Collecting Toy Soldiers: A Hobby for History Buffs

On Friday, November 8, 2013 I will be giving a talk entitled "Collecting Toy Soldiers: A Hobby for History Buffs", to the Head of the Lake (Hamilton)Historical Society. The meeting will be at the Dundurn Castle Coach House at 7:30 pm. I'll be discussing the history of collecting military miniatures, the state of collecting in Canada, why this is a terrific hobby for those interested in history, and how to get started. Samples from my War of 1812 collection will be displayed. Hope to see you there.

War of 1812 Talk in Toronto

Ever wondered why the American invasions of Canada failed? I'll be speaking to the West Toronto Junction Historical Society on Thursday, September 5, 2013 at the Annette Street Library in Toronto. Their meeting begins about 7:30 pm. I will also read a passage from my novel, Redcoat 1812 and discuss the difference between non-fiction history and historical fiction.

Napoleon, Waterloo, and the War of 1812

This past June I visited Waterloo, the preserved historic site, not far from Brussels in Belgium. The photo above is of the Waterloo battlefield as seen from the Lion's Mound - 41 metres and 226 steps above the ground. Besides Lion's Mound, the monument erected between 1824 and 1826, on the site there is the Panorama (a painted military masterpiece, a lifelike depiction of the battle presented in a circular building) a Wax Museum, and a Visitors' Centre showing two short movies. Out of the picture there is massive construction underway, presumably in preparation for the Bicentennial of this 1815 battle. This is definitely a worthwhile destination for any history buff. What do the Napoleonic Wars have to do with "the American War", as the War of 1812 was referrred to by the British? If Britain hadn't been involved in the titanic struggle with Napoleon there would have been no need for the naval blockade to prevent trade with Napoleon's Europe, nor a need for impressing British-born sailors from American merchant ships to keep the Royal Navy ships fully manned, actions that infuriated the United States and eventually led to their declaration of war. If Britain hadn't been focused on the war in Europe perhaps the fledgling United States might not have challenged Britain. If the French hadn't been defeated and Napoleon exiled in 1814 British troops in Europe would not have been freed up to fight in North America just as the United States was in ascendancy in the War of 1812. The Treaty Of Ghent, bringing an end to the War of 1812, was negotiated and ratified before Napoleon's escape from Elba, and his new campaign that ended on this battlefield in Waterloo.

P.O.W.s and the War of 1812

In November 1812 Britain and the United States reach agreement on the treatment of prisoners captured during the war. Their agreement profoundly affects the lives of many thousands of soldiers, militiamen, sailors and privateers (citizens licensed to seize enemy merchant ships.) Neither side wishes the expense of confining or feeding enemy combatants so parole and exchange feature prominently in the arrangement. Citizen soldiers and sailors are treated differently from professional ones. Militiamen and privateers are released, to return to their homes and businesses if they promise not to fight in the war again. As this is an age of honour a man is expected to keep his word. Lists of those paroled are prepared. Sanctions for parole violaters are severe. The arrangement proves workable. The only problem for Upper Canada is that those not supportive of the war and unwilling to serve in the militia seek out American soldiers and voluntarily surrender, thus earning themselves an exemption from the conflict. Regular army soldiers and navy sailors are to be exchanged. Negotiations are conducted by appointed agents, like Francis Scott Key, and frequently take time. American prisoners of war, such as those from Detroit and Queenston Heights, are sent to prison ships off Quebec. These hulks are old, rotting and unseaworthy, but suit the purpose. The ships are cold and overcrowded. Men are fed less than in prosperous civilian life, but rations are not much different from those of soldiers in the field. In captivity boredom leads to gambling, and prisoners frequently lose the blankets and new clothes they are given. Winfield Scott and William Winder are both exchanged at Quebec and return to the war - Scott to lead his regiment at Chippawa and Lundy's Lane, and Winder to prepare the feeble defence of Washington in August 1814. If there is no timely exchange, prisoners are sent to Halifax to remain on prison ships or to go to the prison camp on Melville Island off Halifax. The camp is the model situation. Prisoners are permitted to occupy themselves making things like woolen mitts, leather goods and bone snuff boxes for sale on Sundays to town folk from Halifax, and to fish to supplement their diet. Of the eight thousand prisoners who pass through Melville Island during the war only 188 die of disease and are buried on nearby Deadman's Island (now a protected Heritage site.) Being in the camp is much safer than being in a typical American army encampment with its poor sanitation and disease. When the war begins the United States has no national prisons and so British prisoners of war are sent to state penitentiaries and poorly-built city jails where they are housed with murderers, thieves and rapists. Eventually, some captives go to a model camp, Pittsfield, thirty miles east of Albany. The prisoners are permitted to work for pay on local farms or in nearby factories in the hope that the men will like this new life and refuse parole when it is offered. The major problem with the exchange for the British is that the number captured by both sides is not equal. Estimates vary, but the British have three to six times as many prisoners. There are too many for Quebec and Halifax to accommodate. Thousands of American prisoners are sent across the ocean to Dartmoor Prison in southwest England. Dartmoor is a massive prison built between 1806 and 1809 to house French prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars. It sits on a barren mountain, surrounded by a treeless moor, frequently shrouded by mist and drizzle. Although prisoners suffer from damp and cold, and the camp is strictly managed, it is less crowded than other sites. Interestingly, there are 1200 free blacks in Dartmoor, those who have been captured while serving in the U.S. Navy and on American privateering ships. At the insistence of other American prisoners they have segregated quarters. As animosity grows during the war, the prisoner exchange systems begins to break down. In 1814 for example, American General Jacob Brown stalls the prisoner exchange and when he eventually releases the British soldiers, most are too ill to fight against him in his summer Niagara campaign. When the war ends in 1815 there are 6,000 Americans in Dartmoor, including those captured at Beaver Dams. Repatriation is a slow process. There is disagreement about whom will pay for the twenty-four ships required to return them to North America. A prison protest over delays leads to confrontation with guards. The confrontation is perceived as a riot and there are seventy casualties in what American newspapers term the "Dartmoor Massacre". Following this Britain agrees to split the cost of the return. The repatriation of American prisoners of war begins in May 1815 and continues until August. For these men the War of 1812 is finally over.

Redcoat 1812 in Niagara

On Monday, August 5, 2013 I will be doing a reading from my novel at the Niagara Historical Society and Museum at noon as part of the Heritage Festival. The NHSM is located at 43 Castlereagh St.in Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you are in the area stop by and say hello.

1813 in Upper Canada

The Encampment at Burlington Heights, the Battle of Stoney Creek, the Sinking of the Hamilton and Scourge, the"Burlington Races":  all of these events are detailed in the latest edition of the Hamilton Historical Board's magazine, historiCITY.  Have a look.  The City of Hamilton's official history magazine is available on line.  Go to www.hamiltonhistoricalboard.ca , Publications, historiCITY,
Special Edition #2, the Year 1813.

War of 1812 Toy Soldiers

Besides writing Redcoat 1812, as a hobby I collect toy soldiers that portray War of 1812 participants.  This year during the Battle of Stoney Creek Bicentennial re-enactment weekend the collection was on display in the Gage House at the Stoney Creek National Heritage Site.  My 54 mm
military miniatures come from nine different manufacturers: John Jenkins, Mulberry, King and Country, Britains, Queen Victoria's, Tradition, William Hocker, Lemans and Alexanders.

Battle of Stoney Creek Re-Enactment

This weekend marks the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Battle of Stoney Creek.  With a daring night attack
the outnumbered British/Canadian forces stopped an American invasion force in June 1813.  This weekend there will be a re-enactment on the battlefield site and I will be there selling copies of  Redcoat 1812. As well I will be  accepting donations for the 1813 issue of  historiCITY, the city of Hamilton's history magazine. Should you be coming to the events be sure to say hello.

Redcoat 1812 Events in May

During the month of May I will be speaking on a number of occasions about the different types of historical fiction and the differences between historical fiction and non-fiction history.  Everyone is welcome.
On Wednesday, May 1 I will be at the Stoney Creek Branch of the Hamilton Public Library at 6:30 pm.  Two weeks later on Wednesday, May 15 I will be at the Red Hill Branch at 2:00 pm.
If you live in the Toronto area I will be speaking to the East York Historical Society which meets at
the S. Walter Stewart Branch of the Toronto Public Library on Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30 pm.
Later in the month I will be the guest author for the McMaster University "Mac Reads" program on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 pm. at the on campus Alumni Centre.
I'd certainly enjoy meeting you.

David Nevin's novel, 1812

Just read David Nevin's novel 1812 (Forge Books: N.Y. 1996). There are different types of historical fiction. Some authors use historical settings to tell the story of fictional characters. Other writers, like David Nevin, use fiction to bring historical figures to life. This is what I have done in Redcoat 1812.  There are clearly differences between these two novels about the War of 1812.
1812 is written in the third person from the American perspective and tells the intertwining stories of James and Dolley Madison,  Andrew and Rachel Jackson, and Winfield Scott, while Redcoat 1812  is written in the first person from the British/Canadian perspective and brings the story of soldier, James FitzGibbon to life.  For me, these differences make the two novels interesting companion pieces, revealing two sides of the same story.  If you enjoyed Nevin's 1812, I'm sure 
you will find Redcoat 1812 an informative and worthwile read.

War of 1812 Bicentennial Symposium

Thanks to the organizers of the War of 1812 Bicentennial Symposium for such a great conference in Hamilton last weekend.  Great speakers and resources! For those who've never attended I'd recommend it.
Next year the Symposium will be held in London, Ontario on March 29, 2014.

Word on the Street /Toronto Book and Magazine Festival

I will be participating in the Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival in Toronto on September 22, 2013.  More details will be added closer to the event.

This picture was taken at the Ontario History and Social Studies Teachers Association Conference in
Niagara-on-the-Lake in November 2012.

What's Happening!

My next Author Talk will be on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 to the Stoney Creek Historical Society at 7:00 pm in the Olde Stoney Creek Legion Hall. I'm looking forward to this. Anyone may attend.

In the up-coming months I have arranged a number of other appearances and
talks. These are listed below:
in February I'll be at St. Michael's School on Feb. 7 and at Hamilton City Hall for Heritage Day ceremonies on Feb.23;
in March I'll be at the War of 1812 Symposium/Living History Conference on Mar. 2 and will be speaking to the Rotary Club of Hamilton/Downtown Branch on Mar. 21.
in May I'll be in Toronto speaking to the S. Walter Stewart Library Branch/East York Historical Society;
in September I'll be speaking to the Colonel John Butler UEL meeting in Chippawa on Sept. 7
in November, I'll be speaking with the Haldimand Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Association
on Nov. 5.

More events and appearances are "in the works" and I'll post these as soon as they are definite.

Regarding new marketing initiatives,  Spencer's Mercantile of Hamilton has agreed to sell Redcoat 1812 at re-enactments and other events, and Peter McCarney and Associates has agreed to include my novel in their catalogue for marketing to school libraries.  I appreciate very much the support of these two companies.

A Soldier's Worst Enemies in the War of 1812

This article of mine will appear in the up-coming issue of historiCity.  This issue will focus
on the year 1813. 

    Dying on a battlefield is not a soldier’s greatest worry during the War of 1812. A soldier
is just as likely to die from infection after receiving medical treatment and much more likely to succumb to disease.

     Casualty reports prepared immediately after War of 1812 battles typically show two soldiers wounded for every one who dies. But does this tell the whole story? What happens to the wounded after the count is taken?

     In the British army each regiment includes at least one surgeon. The surgeon is responsible for treating the wounded. Treatment usually involves surgery which is performed quickly, in unsanitary barns and barracks, using unsterile instruments. Knowledge of germs and bacteria
is eighty years away. Limb amputations are the most common surgeries. The limb is sawn off and a leftover flap of skin is sewn over the bloody stump. This surgery takes ten excruciating minutes. The use of anaesthetics is more than thirty years away. Officers may find some relief with rum or whiskey, but the ordinary soldier is encouraged to "bite the bullet" to keep from biting through his tongue should the pain become too great. Amputation increases a soldier’s chances of escaping gangrene. A soldier with a musket ball in a limb has an eighty per cent chance of surviving if the wound is cleaned and the limb amputated quickly. Those with deep abdomen, chest or head wounds have no hope. Bayonet wounds, deep and triangular in shape, are extremely difficult to treat. Often patients recuperate in open tents with little or no protection from flies. Antibiotics are unknown.

     Following the Battle of Stoney Creek, a local citizen is recruited to assist with surgery.
In 1813 Dr. William Case owns a farm, near what today would be the corner of King and Lottridge Streets in Hamilton. Although trained as a physician in the United States, since coming to Upper Canada with his family he farms land near "the delta", offering medical treatment to his neighbours in exchange for produce or services. Overwhelmed with wounded, army surgeons send both British and American casualties to Case. His home remains a hospital until 1815.

     There are no official reports about what happens to the wounded, but there are estimates that during the war more than twenty per cent, perhaps as much as half of all the wounded succumb to their injuries and infection.

     And then there is disease. Soldiers move in close quarters. Conditions are harsh; often they are unsanitary. Frequently men lack proper clothing for protection from cold, have inadequate diets, and sleep under the stars because there aren’t enough tents. Rain can soak them. Resistence to contagious diseases is very low. Medical treatment, especially for "fevers" is rudimentary and might include the opening of veins for copious bleeding, and laxatives to correct imbalances in bodily fluids, and large doses of opium and alcohol. The variety of drugs available is limited; they might use natural substances like "Jesuit’s bark" or calomel (a poisonous mercury compound) or arsenic solutions.

     Both sides suffer, but the Americans suffer more. They are the invaders with supply line problems. Their army is less experienced with the problems associated with troop movement. In October of 1812 the American army at Lewiston has many hundreds of soldiers too sick to participate in the Battle of Queenston Heights. American bakers are reported to be collecting water from the Niagara River not far from where the latrines from the American encampment empty into the river. In the winter of 1812 General Smyth winters his army at Buffalo and Black Rock after refusing to involve them in the Queenston invasion. His soldiers are in summer uniforms and sleep on the ground in tents without board floors. Sanitation is poor and they are malnourished. Disease is rampant. Fifteen hundred are ill with dysentery (intestinal inflammation), diarrhea ("the flux"), measles, pneumonia and colds. Typhoid fever, known as "lake fever" frequently finishes them off. Men are dying so fast that the coffin makers and grave diggers can’t keep up. In the summer of 1813 following the victory at Stoney Creek, the British encamp nearer Fort George beside mosquito-infested swamp, and are decimated by malaria, known by its symptoms of ague and fever. Malaria is known to be caught near swamps, but no one knows it is transmitted by mosquitos. The prevailing theory is that it is caused by night air around marshes. In November of 1813 General Wilkinson finally launches his march toward Montreal down the St. Lawrence River from Grenadier Island on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. So many American soldiers are unable to continue that every home and barn in Morrisville, Ogdensburg and Red Mills on the American side of the river is crammed with the sick suffering from influenza, fever and pneumonia. The U.S. Army leaves them without instructions or attendants. Eighty per cent of soldiers are said to be suffering from some ailment. One officer attributes this catastrophe to "poisonous provisions," and says that the invading army resembles a "moving hospital." General Wilkinson himself is incapacitated by dysentery and its opium treatment, sometimes fails to be lucid, and issues orders to his army at Crysler’s Farm from the sickbed on his boat in the St. Lawrence. In December of 1813, following the American victory at Moraviantown, General Harrison winters his army at Detroit. Two thirds of his garrison is ill with cholera and dysentery. Within a few months 600 die, more than are killed in Harrison’s entire 1813 campaign. The survivors can’t keep up with coffin making and resort to mass graves. Even American prisoners-of-war in the British prison ships at Quebec and on Melville Island off Halifax fare better. Only 20% of them are ill, mostly from typhus spread in the overcrowded conditions by infected lice.

     Final tallies reveal that in the War of 1812 most lives did not end with a glorious death on the battlefield. James Laxer in his book Brock and Tecumseh provides the following statistics:
"About 1,600 British soldiers were killed in action, nearly 3,700 were wounded, and about 3,300 died from disease. These figures do not include casualties among the Canadian militia or native allies. The Americans lost 2,260 men, and about 4,500
were wounded. While there is no reliable figure for the number of American soldiers died of disease, it is generally reckoned that about 15,000 Americans perished from all causes during the War of 1812."Infection and disease truly are a soldier’s worst enemy.