The term battle is a bit misleading. The Battle of Fort Dearborn is one of the many skirmishes that took place in the old Northwest during the course of the Anglo-American War of 1812. The Indigenous peoples who decided to take advantage of the conflict further east began a campaign against American settlers and expansion by laying siege to the series of Forts established to aid in the colonisation of the American territories established after the Northwest Indian Wars of the previous century. Some of these sieges met with success, but after the defeat of the Americans at Mackinac Island, General William Hull began toRead More →

Fort Stephenson was a sleepy supply depot fort built under the orders of General William Henry Harrison after he gained command of the Army of the Northwest in 1813. Fort Stephenson’s task was to guard the Sandusky River. The fort consisted of a palisade wall with three blockhouses. By the summer of 1813 was under the command of the young Major George Croghan, and a garrison of 160 regulars from the 17th and 24th US Infantry, along with the local militia. After the failure of the second British assault in early July of 1813 against Harrison’s largest supply forts, Fort Meigs Harrison knew that theRead More →

After the fall of Detroit to General Brock in the summer of 1812 the British moved quickly to establish a beachhead in the northwest to ensure the security of Upper Canada, and to hold the territory to fulfill a promise to their native allies that it would become their own country at the end of the war (should the British win). The capture of Detroit also put a halt to the planned invasion of Upper Canada from the west. President Madison replaced General Hull as the commander of the Army of the Northwest for the near bloodless capture of Detroit. He first put General WinchesterRead More →

This is what it’s all been leading up to. A print, there’s something unique about holding a print in your hand, looking down at the patterns of light and shadow being brought out in blacks, whites, and grays, it’s magic. Well actually its science, the perfect blend of art and science. Creating the print is a rather neat process from start to end and when you sit down and think about the sheer amount of control you have over the whole process is fantastic. You get to pick the camera (and in some cases the lens), film stock. Then you can meter it the wayRead More →

The American plan for the invasion of Upper Canada would be a simple one. A coordinated three-pronged attack that would strike at Fort Amherstburg in the West, Montreal in the East, and the Niagara Penisula in the center. But in the 19th-Century coordinating three attacks with such vast distances between them was impossible. The Americans also believed that the local population would welcome them as liberators, not invaders. The quick turnabout at Detroit proved this second part wrong. And while General Isaac Brock proved himself the Saviour of Upper Canada at Detroit he would soon face both his next challenge and his mortality. A PlaqueRead More →

The British Capture of Fort Niagara is one of many controversial engagements of the Anglo-American War of 1812 and certainly marked a shift in the tactics of both the British and Americans in the final year of the war. General Gordon Drummond’s orders came on the heels of the destruction of the town of Niagara, today Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, by the Americans and a group of traitorous Canadians. While the exact details of the destruction were blown out of proportion to justify the brutality of the capture better, it none the less is a dark stain on the British record of the war. Fort Niagara asRead More →

If you have had the chance to go down by the river banks and lake shore in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, there’s a good chance that you’ve looked across the water and seen a series of stone buildings on the opposite shore. That is the former Fort Niagara, some of the oldest stone buildings in the area. The promontory that stands at the entrance to the Niagara River on Lake Ontario has long been a strategic location. While originally part of the traditional lands of the Seneca Peoples, a member of the Haudenosaunee, it has been one of the longest-serving military posts in North America’s colonial history.Read More →

Sometimes a change of location is good, and as you all know, I love the northern section of Ontario. So throughout the summer, Tim, Chris, Tom, Mat, Dan, and I started formulating an idea for a retreat up into northern Ontario for a weekend film retreat, eventually settling on the last weekend in September. We all being fans of or connected to the Film Photography Project. The numbers changed throughout the summer, settling on Tim, Dan, Chris, Tom, Myself, and Tim’s Friend Eric. Six guys, a lot of beer, and even more cameras, everything from an 8×10 beast to 35mm (no 110, sorry). It Rained.Read More →

The Battle of Stoney Creek is recognized by many as one of the engagements that saved Upper Canada. And they would be right, by the end of May 1813 the British Army having been defeated at the Battle of Fort George retreated from the Niagara frontier and established a new defensive post at Burlington Heights, fortifying a small farm that commanded a view of Burlington Bay. A network of Blockhouses and earthworks to hopefully hold any further American aggression before they could reach further into Upper Canada. The American Commander, General Henry Dearborn was a cautious commander. Rather than follow the recommendations of his moreRead More →

What do chocolate and the war of 1812 have in common; just one thing, a name, Laura Secord. Many people today hear the name Laura Secord and think of the Canadian confectionary company, but there was a hero behind that name. But unlike other heroes from the war whose names were praised right after their great victories, Laura lived in relative obscurity for decades after the war had ended. Born Laura Ingersoll on the 13th of September 1775 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, she was the eldest of four born to Thomas Ingersoll and Elizabeth Dewey. When she was eight her mother passed away, her fatherRead More →