After visiting several sites associated with the American Revolution it was a very different experience when we crossed into Canada and went to Fort George National Historic Site. For a start we had to tell the kids that this time the redcoats were the good guys instead of the enemies that they had been at Saratoga and Fort Stanwix.
Soldiers in redcoats fire muskets, clouding the air with black powder smoke. Music drifts past blockhouses, a historic powder magazine, and cannons on the lookout. Step straight from the genteel Victorian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake into the War of 1812 at Fort George, a military post that defended Upper Canada against American attacks.
--from Fort George NHS site
We headed to the fort right after we crossed the border into Canada. Once we parked we headed towards the gift shop/admission area.
Constructed by order of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe 1796-99, Fort George served as the headquarters for Major-General Brock in 1812. In May, 1813, it was bombarded and captured by the Americans who constructed fortifications of their own on the site. These in turn were retaken by the British in December, 1813. In 1815 Fort George was described as "tumbling into ruins" and ordered abandoned. The present works are a reconstruction done in 1937-40, and represent the fort as it was in 1799-1813. Only the magazine of the original fort remains.
--from exhibit signage
After we had paid for admission (it wasn't bad considering that kids are free and I had a bag full of Canadian coins I'd been given several years ago to use for the adult tickets) we were given several coins that were our tickets to enter the fort.
It was definitely strange to walk up to a fort flying the Union Jack.
We got to see a musket demonstration fairly soon after entering the fort.
I always enjoy watching the process of an old black powder weapon firing, especially if I can capture the smoke billowing out.
I also took a video of the entire demonstration.
Afterwords the interpreter was kind enough to help the kids as they worked on their Xplorers program books. This program is akin to the American Junior Ranger program and has been available in every Canadian National Park that we've visited so far.
From this bastion cannons were pointed towards the United States. While we're currently at peace it is still a strange site to be in a fort with weapons pointed towards your home country.
Of course there was actually very good reason for the British to have guns pointed towards the Americans. In United States history you're taught that the War of 1812 happened because the British were oppressing (impressing actually) American sailors and that finally things got so bad that war was declared. Not often mentioned is the fact that the United States also decided to invade Canada since they'd failed to conquer the area during the Revolution nor had they been able to persuade the inhabitants to revolt against the Crown.
The history of the American invasion of the Niagara area is pretty disturbing when you hear it from Canadian sources. The inhabitants certainly weren't celebrating when the "blue coats" invaded in 1813.
While the Americans occupied the area they were ultimately forced to retreat. When this happened they burned down the town in the middle of the winter and forced the residents out into the snow before the retreated back into New York. It is no wonder that the Canadians who aided the American occupation were viewed as traitors.
On December 10th, 1813 American Brigadier General George McClure ordered the turncoat Joseph Willcocks and his "Canadian Volunteers" to burn the town of Niagara to the ground. With little warning one hundred and thirty homes and properties were destroyed. Families were forced from their homes taking shelter in nearby forests or the remains of their charred cellars in the dead of winter. In retaliation British forces crossed the Niagara River, captured Fort Niagara and burned several villages between the fort and Buffalo.
--from exhibit signage
This definitely isn't a perspective that you normally read about in the US, so I found it a fascinating experience to read about history from "the other side." We saw plenty of other exhibits as we walked around the fort and its buildings.
This senior officer's bedroom was definitely much fancier than quarters enjoyed by regular enlisted men as they were expected to recreate the atmosphere of England and the furnishings here would have been just as much at home in an English manor house as in this frontier fortification.
This fascinating display consisted of debris from a dinner party held just before the War of 1812. While nobody knows why the service was all broken and discarded some interesting speculation was printed on the accompanying sign. "How was the dinnerware broken? Was it an accident resulting from too many toasts raised by young officers, a violent dispute or a clumsy servant? Why did someone bury the dinnerware? Was it to conceal breakage of mess property that could result in a fine set at 6 times the replacement value? We may never know."
Just like the old division of Egypt, the divisions of Canada were dependent on water flow. Upper Canada was the portion further upstream, closer to the Great Lakes and the United States. Lower Canada was located along the downstream portion of the St. Lawrence River to the north.
These are the quarters of a junior officer. When they moved from post to post they were entitled to only a half of a ton of baggage, so they had to pack light. For example the bed pictured here was fully collapsible.
Sadly there were no cooking demonstrations happening when we visited.
The stone powder magazine, which survived the Battle of Fort George, remains the oldest building in Niagara-on-the-Lake (and the oldest military building in Ontario).
--from Friends of Fort George site
This very solid structure had a number of safeguards built in, one of which was that it was located a distance from other structures.
Nobody wanted to be too close if the kegs of powder exploded.
We next headed towards a blockhouse.
Our trip took us through this underground tunnel.
Then at the end we climbed up stairs into the structure.
From the narrow windows you could look back into the rest of the fort.
We also saw the military prison, which undoubtedly was not a pleasant place.
Punishment in the British army of the nineteenth century could be a brutal experience.
After looking at some artillery we headed out of the fort to explore Niagara-on-the-Lake--more about that coming soon.
You can view more photos from our visit in this album. In addition this video from Parks Canada can also give you an overview of what it is like to visit Fort George.
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