October 31, 2014

Death, Hell, or Canada - rides again November 8th

I'll be giving an expanded version of my talk on the Battle of Queenston Heights at the History Center in downtown Ithaca, on Saturday, November 8th from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

History Center talk poster.
Death, Hell, Or Canada: Dryden and the War of 1812.

This time around, I have more information about soldiers from elsewhere in Tompkins County, notably Lansing and Trumansburg, thanks to Carol Kammen and a few town historians. I have more about the comparisons between the armies, and I'll be including more about the Canadian perspective on the battle.

I started from this chapter in George Goodrich's Centennial History of Dryden, which made clear that Dryden militia had fought at the Battle of Queenston Heights, and been killed (one), injured (at least one), or captured (everyone who crossed).

I'll talk about the many ways in which war was different then, and focus on the challenges of a largely militia attack across the Niagara River.

Redcoats firing a musket volley.
Redcoats firing a musket volley.

Somehow, most Americans have forgotten about the War of 1812. Canadians seem to have put a lot more effort into remembering.

Brock cenotaph and monument.
Cenotaph and monument for the fallen General Brock.

I've also posted sets of photos I took while doing research for this:

Obviously, I won't be showing all of those pictures!

Posted by simon at October 31, 2014 7:32 AM in
Note on photos