Historic Hamilton: Battlefield House Museum
Historic Hamilton will be a series of caches that serve to bring cachers to historic places in and around the City of Hamilton. These caches can be placed by anyone, and are not limited to one CO. If you know of a historic place that you would like to bring people to, feel free to add it to the series!
Cache is a bison tube that has only a log. Please bring your own writing instrument to sign the logbook and replace as found. There is plenty of parking near GZ, off of King Street.
Battlefield House near King Street East and Centennial Parkway in Stoney Creek is a living history museum and site of the historic Battle of Stoney Creek on June 6, 1813, which was fought during the War of 1812. It was built in 1796. The house and 15.5 acres of parkland (Battlefield Park), were the property of the Women's Wentworth Historical Society, (1899-1962), and given by this society to the Niagara Parks Commission on January 19, 1962. The park was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1960.
This historic site is linked to the Bruce Trail.
Battlefield House, orginally built around 1794, was the home of Mary Gage and her two children who came to Upper Canada from New York State after the Revolutionary War. It was here that The Battle of Stoney Creek took place in 1813. It is here, in the 34 acres of park, herb garden and nature trails, that the re-enactment of this battle takes place every year in early June.
British units made a night attack on an American encampment. Due in large part to the capture of both American brigadier generals, and an overestimation of British strength by the Americans, the battle was a victory for the British, and a turning point in the defence of Upper Canada.
The Battlefield Monument is part of Battlefield Park. The Battlefield Monument is a 30.5-metre masonry structure which was completed in 1913 in the English Gothic Revival style. Along with the Gage House and the Nash-Jackson House, the Battlefield Monument is a focal point on the property.
The exterior of the structure and the scenic character of the 15-hectare property are protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement. The property is owned by the City of Hamilton and was designated by the former City of Stoney Creek under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act Stoney Creek Battlefield Park was designated a National Historic Site in 1960.
The property retains a pastoral character of fields and woods, and reflects the partial implementation of a 1920s plan by the prominent landscape firm of Dunington-Grubb. The hill to the south of the Gage House provides a natural podium for the monument and its observation decks to overlook the entire battlefield.
The Battlefield Monument is significant for its association with the Battle of Stoney Creek, one of the key battles of the War of 1812. The Battle of Stoney Creek, which occurred in the early morning hours of June 6, 1813, was the turning point in the war between the British and Americans, which ultimately led to British victory. In April 1813, American forces had sacked York, the capital of Upper Canada and captured Fort George, leaving much of the Niagara peninsula vulnerable to American control. On June 5, 1813, while in retreat at Burlington Heights, British Lieutenant-Colonel John Harvey learned that American troops had camped at the Gage farm on Stoney Creek and immediately mounted an attack. Despite being greatly outnumbered, the 700 British soldiers of the 8th and 49th Regiments attacked nearly 3000 American soldiers, capturing American Brigadier-Generals Chandler and Winder, and initiating a continuous period of American retreat. Strong British Imperial sentiment in Canada in the 1880s, and the 1884 centennial of the Loyalists arrival to Canada, led to an interest in commemorating the nation's history, and played a role in the early preservation movement in Canada. In 1888, the Wentworth Historical Society was formed, intent on commemorating the battle. An outgrowth of the group, known as the Women's Wentworth Historical Society, opened the Battlefield House Museum (Gage House) in 1899 and in 1900, commissioned plans for the design of an impressive monument. The Women's Wentworth Historical Society, which was largely responsible for the monument's completion in 1913, became known as one of the first all-women's cultural societies in Canada.
This site includes: Battlefield House, Battlefield Park, the Battlefield Monument, and The Nash-Jackson House. Across the road is the Battlefield Cemetery at Smith's Knoll.
Congratulations to JJCHO on the FTF!