A big bang for history buffs at Fort George
While they were reliving the American Revolution at the other end of the Niagara River at Fort Erie, re-enactors from Parks Canada were paying tribute to soldiers who fought and died in and around Fort George in 1813.
Dressed in period uniforms, they fired field artillery pieces and mortars with a musket demonstration added in, recalling the efforts of soldiers who defended the fort during a bombardment by American forces from across the Niagara River on May 25, 1813.
“There is a reason we call it living history,” said Peter Martin, a special events co-ordinator who was dressed as an officer of the engineers. “It puts some action to what people did 200 years.”
At the end of May 1813, American batteries from in and around Fort Niagara fired cannonballs, which were heated in furnaces until they were red hot, into the British-held fort, which was, for the most part, made of earth and wood.
“To make a long story short, the Americans just hammered the fort with hotshot,” Martin said. “It wasn’t a good place to be.”
Two days later the Americans invaded and took the fort, with the British retreating first toward Queenston and then on to Burlington.
The Battle of Fort George during the War of 1812 cost the British army 52 killed, 44 wounded and 262 missing. The Lincoln Militia, made up of soldiers from the surrounding area, lost five officers and 80 other ranks, several whom were killed and had names such as Collard and Cudney, which are prevalent in Niagara more than 200 years later. The U.S. army lost one officer and 39 enlisted men killed. Five officers and 106 other ranks were wounded.
The Americans eventually abandoned what was left of the fort in December 1813 after checks at the Battle of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. They burned the village as they left for good measure.
When it comes to modern-day soldiers at Fort George, safety is paramount, Martin said.
“A first-year student wouldn’t be part of the artillery demonstration,” Martin said. “You start with a musket and eventually graduate to the artillery.
“They get extensive training including dry runs for weeks before we actually fire a cannon.”
While the cannon ball is missing, the charge is real, as the deafening sound and cloud of smoke can attest.
“We start with the actual British training manuals,” Martin said. “We also add a few twists to make it safer.”
The re-enactors were also celebrating Artillery Day, albeit one day early. It was on May 26, 1716, that King George I issued the Royal Warrant that formed the first regular artillery force in Britain.