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(wooden drawer creaks)
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Downloaded from
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Official YIFY movies site:
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(ink roller swishes)
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- [Snow] It's June, 1812.
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36 years after the
Declaration of Independence,
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the United States declares war on Britain,
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and invades her colony in upper Canada.
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(musket explodes)
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Britain is already locked
in a life and death struggle
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with Napoleon in Europe.
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Upper Canada is poorly defended,
and vulnerable to attack.
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A majority of its
population is American-born.
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U.S. politicians are
convinced they'll be welcomed
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with open arms, and former
President Thomas Jefferson
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declares "victory will be
a mere matter of marching".
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The odds are stacked in
favor of the United States,
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as the fate of North America
hangs in the balance.
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(yelling)
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(musket blast)
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Today, the War of 1812
is largely forgotten,
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but unfairly so.
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Rarely in history has there
been so much at stake.
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If the U.S. had managed to conquer Canada,
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today the United States
would extend unbroken
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from the warm waters
of the Gulf of Mexico,
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to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Circle.
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And the world today would
be a very different place.
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But this isn't what happens.
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One year into the war,
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the United States attacks York.
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The British defenders of Fort York
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detonate their Grand Magazine,
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an armory packed to the rafters
with much of the province's
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ammunition supply, nearly
30,000 pounds of gunpowder.
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Together with 10,000 cannonballs,
and 30,000 cartridges.
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(explosion)
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At the time it's one of
the biggest explosions
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ever witnessed in North America,
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and more than 250 American
soldiers are either killed
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or maimed by the blast.
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In the days that follow,
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the U.S. Army will wreck a bitter revenge
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on the civilian population,
who will come to see them,
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not as liberators, but as aggressors.
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A series of events is set
in motion that will not only
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change the outcome of the war,
but the destiny of a nation.
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21st Century Toronto stands
as a modern metropolis
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upon the northern shores of Lake Ontario,
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and today is home to
five million Canadians.
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Little now remains of the
muddy settlement it once was,
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a frontier town called York,
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that was the backwoods capital
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of the British province of Upper Canada.
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But buried in the heart
of the city is Fort York,
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an archaeological treasure trove,
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and one of the best
preserved 19th Century forts
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in the whole of North America.
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It was also the site of the explosion.
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- [Williamson] So for me, this
is like one of those places
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that should give any Canadian goosebumps.
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Symbolically, this is Ground
Zero in the War of 1812.
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- [Snow] Today, Dr. Ron
Williamson is leading a team
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of archaeologists in search of
the remains of the magazine,
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and the crater left by the explosion.
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Material evidence from the
crater could shed light
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on a little known and poorly
understood episode of the War.
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Why were so many U.S.
soldiers killed by the blast?
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Were they, as the Americans
would later claim,
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victims of a giant
improvised explosive device,
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deliberately detonated by the British,
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or were they the unintentional
collateral damage of war?
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It's a turning point in the conflict,
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and yet it has never been
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scientifically investigated until now.
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- [Williamson] As long
as I've been associated
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with Fort York, people
have talked about this.
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They've talked about this crater.
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And that kind of conversation
has never led to,
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"well, let's go see if we can find it".
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(laughs)
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So this is a unique effort here.
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To see if we can lay in a
trench to locate where it is.
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It's a little bit of a needle
in a haystack, quite frankly.
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- [Snow] Although the configuration
of the Fort has changed,
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there is still a clue
as to the whereabouts
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of the original Magazine,
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which was dug into the
embankment on the shoreline
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facing the lake.
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A military survey of the Fort from 1816,
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clearly shows the outline
of a massive crater
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buried into the side
of the Fort's ramparts.
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The gun emplacement
provides a rough coordinate.
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And so a trench is laid up the
side of the modern rampart,
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in the hope of intersecting it.
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Andy Robertshaw, a military historian,
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and Director of the Royal
Logistic Corp Museum in England,
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has been recruited to help interpret
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what the archaeologists uncover.
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- [Robertshore] This is the bit I love,
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because it's just like unpeeling an onion.
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You've got this nice green turf;
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what's underneath it isn't clear.
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You only know what it is when you find it.
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And right now they're finding things,
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what it is, I don't know.
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- We've got a real problem here.
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- [Snow] With the dig for
the Magazine barely begun,
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lead archaeologist Dave
Robertson has hit, not a crater,
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but an obstacle.
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- [Robertshaw] The problem
is that in going down,
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you hit basic groundwater.
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And what's that's doing, is
it's actually dissolving,
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as it were, the sand layer below that,
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which means that the walls
are being undermined,
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and it gets very dangerous.
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No one can go down there.
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- [Snow] After two centuries of landfill,
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the shoreline has shifted,
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leaving the modern fort high and dry.
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But originally, it stood
at the water's edge.
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A defensive bastion at the
mouth of a natural harbor,
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protecting the town to the east.
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Known as Muddy York, the
capital of Upper Canada
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was a remote outpost of British rule,
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clinging to the edge of the
North American wilderness.
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There were less than 800 inhabitants,
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many of whom were American-born.
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At the end of the American
Revolutionary War,
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a border was drawn between the new
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United States of America
and the remaining colonies
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of British North America.
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A small group of around 6000 refugees,
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known as Empire Loyalists
moved from the U.S. to make
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a new life in Upper
Canada, on the north side
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of St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes.
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But they were joined in the
years after the war by 40,000
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American-born immigrants attracted
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by the promise of free land.
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On the eve of the War of 1812,
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two-thirds of the
population of Upper Canada
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had been born in the United States.
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And the side that could
win the hearts and minds
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of these recently-arrived immigrants
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would have a massive advantage.
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- [Taylor] So you've got
these English-speaking people
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who are a majority in Upper
Canada, but they didn't
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call themselves Canadians
before the War of 1812.
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They usually called themselves Americans.
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There was a great deal of
anxiety among British officials
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that the people settled in
Upper Canada couldn't be trusted
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in the event of a war
against the United States.
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And that these people might
be closet supporters of
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a republican regime of
introducing the American system
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into Canada, and perhaps uniting Canada
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as part of the United States.
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- [Snow] In June, 1812, the
United States declares war
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against Britain and invades Canada.
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For the U.S, the British
Empire and her native allies
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represent the biggest obstacle
to it's expansion west
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and north across the continent.
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And more than 30 years
after the Revolution,
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U.S. President James Madison
and the republican war horse
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believe they still have
unfinished business with their
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erstwhile Colonial rulers.
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- [Taylor] The leaders of the
United States believed that
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it was a continuation of the Revolution.
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They believed that the British
Empire had never accepted
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American independence.
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- [Snow] Government House
at Fort York was the command
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center of the province
and the headquarters
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of British power in Upper Canada.
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The man in charge was Issac
Brock, a charismatic leader
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and inspirational
general who had mobilized
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the British war effort
against the American invasion.
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Today no visible trace
of the building remains,
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and for the first time in
200 years, Dr. Ron Williamson
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is trying to trace the
ghost of it's footprint
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using the latest in
ground-penetrating radar.
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00:09:45,296 --> 00:09:49,156
As the GPR penetrates
deeper, it detects anomalies,
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tell-tale variations in the subsoil,
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which to the trained eye are indicative
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of a building's foundations.
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If his hunch is right,
Ron may have located
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Brock's lost headquarters.
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As the seat of Executive Power
and the official residence
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of the King's Representative,
this was the equivalent
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in Upper Canada of the White House.
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- [Williamson] I'm standing in what was
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probably Government House.
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Now that, is a real cool moment.
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We're talking about Sir Issac Brock
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having been in this building.
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We're talking about
possibly finding materials
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this guy held in his hand.
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So am I excited?
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You bet.
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- [Snow] But he'll only
know for sure by digging.
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Within months of the outbreak of war,
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British hopes will be
dealt a terrible blow
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when Brock is killed on the battlefield.
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But even though the British lose
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00:10:46,825 --> 00:10:50,015
their inspirational General
in the first year of the war,
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00:10:50,015 --> 00:10:52,209
American attempts to conquer Upper Canada
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will fail miserably.
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00:10:55,333 --> 00:10:57,510
By year two, the U.S.
government is desperate
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for a quick and easy victory,
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00:11:00,090 --> 00:11:02,853
and decides to attack the
poorly defended capital
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00:11:02,853 --> 00:11:05,982
of Upper Canada.
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00:11:05,982 --> 00:11:07,506
And it's a decision that
will have repercussions
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well beyond the woods of Muddy York.
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00:11:13,418 --> 00:11:15,267
Ten-year-old Patrick Finan is the son
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00:11:15,267 --> 00:11:18,660
of the Quartermaster of the
Royal Newfoundland Fencibles,
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00:11:18,660 --> 00:11:21,200
a home-grown North American
regiment which is part
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00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,369
of a small British garrison at Fort York,
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00:11:24,369 --> 00:11:29,179
a lonely and isolated
outpost of the Empire.
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00:11:38,632 --> 00:11:41,456
The garrison at York,
numbering about 400 regulars,
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00:11:41,456 --> 00:11:46,307
is commanded after Brock's
death by General Sheaffe.
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00:11:47,754 --> 00:11:49,501
There'a a smaller number of militia,
220
00:11:49,501 --> 00:11:51,330
the citizen army of York,
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00:11:51,330 --> 00:11:53,199
under the command of Aeneas Shaw,
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00:11:53,199 --> 00:11:56,531
who in this time of crisis
had been pressed into service
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00:11:56,531 --> 00:11:59,980
to defend the Empire.
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00:12:01,590 --> 00:12:04,150
As an adult, Patrick Finan
will write his memoirs,
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00:12:04,150 --> 00:12:06,527
including his recollection
of those dramatic days
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00:12:06,527 --> 00:12:08,934
of his boyhood.
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00:12:08,934 --> 00:12:10,762
- [Voiceover] (as Finan)
"Having been born and brought up
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00:12:10,762 --> 00:12:13,342
"in the British army, my ideas ran early
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00:12:13,342 --> 00:12:16,898
"upon military exploits, scenes of war,
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00:12:16,898 --> 00:12:18,706
"and conquered enemies.
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00:12:18,706 --> 00:12:22,688
"My youthful heart was big
with war-like achievements.
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00:12:22,688 --> 00:12:27,686
"Upon this occasion, however,
I was to witness the reality.
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00:12:27,686 --> 00:12:30,998
"The storm of war was brooding at hand."
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00:12:30,998 --> 00:12:33,395
- [Snow] 27th of April, 1813.
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00:12:33,395 --> 00:12:35,082
From the ramparts of Fort York,
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00:12:35,082 --> 00:12:37,296
ten-year-old Patrick Finan spies
237
00:12:37,296 --> 00:12:40,948
the American fleet bearing down.
238
00:12:45,565 --> 00:12:49,994
14 ships, 1800 American soldiers.
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00:12:49,994 --> 00:12:52,676
Their sights set on
York, the British capital
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00:12:52,676 --> 00:12:56,186
of Upper Canada.
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00:12:56,821 --> 00:12:59,238
General Sheaffe, commander
of the British garrison,
242
00:12:59,238 --> 00:13:04,238
gives the order to intercept
the Americans as they land.
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00:13:07,386 --> 00:13:08,889
- [Robertshaw] From his position,
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00:13:08,889 --> 00:13:11,185
what the General can see,
is that the Americans
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00:13:11,185 --> 00:13:13,765
are going to land down the lake shore.
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00:13:13,765 --> 00:13:16,447
The people he sends are
actually the grenadiers
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00:13:16,447 --> 00:13:20,226
of the 8th Regiment of
Foot, under Captain McNeale.
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00:13:20,226 --> 00:13:22,258
And he sends them along,
as quickly as they can,
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00:13:22,258 --> 00:13:24,147
to make their way to the landing place
250
00:13:24,147 --> 00:13:26,951
to give him time to
organize his forces and
251
00:13:26,951 --> 00:13:31,436
to cut off the American
column as it comes toward him.
252
00:13:32,111 --> 00:13:34,570
- [Snow] The first wave of
American soldiers comes ashore
253
00:13:34,570 --> 00:13:36,805
two kilometers west of the Fort.
254
00:13:36,805 --> 00:13:39,222
And it's here, in the woods,
that the British mean to
255
00:13:39,222 --> 00:13:42,915
cut them off as they land.
256
00:13:49,096 --> 00:13:51,900
Outnumbered by more than
four-to-one, they know that
257
00:13:51,900 --> 00:13:56,900
this is where the battle for
York will be won or lost.
258
00:13:58,280 --> 00:13:59,925
On the flank, the grenadiers are supported
259
00:13:59,925 --> 00:14:04,619
by a small band of Mississaugas
and Ojibwa warriors.
260
00:14:04,619 --> 00:14:06,630
Like many native tribes in this war,
261
00:14:06,630 --> 00:14:08,580
they have rallied to the British cause,
262
00:14:08,580 --> 00:14:11,242
believing the British Empire
to be their best defense
263
00:14:11,242 --> 00:14:14,005
against aggressive
American expansion westward
264
00:14:14,005 --> 00:14:17,296
through their lands.
265
00:14:17,296 --> 00:14:19,369
But it's an alliance that is abhorrent
266
00:14:19,369 --> 00:14:23,082
to politicians in the States.
267
00:14:24,001 --> 00:14:25,748
- [Taylor] Americans regarded
the British as essentially
268
00:14:25,748 --> 00:14:29,040
race traitors because here
they are, they're white people,
269
00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,514
but they're making alliances
with Indian peoples to stop
270
00:14:32,514 --> 00:14:35,805
American expansion, and
in the American view,
271
00:14:35,805 --> 00:14:40,803
to promote these Indian attacks
on American farm families.
272
00:14:40,803 --> 00:14:44,582
So there's a great deal of
anger in the United States,
273
00:14:44,582 --> 00:14:47,447
particularly among Republicans,
towards the British
274
00:14:47,447 --> 00:14:50,479
for this Indian alliance.
275
00:14:50,951 --> 00:14:53,003
- [Snow] And no one in Upper
Canada would feel the brunt
276
00:14:53,003 --> 00:14:56,375
of this anger more than men
such as Major James Givins,
277
00:14:56,375 --> 00:14:58,509
the Indian Superintendent.
278
00:14:58,509 --> 00:15:00,622
For the likes of him,
the American invaders
279
00:15:00,622 --> 00:15:03,922
have sworn no mercy,
promising that any white man
280
00:15:03,922 --> 00:15:06,523
caught fighting alongside Native warriors
281
00:15:06,523 --> 00:15:10,460
will face execution.
282
00:15:11,379 --> 00:15:14,300
(muskets explode)
283
00:15:14,873 --> 00:15:17,860
At 7:20 A.M. the vanguard
of the British grenadiers
284
00:15:17,860 --> 00:15:22,345
engages with the first wave
of the American landing force.
285
00:15:23,467 --> 00:15:26,794
(musket shots and yells)
286
00:15:38,238 --> 00:15:40,757
- This battle wasn't decided
on the open battlefield,
287
00:15:40,757 --> 00:15:42,687
it was decided in the woods.
288
00:15:42,687 --> 00:15:46,019
They don't just come up
against the normal fighters
289
00:15:46,019 --> 00:15:48,843
they might have expected,
blue-coated Americans
290
00:15:48,843 --> 00:15:51,688
with regular muskets and smooth-bore.
291
00:15:51,688 --> 00:15:56,688
Instead, it's Major Forsyth,
and his green-coated riflemen.
292
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,844
Major Forsyth's men have
a very bad reputation
293
00:15:59,844 --> 00:16:01,571
in the American army.
294
00:16:01,571 --> 00:16:04,131
They have no interest in discipline.
295
00:16:04,131 --> 00:16:06,671
They're very good at
killing their opponents.
296
00:16:06,671 --> 00:16:09,738
His men are absolutely
masters of their arts,
297
00:16:09,738 --> 00:16:11,973
and their art is not fully firing.
298
00:16:11,973 --> 00:16:14,269
It's not standing up,
shoulder-to-shoulder,
299
00:16:14,269 --> 00:16:16,098
firing in the standard way.
300
00:16:16,098 --> 00:16:18,576
It's actually using cover.
301
00:16:18,576 --> 00:16:22,640
A Major Forsyth-man are wearing
green uniforms, camouflage,
302
00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:25,179
and they're in woodland,
and very importantly,
303
00:16:25,179 --> 00:16:27,516
they're armed, not with
smooth-bore muskets,
304
00:16:27,516 --> 00:16:29,304
but with rifle weapons.
305
00:16:29,304 --> 00:16:30,787
They're crack shots.
306
00:16:30,787 --> 00:16:33,931
(musket shots)
307
00:16:36,963 --> 00:16:40,600
What Forsyth's men are doing
is deliberately looking
308
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,140
for targets, the person pointing,
309
00:16:43,140 --> 00:16:45,212
the person that everybody's looking at,
310
00:16:45,212 --> 00:16:47,447
is clearly a senior man.
311
00:16:47,447 --> 00:16:52,034
Kill him, and you cut off
the head of the snake.
312
00:16:54,652 --> 00:16:57,293
Captain McNeale was well-liked by his men.
313
00:16:57,293 --> 00:16:59,467
He led by example, he led from the front,
314
00:16:59,467 --> 00:17:02,637
so when they set off, he actually
would have directed them,
315
00:17:02,637 --> 00:17:04,953
not saying "go there lads, go there lads,"
316
00:17:04,953 --> 00:17:07,969
but "follow me", getting in close.
317
00:17:07,969 --> 00:17:11,260
Unfortunately, as they do
get close to the enemy,
318
00:17:11,260 --> 00:17:14,023
the way that he's behaving
attracts the attention
319
00:17:14,023 --> 00:17:16,904
of Forsyth's riflemen
320
00:17:17,579 --> 00:17:20,378
(musket shot)
321
00:17:21,744 --> 00:17:25,112
and a bullet through his brain
ends his military career.
322
00:17:27,169 --> 00:17:29,302
- [Snow] Outgunned and
outnumbered, the British regulars
323
00:17:29,302 --> 00:17:31,435
are now in desperate
need of reinforcements
324
00:17:31,435 --> 00:17:34,523
from the militia, under the
command of local landowner
325
00:17:34,523 --> 00:17:37,932
Aeneas Shaw.
326
00:17:40,090 --> 00:17:42,447
- The British lose their officers.
327
00:17:42,447 --> 00:17:45,982
Lose cohesion, and as
for where Aeneas Shaw
328
00:17:45,982 --> 00:17:48,786
is in the militia, is he
going to fall on the flank
329
00:17:48,786 --> 00:17:51,793
of the advancing Americans
and cause them a problem?
330
00:17:51,793 --> 00:17:53,642
Is he going to cut them off from the rear?
331
00:17:53,642 --> 00:17:54,637
Nobody knows.
332
00:17:54,637 --> 00:17:57,186
He just doesn't appear on the battlefield.
333
00:17:57,186 --> 00:18:00,538
- [Snow] 200 years later,
what Shaw did or did not do
334
00:18:00,538 --> 00:18:03,159
remains one of the great
unanswered questions
335
00:18:03,159 --> 00:18:06,305
of the Battle for York.
336
00:18:08,848 --> 00:18:11,794
Doctor Ron Williamson traces
what may have been his route
337
00:18:11,794 --> 00:18:16,076
through the woods, now
modern-day Queen Street.
338
00:18:19,311 --> 00:18:21,526
As the British grenadiers
and their Native allies
339
00:18:21,526 --> 00:18:23,934
stare defeat in the face,
340
00:18:25,703 --> 00:18:28,176
Aeneas Shaw, local
landowner and Major-General
341
00:18:28,176 --> 00:18:33,176
of the militia now makes his
own cool and calculated choice.
342
00:18:33,824 --> 00:18:36,282
With orders to act
according to circumstances,
343
00:18:36,282 --> 00:18:38,131
he leads his men through the woods
344
00:18:38,131 --> 00:18:40,406
along what is now Queen Street.
345
00:18:40,406 --> 00:18:43,637
By coincidence, or design,
this also happens to be
346
00:18:43,637 --> 00:18:46,400
where his house is.
347
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,951
- [Voiceover] Next stop, Shaw Street.
348
00:18:55,539 --> 00:18:59,270
- So the battle is waging
south of Queen Street.
349
00:18:59,270 --> 00:19:01,566
Here we are, about a half
a block up, and this is
350
00:19:01,566 --> 00:19:05,528
Givens-Shaw School, and
somewhere on this property
351
00:19:05,528 --> 00:19:10,528
is actually, was actually,
Shaw's house, his estate.
352
00:19:11,663 --> 00:19:14,447
The suspicion is that maybe
Shaw brought the militia
353
00:19:14,447 --> 00:19:18,104
to this property to protect his own house.
354
00:19:18,104 --> 00:19:21,883
And that's something that
might be completely consistent
355
00:19:21,883 --> 00:19:24,016
with how the citizenry at that time,
356
00:19:24,016 --> 00:19:25,235
and certainly the militia,
357
00:19:25,235 --> 00:19:28,969
would have seen their responsibility.
358
00:19:29,441 --> 00:19:31,208
- [Snow] Neither Shaw, nor his militia,
359
00:19:31,208 --> 00:19:33,849
will make an appearance
on the battlefield.
360
00:19:33,849 --> 00:19:35,637
Even though, on the neighboring property,
361
00:19:35,637 --> 00:19:38,746
at James Givins' house,
casualties from the woods
362
00:19:38,746 --> 00:19:40,960
are beginning to stream in.
363
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,297
And on the kitchen table, Givins' wife,
364
00:19:43,297 --> 00:19:47,579
a seamstress, must stitch their wounds.
365
00:19:54,004 --> 00:19:57,824
By midday, the battle
in the woods is lost.
366
00:19:57,824 --> 00:20:01,095
The main body of the American
army now advances on Fort York
367
00:20:01,095 --> 00:20:04,000
under the command of General Zebulon Pike,
368
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,438
famous explorer of the American west,
369
00:20:06,438 --> 00:20:10,456
and posterboy of the U.S. Army.
370
00:20:13,325 --> 00:20:15,581
Around midday, they reach an open field
371
00:20:15,581 --> 00:20:20,253
which 200 years later has
become the Fort's parking lot.
372
00:20:20,253 --> 00:20:24,068
Here, Ron's team have
opened a third trench.
373
00:20:26,003 --> 00:20:27,913
- This is the commons
in front of the Fort,
374
00:20:27,913 --> 00:20:29,863
but this is also battleground.
375
00:20:29,863 --> 00:20:33,236
Because the Americans came
ashore a couple of miles
376
00:20:33,236 --> 00:20:35,999
further west, they worked their
way through the exhibition
377
00:20:35,999 --> 00:20:38,742
grounds, there's fighting,
there's skirmishing,
378
00:20:38,742 --> 00:20:41,810
they make their way and
there's actually battle
379
00:20:41,810 --> 00:20:44,471
in this area as well,
and into the Fort proper
380
00:20:44,471 --> 00:20:46,503
on the other side.
381
00:20:46,503 --> 00:20:48,768
(rocks scratching)
382
00:20:48,768 --> 00:20:51,145
- [Snow] The American column
is standing approximately
383
00:20:51,145 --> 00:20:54,762
half a kilometer to the west of the Fort.
384
00:20:54,762 --> 00:20:57,505
Unknown to General Pike, the
fort has now been largely
385
00:20:57,505 --> 00:20:59,374
abandoned by the British,
386
00:20:59,374 --> 00:21:02,381
and in the woods to the
north, the townsfolk of York
387
00:21:02,381 --> 00:21:05,810
are fleeing in panic.
388
00:21:14,977 --> 00:21:17,253
- So here we are at the
intersection of Queen and Bathurst.
389
00:21:17,253 --> 00:21:19,285
We're right downtown
Toronto, but 200 years ago,
390
00:21:19,285 --> 00:21:21,580
this was the north edge of the city.
391
00:21:21,580 --> 00:21:24,608
And in April of 1813, when
the Americans invaded,
392
00:21:24,608 --> 00:21:27,533
what they had to do was
evacuate the women and children
393
00:21:27,533 --> 00:21:29,849
from down near the lake,
down near the Fort,
394
00:21:29,849 --> 00:21:31,475
bring them north of the city,
395
00:21:31,475 --> 00:21:34,177
and bring them up to north,
probably north of Queen Street.
396
00:21:34,177 --> 00:21:36,574
Little Patrick Finan
wanted to see what happened
397
00:21:36,574 --> 00:21:39,276
to his father, his father's
involved in the battle,
398
00:21:39,276 --> 00:21:41,288
and you can imagine the chaos as all these
399
00:21:41,288 --> 00:21:43,259
women and children move north.
400
00:21:43,259 --> 00:21:45,554
He slips away unnoticed
and he begins to head down
401
00:21:45,554 --> 00:21:49,308
towards the Fort, along this way.
402
00:21:51,385 --> 00:21:53,803
- [Snow] As Patrick
Finan heads into danger,
403
00:21:53,803 --> 00:21:58,273
the commander of the British
army makes a fateful decision.
404
00:21:58,273 --> 00:22:01,300
The Grand Magazine at Fort
York is a weapons dump,
405
00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:03,027
crammed with explosives.
406
00:22:03,027 --> 00:22:06,704
Up to 300 barrels of black
powder, together with cannon
407
00:22:06,704 --> 00:22:09,570
and musket balls.
408
00:22:09,570 --> 00:22:12,373
To prevent it from
falling into enemy hands,
409
00:22:12,373 --> 00:22:16,152
General Sheaffe gives the
order to detonate the lot.
410
00:22:16,152 --> 00:22:18,972
(explosion)
411
00:22:25,579 --> 00:22:27,144
- [Voiceover] (as Finan)
"I heard the report,
412
00:22:27,144 --> 00:22:29,683
"and felt a tremendous
motion in the earth,
413
00:22:29,683 --> 00:22:33,072
"resembling an earthquake."
414
00:22:34,864 --> 00:22:37,018
- [Snow] Closer to the
blast, Pike sees the flash
415
00:22:37,018 --> 00:22:40,284
of the explosion.
416
00:22:41,366 --> 00:22:43,499
Traveling at more than
500 meters a second,
417
00:22:43,499 --> 00:22:46,770
it hurls the Americans back 20 meters.
418
00:22:46,770 --> 00:22:51,402
And as the shock wave slices
through soft human tissue,
419
00:22:51,402 --> 00:22:55,892
eardrums burst, lungs
hemorrhage, guts rupture,
420
00:22:55,892 --> 00:22:59,362
brains are traumatized.
421
00:23:00,281 --> 00:23:03,836
The shock wave is a unique
signature of the explosion.
422
00:23:03,836 --> 00:23:06,173
Death will follow in
its wake, and it defines
423
00:23:06,173 --> 00:23:08,936
the scope and extent of the killing zone,
424
00:23:08,936 --> 00:23:13,380
deciding who will die and who won't.
425
00:23:17,936 --> 00:23:20,415
In order to understand what
happened to the American
426
00:23:20,415 --> 00:23:22,447
column when the Magazine blew,
427
00:23:22,447 --> 00:23:25,880
Andy decides to recreate the shock wave.
428
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:29,801
And to do so, he's recruited
the help of explosives expert
429
00:23:29,801 --> 00:23:33,366
Professor Bibhu Mohanty.
430
00:23:33,366 --> 00:23:35,520
- [Robertshaw] We've come a
long way from civilization.
431
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,328
We've come out, actually, onto the rock
432
00:23:37,328 --> 00:23:39,583
of the Canadian shield,
where we've actually got
433
00:23:39,583 --> 00:23:41,554
explosives set up over there.
434
00:23:41,554 --> 00:23:46,349
We've then got sensors, and
over here high-speed cameras.
435
00:23:46,349 --> 00:23:48,015
The only way we're going to detect it,
436
00:23:48,015 --> 00:23:49,579
is not by looking at it,
437
00:23:49,579 --> 00:23:51,408
it's actually getting those
camera to be able to slow
438
00:23:51,408 --> 00:23:55,593
down sufficiently to see
whether it's possible,
439
00:23:55,593 --> 00:23:58,295
with the experiment to
spot that shock wave
440
00:23:58,295 --> 00:24:01,297
as it comes through.
441
00:24:01,790 --> 00:24:03,578
- [Snow] Five kilograms of high explosive
442
00:24:03,578 --> 00:24:06,259
are laid directly onto the bedrock,
443
00:24:06,259 --> 00:24:08,068
minimizing the amount
of debris that will be
444
00:24:08,068 --> 00:24:10,973
thrown into the air, and
maximizing the chances
445
00:24:10,973 --> 00:24:15,052
of capturing the shock wave on camera.
446
00:24:20,197 --> 00:24:23,118
- [Man] Site is clear.
447
00:24:27,023 --> 00:24:29,035
- [Snow] When viewed at a quarter speed,
448
00:24:29,035 --> 00:24:31,331
the shock wave is just visible,
449
00:24:31,331 --> 00:24:34,881
but gone in the blink of an eye.
450
00:24:36,430 --> 00:24:37,832
- That felt, it was like lightning
451
00:24:37,832 --> 00:24:39,315
into the stomach basically.
452
00:24:39,315 --> 00:24:41,977
You felt it through here, really high up,
453
00:24:41,977 --> 00:24:45,309
so it must just be compressing
the air in your lungs.
454
00:24:45,309 --> 00:24:47,828
Well I was down on the ground
and you felt it through
455
00:24:47,828 --> 00:24:50,993
the ground as well.
456
00:24:51,891 --> 00:24:53,781
- [Snow] It's a phantom
of explosive energy,
457
00:24:53,781 --> 00:24:57,805
barely detectable.
458
00:24:57,805 --> 00:25:00,007
When slowed down nearly 30 times
459
00:25:00,007 --> 00:25:05,007
the shape of the shock
wave begins to materialize.
460
00:25:07,931 --> 00:25:10,917
And when seen slowed
down more than 200 times,
461
00:25:10,917 --> 00:25:15,042
it's full nature is revealed.
462
00:25:15,042 --> 00:25:17,460
An airborne tsunami of destructive power,
463
00:25:17,460 --> 00:25:22,460
radiating outwards from the
epicenter of the explosion.
464
00:25:22,629 --> 00:25:25,657
And it's the energy of this
shock wave that will propel
465
00:25:25,657 --> 00:25:30,657
lethal amounts of debris
up and out of the Magazine.
466
00:25:36,851 --> 00:25:39,249
We have at least 18 different
eyewitness for this event,
467
00:25:39,249 --> 00:25:41,727
and they paint a vivid picture.
468
00:25:41,727 --> 00:25:44,186
They talk about a huge cloud of debris,
469
00:25:44,186 --> 00:25:46,116
rocks as big as two fists,
470
00:25:46,116 --> 00:25:50,484
timbers, rafters, clay,
and even men blasted
471
00:25:50,484 --> 00:25:54,339
far into the sky.
472
00:25:55,523 --> 00:25:58,387
One eyewitness says it
took at least 30 seconds
473
00:25:58,387 --> 00:26:01,435
before what he calls
"this infernal shower"
474
00:26:01,435 --> 00:26:05,189
to come crashing back down to earth.
475
00:26:10,293 --> 00:26:12,995
- General Pike says to
one of the bystanders
476
00:26:12,995 --> 00:26:16,205
that his back's been stoved
in, along with his ribs.
477
00:26:16,205 --> 00:26:18,318
He's probably been hit by falling debris
478
00:26:18,318 --> 00:26:20,025
as he lay on the floor.
479
00:26:20,025 --> 00:26:21,163
He doesn't die at once,
480
00:26:21,163 --> 00:26:24,759
but he dies as he's taken
away for treatments.
481
00:26:24,759 --> 00:26:29,200
And around him are men
with very similar injuries.
482
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,184
About 25 American soldiers
are killed immediately,
483
00:26:32,184 --> 00:26:36,024
but 200 are wounded, the whole area
484
00:26:36,024 --> 00:26:41,024
is a scene of devastation,
debris, and bodies.
485
00:26:44,313 --> 00:26:49,072
- [Snow] 200 years after the
explosion of the Grand Magazine
486
00:26:49,072 --> 00:26:52,754
evidence is unearthed in the
parking lot of Fort York.
487
00:26:52,754 --> 00:26:55,375
A copper barrel hoop,
which fell to the ground
488
00:26:55,375 --> 00:26:57,041
near to the spot where Pike
489
00:26:57,041 --> 00:27:01,018
and the American army were standing.
490
00:27:05,127 --> 00:27:07,220
- That's, that's just twisted to pieces.
491
00:27:07,220 --> 00:27:10,958
So that came to rest where on the site?
492
00:27:10,958 --> 00:27:13,568
- [Woman] Right here.
493
00:27:13,568 --> 00:27:16,514
- Oh, that's incredible.
494
00:27:16,514 --> 00:27:18,647
What I've got in my hand is, apparently,
495
00:27:18,647 --> 00:27:20,455
random treated copper.
496
00:27:20,455 --> 00:27:23,158
You'd think it was a bit
of scrap from a scrap yard,
497
00:27:23,158 --> 00:27:24,356
but it's not.
498
00:27:24,356 --> 00:27:27,485
What it is, is a section
of a small piece of one of
499
00:27:27,485 --> 00:27:29,253
the barrel bands that held together
500
00:27:29,253 --> 00:27:31,223
the gunpowder barrels.
501
00:27:31,223 --> 00:27:34,129
And this thing has gone
from where it started off,
502
00:27:34,129 --> 00:27:38,761
and fallen through the sky to end up here.
503
00:27:38,761 --> 00:27:41,301
Which is way outside the Fort,
504
00:27:41,301 --> 00:27:43,739
and it's exactly the kind
of thing I hoped I might
505
00:27:43,739 --> 00:27:46,603
see, but not like this.
506
00:27:46,603 --> 00:27:49,484
(explosion)
507
00:27:53,389 --> 00:27:55,929
- [Snow] When the Magazine
blows, death rains down
508
00:27:55,929 --> 00:27:59,667
in all directions, but not equally so.
509
00:27:59,667 --> 00:28:03,162
The American column is up
to half a kilometer west
510
00:28:03,162 --> 00:28:04,807
of the Magazine.
511
00:28:04,807 --> 00:28:06,961
But standing just paces
from the epicenter of
512
00:28:06,961 --> 00:28:09,826
the explosion, at the
Government House battery,
513
00:28:09,826 --> 00:28:11,817
are George Dugan and more than a dozen
514
00:28:11,817 --> 00:28:14,763
other York volunteers, all but one of whom
515
00:28:14,763 --> 00:28:19,050
will survive the blast
comparatively unscathed.
516
00:28:19,050 --> 00:28:22,117
What appears to be the
asymmetry of the killing zone,
517
00:28:22,117 --> 00:28:24,616
the disproportionate
number of U.S. causalities,
518
00:28:24,616 --> 00:28:27,867
and the directionality of
the blast, will all lead the
519
00:28:27,867 --> 00:28:30,935
Americans to accuse the
British of springing
520
00:28:30,935 --> 00:28:34,195
a gigantic booby trap.
521
00:28:34,195 --> 00:28:38,238
For 200 years, it's an
accusation that has been untested
522
00:28:38,238 --> 00:28:41,117
and unproven, until now.
523
00:28:44,169 --> 00:28:47,237
In an unconfined explosion,
the shock wave radiates
524
00:28:47,237 --> 00:28:50,406
destructive energy
equally in all directions.
525
00:28:50,406 --> 00:28:53,129
But this isn't what happened at York.
526
00:28:53,129 --> 00:28:55,445
So Andy rigs up a second experiment.
527
00:28:55,445 --> 00:28:58,289
This time confining the
explosion within a scaled down
528
00:28:58,289 --> 00:28:59,976
model of the Grand Magazine,
529
00:28:59,976 --> 00:29:02,231
to see if he can
replicate what happened on
530
00:29:02,231 --> 00:29:06,446
April the 27th, 1813.
531
00:29:06,446 --> 00:29:08,559
- [Robertshaw] This is
experimental archaeology.
532
00:29:08,559 --> 00:29:11,901
This is about what we can
prove by trying it out.
533
00:29:11,901 --> 00:29:14,360
Nobody has done this before.
534
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,493
What happens when you blow up a Magazine,
535
00:29:16,493 --> 00:29:18,565
with a doorway like this?
536
00:29:18,565 --> 00:29:20,983
Will we find it comes right up,
537
00:29:20,983 --> 00:29:23,766
drops down again, or does
it go in a direction?
538
00:29:23,766 --> 00:29:27,215
And if so, what is that
direction going to be?
539
00:29:27,231 --> 00:29:28,592
- [Snow] The experiment is designed
540
00:29:28,592 --> 00:29:31,436
by Professor Bibhu Mohanty,
one of North America's
541
00:29:31,436 --> 00:29:36,324
leading experts on the
science of explosives.
542
00:29:36,324 --> 00:29:38,478
In order to document the explosion,
543
00:29:38,478 --> 00:29:40,347
and to map the debris field,
544
00:29:40,347 --> 00:29:42,704
four remotely controlled
cameras have been set up
545
00:29:42,704 --> 00:29:45,812
around the replica Magazine.
546
00:29:45,812 --> 00:29:47,803
Two high-speed cameras
are a hundred meters
547
00:29:47,803 --> 00:29:51,623
in front of the Magazine
at a 30-degree angle.
548
00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:55,341
A third is 50 meters
closer, at 45 degrees,
549
00:29:55,341 --> 00:29:58,165
and a normal-speed camera
is positioned just 5 meters
550
00:29:58,165 --> 00:30:01,964
behind the Magazine itself.
551
00:30:01,964 --> 00:30:05,154
10 kilograms of high
explosive have been laid.
552
00:30:05,154 --> 00:30:07,501
The cameras are set.
553
00:30:07,501 --> 00:30:10,914
- [Man] B speed, four minute warning!
554
00:30:10,914 --> 00:30:14,180
(dramatic music)
555
00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:23,221
- [Man] All right,
Caroline, hit the siren.
556
00:30:25,278 --> 00:30:28,382
(siren wails)
557
00:30:45,676 --> 00:30:48,643
(explosion)
558
00:30:48,643 --> 00:30:52,071
(music ceases)
559
00:30:55,347 --> 00:30:58,431
(debris clinking)
560
00:31:00,934 --> 00:31:02,905
- [Robertshaw] That was just incredible.
561
00:31:02,905 --> 00:31:05,121
Let's go have a look, see what we've got.
562
00:31:05,121 --> 00:31:07,929
- [Snow] The moment of the
explosion has been documented
563
00:31:07,929 --> 00:31:12,110
from three different angles.
564
00:31:15,426 --> 00:31:17,397
And what each of the cameras captures,
565
00:31:17,397 --> 00:31:20,990
is evidence of what
happened 200 years ago.
566
00:31:23,941 --> 00:31:25,627
- I can see timber up on top.
567
00:31:25,627 --> 00:31:26,785
- Yep.
568
00:31:26,785 --> 00:31:29,699
- So that's been, wow!
569
00:31:31,007 --> 00:31:32,758
Whoo!
570
00:31:34,434 --> 00:31:36,418
There's tiny bits of stone here.
571
00:31:36,418 --> 00:31:37,536
- Yep.
572
00:31:37,536 --> 00:31:39,141
- [Snow] An almost perfectly symmetrical
573
00:31:39,141 --> 00:31:42,859
and circular crater has formed
where the Magazine once stood
574
00:31:42,859 --> 00:31:45,906
it's walls dismantled and thrown outwards.
575
00:31:45,906 --> 00:31:47,328
But the direction of the blast
576
00:31:47,328 --> 00:31:50,574
has been anything but symmetrical.
577
00:31:51,067 --> 00:31:53,403
(explosion)
578
00:31:53,403 --> 00:31:55,475
The camera positioned
just behind the Magazine
579
00:31:55,475 --> 00:31:57,853
demonstrates how remarkably little debris
580
00:31:57,853 --> 00:32:00,655
is thrown backwards,
demonstrating how York
581
00:32:00,655 --> 00:32:04,720
volunteer George Dugan managed to survive.
582
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,625
- We've got a few bits
of debris, but actually,
583
00:32:07,625 --> 00:32:09,982
up there, not in protection,
584
00:32:09,982 --> 00:32:13,964
not behind Plexiglass, was this.
585
00:32:13,995 --> 00:32:16,210
It was in 5 meters of
the explosion and it's
586
00:32:16,210 --> 00:32:18,099
completely undamaged.
587
00:32:18,099 --> 00:32:19,338
Had it been in front,
588
00:32:19,338 --> 00:32:21,563
there would have been nothing left at all.
589
00:32:21,563 --> 00:32:23,676
- [Snow] The side angle
demonstrates how most
590
00:32:23,676 --> 00:32:26,277
of the debris, up to 90 percent of it,
591
00:32:26,277 --> 00:32:27,983
has been thrown forwards,
592
00:32:27,983 --> 00:32:30,401
funneled upwards and outwards in the
593
00:32:30,401 --> 00:32:31,864
direction of the doorway,
594
00:32:31,864 --> 00:32:34,607
the weakest part of the entire structure.
595
00:32:34,607 --> 00:32:35,907
- [Mohanty] Come with me.
- [Robertshaw] Yeah, okay.
596
00:32:35,907 --> 00:32:38,487
- [Mohanty] So we have whole
line of debris on a line
597
00:32:38,487 --> 00:32:41,433
along the front entrance of the Magazine.
598
00:32:41,433 --> 00:32:43,323
- [Robertshaw] So this
matches almost the same width
599
00:32:43,323 --> 00:32:44,684
as the Magazine entrance?
- [Mohanty] Yeah, yeah.
600
00:32:44,684 --> 00:32:46,492
- [Mohanty] It goes a long
distance, into the lake.
601
00:32:46,492 --> 00:32:48,351
- You're kidding!
602
00:32:48,351 --> 00:32:50,932
It's always been assumed
that the Magazine was built
603
00:32:50,932 --> 00:32:52,841
facing the lake.
604
00:32:52,841 --> 00:32:55,991
If we do that, and then we blow it up,
605
00:32:55,991 --> 00:32:58,347
what's going to happen is,
based on the experiments,
606
00:32:58,347 --> 00:33:02,655
is all the materials, most of
it, will be ejected towards
607
00:33:02,655 --> 00:33:04,097
the American fleet.
608
00:33:04,097 --> 00:33:06,149
Now some of that material
does hit the fleet,
609
00:33:06,149 --> 00:33:08,404
but also on the American soldiers.
610
00:33:08,404 --> 00:33:11,310
For that to happen, you have to turn
611
00:33:11,310 --> 00:33:14,824
the Magazine through 90 degrees.
612
00:33:14,824 --> 00:33:18,949
You can dig it in, the enemy
can't shoot into the doorway,
613
00:33:18,949 --> 00:33:20,513
which is a really bad idea,
614
00:33:20,513 --> 00:33:22,382
more importantly, it's
totally camouflaged,
615
00:33:22,382 --> 00:33:25,308
they can't see it at all,
don't know where it is,
616
00:33:25,308 --> 00:33:29,696
result of that is that when
you then blow the Magazine,
617
00:33:29,696 --> 00:33:33,252
materials ejected based on the experiment
618
00:33:33,252 --> 00:33:36,360
about 30 degrees, some of it drops on
619
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,738
the American fleet over there,
620
00:33:38,738 --> 00:33:42,049
but the majority drops
on the Americans who are
621
00:33:42,049 --> 00:33:44,062
waiting to advance.
622
00:33:44,062 --> 00:33:46,236
- [Snow] If Andy's theory is correct,
623
00:33:46,236 --> 00:33:49,080
the asymmetry of the killing
zone isn't deliberate.
624
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,986
It's simply a function of
how the Magazine was built,
625
00:33:51,986 --> 00:33:55,475
and the direction in which it faced.
626
00:33:56,191 --> 00:34:00,372
- This is an accident, it's
not a deliberate war crime.
627
00:34:01,719 --> 00:34:06,473
- [Snow] One P.M. 27th of April, 1813.
628
00:34:06,473 --> 00:34:10,003
(explosion)
629
00:34:10,130 --> 00:34:11,999
In a field west of Muddy York,
630
00:34:11,999 --> 00:34:15,230
38 American soldiers lie dead.
631
00:34:15,230 --> 00:34:20,126
222 injured and maimed.
632
00:34:20,126 --> 00:34:22,828
A moment in time when the
future of North America
633
00:34:22,828 --> 00:34:26,399
hangs in the balance.
634
00:34:27,196 --> 00:34:29,553
As the debris settles and the dust clears,
635
00:34:29,553 --> 00:34:32,540
the inexorable wheels of
history grind into gear
636
00:34:32,540 --> 00:34:37,066
and the onward march of war continues.
637
00:34:37,802 --> 00:34:40,281
Fort York has been abandoned
by the British military.
638
00:34:40,281 --> 00:34:43,450
And the road lies open for the
main column of the U.S. Army
639
00:34:43,450 --> 00:34:47,021
to advance once more.
640
00:34:49,443 --> 00:34:52,207
Ten-year-old Patrick Finan
is witness to the moment
641
00:34:52,207 --> 00:34:57,207
the British capital of Upper
Canada falls into enemy hands.
642
00:34:58,932 --> 00:35:01,410
- Then he gets probably to
somewhere along this spot,
643
00:35:01,410 --> 00:35:03,320
and he's looking back into the Fort,
644
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,733
and then he can see the
flagpole of the Fort.
645
00:35:06,733 --> 00:35:11,688
And what he sees is the Union
Jack lowered on the flagpole.
646
00:35:14,702 --> 00:35:18,183
And he knows, even at the
age of ten, what that means.
647
00:35:18,183 --> 00:35:22,080
The Americans have the Fort.
648
00:35:22,552 --> 00:35:25,820
- [Snow] Victory belongs to the Americans.
649
00:35:28,279 --> 00:35:31,594
With the Fort in their
possession, the American army
650
00:35:31,594 --> 00:35:35,231
advances on the town, and
as they march into York,
651
00:35:35,231 --> 00:35:39,696
the townsfolk must now
meet their new rulers.
652
00:35:45,329 --> 00:35:48,925
- The reality of the situation
was that the town had
653
00:35:48,925 --> 00:35:53,557
been abandoned by the British
military, and all the citizens
654
00:35:53,557 --> 00:35:58,119
were left to their own devices,
to deal with the Americans.
655
00:35:58,119 --> 00:36:02,487
I can actually feel the
fear when you think about it
656
00:36:02,487 --> 00:36:06,042
with your military, your defenses gone,
657
00:36:06,042 --> 00:36:09,979
and this force coming through.
658
00:36:13,417 --> 00:36:17,196
- [Snow] The King's Writ no
longer runs in these streets.
659
00:36:17,196 --> 00:36:21,097
British authority has vanished
as quickly as the Redcoats.
660
00:36:21,097 --> 00:36:22,783
The inhabitants of the town of York,
661
00:36:22,783 --> 00:36:25,709
many of whom are American-born citizens,
662
00:36:25,709 --> 00:36:28,330
now have a simple choice to make.
663
00:36:28,330 --> 00:36:32,185
How best to protect their property.
664
00:36:33,165 --> 00:36:35,339
The decision arrived at
by the inhabitants of York
665
00:36:35,339 --> 00:36:38,204
in April 1813, can still be seen at
666
00:36:38,204 --> 00:36:42,080
Canada's National Archive in Ottawa.
667
00:36:42,938 --> 00:36:45,843
In negotiating their surrender
to the occupying power,
668
00:36:45,843 --> 00:36:48,870
the townsfolk agreed to sign
a capitulation agreement,
669
00:36:48,870 --> 00:36:51,288
according to the terms of
which, their private property
670
00:36:51,288 --> 00:36:53,950
will be protected in
return for the militia
671
00:36:53,950 --> 00:36:57,277
laying down their arms.
672
00:36:58,094 --> 00:36:59,476
- [Curator] This is the
document, the order,
673
00:36:59,476 --> 00:37:02,076
the terms of capitulation
from the War of 1812.
674
00:37:02,076 --> 00:37:03,072
- [Robertshaw] Thank you.
675
00:37:03,072 --> 00:37:04,250
- Just going to set it out here for you.
676
00:37:04,250 --> 00:37:05,530
- Yep.
677
00:37:05,530 --> 00:37:08,715
- And see that you've got your gloves on.
678
00:37:11,890 --> 00:37:14,185
- What's really interesting
about this document,
679
00:37:14,185 --> 00:37:17,375
is this page is nice, lots of information,
680
00:37:17,375 --> 00:37:21,662
but this page here, on the very back,
681
00:37:21,662 --> 00:37:26,662
it actually has what's
called an explanatory remark
682
00:37:28,245 --> 00:37:30,398
on the list of prisoners.
683
00:37:30,398 --> 00:37:33,100
Explantory mark on the list of prisoners.
684
00:37:33,100 --> 00:37:36,432
A great number of
officers were not on duty
685
00:37:36,432 --> 00:37:38,159
in the garrison of York.
686
00:37:38,159 --> 00:37:40,679
Many of them arrived from
their places on a boat
687
00:37:40,679 --> 00:37:43,239
at a distance, at various distances,
688
00:37:43,239 --> 00:37:47,241
but in time to be included
in the capitulation.
689
00:37:47,241 --> 00:37:50,126
In other words, men who
weren't present at the time
690
00:37:50,126 --> 00:37:54,840
of the fighting, turned up
afterwards, after the surrender,
691
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:57,603
to say "Oh, yeah, I didn't
fight, I wish I had actually,
692
00:37:57,603 --> 00:38:00,264
"but I didn't, but while
I'm here, can I just sign
693
00:38:00,264 --> 00:38:02,052
"that I promise I won't do anything else?
694
00:38:02,052 --> 00:38:04,003
"Not that I did to start with."
695
00:38:04,003 --> 00:38:06,847
So I would suggest the
someone putting this in here
696
00:38:06,847 --> 00:38:10,687
as actually looked at the
terms and conditions and is
697
00:38:10,687 --> 00:38:15,258
actually having a bit of a
go at the militia by saying,
698
00:38:15,258 --> 00:38:19,037
"Yes, you've all signed this,
but you weren't really there,
699
00:38:19,037 --> 00:38:20,277
"present in the battle.
700
00:38:20,277 --> 00:38:23,202
"You've sort of piggybacked
on the whole thing."
701
00:38:23,202 --> 00:38:28,202
The fact is, the people
here, giving their names,
702
00:38:28,485 --> 00:38:31,817
really would like just to be
able to draw a line under it,
703
00:38:31,817 --> 00:38:35,860
get on with their lives,
and for the war to go away.
704
00:38:35,860 --> 00:38:40,101
Just agree, get on with it, it's all over.
705
00:38:41,041 --> 00:38:43,438
- [Snow] But it's far from over.
706
00:38:43,438 --> 00:38:45,002
Whether deliberately or otherwise,
707
00:38:45,002 --> 00:38:47,948
the American officers delay
signing the capitulation,
708
00:38:47,948 --> 00:38:51,362
and as the rank and file of
their army enters the town,
709
00:38:51,362 --> 00:38:56,258
the explosion of the Grand
Magazine rankles still.
710
00:38:56,258 --> 00:38:58,533
- [Taylor] The soldiers feel
that this was treacherous
711
00:38:58,533 --> 00:39:00,768
on the part of the British,
and therefore, they feel
712
00:39:00,768 --> 00:39:03,328
fully within their rights
to plunder any house
713
00:39:03,328 --> 00:39:08,328
that seems not to be occupied,
and they proceed to do that.
714
00:39:12,410 --> 00:39:14,685
- [Snow] The prime movers of
the looting are the riflemen of
715
00:39:14,685 --> 00:39:17,692
Major Forsyth, "a man-killing idiot,"
716
00:39:17,692 --> 00:39:20,395
according to one American
officer, "whose men are more like
717
00:39:20,395 --> 00:39:24,067
"outlaws than soldiers".
718
00:39:24,844 --> 00:39:27,119
But there's method in Forsyth's madness,
719
00:39:27,119 --> 00:39:31,122
and the revenge he wrecks
is anything but random.
720
00:39:31,122 --> 00:39:34,474
He seeks out the house
of Major James Givins,
721
00:39:34,474 --> 00:39:37,115
the Indian Superintendent
who fought against him
722
00:39:37,115 --> 00:39:40,422
in the woods.
723
00:39:40,773 --> 00:39:43,962
Knowing what his fate will
be if he's taken by Forsyth,
724
00:39:43,962 --> 00:39:47,297
Givins has fled the town of York,
725
00:39:47,297 --> 00:39:51,156
but his wife Angelique remains.
726
00:39:51,156 --> 00:39:54,442
(ominous music)
727
00:40:11,229 --> 00:40:14,825
Her house is entirely stripped
of its carpets, curtains,
728
00:40:14,825 --> 00:40:17,995
bedsheets, and clothing.
729
00:40:17,995 --> 00:40:20,412
Even after her life is
threatened at gunpoint,
730
00:40:20,412 --> 00:40:25,223
Forsyth's superiors refuse to intervene.
731
00:40:28,499 --> 00:40:30,043
In the first year of the war,
732
00:40:30,043 --> 00:40:32,826
both sides were guilty
of larceny and looting,
733
00:40:32,826 --> 00:40:36,016
but nothing on the scale of York.
734
00:40:36,016 --> 00:40:38,718
And before they leave
the smoldering ruins,
735
00:40:38,718 --> 00:40:41,806
in a final symbolic
act, the Americans torch
736
00:40:41,806 --> 00:40:46,806
the symbols of British power,
including the first Parliament
737
00:40:46,967 --> 00:40:50,339
buildings, and Government
House, Upper Canada's equivalent
738
00:40:50,339 --> 00:40:53,951
of the White House.
739
00:40:59,584 --> 00:41:02,306
Where the ground penetrating
radar detected abnomalies
740
00:41:02,306 --> 00:41:05,740
beneath the soil, Doctor
Ron Williamson's team
741
00:41:05,740 --> 00:41:07,914
have now uncovered what they believe
742
00:41:07,914 --> 00:41:10,961
to be the remains of a structure.
743
00:41:10,961 --> 00:41:15,961
And beside it, an early
19th Century garbage dump.
744
00:41:17,584 --> 00:41:20,327
As the layers are
stripped away, the vestage
745
00:41:20,327 --> 00:41:24,569
of a burned post hole is laid bare.
746
00:41:28,474 --> 00:41:31,014
And yet more proof of the rape of York.
747
00:41:31,014 --> 00:41:33,980
In the burn layer, a shattered brick.
748
00:41:33,980 --> 00:41:35,402
- [Woman] It's hand-made.
749
00:41:35,402 --> 00:41:37,719
You can sort of see how rough it is.
750
00:41:37,719 --> 00:41:41,051
- It's another piece of
evidence of that burning event.
751
00:41:41,051 --> 00:41:44,479
This is very important.
752
00:41:47,687 --> 00:41:49,665
- [Snow] At the site
of the Grand Magazine,
753
00:41:49,665 --> 00:41:51,941
the trench now extends from
the original lake level
754
00:41:51,941 --> 00:41:54,694
up the modern embankment.
755
00:41:54,694 --> 00:41:57,863
- Oh! What's that?
756
00:41:57,863 --> 00:41:58,798
- [Snow] And the archaeologists have made
757
00:41:58,798 --> 00:42:00,484
an intriguing discovery.
758
00:42:00,484 --> 00:42:04,903
One which matches the finds
from Government House.
759
00:42:04,903 --> 00:42:07,362
Under the ramparts of the
modern fort, where there was
760
00:42:07,362 --> 00:42:11,771
once a crater, there is now
a jumble of buried rubble.
761
00:42:11,771 --> 00:42:13,995
- There's a lot of
brick here, isn't there?
762
00:42:13,995 --> 00:42:15,296
But it's not been laid in mortar,
763
00:42:15,296 --> 00:42:17,470
it's just been jumbled, hasn't it?
764
00:42:17,470 --> 00:42:19,176
- Fairly rubbley.
765
00:42:19,176 --> 00:42:21,939
- [Snow] Including
deposits of burned brick.
766
00:42:21,939 --> 00:42:24,682
Similar kinds of bricks,
from a similar date,
767
00:42:24,682 --> 00:42:28,522
as the ones found in the
ruins of Government House.
768
00:42:28,522 --> 00:42:29,558
- That's what we're looking for.
769
00:42:29,558 --> 00:42:32,281
We just, there are stories
about the crater being
770
00:42:32,281 --> 00:42:34,719
used to dump rubbish in.
771
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:37,076
- What a hole represents is a convenient
772
00:42:37,076 --> 00:42:38,843
place to place garbage.
773
00:42:38,843 --> 00:42:43,843
So I would expect that we
would find early to mid-19th
774
00:42:45,771 --> 00:42:48,920
Century garbage used to fill it in,
775
00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:53,065
debris, rubble, maybe rubble
from the Government House.
776
00:42:53,065 --> 00:42:58,065
I would expect to see
some signature of a hole
777
00:42:58,368 --> 00:43:01,131
filled with garbage.
778
00:43:02,944 --> 00:43:05,646
- [Snow] Burned brick, rubble, and debris.
779
00:43:05,646 --> 00:43:07,677
What is left of the
capital of Upper Canada,
780
00:43:07,677 --> 00:43:12,677
dumped in a hole and
rediscovered 200 years later.
781
00:43:17,044 --> 00:43:20,294
After an orgy of violence,
having outstayed their welcome,
782
00:43:20,294 --> 00:43:25,294
the Americans sail away, weighted
down by the booty of war,
783
00:43:25,313 --> 00:43:30,313
and the ill will of the
townsfolk they've plundered.
784
00:43:32,667 --> 00:43:35,430
No longer a war of liberation,
the American invasion
785
00:43:35,430 --> 00:43:39,839
of Upper Canada has become
a campaign of conquest.
786
00:43:39,839 --> 00:43:43,232
And by the summer of 1813,
it's a campaign which
787
00:43:43,232 --> 00:43:47,047
the Americans think they can win.
788
00:43:47,803 --> 00:43:50,587
After the sack of York, the
Americans sail across the lake
789
00:43:50,587 --> 00:43:53,899
to Niagara, where they
capture Fort George.
790
00:43:53,899 --> 00:43:56,540
They then drive back the
last remaining serious
791
00:43:56,540 --> 00:44:00,674
force of Redcoats in the
colony to Stoney Creek.
792
00:44:00,674 --> 00:44:03,072
The scene is set for a
battle that will decide
793
00:44:03,072 --> 00:44:06,033
the fate of Upper Canada.
794
00:44:07,704 --> 00:44:12,636
Stoney Creek lies just
50 kilometers from York.
795
00:44:13,190 --> 00:44:15,811
On the evening of the 5th of June, 1813,
796
00:44:15,811 --> 00:44:18,655
3000 American soldiers,
now under the command
797
00:44:18,655 --> 00:44:22,007
of General Chandler, reached
this point along modern-day
798
00:44:22,007 --> 00:44:25,538
King Street, called Smith's Knoll.
799
00:44:26,314 --> 00:44:28,041
- Essentially what we've got is a bank
800
00:44:28,041 --> 00:44:30,378
that runs across here.
801
00:44:30,378 --> 00:44:32,918
It's about 20-foot high,
dropping down towards
802
00:44:32,918 --> 00:44:35,823
any potential British Advance.
803
00:44:35,823 --> 00:44:39,256
He's got a strong defensive
position, which he feels
804
00:44:39,256 --> 00:44:42,406
confident he can hold out
against any British attack,
805
00:44:42,406 --> 00:44:45,387
if they dare have a go.
806
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:47,607
- [Snow] The British have
retreated two kilometers
807
00:44:47,607 --> 00:44:49,760
to the west of Chandler's position.
808
00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:53,072
As night falls, the U.S.
General bivouacs his men
809
00:44:53,072 --> 00:44:57,435
in the fields, with his
cannon on the higher ground.
810
00:44:58,659 --> 00:45:01,768
Outnumbered by four-to-one,
the British know that
811
00:45:01,768 --> 00:45:04,978
if they wait until
morning, they will lose.
812
00:45:04,978 --> 00:45:07,660
So they gamble against all the odds,
813
00:45:07,660 --> 00:45:11,393
and throw the dice of war.
814
00:45:11,825 --> 00:45:13,694
- The British have only
one way they can attack,
815
00:45:13,694 --> 00:45:16,152
but doing it in such a
way that they can get in,
816
00:45:16,152 --> 00:45:18,103
without firing.
817
00:45:18,103 --> 00:45:21,881
If a single American sentry fires a shot,
818
00:45:21,881 --> 00:45:24,462
the whole plan's betrayed,
so what they're going to do
819
00:45:24,462 --> 00:45:29,462
is approach absolutely silently
in a very, very dark night.
820
00:45:31,390 --> 00:45:34,437
It's a desperate measure,
in a desperate situation.
821
00:45:34,437 --> 00:45:35,981
Nothing else will work.
822
00:45:35,981 --> 00:45:39,959
Anything regular,
conventional, they face defeat.
823
00:45:49,919 --> 00:45:53,617
- [Snow] Undetected, the British
approach the American camp,
824
00:45:53,617 --> 00:45:55,526
and then--
825
00:45:55,526 --> 00:45:56,664
(screams and hollers)
826
00:45:56,664 --> 00:45:59,387
- Somebody shouts, it's a scream which all
827
00:45:59,387 --> 00:46:01,805
the British soldiers take up.
828
00:46:04,374 --> 00:46:08,662
For a while it looks as if the
whole plan's been betrayed.
829
00:46:08,662 --> 00:46:10,043
Many of the British soldiers have been
830
00:46:10,043 --> 00:46:12,136
serving out here for years, they've heard
831
00:46:12,136 --> 00:46:15,874
aboriginal war cries, so what
they do is they mimic them.
832
00:46:15,874 --> 00:46:18,719
It's not a deliberate tactic,
we think, but what it does
833
00:46:18,719 --> 00:46:21,746
it terrifies the Americans
in this position.
834
00:46:21,746 --> 00:46:24,611
They are convinced that, lots
and lots of them say this,
835
00:46:24,611 --> 00:46:27,455
that every Indian as they called them,
836
00:46:27,455 --> 00:46:31,595
in Canada is coming towards them.
837
00:46:33,713 --> 00:46:35,440
- There's the classic image
that Americans were all
838
00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:39,137
frontiersmen who were
all hardened by their
839
00:46:39,137 --> 00:46:43,120
experiences and were prepared
to fight Indian peoples
840
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:44,460
on their own terms.
841
00:46:44,460 --> 00:46:46,187
There were some Americans like that.
842
00:46:46,187 --> 00:46:47,833
In fact there were lots
of Americans like that,
843
00:46:47,833 --> 00:46:49,479
in a place like Kentucky.
844
00:46:49,479 --> 00:46:52,486
But the Americans who
lived in upstate New York,
845
00:46:52,486 --> 00:46:54,924
or in New England weren't like that.
846
00:46:54,924 --> 00:46:58,982
And a lot of soldiers were
being thrust into combat.
847
00:46:59,597 --> 00:47:01,913
Their experience with Indian
peoples consist of stories
848
00:47:01,913 --> 00:47:05,504
read to them by their
mothers about brutal savages.
849
00:47:06,789 --> 00:47:08,922
Or a newspaper report that they've read
850
00:47:08,922 --> 00:47:12,087
about brutal savages.
851
00:47:13,656 --> 00:47:16,968
So you take these people with
very little military training
852
00:47:16,968 --> 00:47:19,020
and you put a uniform on them
and a gun in their hands,
853
00:47:19,020 --> 00:47:21,133
and you send them into the Canadian woods,
854
00:47:21,133 --> 00:47:23,205
and they hear Indians
screaming in the background,
855
00:47:23,205 --> 00:47:25,572
these people spook.
856
00:47:25,572 --> 00:47:29,544
- [Snow] In their panic,
the Americans now open fire.
857
00:47:29,544 --> 00:47:33,242
But they're shooting blindly
into the pitch black night.
858
00:47:33,242 --> 00:47:36,594
As the British advance on
them with bayonets fixed.
859
00:47:36,594 --> 00:47:38,768
- One of the things that the
British do, is they practice
860
00:47:38,768 --> 00:47:40,576
an awful lot with the bayonets.
861
00:47:40,576 --> 00:47:42,649
They're very, very familiar
with getting in with
862
00:47:42,649 --> 00:47:45,798
17 inches of cold steel and using it
863
00:47:45,798 --> 00:47:48,820
against their opponents.
864
00:47:49,089 --> 00:47:51,324
It's closing in, using
the bayonet, going for the
865
00:47:51,324 --> 00:47:53,740
soft squishy parts of the body.
866
00:47:55,032 --> 00:47:56,962
You try and avoid the ribs if you can,
867
00:47:56,962 --> 00:47:58,710
because the bayonet would get stuck.
868
00:47:58,710 --> 00:48:00,599
If you withdraw it and it's left behind,
869
00:48:00,599 --> 00:48:02,488
you're utterly defenseless.
870
00:48:02,488 --> 00:48:04,033
So therefore, you're going to get in,
871
00:48:04,033 --> 00:48:06,735
stab, put the man down, dispatch him,
872
00:48:06,735 --> 00:48:09,274
even using the butt of the
weapon to smash his head in,
873
00:48:09,274 --> 00:48:10,615
and move on.
874
00:48:10,615 --> 00:48:13,277
Cause you don't want survivors
standing up behind you
875
00:48:13,277 --> 00:48:15,268
and shooting you.
876
00:48:15,268 --> 00:48:16,792
You need to make sure
that once they're down,
877
00:48:16,792 --> 00:48:18,600
they're no threat to
you, and you just keep
878
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:21,394
moving forward in the dark.
879
00:48:21,394 --> 00:48:24,015
- [Snow] Over the course
of the last 200 years,
880
00:48:24,015 --> 00:48:26,168
the bones of those who
fought and died here
881
00:48:26,168 --> 00:48:29,602
have from time to time been unearthed.
882
00:48:29,602 --> 00:48:31,633
Not neatly buried bodies,
883
00:48:31,633 --> 00:48:34,843
but pieces of unarticulated
remains that have
884
00:48:34,843 --> 00:48:39,564
been jumbled by the
plowshare and the backhoe.
885
00:48:42,361 --> 00:48:45,583
Today, these fragments of
traumatized humanity are
886
00:48:45,583 --> 00:48:49,880
shedding new light on this,
the darkest hour of the war.
887
00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:52,602
Pieces of bone recovered
by Hamilton City Council
888
00:48:52,602 --> 00:48:55,142
from just a few square meters
on top of Smith's Knoll
889
00:48:55,142 --> 00:48:57,947
are now being subjected
to forensic analysis.
890
00:48:57,947 --> 00:49:01,320
- [Brickley] We stopped
at 1400 fragments that
891
00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:04,306
we could identify and catalog,
892
00:49:04,306 --> 00:49:08,045
and I expect to get to over 2000.
893
00:49:08,045 --> 00:49:11,245
Identifiable bone fragments.
894
00:49:11,245 --> 00:49:15,867
- [Snow] Each of which tells
a tale of terror in the night.
895
00:49:15,867 --> 00:49:19,158
- This is a phalanx from the hand,
896
00:49:19,158 --> 00:49:21,901
it's one of the bones that
makes up your fingers.
897
00:49:21,901 --> 00:49:25,883
On it we can see these scratches or lines.
898
00:49:25,883 --> 00:49:29,297
And these are possibly what
is referred to forensic
899
00:49:29,297 --> 00:49:32,568
cases as defensive wounds.
900
00:49:32,568 --> 00:49:34,701
Bladed weapon's coming at
your head or your chest,
901
00:49:34,701 --> 00:49:38,069
some think they'll grab it.
902
00:49:39,943 --> 00:49:42,604
This is part of a fibula.
903
00:49:42,604 --> 00:49:45,225
That's the smaller bone in your lower leg,
904
00:49:45,225 --> 00:49:47,785
so this bone sort of sits in here,
905
00:49:47,785 --> 00:49:51,869
and if you angle it around
slightly, you can see that there
906
00:49:51,869 --> 00:49:56,869
is in fact a bladed weapon injury here.
907
00:50:00,585 --> 00:50:03,835
- [Snow] In just one night, up
to 300 Americans are killed,
908
00:50:03,835 --> 00:50:08,835
injured, or captured, including
General Chandler himself.
909
00:50:18,687 --> 00:50:21,694
Stoney Creek is as close as
the Americans will ever come
910
00:50:21,694 --> 00:50:25,184
to conquering Canada.
911
00:50:26,042 --> 00:50:28,825
There will be more battles
fought, more farms plundered,
912
00:50:28,825 --> 00:50:31,385
and towns burned, but the following year
913
00:50:31,385 --> 00:50:33,539
the tide of war will shift decisively
914
00:50:33,539 --> 00:50:37,196
against the United States,
and it's now that the specter
915
00:50:37,196 --> 00:50:41,397
of York will come back to haunt them.
916
00:50:44,571 --> 00:50:46,562
By 1814, Britain and
her allies have defeated
917
00:50:46,562 --> 00:50:50,443
the Emperor Napoleon, and
brought France to her knees.
918
00:50:50,443 --> 00:50:52,596
This allows Britain to
send vast numbers of ships
919
00:50:52,596 --> 00:50:56,411
and men across the Atlantic.
920
00:50:57,249 --> 00:51:00,154
Attacks commence right up
and down the U.S. seaboard.
921
00:51:00,154 --> 00:51:05,154
Eastern Maine, New York,
even Chesapeake Bay,
922
00:51:06,087 --> 00:51:08,809
striking at the very
heart of the Republic.
923
00:51:08,809 --> 00:51:11,125
For the Americans, what
has begun as a battle
924
00:51:11,125 --> 00:51:13,462
on the northern frontier,
is now a struggle
925
00:51:13,462 --> 00:51:16,891
for national survival.
926
00:51:17,342 --> 00:51:19,496
- All of a sudden, you've
got thousands of veteran
927
00:51:19,496 --> 00:51:23,498
British soldiers that can be redeployed,
928
00:51:23,498 --> 00:51:26,282
and the British decide,
"Okay now it's time
929
00:51:26,282 --> 00:51:27,684
"for some payback.
930
00:51:27,684 --> 00:51:30,630
"The Americans attacked us,
when we were at our weakest
931
00:51:30,630 --> 00:51:34,795
"in 1812, now they will feel
the consequences of that."
932
00:51:34,795 --> 00:51:39,122
And making a point to the
Americans that it is not wise
933
00:51:39,122 --> 00:51:42,267
to attack the British lion.
934
00:51:44,791 --> 00:51:46,843
- [Snow] August, 1814.
935
00:51:46,843 --> 00:51:51,140
4000 British soldiers
advance on Washington, D.C.
936
00:51:51,140 --> 00:51:53,781
One year after the Americans
attacked the Imperial
937
00:51:53,781 --> 00:51:56,951
city of York, it's now
the Republic's capital
938
00:51:56,951 --> 00:52:00,115
that's in the crosshairs.
939
00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:02,883
At the Battle of Bladensburg,
940
00:52:02,883 --> 00:52:06,093
within earshot of Washington
D.C, the President himself
941
00:52:06,093 --> 00:52:10,436
leads his army in a last-ditch
defense of his capital.
942
00:52:13,651 --> 00:52:16,414
His wife Dolly makes
preparations at the White House
943
00:52:16,414 --> 00:52:18,608
to celebrate what she assumes will be
944
00:52:18,608 --> 00:52:22,078
a famous American victory.
945
00:52:23,992 --> 00:52:28,783
Already, the sounds of battle
are echoing on Capitol Hill.
946
00:52:30,108 --> 00:52:32,119
And as the British get closer and closer,
947
00:52:32,119 --> 00:52:35,243
panic grips the city.
948
00:52:37,016 --> 00:52:38,824
- [Shablitsky] And that's why,
when people were here in D.C,
949
00:52:38,824 --> 00:52:41,059
when they heard 18-pounder
cannons, you know, booming,
950
00:52:41,059 --> 00:52:43,233
it echoed all the way
to here, so they knew
951
00:52:43,233 --> 00:52:46,377
the British were close.
952
00:52:49,267 --> 00:52:51,014
- [Snow] When the last
line of American defense
953
00:52:51,014 --> 00:52:56,014
collapses, the road to
Washington D.C. lies open.
954
00:52:57,861 --> 00:53:00,766
President Madison, the man who
declared war on the British,
955
00:53:00,766 --> 00:53:03,326
has already fled the city.
956
00:53:03,326 --> 00:53:06,247
A refugee in his own country.
957
00:53:07,166 --> 00:53:11,565
His wife and servants he leaves
to salvage what they can.
958
00:53:11,565 --> 00:53:14,450
According to legend, it's Dolly who saves
959
00:53:14,450 --> 00:53:17,335
a precious portrait of George Washington.
960
00:53:17,335 --> 00:53:19,245
According to her slave Paul Jennings,
961
00:53:19,245 --> 00:53:22,856
her priority is the silverware.
962
00:53:33,859 --> 00:53:36,779
As the British march
down Pennsylvania Avenue,
963
00:53:36,779 --> 00:53:39,156
the last remaining
elements of the U.S. Army
964
00:53:39,156 --> 00:53:41,878
are left leaderless.
965
00:53:41,878 --> 00:53:44,255
- Thinking back 200 years
ago, soldiers come up here,
966
00:53:44,255 --> 00:53:46,795
they want to find out if
anyone's home at the White House.
967
00:53:46,795 --> 00:53:49,497
They go up to the front door, they knock,
968
00:53:49,497 --> 00:53:51,448
no one's there.
969
00:53:51,448 --> 00:53:55,501
You can just imagine the
power in the sound of silence
970
00:53:55,501 --> 00:53:58,422
in that moment.
971
00:54:04,359 --> 00:54:06,452
- [Snow] Nearly 40 years
after the Revolution,
972
00:54:06,452 --> 00:54:10,007
the British are back, and the
capital of the United States
973
00:54:10,007 --> 00:54:13,111
is at their mercy.
974
00:54:14,436 --> 00:54:17,078
Just as the Americans had put
the torch to Government House,
975
00:54:17,078 --> 00:54:22,078
now the British will do the
same to the White House.
976
00:54:25,834 --> 00:54:28,679
This is the first and
only time in U.S. history
977
00:54:28,679 --> 00:54:33,037
that the capital will be
occupied by a foreign power.
978
00:54:33,037 --> 00:54:35,759
And it would not come
under direct attack again
979
00:54:35,759 --> 00:54:39,208
until the events of 9/11.
980
00:54:42,891 --> 00:54:45,430
Behind the facade,
underneath the whitewash,
981
00:54:45,430 --> 00:54:49,545
the scars of August
1814 can still be seen.
982
00:54:49,545 --> 00:54:54,152
Scorch marks burned into the
masonry of the White House.
983
00:54:55,193 --> 00:54:58,261
Towards the end of 1814,
it's becoming apparent
984
00:54:58,261 --> 00:55:00,353
to both sides that neither
of them is actually
985
00:55:00,353 --> 00:55:03,076
capable of winning this war.
986
00:55:03,076 --> 00:55:06,225
And on Christmas Eve, they
sign the peace treaty of Ghent,
987
00:55:06,225 --> 00:55:10,324
bringing hostilities to a formal close.
988
00:55:11,406 --> 00:55:14,051
As for the U.S.-Canada
border, this is the border
989
00:55:14,051 --> 00:55:19,051
before the war and this is
the border after the war.
990
00:55:21,080 --> 00:55:26,080
There was no change, no gains
and no losses for either side.
991
00:55:26,099 --> 00:55:30,142
Over two years fighting and of
20,000 battlefield casualties
992
00:55:30,142 --> 00:55:34,200
the border remained exactly the same.
993
00:55:35,201 --> 00:55:36,785
The victory for the U.S. will come
994
00:55:36,785 --> 00:55:40,260
during the following decades
as it resumes its aggressive
995
00:55:40,260 --> 00:55:43,688
expansion westwards.
996
00:55:44,201 --> 00:55:46,985
And the British Empire, unwilling
to risk yet another war,
997
00:55:46,985 --> 00:55:50,881
will end up betraying her native allies.
998
00:55:53,283 --> 00:55:56,534
And north of the border,
there is also a change.
999
00:55:56,534 --> 00:55:59,642
But this time in the
mindset of the late-Loyalist
1000
00:55:59,642 --> 00:56:03,279
majority population of Upper Canada.
1001
00:56:03,279 --> 00:56:07,627
A mindset that's been molded
by the events at York.
1002
00:56:07,627 --> 00:56:11,020
- Before the war there's not
much to identify the people
1003
00:56:11,020 --> 00:56:15,116
of Canada as Canadians.
1004
00:56:15,116 --> 00:56:17,958
Now, after the War of
1812, you start to see,
1005
00:56:17,958 --> 00:56:21,900
for the first time,
English-speaking people in Canada,
1006
00:56:21,900 --> 00:56:24,013
calling themselves Canadians,
1007
00:56:24,013 --> 00:56:29,013
and taking pride in their
success at repelling
1008
00:56:29,437 --> 00:56:32,460
the American invasion.
1009
00:56:41,851 --> 00:56:43,395
- [Snow] After the war,
and for much of the rest
1010
00:56:43,395 --> 00:56:48,108
of the century, the dread of
American invasion will persist.
1011
00:56:48,108 --> 00:56:50,912
And 200 years later, this
fear has left it's mark
1012
00:56:50,912 --> 00:56:54,300
on the modern landscape.
1013
00:56:54,935 --> 00:56:57,495
At the site of the Grand
Magazine, halfway down the trench,
1014
00:56:57,495 --> 00:56:59,669
the archaeologists have
discovered what happened
1015
00:56:59,669 --> 00:57:02,432
after the Americans left in 1813,
1016
00:57:02,432 --> 00:57:04,951
how the fort at York was rebuilt,
1017
00:57:04,951 --> 00:57:08,415
and it's ramparts reconstructed.
1018
00:57:08,415 --> 00:57:10,630
- What we've got is a
layer of timber which
1019
00:57:10,630 --> 00:57:12,479
goes right the way through here,
1020
00:57:12,479 --> 00:57:14,937
all the way through here
to this vertical timber
1021
00:57:14,937 --> 00:57:17,274
that seems to be driven through it.
1022
00:57:17,274 --> 00:57:20,464
And it's actually this
mass which sort of holds
1023
00:57:20,464 --> 00:57:22,607
the structure together.
1024
00:57:22,607 --> 00:57:25,432
- [Snow] In the decades
that follow the war of 1812,
1025
00:57:25,432 --> 00:57:30,145
the fort and its defenses
will be repaired and revamped,
1026
00:57:30,145 --> 00:57:33,822
ready to repel American aggression.
1027
00:57:33,822 --> 00:57:35,692
But by the end of the 19th Century,
1028
00:57:35,692 --> 00:57:38,008
the Redcoats will have left.
1029
00:57:38,008 --> 00:57:40,080
The fort will fall into disuse,
1030
00:57:40,080 --> 00:57:43,940
and the secret of its
ramparts will be forgotten.
1031
00:57:43,940 --> 00:57:45,484
Until today.
1032
00:57:45,484 --> 00:57:50,484
- For me, finding this
evidence of the 1814 rampart
1033
00:57:50,665 --> 00:57:55,665
with the landscaping above
it, it doesn't get any cooler.
1034
00:57:56,293 --> 00:57:58,995
This is big news, this is
something that we're going to
1035
00:57:58,995 --> 00:58:02,343
want to publish about, absolutely.
1036
00:58:03,018 --> 00:58:05,862
- What we've got here is definite
evidence of the aftermath
1037
00:58:05,862 --> 00:58:09,946
as the people of York and
the British Army remodel
1038
00:58:09,946 --> 00:58:12,608
their fortress ready for another occasion,
1039
00:58:12,608 --> 00:58:14,477
should they come back,
they'll be a great deal more
1040
00:58:14,477 --> 00:58:19,247
ready the next time
than they were in 1813.
1041
00:58:20,491 --> 00:58:23,030
- [Snow] 200 years ago on
this site, one of the biggest
1042
00:58:23,030 --> 00:58:25,997
explosions anyone in North
America had ever witnessed
1043
00:58:25,997 --> 00:58:30,319
gouged a hole in the side of Fort York.
1044
00:58:38,776 --> 00:58:41,478
After the dust had settled,
and the armies of Britain
1045
00:58:41,478 --> 00:58:45,074
and the United States had
moved on to battlefields new,
1046
00:58:45,074 --> 00:58:50,052
the people of York filled in
the hole and repaired the fort.
1047
00:58:50,052 --> 00:58:53,750
The American-born majority
population of Upper Canada
1048
00:58:53,750 --> 00:58:57,102
were prepared to defend both
themselves and what they
1049
00:58:57,102 --> 00:59:00,429
now called home.
1050
00:59:02,526 --> 00:59:04,639
- You know, there's that
moment in life where the place
1051
00:59:04,639 --> 00:59:08,520
you were born is no longer your home.
1052
00:59:08,520 --> 00:59:10,653
The place you've chosen
to live as an adult
1053
00:59:10,653 --> 00:59:12,583
becomes your home.
1054
00:59:12,583 --> 00:59:15,489
That is my home.
1055
00:59:15,489 --> 00:59:19,044
And it was that little Muddy
York, and the events of 1813
1056
00:59:19,044 --> 00:59:23,753
that helped to solidify
the identity of Canada.
81257
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