By:
On:
In: Project:1812
With: 0 Comments

Located in Oswego, New York, Fort Ontario, is one of three 18th and 19th century fortifications that were built to defend the Oswego River. Often confused and called Fort Oswego, Fort Ontario is located on the western bank of the Oswego River, while the actual Fort Oswego was located on the Eastern Bank, and stood approximately at West First and Lake Street in Oswego. The main gate of the fort Originally constructed as “Fort Six Nations” in 1755 by the French during the French and Indian War (part of the greater Seven Years War), following the French capture of the region that saw the BritishRead More →

By:
On:
In: 52:320TXP
With: 0 Comments

It ended with an explosion, but this is how it started, the sun creeping up over the historic fort, the trees, earthworks, masonry redoubts and blockhouses, tangled abatis, and rows of white tents. This was the scene early Saturday morning as nearly 1100 military reenactors started to crawl out of their tents and start to put on their uniforms, ready to put on a show the likes the site or the neighbourhood had ever seen. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the bloody siege of Fort Erie, the last major campaign on Canadian soil during the War of 1812. Sure, Plattsburg, Cooks Mills, Bladensburg,Read More →

By:
On:
In: Project:1867
With: 0 Comments

While the Battle of Lake Erie was considered the greatest inland naval battle of 1813, the Battle of Plattsburg or rather Battle of Lake Champlain was the greatest inland naval battle of 1814. By fall of 1814 the British army had beaten back Napoleon and was pouring troops into North American at a rapid pace, already General Robert Ross had burning Washington DC and was marching for Baltimore, another force had captured most of what would become Maine. Yeo and Chauncy continued to chase each other around Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron had been secured under British control with the bold captures of the TigressRead More →

By:
On:
In: Project:1867
With: 0 Comments

Moral within the American army was falling fast by the autumn of 1813. While Detroit had one, and at the Battle of the Thames William Henry Harrison had secured the western parts of Upper Canada, a majority of the colony remained in the hands of the British, and the only American army that could strike remained pinned at Fort George. The other two armies languished at Sacket’s Harbor and Burlington Vermont on Lake Champlain. The secretary of war, John Armstrong was at odds with his new Commander-In-Chief, General James Wilkinson where to strike next. Wilkinson believed that the best place to strike against the BritishRead More →

By:
On:
In: 52:320TXP
With: 0 Comments

Nothing like making the best out of a bad situation, but at least it wasn’t raining. In week 32, I again lurked around Cleveland, Ohio, for the Northeast Ohio APUG meetup (NEOH APUG) hosted by the wonderful John and Dolly Powers. The Sunday found us at the lake shore trying to get shots of these tug boats, the entire fleet of tugs for the Great Lakes Shipyard nearby. The morning rain storm turned into blazing overhead light, less than ideal circumstances to photograph, but rather than risk it raining again later, I looked around for the best spot in the marina I was in toRead More →

By:
On:
In: Film Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

Located on a sleepy treelined street in Ann Arbor Michigan in an old building is a museum, while not large, holds a piece of Americana, the Argus Museum. I was inspired by Mark O’Brien who mentioned this museum on Episode 108 of the Film Photography Podcast and decided to take a trip to visit on my way home from Ohio on the August Long Weekend. One of the neat features of the museum is where it’s located, not just Ann Arbor, but in the original buildings that the cameras were made in. That’s right, instead of demolishing or letting them fall apart (which would’ve beenRead More →

By:
On:
In: 52:320TXP
With: 0 Comments

This happens when you don’t double-check things; you get an awful flare that takes out a whole top section of your photo. But rather than groan about it, I posted it anyways, because that’s a rule I laid out for myself. But enough about mistakes (I should’ve swung the camera around and shot High Falls instead…). This is probably my favourite spot to eat in all of Rochester (Dog Town is a close second), the Genesee Brew House, a brewpub attached to the Genesee Brewery with a full selection of their beers and some pretty fantastic food. Genesee traces its legacy back to 1819, butRead More →

By:
On:
In: Project:1867
With: 0 Comments

When it came to naval warfare in the 19th century the undisputed masters of the sea was the Royal Navy. The rivers and lakes of Upper and Lower Canada were the highways of the day, these were the main trade routes not only for economic purposes but military as well. Any nation that controlled the waterways, could control the course of the war. With the United States not having a squadron of note on the Great Lakes at the start of the war the British were quick to seize control of both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. With Brock’s capture of Detroit in August ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: 52:320TXP
With: 0 Comments

Located a handful of kilometres from the US/Canada border sits a lonely blockhouse, an odd sight today. Most Blockhouses in Canada are usually attached to some larger fort or remainders from a larger complex. But not just one sitting out at an intersection of two provincial highways. But the Lacolle Blockhouse is a spot, part of the larger border defence between Lower Canada (today Quebec) and the United States that sprang up during and after the American Revolution. The blockhouse was first built in 1781 (yes, this is original) to defend the border and the nearby lighthouse and mill. However, the British and Militia whoRead More →

By:
On:
In: Project:1812
With: 0 Comments

The final engagement in the Northern Theatre of the War of 1812 was two different naval actions, but as the two are intimately connected, I have combined them into one entry and titled it after the second engagement, the Battle of Lake Huron. The results of this battle gave the undisputed British control over the North by the end of the war, and sole control of Lake Huron. Following Croghan’s failure to take back Mackinac Island in his frontal assault in August of 1814, Sinclair opted to blockade the small island fort and cut off the supply line which meant locating H.M. Schooner Nancy. Eventually,Read More →