Acts of Courage (18 page)

HISTORICAL NOTE

The war with the Americans ended eighteen months after Laura’s walk, and peace came to Queenston. No Canadian territory was lost in the conflict, and, as a nation, the United States never invaded Canada again. James was restored to health, but the bullet never was removed from his knee and he always walked with a limp. At Kingston in January 1814, Lieutenant FitzGibbon was promoted to captain of his own company of the Glengarry Light Infantry, in recognition for capturing the American forces at Beaver Dams. He later rose to colonel and acting adjutant general in Upper Canada. Laura continued to care for her family and two more daughters, Laura and Hannah, born after the war.

The major events described in this story actually happened, but Laura had five children at the beginning of the war. The character of Elizabeth is drawn from Laura’s sister Elizabeth and step-sister Nancy. The relationship between Laura and FitzGibbon is fictitious. Captain Wool and the Secords met again after the war and became lifelong friends.

James’s business in Queenston did not recover from the plundering and damage of the war, but his business troubles came to an end when he was appointed registrar for the District Surrogate Court of Niagara. Five years later, he became judge of the District Court. After resigning from that position in 1835, he became collector of customs in Chippawa. The income from that job and his small military pension were enough to keep his family living comfortably.

In 1841, less than a decade after he took the customs job, James died. He was sixty-seven and Laura was sixty-five at the time. He was buried in Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, the site of the battle of Lundy’s Lane, the last and the bloodiest fight of the war of 1812–14, where many of his fellow soldiers had fallen.

Laura never received official recognition during her lifetime from the British colonial government or the Canadian government for her part in the victory at Beaver Dams, and, in later years, historians questioned whether Laura had actually brought FitzGibbon any information he did not already have. Laura’s descendants were quite sure that FitzGibbon’s victory was the result of Laura’s message, and they would not give up searching for proof. Through the efforts of one of these descendants, Henry Cartwright Secord, a certificate written by FitzGibbon in 1820, testifying to the fact that Laura Secord had brought him a message of an impending attack at Beaver Dams, was located in 1934. Its contents were similar to those of an existing certificate that FitzGibbon had written in 1837, but its date, closer to the time of the event, made it more valid.

Then, in 1959, the third and most important certificate was found in the National Archives at Ottawa. In it, FitzGibbon gave the exact date of Laura Secord’s walk and drew attention to the fact that her message reached him first. He pointed out that “Mrs. Secord and her Family were entire Strangers to [him] before the 22nd of June 1813, and her exertions therefore could have been made from public motives only.” But it was the following statement that provided the best proof that FitzGibbon was unaware of the planned attack by Chapin and his guerrillas: “In consequence of this information,” he wrote, “I placed Indians under Norton together with my Detachment in a Situation to intercept the American Detachment.” After this discovery, Laura Secord’s heroic act and its direct benefit to FitzGibbon were recognized and described in textbooks.

Laura did receive recognition for her heroism from the British government when she was in her eighties. In 1860, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, then a young man of nineteen, was visiting Niagara. He had been asked to officiate at a Queenston Heights ceremony in which Laura’s name appeared on the list of war veterans presented to the Prince. He became interested in Laura’s story, as she was the only woman among the veterans. In 1861, after he returned home, he sent her 100 pounds in gold in appreciation for her service to her country. Prince Albert Edward later became King Edward VII.

Laura Secord died on October 17, 1868, twenty-seven years after her husband’s death. She was ninety-three years old. In 1901, a monument was erected above her grave in Drummond Hill Cemetery, where she is buried beside James. Beneath a sculptured bust of this courageous woman is the following inscription:

TO PERPETUATE

THE NAME AND FAME OF

LAURA SECORD

WHO WALKED ALONE NEARLY 20

MILES BY CIRCUITOUS, DIFFICULT

AND PERILOUS ROUTE THROUGH WOODS

AND SWAMPS AND OVER MIRY ROADS

TO WARN A BRITISH OUTPOST AT

DE CEW’S FALLS OF AN INTENDED ATTACK

AND THEREBY ENABLED LIEUT. FITZGIBBON

ON THE 24TH JUNE, 1813, WITH LESS

THAN 50 MEN OF H.M. 49TH REGT.

ABOUT 15 MILITIA MEN AND A SMALL

FORCE OF SIX NATION AND OTHER INDIANS

UNDER CAPTAIN WILLIAM JOHNSON KERR

AND DOMINIQUE DUCHARME, TO SURPRISE

AND ATTACK THE ENEMY AT BEECHWOODS

(OR BEAVER DAMS), AND AFTER A SHORT

ENGAGEMENT TO CAPTURE COL. BOERSTLER

OF THE U.S. ARMY AND HIS ENTIRE FORCE

OF 542 MEN WITH TWO FIELD PIECES.

The Government of Canada erected a second monument to Laura Secord in 1910. This monument stands twelve feet high, not far from Brock’s gigantic monument on Queenston Heights. This is its inscription:

TO LAURA INGERSOLL SECORD

WHO SAVED HER HUSBAND’S LIFE

IN THE BATTLE OF THESE HEIGHTS

OCTOBER 13TH, 1812

AND WHO RISKED HER OWN

IN CONVEYING TO CAPT. FITZGIBBON

INFORMATION BY WHICH HE WON

THE VICTORY OF BEAVER DAMS.

This second monument is not far from the place where Laura found and rescued her husband during the Battle of Queenston Heights. Many have come to read the inscriptions and to look out over the Niagara River as James and Laura did two centuries ago.

NOTES

The following are explanatory notes and sources for quotations and references. The numbers along the left refer to the print edition of
Acts of Courage: Laura Secord and The War of 1812
.

19
“Better… than the halter.” (These words were the slogan of the men in Shay’s rebellion.) Judge Whiting in the records of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the Suffock County Courthouse in Boston under #160304 in Marion L. Starkey,
A Little Rebellion
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1955), p. 174.

148
“As sure as you do, I will have you indicted for murder.” Laura Secord as related by her granddaughter, Mrs. Cockburn, in Emma A. Currie,
The Story of Laura Secord and Canadian Reminiscences
(Toronto: William Briggs, 1900), p. 69.

196
“When we come for good to this country, we’ll divide the land, and I’ll take this here for my share.” American soldier as told to Mrs. Curzon in
The Story of Laura Secord
, p. 66.

196
“You scoundrel, all you’ll ever get here will be six feet of earth.” Laura Secord in
The Story of Laura Secord
, p. 66.

199
“You were right about the six feet of earth, missus,” American soldier in
The Story of Laura Secord
, p. 66.

215
“James, somebody ought to tell Lieutenant FitzGibbon they are coming.” Laura Secord as related by Laura Secord Clark, granddaughter of Laura Secord, to Mrs. George S. Henry, Ontario Dept. of Public Records and Archives, Misc., 1933 and Ruth McKenzie,
Laura Secord, The Legend and the Lady
(Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1971), p. 51.

215
“Well, if I crawled on my hands and knees, I could not get there in time.” James Secord in
Laura Secord
, p. 51.

215
“Well, suppose I go?” Laura Secord in
Laura Secord
, p. 51.

215
“You go? With the country in so disturbed a state? I doubt a man could get through, let alone a woman.” James Secord in
Laura Secord
, p. 51.

215
“You forget, James, that God will take care of me.” Laura Secord in
Laura Secord
, p.51.

238–239
“I am aware…to protect you.” FitzGibbon in Mary Agnes FitzGibbon,
A Veteran of 1812: The Life of James FitzGibbon
(Toronto: William Briggs, 1894), p. 88.

239
“I can only give…shall attack you.” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p.89.

240
“Not another word…are my prisoners.” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 90.

240
“American troops, right face. Quick march.” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 90.

240
“…shall the American troops ground their arms here?” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 90.

240
“Let… on the other side.” Major De Haren in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

241
“…do you think it prudent… of the Indians?” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

241
“For God’s sake, sir, do what this officer bids you!” Boerstler in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

241
“Do so.” De Haren in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

241
“Americans, halt! … Ground your arms!” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

241
“Americans, don’t touch your arms! … Remember, I am here.” FitzGibbon in
A Veteran of 1812
, p. 91.

242
“…slept right off.” Laura Secord in
A Veteran of 1812
,
p. 85.

OTHER BOOKS
BY CONNIE BRUMMEL CROOK

NOVELS

The Meyers Saga

Flight

Meyers’ Creek

Meyers’ Rebellion

The Nellie McClung trilogy

Nellie L.

Nellie’s Quest

Nellie’s Victory

Historical Years in Upper Canada: Ontario

The Hungry Year

The Perilous Year

No Small Victory

PICTURE BOOKS

Maple Moon (Lune d’érable)

Laura Secord’s Brave Walk

CHAPTER BOOK

Mary’s Way

CONNIE BRUMMEL CROOK
is an historian, former teacher, and the author of more than a dozen historical books for children that often focus on the history of Upper Canada. One of her books on the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada,
Meyers’ Rebellion
, was a Geoffrey Bilson Fiction Award finalist. Her picture book,
Maple Moon
, was a Storytelling World Honour Title winner. Connie lives in Peterborough, Ontario.