A new exhibit at the Canadian War Museum will present the War of 1812 from four different points of view when it opens alongside the government’s bicentennial celebrations next June.
“Four Wars of 1812” will tell the story of the war through the eyes of Canada, Britain, the United States and North American natives in an effort to show how every side has its own version of history.
“For Canadians, this is the story of our survival,” says Peter MacLeod, the pre-Confederation historian at the museum.
“If Americans had won, we’d all be Americans, and we wouldn’t even be aware of it.”
The war is also a source of pride for Americans, who consider it a defining moment when they stood up to Britain on the world stage, says MacLeod.
At the time, Americans were unhappy with Britain for interfering with foreign trade and supporting native resistance to their expansion.
“One of our challenges is representing the Americans as sympathetically as we can and try to understand why they would invade Canada,” says MacLeod.
“We really hope American visitors will come to the museum and feel that their story is represented.”
Misconceptions about this war are common amongst Americans, says Alan Taylor, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of The Civil War Of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, and Indian Allies.
“Many Americans are surprised to learn that most of the war was an American invasion of Canada,” he says.
“It looks like a more honourable war as a defence against Britain.”
Representing the perspective of native Canadians and those from Quebec is also complicated.
While native alliances were essential to the defence of Canada, this role was downplayed after the war when Canada shifted its focus to acquiring native land, says Taylor.
“Native people can take pride in their contribution to the defence of Canada, but it is also a watershed moment in their relationship with other Canadians,” he says.
In Quebec, everything east of the city of Montreal was totally unaffected, says Beatrice Craig, a history professor at the University of Ottawa.
She says it is an exaggeration to tie national unity to the War of 1812 when Canada only existed back then as a grouping of British provinces independent of each other.
“It’s a very central-Canadian celebration,” says Craig.
“You can take anything you want and spin it to create a sense of nationhood.”
MacLeod says that despite the appearance of being less immediate, colonial wars have shaped Canada’s identity.
“It’s hard to believe that a little war 200 years ago could have had such a huge impact on us,” he says.
“It’s hard to wrap your mind around a war that might have left us all Americans.”
It is important to value and consider every historical point of view, says Richard Haynes, the museum site co-ordinator at Fort York in Toronto, the country’s last authentic fort from the War of 1812.
“A lot of people think there is one bland perspective,” he says. “As awareness heightens, you are going to get more interest and opinions. It’s all good.”
The exhibit is still in the planning stages, although it is expected to feature about 150 artifacts from the museum’s collection, including the tunic worn by Major-General Sir Isaac Brock when he was fatally wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights.