Visitors to the Glengarry Pioneer Museum were last weekend whisked back in time to 1812 in Upper Canada. Daily life for early settlers centred around managing the household, running a business or overseeing the family farm. Weaving one’s way through the colony of tents that served as shops, kitchens and living quarters, it was eye-opening to see the ingenuity of the age, and more impressive to see how the reenactment community brings to life this historical time.
Sharon Miller and Joanne Killick-Hill, so the story goes, are two ladies whose husbands went out hunting and never returned. With life being challenging in 1812, they, along with another single lady, shared their resources of tents, furniture, and kitchen setup to make daily living easier. These ladies even had a stove for warmth in their sleeping area, and Mistress Miller’s seamstress and fine fripperies business helps to bring some money to the household.
Barbara Whelin introduced visitors to “sprang” weaving, an ancient technique that was almost lost to history, which interlocks sets of threads under tension, alternating the front to the back of a rod separating the threads. Sprang was used to weave officers’ sashes in the British military.
Information sessions were held to introduce the history of the Glengarry Light Infantry, the reasons for war against the Americans and the bravery of the farming settlers who took up arms to protect their new lands. Jim Mullin enlightened everyone to the specifics of the uniform for the Infantry, who were referred to as “Black Stumps” because their hats resembled tree trunks as the soldiers knelt in the grass waiting for battle. Each soldier had two woolen tunics made in Montreal; a white tunic for everyday working and a green tunic for service. Captains had leather lined breeches because each had their own horse and spent hours in the saddle. Jim, along with Tom Deerhouse, explained the connection with the First Peoples, who had shown the settlers where to find water and the best places for hunting. The camaraderie of the Mohawk Natives and Glengarry Infantry made a perfect pairing as snipers who scouted out the American soldiers. Visitors could even enjoy a cold beer from the Star Inn, established in the 1840s and believed to be the oldest licensed tavern in Eastern Ontario.
Each day culminated with a battleground reenactment — a skirmish between the Glengarry Light Infantry, the British Army and the Americans, who were trying to take over land in Upper Canada. With cannons and guns firing and smoke billowing rings into the sky, visitors were introduced to the tactics and challenges of war in 1812. And everyone cheered when the American colonial soldiers cried, “Run away.”
