War of 1812 Bicentennial Re-enactment [PICS]
 

We spent the day at old Fort Erie watching the bicentennial re-enactment of the War of 1812 on the grounds of the fort.

Still sorting through 450 shots I took. It was a photo-op like no other...so much to shoot everywhere.

Enjoy...


http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-001.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-002.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-003.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-004.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-005.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-006.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-007.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-008.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-009.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-010.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-011.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-012.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-013.jpg

http://www.edgeofknight.com/knightpics/KAP1812-014.jpg

I wonder in America if they retell that story truthfully or if its twisted

Pretty Awesome

what does the war of 1812 mean to you silent knight ?

can u lay 25 words or less on us about this war pls

Motivation
 

I understand why guys would be reinactors of the US soldiers of 1812. But to be a British reinactor HUH? Or do theses guys come down from Canada?

Dedication
 

To do these reenactments takes a lot of work, as the guys do their best to have accurate clothing and camp out like they were really there. My GF lived in Gettysburg during the time the film was made. One guy she met made clothing. The detail the "soldiers" required was to be exact.

By the way cool pics. Thanks

Bit of trivia. The George Washington, on a dollar bill is the picture, Dolly Madison saved from the British burning the White House. And that's why it's called the White House. Took a lot of white paint to cover up the burning.

25 words or less
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner
British ships raided US ships & press ganged sailors.

25 words?

Were you hoping for a bunch of cop-out quotes from Wikipedia?

Or would you like that from my perspective as a proud United Empire Loyalist descendent (on my father's side) who's ancestors played a major role in the settlement of much of Ontario...or from my Newfie heritage (on my mother's side) that dates back to the late 1400s in Canada...or from the perspective of someone who currently resides in the Niagara Region where many of the major battles of the war took place.

Or maybe I can relate to it through my own military service in the Canadian Armed Forces many moons ago. Or my father's military service. Or my grandfather's service in the Canada's Merchant Navy during WWII. Or any one of a handful of great uncles who served and died overseas for Canada during various wars.

What does the War of 1812 mean to me personally? I'm thankful and appreciative for the sacrifices made by British and native Canadian troops to defend the independence of Canada against American invaders who were attempting to expand the United States by acquiring Canadian soil.

I'm thankful I don't speak with a southern drawl, play banjo, lust over my sister and have a car on blocks in my front yard. I'm thankful not to share the American arrogance that the world revolves around me.

The War of 1812 was our statement and re-affirmation to the U.S. that we are a proud, independent and sovereign nation.

All that aside - as a history buff and photographer...I can take a visitor to virtually any of the significant War of 1812 historical sites from memory and provide them with a fairly accurate recitation of what transpired at the site.

Really? You really can't understand why they re-enact battles with both sides, instead of just one? Wow.

Firstly, the re-enactors are largely both Canadian and American (although there may be a few Brits in the mix, too...not sure).

Since Britain won the War of 1812 on behalf of Canada - why wouldn't someone want to portray troops on the winning side? And they don't "come down from Canada" - the re-enactment at Fort Erie is in Ontario, Canada - not the U.S. :)

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Ok... ok... I believe you.

nah that's what revisionist minded Canadians want to believe about the War of 1812, that Canadians defended themselves from being taken over by the United States. First, there really was no such thing as a 'Canadian' - Confederation didn't happen until 1867.
So you really had Brits fighting Brits, those who had fought against Mother England to gain their independence from her in the United States against those who remained attached.

"Most inhabitants of Upper Canada (Ontario) were either Revolutionary-era exiles from the United States (United Empire Loyalists) or postwar American immigrants. The Loyalists were hostile to union with the United States, while the immigrants settlers were uninterested in politics and remained neutral during the war. The Canadian colonies were thinly populated and only lightly defended by the British Army."

The Indians got screwed just as badly in Canada as they did in the United States.

I'm actually surprised the Americans didn't try again at some point - Canada was more valuable than the entire midwestern US, much more potential even with the colder weather.

If you're an actual descendant of United Empire Loyalists I guess you have reason to be proud, but for me as an ancestor of later immigration, early 1900's, wouldn't have made a difference to me had the US annexed Canada in 1812. I'd just be an American living in a northern state. I'd be celebrating winning the medal count at the Olympics rather than a single gold medal by a girl on a trampoline. :1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I got to the third paragraph, the orchestra started playing and Billy Crystal was frantically waving me off stage. :winkwink:

I love history being re-written by potheads and hs dropouts. lol

Great retort
 

Thanks for a reply, see your point. Some days it is embarrassing to be an American. Some days I'm glad I wasn't born in...

why do you have to tell your story in multiple posts instead of just using one?

Perhaps you'd like to further enlighten us with your superior knowledge of history?

well i continued reading on about the War of 1812 - all wars seem senseless to me when I read about the deaths, but that war worked out the right way - it was the end of hostilities between the US and Britain and Canada and all have been good friends and allies and prospered from the relationships since.

i wonder what would have happened if the Brits hadn't been busy fighting Napoleon and had put all their military might into North America and defeated the United States soundly. What would have become of the US, a country only 40 years old at the time? I don't think the Brits would have wanted to occupy and govern the US, they knew it would have been impossible to endure for long.

I was there a few years ago, great time to be there now for the pics :2 cents:

Britain was only really interested in the US for its tobacco which is why it didnt pump all its power into your war of independance, it just wasn't worth the bother over a vast wasteland when there were much more important things to think about, like India and those damn Frenchies.

BTW, the wiki entry on that 1812 war is interesting - things like Britain buying freedom for slaves from the US.

Are there any women here?

No!,No!,No!,No!,No!,No!


:1orglaugh

Someone was saying about revisionist history? :1orglaugh

Women
 

A friend of mine is a Civil War reinactor. She does the part of a private. What she doesn't do is as a reinactor is play the part of the 400+ documented women who dressed as men and fought bravely in the Civil War. One woman, in a battle watched her husband killed in a first charge against enemy troops. When ordered, fixed her bayonet stepped over her husband's body and attacked the enemy.
Women did fight in both the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War disguised as men.
One Civil War soldier was not found out until the 1900's as she served as a worker for a US congressman when his car hit her and she was hospitalized. It was there she was outed. Took an act of congress for her to keep the Civil War veteran's pension she earned for brave fighting in several battles.
"They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War"

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...#ixzz23J6eruLt

Hmm...that's very, very interesting. I'd never heard of that aspect.

Well, it just reminded me of the Life Of Brian, thats all, just needed the fake beards!

No, you, didn't.



Yes, you, did.



My, sack, itches.



I, just, farted.



It, smells, bad.



Chum, chum, chum.

Thanks, we both learned something today
 

Here's another article.
http://youngwomenmisbehavin.com/2011...the-civil-war/

Several women did have fake beards to help their disguise.
One Confederate woman soldier was discovered, when she was captured by Union troops. She escaped and when she returned to Confederate troops, wasn't punished for being a woman, but promoted in rank.
In some outfits it was an open secret about the women soldiers as many went to war to be with their husbands.

As for 1812, it definitely gave me a new perspective.

How times change. Now we have men enlisting so they can be with their husbands. :1orglaugh

that looks cool would love to see something like this renacted, nice pics to btw

There were lots of women in the infantry back then. Where have you been?

Thats not true, we all know the only Indians that got screwed were in the US. If you believe they got screwed. They fought us and lost.

Did you ever wonder who was here before the Indians. Who did they take the land from?

Thanks.

There's another major reenactment coming up next month in our area - the Battle of Queenston Heights...which I'm hoping to photograph as well. So far they have almost 400 reenactors signed on for the event.

Big reinactments
 

The US Civil War was 1861-1865. So this is the 150th anniversary. Reenactors will be going all out for the next few years. July 1-3 2013 will be the 150th of Gettysburg.


Look forward to your pictures of Queenston Heights.

You ever get to the 40 Creek Distillery there? Met the owner when he was doing an American tour for his whiskey. Damn good stuff.

lol are you retarded? the Indians took the land from squirrels and moose.

there's no debate, scientific or otherwise about 'Indians' being the first humans in the Americas, hey came from Asia. why Indians have Asian physical characteristics.

the Indians did get screwed if you believe the first people to settle land are the rightful owners of that land in perpetuity. I don't agree with that - when the Spanish and Europeans discovered the Americas I don't think they should have said 'Fuck, already discovered by these Indians, k thnx bye'. And never to return.

No, haven't checked out Kittling Ridge distillery. There's a ton of wineries and distilleries all over the region - Grimsby, Beamsville, NOTL, St. Kitts, Niagara...mostly I leave'em to the tourists to enjoy, lol.

Me, I'm a beer and sour mash Tennessee bourbon fan instead.

I was gonna post about that, good thing I scrolled down:1orglaugh

Great shots:thumbsup

Shouldn't we feel sorry for the squirrels and moose? They not only took their land but they killed and ate them for food. They really got screwed. Bunch of Savages!!

damn i love wikipedia - so much information i never knew. the best guess is that 40,000 years ago Asians literally walked across a bridge of land, the Bering Straight, following herds of huge beasts that no longer exist into the Americas - that's one helluva walk from Alaska down to Mexico and South America.

The vicious cycle continues to this day - we have east indian and packie tourists who BBQ the seagulls in Niagara parks. :1orglaugh

I was gonna add a Sarah Palin joke here - but it was too easy. :winkwink:

There is no 100% truth :)

cool pics

nice pics dude!

why? you're the first one who started american bashing for no good reason other than foolish pride..

I was with you on this until you did that.

.:upsidedow

[QUOTE=Mutt;19117090]lol are you retarded? the Indians took the land from squirrels and moose.

there's no debate, scientific or otherwise about 'Indians' being the first humans in the Americas, hey came from Asia. why Indians have Asian physical characteristics.

QUOTE]

Saw a history show not long ago that debunks the "from Asia" theory. DNA testing shows Native Americans are more closely related to europeans.