The interpreter of a strong iron cannon echoes in Prince Edward County, Ont.
In the formation behind its smoking barrel, a dozen members of the Canadian regiment of the torn infantry, which are dressed in carefully exact uniforms. Some have muskets, others a fife and drum.
The group has shown crucial battles and moments from the war of 1812 for decades. The United States, partly declared Great Britain on the British navy service due to trade behavior and interference as well as the forced conscription of Americans.
During the war, the Americans tried to be kept by British in Canada, but stiff resistance from a united front of British, Canadian, Métis and indigenous fighters.
The fencibles represented their regiment in Europe and deep in “enemy territory” in the United States to remind numerous note battles. The group usually drives to New York in February to think about the Battle of Ogdensburg, a British victory.
But this year they remained.
“All of our members are pretty good Canadians, and many of them are very angry, how many Canadians are the situation and they hesitate to go across the border,” said David Moore, who acts as the main subject of the Canadian regiment of the Fencible infantry, which is also known as Zenker.
The Canadian dollar has not helped, but US President Donald Trump’s speech to make Canada the 51st state, holds the fencibles firmly on this side of St. Lawrence River.
O’clock | This war of 1812 thinks twice about the head state:
“There were events in the USA, in New York and Michigan and so on, and everyone said: ‘No, I think we will go and wait and see how it all affects whether the rhetoric fades,” said Moore.
“About my body”
In this part of the southeast of Ontario, many of the fencibles have deep roots, with ancestors that fought for the British in the war of 1812 and beyond.
“My family had previously taken from the Americans of real estate. So that’s my concern (over the crossing of the border),” said Shawn Finnegan, who traces his family’s roots in the area before the American revolution.
Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” and only emphasized Canada “as a state”. Trump has also referred to the Canada-US limit as a “artificial line”.
Finnegan said that the annexation discussion was “quite annoying”, considering that “we helped them during and after September 11th” with reference to the fact that more than 200 flights were diverted to Canada after the US airspace was closed in response to al-Qaidas attack on September 11, 2001. Canada accepted thousands of beach passengers until it was sure to feed normal operations.
“We helped ourselves in their time, and this is as good to us as with us: they want to take over. So how many Canadians is it about my dead body feeling.”
John Osinski, a war of 1812, who lives in Middleburgh, Ny, and feels the separation from his Canadian friends.
“Oh, we missed the fencibles,” he said. “We need each other. We cannot tell our stories, our mutual stories, below. We cannot tell them without telling each other.”
Osinski, who often represents a New York militia department who voluntarily reported to the Federal Service in December 1812, said that he was optimistic that the current tensions between the countries will be solved.
“We have experienced this kind of things in our history in the past. And the war of 1812 has actually not achieved anything except for more destruction. And the people at the border were not really for what happened,” he said.
“I don’t suspect a moment that (the Trump administration) tries to make Canada the 51st state,” he said. “But (the term) causes difficult times and we just have to get through.”
Craig Russell, another long -time American friend of the Fencibles, who often plays the role of a Clinton County, New York, who plays militia officers.
“I’m 20 miles away from the border,” he said. “I play Tuba in a concert band in Montreal, a summer band. I do many things in both countries culturally and historically.”
“My thing is, let’s settle down and continue. It is just a crisis that it doesn’t have to be,” said Russell.
The friends hope that the tensions will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the War of Independence in 2026, perhaps long before.
Meaning of history
In the meantime, the fencibles are obliged to mark important battles on the Canadian side of the border.
The uniform and celebrating the history of the nation have become particularly useful for Moore.
“If you don’t actively hold on to your inheritance, it is lost,” said Moore. “Then when a question increases, should we join the states? Well, if you don’t know the country in which you are in you, it is difficult for you to answer this.
“But if you know your story, if you know what happened here, I think that you are more likely to say that this is a country that is worth defending – our history, our nation – and remain independent.”
