‘Battle honours’ extended to military units with War of 1812 ties

After more than a year of fierce, back-channel debates among historians and government officials, Canadian military regiments with links to 200-year-old units that fought in the War of 1812 have finally begun receiving so-called “battle honours” that formally recognize Canadian soldiers’ contributions in at least five major engagements from the war.

While Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced this week that several Canadian regiments will now be recognized for “perpetuating” the 19th-century units that fought in the Battle of Detroit — a key August 1812 victory led by British commander Sir Isaac Brock and allied aboriginal warrior Tecumseh — Postmedia News has learned that similar honours will soon be bestowed to other present-day military units for the Battle of Queenston Heights, the Battle of Châteauguay and the Battle of Crysler’s Farm.

Regiments linked to the 1814 Battle of Niagara, including the St. Catharines, Ont.-based Lincoln and Welland Regiment, also received battle honours earlier this summer at a ceremony that launched what’s now expected to be a host of similar official gestures.

The new federal policy was hailed by the Honour Our 1812 Heroes advocacy group this week as a “noble act of kindness and compassion for our ancestors who fought with merit in the War of 1812.”

To military heritage experts, the contentious move to belatedly award the honours to present-day regiments has enormous symbolic importance, finally paying special homage to bygone soldiers while uniting the histories of Canada’s contemporary fighting forces with various predecessor units that successfully defended Canada from U.S. invaders during a crucial, formative phase of Canadian nationhood.