PEACE! Nearly 200 YEARS of peace is coming up! Yes, we are celebrating the world’s longest undefended border…Canada and the United States of America. The War of 1812, began 19 June 1812 when President Madison declared War, and lasted until 24 Dec 1814 when the Treaty of Ghent was signed.
The NEMGTR will celebrate this achievement with an tour of many of the main battlefields and specific civic places June 22nd to July 6th, 2012. Centering on the Niagara Region with loops around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie we want to instill an interest in the incredible positive relations our two countries have built with mutual social, economic, military and political ties. Based on the facts that the participants were from the same basic genealogical stock many like to call this the first civil war!
Starting in the Niagara area June 22 we will have a “Meet and Greet” for the official start of celebrations between Canada and the United States in Fort Erie, Ontario on June 23. The Grand Parade will feature 50 bands, military units and re-enactors from Canada, the UK and USA, with the theme “200 years of Peace” and the “Community in 1812”. Royalty have been invited along with all levels of government and the feature bands for this event are, the US Marine Corps Band and the Prince of Wales Regimental Band from the UK. A Tattoo will take place at Fort Erie with recreational fireworks. See the Schedule for more details.
“Competitors” will require two weeks on the tour for a minimum of 25 cars and a maximum of 50 cars. Registration will be $251 and will include all instructions, program and historical notes, some entry fees and regalia. Daily “Participants” will be welcomed and will get dash plaques and tour books and pay all entrance fees.
All accommodations will be the responsibility of the individual entrant(s). Recommendations for accommodations, with options will be suggested.
Online Registration will be availble from November 15 to December 31, 2011. All entrants will complete the online forms selecting the activites they wish to participate in and fill in the Competitor or Participant registration fee. The form will direct the user to our secure payment processing when submitted. Check the online registration for preliminary prices for all activities.
Final details will be released in January of 2012, with routes, confirmation of registrations, participation packages and final billings for chosen activities.
Interested in a little background information on the history we will see? Try these resources:
We are getting suggestions for pre trip reading and our good “bookworm” Kep Phillips has suggested books relating to the naval aspects of the war by an author he enjoys: William H. White –“The Press of Canvas - 2000”, “A Fine Topsail Breeze - 2001”, and “The Evening Gun - 2003”. (Set is an 1812 Trilogy in the Isaac Biggs Series.)
Probably the best overall modern book on the War of 1812 is by Alan Taylor, a Pulitzer and Bancroft Prize Winning Author, called “The Civil War of 1812 –American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels and Indian Allies”. Taylor’s book is a real eye opener and a fairly easy read.
A great web site to keep you informed on the War of 1812 activities at the different battle locations, is www.discover1812.com (This site does not cover the NEMGTR tour activites.)
One other site which you can connect via your i-phone is the site: www.pbs.org/1812 This PBS site a joint venture between USA and Canada and is quite a venture!
The map below shows the tour area and a few of the cities that will be visited on the tour.
