REMEMBERING
Local events commemorate bicentennial
American and British soldiers are said to have hoisted toasts to each other in the Fort George mess hall when a courier burst into the Niagra-on-the-lake base with shocking news.
It was June 1812 and American president James Madison had just declared war on Great Britain.
Suddenly, officers on both sides of the table were adversaries.
The pronouncement likely caused a furor — especially among the Americans who now found themselves on enemy soil in Upper Canada.
But amid shattered wine glasses and flustered faces, legend says the mess president stood up to silence the crowd.
“He said ‘gentlemen, please be seated. Let’s not let bad news ruin a good dinner’,” recounted Ron Dale, War of 1812 Bicentennial Project Manager for Parks Canada.
Two hundred years later, a Calgary historical society is hosting a regimental mess dinner on Saturday to honour this remarkable soiree as part of their War of 1812 commemorations.
It may seem odd that Calgarians would mark long-ago battles centred largely in Eastern Canada, but had the War of 1812 gone differently Alberta might very well be an American state right now.
“It was a confusing time in our history. But at the end of the day, with the Treaty of Ghent, it defined the borders of our country,” said Cameron Diggon, officer commanding for the 78th Fraser Highlanders, Fort Calgary Garrison which is honouring the War of 1812 this weekend.
“The outcome of the war is the longest-held peaceful boundary between two countries since that time,” he said.
On Saturday, the Military Museums will be transported 200 years into the past — complete with firing muskets and smoking cannons — as the 78th Fraser Highlanders, Fort Calgary Garrison celebrate the War of 1812.
Starting at 2 p.m. the public is invited to witness a full military parade complete with pipe and drum performances from the 78th Fraser Highlander Youth Squad at the Military Museums.
Volunteers in period costumes will also be on hand to chat about what life was like during the three-year conflict between then British North America and the United States which saw a mixture of local militia, First Nations and British soldiers successfully defend against an American invasion.
Consuls from both the United States and United Kingdom are slated to attend Saturday’s commemoration which will wrap up with a 2012 “hands across the border” dinner for about 100 people.
The Military Museums is fine tunning an exhibit entitled Shaping Our Nation, War of 1812.
Starting this weekend, display cases featuring donated items from the period will be set up in the Queen Elizabeth II atrium over the summer. The artifacts include images of strategic naval battles, buttons excavated from battle sites and an 1808 naval boarding cutlass with its well-worn and lethal blade intact.
The new exhibit will be finalized by the fall when it can be made available to Grade 7 students who are studying the war as part of their social studies curriculum, said the Military Museums Executive Director Tom Doucette.
It’s critical for all Canadians to understand the significance of the War of 1812, said Dale, who helped organize commemorative events across the country for Parks Canada.
British colonies from Newfoundland to Upper Canada, which had previously shown little interest in collaborating as a region, banded together for the first time against a common American enemy.
“The War of 1812 was a nationbuilding event,” Dale said. “It paved the way for confederation.”