WAR OF 1812 GRAND TACTICAL - Largest Re-enactment Event in North America Coming July 11 & 12
International Event at Crysler’s Farm Battlefield National Historic Site and World-renown Upper Canada Village Combine to Offer a Weekend Rich in Living History

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On July 11 and 12, 2009, the grounds of the Battle of Crysler’s Farm monument, adjacent to historic Upper Canada Village, will set the stage for North America’s largest War of 1812 re-enactment event, the GRAND TACTICAL. This signature international re-enactment event alternates each year between sites in Canada and the United States. For the first time ever, thanks to efforts of the Friends of Crysler’s Farm Battlefield, Eastern Ontario will play host to hundreds of re-enactors from all over North America who will be participating in this monumental event on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, just south of Ottawa.

The Grand Tactical was created to encourage wider participation in 1812 living history and to highlight the different regions in which the war was fought, making Crysler’s Farm Battlefield National Historic Site an ideal location for a re-enactment of this scale. The event is right next door to award-winning Upper Canada Village, where some special re-enactment activities will also be taking place. With the added bonus of nearby riverside camping facilities, the weekend is expected to draw thousands of tourists looking to take advantage of two world-class, premier living history experiences in one destination.

Hundreds of re-enactors portraying American and Anglo-Canadian armies and His Majesty's Mohawk Allies will take part in three battles during the weekend. Two of the battles will be showcased on Saturday and Sunday. A third battle will unfold inside Upper Canada Village on Saturday evening, after regular Village programming is finished, along with military musters, comedy and music acts, and English Country dancing.

Many of the units taking part in the Grand Tactical are re-creations of the actual regiments that fought on John Crysler's Farm on November 11, 1813. The rattle of musketry will be punctuated by the roar of cannons as the two armies depict engagements from the troubled times of the War of 1812, when armies from the new republic to the south invaded British North America seeking to make it the newest state.

In keeping with the greater scope of this year’s Grand Tactical re-enactment event, there will be an increase in civilian activities during the weekend. Chief among these will be a War of 1812 era re-enacted wedding on Saturday. All officers of the regiments that will be taking part in the re-enactment, and their escorts, will be invited. There will be limited seating for the public for the ceremony, but all visitors to the site can enjoy a grand finale after the ceremony when the couple emerge from the church to be greeted by an honour guard of scarlet-jacketed British soldiers and the musicians of the 15-member Corps of Drums of the Crown Forces. They will then travel in an open carriage, accompanied by their cavalry escort, to their wedding reception in the encampment near the Battle of Crysler’s Farm Battlefield Memorial. The happy couple feature Markus and Sonja Schneider, long-time historical re-enactors who will actually be renewing their vows for the occasion.

Throughout the weekend, the re-enacting soldiers will be joined by civilians portraying the camp life of those who accompanied armies of the period while they were on the march. The sprawling tented camps of the armies together with crafters, artisans and suttlers will combine to bring the largest-ever display of living history to an area that is no stranger to the heritage of this country.

“Events such as the War of 1812 Grand Tactical Re-enactment are exactly the kind of high-calibre attractions that we embrace, in order to entice new and repeat visitors to the area”, says Pat Macdonald, General Manager and CEO of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission which operates Upper Canada Village. “These events in turn help generate renewed interest and appeal in our own facilities and sites, creating new activity and revenue streams that contribute to the sustainability of our operations.”

With so much so see and do over the two-day period, the Friends of Crysler’s Farm Battlefield and Upper Canada Village are offering visitors value-added packages to entice them to not only partake in the battles of the Grand Tactical event and Upper Canada Village, but to add an overnight camping experience into the mix as well. Ready-made campsites (where a durable, well ventilated tent is already set up on a platform waiting for your arrival), will be available at nearby Crysler Park Marina on the shores of the St. Lawrence River.

Tickets to the Grand Tactical event are only $5 per battle for adults and $2 per battle for children. Grand Tactical Weekend Passes of $10 per adult and $4 per child (includes all three battles) are also available. For even more value, the cost of individual battle tickets can be applied against Upper Canada Village’s regular admission fees for those guests wishing to visit the Village as well, meaning visitors will save $5 each per day (or $10 off for the weekend) to visit the Village. “Ready-made” campsites for only $39.95 per site that weekend (will sleep up to four comfortably) can be booked ahead at (613)-543-3254. Seasoned campers with their own equipment can also camp nearby at Riverside-Cedar Campground … book online at www.stlawrenceparks.com or by calling 1-800-437-2233. Willards’ Hotel restaurant in Upper Canada Village will be open on Saturday for dinner leading up to the evening battle; spaces are limited, reserve ahead at 613-543-0660.

The Friends of Crysler's Farm Battlefield are a dedicated group of volunteers who aim to preserve the memory of the stirring victory of Joseph Wanton Morrison's Anglo-Canadian army on November 11, 1813, a crucial moment in the history of Upper Canada that marked the end of the most serious attempt of the time to invade Canada. The Friends work in partnership with Upper Canada Village and the St. Lawrence Parks Commission in creating the annual re-enactment event at Crysler’s Farm Battlefield National Historic Site.