Fort Malden-- Part 2: A History of the Fort and Amherstburg

From Wikipedia Amherstburg.

Amherstburg town is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River about 16 miles south of the city of Detroit.  It is part of the Windsor metropolitan area.

French colonists had originally settled in the area.  In 1796, after losing the American colonies and Fort Detroit (present-day Detroit), Britain established Fort Malden (Fort Amherstburg) as a military fort overlooking Lake Erie at the Detroit River's mouth.

This caused the region's population to grow as did the Crown granting land in Upper Canada to  Loyalists from the U.S. (now known as United Empire Loyalists) in compensation for losses in the former colonies or for payment for service in the American Revolution.

Amherstburg and the fort also played a role in the Underground Railroad to get runaway slaves to their freedom in the years leading up to the Civil War.  It was a major crossing point into Canada.  The town is even mentioned in the famous book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as being where George and Eliza escaped slavery.

--Brock-Perry

Burlington Heights Markers-- Part 3: United Empire Loyalists

UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS  (about 240 meters away).

"IN LASTING MEMORY OF THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS

"Who preferred to remain loyal British subjects and came to Canada in large numbers immediately following the American Revolution of 1776 and the signing of the Treaty of Peace in 1783.

"On this site in 1785 was erected one of  the first log houses in this district by loyalist pioneer Col. Richard Beasley who on June  11th and 12th 1796 here entertained Lieut. Colonel John Graves Simcoe the first Lieut. Governor of Upper Canada and Mrs. Simcoe.

"Unveiled July 1st, 1927 the Diamond Jubilee of the Confederation of the provinces of Canada on July 1st, 1867."

SIR JOHN HARVEY  (ABOUT .2 KILOMETER FROM MARKER)

SIR JOHN HARVEY  1778-1852

"From these heights , Lieutenant-Colonel John Harvey set out with 700 men on the night of June 5, 1813, to launch an attack  on an invading United States force of some 3,000 men camped at Stoney Creek.  His rout of the troops commanded by  Brigadier-General  John Chandler under cover of darkness in the early hours of June 6, is generally credited with saving Upper Canada from being overrun by the enemy.

"Harvey was knighted in 1834, served as Lieutenant-Governor of  New Brunswick 1834-1841, Governor of Newfoundland , 1841-1846, and Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, 1846-1851."

--Brock-Perry

Ancaster, Upper Canada (Now Ontario): A Question of Loyalists and Americans

From Wikipedia.

Ancaster was mostly a wilderness society before the War of 1812, with American farmers moving north searching for arable land, some French-speaking fur traders and British immigrants traveling southward.

Also traveling north  in substantial numbers and in substantial numbers, around 11787 with the incentive of inexpensive land grants were the United Empire Loyalists still loyal to the British crown who were fleeing from the United States after the American Revolution.

Britain's promise of free land brought many people from the United States to Ancaster and the area around it who did not have the loyalist feeling of the others.

This would eventually lead to a series of defections, accusations and treasonous actions during the War of 1812 that led to the largest mass hangings in Canadian history, the Bloody Assizes which took place in Ancaster in 1814.

--Brock-Perry