Laura Secord
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Most Canadians know the name of Laura Secord, although they may be a bit fuzzy on the subject of her heroic trek that saved the British and Canadian forces at the Battle of Beaver Dams during the War of 1812.
Laura Ingersoll Secord was the young wife of James Secord, a settler in Queenston, Upper Canada. The War of 1812 was very personal to Laura. Like her husband and many others in Upper Canada, Laura had been born in the United States and had relatives across the line. But she was fiercely loyal to the British Crown, and was committed to the defence of the colony.
The story of Laura Secords famous act of patriotism begins on the evening of June 21, 1813. Several American officers forced their way into the Secord home and ordered Laura to serve them dinner. The food was plentiful, the wine flowed, and as the evening wore on, the officers grew boisterous and carefree, boasting of their plans to crush the remaining British resistance in the area. As Laura quietly washed the dishes, she listened to the voices of the American officers through the thin partition.
“Well make a surprise move against FitzGibbon at Beaver Dams.” It was the voice of Colonel Boerstter. “We will destroy his headquarters and take the whole detachment captive.” Laura stood motionless with a warm plate in her hands, realizing that unless Lieutenant FitzGibbon was warned, the entire Niagara peninsula would be lost. She glanced at her husband, who had been wounded six months earlier at the Battle of Queenston Heights and was still barely able to walk. Then, in a tone of quiet determination, Laura told her husband that she was going to take the message to FitzGibbon herself.
At dawn the next morning Laura began her journey dressed in her regular attire of a settlers wife. In some versions of the story, Laura carries a milking pail and leads her cow along the road, as a cover for inquiring American sentries, although there is no hard evidence to support these details. In any case, Laura Secord had to be very careful not to be captured. The traditional punishment for spies was death by firing squad.
Avoiding the main roads, Laura chose a difficult and circuitous 19 mile route to the stone house where FitzGibbon was stationed.
She began by walking along the road to her brother-in-laws farm. At one point her niece Elizabeth joined her, but gave up in exhaustion three hours later, just as they neared Black Swamp.
Alone, Laura entered the most difficult part of her journey. The heat of the June sun was beating down on her, and the brambles tore at her clothing. Whether or not she was barefoot, as some versions of the story claim, the damp bog soon soaked her to the skin. Yet,