How We Stayed Canadian

Here in North America there is a constant and subtle conflict between neighbors. The constant tongue in cheek battle between Canada and America has rolled on for almost 200 years, like a bizarre kind of sibling rivalry. We each have our good and bad points so it's not like anyone is way better than any other. They have their rednecks and we have the French, it's sort of a trade off. I think it all began when the British settlers had a drink of the watery American beer and made a derogatory comment about it, unwittingly triggering The War of 1812.

Officially the War of 1812, waged between Canada (Britain) and America, was the result of a fallout in trade disputes in Europe. We here in North America know that it was a combination of the dispute over beer and our excessive politeness that pushed them over the edge. It was like living next to children's entertainers with all the nicey nicey and they eventually snapped. They decided to eradicate us and make North America entirely American.

June 1, 1812 war was declared and the fights raged over 2 years. After several unsuccessful attempts to enter Canada the Americans finally made their way in by way Niagara and got all the way to Stoney Creek. They camped down for the night on June 5th, 1813 and their plans were discovered by a local boy by the name of Billy Green. Billy was 19 and now that he had reached the legal drinking age he was terrified that it would take him a cask and a half of ale to get a good buzz instead of just a tankard. He ran to the British troops stationed nearby and they deployed immediately to face this threat. For 40 minutes, in the pitch black of night, a fierce battle raged between 700 British loyal troops and more than three times the number of Americans troops. Using the element of surprise and solid tactics they were able to rout the American forces and drive them back, causing their eventual retreat to their home country. With the victory at hand the British forces had the mother of all bush parties and tapped a few kegs and drove the Americans home with all their loud partying and shouting.

Every year, historians and hobbyists descend on a park built to honour this battle from Canada, America and even Europe. Each dedicated to their craft, they construct and acquire all their own supplies for full period re-enactment. These amazing people set up an entire encampment that is a shining example of living history to preserve the memory of this event. They eat sleep and live in the park for the duration of the event. All uniforms, weapons, tents and equipment are carefully restored and fabricated to be as authentic as possible resulting in a fantastic weekend in the park. People of all ages come to the park to marvel in the life of the past all culminating in a re-enactment of the actual battle itself.

The actual battle re-enactment is a sight to behold. Men marching in tight precision, firing and reloading powder muskets by hand at a rate that numbs the mind. Warfare of old was a far different animal than that of today. The initial strike force of the British crept up to the American scouting party and killed them with muskets so as not to alert the American forces of their arrival. The resulting firefight was deafening and dazzling. Spectators see this in the dwindling light of the day and can only imagine how troops stayed focused with all the flashing and smoke in the pitch black of night.

Hats off to these re-enactment participants for creating and maintaining this fantastic event to keep us grounded in our own history, while providing entertainment at the same time. I had a great time and got some great pictures.