200th anniversary of the War of 1812

From the Archives – Mary Anne Ducharme  (June 2010)

2012 is the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 and plans are already in progress in Quebec, New York State, and Vermont to highlight this conflict and its impact on border communities like Hemmingford.

Part of our connection to the war is John Scriver (1792- 1873) who was drafted into a British battalion of the militia at Isle-aux-Noix. On June 3, 1813, two American warships, the Eagle and the Growler entered the St.Lawrence in an attempt to deter British gunboats which had been harassing Lake Champlain at Rouses Point.

John Scriver, age 21, was assigned the post of commanding a squadron of volunteer sharpshooters. He and over two hundred men along the banks poured a galling fire of musketry at the ships. The men were forced to retreat when the ships levelled broadsides of grape and canister at the shoreline bushes which provided scant shelter. From the more distant range, the muskets were ineffective.

The Eagle was struck by a 24 pound cannonball which ripped through underwater planks, and the main boom and forestay of the Growler were splintered by another ball. As could be expected, the subsequent capture of the ships was extremely galling to American commander Thomas Macdonough in Plattsburgh.

After the battle, a sergeant reported thirty dead militiamen in just one small area. The number of casualties on both sides is still being debated by historians.
Contact: Mary Anne Ducharme, 450-247-3193
e-mail: mducharme117@sympatico.ca