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Placing Battlefields: Ontario's War of 1812 Niagara

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Placing Battlefields: Ontario's War of 1812 Niagara Placing Battlefields: Ontario’s War of 1812 Niagara Frontier, 1885-1930 by Elaine Young A Thesis Presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Elaine Young, July, 2015 ABSTRACT PLACING BATTLEFIELDS: ONTARIO’S WAR OF 1812 NIAGARA FRONTIER, 1885- 1930 Elaine Young Advisor: University of Guelph, 2015 Dr. Alan Gordon This dissertation investigates former War of 1812 battlefields on the Canadian Niagara Frontier as places, or spaces invested with meaning, focussing on 1885 - 1930. These former battlefields include Fort George, Queenston Heights, Beaverdams, Lundy’s Lane, and Fort Erie. In the mid- 1880s Niagara saw the creation of several local historical societies composed of amateur historians and the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC), which was created to protect Niagara Falls and which eventually acquired most of the Frontier’s former battlefields. As places the former battlefields had complex, layered meanings that shifted over time. They were both places with close connections to the War of 1812, and places of nature and recreation. After the War of 1812 political oratory and early written accounts of the conflict helped establish the war’s public memory, and early monuments and tourism helped to enforce the places’ organic connections to that memory. The local historical societies later reinforced these links by erecting monuments on the former battlefields and holding commemorative ceremonies there. The places were important in reflecting and shaping the war’s public memory, as the monuments were erected on the their highest points and speakers at the ceremonies drew on the places to add weight to a public memory stressing sacrifice, loyalty, Britishness, manliness, and peace. As places the former battlefields also gave underprivileged groups opportunities to present alternative public memories of the war. Although they met with relatively little success, women and the Grand River Six Nations both supplemented and contested the places’ public memories through monuments and oratory. While local historical societies were reinforcing the places’ connections to the War of 1812, the NPC was shaping the former battlefields to reflect an idealized nature where visitors could engage in various recreational activities not necessarily related to the places’ public memory. Beginning in the 1910s and accelerating after the Great War, the former battlefields were perceived and used more for recreation than commemoration. The former battlefields’ meanings as battlefields and parks coexisted, but over time the places became less significant as battlefields, and more significant as parks. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have made this project possible, and I will do my best to acknowledge at least some of them here. First, I would like to thank Dr. Alan Gordon for his patience and guidance throughout my Doctoral studies. His insightful comments and suggestions pushed me to come to my own conclusions, while providing guidance when I needed it. My committee members, Dr. Geoffrey Hayes of the University of Waterloo and Dr. David Monod of Wilfrid Laurier University, provided perceptive feedback that made this study a stronger and more rounded final product. My thanks also go to Dr. Cecilia Morgan for acting as external examiner, and to Dr. Susan Nance and Dr. Linda Mahood for sitting on the examining committee and chairing the Doctoral defence, respectively. The University of Guelph History Department has been a supportive learning environment, and I would like to extend special thanks to Barbara Mitterer and Michael Boterman for their efforts and expertise. The staffs of Niagara’s local libraries, archives, and museums have provided enthusiasm and guidance, and I would also like to thank the staff of the Archives of Ontario and Library and Archives Canada. This dissertation would also not have been possible without the support of friends and family. My colleagues in the tri- University program have been a source of both informal academic discussion and support, while friends in Hamilton and elsewhere have provided much-needed breaks. Jim and Sheila Dillane provided a home-base for many research trips and have been supportive throughout. I have benefitted from my siblings’ insights into the world of academia, and watching their families grow over the course of this project has given me great joy. My parents, Dennis and Marie, have been a source of strength and have provided unwavering support of many kinds. Last, I would like to give my deepest thanks to Jeff. He has been a constant companion, listening ear, and cheerleader through every step of this journey, and it would not have been possible without him. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Placing Public Memory ........................................................................................................... 1 Space and Place......................................................................................................................................... 8 Public Memory........................................................................................................................................ 18 Place, Public Memory, and Tourism ....................................................................................................... 29 Outline .................................................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 1 – Niagara and the War of 1812 .................................................................................................. 49 Early Politics and Histories ..................................................................................................................... 50 The Niagara Peninsula ............................................................................................................................ 61 Sir Isaac Brock: Hero of Upper Canada .................................................................................................. 69 1813: American Invasion and the Torch ................................................................................................. 76 1814: Bloody Stalemate .......................................................................................................................... 86 The Final Chapter ................................................................................................................................... 93 Tourism ................................................................................................................................................... 97 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 115 Chapter 2 - Guarding the Frontier: Local Historical Societies and the Niagara Parks Commission ........ 118 Niagara’s Local Historical Societies ..................................................................................................... 120 The Niagara Parks Commission ............................................................................................................ 137 The NPC and Niagara’s Battlefields ..................................................................................................... 144 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 159 Chapter 3- Placing Public Memory: Monuments and Ceremony ............................................................. 161 The Battle Monuments .......................................................................................................................... 162 Monumental Placing ............................................................................................................................. 170 Ceremony .............................................................................................................................................. 180 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 217 Chapter 4 - Gender and Race on the Frontier ........................................................................................... 219 Women and History .............................................................................................................................. 222 The Heroine’s Monuments ................................................................................................................... 224 Placing Laura Secord ............................................................................................................................ 230 Women and Ceremonies ....................................................................................................................... 238 The Grand River Six Nations ................................................................................................................ 252 The Voices of the Six Nations .............................................................................................................. 264 Contestation .......................................................................................................................................... 274 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................
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