Friday, August 24, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Roots
Fort Erie Roots by Earl Plato U.E.
At our Dec.3rd United Empire Loyalist Annual Meeting at Betty’s Restaurant some of us volunteered to share something about our Loyalist ancestors. I was one. Following is an excerpt from an earlier article of mine. How did I end up in Fort Erie? Want to know more about your family name? Get on the Internet and try to “Dig Up Your Roots”. I used the Yahoo engine and found The Olive Tree Genealogy by Lorine McGinnis Schulze and was amazed to find out new facts about my Fort Erie (Plato) ancestors. Find the Olive Tree Genealogy Homepage and find the title THREE LOYALIST UNITS. Bring it up. You find: BUTLER’S RANGERS, SIR JOHN JOHNSTON’S BRIGADE & KING’S ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK. I had always believed based on my research that Christian and his son, Peter James Plato were in Butler’s Rangers. They were. But thanks to the Olive Tree I find that Christian started in a different service. Here we read the Canadian version off the Internet: “On Aug. 6, 1777 at Oriskany, then Colony of New York, forces under Sir John Johnston’s command including 150 King’s Royal Regiment, 40 Indian Department Rangers commanded by Major John Butler, 50 German riflemen and many Mohawks and Senecas ambushed 800 rebel militia on their way to relieve Fort Stanwix. 400 rebels were killed. The Internet page headlines: List of Men formerly in Sir John Johnson’s Brigade. Of the 50 Loyalist riflemen we read the list of the men from Sir John Johnston’s “Green” Brigade who joined Joseph Brant’s Volunteers. Two of them stand out for me- William May and Christian Plato - they were brother-in-laws. Christian had married William’s sister, Dorotea May born in 1736 in the Colony of New York. They were married in 1756. Both men became Butler’s Rangers attached to Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. Many years later William May testified in an official government document that he knew Christian’s son and his nephew, Peter James Plato as a loyalist from New York. He gives a good description of his nephew’s history as a Butler‘s Ranger.
***
Christian Plato was a loyalist spy with a price on his head - $100 - that’s like $10,000 today. On page 17 of the book listing the Losses of Loyalists in New York we find Christian Plato, yeoman farmer, losing his home and property by an Act of Congress. If captured during the Rebellion by the American rebels I believe he would be shown no mercy. He survived as did his son. After the war Christian received substantial Crown land grants in Niagara - 300 acres . Peter James Plato received 300 acres and married Catharine Bowen, the daughter of loyalist Cornelius Bowen, and received an additional 200 acres. Like other United Empire Loyalist descendants I wonder when the United States government will reimburse us for the forcible loss of property as in the example of Christian Plato and others. Eh?
The real criteria for being a United Empire Loyalist and using the initials , U.E. , I believe, has to do with substantiated military service during the American Revolution, identified loss of lands in the American colonies, and consistent loyalty to the flag and Crown of Great Britain. Get on the Internet and start looking!
At our Dec.3rd United Empire Loyalist Annual Meeting at Betty’s Restaurant some of us volunteered to share something about our Loyalist ancestors. I was one. Following is an excerpt from an earlier article of mine. How did I end up in Fort Erie? Want to know more about your family name? Get on the Internet and try to “Dig Up Your Roots”. I used the Yahoo engine and found The Olive Tree Genealogy by Lorine McGinnis Schulze and was amazed to find out new facts about my Fort Erie (Plato) ancestors. Find the Olive Tree Genealogy Homepage and find the title THREE LOYALIST UNITS. Bring it up. You find: BUTLER’S RANGERS, SIR JOHN JOHNSTON’S BRIGADE & KING’S ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK. I had always believed based on my research that Christian and his son, Peter James Plato were in Butler’s Rangers. They were. But thanks to the Olive Tree I find that Christian started in a different service. Here we read the Canadian version off the Internet: “On Aug. 6, 1777 at Oriskany, then Colony of New York, forces under Sir John Johnston’s command including 150 King’s Royal Regiment, 40 Indian Department Rangers commanded by Major John Butler, 50 German riflemen and many Mohawks and Senecas ambushed 800 rebel militia on their way to relieve Fort Stanwix. 400 rebels were killed. The Internet page headlines: List of Men formerly in Sir John Johnson’s Brigade. Of the 50 Loyalist riflemen we read the list of the men from Sir John Johnston’s “Green” Brigade who joined Joseph Brant’s Volunteers. Two of them stand out for me- William May and Christian Plato - they were brother-in-laws. Christian had married William’s sister, Dorotea May born in 1736 in the Colony of New York. They were married in 1756. Both men became Butler’s Rangers attached to Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. Many years later William May testified in an official government document that he knew Christian’s son and his nephew, Peter James Plato as a loyalist from New York. He gives a good description of his nephew’s history as a Butler‘s Ranger.
***
Christian Plato was a loyalist spy with a price on his head - $100 - that’s like $10,000 today. On page 17 of the book listing the Losses of Loyalists in New York we find Christian Plato, yeoman farmer, losing his home and property by an Act of Congress. If captured during the Rebellion by the American rebels I believe he would be shown no mercy. He survived as did his son. After the war Christian received substantial Crown land grants in Niagara - 300 acres . Peter James Plato received 300 acres and married Catharine Bowen, the daughter of loyalist Cornelius Bowen, and received an additional 200 acres. Like other United Empire Loyalist descendants I wonder when the United States government will reimburse us for the forcible loss of property as in the example of Christian Plato and others. Eh?
The real criteria for being a United Empire Loyalist and using the initials , U.E. , I believe, has to do with substantiated military service during the American Revolution, identified loss of lands in the American colonies, and consistent loyalty to the flag and Crown of Great Britain. Get on the Internet and start looking!
Go West
Go West Young Fort Eriean Earl Plato
Go west young men! Well we’re not young anymore but south western Ontario was our destination. We Fort Erieans were up bright and early and arrived at Oil Springs too early to enter the Oil Museum of Canada there. We walked the grounds on yet another beautifully, clear morn. Yes, this is where the first commercial oil well in North America was drilled in 1858. Of the two sites, Petrolia and Oil Springs I prefer Oil Springs especially for its great museum. The curator opened the doors sharply at 10 a.m. but we continued to look at the Jerker Lines. Jerker Lines? .We could hear the gentle creak of the lines. You have to see them to appreciate these wooden rods as they move back and forth helping to pump the oil or should I say “Lambton County, Canada Tea!” This is oil country. A sign said that they are used to relay power from the pump house to the seven oil wells on the museum property. From the excellent 20 minute video in the museum we learned that this Jerker Line System was developed by John Henry Fairbank here in Oil Springs about 150 years ago and is used around the world. That’s Canadian ingenuity, eh! They are still used today on over 500 wells still pumping in the area. We could see Walking Beam Jerker Lines in the wells in the fields near the museum.
I don’t know if Jane Davies, our talented curator at the Fort Erie Museum, has ever been here but I know she would love the spaciousness of this museum. I had viewed the old historical video some ten years ago. This recent one was professionally well done. Oil Well displays, a geology display, steam pump, fossil and mineral collections, oil tools and a cable drill rig model and we were still in the theatre room! The main foyer had an oil work wagon, a spring pole drilling model, early tools, oil samples and uses and for us old Esso users, an Imperial Oil display, pumps and all. Artifacts galore! The oil drill dropped off at the Museum by Howard Hughes, one of the first street lamps, a wooden hand pump they first used to pump oil, the Red Adair suit and for nature lovers, beautiful butterfly collections from around the world, a bird egg collection , and several photo albums that told the more recent history of Oil Springs. We finally left the museum which is located on the original site of the first commercial oil well dug in 1858 by James Miller Williams. Outside we saw the sole remaining kerosene lamp from Oil Springs in 1862 when the main street of Oil Springs was lined for its whole length of one and one-half miles with these lamps! Oil Springs was the first town in the world to achieve this distinction. Another great Canadian historical event!
We were provided with a local road map and drove the periphery of the site from Kelly Road. From Highway 402 take 21 South (Wyoming turnoff) to Oil Springs - look for National Historic Site signs.
Go west young men! Well we’re not young anymore but south western Ontario was our destination. We Fort Erieans were up bright and early and arrived at Oil Springs too early to enter the Oil Museum of Canada there. We walked the grounds on yet another beautifully, clear morn. Yes, this is where the first commercial oil well in North America was drilled in 1858. Of the two sites, Petrolia and Oil Springs I prefer Oil Springs especially for its great museum. The curator opened the doors sharply at 10 a.m. but we continued to look at the Jerker Lines. Jerker Lines? .We could hear the gentle creak of the lines. You have to see them to appreciate these wooden rods as they move back and forth helping to pump the oil or should I say “Lambton County, Canada Tea!” This is oil country. A sign said that they are used to relay power from the pump house to the seven oil wells on the museum property. From the excellent 20 minute video in the museum we learned that this Jerker Line System was developed by John Henry Fairbank here in Oil Springs about 150 years ago and is used around the world. That’s Canadian ingenuity, eh! They are still used today on over 500 wells still pumping in the area. We could see Walking Beam Jerker Lines in the wells in the fields near the museum.
I don’t know if Jane Davies, our talented curator at the Fort Erie Museum, has ever been here but I know she would love the spaciousness of this museum. I had viewed the old historical video some ten years ago. This recent one was professionally well done. Oil Well displays, a geology display, steam pump, fossil and mineral collections, oil tools and a cable drill rig model and we were still in the theatre room! The main foyer had an oil work wagon, a spring pole drilling model, early tools, oil samples and uses and for us old Esso users, an Imperial Oil display, pumps and all. Artifacts galore! The oil drill dropped off at the Museum by Howard Hughes, one of the first street lamps, a wooden hand pump they first used to pump oil, the Red Adair suit and for nature lovers, beautiful butterfly collections from around the world, a bird egg collection , and several photo albums that told the more recent history of Oil Springs. We finally left the museum which is located on the original site of the first commercial oil well dug in 1858 by James Miller Williams. Outside we saw the sole remaining kerosene lamp from Oil Springs in 1862 when the main street of Oil Springs was lined for its whole length of one and one-half miles with these lamps! Oil Springs was the first town in the world to achieve this distinction. Another great Canadian historical event!
We were provided with a local road map and drove the periphery of the site from Kelly Road. From Highway 402 take 21 South (Wyoming turnoff) to Oil Springs - look for National Historic Site signs.
Old Indian Trail
Forterie0706 Earl Plato
Historical research! Ten years could be spent by me at Fort Erie Centennial library and I still wouldn’t exhaust Fort Erie historian Louis McDermott’s massive collection. So I look at various topics that I might have knowledge of for an article. I found one by Audrey (Miller) Laurie about the Old Indian Trail. I quote from her article written many years ago. Laurie stated, “ There is no more historic or romantic trail than that of the Old Indian Trail between the Niagara River and Lake Erie.” I most agree. The late Bert Miller introduced the Trail to me as a youth. We explored the flora along the limestone ridge and I was lowered into the split-in-the- Rock as a ten year old. As a boy scout I rode the Trail on bicycle from Fort Erie and spent many nights at Split Rock Boy Scout camp. Yes, as a writer of local historical fiction I eulogized the Trail and the Split in my novel, Our People Live. The actual map of the Trail used in the book is a version of Bert Miller’s original drawing. “Historic and romantic!” Read my novel and I think you will appreciate the Old Indian Trail more as Fort Erieans. What are the town’s future plan for this “historical road“? Preservation, I hope, so even with historical plaques if nothing else. Suggestions: Change or add to the Ridge Road North designation - Old Indian Trail or Split Rock Road.
***
Do you remember the “Split-in-the-Rock? It is an anomaly on the west side of the Old Indian Trail. Audrey Miller Laurie wrote the following about the “Split.” “… one place near the top of the Split is a large slab of rock perhaps four feet thick that spans the opening. One end lies on the main limestone and the other end on the part that separated and forms a natural bridge.”
Writer’s note: I have stood on that limestone slab and wondered how it could have formed. In my novel I use it as sacred altar for the local native people, the Attiwandarons. Thank you Audrey MillerLaurie for the reminder of a special place on the Old Indian Trail.
Historical research! Ten years could be spent by me at Fort Erie Centennial library and I still wouldn’t exhaust Fort Erie historian Louis McDermott’s massive collection. So I look at various topics that I might have knowledge of for an article. I found one by Audrey (Miller) Laurie about the Old Indian Trail. I quote from her article written many years ago. Laurie stated, “ There is no more historic or romantic trail than that of the Old Indian Trail between the Niagara River and Lake Erie.” I most agree. The late Bert Miller introduced the Trail to me as a youth. We explored the flora along the limestone ridge and I was lowered into the split-in-the- Rock as a ten year old. As a boy scout I rode the Trail on bicycle from Fort Erie and spent many nights at Split Rock Boy Scout camp. Yes, as a writer of local historical fiction I eulogized the Trail and the Split in my novel, Our People Live. The actual map of the Trail used in the book is a version of Bert Miller’s original drawing. “Historic and romantic!” Read my novel and I think you will appreciate the Old Indian Trail more as Fort Erieans. What are the town’s future plan for this “historical road“? Preservation, I hope, so even with historical plaques if nothing else. Suggestions: Change or add to the Ridge Road North designation - Old Indian Trail or Split Rock Road.
***
Do you remember the “Split-in-the-Rock? It is an anomaly on the west side of the Old Indian Trail. Audrey Miller Laurie wrote the following about the “Split.” “… one place near the top of the Split is a large slab of rock perhaps four feet thick that spans the opening. One end lies on the main limestone and the other end on the part that separated and forms a natural bridge.”
Writer’s note: I have stood on that limestone slab and wondered how it could have formed. In my novel I use it as sacred altar for the local native people, the Attiwandarons. Thank you Audrey MillerLaurie for the reminder of a special place on the Old Indian Trail.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Part 3 of 3
FortErie Race Track Part 3 of 3 Earl Plato
The headline read, “PIONEER BOOKIES FLOURISHED.” Harry Hawkins, long time Fort Erie resident, now deceased, recalled those early days at Fort Erie Race Track circa 1900. He said that in the pioneer days of the track there were no “pari-mutuel” machines. “The old handbook was run by Chambers and Walker,” Harry said. “Used to be 40 or 50 hand bookies in the ring. Big difference in the betting then, if you bet a horse at 25 to 1 and he was backed down to 10 to 1 and he came in, you got him at 25 to 1. The machines put an end to that. Same odds for everyone,” In the old days the bookmaker couldn’t lose. One horse would be 2 to1, another - the favourite - 6 to1. If the bookies got too much money on the better horse they’d put the money upon the other one. They had to, to make money. In other words Harry said.” … the bookies could manipulate the odds to their advantage.” Harry produced another treasure. It was a silk souvenir programme for Friday, June 22nd. 1900. It was framed for protection. “E.P.Taylor offered me a good price for this, But I wouldn’t sell it for any price.” One last question to Harry Hawkins was: As a lifelong turf follower Mr, Hawkins, do you have any advice for the race track bettor?” We read that the tall, lean expert laughed, “If you go to the races for sport that’s okay, but if you go to make money you’re a sucker. It’s been said before and I’ll say it again. You can win on a race but you can’t win on the races!” Thanks Harry.
***
Look at our race track today. Enormous parking lots with shuttle buses to pick you up and drop you off at the entrance, Transportation for both horses and patrons has changed drastically since 1897. In those early days horses and patrons were transported to the track by a ‘race’ train. Today the horses arrive in modern streamlined vans and the patrons arrive in flashy new cars or by modern buses. Toronto patrons back then would board the Grand Truck Railway out of Toronto arriving here at the Bridgeburg station about 11 am. Many of the passengers would dine at the Barnea House just across from the station. Note: The old north end C.N.R. station house is gone but the Barnea House is still in operation. You now had three ways to get to the track we are told. You could rent an outfit with a horse and drive yourself or have someone drive you there. That was quite expensive. A second way was to join others on a surrey with a fringe on top. This was considerably less money. The third way and least costly was to take Merriweather’s bus which was a huge wagon drawn by a team of “gleaming black horses.” Note: Remember this was before the ‘internal combustion machines’- cars that is!
The average attendance in those days was between 2,500 and 3,000 patrons. We learned in those first twenty years that approximately 90% of these people were Americans. What? No Peace Bridge until 1927. Hey, I think I know. Our International Bridge carried the Michigan Central trains from Black Rock, New York to Bridgeburg on a regular basis. Don’t forget the ferry boats from across the river to Fort Erie South. It was a mile walk or so up Bertie Street . I am sure here were horse
carriages there too. Cost? Do you know? Any anecdotes you want to share e-mail me plato1@cogeco.ca or phone 905-894-2417.
The headline read, “PIONEER BOOKIES FLOURISHED.” Harry Hawkins, long time Fort Erie resident, now deceased, recalled those early days at Fort Erie Race Track circa 1900. He said that in the pioneer days of the track there were no “pari-mutuel” machines. “The old handbook was run by Chambers and Walker,” Harry said. “Used to be 40 or 50 hand bookies in the ring. Big difference in the betting then, if you bet a horse at 25 to 1 and he was backed down to 10 to 1 and he came in, you got him at 25 to 1. The machines put an end to that. Same odds for everyone,” In the old days the bookmaker couldn’t lose. One horse would be 2 to1, another - the favourite - 6 to1. If the bookies got too much money on the better horse they’d put the money upon the other one. They had to, to make money. In other words Harry said.” … the bookies could manipulate the odds to their advantage.” Harry produced another treasure. It was a silk souvenir programme for Friday, June 22nd. 1900. It was framed for protection. “E.P.Taylor offered me a good price for this, But I wouldn’t sell it for any price.” One last question to Harry Hawkins was: As a lifelong turf follower Mr, Hawkins, do you have any advice for the race track bettor?” We read that the tall, lean expert laughed, “If you go to the races for sport that’s okay, but if you go to make money you’re a sucker. It’s been said before and I’ll say it again. You can win on a race but you can’t win on the races!” Thanks Harry.
***
Look at our race track today. Enormous parking lots with shuttle buses to pick you up and drop you off at the entrance, Transportation for both horses and patrons has changed drastically since 1897. In those early days horses and patrons were transported to the track by a ‘race’ train. Today the horses arrive in modern streamlined vans and the patrons arrive in flashy new cars or by modern buses. Toronto patrons back then would board the Grand Truck Railway out of Toronto arriving here at the Bridgeburg station about 11 am. Many of the passengers would dine at the Barnea House just across from the station. Note: The old north end C.N.R. station house is gone but the Barnea House is still in operation. You now had three ways to get to the track we are told. You could rent an outfit with a horse and drive yourself or have someone drive you there. That was quite expensive. A second way was to join others on a surrey with a fringe on top. This was considerably less money. The third way and least costly was to take Merriweather’s bus which was a huge wagon drawn by a team of “gleaming black horses.” Note: Remember this was before the ‘internal combustion machines’- cars that is!
The average attendance in those days was between 2,500 and 3,000 patrons. We learned in those first twenty years that approximately 90% of these people were Americans. What? No Peace Bridge until 1927. Hey, I think I know. Our International Bridge carried the Michigan Central trains from Black Rock, New York to Bridgeburg on a regular basis. Don’t forget the ferry boats from across the river to Fort Erie South. It was a mile walk or so up Bertie Street . I am sure here were horse
carriages there too. Cost? Do you know? Any anecdotes you want to share e-mail me plato1@cogeco.ca or phone 905-894-2417.
Part Two
Fort Erie Race Track Earl Plato
Part Two: When did Fort Erie Race Track open? What was the length of the track initially? Were the races running or trotting? Who owned the track back then? A reporter unnamed asked one Harry Hawkins of Queen Street, Fort Erie the above questions. He said, : I found this man who could answer my questions relative to the sport of kings at Fort Erie Race Track in those early days. The track was opened July 1st of 1897 according to Harry. He displayed a faded golden ribbon that said , FORT ERIE JOCKEY CLUB, At its base it read FALL MEETING - Sept.6th to 23rd, 1897. The race track was a mile in length initially. Many running races with one meet for trotting. The track was built by Mr. Hood and Mr. German informed Garry. Hood owned the Tennessee Hotel and Mr. German was the long time Member of Parliament for Welland. Eventually the two sold the track to F. Hendrie who in turn sold it to John. H. Madigan.
Writer’s Note: It is the Madigan name I recognized in my time. The well kept Madigan horse farm was located on Bertie Road adjacent to the track. We would ride our bicycles by the white washed fences and stop to admire the thoroughbreds. Who was president of the Ontario Jockey Club when Madigan was owner? Many of you know the name - E.P. Taylor. He purchased the track from Madigan. Harry Hawkins must have been a collector of track memorabilia for he had many newspaper clippings. One was from the Buffalo Courier dated that first meet July 1st, 1897, “ Canadians were in Fort Erie today and they left considerable money with the bookmakers as only one favourite got to the ftont. The track was heavy and holding … Adam Beck and his friends lost heavily on the fifth race which was won by Prima …” Harry showed another clipping dated Saturday, July 16, 1897 - Toronto Mail and Empire: “ There will hardly be any denial of the proposition that having invested in a racing enterprise more money than all the other jockey clubs in Canada put together that the Fort Erie Jockey Club is entitled to such return for its enterprise.”
That’s one sentence! That’s quite a start, eh!
Harry Hawkins was also asked, How much were those early purses? His replay was they were small - three or four hundred dollars. “Even less.” He then emphasized, “ … until Madigan;s time and the inaugural of the Derby with a purse of $10,000. Then came the new Woodbine in Toronto paying $50,000!
Any memories of our track you would like to share? Call me at 905-894-2417 or e-mail me at plato1@cogeco.ca
Part Two: When did Fort Erie Race Track open? What was the length of the track initially? Were the races running or trotting? Who owned the track back then? A reporter unnamed asked one Harry Hawkins of Queen Street, Fort Erie the above questions. He said, : I found this man who could answer my questions relative to the sport of kings at Fort Erie Race Track in those early days. The track was opened July 1st of 1897 according to Harry. He displayed a faded golden ribbon that said , FORT ERIE JOCKEY CLUB, At its base it read FALL MEETING - Sept.6th to 23rd, 1897. The race track was a mile in length initially. Many running races with one meet for trotting. The track was built by Mr. Hood and Mr. German informed Garry. Hood owned the Tennessee Hotel and Mr. German was the long time Member of Parliament for Welland. Eventually the two sold the track to F. Hendrie who in turn sold it to John. H. Madigan.
Writer’s Note: It is the Madigan name I recognized in my time. The well kept Madigan horse farm was located on Bertie Road adjacent to the track. We would ride our bicycles by the white washed fences and stop to admire the thoroughbreds. Who was president of the Ontario Jockey Club when Madigan was owner? Many of you know the name - E.P. Taylor. He purchased the track from Madigan. Harry Hawkins must have been a collector of track memorabilia for he had many newspaper clippings. One was from the Buffalo Courier dated that first meet July 1st, 1897, “ Canadians were in Fort Erie today and they left considerable money with the bookmakers as only one favourite got to the ftont. The track was heavy and holding … Adam Beck and his friends lost heavily on the fifth race which was won by Prima …” Harry showed another clipping dated Saturday, July 16, 1897 - Toronto Mail and Empire: “ There will hardly be any denial of the proposition that having invested in a racing enterprise more money than all the other jockey clubs in Canada put together that the Fort Erie Jockey Club is entitled to such return for its enterprise.”
That’s one sentence! That’s quite a start, eh!
Harry Hawkins was also asked, How much were those early purses? His replay was they were small - three or four hundred dollars. “Even less.” He then emphasized, “ … until Madigan;s time and the inaugural of the Derby with a purse of $10,000. Then came the new Woodbine in Toronto paying $50,000!
Any memories of our track you would like to share? Call me at 905-894-2417 or e-mail me at plato1@cogeco.ca
Beginning of Fort Erie Race Track
Fort Erie Race Track Beginning Earl Plato
Several years ago on the north wall of one of the upper barracks of historic Fort Erie a poster caught my eye. It was a petition from local citizens circa 1890’s asking for the creation of a race track for thoroughbred horses in the town. I scanned the lists and there was the name of my great-grandfather Jacob W. Plato. His son, William Jacob Plato, my grandfather, lived on Henrietta Street just to the east of the race track. Many of my relatives worked at the track over the years. Of course they bet on horses too. During the late Depression years I remember cousin Fred Plato coming home with a winning ticket he had found along the east entrance way. There was often a myriad of colourful betting tickets strewn on the ground after the races were over. Fred was alert and one of his found stubs thrown carelessly away by a bettor was worth some money. How much I don’t recall but I remember those were the poor days of the Thirties. Fred was elated. More than once our Grandma Anderson would walk us north from our home on Highway Three along the C.N.R. track. No admission in those days for us. We would stand at the outside fences and I would peer through the boards to see those horses thundering down the back stretch. As a fifteen year old George Henningham Sr. hired me to shake out a bale and a half of straw in each race stall. That was good money for me. Two years later I was hired by Mr.Henningham to help deliver bales of hay and straw at the race track. It was an education to watch the workings of the race horse industry. Several times I was given “hot tips” if I gave one of the race track workers five or ten dollars. No deal was the advice from Bud the son of the boss. Lesson learned? Yes. On the occasional trip to the track over the years I took only $20. Never any more. My father-in-law, Sid Kew, was manager of Longmeadow horse farm in Ridgeway for over thity years. He was a careful bettor who did well over decades at the track. Every five years he had enough in winnings to pay his way over and back to his home city in Bristol, England. Some of my relatives were avid bettors and my aunt’s son was a bookie. My wife Elaine and I visited the track a while back with a group. I had $20 for eight races. As usual o luck. It was still a thrill to see the horses and their jockeys thundering down the track. Old memories, yes, and good ones. The next few articles are about the history of the track. Again thanks to Louis McDermott for his wonderful collection of Fort Erie’s race track history.
Several years ago on the north wall of one of the upper barracks of historic Fort Erie a poster caught my eye. It was a petition from local citizens circa 1890’s asking for the creation of a race track for thoroughbred horses in the town. I scanned the lists and there was the name of my great-grandfather Jacob W. Plato. His son, William Jacob Plato, my grandfather, lived on Henrietta Street just to the east of the race track. Many of my relatives worked at the track over the years. Of course they bet on horses too. During the late Depression years I remember cousin Fred Plato coming home with a winning ticket he had found along the east entrance way. There was often a myriad of colourful betting tickets strewn on the ground after the races were over. Fred was alert and one of his found stubs thrown carelessly away by a bettor was worth some money. How much I don’t recall but I remember those were the poor days of the Thirties. Fred was elated. More than once our Grandma Anderson would walk us north from our home on Highway Three along the C.N.R. track. No admission in those days for us. We would stand at the outside fences and I would peer through the boards to see those horses thundering down the back stretch. As a fifteen year old George Henningham Sr. hired me to shake out a bale and a half of straw in each race stall. That was good money for me. Two years later I was hired by Mr.Henningham to help deliver bales of hay and straw at the race track. It was an education to watch the workings of the race horse industry. Several times I was given “hot tips” if I gave one of the race track workers five or ten dollars. No deal was the advice from Bud the son of the boss. Lesson learned? Yes. On the occasional trip to the track over the years I took only $20. Never any more. My father-in-law, Sid Kew, was manager of Longmeadow horse farm in Ridgeway for over thity years. He was a careful bettor who did well over decades at the track. Every five years he had enough in winnings to pay his way over and back to his home city in Bristol, England. Some of my relatives were avid bettors and my aunt’s son was a bookie. My wife Elaine and I visited the track a while back with a group. I had $20 for eight races. As usual o luck. It was still a thrill to see the horses and their jockeys thundering down the track. Old memories, yes, and good ones. The next few articles are about the history of the track. Again thanks to Louis McDermott for his wonderful collection of Fort Erie’s race track history.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Part 3 of 3
FortErie Earl Plato
Final 3 of 3: Writer’s note: Globe and Empire reporter, Fred Williams, never mentioned Fort Erie’s historic St. Paul’s church by name in his lengthy article. Nevertheless, that’s the structure he is talking about. He continued. “In 1820 the chapelry of Chippawa was proclaimed in the townships of Stamford and Willoughby. Rev. William Leeming became the first minister recording baptisms. Marriages and burials at Fort Erie, Bertie and Waterloo. A church of sort was opened in 1823.” Note: No name given to church by writer. Why?
“ It lasted until 1874 when it was replaced by a larger stone structure.” Note: That’s St. Paul’s Anglican church that stands today on the Niagara River. “ Some time in 1823 the Rev. John Anderson became the minister of the church (St. Paul’s). Colonel Kerby in the 1832 managed to secure from Sir John Colborne free entry through the customs for a church organ. It had been bought in Buffalo for one hundred English pounds (That was about $500, a goodly sum for that day). In 1834 Colonel Kerby, then Collector of Customs, presented the church with a solid silver communion service which is still in use. Two years later the parish was endowed by Sir John Colborne. In May 1836 Rev. Anderson was officially inducted at the church by Archdeacon Strachan. Writer’s note: It was in 1837 that my ancestors Christian 2nd Plato and wife Mary (Benner) Plato had their two oldest children Charlotte and Sophia, baptized at St. Paul’s by Rev. Anderson. Other family members would follow as the church records show.
From December, 1837 to July. 1838 the deserted and dilapidated barracks at Fort Erie and other hastily improvised quarters at Waterloo were occupied by the “Queen’s Niagara Fencibles.” Note: Remember there was the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada at this time. Vigilance was needed.
“Colonel Kerby was in command during the Rebellion and he wanted to prevent any invasion from Buffalo. The !0th Provisional Battalion succeeded the Queen‘s at Fort Erie also commanded by Colonel Kerby until May, 1839.”
Writer’s note: Just a brief mention by Fred Williiams of June, 1866 and the Fenian invasion.
“Bur Fort Erie was not so lucky in 1866 for it was through that gateway that O’Neill’s band of brigands entered the Niagara Peninsula. It was there that some of the Toronto troops suffered from the failure of the authorities to provide food and shelter.” Note: The Fenians were Civil War veterans with Spenser repeating rifles. We Canadians were not ready for an invasion. That’s another story. Thanks Free Williams for your reporting on historic Fort Erie.
Final 3 of 3: Writer’s note: Globe and Empire reporter, Fred Williams, never mentioned Fort Erie’s historic St. Paul’s church by name in his lengthy article. Nevertheless, that’s the structure he is talking about. He continued. “In 1820 the chapelry of Chippawa was proclaimed in the townships of Stamford and Willoughby. Rev. William Leeming became the first minister recording baptisms. Marriages and burials at Fort Erie, Bertie and Waterloo. A church of sort was opened in 1823.” Note: No name given to church by writer. Why?
“ It lasted until 1874 when it was replaced by a larger stone structure.” Note: That’s St. Paul’s Anglican church that stands today on the Niagara River. “ Some time in 1823 the Rev. John Anderson became the minister of the church (St. Paul’s). Colonel Kerby in the 1832 managed to secure from Sir John Colborne free entry through the customs for a church organ. It had been bought in Buffalo for one hundred English pounds (That was about $500, a goodly sum for that day). In 1834 Colonel Kerby, then Collector of Customs, presented the church with a solid silver communion service which is still in use. Two years later the parish was endowed by Sir John Colborne. In May 1836 Rev. Anderson was officially inducted at the church by Archdeacon Strachan. Writer’s note: It was in 1837 that my ancestors Christian 2nd Plato and wife Mary (Benner) Plato had their two oldest children Charlotte and Sophia, baptized at St. Paul’s by Rev. Anderson. Other family members would follow as the church records show.
From December, 1837 to July. 1838 the deserted and dilapidated barracks at Fort Erie and other hastily improvised quarters at Waterloo were occupied by the “Queen’s Niagara Fencibles.” Note: Remember there was the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada at this time. Vigilance was needed.
“Colonel Kerby was in command during the Rebellion and he wanted to prevent any invasion from Buffalo. The !0th Provisional Battalion succeeded the Queen‘s at Fort Erie also commanded by Colonel Kerby until May, 1839.”
Writer’s note: Just a brief mention by Fred Williiams of June, 1866 and the Fenian invasion.
“Bur Fort Erie was not so lucky in 1866 for it was through that gateway that O’Neill’s band of brigands entered the Niagara Peninsula. It was there that some of the Toronto troops suffered from the failure of the authorities to provide food and shelter.” Note: The Fenians were Civil War veterans with Spenser repeating rifles. We Canadians were not ready for an invasion. That’s another story. Thanks Free Williams for your reporting on historic Fort Erie.
Part 2 - Fort Erie
Forterie33B Earl Plato
Part Two Early Fort Erie History: Writer’s Note: Just a word about Fred Williams, reporter for the Toronto Mail and Empire. He wrote an overview of Fort Erie’s earliest history. Unfortunately he left no sources or references simply because it was just a newspaper article for that day. This daily paper existed until 1936 when it became the Globe & Mail. The article’s print form appears circa 1900. Who knows? Williams continues, “ Fort Erie is interesting for other than its war history. It was in 1789 the headquarters for a while of John Richardson, the great trader, one of the founders of the Bank of Montreal. Note: You old time Fort Erie Bank of Montreal clients can proudly say that one of your bank founders, John Richardson, walked the roads and trails of our town over 217 years ago!
On August 13, 1792 Rev. Robert Addison, the first Rector of Niagara, conducted the Anglican marriage ceremony of Henry Warren, son of the Fort Erie Commissioner, to Catharine Aglor.
Writer’s Note: Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792 made it clear that Upper Canada (Ontario) would become a “Little England.” That meant that the Christian religion for all protestants would be in the Anglican form. Then what did Simcoe do? He opened the gates for immigration. From where? The United States! This proclamation allowed wave after wave of settlers who were mainly protestant but not of the Anglican persuasion, Many were Methodist, Lutherans and of other background beliefs. Roman Catholics retained their worship without government interference. Fort Erie would be mainly Anglican as Rev. Addison was appointed chaplain to the garrison at Fort Erie as well at Niagara. He does not seem to have visited Fort Erie until April, 1793 when he recorded the baptism of sixteen persons. Among them was Mary Warren the daughter of the Commissioner.
On the announcement of peace in 1815 the ferry boat from Black Rock N.Y. was re-established and a small struggling village developed.
Writer’s Note: The defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 gave rise to new appellations for Upper Canada communities with words such as Waterloo and Wellington. Thus the little village north of the Fort was named Waterloo in 1816.
Part Three: Historic St. Paul’s church
Part Two Early Fort Erie History: Writer’s Note: Just a word about Fred Williams, reporter for the Toronto Mail and Empire. He wrote an overview of Fort Erie’s earliest history. Unfortunately he left no sources or references simply because it was just a newspaper article for that day. This daily paper existed until 1936 when it became the Globe & Mail. The article’s print form appears circa 1900. Who knows? Williams continues, “ Fort Erie is interesting for other than its war history. It was in 1789 the headquarters for a while of John Richardson, the great trader, one of the founders of the Bank of Montreal. Note: You old time Fort Erie Bank of Montreal clients can proudly say that one of your bank founders, John Richardson, walked the roads and trails of our town over 217 years ago!
On August 13, 1792 Rev. Robert Addison, the first Rector of Niagara, conducted the Anglican marriage ceremony of Henry Warren, son of the Fort Erie Commissioner, to Catharine Aglor.
Writer’s Note: Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1792 made it clear that Upper Canada (Ontario) would become a “Little England.” That meant that the Christian religion for all protestants would be in the Anglican form. Then what did Simcoe do? He opened the gates for immigration. From where? The United States! This proclamation allowed wave after wave of settlers who were mainly protestant but not of the Anglican persuasion, Many were Methodist, Lutherans and of other background beliefs. Roman Catholics retained their worship without government interference. Fort Erie would be mainly Anglican as Rev. Addison was appointed chaplain to the garrison at Fort Erie as well at Niagara. He does not seem to have visited Fort Erie until April, 1793 when he recorded the baptism of sixteen persons. Among them was Mary Warren the daughter of the Commissioner.
On the announcement of peace in 1815 the ferry boat from Black Rock N.Y. was re-established and a small struggling village developed.
Writer’s Note: The defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 gave rise to new appellations for Upper Canada communities with words such as Waterloo and Wellington. Thus the little village north of the Fort was named Waterloo in 1816.
Part Three: Historic St. Paul’s church
The Beginning of Fort Erie
Fort Erie’s Beginning Earl Plato
Dig into Louis McDermott’s historical collections and you never know what you will find! I did recently and came up with
this article from the Toronto Mail and Empire. Globe and Mail, yes, but Empire! No date given to the article by Fred Williams.
Could be early 1900‘s. He wrote, “Do you know…. that Fort Erie is one of the most ancient of Ontario’s outposts? A military post was founded there 1764 by Captain John Montresor, nearly 20 years before the first settlement at Niagara. From its inception it played a prominent part in commerce and war. For a time it was “on its own” as a military post but gradually came under Fort Niagara control when Simcoe arrived in 1792. Fort Erie was subordinate in a military sense to Fort Niagara. It drew its garrison from the British Army 5th Foot from there.”
Writer’s Note: Was Williams a military historian? I don’t know. How accurate are his views? Check them out.
“In the very early days of Upper Canada (Ontario) it (Fort Erie) was the place where the Indians met for conferences with British officials and twice with American commissioners. In the War of 1812-14 it was fought over every inch of he ground. Abandoned in 1813 after the capture of Fort George by the Americans it was re-occupied for a few months in 1814 by the British, but in July it fell again into American hands. A month later its fate seemed in balance. In August of that year British naval captain Dobbs portaged boats from lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
Writer’s note: Go to Crystal Beach Derby Circle and see the historic plaque about Dobb’s great feat.
The invaders (Americans) were given a body blow by Dobbs cutting out and capturing the American frigates, Ohio and the Somers. Three days later General Drummond at the head of a small but determined force attacked Fort Erie. It would have possibly captured the fort had not a premature explosion of an ammunition chest given alarm to the garrison and played havoc with the attacking party. Despite this mishap Drummond kept the fort in a state of siege for months.
Writer’s note: In my novel the Destroyer- The Siege of Fort Erie-1814 I disagree with Fred Williams. I agree with Pierre Berton that the explosion in the northwest bastion of the fort was probably no accident. It was by design. Remember over 800 British soldies lost their lives in that horrendous explosion.
The Americans made a fruitless sortie September 17th, but had to draw back. Joseph Willcocks, the traitor, met his death in that sortie while wearing the uniform of an American colonel. They finally abandoned the fort and laid the whole place to waste.
Dig into Louis McDermott’s historical collections and you never know what you will find! I did recently and came up with
this article from the Toronto Mail and Empire. Globe and Mail, yes, but Empire! No date given to the article by Fred Williams.
Could be early 1900‘s. He wrote, “Do you know…. that Fort Erie is one of the most ancient of Ontario’s outposts? A military post was founded there 1764 by Captain John Montresor, nearly 20 years before the first settlement at Niagara. From its inception it played a prominent part in commerce and war. For a time it was “on its own” as a military post but gradually came under Fort Niagara control when Simcoe arrived in 1792. Fort Erie was subordinate in a military sense to Fort Niagara. It drew its garrison from the British Army 5th Foot from there.”
Writer’s Note: Was Williams a military historian? I don’t know. How accurate are his views? Check them out.
“In the very early days of Upper Canada (Ontario) it (Fort Erie) was the place where the Indians met for conferences with British officials and twice with American commissioners. In the War of 1812-14 it was fought over every inch of he ground. Abandoned in 1813 after the capture of Fort George by the Americans it was re-occupied for a few months in 1814 by the British, but in July it fell again into American hands. A month later its fate seemed in balance. In August of that year British naval captain Dobbs portaged boats from lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
Writer’s note: Go to Crystal Beach Derby Circle and see the historic plaque about Dobb’s great feat.
The invaders (Americans) were given a body blow by Dobbs cutting out and capturing the American frigates, Ohio and the Somers. Three days later General Drummond at the head of a small but determined force attacked Fort Erie. It would have possibly captured the fort had not a premature explosion of an ammunition chest given alarm to the garrison and played havoc with the attacking party. Despite this mishap Drummond kept the fort in a state of siege for months.
Writer’s note: In my novel the Destroyer- The Siege of Fort Erie-1814 I disagree with Fred Williams. I agree with Pierre Berton that the explosion in the northwest bastion of the fort was probably no accident. It was by design. Remember over 800 British soldies lost their lives in that horrendous explosion.
The Americans made a fruitless sortie September 17th, but had to draw back. Joseph Willcocks, the traitor, met his death in that sortie while wearing the uniform of an American colonel. They finally abandoned the fort and laid the whole place to waste.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Laura Secord
The Battle of Beaver Dams - 1813 Earl Plato
I love Niagara’s history. I know the Niagara Frontier War of 1812-14 history reasonably well. Further to the west in the Niagara Peninsula I have been to the Stoney Creek Battlefield a number of times including a reenactment. So? It was wife, Elaine, who asked me about the Battle of Beaver Dams in 1813. What did I know? “Laura Secord”, of course was my answer. “What really happened in the battle?” was her further question. I admitted a minimal amount of knowledge. Time to do some research. Was the Battle of Beaver Dams- June 24, 1813 important to the eventual outcome of the War? I think so. Elaine and I drove to the site armed with knowledge from Cruikshank’s extensive writings, The Jubilee History of Thorold, Pierre Berton’s Flames Across the Border, and the booklet by Donald Dewar. There was an important letter that many of you know about. The date is 23rd February, 1837, Toronto and the letter is in the form of a certificate signed by James Fitzgibbon, formerly Lieutenant in the 49th Regiment. It reads, “I do hereby certify that Mrs. Secord, wife of James Secord of Chippawa, Esquire, did in the month of June, 1813, walk from her house in the village of St. Davids to DeCoo’s house in Thorold by a circuitous route of about twenty miles, partly through the woods, to acquaint me that the enemy intended to attempt by surprise to capture a detachment, then under my command.” That’s one sentence! Fitzpatrick continued, “Mrs. Secord was a person of slight and delicate frame and made this effort in weather excessively warm, and I dreaded at the time that she must suffer in health in consequence of fatigue and anxiety, she having been exposed to danger from the enemy, through whose lines of communication she had to pass.” Another long sentence but the message is clear - “forewarned is forearmed.” These were troublous times. American skirmishers were roaming the Niagara countryside. Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, the same man whose American soldiers and himself, are listed in devastating my ancestor Plato’s home and farm property in 1813, is present in the Beaver Dams area. Fortunately Laura Secord did not meet up with Chapin and his marauders. That would have changed history negatively for Upper Canadians. I contend that the victory over the Americans at Beaver Dams had an impact later in 1814.
Laura Secord was a great Canadian heroine!
Cruikshank - Part 1 - p. 23, 154, 252, 265
part 2 - p.7, 8, 16, 56, 63, 98, 135, 136, 143
Jubilee History of Thorold p.18, 47, 48, 63
Fight in the Beechwoods p. 17, 19 read on
Beaver Dams the year 1813
I love Niagara’s history. I know the Niagara Frontier War of 1812-14 history reasonably well. Further to the west in the Niagara Peninsula I have been to the Stoney Creek Battlefield a number of times including a reenactment. So? It was wife, Elaine, who asked me about the Battle of Beaver Dams in 1813. What did I know? “Laura Secord”, of course was my answer. “What really happened in the battle?” was her further question. I admitted a minimal amount of knowledge. Time to do some research. Was the Battle of Beaver Dams- June 24, 1813 important to the eventual outcome of the War? I think so. Elaine and I drove to the site armed with knowledge from Cruikshank’s extensive writings, The Jubilee History of Thorold, Pierre Berton’s Flames Across the Border, and the booklet by Donald Dewar. There was an important letter that many of you know about. The date is 23rd February, 1837, Toronto and the letter is in the form of a certificate signed by James Fitzgibbon, formerly Lieutenant in the 49th Regiment. It reads, “I do hereby certify that Mrs. Secord, wife of James Secord of Chippawa, Esquire, did in the month of June, 1813, walk from her house in the village of St. Davids to DeCoo’s house in Thorold by a circuitous route of about twenty miles, partly through the woods, to acquaint me that the enemy intended to attempt by surprise to capture a detachment, then under my command.” That’s one sentence! Fitzpatrick continued, “Mrs. Secord was a person of slight and delicate frame and made this effort in weather excessively warm, and I dreaded at the time that she must suffer in health in consequence of fatigue and anxiety, she having been exposed to danger from the enemy, through whose lines of communication she had to pass.” Another long sentence but the message is clear - “forewarned is forearmed.” These were troublous times. American skirmishers were roaming the Niagara countryside. Dr. Cyrenius Chapin, the same man whose American soldiers and himself, are listed in devastating my ancestor Plato’s home and farm property in 1813, is present in the Beaver Dams area. Fortunately Laura Secord did not meet up with Chapin and his marauders. That would have changed history negatively for Upper Canadians. I contend that the victory over the Americans at Beaver Dams had an impact later in 1814.
Laura Secord was a great Canadian heroine!
Cruikshank - Part 1 - p. 23, 154, 252, 265
part 2 - p.7, 8, 16, 56, 63, 98, 135, 136, 143
Jubilee History of Thorold p.18, 47, 48, 63
Fight in the Beechwoods p. 17, 19 read on
Beaver Dams the year 1813
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Mohawk Princess
ForterieNov3.06 Earl Plato
Norma called out, “There it is!” We were in Stanley Park, the renowned Vancouver city park this late October day , 2006. We had just passed the burial site of famed Ontario poetess, Pauline Johnson (1861-1913). We emerged from our little tour bus and walked back to the burial monument. Both Bud and I had looked forward to seeing her memorial here in British Columbia. Nestled in a grove of evergreens the tall stone monument overlooked the beautiful Vancouver harbour. We both posed beside the stone carving of her face and upper torso etched on the surface..
You may ask who was Pauline Johnson? Old timers of the Town upon graduation from public and separate school were often recipients of the book, “Flint and Feather” a collection of poems by Pauline, the Mohawk princess. The late Mrs. O.C. Teal of Fort Erie graciously gave many copies of this book to Grade Eight graduates over the years. Both Bud and I have one. We still can recite verses such as some from, “The Song My Paddle Sings.” and others. Bertie Township Hall now our Fort Erie Museum in the late 1800’s saw locals hear Pauline, the Mohawk princess, recite dressed in her attractive deerskin native dress and bare feet. Her aim was, “My pride is to sing ( and recite) the glories of my own people.“ We eight Fort Erie seniors earlier in the year had an excellent look at her ancestral home, Chiefswood, a national heritage site, on the banks of the Grand River. Take the picturesque Highway 54 east of the City of Brantford. The two storey white frame mansion overlooks the river. It was here that Pauline was born. Her Mohawk name was Tekahionwake. She wrote here some of her most famous poems including “The Song My Paddle Sings.”
“Be strong, O paddle! Be brave, canoe!
The reckless waves you must plunge into.
Reel, reel.
On your trembling keel,
But never a fear my craft will feel.”
Old timers remember when you had to recite memory lines in grade school? That was 0ne of the poems I chose. We watched the Grand River roll by from her second storey bedroom window. It was one of the places where she created her poetry. The lady curator gave us an excellent tour. Worth a visit. Seniors were free.
Norma called out, “There it is!” We were in Stanley Park, the renowned Vancouver city park this late October day , 2006. We had just passed the burial site of famed Ontario poetess, Pauline Johnson (1861-1913). We emerged from our little tour bus and walked back to the burial monument. Both Bud and I had looked forward to seeing her memorial here in British Columbia. Nestled in a grove of evergreens the tall stone monument overlooked the beautiful Vancouver harbour. We both posed beside the stone carving of her face and upper torso etched on the surface..
You may ask who was Pauline Johnson? Old timers of the Town upon graduation from public and separate school were often recipients of the book, “Flint and Feather” a collection of poems by Pauline, the Mohawk princess. The late Mrs. O.C. Teal of Fort Erie graciously gave many copies of this book to Grade Eight graduates over the years. Both Bud and I have one. We still can recite verses such as some from, “The Song My Paddle Sings.” and others. Bertie Township Hall now our Fort Erie Museum in the late 1800’s saw locals hear Pauline, the Mohawk princess, recite dressed in her attractive deerskin native dress and bare feet. Her aim was, “My pride is to sing ( and recite) the glories of my own people.“ We eight Fort Erie seniors earlier in the year had an excellent look at her ancestral home, Chiefswood, a national heritage site, on the banks of the Grand River. Take the picturesque Highway 54 east of the City of Brantford. The two storey white frame mansion overlooks the river. It was here that Pauline was born. Her Mohawk name was Tekahionwake. She wrote here some of her most famous poems including “The Song My Paddle Sings.”
“Be strong, O paddle! Be brave, canoe!
The reckless waves you must plunge into.
Reel, reel.
On your trembling keel,
But never a fear my craft will feel.”
Old timers remember when you had to recite memory lines in grade school? That was 0ne of the poems I chose. We watched the Grand River roll by from her second storey bedroom window. It was one of the places where she created her poetry. The lady curator gave us an excellent tour. Worth a visit. Seniors were free.
Revolutinary Days
Revolutionary View Earl Plato\\
Dropped off at my door last Fall was a CD entitled Mohawk Valley Oct. 2006. It was from Eugene Oatley U.E. of Niagara Falls. He had taken a historical trip with other local United Empire Loyalist descendants. It was a nostalgic trip for me to view his excellent photos. Wife, Elaine and I had done the same trip with U.E.’s from across the province about 25 years previously. Colonel B. Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall back then had personally greeted us. Yes, this American, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, was a member of the Toronto Loyalist Branch. He said that he was proud of his loyalist connections. I had corresponded with him and still have those letters. He encouraged me to research my roots. I did. I encourage you too. It has been a worthwhile venture.
***
Colonel B. Briggs was an anomaly back then. Many Mohawk Valley old timers still held bad and many distorted views of Colonel John Butler’s Rangers and Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. Colonel Briggs had given an inspiring speech where we had gathered in Johnstown, New York in the heart of the Valley. He tried to show a balanced historical view of the American Revolution in the Valley. Next day the local press hardly mentioned his talk. Not his time. Gene Oatley told how well received they were throughout the trip. They were greeted warmly wherever they went. At the site of the Battle of Oriskany I had left there with experiencing a biased American view of that crucial battle where my ancestors had been involved. Times have changed. Gene Oatley felt that the presentation there was fairly portrayed. Good. The truth is the truth. There were atrocities on both sides - not just one side. My Great-great-great-great maternal grandmother, Dorotea (May) Plato, never made it to Fort Niagara on her trip fleeing from the Mohawk Valley in !777. She died along the way. How she died we don’t know. Attack, disease or starvation? The next article is about the Year 1787 at Fort Niagara where there was extreme suffering and starvation among the loyalist refugees. “Too much praise cannot be given to the pioneer mothers of that time.”
Dropped off at my door last Fall was a CD entitled Mohawk Valley Oct. 2006. It was from Eugene Oatley U.E. of Niagara Falls. He had taken a historical trip with other local United Empire Loyalist descendants. It was a nostalgic trip for me to view his excellent photos. Wife, Elaine and I had done the same trip with U.E.’s from across the province about 25 years previously. Colonel B. Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall back then had personally greeted us. Yes, this American, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, was a member of the Toronto Loyalist Branch. He said that he was proud of his loyalist connections. I had corresponded with him and still have those letters. He encouraged me to research my roots. I did. I encourage you too. It has been a worthwhile venture.
***
Colonel B. Briggs was an anomaly back then. Many Mohawk Valley old timers still held bad and many distorted views of Colonel John Butler’s Rangers and Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. Colonel Briggs had given an inspiring speech where we had gathered in Johnstown, New York in the heart of the Valley. He tried to show a balanced historical view of the American Revolution in the Valley. Next day the local press hardly mentioned his talk. Not his time. Gene Oatley told how well received they were throughout the trip. They were greeted warmly wherever they went. At the site of the Battle of Oriskany I had left there with experiencing a biased American view of that crucial battle where my ancestors had been involved. Times have changed. Gene Oatley felt that the presentation there was fairly portrayed. Good. The truth is the truth. There were atrocities on both sides - not just one side. My Great-great-great-great maternal grandmother, Dorotea (May) Plato, never made it to Fort Niagara on her trip fleeing from the Mohawk Valley in !777. She died along the way. How she died we don’t know. Attack, disease or starvation? The next article is about the Year 1787 at Fort Niagara where there was extreme suffering and starvation among the loyalist refugees. “Too much praise cannot be given to the pioneer mothers of that time.”
Thursday, August 2, 2007
What's in a name
What’s in a Name Earl Plato
What’s in a name? While researching at Fort Erie Centennial library in Louis McDermott’s extensive historical collection I came across Fort Erie historian George Tait’s 1927 writings. George was interested in local street and place names. This first article is centred around Bridgeburg (North end of Fort Erie). We old timers well remember that name, Bridgeburg. Tait said, “The name means the ‘burg’ at the end of the bridge. The word ‘burg’ is an old German term for a collection of houses or a village. Think of Jarvis Street. That’s centred in old Bridgeburg and once one of the most active streets in the area. Today there are still many stores and shops serving the North End. The first road I researched was Bowen Road. No Queen Elizabeth Way back in George Tait’s day. Today on the Q.E.W. the signs for Bowen Road are quite evident. Bowen Road just north of Highland Avenue in Fort Erie North was the dividing road between the village and the historic Township of Bertie - Lots 8 and 9. Tait tells us that where the Bowen Road began at the river back in the eighteen forties and fifties a ferry boat ran across the Niagara river from Black Rock, New York. This road was commonly called Ferry Road for many years. Later with a new major dock site at Fort Erie South the name Ferry Road gradually died away. Follow Bowen Road west at that time. Three brothers - William, Robert, and Henry Bowen had extensive farms along that country roadway. The name for this long country road became Bowen’s Road. Tait said in 1927, “ Bowen Road now applied from the river to the Humberstone Township line.”
Writer’s note: My ancestor, Cornelius Bowen, was grandfather to the three Bowen brothers. He had been a member of Butler’s Rangers and received an extensive Crown grant in Bertie Township in 1784. His grandsons inherited the Crown grant.
***
Tait also told us about Frenchman’s Creek. Go north from Bowen Road on the Niagara Parkway and there is Frenchman’s Creek. It’s one of the oldest names found on our earliest maps. It is frequently mentioned in the War of 1812-14. Tait wrote, “ Just why the name Frenchman’s Creek was applied to this stream is a conundrum which has not yet been solved. This writer ( George Tait) asked historian Colonel E. Cruikshank a few years ago (circa 1925) and he said it was a puzzle.” Anyone have an answer?
What’s in a name? While researching at Fort Erie Centennial library in Louis McDermott’s extensive historical collection I came across Fort Erie historian George Tait’s 1927 writings. George was interested in local street and place names. This first article is centred around Bridgeburg (North end of Fort Erie). We old timers well remember that name, Bridgeburg. Tait said, “The name means the ‘burg’ at the end of the bridge. The word ‘burg’ is an old German term for a collection of houses or a village. Think of Jarvis Street. That’s centred in old Bridgeburg and once one of the most active streets in the area. Today there are still many stores and shops serving the North End. The first road I researched was Bowen Road. No Queen Elizabeth Way back in George Tait’s day. Today on the Q.E.W. the signs for Bowen Road are quite evident. Bowen Road just north of Highland Avenue in Fort Erie North was the dividing road between the village and the historic Township of Bertie - Lots 8 and 9. Tait tells us that where the Bowen Road began at the river back in the eighteen forties and fifties a ferry boat ran across the Niagara river from Black Rock, New York. This road was commonly called Ferry Road for many years. Later with a new major dock site at Fort Erie South the name Ferry Road gradually died away. Follow Bowen Road west at that time. Three brothers - William, Robert, and Henry Bowen had extensive farms along that country roadway. The name for this long country road became Bowen’s Road. Tait said in 1927, “ Bowen Road now applied from the river to the Humberstone Township line.”
Writer’s note: My ancestor, Cornelius Bowen, was grandfather to the three Bowen brothers. He had been a member of Butler’s Rangers and received an extensive Crown grant in Bertie Township in 1784. His grandsons inherited the Crown grant.
***
Tait also told us about Frenchman’s Creek. Go north from Bowen Road on the Niagara Parkway and there is Frenchman’s Creek. It’s one of the oldest names found on our earliest maps. It is frequently mentioned in the War of 1812-14. Tait wrote, “ Just why the name Frenchman’s Creek was applied to this stream is a conundrum which has not yet been solved. This writer ( George Tait) asked historian Colonel E. Cruikshank a few years ago (circa 1925) and he said it was a puzzle.” Anyone have an answer?
What's in a Name
What’s in a Name Earl Plato
What’s in a name? While researching at Fort Erie Centennial library in Louis McDermott’s extensive historical collection I came across Fort Erie historian George Tait’s 1927 writings. George was interested in local street and place names. This first article is centred around Bridgeburg (North end of Fort Erie). We old timers well remember that name, Bridgeburg. Tait said, “The name means the ‘burg’ at the end of the bridge. The word ‘burg’ is an old German term for a collection of houses or a village. Think of Jarvis Street. That’s centred in old Bridgeburg and once one of the most active streets in the area. Today there are still many stores and shops serving the North End. The first road I researched was Bowen Road. No Queen Elizabeth Way back in George Tait’s day. Today on the Q.E.W. the signs for Bowen Road are quite evident. Bowen Road just north of Highland Avenue in Fort Erie North was the dividing road between the village and the historic Township of Bertie - Lots 8 and 9. Tait tells us that where the Bowen Road began at the river back in the eighteen forties and fifties a ferry boat ran across the Niagara river from Black Rock, New York. This road was commonly called Ferry Road for many years. Later with a new major dock site at Fort Erie South the name Ferry Road gradually died away. Follow Bowen Road west at that time. Three brothers - William, Robert, and Henry Bowen had extensive farms along that country roadway. The name for this long country road became Bowen’s Road. Tait said in 1927, “ Bowen Road now applied from the river to the Humberstone Township line.”
Writer’s note: My ancestor, Cornelius Bowen, was grandfather to the three Bowen brothers. He had been a member of Butler’s Rangers and received an extensive Crown grant in Bertie Township in 1784. His grandsons inherited the Crown grant.
***
Tait also told us about Frenchman’s Creek. Go north from Bowen Road on the Niagara Parkway and there is Frenchman’s Creek. It’s one of the oldest names found on our earliest maps. It is frequently mentioned in the War of 1812-14. Tait wrote, “ Just why the name Frenchman’s Creek was applied to this stream is a conundrum which has not yet been solved. This writer ( George Tait) asked historian Colonel E. Cruikshank a few years ago (circa 1925) and he said it was a puzzle.” Anyone have an answer?
What’s in a name? While researching at Fort Erie Centennial library in Louis McDermott’s extensive historical collection I came across Fort Erie historian George Tait’s 1927 writings. George was interested in local street and place names. This first article is centred around Bridgeburg (North end of Fort Erie). We old timers well remember that name, Bridgeburg. Tait said, “The name means the ‘burg’ at the end of the bridge. The word ‘burg’ is an old German term for a collection of houses or a village. Think of Jarvis Street. That’s centred in old Bridgeburg and once one of the most active streets in the area. Today there are still many stores and shops serving the North End. The first road I researched was Bowen Road. No Queen Elizabeth Way back in George Tait’s day. Today on the Q.E.W. the signs for Bowen Road are quite evident. Bowen Road just north of Highland Avenue in Fort Erie North was the dividing road between the village and the historic Township of Bertie - Lots 8 and 9. Tait tells us that where the Bowen Road began at the river back in the eighteen forties and fifties a ferry boat ran across the Niagara river from Black Rock, New York. This road was commonly called Ferry Road for many years. Later with a new major dock site at Fort Erie South the name Ferry Road gradually died away. Follow Bowen Road west at that time. Three brothers - William, Robert, and Henry Bowen had extensive farms along that country roadway. The name for this long country road became Bowen’s Road. Tait said in 1927, “ Bowen Road now applied from the river to the Humberstone Township line.”
Writer’s note: My ancestor, Cornelius Bowen, was grandfather to the three Bowen brothers. He had been a member of Butler’s Rangers and received an extensive Crown grant in Bertie Township in 1784. His grandsons inherited the Crown grant.
***
Tait also told us about Frenchman’s Creek. Go north from Bowen Road on the Niagara Parkway and there is Frenchman’s Creek. It’s one of the oldest names found on our earliest maps. It is frequently mentioned in the War of 1812-14. Tait wrote, “ Just why the name Frenchman’s Creek was applied to this stream is a conundrum which has not yet been solved. This writer ( George Tait) asked historian Colonel E. Cruikshank a few years ago (circa 1925) and he said it was a puzzle.” Anyone have an answer?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Go Deep!
Deeper and Deeper at CNP
Frank Flake had to yell for the eight of us visitors to hear. The noise was deafening here in the bowels of the Canadian Niagara Power generating structure. Ken Benner had arranged with Frank for this “in depth” tour and that’s what it had become. I tried to tape record over the noise not so successfully at times.
What a setting for a scary movie! Dark, dank and dreary - a monster could step out anytime. Cheerful Frank was so enthusiastic about his place of work that he dispelled any fears we might have had. We could see into the forebay to our east, facing out on the rapids above the Horseshoe Falls. Frank explained and then answered some of Ken Benner and Bud Henninghan’s questions.
On the west wall the stone masonry was extremely well done and remained in tact all these years. “That’s the work of Scottish stone masons.” Flake stated. Like the ancient walls created by the fine skills of Inca masons the stones fitted perfectly with one another. Stone repair work was being done by skilled workers of Italian descent on the east side. Flake remarked, “The men working here admire the work across the way.” I had not brought a camera for this memorable trip. I wish that I had.
We descended down even lower to the final level. Dampness was every where. On the railings and walls as we carefully walked down. There was just enough light to guide our way. Phantom of the Opera fans would love this place. This level was even more scary than the level above.. C’mon, with cheerful Frank Flake leading what did we have to fear. Ken Benner nudged me and said that even the gals seem to enjoy this trip and they were. This was a thrill we had never experienced.
“November of 1907 was the beginning here,” Frank said. I could just barely hear his voice over the din of the water. Ninety years old and still producing electrical power for us Fort Erieans, amazing! Actually it was 1910 that he said that all of Fort Erie could receive power.
Mr.Flake pointed to an oil bath surrounding one of the eleven turbines in operation. The water going through here at such great speed, boils, and needs the oil to reduce friction and heat. I asked what kind of oil. 10W30? Just joking. It is, however, a special kind of oil accommodating high pressures and temperatures that is utilized. “We have to check the oil levels continually Flake emphasized.
Water was splashing on us from the rotating turbines. Wooden wedges were used to maintain the correctness of the shaft and they too were inspected by the men of Flake’s work force.
At this time Frank said over the roar, “ The water comes from the forebay, hits the water wheel here and goes back into the river. All the water for the plant comes from here. In the forebay we have an electrically driven pump that we haven’t had to use. We check the water before it goes back into the Niagara for chemical content. That last tank is the most important one for from it we finally send the water back to the river. We regularly analyze our water from it.”
Frank told of deer and human bodies that have ended in the forebay. That’s not a pleasant story but you can see how it can occur. Gates on the river are opened to divert the water into the plant. Objects are drawn into the forebay.
Frank Flake is a technician and Ken Benner who has a strong mechanical aptitude could appreciate his description of this operation. Again I could only pick up bits and pieces on my little tape recorder. Still we all found the walk through very interesting and informative.
Repairs to the system was described by our guide and its involves quite some operations of blocking off the water flow in order to repair a column. Remember this isn’t a Sir Adam Beck power plant but Frank pointed out this, “At our discharge tunnel there was a lot of erosion and we had to have a big plate fabricated by Horton Steel of Fort Erie that reinforced that arch at the opening.” In fact we were given an over view of the entire
system. We saw how the system existed before the weir was put in. Ken Benner continued to ask many good questions and our host gladly supplied answers. We had spent well over three hours inside a place I thought I’d never see. Thanks Frank Flake of Canadian Niagara Power for a most thorough “slice” of our local history. It was well worth it.
Retired people continue to be curious about our local surroundings. Those still employed look for “slices” of local history and take advantage of your free time when you can.
Frank Flake had to yell for the eight of us visitors to hear. The noise was deafening here in the bowels of the Canadian Niagara Power generating structure. Ken Benner had arranged with Frank for this “in depth” tour and that’s what it had become. I tried to tape record over the noise not so successfully at times.
What a setting for a scary movie! Dark, dank and dreary - a monster could step out anytime. Cheerful Frank was so enthusiastic about his place of work that he dispelled any fears we might have had. We could see into the forebay to our east, facing out on the rapids above the Horseshoe Falls. Frank explained and then answered some of Ken Benner and Bud Henninghan’s questions.
On the west wall the stone masonry was extremely well done and remained in tact all these years. “That’s the work of Scottish stone masons.” Flake stated. Like the ancient walls created by the fine skills of Inca masons the stones fitted perfectly with one another. Stone repair work was being done by skilled workers of Italian descent on the east side. Flake remarked, “The men working here admire the work across the way.” I had not brought a camera for this memorable trip. I wish that I had.
We descended down even lower to the final level. Dampness was every where. On the railings and walls as we carefully walked down. There was just enough light to guide our way. Phantom of the Opera fans would love this place. This level was even more scary than the level above.. C’mon, with cheerful Frank Flake leading what did we have to fear. Ken Benner nudged me and said that even the gals seem to enjoy this trip and they were. This was a thrill we had never experienced.
“November of 1907 was the beginning here,” Frank said. I could just barely hear his voice over the din of the water. Ninety years old and still producing electrical power for us Fort Erieans, amazing! Actually it was 1910 that he said that all of Fort Erie could receive power.
Mr.Flake pointed to an oil bath surrounding one of the eleven turbines in operation. The water going through here at such great speed, boils, and needs the oil to reduce friction and heat. I asked what kind of oil. 10W30? Just joking. It is, however, a special kind of oil accommodating high pressures and temperatures that is utilized. “We have to check the oil levels continually Flake emphasized.
Water was splashing on us from the rotating turbines. Wooden wedges were used to maintain the correctness of the shaft and they too were inspected by the men of Flake’s work force.
At this time Frank said over the roar, “ The water comes from the forebay, hits the water wheel here and goes back into the river. All the water for the plant comes from here. In the forebay we have an electrically driven pump that we haven’t had to use. We check the water before it goes back into the Niagara for chemical content. That last tank is the most important one for from it we finally send the water back to the river. We regularly analyze our water from it.”
Frank told of deer and human bodies that have ended in the forebay. That’s not a pleasant story but you can see how it can occur. Gates on the river are opened to divert the water into the plant. Objects are drawn into the forebay.
Frank Flake is a technician and Ken Benner who has a strong mechanical aptitude could appreciate his description of this operation. Again I could only pick up bits and pieces on my little tape recorder. Still we all found the walk through very interesting and informative.
Repairs to the system was described by our guide and its involves quite some operations of blocking off the water flow in order to repair a column. Remember this isn’t a Sir Adam Beck power plant but Frank pointed out this, “At our discharge tunnel there was a lot of erosion and we had to have a big plate fabricated by Horton Steel of Fort Erie that reinforced that arch at the opening.” In fact we were given an over view of the entire
system. We saw how the system existed before the weir was put in. Ken Benner continued to ask many good questions and our host gladly supplied answers. We had spent well over three hours inside a place I thought I’d never see. Thanks Frank Flake of Canadian Niagara Power for a most thorough “slice” of our local history. It was well worth it.
Retired people continue to be curious about our local surroundings. Those still employed look for “slices” of local history and take advantage of your free time when you can.
Point Abino, Fort Erie's Historic Indian Site
What a sight to have seen!. An Neutral Indian longhouse 360 feet in length. It and another smaller one did exist in the mid-1600s in Fort Erie. Where? At Point Abino.Many Voices gives various accounts of our early settlement. Check figure 2 on page 19 of our history book.. This is a sketch by Ontario archeologist David Boyle who in 1871 confirmed through personal inspection that there had been a large Neutral Indian village site at Point Abino. It is one of the larger village sites ever recorded in Ontario’s native historical records.
About 1650 the Point Abino palisade village was burned down. The gradually decaying remnants of the support posts of the giant longhouses remained in the ground for years until about a 125 years ago when archeologists in Ontario and New York State examined the various Neutral sites of our town.
Over fifty-five years ago I walked with the late Fort Erie historian, Bert Miller, and my father, Percy, to see what we thought was the Indian burial ground at Point Abino.. Bert did not use the term Neutral or Attawandaron to label these earliest residents of our town. He simply called them “our native people.”
Harvey Holtzworth, Point Abino historian, confirmed with me that what I had believed all these years to be the Neutral Indian burial ground behind his place was incorrect. This beautiful site that I have visited countless times over the years fits instead the description of the large Neutral village location.
Many Voices says under Figure 2 on page 19 that Ontario archeologist Boyle’s sketch: suggests a 1600’s village site on Point Abino leaves us with this puzzling comment, “...but no archeological evidence exists to support it.” I disagree. Thanks to Point Abino historian, Harvey Holtzworth, I have a copy of Boyle’s report. I have read in that Annual 1931 Archeological Report for Ontario some excerpts from David Boyle’s article. I A A Agreat palisaded Neytral Indian villagevatbelieve that they are based on an expert’s research. Why should we disbelieve it? We read from Boyle’s record, “In company with Mr. Cyrenius Bearss, a local resident, I visited a field of several acres in extent on Point Abino in Bertie Township, where thousands of chert (flint) fragments lie on the surface... Mr. Bearss and I proceeded to the ancient site of the Neutral village at the point. Not far away from the field mentioned, but still in the forest, is a large dune of the fine sand that forms so much of the Erie shore in this section. “Bert Miller took us to the what he called, “The Garden of the Gods.” This was at the end of Brown Road along the path that lead to the west shore. The Garden was off to our left nestled among the tree-covered sand ridges. Back then in the 1940’s it was a serene location that Bert loved to visit. It no longer resembles what we saw then. There are various reasons for the decline of the “Garden.”
As we look more closely at the account of Point Abino in the history book I wish to share from my unpublished novel, Our People Live, a description from Chapter Six . It is the heroine in the story, Teana, a Christian Huron girl, rescued by the Neutrals in the 1640’s who is looking down from the forested sand ridge at the Garden of the Gods at Point Abino
“Teana climbed the huge forested sandhill directly behind the Attawandaron village. The warm southwest breeze off Lake Erie caressed her face. She had come here to meditate and pray. Should she descend to the vale below, she thought. She looked down into the vale called by her befrienders, The Garden of the Gods. It was a secluded place. Surrounded by wooded dunes the garden had low lying stands of ground evergreens spread out over the sandy opening. Spread out between them rose the majestic spire-like red junipers. Colonies of tall scouring-rush were conspicuous among the sparse ground vegetation. There interspersed was the annual display of the showy yellow and orange-yellow flowers now in full bloom. They heightened the exotic effect of the scene below. It was a beautiful location to enter but again she asked herself should she enter this sacred place of the Attawandaron people....” .My description of the “garden” above is based on Doctor Charles Zenkert’s account published in 1934 by the Buffalo Museum of Science. Here is that photo from that record. Sad to say a freezing rain in 1969 coated the red junipers and the weight of the encased branches caused great damage. I made a movie of the destruction. Many of the spire-like trees were killed. After years of being part of a dumping place the garden is gone ,changed by the forces of nature and the neglect of man. Fortunately I have more than a mental memory of one of my favourite locations.. In the mid-1960’s we made a super 8mm movie of my young family frolicking in what we called The Garden of the Gods. Treasure your memories. Thanks for Many Voices.
About 1650 the Point Abino palisade village was burned down. The gradually decaying remnants of the support posts of the giant longhouses remained in the ground for years until about a 125 years ago when archeologists in Ontario and New York State examined the various Neutral sites of our town.
Over fifty-five years ago I walked with the late Fort Erie historian, Bert Miller, and my father, Percy, to see what we thought was the Indian burial ground at Point Abino.. Bert did not use the term Neutral or Attawandaron to label these earliest residents of our town. He simply called them “our native people.”
Harvey Holtzworth, Point Abino historian, confirmed with me that what I had believed all these years to be the Neutral Indian burial ground behind his place was incorrect. This beautiful site that I have visited countless times over the years fits instead the description of the large Neutral village location.
Many Voices says under Figure 2 on page 19 that Ontario archeologist Boyle’s sketch: suggests a 1600’s village site on Point Abino leaves us with this puzzling comment, “...but no archeological evidence exists to support it.” I disagree. Thanks to Point Abino historian, Harvey Holtzworth, I have a copy of Boyle’s report. I have read in that Annual 1931 Archeological Report for Ontario some excerpts from David Boyle’s article. I A A Agreat palisaded Neytral Indian villagevatbelieve that they are based on an expert’s research. Why should we disbelieve it? We read from Boyle’s record, “In company with Mr. Cyrenius Bearss, a local resident, I visited a field of several acres in extent on Point Abino in Bertie Township, where thousands of chert (flint) fragments lie on the surface... Mr. Bearss and I proceeded to the ancient site of the Neutral village at the point. Not far away from the field mentioned, but still in the forest, is a large dune of the fine sand that forms so much of the Erie shore in this section. “Bert Miller took us to the what he called, “The Garden of the Gods.” This was at the end of Brown Road along the path that lead to the west shore. The Garden was off to our left nestled among the tree-covered sand ridges. Back then in the 1940’s it was a serene location that Bert loved to visit. It no longer resembles what we saw then. There are various reasons for the decline of the “Garden.”
As we look more closely at the account of Point Abino in the history book I wish to share from my unpublished novel, Our People Live, a description from Chapter Six . It is the heroine in the story, Teana, a Christian Huron girl, rescued by the Neutrals in the 1640’s who is looking down from the forested sand ridge at the Garden of the Gods at Point Abino
“Teana climbed the huge forested sandhill directly behind the Attawandaron village. The warm southwest breeze off Lake Erie caressed her face. She had come here to meditate and pray. Should she descend to the vale below, she thought. She looked down into the vale called by her befrienders, The Garden of the Gods. It was a secluded place. Surrounded by wooded dunes the garden had low lying stands of ground evergreens spread out over the sandy opening. Spread out between them rose the majestic spire-like red junipers. Colonies of tall scouring-rush were conspicuous among the sparse ground vegetation. There interspersed was the annual display of the showy yellow and orange-yellow flowers now in full bloom. They heightened the exotic effect of the scene below. It was a beautiful location to enter but again she asked herself should she enter this sacred place of the Attawandaron people....” .My description of the “garden” above is based on Doctor Charles Zenkert’s account published in 1934 by the Buffalo Museum of Science. Here is that photo from that record. Sad to say a freezing rain in 1969 coated the red junipers and the weight of the encased branches caused great damage. I made a movie of the destruction. Many of the spire-like trees were killed. After years of being part of a dumping place the garden is gone ,changed by the forces of nature and the neglect of man. Fortunately I have more than a mental memory of one of my favourite locations.. In the mid-1960’s we made a super 8mm movie of my young family frolicking in what we called The Garden of the Gods. Treasure your memories. Thanks for Many Voices.
Canadians in the Civil War Earl Plato
Just bought another Civil War magazine this month. This is an article inspired by the title, ‘High Tide at Gettysburg’.
Six times I have gone to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the ‘High Water Mark’ of the American Civil War. Why? I am a Canadian. What would draw me again to those terrible bloody years (1861-64) of American history? On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village near Hamilton, Ontario we saw a marker mounted on a granite boulder. It stated that over 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War. I knew this historical fact from years back. That’s one reason I wrote a series of articles. through the eyes of a Canadian. The American Civil War - 1861-1864 - is considered one of the world’s most devastating wars as it pertains to the sheer number of military loss of life and casualties. It killed some 360,000 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederates and uncounted civilians on both sides. It left 500,000 men - North and South - with wounds and scars they would carry all their lives. More than 50,000 Canadians participated in this “blood bath” with the great majority serving on the side of the North (Union) against the South (Confederacy). I started my series at Gettysburg. Why? The picture of the monument to the 59th New York State Volunteers is there. It is here that this regiment and others held up against “Pickett’s Charge.” In previous articles some years ago I followed the 59th throughout the war. Again, you family researchers, use the government War Department records. Today the Internet offers great sites to help you find your way. Find a Civil War Site and just type the name of the relative and what follows may amaze you. I did and was thrilled to find a relative. Gettysburg is an ideal place to start for a real close look at this horrendous war. “Gettysburg had everything,”
American H.S. Commanger once wrote. “IT was the greatest battle ever fought on the continent. Gettysburg boasts more heroic chapters than any other battle. Yes, it was the high tide of the Confederacy.” Once again I thought about the outcome of those three days. Another American historian, Glenn Tucker, wrote, “Some historians believe Lee and the Confederacy ought to have won at Gettysburg.” He adds that he seeks no scapegoat. The Confederates made some mistakes in timing and failed to make the best us if their artillery. Tucker claims that the decisive factors were in small part luck and in large part individual character often of subordinate commanders.
I definitely agree. Who helped hold the line on that fateful day of Pickett’s Charge?” Look up my favourite union officer, ….. Hancock . He did an outstanding job at Gettysburg and you know what? The 59th New York Volunteers were under his command. A monument testifies to their involvement there.
Just bought another Civil War magazine this month. This is an article inspired by the title, ‘High Tide at Gettysburg’.
Six times I have gone to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the ‘High Water Mark’ of the American Civil War. Why? I am a Canadian. What would draw me again to those terrible bloody years (1861-64) of American history? On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village near Hamilton, Ontario we saw a marker mounted on a granite boulder. It stated that over 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War. I knew this historical fact from years back. That’s one reason I wrote a series of articles. through the eyes of a Canadian. The American Civil War - 1861-1864 - is considered one of the world’s most devastating wars as it pertains to the sheer number of military loss of life and casualties. It killed some 360,000 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederates and uncounted civilians on both sides. It left 500,000 men - North and South - with wounds and scars they would carry all their lives. More than 50,000 Canadians participated in this “blood bath” with the great majority serving on the side of the North (Union) against the South (Confederacy). I started my series at Gettysburg. Why? The picture of the monument to the 59th New York State Volunteers is there. It is here that this regiment and others held up against “Pickett’s Charge.” In previous articles some years ago I followed the 59th throughout the war. Again, you family researchers, use the government War Department records. Today the Internet offers great sites to help you find your way. Find a Civil War Site and just type the name of the relative and what follows may amaze you. I did and was thrilled to find a relative. Gettysburg is an ideal place to start for a real close look at this horrendous war. “Gettysburg had everything,”
American H.S. Commanger once wrote. “IT was the greatest battle ever fought on the continent. Gettysburg boasts more heroic chapters than any other battle. Yes, it was the high tide of the Confederacy.” Once again I thought about the outcome of those three days. Another American historian, Glenn Tucker, wrote, “Some historians believe Lee and the Confederacy ought to have won at Gettysburg.” He adds that he seeks no scapegoat. The Confederates made some mistakes in timing and failed to make the best us if their artillery. Tucker claims that the decisive factors were in small part luck and in large part individual character often of subordinate commanders.
I definitely agree. Who helped hold the line on that fateful day of Pickett’s Charge?” Look up my favourite union officer, ….. Hancock . He did an outstanding job at Gettysburg and you know what? The 59th New York Volunteers were under his command. A monument testifies to their involvement there.
Canadians in the Civil War
Civil War-6 Earl Plato
The Dunkers: Because of my own Pennsylvania Dutch background I researched the Mumma Dunker church and their beliefs. Their worship services included washing the feet of their brethren. It was an act of love as their Lord Jesus had done. They served lamb stew in a communal pot eating from it to demonstrate a humble oneness. They advocated baptism by complete immersion. It was this practice from which they were called in their German language - Dunkers.
Picture these simple, peace loving farmers following the church service of Sunday, Sept. 14, 1862. They must have talked about the news that two great armies were in their midst. That afternoon they could hear the distant thunder of artillery from South Mountain. Remember that these Dunkers had a faith that included not only simplicity in their faith but they were also devout Pacifists. Like the Quakers they believed in not being involved in warfare. They believed that the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus, wanted them to practise loving one’s enemies. Little did they know that soon their little white-washed church would be the centre of a maelstrom of a terrible conflict.
Union General Joe Hooker had placed his finger on a tactical map the next day. His finger was right at the height of land on which the Dunker Church was located! That same day 8,000 Confederate troops moved onto the Dunker Church site. Their leader? One of the most devout Christian generals of the Civil War, Stonewall Jackson. Ironic?
Next day, at 9 a.m. that fateful September 17 the Mumma Dunker Church was the focal point of repeated clashes as both armies sought to occupy and hold the high ground around the little church. During the battle the church served fittingly as a hospital. We learn that both sides fought and found sanctuary for their wounded. First one side then the other fought over the church and surrounding grounds. How many times the little church exchanged hands I don’t recall but it was several. Union artillery finally battered the walls of the church but in the end Jackson and his men held fast. Secure in the surrounding woods the Confederates could not be dislodged from the higher land. “Stonewall” Jackson became his lasting appellation. The Miller Cornfield: We stopped the car and got out to examine the site where more fighting took place than anywhere else on the Antietam battle field. Basking in the sunlight of that April day we read the plaque. Here was a cornfield just as it was 140 years ago. Corn would grow taller than a man’s reach in the month’s ahead. The plaque quoted the words of General Hooker who wrote: “... every stalk of corn in the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain laid in rows...” The battlelines swept back and forth across the field for three hours.
The large majority of the 12,410 Union soldiers killed and the 10,700 Confederates killed at Antetiam occurred here. Guess what? Remember General Stonewall Jackson? He moved his troops from their secure position at the Dunker church a half mile north and met Hooker’s forces head on in that Miller cornfield. History records that his men eventually stopped the Union advance.
Hooker’s words written after the war’s cessation: “It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield than Antetiam.”
Next: Bloody Lane - The Battle of Antetiam concludes.
The Dunkers: Because of my own Pennsylvania Dutch background I researched the Mumma Dunker church and their beliefs. Their worship services included washing the feet of their brethren. It was an act of love as their Lord Jesus had done. They served lamb stew in a communal pot eating from it to demonstrate a humble oneness. They advocated baptism by complete immersion. It was this practice from which they were called in their German language - Dunkers.
Picture these simple, peace loving farmers following the church service of Sunday, Sept. 14, 1862. They must have talked about the news that two great armies were in their midst. That afternoon they could hear the distant thunder of artillery from South Mountain. Remember that these Dunkers had a faith that included not only simplicity in their faith but they were also devout Pacifists. Like the Quakers they believed in not being involved in warfare. They believed that the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus, wanted them to practise loving one’s enemies. Little did they know that soon their little white-washed church would be the centre of a maelstrom of a terrible conflict.
Union General Joe Hooker had placed his finger on a tactical map the next day. His finger was right at the height of land on which the Dunker Church was located! That same day 8,000 Confederate troops moved onto the Dunker Church site. Their leader? One of the most devout Christian generals of the Civil War, Stonewall Jackson. Ironic?
Next day, at 9 a.m. that fateful September 17 the Mumma Dunker Church was the focal point of repeated clashes as both armies sought to occupy and hold the high ground around the little church. During the battle the church served fittingly as a hospital. We learn that both sides fought and found sanctuary for their wounded. First one side then the other fought over the church and surrounding grounds. How many times the little church exchanged hands I don’t recall but it was several. Union artillery finally battered the walls of the church but in the end Jackson and his men held fast. Secure in the surrounding woods the Confederates could not be dislodged from the higher land. “Stonewall” Jackson became his lasting appellation. The Miller Cornfield: We stopped the car and got out to examine the site where more fighting took place than anywhere else on the Antietam battle field. Basking in the sunlight of that April day we read the plaque. Here was a cornfield just as it was 140 years ago. Corn would grow taller than a man’s reach in the month’s ahead. The plaque quoted the words of General Hooker who wrote: “... every stalk of corn in the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain laid in rows...” The battlelines swept back and forth across the field for three hours.
The large majority of the 12,410 Union soldiers killed and the 10,700 Confederates killed at Antetiam occurred here. Guess what? Remember General Stonewall Jackson? He moved his troops from their secure position at the Dunker church a half mile north and met Hooker’s forces head on in that Miller cornfield. History records that his men eventually stopped the Union advance.
Hooker’s words written after the war’s cessation: “It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield than Antetiam.”
Next: Bloody Lane - The Battle of Antetiam concludes.
Canadians in the Civil War
Civil War-5 Earl Plato
We four Canadians had driven from Fort Erie in April heading for the Civil War battle site at Antietam Creek, Maryland. We drove south on 219 out of Buffalo. Check it out on your atlas. Look for Sharpsburg, Maryland.
Remember Civil War historian, Bruce Catton’s words “ ... was the bloodiest single day’s work in the entire Civil War.”
Writer’s Note: The afternoon phase of the battle took place from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the stone bridge (Burnside). However, I recalled two other memorable battle sites on that Antietam battlefield and must tell about them too, but the bridge first.
The Bridge: Captain David Thompson a Union officer wrote, “At Antietam our Corps, the 9th, under Burnside, was on the extreme left opposite the stone bridge.”
Note: The New York Volunteer Regiment the 59th was there. Now was the time for the Union to attack and they tried to cross the narrow bridge. Time and time again they were forced back. By whom? By a few hundred Georgia riflemen stationed among the trees on the far bank. Burnside kept pouring fresh troops at the well entrenched Georgians. The 59th were here and lost men in those futile attempts to gain the Lower bridge and attack the enemy from the flank. Burnside refused to stop the assault on the Lower bridge. One historian said that the fighting here at Burnside’s bridge was a key factor in the Union’s McClelland’ failure at Antietam. He felt that if General Burnside had been allowed to attack early in the day things would have been different. Why?
Late in the afternoon the 9th Corps (including the 59th) took the Lower bridge at a great loss of Union soldiers. Burnside reformed his regiments and began to march across the rolling hills toward Sharpsburg. His aim was to cut off Lee. You know the oft repeated story. General Lee, the brilliant strategist, sent his General A.P. Hill, who had just arrived from Harper’s Ferry to cut off Burnside, and his decimated 9th Corps. Just as Burnside was about to reach an advantageous position Hill attacked and drove the 9th back. Battle over for now.
The big ‘IF’ - if McCelland, the ever procrastinator, had allowed Burnside to move across the Lower bridge at Antietam Creek early in the morning it might have spelled a major defeat for the South. It didn’t happen. Earlier that day - The Dunker Church: - On that September 17, 1862 morning the first battle clashed centred around the little Dunker church.
Many of us in Fort Erie have some Dunker relatives and ties. The Dunkers were German Baptist Brethren. Many had settled in the immediate area around Sharpsburg, Maryland. In 1851 the Mumma family donated a tract of land near their farm for the construction of a church. In 1853 the small brick building was completed. It was whitewashed as the photo shows. No steeple or cross to adorn the simple building. These were plain hard working farmers. Little did they know by September 14, 1852 these peace loving folk and their church would be in the centre of a major battle.
Next: The church in the centre.
Canadians in the Civil War
Civil War-4 Earl Plato
At first the North (Union) gave a valiant effort but the South (Confederates) prevailed. Retreating Union soldiers and frightened civilians headed back to Washington. An important bridge broke down
at this time. Famed Civil War historian, Bruce Catton wrote: “... the carriages tried to drive through the wreckage at the same time army wagons and guns were coming along, and there was one of the grandest traffic jams in American history.”
The Union army retreat became uncontrollable. Fortunately in this initial battle the Confederate army was almost disorganized by its victory as the Union army was by its defeat.
The reasons the Confederates under General G.T. Beauregard didn’t pursue the retreating Union army and enter Washington are still argued. One thing seems to stand out. Organized supply lines, which a trained Confederate Quartermaster’s Corps should have in place and didn’t, might have made the difference.
The famed southern General “Stonewall” Jackson received his nickname here. During the height of the initial Union attack on the Henry House Hill it was Jackson’s brigade which held the line. Another Confederate officer trying to rally his men pointed to Jackson’s men and shouted, “Look! there’s Jackson, standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians.” He was called “Stonewall” Jackson from that time.
The 59th: As stated, the 59th was stationed in fortifications surrounding and protecting Washington, D.C. The regiment was moved out to various locations in northern Virginia.
So far the 59th had not been in any battle but now the 2nd Army Corps had orders. They were about to experience the horrors of war as part of the Maryland Campaign of September 6 to 22, 1862.
Civil War historian, Bruce Catton wrote, “... was probably the bloodiest single day in the entire Civil War.”
Next: The Battle of Antietam, Maryland, September 17, 1862.
To you Civil War buffs I would suggest you look up the Battle of South Mountain, if you haven’t done so. I wrote two articles about this early Civil War battle in which the importance of having a good Quartermaster Corps present and used properly was pointed out. The 59th was there. Canadians were now joining the Union Army in greater numbers. Writer’s Note: Submit your Canadian surname to the Civil War genealogical groups and hopefully find your name attached to a Civil War unit. That’s what I did with a little help from an American relative.
It is hard to believe that just a few days after the debacle of South Mountain a second battle would ensue so quickly.
At first the North (Union) gave a valiant effort but the South (Confederates) prevailed. Retreating Union soldiers and frightened civilians headed back to Washington. An important bridge broke down
at this time. Famed Civil War historian, Bruce Catton wrote: “... the carriages tried to drive through the wreckage at the same time army wagons and guns were coming along, and there was one of the grandest traffic jams in American history.”
The Union army retreat became uncontrollable. Fortunately in this initial battle the Confederate army was almost disorganized by its victory as the Union army was by its defeat.
The reasons the Confederates under General G.T. Beauregard didn’t pursue the retreating Union army and enter Washington are still argued. One thing seems to stand out. Organized supply lines, which a trained Confederate Quartermaster’s Corps should have in place and didn’t, might have made the difference.
The famed southern General “Stonewall” Jackson received his nickname here. During the height of the initial Union attack on the Henry House Hill it was Jackson’s brigade which held the line. Another Confederate officer trying to rally his men pointed to Jackson’s men and shouted, “Look! there’s Jackson, standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians.” He was called “Stonewall” Jackson from that time.
The 59th: As stated, the 59th was stationed in fortifications surrounding and protecting Washington, D.C. The regiment was moved out to various locations in northern Virginia.
So far the 59th had not been in any battle but now the 2nd Army Corps had orders. They were about to experience the horrors of war as part of the Maryland Campaign of September 6 to 22, 1862.
Civil War historian, Bruce Catton wrote, “... was probably the bloodiest single day in the entire Civil War.”
Next: The Battle of Antietam, Maryland, September 17, 1862.
To you Civil War buffs I would suggest you look up the Battle of South Mountain, if you haven’t done so. I wrote two articles about this early Civil War battle in which the importance of having a good Quartermaster Corps present and used properly was pointed out. The 59th was there. Canadians were now joining the Union Army in greater numbers. Writer’s Note: Submit your Canadian surname to the Civil War genealogical groups and hopefully find your name attached to a Civil War unit. That’s what I did with a little help from an American relative.
It is hard to believe that just a few days after the debacle of South Mountain a second battle would ensue so quickly.
Civil War 3 Canadians
Civil War -3 Earl Plato
The 59th left the state to join the army at Washington, D.C. on November 23, 1861. The records show that they were attached to General Wadsworth’s command for the defences of Washington until March, 1862. The capitol was in danger from Lee’s Confederate Army just across the boundary in Virginia. Lincoln decided to take the offence. The 59th was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, General Casey’s Division, The Army of the Potomac. This is where our Civil War story of 23 terrible battles begins with the 59th N.Y. State Volunteers. I believe that it is a remarkable record for a volunteer regiment. Unfortunately we can only high light the major battles. They are as follows: Antietam, 2nd Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Siege and Fall of Petersburg, and Appomattox Court House. I have visited all these sites in past years.
Civil War researchers know what can happen when one record says that the 59th was at the First Bull Run. However, Official records of the War of the Rebellion for both the Union and Confederate Armies, a 128 volume set, published by the War Department states that the Battle of the First Bull Run was fought July 21, 1861 without the 59th present.
Furthermore, Arthur Candequist, Civil War Society historian, in a letter to me August 19, 1991 confirmed that the 59th N.Y. State Volunteers were not at the First Battle of Manassas or Bull Run. Remember the 59th did not enter active service until two months later. So?
I want to make a point with a look at this first major battle of the American Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run, even though the 59th was not there.
Next: 1st Bull Run and onwards with the 59th. Remember Canadians were there.
Just a “Sunday Outing” or so it appeared to be, the First Battle of Bull Run or Manassas. Remember the word “run” meant a small stream.
This first battle of the American Civil War was fought only thirty miles from the country’s capital, Washington, D.C. History recorded that ordinary civilians out for a Sunday excursion in their buggies thought that it “would be fun” to see an actual battle up close. They would watch the superior Union forces (superior only in numbers) send the Confederates “high-tailing” it down the road to the Southern capital, Richmond, Virginia. That’s not what actually happened.
I have walked this site of the historic battlefield. There are various monuments and imposing statues across the open fields. I could picture in my mind’s eye that Sunday, July 21, 1861. It was an unreal situation. Who would know what price was to be paid as a result of turning to war. Brother against brother, friend against friend, all would be changed forever that eventful Sunday.
The 59th left the state to join the army at Washington, D.C. on November 23, 1861. The records show that they were attached to General Wadsworth’s command for the defences of Washington until March, 1862. The capitol was in danger from Lee’s Confederate Army just across the boundary in Virginia. Lincoln decided to take the offence. The 59th was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, General Casey’s Division, The Army of the Potomac. This is where our Civil War story of 23 terrible battles begins with the 59th N.Y. State Volunteers. I believe that it is a remarkable record for a volunteer regiment. Unfortunately we can only high light the major battles. They are as follows: Antietam, 2nd Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorville, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Siege and Fall of Petersburg, and Appomattox Court House. I have visited all these sites in past years.
Civil War researchers know what can happen when one record says that the 59th was at the First Bull Run. However, Official records of the War of the Rebellion for both the Union and Confederate Armies, a 128 volume set, published by the War Department states that the Battle of the First Bull Run was fought July 21, 1861 without the 59th present.
Furthermore, Arthur Candequist, Civil War Society historian, in a letter to me August 19, 1991 confirmed that the 59th N.Y. State Volunteers were not at the First Battle of Manassas or Bull Run. Remember the 59th did not enter active service until two months later. So?
I want to make a point with a look at this first major battle of the American Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run, even though the 59th was not there.
Next: 1st Bull Run and onwards with the 59th. Remember Canadians were there.
Just a “Sunday Outing” or so it appeared to be, the First Battle of Bull Run or Manassas. Remember the word “run” meant a small stream.
This first battle of the American Civil War was fought only thirty miles from the country’s capital, Washington, D.C. History recorded that ordinary civilians out for a Sunday excursion in their buggies thought that it “would be fun” to see an actual battle up close. They would watch the superior Union forces (superior only in numbers) send the Confederates “high-tailing” it down the road to the Southern capital, Richmond, Virginia. That’s not what actually happened.
I have walked this site of the historic battlefield. There are various monuments and imposing statues across the open fields. I could picture in my mind’s eye that Sunday, July 21, 1861. It was an unreal situation. Who would know what price was to be paid as a result of turning to war. Brother against brother, friend against friend, all would be changed forever that eventful Sunday.
Civil War 2
Canadians in the Civil War Part 2 Earl Plato
This writer wishes to follow the course of one regiment during its long service in the American Civil War. The 59th New York State Volunteer Regiment served in most of the major battles from 1861-1865.
I traced the career of one particular officer, eventually Captain Nelson Plato of the 59th. As a long time Civil War “buff” my interest was heightened by information that fellow Plato Family historian, the late Dick Dickinson, provided me. Remember your family roots. He told me of a Plato from New York State who had served throughout the Civil War. Interested? Of course. I went on a search to the Buffalo Historical Museum Archives after the Centennial of the war years in the late 1960’s. Musty old books were brought down from high shelves and I found the Muster Roll of the Field and Staff Officers of the 59th. No computer access at that time just a “hands on” search. Now you can go on the Internet and bring up much material if you’re a Civil War “nut” like me.
The 59th Regiment of Volunteers of New York State began under the command of Colonel William Linn Tidball and was called into service of the United States by President Lincoln on the 10 th day of October, 1861. The roster was as follows: Colonel Tidball, Lieut.Col. Phillip Joachimsen, Major William Northridge, 1st Lieut. Nelson Plato, 1st Lieut. Joah Jeffries, and Surgeon, Dr. Joseph Colgan.
We read that Nelson Plato was signed for duty on August 3, 1861 personally by Colonel Tidball. It records that he was the only commissioned officer so chosen. Why? Plato was to be the Quartermaster of the 59th. That’s a very important position as you will see. Nelson Plato enlisted Howard Tompkins as a Sergeant for the non-commissioned staff on October 5, 1861. These two would serve together in the Quartermaster Corps throughout the war. Both were wounded and promoted before all was over. Canadians in the Civil War? Yes.
Next: The First Battle of Bull Run
This writer wishes to follow the course of one regiment during its long service in the American Civil War. The 59th New York State Volunteer Regiment served in most of the major battles from 1861-1865.
I traced the career of one particular officer, eventually Captain Nelson Plato of the 59th. As a long time Civil War “buff” my interest was heightened by information that fellow Plato Family historian, the late Dick Dickinson, provided me. Remember your family roots. He told me of a Plato from New York State who had served throughout the Civil War. Interested? Of course. I went on a search to the Buffalo Historical Museum Archives after the Centennial of the war years in the late 1960’s. Musty old books were brought down from high shelves and I found the Muster Roll of the Field and Staff Officers of the 59th. No computer access at that time just a “hands on” search. Now you can go on the Internet and bring up much material if you’re a Civil War “nut” like me.
The 59th Regiment of Volunteers of New York State began under the command of Colonel William Linn Tidball and was called into service of the United States by President Lincoln on the 10 th day of October, 1861. The roster was as follows: Colonel Tidball, Lieut.Col. Phillip Joachimsen, Major William Northridge, 1st Lieut. Nelson Plato, 1st Lieut. Joah Jeffries, and Surgeon, Dr. Joseph Colgan.
We read that Nelson Plato was signed for duty on August 3, 1861 personally by Colonel Tidball. It records that he was the only commissioned officer so chosen. Why? Plato was to be the Quartermaster of the 59th. That’s a very important position as you will see. Nelson Plato enlisted Howard Tompkins as a Sergeant for the non-commissioned staff on October 5, 1861. These two would serve together in the Quartermaster Corps throughout the war. Both were wounded and promoted before all was over. Canadians in the Civil War? Yes.
Next: The First Battle of Bull Run
Canadians in the American Civil War
Canadians in the Civil War Earl Plato
Six times I have gone to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the ‘High Water Mark’ of the American Civil War. Why? I am a Canadian. What would draw me again to those terrible bloody years (1861-64) of American history? On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village near Hamilton, Ontario we saw a marker mounted on a granite boulder. It stated that over 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War. I knew this historical fact from years back. That’s one reason I wrote a series of articles. through the eyes of a Canadian. The American Civil War - 1861-1864 - is considered one of the world’s most devastating wars as it pertains to the shreer number of military loss of life and casualties. It killed some 360,000 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederates and uncounted civilians on both sides. It left 500,000 men - North and South - with wounds and scars they would carry all their lives. More than 50,000 Canadians participated in this “blood bath” with the great majority serving on the side of the North (Union) against the South (Confederacy).
I will start this series at Gettysburg. Why? The picture of the monument to the 59th New York State Volunteers is there. It is here that this regiment and others held up against “Pickett’s Charge.” We will follow the 59th throughout the war. Again, you family researchers, use the government War Department records. Today the Internet offers great sites to help you find your way. Find a Civil War Site and just type the name of the relative and what follows may amaze you.
On the second of six trips to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania I took my son, Paul, three of his high school friends, and we camped in two tents for three days in August many years ago. Paul bought a Confederate officer’s hat and I bought a Union soldier’s cap, which I just wore. Why not the 59th?
Six times I have gone to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the ‘High Water Mark’ of the American Civil War. Why? I am a Canadian. What would draw me again to those terrible bloody years (1861-64) of American history? On a visit to Westfield Heritage Village near Hamilton, Ontario we saw a marker mounted on a granite boulder. It stated that over 50,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War. I knew this historical fact from years back. That’s one reason I wrote a series of articles. through the eyes of a Canadian. The American Civil War - 1861-1864 - is considered one of the world’s most devastating wars as it pertains to the shreer number of military loss of life and casualties. It killed some 360,000 Union soldiers and 258,000 Confederates and uncounted civilians on both sides. It left 500,000 men - North and South - with wounds and scars they would carry all their lives. More than 50,000 Canadians participated in this “blood bath” with the great majority serving on the side of the North (Union) against the South (Confederacy).
I will start this series at Gettysburg. Why? The picture of the monument to the 59th New York State Volunteers is there. It is here that this regiment and others held up against “Pickett’s Charge.” We will follow the 59th throughout the war. Again, you family researchers, use the government War Department records. Today the Internet offers great sites to help you find your way. Find a Civil War Site and just type the name of the relative and what follows may amaze you.
On the second of six trips to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania I took my son, Paul, three of his high school friends, and we camped in two tents for three days in August many years ago. Paul bought a Confederate officer’s hat and I bought a Union soldier’s cap, which I just wore. Why not the 59th?
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Butler;s Rangers 6
Butler’s6 Earl Plato
Last of the Cruikshank series: This writer has visited Cherry Valley, New York on two occasions. The first was in 1956 when I still believed in the American rendition of the Cherry Valley Massacre. Again in 1973 I visited the cemetery again. There proclaimed on the huge stone cenotaph was the sad story, You can see this site on line. Just type in Cherry Valley Massacre. It was in November 1778 that Walter Butler and Joseph Brant approached the beautiful little Cherry Valley. The Ranger/Indian plan was to capture the fort and lay waste to the settlement. This was war and terrible things are done in its name. Colonel Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall, N.Y., in his letter to me told me to look more closely at the records. Contemporary American historian, Jared Rosman , blames Walter Butler, son of Colonel John Butler for what happened at Cherry Valley. Rosman contends that Walter Butler in a fit of revenge struck down the Cherry Valley Wells family because of the rough treatment he had received in the Albany prison of the Rebels. Wait. The Wells were Tory (that’s our side) sympathizers and friends of John Butler. Why would Walter tomahawk family friends? Many innocent people died at Cherry Valley. Motive? The American rebels had totally destroyed the Iroquois villages of Oquaga, Unandilla, Tioga and other Indian villages. Joseph Brant and his Mohawks had been accused also and Rosman says, “... he (Brant) was the vicious, bloodthirsty ringleader of the Cherry Valley Massacre.” Brant knew the Wells family too and denied the accusation all his life. Who then? We have a clue from American records. “...Senecas could take the opportunity to start the massacre.” Rosman still blames Walter Butler. Why? He and other American historians claim that he made no effort to stop them (the Senecas.) Walter Butler a monster? I don’t think so. Remember that Colonel Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall, told me to check out the book, War Out of Niagara, by Howard Swiggett. Swiggett is an American historian who like Cruikshank had access to colonial records not in Ottawa but overseas in England. This is a well researched book and worthy of your reading. What does Swiggett say of Walter Butler’s death? On page 42 he wrote, “ This was the end of it all, the bright soldiery hopes of the little boy who had seen the red-coat riders coming home twenty years before from Niagara. The cool effrontery of a young man who had walked into the enemy lines with a flag to get prisoner exchanges.” Swiggett said of Walter Butler, “There was no question who was the best officer in command.” Thank you Ernest Cruikshank for finally trying to give us the truth.
Last of the Cruikshank series: This writer has visited Cherry Valley, New York on two occasions. The first was in 1956 when I still believed in the American rendition of the Cherry Valley Massacre. Again in 1973 I visited the cemetery again. There proclaimed on the huge stone cenotaph was the sad story, You can see this site on line. Just type in Cherry Valley Massacre. It was in November 1778 that Walter Butler and Joseph Brant approached the beautiful little Cherry Valley. The Ranger/Indian plan was to capture the fort and lay waste to the settlement. This was war and terrible things are done in its name. Colonel Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall, N.Y., in his letter to me told me to look more closely at the records. Contemporary American historian, Jared Rosman , blames Walter Butler, son of Colonel John Butler for what happened at Cherry Valley. Rosman contends that Walter Butler in a fit of revenge struck down the Cherry Valley Wells family because of the rough treatment he had received in the Albany prison of the Rebels. Wait. The Wells were Tory (that’s our side) sympathizers and friends of John Butler. Why would Walter tomahawk family friends? Many innocent people died at Cherry Valley. Motive? The American rebels had totally destroyed the Iroquois villages of Oquaga, Unandilla, Tioga and other Indian villages. Joseph Brant and his Mohawks had been accused also and Rosman says, “... he (Brant) was the vicious, bloodthirsty ringleader of the Cherry Valley Massacre.” Brant knew the Wells family too and denied the accusation all his life. Who then? We have a clue from American records. “...Senecas could take the opportunity to start the massacre.” Rosman still blames Walter Butler. Why? He and other American historians claim that he made no effort to stop them (the Senecas.) Walter Butler a monster? I don’t think so. Remember that Colonel Briggs U.E., curator of Johnson Hall, told me to check out the book, War Out of Niagara, by Howard Swiggett. Swiggett is an American historian who like Cruikshank had access to colonial records not in Ottawa but overseas in England. This is a well researched book and worthy of your reading. What does Swiggett say of Walter Butler’s death? On page 42 he wrote, “ This was the end of it all, the bright soldiery hopes of the little boy who had seen the red-coat riders coming home twenty years before from Niagara. The cool effrontery of a young man who had walked into the enemy lines with a flag to get prisoner exchanges.” Swiggett said of Walter Butler, “There was no question who was the best officer in command.” Thank you Ernest Cruikshank for finally trying to give us the truth.
Butler's 5
Butler’s5 Earl Plato
Fort Erie’s historian Cruikshank had much to say about the so-called Wyoming Valley Massacre of northeastern Pennsylvania. I say ‘so-called’ because a true historical perspective from our viewpoint and respected Americian historian, Howard Swiggett says otherwise. Located on the Upper Susquehanna River that flows southwards from the New York Colony this fertile valley was a valuable source of grain for Washington’s army. Two of my Fort Erie rangers ancestors, Christian Plato and Cornelius Bowen were present at Wyoming serving under Lieutenant John Hare. Ironic is the fact that the Wintemutes a Tory (our side) family, held the fort there known as Fort Wintermoot (Wintemute). My wife, Elaine, is a descendant of the Wintemute clan Butler Ranger Philip Wintemute. Again he and his brothers were with the first soldier/settlers of Fort Erie. Cruikshank and more recently American historians said the following: “ The Wyoming Valley Massacre” was a military battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place on July 3, 1778. American Patriots called it a “massacre” but historians (2005) generally believe that it was primarily a battle. This is what Colonel Briggs U.E. maintained back in the 1970’s. Joseph Brant was called a “monster” because he was supposedly there at Wyoming. Not so. Brant was not present and facts back it up. What about Walter Butler? Again he claimed the following after the Wyoming Valley Battle: “ We deny any cruelties to have been committed at Wyoming either by whites or Indians, ... Though should you call it inhumanity the killing of men in arms in the field in that case (we) plead guilty.” War is war and terrible things happen.
Writer’s Note: Cruikshank in his book gives us some attributes of Colonel John Butler - “... Decision, firmness, courage were undoubtedly characteristics of the man.” We descendants of members of Butler’s Rangers are proud to be part of a U.E.L. Branch that bears his name. What happened to his son Walter?
Next: Cherry Valley, New York
Fort Erie’s historian Cruikshank had much to say about the so-called Wyoming Valley Massacre of northeastern Pennsylvania. I say ‘so-called’ because a true historical perspective from our viewpoint and respected Americian historian, Howard Swiggett says otherwise. Located on the Upper Susquehanna River that flows southwards from the New York Colony this fertile valley was a valuable source of grain for Washington’s army. Two of my Fort Erie rangers ancestors, Christian Plato and Cornelius Bowen were present at Wyoming serving under Lieutenant John Hare. Ironic is the fact that the Wintemutes a Tory (our side) family, held the fort there known as Fort Wintermoot (Wintemute). My wife, Elaine, is a descendant of the Wintemute clan Butler Ranger Philip Wintemute. Again he and his brothers were with the first soldier/settlers of Fort Erie. Cruikshank and more recently American historians said the following: “ The Wyoming Valley Massacre” was a military battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place on July 3, 1778. American Patriots called it a “massacre” but historians (2005) generally believe that it was primarily a battle. This is what Colonel Briggs U.E. maintained back in the 1970’s. Joseph Brant was called a “monster” because he was supposedly there at Wyoming. Not so. Brant was not present and facts back it up. What about Walter Butler? Again he claimed the following after the Wyoming Valley Battle: “ We deny any cruelties to have been committed at Wyoming either by whites or Indians, ... Though should you call it inhumanity the killing of men in arms in the field in that case (we) plead guilty.” War is war and terrible things happen.
Writer’s Note: Cruikshank in his book gives us some attributes of Colonel John Butler - “... Decision, firmness, courage were undoubtedly characteristics of the man.” We descendants of members of Butler’s Rangers are proud to be part of a U.E.L. Branch that bears his name. What happened to his son Walter?
Next: Cherry Valley, New York
Butler's 4
Butler’s4 Earl Plato U.E.
Ernest Cruikshank, as stated before, did not footnote his Butler’s Rangers book, No headings. No chapters. No index. But at least it is his historical expertise that chronicled the Rangers’ history. As Butler Ranger descendants we are thankful for his efforts. I will quote from his book about two incidents. Let us look at some of the American viewpoints about this revolutionary era.
Writer’s Note: In a previous column I used the word “myth” to describe some of Butler Ranger activiries. Wrong. This was war and Butler’s Ranngers were a devastating force. No myths. Their attacks were documented by both sides - British and American. My contention is that many of the American writers were not always fair in their assessement of the Rangers.
***
E.R. Eastman, an American historian writer in the 1940’s, told about Butler’s Rangers and Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. He gives reasons for the American revolutionists to send a mission in 1779 against the Tories (Butler Rangers) and the Mohawks. I quote part of his foreword to his book, The Destroyers. Eastman is one of many Americans who have a one-sided view of the British forces of the time. Remember “War is war!” Eastman wrote, “ The massacres at Wyoming, Pennsylvania and at Cherry Valley, New York, during 1778 climaxed a long series of atrocities by the Indians and Tories. For several years they had descended upon lonely cabins, burning them and murdering the settlers or taking them prisoners. Many of the frontier homes were defenseless because the able-bodied men were with Washington’s army fighting the British.”
Writer’s note: Yes, attacks there were by Butler and Brant. Planned attacks against rebel strong holds occurred. Remember the Colony of New York was like a “bread basket” to the Americans. Wheat and other grains helped supply Washington’s army. Keep the settlers from planting or harvesting crops and seriously affect the rebel cause. So the stories of massacres helped to inflame the Americans. Walter Butler was portrayed now as a monster. Eliminate the Tories and Indians. That was the plan in 1779. Joseph Brant and his loyal Mohawks had experienced the treachery of some of the Americans such as Klock at the outset of the Revolution. A trap had been set but Brant had escaped. Now his ancestral lands were being taken over by the Americans. Systematically the anti-British forces drove the Mohawks westward after destroying their villages. Would they resist and fight for their centuries held lands? Of course. Cruikshank does not mention the justified fervor of the Mohawks in trying to retain their lands. Just as my ancestors hated to relinquish their Mohawk and HudsonValley lands so did Brant and his loyal Mohawks. I don’t intend to forget that our lands were seized through rebellion. Never any compensation to the Indians or Butler’s Rangers for lost lands. How about it Americans ? You drove us out. How about a measly $1000 an acre for our losses? That’s a steal, eh? Next. Wyoming Valley and Cherry Valley. Massacres?
Ernest Cruikshank, as stated before, did not footnote his Butler’s Rangers book, No headings. No chapters. No index. But at least it is his historical expertise that chronicled the Rangers’ history. As Butler Ranger descendants we are thankful for his efforts. I will quote from his book about two incidents. Let us look at some of the American viewpoints about this revolutionary era.
Writer’s Note: In a previous column I used the word “myth” to describe some of Butler Ranger activiries. Wrong. This was war and Butler’s Ranngers were a devastating force. No myths. Their attacks were documented by both sides - British and American. My contention is that many of the American writers were not always fair in their assessement of the Rangers.
***
E.R. Eastman, an American historian writer in the 1940’s, told about Butler’s Rangers and Joseph Brant’s Mohawks. He gives reasons for the American revolutionists to send a mission in 1779 against the Tories (Butler Rangers) and the Mohawks. I quote part of his foreword to his book, The Destroyers. Eastman is one of many Americans who have a one-sided view of the British forces of the time. Remember “War is war!” Eastman wrote, “ The massacres at Wyoming, Pennsylvania and at Cherry Valley, New York, during 1778 climaxed a long series of atrocities by the Indians and Tories. For several years they had descended upon lonely cabins, burning them and murdering the settlers or taking them prisoners. Many of the frontier homes were defenseless because the able-bodied men were with Washington’s army fighting the British.”
Writer’s note: Yes, attacks there were by Butler and Brant. Planned attacks against rebel strong holds occurred. Remember the Colony of New York was like a “bread basket” to the Americans. Wheat and other grains helped supply Washington’s army. Keep the settlers from planting or harvesting crops and seriously affect the rebel cause. So the stories of massacres helped to inflame the Americans. Walter Butler was portrayed now as a monster. Eliminate the Tories and Indians. That was the plan in 1779. Joseph Brant and his loyal Mohawks had experienced the treachery of some of the Americans such as Klock at the outset of the Revolution. A trap had been set but Brant had escaped. Now his ancestral lands were being taken over by the Americans. Systematically the anti-British forces drove the Mohawks westward after destroying their villages. Would they resist and fight for their centuries held lands? Of course. Cruikshank does not mention the justified fervor of the Mohawks in trying to retain their lands. Just as my ancestors hated to relinquish their Mohawk and HudsonValley lands so did Brant and his loyal Mohawks. I don’t intend to forget that our lands were seized through rebellion. Never any compensation to the Indians or Butler’s Rangers for lost lands. How about it Americans ? You drove us out. How about a measly $1000 an acre for our losses? That’s a steal, eh? Next. Wyoming Valley and Cherry Valley. Massacres?
Butler's 3
Butler’s3 Earl Plato
Do you know the Mohawk Valley of New York? It’s where many of our Niagara ancestors who were in Butler’s Rangers came from in the late 1700’s. It’s easily reachable via the New York Thruway in four or five hours. In the summer of 1973 Elaine and I and our young family travelled to Johnson Hall on the Mohawk River. Colonel Charles B. Briggs, retired U.S. army officer, was the curator of the historic hall.
What a greeting when he found both of us were descendants of Butler’s Rangers! He said proudly, “I am a U.E. descendant too. I am a member of the Toronto U.E.L. Association.” We had a grand tour of Sir William Johnson’s home. He told us of the many aberrations written by many American historians about Butler’s Rangers activities during the American Revolution. “Massacres were not always massacres,” he said. I wasn’t sure what he meant at that time. I was excited with his words.
“We are having over 100 loyalist descendants from across Canada coming to Johnstown come this October 6th. It will be the first time that such a group has been here since the Revolution. I personally invite you to be here too.” It was our Canadian Thanksgiving time and Elaine and I accepted the invitation. Colonel Briggs welcomed us and gave a stirring speech about John and his son Walter Butler. Next day in the Johnstown paper no mention was made of his speech but rather it highlighted a Mark Boatner of Arlington Va. author of the Dictionary of the Revolution. Figures, eh? Sad. I heard that many old timers ( Americans) at the banquet did not appreciate Colonel Briggs’s attempt to clarify Mohawk Valley history. After almost 200 years had passed and American ‘spin’ and mindset about Butler’s Rangers hadn’t seemed to change. However, In a letter dated January 1st, 1974 to me from Colonel Briggs U.E. in which he said, “As to the descendants of “The Rangers” meeting here, I must say “EXCELLENT !” He gave me many sources to look up my Plato, Bowen, Jansen (Johnson) and May ranger ancestors. Thank you, sir. We returned home and I pursued my family research. The Ottawa and Toronto Archives provided the data and later that year I received my U.E. designation from the Grand River U.E.L. Association Branch. Today I am a proud member of the Colonel John Butler U.E.L. Branch of Niagara Falls. Next: War is war!
Do you know the Mohawk Valley of New York? It’s where many of our Niagara ancestors who were in Butler’s Rangers came from in the late 1700’s. It’s easily reachable via the New York Thruway in four or five hours. In the summer of 1973 Elaine and I and our young family travelled to Johnson Hall on the Mohawk River. Colonel Charles B. Briggs, retired U.S. army officer, was the curator of the historic hall.
What a greeting when he found both of us were descendants of Butler’s Rangers! He said proudly, “I am a U.E. descendant too. I am a member of the Toronto U.E.L. Association.” We had a grand tour of Sir William Johnson’s home. He told us of the many aberrations written by many American historians about Butler’s Rangers activities during the American Revolution. “Massacres were not always massacres,” he said. I wasn’t sure what he meant at that time. I was excited with his words.
“We are having over 100 loyalist descendants from across Canada coming to Johnstown come this October 6th. It will be the first time that such a group has been here since the Revolution. I personally invite you to be here too.” It was our Canadian Thanksgiving time and Elaine and I accepted the invitation. Colonel Briggs welcomed us and gave a stirring speech about John and his son Walter Butler. Next day in the Johnstown paper no mention was made of his speech but rather it highlighted a Mark Boatner of Arlington Va. author of the Dictionary of the Revolution. Figures, eh? Sad. I heard that many old timers ( Americans) at the banquet did not appreciate Colonel Briggs’s attempt to clarify Mohawk Valley history. After almost 200 years had passed and American ‘spin’ and mindset about Butler’s Rangers hadn’t seemed to change. However, In a letter dated January 1st, 1974 to me from Colonel Briggs U.E. in which he said, “As to the descendants of “The Rangers” meeting here, I must say “EXCELLENT !” He gave me many sources to look up my Plato, Bowen, Jansen (Johnson) and May ranger ancestors. Thank you, sir. We returned home and I pursued my family research. The Ottawa and Toronto Archives provided the data and later that year I received my U.E. designation from the Grand River U.E.L. Association Branch. Today I am a proud member of the Colonel John Butler U.E.L. Branch of Niagara Falls. Next: War is war!
Butler's Ranger Part 2
Butler2 Earl Plato
Cruikshank’s work about Butler’s Rangers helped me to pursue some background history of a few of Fort Erie’s first soldier settlers. Two ancestors that I researched decades ago are listed in the document - NEW YORK STATE-CONFISCATION OF LOYALISTS (copied by Dr. H.C. Burleigh from original lists) 1780-1783: Burleigh used the following headings: Name; Town; County; Addition; Indictment When Found; Judgment When Signed:
BOWEN, Cornelius; Tribes Hill; Tryon; Yeoman; 14-5-5; 14-7- 1783. - PLATO, Christian; West District Manor; Albany; Yeoman; 9-6-4; 29.12. 1783. Plato had a $100 reward ( a considerable amount for the day) on his head. He was a recruiter for the British Crown and was coonsidered a spy according to the American documents. Both men served in Butler’s Rangers throughout the American Revolution. Both men were yeomen free holders in the Colony of New York at that time. Both these men had pledged allegiance to the British Crown and when the American Revolution broke out they had property and homes confiscated. They would fight for their losses and loyal they would remain.
***
Years ago a locally respected lady in our Bertie Historical Society castigated me when she said, “You’re not a descendant of Butler’s Rangers are you?” I said, “Yes,” proudly. “They were a terrible bunch!” She proceeded to inform me of some of the exploits of my forefathers. In the years that passed I learned that most of her knowledge had come from American publications. She had relatives across the border. Cruikshank had worked in the U.S.A. for some years and doubtless knew the “spin” American historians had portrayed about Butler’s Rangers. The old b&w motion picture- Drums Along the Mohawk - starring the late Henry Fonda helped to promote the concept of a cruel, vengeful, ‘commando-like’ elite, military group known as Butler’s Rangers. Cruikshank systematically tried to dispel many of the American entrenched view of the Rangers after over a hundred years of what I feel consisted of much historical ‘brainwashing’by many American historians. Cruikshank uses the military records of both British and American sources to make his case. Thank goodness he did or I would have had to accept the distorted picture of Butler’s Rangers.
Next: A different view
Cruikshank’s work about Butler’s Rangers helped me to pursue some background history of a few of Fort Erie’s first soldier settlers. Two ancestors that I researched decades ago are listed in the document - NEW YORK STATE-CONFISCATION OF LOYALISTS (copied by Dr. H.C. Burleigh from original lists) 1780-1783: Burleigh used the following headings: Name; Town; County; Addition; Indictment When Found; Judgment When Signed:
BOWEN, Cornelius; Tribes Hill; Tryon; Yeoman; 14-5-5; 14-7- 1783. - PLATO, Christian; West District Manor; Albany; Yeoman; 9-6-4; 29.12. 1783. Plato had a $100 reward ( a considerable amount for the day) on his head. He was a recruiter for the British Crown and was coonsidered a spy according to the American documents. Both men served in Butler’s Rangers throughout the American Revolution. Both men were yeomen free holders in the Colony of New York at that time. Both these men had pledged allegiance to the British Crown and when the American Revolution broke out they had property and homes confiscated. They would fight for their losses and loyal they would remain.
***
Years ago a locally respected lady in our Bertie Historical Society castigated me when she said, “You’re not a descendant of Butler’s Rangers are you?” I said, “Yes,” proudly. “They were a terrible bunch!” She proceeded to inform me of some of the exploits of my forefathers. In the years that passed I learned that most of her knowledge had come from American publications. She had relatives across the border. Cruikshank had worked in the U.S.A. for some years and doubtless knew the “spin” American historians had portrayed about Butler’s Rangers. The old b&w motion picture- Drums Along the Mohawk - starring the late Henry Fonda helped to promote the concept of a cruel, vengeful, ‘commando-like’ elite, military group known as Butler’s Rangers. Cruikshank systematically tried to dispel many of the American entrenched view of the Rangers after over a hundred years of what I feel consisted of much historical ‘brainwashing’by many American historians. Cruikshank uses the military records of both British and American sources to make his case. Thank goodness he did or I would have had to accept the distorted picture of Butler’s Rangers.
Next: A different view
Butler's Rangers Part 1
, Butler’s Rangers1 Earl Plato
Sir Ernest Cruikshank from his Garrison Road Fort Erie home made the following statement in February 27th, 1893. “The story of the Butler’s Rangers has never yet been told from a sympathetic or even a fair-minded point of view. The present narrative is based chiefly upon unpublished official documents but every book and pamphlet bearing in any way upon the subject within this writer’s reach has also been consulted.”
Writer’s Note: No foot notes or references throughout his book - Butler’s Rangers. Remember he had direct access to first hand documents in the Ottawa National Archives where he researched for his 121 page book. I will use his definitive work in the weeks ahead. My hope is to inform the readers of our Fort Erie heritage. Following are part of his opening words:
PREFACE: “Many thousand descendants of the brave men who formed Butler’s Rangers are now living in Ontario and other provinces. I hold that they have no reason to be ashamed of ancestors who were eminently distinguished by the none too common virtues of inalterable loyalty, unfailing courage, and unconquerable endurance, and who sacrificed everything for the cause which they embraced.” Wow! That’s quite a sentence above Sir Ernest. Just a thank you.
I will look only at a few of the raids made by Joseph Brant and the Butler Rangers in the Mohawk Valley of New York and environs. Along with Cruikshank’s work I will cite from American historians Howard W. Swiggett and E.R. Eastman. Swiggett in his well foot noted War Out Of Niagara gives a fair view of Butler’s Rangers exploits while Eastman like many American historians of the day gives a one sided view of the Corps in my estimation. Thanks to Lt.Colonel William Smy U.E. we now have the recently published book, Year of the Hangman, by Glen F. Williams. Smy in a book review says this, “... he ( Williams) deals with Joseph Brant and John Butler in a very fair and even handed way.” That’s good to know. ***
First the setting: It begins in the Mohawk Valley of Colonial New York in the 1770’s. Remember the majority of the first soldier/settlers of Fort Erie were from this British Colony of New York. Quoting from Cruikshank we read the following: “In the year 1774 the Province of New York although probably the wealthiest and undoubtedly the most flourishing of the British Colonies in America, did not contain a population much exceeding a quarter of a million. Of these 39,000 were freeholders, entitled to vote at elections.”
Writer’s Note: I know at least two of these freeholders who would lose their homes - two men who served in Butler’s Rangers and who settled in Fort Erie after the American Revolution. Next: Search your roots.
Sir Ernest Cruikshank from his Garrison Road Fort Erie home made the following statement in February 27th, 1893. “The story of the Butler’s Rangers has never yet been told from a sympathetic or even a fair-minded point of view. The present narrative is based chiefly upon unpublished official documents but every book and pamphlet bearing in any way upon the subject within this writer’s reach has also been consulted.”
Writer’s Note: No foot notes or references throughout his book - Butler’s Rangers. Remember he had direct access to first hand documents in the Ottawa National Archives where he researched for his 121 page book. I will use his definitive work in the weeks ahead. My hope is to inform the readers of our Fort Erie heritage. Following are part of his opening words:
PREFACE: “Many thousand descendants of the brave men who formed Butler’s Rangers are now living in Ontario and other provinces. I hold that they have no reason to be ashamed of ancestors who were eminently distinguished by the none too common virtues of inalterable loyalty, unfailing courage, and unconquerable endurance, and who sacrificed everything for the cause which they embraced.” Wow! That’s quite a sentence above Sir Ernest. Just a thank you.
I will look only at a few of the raids made by Joseph Brant and the Butler Rangers in the Mohawk Valley of New York and environs. Along with Cruikshank’s work I will cite from American historians Howard W. Swiggett and E.R. Eastman. Swiggett in his well foot noted War Out Of Niagara gives a fair view of Butler’s Rangers exploits while Eastman like many American historians of the day gives a one sided view of the Corps in my estimation. Thanks to Lt.Colonel William Smy U.E. we now have the recently published book, Year of the Hangman, by Glen F. Williams. Smy in a book review says this, “... he ( Williams) deals with Joseph Brant and John Butler in a very fair and even handed way.” That’s good to know. ***
First the setting: It begins in the Mohawk Valley of Colonial New York in the 1770’s. Remember the majority of the first soldier/settlers of Fort Erie were from this British Colony of New York. Quoting from Cruikshank we read the following: “In the year 1774 the Province of New York although probably the wealthiest and undoubtedly the most flourishing of the British Colonies in America, did not contain a population much exceeding a quarter of a million. Of these 39,000 were freeholders, entitled to vote at elections.”
Writer’s Note: I know at least two of these freeholders who would lose their homes - two men who served in Butler’s Rangers and who settled in Fort Erie after the American Revolution. Next: Search your roots.
Fenian Invasion Part 5 Earl Plato
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Fenian Invasion
Fenian Invasion Part 5 Earl Plato
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Fenian Invasion Part 5
Fenian Invasion Part 5 Earl Plato
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Part 5: The Plan
The Fenian Brotherhood (the I.R.A.) had extensive plans for the invasion of Canada. Their documents in late 1865 read: “ There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; Saint John; the Chambly close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott on the St. Lawrence; Wolfe Island at the foot of Lake Champlain;
Writer’s Note: Wolfe Island location? Check it Fenians. It’s no where close to Lake Champlain!
Also there was Hamilton; Coburg; Goderich; and Windsor all in Upper Canada ( Canada West). All the above are within convenient distances of the United States and afford by water an east retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies.” Our province, Ontario, would appear to be the main focus of a Fenian attack. We read on that the Irish Republican Army had by the first of April 1866. 15 million dollars that was at its disposal in ready cash. This amount would give transportation and maintenance for one month yo 30,000 men. Of this force 8,000 would carry the line of the Grand Trunk Railway west of Hamilton; 5,000 crossing Lake Ontario from Rochester, New York to Coburg. This latter force would act jointly with 3,000 men from Wolfe Island upon Kingston or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. Believe it? Blarney? They said about the above plans. “ All this, it is believed will be the work of two weeks.” The ultimate blarney, eh! What’s missing in the plans above? Buffalo, New York is not mentioned nor is Fort Erie of our Niagara Peninsula where the actual invasion occurred on June 1st, 1866. Was this Fenian document just pure propaganda (blarney) for our Canadian spies to report back with the frightening news of an impending invasion. Would we Canadians be frightened into submission? The Fenian dream included more in that document, “ The green flag of Ireland will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.“
Writer’s note: Do you get the picture? Blarney or not Canada was being threatened. Reality? Eventually O’Neil and only some 2,000 Fenians crossed the Niagara River north of Fort Erie. The little Battle of Ridgeway followed. Important in our history? I think so. A year later July 1st, 1867 four colonies, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined in Confederation.
Did you visit historic Fort Erie and see the Battle of Ridgeway Re-enactment? It’s your history.
***
A plaque was unveiled by Lincoln Alexander, Chairman of our Ontario Heritage Trust, on rainy Saturday, June 3rd, 2006. Finally a greater recognition of our stand against the Fenian invaders. The plaque will eventually be on the Friendship Trail at the site of where the Ridgeway Rail Station once stood. This is where our soldiers disembarked for the Battle. Next: The Epilogue
Monday, July 30, 2007
Fenian Invasion Part 4
We know who the Fenians were. What should we do? Writers Note: We were not a nation yet in 1865 but we were not going to sit around and let the Fenians do as they pleased. In the weeks and months that followed the end of the Civil War we sent spies ( I’ll call them Canadians) to many northern American cities. The reports that came back were disturbing, There were increased Fenian activities in the winter of 1865-66. The spies heard again of grandiose schemes to attack Canada from Detroit and Rochester and take Upper Canada (Ontario). In Lower Canada (Quebec) armies would attack from Ogdensburg, Plattsburg and Portland and take Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec. The Fenian military strategy in both cases was to attack in s ‘pincers” movements.
Writer’s note: Lest we underestimate the Fenians remember they were mainly tried and hardened Civil War veterans. They had Spencer repeating rifles and superior equipment. We had not fought a war since 1812-14. We still used the old muzzle loading musket - the “Brown Bess” Once a year or so we would have a gathering of local militias. It appeared that the Canadian colonies would be no match for trained Civil War army veterans.
***
History often repeats itself. I believe that the Fenian leaders followed the same mind-set as other American invaders - that Canada was for the taking. “Blarney” is defined as smooth deceitful talk. I believe that the Fenians knew that to realize their dream of a new Irish Republic in North America they had to use the “Blarney” approach. Their method was to create in the minds of their “would-be” followers that such a grand scheme of theirs was possible. Using “blarney and more “blarney” would be their ploy.
***
The Fenian dream included this recorded statement” The Green flag will scour the bays and gulfs in Canada. A Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.” Think big was the Fenian Brotherhood plans for Canada. What was reality? Again according to their documents of their war department (I.R.A.) we read, “ The Canadian and provincial borders once crossed bases of operation will be established in the enemy’s country so that the international quarrels with Washington may be avoided.” How? More “blarney” from the would-be invaders.
Next: The Invasion Plan
Writer’s note: Lest we underestimate the Fenians remember they were mainly tried and hardened Civil War veterans. They had Spencer repeating rifles and superior equipment. We had not fought a war since 1812-14. We still used the old muzzle loading musket - the “Brown Bess” Once a year or so we would have a gathering of local militias. It appeared that the Canadian colonies would be no match for trained Civil War army veterans.
***
History often repeats itself. I believe that the Fenian leaders followed the same mind-set as other American invaders - that Canada was for the taking. “Blarney” is defined as smooth deceitful talk. I believe that the Fenians knew that to realize their dream of a new Irish Republic in North America they had to use the “Blarney” approach. Their method was to create in the minds of their “would-be” followers that such a grand scheme of theirs was possible. Using “blarney and more “blarney” would be their ploy.
***
The Fenian dream included this recorded statement” The Green flag will scour the bays and gulfs in Canada. A Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country.” Think big was the Fenian Brotherhood plans for Canada. What was reality? Again according to their documents of their war department (I.R.A.) we read, “ The Canadian and provincial borders once crossed bases of operation will be established in the enemy’s country so that the international quarrels with Washington may be avoided.” How? More “blarney” from the would-be invaders.
Next: The Invasion Plan
Fenian Invasion Part 3
Who were the Fenians? What about Canada? The Irish Fenian Brotherhood of North America were now split into two factions over their next move. At a meeting held in Chicago in 1863 the Roberts faction of the Brotherhood decided to seize Canada as a home for the Irish Republic. By the end of the Civil War in 1865 the Robert’s faction were convinced that the Washington officials of the victorious North were in no mood to enforce neutrality laws. What better way for the I.R.A.(Irish Republican Army) to get even with Great Britain than to capture British North America’s colonies - Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia for a start!
Writer’s Note: This writer has examined the American Civil War through visitations to battle sites and numerous articles for the Review. The North with its powerful Union Army led by General Ulysses S. Grant emerged victorious in April 1865. Grant noted that many of the Union army regiments were made up entirely of Irish men. So? The optimism of the Fenian Brotherhood’s leaders grew immensely as a result of the crushing North victory. Funds began pouring into its coffers. We read that they began to draw up more grandiose plans for the conquest of Canada, The Fenian leaders in 1865 believed that they had the expertise to wage a successful attack on Canada won by the success of “their boys in blue”. It was expected that once the invasion began several thousand men of Irish desert would desert the standing British military force in the colonies. Note: This never happened. If it had it would mean that fewer than 50,000 British regulars would be left for the defence of Canada. The optimism of the Fenians was unabated - Canada, they believed, was theirs for the taking!
Next: Part Four: What do we do?
Writer’s Note: This writer has examined the American Civil War through visitations to battle sites and numerous articles for the Review. The North with its powerful Union Army led by General Ulysses S. Grant emerged victorious in April 1865. Grant noted that many of the Union army regiments were made up entirely of Irish men. So? The optimism of the Fenian Brotherhood’s leaders grew immensely as a result of the crushing North victory. Funds began pouring into its coffers. We read that they began to draw up more grandiose plans for the conquest of Canada, The Fenian leaders in 1865 believed that they had the expertise to wage a successful attack on Canada won by the success of “their boys in blue”. It was expected that once the invasion began several thousand men of Irish desert would desert the standing British military force in the colonies. Note: This never happened. If it had it would mean that fewer than 50,000 British regulars would be left for the defence of Canada. The optimism of the Fenians was unabated - Canada, they believed, was theirs for the taking!
Next: Part Four: What do we do?
Fenian Invasion Part 2
Who were the Fenians? by Earl Plato
In the 1860’s smart politicians in the Northeastern U.S.A. saw that this Irish “clannishness” helped to deliver the Irish vote as a block. One of the best ways to maintain this Irish cohesiveness was to encourage the Fenian plan for another Irish revolution against Great Britain. We read that where there was a large Irish population congressmen would have “a legitimate political” reason for ignoring the enforcement of neutrality laws. Other congressmen not dependent on the Irish vote for their seats also openly sympathized with the Fenians’ plan to free Ireland. Historian Walker stated,“ The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 had left a reservoir of resentment between England (Great Britain) that had not fully evaporated.” Many young Irish Americans joined Union militia companies to gain military training in preparation for a revolution in Ireland. Men like Stephens had assured them that would soon be launched. Irish militia such as the New York “Fighting 69th Regiment were among the first at the front in the American Civil War. The Irish were fierce fighters.
Writers’ note: It is estimated over 2 million men of Irish descent fought for the North’s Union Army - 1861-65.
Fenian Brotherhood agents recruited heavily at home and Irish emigrants increased markedly during the war. Government officials in Washington were pleased with the large flow of badly needed manpower for the Union Army. They were grateful to the Fenian Brotherhood for doing something that official Washington could not do openly. The British, with substantial economic ties to the Confederate South, pointed out that the recruiting in Ireland by the Fenian Brotherhood broke neutrality laws between the U.S.A. and them. Washington officials, including President Lincoln and Secretary Seward, said it was difficult to preserve neutrality when the British had not prevented the warship Alabama and other cruisers from leaving British ports to fight for the South against the North. By the end of the Civil War relations between the United States and Britain had become strained.
The Fenian leaders on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean believed the time had come to begin the great revolution against the British. Large sums of money and many Civil War seasoned military officers were sent back to form the I.R.A. Yes, those letters say the Irish Republican Army. The Fenians were not able to smuggle enough military supplies and the revolt failed.
Part Three: What about Canada?
In the 1860’s smart politicians in the Northeastern U.S.A. saw that this Irish “clannishness” helped to deliver the Irish vote as a block. One of the best ways to maintain this Irish cohesiveness was to encourage the Fenian plan for another Irish revolution against Great Britain. We read that where there was a large Irish population congressmen would have “a legitimate political” reason for ignoring the enforcement of neutrality laws. Other congressmen not dependent on the Irish vote for their seats also openly sympathized with the Fenians’ plan to free Ireland. Historian Walker stated,“ The Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 had left a reservoir of resentment between England (Great Britain) that had not fully evaporated.” Many young Irish Americans joined Union militia companies to gain military training in preparation for a revolution in Ireland. Men like Stephens had assured them that would soon be launched. Irish militia such as the New York “Fighting 69th Regiment were among the first at the front in the American Civil War. The Irish were fierce fighters.
Writers’ note: It is estimated over 2 million men of Irish descent fought for the North’s Union Army - 1861-65.
Fenian Brotherhood agents recruited heavily at home and Irish emigrants increased markedly during the war. Government officials in Washington were pleased with the large flow of badly needed manpower for the Union Army. They were grateful to the Fenian Brotherhood for doing something that official Washington could not do openly. The British, with substantial economic ties to the Confederate South, pointed out that the recruiting in Ireland by the Fenian Brotherhood broke neutrality laws between the U.S.A. and them. Washington officials, including President Lincoln and Secretary Seward, said it was difficult to preserve neutrality when the British had not prevented the warship Alabama and other cruisers from leaving British ports to fight for the South against the North. By the end of the Civil War relations between the United States and Britain had become strained.
The Fenian leaders on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean believed the time had come to begin the great revolution against the British. Large sums of money and many Civil War seasoned military officers were sent back to form the I.R.A. Yes, those letters say the Irish Republican Army. The Fenians were not able to smuggle enough military supplies and the revolt failed.
Part Three: What about Canada?
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Fenian Raid at Fort Erie Part 1
by Earl Plato
It was 141 years this past June 2nd, 2007 that the Fenians fought our Canadian troops at the Battle of Ridgeway.
Who were the Fenians and what prompted this attack?
Writer’s note: This is a synopsis of a series of articles I wrote 16 years ago. That was the year of the Re-enactment held on the Ridgeway battlefield. It was attended by many onlookers. Many of us have good memories of those warm summer-like days and David Owen’s stirring narrative
***
It is simply stated by some writers that the Fenian Movement began on St. Patrick’s day in 1858 by one James Stephens. However, there are other historical writers such as Mabel Walker in her book, The Fenian Movement and Hereward Senior in his work, The Fenians and Canadians. who go back further in Irish history to account for the creation of this revolutionary movement known as the Fenian Brotherhood. Following the terrible Potato Famine in Ireland (1845-1847) in which hundreds of thousands died. There was an unsuccessful Irish revolt against British rule in1848. Emigration from Ireland to North America greatly increased at that time. It was estimated that over two million of them came to the United States by 1865. Most of these newcomers settled in the industrial North eastern states. This was the time when the demand for labourers was growing. The earlier settlers of that area were leaving for new lands in the western U.S.A. Employers welcomed the Irish immigrants as replacements. History recorded, however, that there were others who saw the newcomers with “jaundiced eyes.” The native-born Protestant population of the north eastern states who had not followed the exodus to the American west deplored the increasing number of Roman Catholic churches and parochial schools. One writer of that day stated “ We objected to the noisy celebrations the Irish held on Sundays.” The ostracized Irish reacted to the openly displayed Protestant prejudice by forming societies which “became exceedingly clannish.”
Next: The Fenian Brotherhood
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