The Cornwall 1784 weekend event came to life in Lamoureux Park

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History came to life in Lamoureux Park last weekend as hundreds of re-enactors, historians and members of the general public descended on Cornwall to commemorate the 240th anniversary of the New Year.
Johnstown and Royal Townships, which is now known as the United Counties of SD&G.

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The event was organized by the SD&G Historical Society, whose president, Dona Cruickshank, said the weekend exceeded her expectations.

“We had people come from Ottawa, Montreal and SDG,” she said.

The celebration coincided with the 2024 conference of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, which was also held in Cornwall, so Cruickshank expected to attract a lot of interest from them. However, she was pleasantly surprised that there was so much interest from other people as well.

“There were people there who knew a lot about the local history, but we also had a lot of new Canadians who came to find out what it was all about,” Cruickshank said.

If there was anything bad about the weekend, it was definitely the weather. It rained, sometimes poured, intermittently throughout the event, but cleared long enough for the two biggest moments – Saturday’s opening ceremonies, which included a re-enactment of the Loyalist wharf and the draw to determine who received various terrain patches. , and Military Tactical Maneuvers Sunday, in which living historians dressed in period-appropriate clothing, depicted what battles looked like in the late 18th century.

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The park was dotted with dozens of tents that made up the heritage village. The tents were populated by various actors (or “living historians”) who strove to make everything as accurate as possible. One of them, Woodstock resident Marcio Da Cunha, a member of the Light Company of the King’s 8th Regiment of Foot, pointed out how the tents were made of linen cloth and secured with hemp rope and rough wood, as they would have been in the late the 1700s.

He even pointed out some nearby bush shelters, saying these were the dwellings where some people lived for more than a year after arriving in what would one day be Canada.

Although his regiment was not considered Loyalist – Da Cunha says the Loyalists were those escaping persecution in the United States while the regiment was the regular British army – they still played an essential role.
role in the settlement of the area.

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“The King’s Regiment stood for 19 years,” he said. “They fought to defend Quebec. They didn’t see it as a fight for the French, they saw it as defending their homeland from the Americans.”

Da Cunha’s regiment saw “action” on Sunday, taking part in a battle re-enactment. Their opponents were Butler’s Rangers, a group of American Loyalists mostly from New York and parts of Pennsylvania. The two would not have fought against each other in 1784 as they would have been considered allies, they were simply used as examples to show the crowd what war looked like at the time.

With a running commentary from Saratoga’s Paul Novotny, commander of the 24th Infantry Regiment, the various factions loaded their muskets, fired, advanced, reloaded, fired, until Butler’s Rangers retreated. Da Cunha said that the Kings 8th would have been considered victorious in that battle because they retained possession of the camp while their opponents abandoned their post.

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Saturday’s draw was also fascinating. The organizers of the event even arranged for a ship to dock in the park and on that ship were more than a dozen loyalists, all dressed in period clothing, who, one by one, got off the ship and drew their lots, to find out where he would have been destined to live (in several cases) for generations.

Looming above all was the Heritage Village tent, where a number of historical groups offered more detailed information. There was also a stage when historians talked about what life was like for almost a quarter
since a century ago. The topics of discussion were eclectic – everything from Loyalist dress and the Akwesasne story before 1784 to the role played by chocolate in the 18th century.

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The United Empire Loyalists mentioned above had a stand in the tent. Loyal member Michael Eamer, whose ancestor, Peter Eamer, drew lots for the land that became Eamer’s Corners in 1784, said Peter’s
the father, Philip, pulled a lot for land that was close to his son, but perhaps not close enough.

He explained that back then, loyalists could be persuaded to swap lots with each other so they could be closer to family. Peter Eamer was one of two wounded at the battle of Hoople’s Creek, between Long Sault and Ingleside. He was a lieutenant in the 1st Stormont Regiment.

Michael Eamer, a captain of the SDG Highlanders, has an EU to his name, meaning he can prove he is of Loyalist descent. At the 1784 event, he and fellow UEL members spoke about the book, A Guide to Tracing Loyalist Ancestors in Upper Canada.

“The book is getting some interest,” he said. “People talk to us and come to do their ancestors.”

He said that if you can prove the correct parentage, you can get a certificate to show it and, like him, you can earn the right to use the letters EU after your name as well.

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