Battle of Stoney Creek win over the U.S. in 1813 offers lesson about peace, say re-enactment organizers

Despite the muskets, bayonets and firing cannons, organizers of the annual Battle of Stoney Creek re-enactment — which takes place this weekend in Hamilton — see the event as a celebration of peace. 

Alyssa Gomori, the site supervisor at Battlefield House Museum and Park where the 1813 battle and its subsequent re-enactments have taken place, says the event is a commemoration of a shared history with the United States — and a celebration of the peace that has held since the War of 1812 ended a couple years later.

"It's not to glorify war or celebrate violence," she said this week, noting about 20 American re-enactors typically attend, a number that isn't changing this year despite the tensions between the two countries following the imposition of tariffs and U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to annex Canada.

"It's to commemorate that these were real people who fought and they put their lives on the line," she added.

Re-enactor Laurence Michor, 64, who is also involved in event preparations, notes the War of 1812 re-enactment community stretches into both countries, as did the family ties of people fighting in the war itself.

"You can't lose sight of the fact that perhaps on the other side is a cousin of yours," he told CBC Hamilton Wednesday at Battlefield Park, amid a flurry of preparations for the big weekend.

Michor says while fewer Canadian re-enactors seem to be travelling to the U.S. for events this year, he continues to go and has felt nothing but appreciation and affection from his American counterparts.

"The American people, aside from the political nature of things now and perhaps their [affinity for firearms], they're wonderful people," said Michor, who has uniforms of British and American soldiers but ends up playing an American more often in re-enactments. "They're very welcoming."

Battle was an unexpected win for the British

The Battle of Stoney Creek happened on June 6, 1813, midway through the War of 1812. The British had lost Fort George and Niagara-on-the-Lake, and retreated to Burlington Heights, now Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. The American troops made their way to what was then the Gage family home, now the Battlefield House Museum. 

"They set up camp, they lit campfires and they were just kind of resting to continue following the British," Gomori said. "The British found out that the Americans were here and they launched a surprise nighttime attack on the American contingent."

"It was a victory for the British, which was not expected," she said. "The Americans had 3,500, the British sent 750…. But because it was a surprise, the Americans were not prepared."

The Americans retreated, and the battle marked the furthest the Americans would make it into the Niagara Peninsula on foot during the war.

3 battles, a drone show and lacrosse 

The events marking the occasion this weekend are wide-ranging, and include several elements that recognize Indigenous participation in the war and on the land for thousands of years before it, including a drone light show that tells the story of the land's history from an Indigenous perspective. There will also be multiple lacrosse games.

The site was expecting school groups for educational field trips in the lead up to the weekend, while Saturday and Sunday are the big days for the general public.

There will be two re-enactments on Saturday and one on Sunday, and several other demonstrations, performances and events in between. The full schedule is available on the City of Hamilton website. 

The event has been running in this form since 1981, except during 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic. Since then, it has seen record interest and attendance, with 10,000 people attending in 2023 and about 12,000 last year, Gomori said.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, based in downtown Hamilton, will also be participating, conducting a commemorative "ruck march" on Saturday, walking along the British soldiers' route from Dundurn Castle to Battlefield Park starting at 11 a.m.

Deputy Commanding Officer Maj. Mike Wonnacott says it's an opportunity for the soldiers to connect their own work with those who defended Canada more than 200 years ago.

"We felt that it was important for the soldiers in the garrison to draw a connection between the British and militia soldiers that would have participated in the battle, which is in their own backyard, and service to their communities and country today," he said in an email on Wednesday.