Raiders of the Lost Floor

Fort Mississauga, located smack-dab in the middle of North America's oldest golf course.
I guess you could say it was there beFORE. *crickets*

Last summer, I was incredibly lucky to get a chance to swap my shako, bayonet and musket for a fedora, whip and revolver in my archaeological quest to seek the Forgotten Floor of Fort Mississauga!

Fort Mississauga was started in 1814, after Fort George had been all but completely destroyed by the Americans. The British realized that rebuilding it might lead to the same fate befalling it a second time, so they got smart and decided to fortify the mouth of the Niagara River. This would eventually become Fort Mississauga. The stone structure you see above is the only remaining building, used as a barracks in the fifty years between the War of 1812's conclusion and the British leaving in the 1870s.

As you can imagine, maintaining that kind of historical structure is no easy feat. In order to assess the stability of the building, Parks Canada first needed to ensure that no construction would destroy any of the original interior.

This is where I swung in to save the day.*

Working with official Parks Canada archaeologists, we needed to dig through the brick floor that had been laid down in the 1970s to see what was underneath. After breaking through the dirt and dust, we made some pretty awesome discoveries.

The second test-pit, which shows what is
believed to be an original wall

We had two test-pits to dig in two separate rooms. Mine and my co-worker Anne's started fairly uneventful (no snakes or Nazis lurking about) while the second test-pit almost immediately got results (see pic): one of the walls from the original powder magazine (there would have been some kind of door, hence the wall's short length).

Now I was determined to find something interesting before I left that day.

After several more hours of digging and sifting (which meant lugging two full buckets of dirt up and down two flights of stairs -- funny, they never show Indiana Jones doing that), we started to make some progress.

Our first find was a small group of nails, used presumably in the original floorboards. Neat, but not groundbreaking (no pun intended).

However, soon after we struck gold (sadly, not literally): a piece of canister shot, used in cannons (think a metal tin full of golf-ball sized projectiles). That seems to support the theory that the building's basement was used as a munitions and powder store.

A piece of canister shot

A piece of china

Our final big find of the day was especially neat to us at Fort George. We dug up a piece of china from some kind of plate or bowl. Of particular interest was the colour around its edge: green tint. This matched the design and colour of original china found at Fort George back in a 1970s archaeological dig. Obviously they weren't from the same set, but the green colour seems to indicate that the pattern was quite popular with the officers that could afford them.

All in all, not a bad day for my first foray into the world of Dr. Jones. It's days like this that make my job extra special -- it's one thing to talk about history all day long, but getting a chance to actually dig it up is amazing.

-J-

"Are you much hurt, sir?"

That handsome devil up there is performing one of the best parts of a Fort George visit: the musket demonstration.

The Short Land Pattern Tower Flintlock Smooth Bore Muzzle Loading Musket, or "Brown Bess" for short (the acronym SLPTFSBMLM never took off, for some reason), was the primary weapon of the British Army for almost 150 years. The AK-47 of its generation, if you will.

My favourite part of that video happens to be the guy either filming or close enough to be heard saying, "It's not as loud as a .50 cal[iber]." Well, bro, I'm not firing a live round, but that's still interesting considering I did mention musket is .75 caliber.

That's why Call of Duty doesn't have muskets. Kids these days are so hard to please.

Hollywood has done us a great disservice when it comes to portraying our time period. It's not "cool" or "fast-paced" enough to show Mel Gibson reloading his musket; nah, they just give him more. That's right -- to Hollywood, it's more practical for a man to carry multiple 10-pound guns than to reload one. (That entire scene -- nay, film -- makes me cringe.)

In my video, I'm not even trying to speed load -- I don't have the benefit of an enemy army shooting back at me -- and I can still reload in just under 20 seconds (my fastest personal best is 11). The standard for the British Army was 15 seconds.

Hollywood also glosses over the absolutely deplorable reliability of these things (unless it's for dramatic tension). See, these weapons misfired about 30% of the time. If it was raining, windy, humid, snowy, or just plain lazy, the weapon wouldn't fire thanks to its spark-dependent, flintlock mechanism. But it's more dramatic if Mel Gibson fires at the enemy in a torrential downpour, when in reality it would be one giant 'click'-fest.

But wait! Your damsel in distress is being held hostage by some nefarious ne'er-do-well!? Not a problem! That trusty Bess can easily fire across the battlefield and safely lodge the ball right between his eyes! Wait, what's that? These things could only fire accurately to about 50-75 yards?

Sorry, Mel. The good news is you'd put a hole clean through both of them, though. Huzzah!

-J-

A Very Brilliant Affair

"Gee, that puzzle was tough."
"Shut up."

First things first: GO CANADA!

Seems rather fitting to update during a time where Canada once again claims victory over the United States; both our men and women's hockey teams have done a fantastic job of representing our country.

Although hockey wasn't around 200 years ago (sadly) and the conflict was much bloodier, the result was largely the same -- of course, the British helped things immensely.

The Americans even released a video addressed to Team Canada, basically saying "bring it on."

We did.

It's not the first time Americans have underestimated us and it sure won't be the last.

Now, I'm not about to go on some kind of anti-American diatribe because that's terribly un-Canadian. I do understand not every single American tourist is this naive, but in my five years at Fort George, I have come across some real gems with tragically hilarious and skewed views of our true north strong and free.

So for our friends south of the border, here are some FAQs I've actually been asked before, in order to help you out:

Q: Are you [Canada] independent yet?
A: Why yes we are; depending on how you look at it, we're either younger or older than you, sir/ma'am.

Q: When was the fight for your freedom?
A: Sorry to disappoint, but not every British colony needed to punch its way to freedom. We just asked nicely. 

Q: Do you have to bow to the Queen every morning?
A: We started to, but it turns out she really hates it. And can't see it.

Q: Do I need my passport to get into Canada?
A: Wait, seriously? You're already at Fort George and you're asking this? Wow.

Q: Do y'all consider yourselves Americans? Since we're in North America?
A: I consider myself more of a Northern Hemispherian, to be honest.

I hope this helps in your travels and I look forward to answering more of your....um, questions this summer!

-J-

Over the Hills and Far Away

Welcome!

"Ptchew!"

Why hello there!

Welcome to A Redcoat Read, a blog dedicated to shamelessly and hilariously detailing, exploiting and educating folks about the War of 1812 and my time spent as a British redcoat!

But who am I? Why a red coat? And what the heck is the War of 1812? The answers to these and many more questions may (or may not) lie ahead...

First thing's first: I'm Jarrod and I'm an 1812-aholic (that suffix doesn't really translate well). Through this blog, I'll be sharing a wide variety of crazy stories, daring exploits and fun facts whilst simultaneously busting myths and raising awareness of the war that really did help shape Canada into the awesome country it is today.

Ever been to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.? If not, you should go. It's pretty nice.

If yes, have you been to Fort George? If not, you should go. It's pretty nice.

If yes, did you see the super-awesome folks dressed in period clothing? If not, you reeeeally weren't paying attention, were you?

If yes, welcome to my world!

First myth busted: I am NOT a reenactor. I do get paid to do what I do and it's a blast (pun shamelessly intended). I've been working at Fort George since 2009 and is, without a doubt, the greatest job I've had in my near-25 years. And boy, do I have some stories for you.

So if you've ever wondered what goes on in the world of historical interpretation (and be honest, who hasn't), then keep checking back for the aforementioned stories, exploits and facts.

Who knows; even here on the internet, you might just learn something...

-J-