Summer Vacation Part IV: The War Continues

Uncle Johnny’s Rehearsal dinner took place on a Wednesday night, and the wedding itself wasn’t until Friday… so, when you do the math, that meant Dad, mom, grandma and I had a full Thursday to enjoy all that Essex county has to offer.

So much to choose from… where should we go… what should we do… decisions, decisions

Hey, I have an idea… let’s head to Amherstburg where there is a quaint and lovely downtown core with beautiful houses, waterfront parks, a top-notch ice cream palour and… A FORT!!!

Faithful bloggers meet Fort Malden. Yet another glorious stop on our summer tour of everything War of 1812.

This map which highlights 1812 battlegrounds looks remarkably similar to our summer vacation driving routes. Hmmm, coincidence?

So, everyone please bear with me as I (once again) regale you with stories of 1812 – and don’t worry. I promise to make it good!

I also dedicate this blog entry to Mr. Delcol, mom’s grade 9 history teacher who could tell the tale of the Siege of Fort Detroit better than anyone else – and who was single-handedly responsible for instilling a love of all things historic in mom.

Something that mom hopes to do to me by recording all of our history adventures in this blog.

When war broke out in the summer of 1812, Amherstburg was the first place to see action. Which of course brought in the big man himself - General Brock (we all remember him right? If not click on the link)

Amherstburg was the place that Brock officially met Tecumseh, the great Shawnee Chief. And the two of them wasted no time in planning their attack on Fort Detroit.

Brock and Tecumseh were outnumbered, no doubt about it. Hull, the American General, had every advantage – more men, more training, more supplies, you name it.

But they don’t build massive 190 feet monuments to generals in Canada for nothing – Brock is the man. He seized Fort Detroit based on a series of bluffs and clever strategies – namely…

BLUFF 1:

Brock gave local Essex county militia the cast off uniforms of the 41st regiment – tricking the Americans into believing that Brock’s troops consisted of all British trained Regulars (i.e. instead of a bunch of local farmers which the majority actually were)

BLUFF 2:

Brock deceived Hull into thinking his troops were double the size. The soldiers marched to take up position in plain sight of the Americans, then quickly ducked behind entrenchments and then marched back to repeat the maneuver. The same trick was carried out during meals where the men in line would dump their beans into a hidden pot and then return out of view to rejoin the end of the queue. Brock also ordered his troops to light individual fires instead of the regular one fire per unit. All brilliant moves. Remember opposing forts were always across the river from each other and they monitored movement closely.

BLUFF 3:

Hull was terrified of the native tribes and Brock exploited this to his advantage. Hull was quoted once as saying “the natives are more greedy of violence than the Vikings or Huns”. To Hull, natives meant the brutal and imminent death of all men, women and children. So, naturally, Tecumseh paraded his warriors past a very visible gap in the forest with full tribal costume and echoing the loudest Indian war cries humanly possible. Of course, a la Brock, Tecumseh then turned his tribesmen around and marched them past the same gap three or four times to trick Hull into thinking they were thousands in numbers.

So, by the time Brock actually turned his battery guns on Hull and fired off some shells, the Americans raised the white flag in surrender. Note - Hull was also drunk at the time, which no doubt helped immensely in all of the bluffs.

Hull asked Brock for 3 days to determine the terms of the surrender. Brock told him he had three hours (again, totally deserving of that 190 ft statue).

Hull then surrendered everything… cannons, rifles, muskets, food – enough to feed and equip the Canadian and Native militia. Allowing Brock to then concentrate on the Niagara Peninsula.

C’mon people – now tell me that isn’t a good story??!! Well, at least Mr. Delcol certainly thinks so.

Now here is a funny little story about me at Fort Malden:

When I visit the forts, I am very good at listening to the time travelers tell me all about what it was like to fight and live in the forts 200 years ago.

When the nice lady was telling me about how  / where people slept 200 years ago she had my full attention. We surveyed the wooden bunk beds together and she asked me to feel the mattress and then asked me what I thought the mattresses were stuffed with.

I answered ‘peas’. The disappointment in her face revealed that peas was not the answer she was looking for.

Then she asked me, “well, what do horses sleep on”. Nothing, no answer.

Sweating it, she then pulled out the actual substance itself and showed me. Again Nothing.

Horrified, she finally revealed that the answer was ‘straw’. Crickets.

Well, we established that I am a pure city boy that day, much to Grandma’s and the Fort Malden time traveler girl’s complete and utter dismay.

I think that if we had had more time that afternoon, mom and grandma would have dragged me to a farm to show me some straw, and lord knows there were plenty of farms in those parts.

And now in summary, my ask of all of you is to embrace the War of 1812 and read up on it. This is one of the only wars that has ever been fought on Canadian soil (we have to give some props to Wolfe and his defeat of the French at the Plains of Abraham.  Which ironically is also catalogued on this blog)

And, if nothing else, look at all of the fun pictures you can take??!

Sarah is already ahead on this and has been sending mom great pics like these ones all summer. See how much fun history is!!? Which is why we love our Sarah!