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nippercat · Global Moderator

How I found this site. About 4 years ago I was looking for a support group on MSN and came across this site.

I live in Hamilton, Ontario and have lived here all my life.

Here is a little bit about Hamilton, and the battle of Stoney Creek, which a lot of our American friends do not know about.

History of Hamilton

1812-1844: invasion and rebellion

The Battle of Stoney Creek was fought on June 6, 1813, during the War of 1812 near Stoney Creek, Ontario. British units made a night attack on an American encampment. A victory for the British, and a turning point in the defense of Upper Canada. The Americans were defeated as they advanced north towards Burlington Heights; after their defeat, they retreated east along the Niagara Peninsula to Forty Mile Creek. The site is commemorated today as Battle of Stoney Creek National Historic Site, home to historic buildings and an annual re-enactment.

Background

On May 27, the Americans had captured the British position at Fort George. The British, under Brigadier General John Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights. The Americans under the overall leadership of General Henry Dearborn, were slow to pursue. When they did so, a force numbering 3,400 under Brigadier Generals John Chandler and William H. Winder advanced to Stoney Creek, where they encamped on June 5. The two generals set up their headquarters at the Gage Farm.

One of Vincent's staff officers, Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, reconnoitred the American position and determined that it was badly placed and inadequately protected. He recommended making a night attack. The British column, 700 men from the 8th (King's) and 49th Regiments, were guided to the American camp by a local farm hand, Billy Green, who had also discovered the American challenge and password.

Battle

The British arrived in position at 2 a.m. on June 7. An advanced American outpost in a log church was surprised and bayonetted. The British began advancing towards the American campfires but stumbled into American soldiers. Either Indians or British soldiers raised the Indian war whoop immediately, and the Americans were alerted. Harvey had ordered the flints to be removed from the British muskets to avoid premature firing. Some units even had unloaded muskets. A small party under Major Charles Plenderleath (commanding the 49th) rushed forward to capture four American guns with the bayonet, but most of the British, trying to replace flints or load and prime in the middle of the fighting, became as confused as the surprised Americans.

The American commander, John Chandler, was wounded and captured. Winder mistook British troops for his own men and was also captured. Major Joseph Lee Smith of the 25th U.S. Infantry saw the capture of Winder and alerted his men to make a quick withdrawal, thereby avoiding capture.

On the British side, Vincent was thrown from his horse and wandered lost in the woods until daylight. As dawn broke, Harvey ordered the outnumbered British to retreat. They succeeded in carrying away two of the captured guns.

Aftermath

Casualties in the confused fight had been roughly even, but the Americans had been shaken. With their Generals captured, the American colonels decided that Dragoon Commander James Burns was the senior officer present. Burns had already been criticised for failure to trap the retreating British at Fort George. Now, he ordered the Americans to burn the stores at Stoney Creek and retreat.

George Hamilton, a settler and local politician, established a town site in the northern portion Barton Township after the war in 1815. He kept several east-west roads which were originally Indian trails, but the north-south streets were on a regular grid pattern. Streets were designated "East" or "West" if they crossed James Street or King’s Highway No. 6. Streets were designated "North" or "South" if they crossed King Street or King’s Highway No. 8.[2]

Gore Park, whose western boundary is King and James Streets, formed the public square for the new settlement and has remained the centre of the city ever since. The original plot of land set aside for the courthouse has had four different buildings erected on it. It was only supplanted as the court site by a move across the street in the 1990s as part of an architectural preservation project for the Post Office and Dominion Public Building.

Gore District of Upper Canada and Wentworth County were created in 1816, with Mr. Hamilton’s settlement as the seat for both. The county’s original constituent townships included the following, the territory of which became part of the amalgamated Hamilton in 2001: Ancaster (later a town), Barton, Binbrook (later one half of Glanbrook), Glanford (later the other half of Glanbrook) and Saltfleet (later the town and city of Stoney Creek). Seneca and Brant Townships were also original constituents of the county but later became part of Brant County.

* Ambitious City
* Steeltown
* the Hammer
* Hammertown
* the Lunchbucket City

Today, however, health care has outstripped heavy industry as the largest employer. Education, government, services and technology sectors have all dramatically developed as heavy industry has declined. Because of this, and the fact that the city's waterfront is in the middle of a re-birth, there is currently a movement to re-brand Hamilton as The Bay City.

ResidentInsomniac · Site Admin

Nice history lesson Mary. Being a history buff, I loved it. I admit that being an original Torontonian, your City and mine always had a rivalry going on. rolmao

By the way, the Argros are better than the Ty-cats! rolmao

If anyone ever has a chance to go to Hamilton, you must stop in a the Botanical Gardens. It is so beautiful there.

Thank you Mary for the info.