The weekend of June 4-5 was a busy one for events around Hamilton. In addition to attending Buskerfest in Dundas, I also spent most of Saturday at the Battle of Stoney Creek re-enactment. For those unfamiliar with it, it was a pivotal battle in the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States. 2013 will mark the 200th anniversary and appears it may become quite an event. In anticipation of this I wanted to re-familiarize myself with it since my last visit early in the 1990s.
It’s certainly an interesting event for photographers with all the items of early 1800s military life on display and re-enactors generally very agreeable to photography.
Captain Stutt, Officer Commanding, The King’s Regiment in the Canadas and a 30-year re-enactor. All contents in this fine example of an officer’s tent are authentic to the period. Many thanks to Mr. Stutt for the tour and agreeing to sit for a few photos.
The event runs Saturday and Sunday. Saturday includes an afternoon and evening battle. Here re-enactors relax in period daily life between battles.
One of the common tasks after each battle is musket cleaning to remove unburned gunpowder and residue.
During that time, these standard soldiers’ tents would have slept five men – a very tight fit.
Soldiers gather for muster prior to the evening battle.
Here the British forces assembled for a massed push against the Americans and fired in volleys. The evening setting resulted in much more dramatic images than the afternoon battle. The muzzle flashes were much stronger and the smoke seemed to linger longer in the air.
The overrunning of the American cannon positions brought the battle to an end.
The re-enactors lived period life for the weekend, overnighting in their tents and at the mercy of the weather. This year a storm moved through Saturday night with heavy rains and strong winds, probably resulting in little sleep for the re-enactors.
More images are online at my Flickr set here
Information about the battle re-enactment as well as Battlefield Park in Stoney Creek is here.