Okay, So Who Was This Butler Who Had the Barracks

The last several posts I have been writing about Butler's Barracks, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.  I mentioned that Butler's Barracks were named after a Loyalist officer by the name of John Butler (1728-1796).

Well, who was he?

Essentially, an enemy of the new country the Patriots were trying to establish.

He was an American-born military officer, merchant, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Deparment.  During the American Revolution he was a prominent Loyalist who led the provincial regiment Butler's Rangers on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania.

Born in Connecticut, he moved to New York.  To say he was a thorn in the side of Americans would be an understatement.  In thanks for his services, Britain was given a land grant in the Niagara region.  This eventually became Butler's Barracks.

I'll write about him in my Cooter's History Thing blog later.

--Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks-- Part 3: Polish Army Trained There in WW I

From October 1917 to  March 1919, the Polish Army trained at Niagara Camp in an area known as Camp Kosciuszko.  These men would go on to fight alongside the French Forces, in Haller's Army, also known as the Blue Army in World War I.

After the war, the barracks that were constructed at Camp Kosciuszko were used into the 1960s.

It is now  part of the Fort George National Historic Site.

The Lincoln and Welland Regimental Museum is located at  in Butler's Barracks.  Exhibits include displays and artifacts from the 18th century through to the present, including uniforms, weapons, medals, photographs, regimental  band instruments and other memorabilia.

--Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks-- Part 2: One of Several Military Installations Along Niagara River

Butler's Barracks are just one one of four military installations along the Niagara River by Niagara-by-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.  

The others:

Fort George

Fort Mississauga 

Navy Hall

I have written about the two forts this past month.

The British passed control of the Butler's Barracks over to the Canadian Army in 1871.

--Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Was the home of Loyalist military officer John Butler (1728-1795), in what was then Newark, Upper Canada which is present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.  Butler is most famous for leading an irregular military unit known as Butler's Rangers on thye northern frontier during the American revolution.  He fought against the Americans.

The original barracks were constructed in 1778 on the banks of the Niagara River, but were torn down during the construction of Fort George.  

The building currently called Butler's Barracks was constructed in 1818 and the site at one time was quite extensive, being first used by the Indian Department and later by thye British military.

--Brock-Perry

Fort Mississauga-- Part 1: Defending the Mouth of the Niagara Fiver

From Wikipedia.

Fort Mississauga National Historic Site is a fort located on the shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River by the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

It consists of a box-like brick tower surrounded by a star-shaped earthworks.

It was built from 1814-1816 during the War of 1812 to replace the nearby Fort George (which was considered to be too far from Lake Ontario).  It was built on a foundation of brick and stone salvaged from rubble left over  after retreating U.S. forces burned the nearby town of Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-Lake) in December 1813.

It would help in the defense of Upper Canada as a part of the regional network that also included Fort George, Navy Hall and Butler's Barracks.

However, Fort Mississauga was not completed until after the end of the war.

--Brock-Perry

Historic Fort George-- Part 10: 1828 to 1882

In 1828, the headquarters of  the British Army Centre Division was officially transferred to to York, Ontasrio.  At that time, Fort George was reportedly just a few "wooden decaying barracks."  In 1839, Navy Hall  was converted into barracks for the fort's garrison and the former barracks became stables.

During the 1860s, the British government took control of the military complex in the area which included Fort George, Fort Mississauga, Butler's  Barracks and the training common.  The ruins of the fort were intermittenly leased to a private citizen who acted as the custodian-tenant of te property.

During that period, structures in the fort were converted to other uses:  Officers quarters were incorporated into a farmhouse, the stone gunpowder  magazine used for storing hay and the property itself used for grazing cattle.

By the 1880s, the bastions and gunpowder magazine were in bad condition.

In 1882, the Wright family was granted a lease by the Department of Militia Defence, which led to the opening of a golf club in the area with the golf course occupying portions of the ruin.

--Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks, Canada-- Part 2: Named for John Butler and Training Site for Many Wars

By 1854, the site was known as Butler's Barracks, named in honor of John Butler who commanded Butler's Rangers, Loyalist soldiers who founded the town of Niagara towards the end of the American Revolution. Also, by 1854, there were twenty buildings on the six acre site, surrounded by an extensive log palisade.

Buildings included the Commissariat, Officer's Quarters, the Commandant's Quarters, the Hospital (former Indian Council House), a fuel yard and storehouses.

The site was transferred to the new Dominion of Canada in 1871 and it was used as a summer training camp for both regular and militia units.  Soldiers who were trained here served in the Boer War, World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict and peacekeeping efforts in the 20th century.

Today, Butler's Barracks commemorates over 150 years of Canada's military history.  Four original British colonial buildings and one Canadian built structure remain on the site.

A Place For many Wars.  --Brock-Perry

Butler's Barracks, Canada-- Part 1: Used for Indian Negotiations, Destroyed in War of 1812

From Friends of Fort George.

BUTLER'S BARRACKS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Prior to the War of 1812, the area to the west of Fort George was used by the British Indian Department.  It was a branch of the British Crown and functioned as an embassy to the Indians in the region.  Treaties and military alliances were  negotiated, concerns raised and issues resolved.

The Indian Council House, residences and storage facilities stood here until they were destroyed in the War of 1812.  They were rebuilt and used until 1822.

Following the war, the British began work on new barracks and storehouses, making sure they were out of range of American guns.

--Brock-Perry

Fort George, Canada-- Part 5: The Town of Niagara Sacked

On December 10, 1813, Gen. George McClure ordered a retreat of the American forces across the Niagara River.  In addition, he also ordered the destruction of the Canadian town of Niagara.  When the British arrived on the scene, they were met with a horrifying sight.

Captain William Hamilton Merritt of the Provincial Dragoons recalled that "nothing but heaps of coals, and the streets full of furniture... met the eye in all directions."  About 130 homes had been put to the torch, and some 400 townspeople, mainly women, children and elderly men) were left without shelter.

Fort George remained in British hands for the rest of the war.  During the American occupation, parts of Fort George had been rebuilt and the British also continued to rebuild.  But by  the 1820s, Fort George was essentially in ruins.  The British Army abandoned the fort  in favor of Butler's Barracks and Fort Mississauga.

In the 1930s, Fort George was reconstructed to its pre-1812 configuration under the guidance of the Royal Engineers, and designated a National Historic Site of Canada.  Today, visitors can tour the blockhouses where common soldiers and their families shared cramped living space, the  more elegant officers quarters

The stone powder  magazine, which survived the attack, is the only structure that is original to the fort and the oldest building in Niagara-on-the-Lake (the new name of Niagara).

--Brock-Perry