Laura Secord

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For the chocolate company, see Laura Secord Chocolates.
Statue of Laura Secord at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa.

Laura Ingersoll Secord (September 13, 1775 – October 17, 1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for warning British forces of an impending American attack that led to the British victory at the Battle of Beaver Dams.

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[edit] Early life

Laura Ingersoll was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1775. Following the aftermath of the American Revolution, her father, Thomas Ingersoll, who had sided with the Patriots, moved his family to Canada in 1795. In 1797 she married the United Empire Loyalist, James Secord, son of an officer of Butler's Rangers. James and Laura resided in Queenston, Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), while her family went on to settle present day Ingersoll, Ontario[1]. On October 13, 1812, James Secord was injured at the Battle of Queenston Heights, part of the War of 1812 that had been declared in June.

[edit] The attack

Laura Secord warns James FitzGibbon

On May 27, 1813 the American army launched another attack across the Niagara River, successfully capturing Fort George. On the evening of June 21, Laura became aware of plans for a surprise attack on troops led by British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon at Beaver Dams, which would have furthered American control in the Niagara Peninsula. While her husband was still suffering the effects of his injury from the previous October, Laura set out early the next morning to warn Lieutenant FitzGibbon herself. She walked approximately 30 km from present day Queenston through St. David's, Homer, Shipman's Corners (present-day St. Catharines) and Short Hills at the Niagara Escarpment before arriving at the camp of allied Native warriors who led her the rest of the way to FitzGibbon's headquarters at the Decew house. A small British force and a larger contingent of Mohawk warriors were then readied for the American attack with the result that almost all of the American soldiers were taken prisoner in the ensuing Battle of Beaver Dams.

[edit] The legend

Laura Secord's account of her trek changed repeatedly throughout her life. Pierre Berton noted that she was never entirely clear on how she learned of the impending attack. She told FitzGibbon that her husband had learned it from an American officer, but years later, told her granddaughter that she had overheard plans directly after being forced to house and feed American soldiers in Queenston.[2] Berton suggests that Secord's informant may well have been an American still living in the United States, and would have been charged with treason, had Secord revealed her source.[2]

Historian Marsha Ann Tate notes that retellings of the story have diverged quite significantly in everything but the most basic details of the story.[3] In the 1860s, as the story of Laura Secord gained prominence, historian William Foster Coffin invented new details including the claim that Laura had brought a cow with her as an excuse to leave her home in case of questioning by American patrols.[4] Other versions hold that she left under the guise of visiting a sick relative in neighbouring St. David's, and that she walked barefoot for much of the journey.[3]

The question of Secord's actual contribution to the British success has also been contested. In the early 1920s, historians suggested that Native scouts had already informed FitzGibbon of the coming attack well before Secord had arrived with news on June 23.[5] Later still, two earlier testimonials by FitzGibbon (written in in 1820 and 1827) were found which supported Secord s claim. FitzGibbon asserted than Secord had arrived on June 22 (not the 23rd) and that "in consequence of this information" had been able to intercept the American troops.[6]

[edit] Later life

Over the years, Laura Secord and James FitzGibbon petitioned the government in request of some kind of acknowledgment but to no avail. Finally, in 1860, when Laura was 85, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), heard of her story while travelling in Canada. While stopped in Chippawa, near Niagara Falls, he was made aware of Laura's plight as an aging widow and later sent an award of £100. It was the only recognition that she received in her lifetime.[citation needed]

Laura and her husband attended Holy Trinity Church in the Village of Chippawa (today part of Niagara Falls, Ontario) where their grave markers are presently located, as well as a few relics of the family. Laura Ingersoll Secord died in 1868 at the age of 93. She was interred next to her husband in the Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls. Marking her grave is a monument (with a bust of Laura on top) close to that marking the Battle of Lundy's Lane. A cup and saucer from the family are displayed at Lundy's Lane Historical Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada.

[edit] Legacy

Laura Secord Homestead
Location Queenston, Ontario, Canada
Type historic house museum

[edit] Museum

43°09′50″N 79°03′19″W / 43.16395°N 79.05523°W / 43.16395; -79.05523


Laura Secord's restored homestead at 29 Queenston St, Queenston, Ontario is a museum near the bank of the Niagara River, with a commemorative plaque in front. The original home in Queenston has been rebuilt to the original floor plan including the original fireplaces.

[edit] Monument on Queenston Heights

43°09′37″N 79°03′04″W / 43.160315°N 79.051084°W / 43.160315; -79.051084

Laura Secord monument on Queenston Heights

.

Secord, Laura, in Acton Free Press, 27 Jun 1901, page 3, column 2 Monument to Memory of Laura Secord. Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Secord and Mr. and Mrs. T. E. M. Secord, and Miss Rachel, went to Lundy's Lane on Saturday to participate in the unveiling of a monument erected there as a tribute to the memory of Canada's heroine, Laura Secord. The monument consists of a shapely shaft of granite, rectangular in shape, some seven feet in height, resting upon a base of the same material. Upon three sides are polished shields bearing suitable inscriptions cut into the stone. Surmounting the shaft is a life-size bust in bronze of the heroine. Among the friends and descendants of the woman whose memory all honour present were Mrs. C. W. Young, wife of Mr. C. W. Young of the Cornwall Freeholder, who is the daughter of Mrs. Secord's youngest daughter; Messrs. T. E. Secord and Alex. Secord, Acton; Mr. W. F. Secord, Thorold, grand-nephew; Miss Laura Clarke, Toronto, and Miss Augusta Smith, Guelph, granddaughters, and Mr. Andrew Carnochan, who for many years was a next-door neighbor of the Secord family at Chippawa. These were all introduced to the thousands who thronged the historical spot by Rev. Canon Bell, President Lundy's Lane Historical Society. The unveiling was performed by Mrs. Geo. W. Ross, wife of the Premier. The event was one of very great interest.

[edit] Grave marker in Drummond Hill Cemetery

43°05′22″N 79°05′45″W / 43.08941°N 79.09576°W / 43.08941; -79.09576

Grave marker of Laura Secord at the Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario

The inscription on the marker reads: To perpetuate the name and fame of Laura Secord, who walked alone nearly 20 miles by a circuitous difficult and perilous route, through woods and swamps and over miry roads to warn a British outpost at DeCew’s Falls of an intended attack and thereby enabled Lt. FitzGibbon on the 24th June 1813, with less than 50 men of H.M. 49th Regt., about 15 militiamen and a small force of Six Nations and other Indians under Capt. William Johnson Kerr and Dominique Ducharmes to surprise and attack the enemy at Beechwoods (or Beaver Dams) and after a short engagement, to capture Col. Bosler of the U.S. Army and his entire force of 542 men with two field pieces.


[edit] Namesakes


The Canadian band Tanglefoot performed a song entitled 'Secord's Warning', which tells Laura Secord's story, on their album, The Music In The Wood (see lyrics here).

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Laura Secord Homestead History". Niagara Parks. http://www.niagaraparks.com/heritage-trail/laura-secord-homestead-history.html. 
  2. ^ a b Berton, Pierre (1981). Flames across the border: The Canadian-American tragedy, 1813–1814.. Boston: Little, Brown. 
  3. ^ a b Tate, Marsha Ann (2005). "Looking for Laura Secord on the Web: Using a Famous Figure from the War of 1812 as a Model for Evaluating Historical Web Sites.". The History Teacher (38.2). http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/38.2/tate.html. 
  4. ^ George Sheppard, Laura Secord
  5. ^ Wood, W. Select British documents of the Canadian war of 1812, Vol. I of the Toronto: Champlain Society, 1920-1928, pp. 65-66.
  6. ^ McKenzie, Ruth. INGERSOLL, LAURA (Secord), Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

[edit] External links

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