Fort Mississauga-- Part 3: Operations

With the American Navy now controlling Lake Ontario, the importance of this fort was crucial to British security in the area.

The British Army was stationed in the fort from 1813 to 1855, after which the Canadian militia provided garrison duty.    The militia used  it as a summer training ground beginning in the 1870s and this went on for both World Wars and the Korean War.

Today, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course surrounds the site, but public access is permitted via a walking path.  But, there are warnings for visitors to watch out for golfers who have the  right of way.

The blockhouse is the only original structure still standing.  All the other buildings (which were mostly log structures) have been destroyed or dismantled.  The interior of the blockhouse is closed, but there are wooden staircases providing access.

--Brock-Perry

Fought in Three Wars, WW II to Vietnam: Major General Salve H. Matheson (Vietnam Veterans Day 2022)

From Coffee or Die.

In honor of today being a much too late, much-ignored thank you to those who fought in Vietnam and came home to a country that didn't welcome them as they should have for the most part.

Today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

All my blogs but one will honor them today.

MAJOR GENERAL SALVE H. MATHESON

He participated in D-Day, liberation of Holland, Battle of the Bulge  and also helped seize Hitler's Eagle's Nest.

During the Korean War, he had instrumental involvement in the  amphibious landings at Inchon and Wonsan.

In Vietnam, he assumed command of the  1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division and participated in the Tet Offensive.

And, I notice his name is not on the list of names to pick from as the Confederate-named Army bases are renamed.

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

Other Ships Named USS Patapsco

According to Wikipedia, there were two other USS Patapscos which may have participated in the War of 1812 as one was launched in 1806 and the other in 1812.  But Wikipedia only had a stub about these ships saying they existed, but there was no more information.  Nor could I find any more information about these ships elsewhere.

These ships might have served around Baltimore since that is the name of a river that flows into the Chesapeake Bay at  that point.

The next USS Patapsco was a Paissac-class monitor launched in 1862, fought during the Civil War, and sunk by a mine in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, in January 15, 1865.

The next one was a tug, the AT-10, the lead ship of her class which served the Navy from 1911 to 1936.

The last USS Patapsco, AOG-1, was the lead-ship of her class of gasoline tankers and served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War.

--Brock-Perry

Honoring Our Veterans: Washington, D.C., Memorials-- Part 1

From the Nov. 6, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Of Thee We Sing."

It is kind of surprising that there are no War of 1812 Memorials in our nation's capital.

Beyond the monuments and memorials to the nation's iconic presidents in Washington, D.C., there are memorials in bronze and marble and granite that mark the nation's wars and those who served.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial Advisory is located on a 2.2 acre site adjacent to the Lincoln memorial Reflecting Pool.  It features a sculptured column of soldiers arrayed for combat and a 164-foot mural wall inscribed with the words, "Freedom Is Not Free," and is etched with 2,500 photographic images of nurses, chaplains, crew chiefs, mechanics and other support personnel.  Open daily 8 a.m. to midnight.  Free.

Located between the Washington Monument and Lincoln memorial, the National World War II memorial honors the 16 million who served during World War II and those who supported the war effort from home.  The memorial features two 43-foot arches, a 17-foot pillar for each state and territory from that period and a field of 4,000 gold stars honoring the 400,000 Americans who died.

A series of bronze sculpture panels depict Americans at war, at home and overseas.  Open daily except Christmas.  Free.

--Brock-Perry