New Canadian War of 1812 Monument

[henryk]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new ... [quote]War of 1812 monument unveiled on Parliament Hill (with video)
Ottawa Citizen
Published on: November 7, 2014| Last Updated: November 7, 2014 8:23 AM EST
A new monument was officially unveiled Thursday on Parliament Hill.

The War of 1812 Monument made its public debut at a ceremony hosted by Canadian Heritage Minister Shelly Glover. The ceremony marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Malcolm’s Mills, the final battle of the war to take place on Canadian soil.

The monument features seven bronze figures, each about two metres tall. It is located in front of Parliament Hill’s East Block, and purposely faces the National War Memorial. The base of the statue is also special. At the site dedication in July, soil samples from 10 battlefield sites and water from six bodies of water — representing the important naval conflicts of the War of 1812 — were poured at the base of a commemorative maple tree, the government explained in a news release. That tree is planted at the site of the monument.

Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison (pictured), inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. The seven bronze figures (about two metres tall) set on a base of land and maritime theatres of war, commemorates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen ​

“This new landmark on Parliament Hill will forever remind us of the courage and bravery of those who served and successfully defended their land in the fight for Canada more than 200 years ago,” Glover said. Artist Adrienne Alison of Toronto said she hopes Canadians will be proud of the sculpture.

“To me, the War of 1812 Monument symbolizes the incredible contribution of diverse Canadians and our ability to work together to achieve remarkable outcomes,” she said in a statement. Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison, inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014.

Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison, inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. (photo) Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen ​
A small troop of "soldiers," dressed in 1812 uniforms, pipe the officials into the inauguration of the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. (photo) Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen ​
Huntington McNab, 7, and his little sister, Grace, 5, watch the official inauguration of the 1812 memorial on Parliament Hill on Nov. 6, 2014 (photo) Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen ​

After everyone left, artist Adrienne Alison’s daughter, Alicia Owen, climbed up for a picture with one of the figures. She had posed for her mom while she was sculpting this particular figure of a woman bandaging the arm of a soldier. (photo)
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen ​
Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison, inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. (photo) Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison, inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. (photo) Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen
Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and Toronto artist, Adrienne Alison, inaugurated the new War of 1812 monument on Parliament Hill Thursday, November 6, 2014. (photo)
Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen [/quote]

[Ken S.]

It seems to me that the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 sparked little interest in the Canadian public and the "history" distorted a bit to conform with the current political climate.

One aspect of the war that continues to garner little attention is the participation of two "Swiss" regiments in the war. One, de Meuron's regiment, played a relatively minor role, but de Watteville's regiment was present at several engagements, including Fort Erie. The latter regiment was (unfairly, it would seem) criticized for its "poor" conduct during the battle, and supposedly suffered heavy casualties many men deserted. I have a copy of the the muster rolls for 1814 and the losses recorded are not as high as the official sources suggest. Many of the men are apparently from eastern Europe, but since I don't have the descriptive rolls I can't confirm this.

[henryk]

In London ON, there were a number of well attended informative lectures. About 500 attended a lecture by a member of the Mohawk Brantford reserve, who gave a presentation on the War from the perspective of the First Nations.

The so-called Swiss regiments were mainly manned by Poles. This book contains an interesting account of the Regiments, including names of personnel:
"Well, Gentlemans! This would be one very fine day for de grand object"* : Polish soldiers in defense of Canada in the War of 1812 / Stan Skrzeszewski and Amanda Jankowski
Description 82 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
ISBN 9780993611407

[Ken S.]

The book appears to not be widely available. There is however an article by the author here, which I assume contains much of the same information:
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military ... tents.html

[Sid Guttridge]

Nice looking monument for what was, effectively, Canada's independence war.

We could do with more of such quality over here in the UK.

Sid.

[henryk]

Ken S.
Thank you for the reference. From my recollection, the major difference between the book and the article, is that the book has an appendix C which contains a long list of the personel of the regiments.