veteran's Park
Thispark is at the corner of Fourth Line Road and Chiefswood Road. It features The Six Nations-Mississauga WarMemorial which commemorates the 200 First Nations soldiers who were killedduring World War II. The soldiers foughtin Dieppe, France, Hong Kong, and were a part of the Normandy Invasion.
Más sobre Veteran's Park123: River Road Taverns
Therehad scarcely been a score of settlers in the township when a tavern was erectedon the River Road, at the conference of Big Creek and the Grand River. It was a small log building, kept by JosephBrown, and later by members of his family. A short distance west of Brown's was anothertavern. It was also a log building,built in 1838, by George May, chiefly to accommodate the lumbermen. It was here that the first township meetingswere held.
Más sobre River Road Taverns124: Bryant’s Tavern
Bryant’s Corners was a hamlet consisting of two log houses and a tavern owned by Mr. Bryant. Today, Bryant’s Corners is the main corner of Caledonia at Caithness and Argyle Street, midway between what was then Seneca Village and Oneida Village.
Más sobre Bryant’s Tavern125: John Norton
Schoolmaster, Indian Department interpreter, adopted Mohawk chief, army officer, and author; probably born in Scotland, the son of a Scottish mother named Anderson and a Cherokee father named Norton; Captain Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) soon drew Norton, into his own service as an interpreter, made him an emissary, and adopted him as a “nephew,” deputy, and successor. Norton whose new name was Teyoninhokarawen, resigned from the Indian Department and began living at Onondaga on the Grand River. Throughout the campaign in 1812, the first year of the war, he assembled and commanded fighting men of the Six Nations and other tribes, the parties varying in size with conditions and necessities along the Niagara frontier. His leadership in the great victory at Queenston Heights was the high point in his military career. Norton’s own account is vivid and inimitable.
In the campaigns of 1813, Norton was active again. He and a hundred Grand River Warriors were at Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake) when the Americans attacked late in May, and they took part in the subsequent British withdrawal to Burlington Heights (Hamilton). Norton and his wife returned from Britain to Upper Canada in 1816. He had received a commission as a brevet major in the British army, but he was unofficially called Colonel Norton. He became the owner of a large farm overlooking the Grand River at Sims Locks, south of present-day Brantford, and he “improved” his lands, setting an example in agriculture for the Grand River community. In 1823, believing that his wife, Catherine, had been guilty of infidelity, Norton ordered off his farm a young Native named Big Arrow (Joe Crawford). This intruder demanded a duel; he died of a wound accidentally inflicted in a scuffle. Norton volunteered to stand trial. The charge was murder, but he behaved honourably, refusing to use his own “best defense” which would have exposed Catherine publicly to shame. He was convicted of manslaughter and fined £25. Catherine wrote a pathetic letter, begging forgiveness, but he would not see her again.
Más sobre John Norton126: Nelles Settlement at York
Afterreceiving lands in the Grand River in 1784, the Six Nations Indians invitedCaptain Hendrick Nelles, a loyalist from the Mohawk Valley, to settle therewith five of his sons. He and Robert, the eldest, established farms in what isnow Seneca Township and built houses in which they lived until Captain Nelles'death in 1791 and Robert's removal to Grimsby. The "Nelles Settlement" containedabout thirty families in 1828.
Más sobre Nelles Settlement at York127: Young Settlement
Thisland beside the Grand River was part of the Young Tract granted to Adam Youngand his family for their loyalty to the Crown during the American Revolution. This was in recompense for the loss ofvaluable land and possessions in the Mohawk Valley in New York State,confiscated during that conflict. John,Adam's eldest son, was the first white settler to start a new life along theGrand River in 1783. He was a Lieutenantin the Indian department from 1777 to 1784 and was active in encouraging someof the people in New York State to join the Loyalist cause. Married to Catherine Brant, a daughter of aMohawk chief, he remained a friend of the Mohawk people until his death. John,his son Abraham and his brothers fought in the War of 1812 with the 2ndLincoln Militia.
Más sobre Young Settlement128: Indiana / Ruthven
Having fought in the War of 1812, David Thompson received a grant of land on the Grand River. He made a fortune working as a contractor on the Grand River Canal and became a major shareholder in the Grand River Navigation Company, at one time owning a quarter of the shares. In 1832, Thompson bought an additional 1200 acres, and there built the first dam and lock for the Grand River Canal. Here he also built a gristmill and sawmill, the foundation of the village of Indiana. His fortune assured, in 1845, he built a fine 36-room Greek revival mansion, which he named Ruthven. He went on to be Member of Parliament for Haldimand County.
In a cultivated field situated along the banks of the Grand you will witness evidence of the Wilfred Laurier University archaeological field school held at Ruthven Park N.H.S. The staff, students and volunteers revealed the remains of what is thought to be a cabin occupied by a Lower Cayuga or Delaware household dating from the 1780’s through to the 1840’s.
Más sobre Indiana / Ruthven129: Haldimand Court House
Cayuga: Haldimand Plaque:
Following the American Revolution Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor-in-Chief of Canada, granted to the Six Nations of the Iroquois a tract of land extending for 10 km on both sides of the Grand River from its source to Lake Erie. This grant was made in recognition of their services as allies of the British Crown during the war and to recompense them for the loss of their former lands in northern New York State. In later years large areas of this tract, including portion of the present counties of Haldimand, Brant, Waterloo and Wellington were sold to white settlers.
Más sobre Haldimand Court House130: Cayuga Bridge on Talbot Road
This pioneer highway was first surveyed in 1804, by John Bostwick under the supervision of Colonel Thomas Talbot. When completed, it ran from Waterford to Amherstburg and was an important factor in the successful settlement of the Lake Erie shoreline. An archaeoligical dig is in progress at the Cayuga Bridge. During a recent archaeological dig beside the Cayuga Bridge, evidence has been found which confirms the existence of a native settlement.
Más sobre Cayuga Bridge on Talbot Road131: Port Maitland
Port Maitland Naval Reserve In the early months of the War of 1812, British forces had control of Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River. This changed on September 10th, 1813, when the British, commanded by Captain Robert Barclay, was defeated by Commodore Oliver Perry’s American fleet in a naval battle at Put-in-Bay (South Base Island), Ohio. Four British vessels managed to escape the American ships and sailed across Lake Erie to the mouth of the Grand River at Port Maitland. The ships, Mohawk, Meteor, Comet and Rocket were then scuttled to prevent them from being captured by the Americans. After the war ended, it was decided that a secure military base was needed on the north shore of Lake Erie. The British chose Port Maitland. It was surveyed by John Harris, Master of HMS Prince Regent and commissioned in 1815. HMS Newash and Tecumseh, four gun schooners built at Chippewa and two captured American vessels, Huron and Saulk had their home base at Port Maitland.
Más sobre Port Maitland132: Joseph Brant House
In 1798, Joseph Brant was deeded the land known at “Brant’s Block”, later “Wellington Square”. He built a home on the lot two years later and died there in 1807. The current building is a total restoration from the late 1930’s. It is now the Joseph Brant Museum.
Más sobre Joseph Brant House133: The Burlington Races
Actual site of the naval battle on September 28th, 1813. This was a key battle securing Lake Ontario for the British after their lost 18 days prior on Lake Erie to US Commodore Perry.
Más sobre The Burlington Races134: James Brock
James Brock was a relative of General Isaac Brock and paymaster for the 49th Regiment. As Brock's private secretary when the war started he was given this land for his service. He was granted 1200 acres west of the Missisauga Reserve part of which was located in Trafalgar Township. When General Brock was killed, James Brock took control of all of the General’s possessions and boarded the schooner Elizabeth at York for Kingston. The vessel was captured by the Americans and all those on board were brought before the U.S. Commodore Chauncey. Upon learning his identity and his mission, Chauncey granted Brock parole. It was later discovered that there were two James Brocks, one of which was the General’s brother and the other a “near relative.” It is not clear which James Brock owned the land in Oakville. Brock St. in Oakville is named after him, as he owned the land upon which it runs.
Más sobre James Brock135: King Street
King Street was named to commemorate the service of Lieutenant George King. A volunteer in the 1st Flank Company of the 2nd Regiment of the York Militia, he died during the War of 1812 due to illness. He married George Chisholm’s daughter. After her death, the King’s two sons became wards of William Chisholm. One of these children, William McKenzie King came to Oakville to build a house on the 6th Line called “King’s Castle.”
Más sobre King Street136: William Chrisholm
William Chrisholm was granted this land east of Allan St. between the lake and the Lakeshore Rd. for his services in the War of 1812. 67 year old George Chisholm, who settled on Burlington bay, served in the War of 1812 with his three sons. One of his sons, William Chisholm, fought in the War of 1812 as a “flanker”. Many settlers in Trafalgar Township fought in the War as “flankers” of the York Militia. These flankers were volunteers who were asked to drill six days per month without pay and fund their uniforms and muskets. William Chisholm was one of the first men to enter the Fort at Detroit upon the American’s surrender to the British. William Chisholm fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights and his gallantry drew special mention in the dispatches of General Sheaffe. Two months later he was promoted to Lieutenant. In the summer of 1814, William Chisholm fought in his final battle at the Battle of Lundy’s Lane. In 1816, he moved to a farm on Dundas St. in Trafalgar Township. William was granted this land east of Allan St. between the lake and the Lakeshore Road for his services in the War of 1812.
Más sobre William Chrisholm137: Coates Creek Treasure
Accordingto a legend passed by word of mouth, a group of boys and girls in the 1860’sengaged in a hunt for a buried treasure buried at Coates' Creek (Morrison Creektoday) during the War of 1812. Thetreasure was buried with the wages of the British Soldiery who supposedly buriedit out of fear that their boat that was on route to Burlington Bay was spied byan American Gunboat. Fearful that theAmericans would get their wages, they turned into the creek and buried a chestof silver and gold under a tree. Boysand girls would go nightly to the site and dig for the treasure but wereunsuccessful.
Más sobre Coates Creek Treasure138: Amos Biggar’s House
Amos Biggar, whose family was United Empire Loyalists, served in the War of 1812, with the West Lincoln Regiments alongside his father and brothers. Amos is listed on the roll of the 5th Lincoln Militia when it was first established in April 1816. In 1815, Amos purchased Lot 20, 1st Concession on the south side of Dundas St. It is believed that he built the central portion of the house at 502 Dundas St. West. Amos’ brothers, Charles and James, also owned nearby lots in the Township. In the 1817 statistical survey by Robert Gourlay, the three brothers were among landowners who responded to the survey.
Más sobre Amos Biggar’s House139: Isaac Freeman
Freeman Cresent was named after Isaac Freeman, who moved to Dundas St in Oakville in 1817 after his service in the War of 1812.
Más sobre Isaac Freeman140: Dundas Street
Dundas Street (also known as the Governor’s Road and now Highway 5) was commissioned by John Graves Simcoe as a strategic land route between Dundas and Toronto. Trafalgar Township, Palermo and Munn’s Corner were based on Dundas Street. Many veterans of the War of 1812 settled on land along Dundas Street.
Using Dundas St. as a baseline, the land was divided into concessions 1 1/5 miles apart and into 200 acre lots and with a regulation sixty-six foot wide roadway. Settlers were obliged to clear five acres, fence in their lots, and build a house usually a log cabin made of the trees that were cut down. Trees would have to be cleared within one hundred feet of the road, and landowners were responsible for making improvements to the road.
Más sobre Dundas Street141: Dundas Street Tavern
WilliamYoung and his father, Jacob, fought in the Battles of Queenston Heights,Lundy's Lane and Stoney Creek. When the War of 1812 came to an end, Jacobtraded a team of horses and a wagon for a farm west of the Twelve Mile Creekand William married Elizabeth, daughter of the owner of the sawmill on thecreek, Joseph Hizon. Around 1825, William Young leased the Dundast St. tavern fromMillicent Munn, who was the widow of Daniel Munn. Situated at the south-east corner of the 6thLine, known as Munn's Corners, this tavern and stage-house was the first inTrafalgar Township.
Más sobre Dundas Street Tavern142: Snider's Corners
Settled by Michael Snider in 1802. William Albertson settled here, along with other families, including the Secord's.
William Albertson was born in 1793, in New Jersey and came to Trafalgar Township with his family in 1811, settling at what became Snider’s Corners prior to 1823. He fought against the Americans in the War of 1812. At the battle of Queenston Heights, William sustained a head injury and was a few feet away from General Sir Isaac Brock when the famous leader was wounded. Some even say that he helped to carry the injured General from the battlefield. The Albertsons were a prominent family at Snider’s Corners.
Más sobre Snider's Corners143: Fort York
The “Battle of York”; April 27, 1813
After a disastrous beginning for American forces in 1812 at Detroit and Queenston Heights, the new republic needed a face-saving victory to bolster support for the war. Rather than gamble success against the strongly fortified British naval base at Kingston, U.S. General Dearborn chose the weaker military site of York. Strategically it was a justifiable target because a powerful warship, HMS Brock, was under construction there and must be captured or destroyed before it gave the British fleet, naval superiority on Lake Ontario. Furthermore, it was a useful rehearsal in their preparation for an amphibious attack on Fort George at the mouth of the Niagara River a few weeks later.
The American assault on April 27th, 1813, was their first attempt at a combined operation, using their naval squadron for transport and heavy bombardment support. It was believed that the British garrison was very weak, but coincidently the 8th Regiment of Foot had just arrived from Kingston, en route to the Niagara frontier.
The first wave of the 1700 strong American force under the command of General Pike began landing at 9:00 a.m. on a beach known today as Sunnyside. A strong easterly wind had set them to the west of Fort York on the present exhibition grounds. The first resistance was provided by Native Warriors who laid down a deadly hail of fire from the woods. Next to arrive was a section of Grenadiers from the 8th Regiment of Foot under the command of Captain McNeale.
To circumvent the supporting grapeshot bombardment from the ships on the British line, McNeale ordered a bayonet charge to push the fragmented American landing troops off the beach. A number of volunteers joined in the melee, including Donald McLean, Clerk of the House of Assembly, Sheriff Beikie and his son, as well as veteran soldier Allan MacNab Sr. and his 15 year old son Allan Napier MacNab who, this day began his assent into Canadian eminence. Despite their brave counter attack, the Grenadiers were eventually overcome by sheer weight of numbers and withdrew eastward to the Western Battery of Fort York.
History contributed by Robert J. Williamson CD Commander, RCNR Ret’d, HMCS Star, Hamilton as compiled by Canadian Art Cards.
Más sobre Fort York