Old Fort Niagara hosting Battle of Queenston Heights programming

Rob Creenan, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Oct. 14—This weekend, Old Fort Niagara will put on events commemorating the anniversary of a major battle during the War of 1812.

Oct. 13 marked the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Queenston Heights, where more than 3,500 American soldiers crossed the Niagara River to take control of a part of the Niagara Escarpment overlooking Queenston, Ont. British reinforcements and their Native American allies forced an American surrender. Despite having three times the number of troops, the Americans suffered between 80 and 100 casualties and around 1,000 were taken prisoner.

Old Fort Niagara Executive Director Robert Emerson said that special tours will be going on that day, showcasing what was going on at the fort during that battle, mainly exchanging artillery fire with Fort George across the river. He described it as a sideshow compared to the main battle happening in Queenston, seven miles to the south.

"The fort had an important part to play," Emerson said, with the British fort and cannons situated higher than the American's. "The garrison had to abandon the fort, but the British were unable to capture the fort."

The demonstrations include "hot shots," where soldiers from back then would heat up the solid iron cannonballs in a fire so that if they hit a wooden target, like a fort or ship, it would set the wood on fire.

Emerson said the demonstration is something that guests do not see very often, only doing it a couple times per year.

The schedule for events is as follows:

—10 a.m., Flag raising

—11 a.m., Musket demonstration

—11:15 a.m., Tour "Fort Niagara during the Battle of Queenston Heights"

—12 p.m., "Hot Shot" demonstration

—1 p.m., Rank Firing musket demonstration

—1:15 p.m., Tour "Fort Niagara During the Battle of Queenston Heights:

—2 p.m., Cannon firing at Fort George

—3 p.m. Cannon firing at Fort George

—4 p.m. Musket firing

Old Fort Niagara will also be hosting the second of four weekends of its Lantern Tours, where guests are giving a lantern and are told true stories about unexplained phenomena at the fort over the years. Such stories include the headless ghost in the well, the wall of fog, the hobgoblin, and some recent events like visitors seeing soldiers they thought were employees when no one was really there.

This is the fifth year the fort is hosting these tours, which started on Oct. 8 and continue on Oct. 22 and 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with three groups of 30 guests each touring the fort. Emerson said the tour is a popular event given that it sells out within a couple of weeks of being announced.