Belleville played a crucial role in the War of 1812

By Tyson Leonard

BELLEVILLE, ON (28/06/12) Sharon White is the archivist for the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County. Photo by Tyson Leonard.

Belleville was never in the line of fire during the War of 1812 but the city still played an important role in the British victory.

Lindi Pierce is a local heritage writer researching how the War of 1812 affected the Hastings County region.

“This is one of the farming areas that they were relying on to provision troops as far west as the Niagara Peninsula,” said Pierce.

The other major farming area in Ontario at the time was the Niagara Peninsula. During the war it was expected the Niagara area would be damaged by enemy troops, said Pierce.

That left Hastings and Prince Edward Counties as the two closest farming areas able to supply troops.

This year is the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Celebrations and reenactments have already taken place in Belleville, Bath, and the Kingston areas. Some of Pierce’s research will be presented on posters during the Canada Day celebrations at Zwicks Park in Belleville.

Pierce said, on one day during the war, more than 6,000 troops and prisoners were provisioned at a site just south of Belleville.

Belleville may not have been the site of any battles during the War of 1812 but the city was still required to be ready.

At least one company of the Hastings Militia was based out of Belleville during the War of 1812, said Pierce.

The same company was also stationed in Kingston briefly to bolster defenses.

Many different factors caused the Belleville area to avoid armed conflict during the war.

“One of the things that made the area quiet was that there wasn’t a whole lot of road traffic in those days,” said Pierce.

Pierce said most of the major battles were fought on Lake Ontario or along the shores. Belleville access to the lake is limited as it is separated from Lake Ontario by Prince Edward County.

“It affected all of Canada as it was at that time,” said Sharon White, the archivist for the Community Archives of Belleville and Hastings County.

White said the war was important in the development of Canada and it’s important Canadians understand what happened.

“It’s important for us to understand the people around us, the places around us, not only at the current time, but through different times as well,” said White.

The community archives will have a booth with information on the War of 1812 at the Canada Day celebrations in Zwicks Park on July 1.