Engagement at Bradley 1812: What to expect

The many re-enactors who will be at the Bradley Museum for the Engagement at Bradley are volunteers, hobbyists, and living history enthusiasts. They have spent countless years and hours exploring and learning their craft, whether it be as soldiers, sutlers or camp followers. They do it for a love of history, of camaraderie with fellow re-enactors, and to share stories from our past.

The history of the War of 1812 touches on many themes, including farmers and craftsmen taking up arms as militia to defend their homes and families, of families torn apart by strife and distance, tools and clothing from the colonial era, and of our Indigenous peoples who were allied to both sides in the conflict and whose interests were largely ignored in the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the conflict.

Our re-enactors and the events depicted at the Engagement at Bradley focus on one small part from the broader story of the War of 1812.

During the war, the Thompson family lived nearby the Bradley Museum. Cornelius and Rebecca Thompson, together with their children William, Augustus, Frederick, Amelia, Mary, Cornelius Oliver and Sarah had travelled from New Brunswick to settled in what would become the Clarkson area of Mississauga.

In 1813, with her husband engaged in business in Niagara and her sons enlisted in the militia, Rebecca witnessed American ships straying close to the shore. She “took aim with a musket and fired at a passing Yankee ship. She let it be known that the enemy would find no friendly shelter on the shore.” The passing American ship did not stop. But what if it had?

Members of the local militia would have had to mobilize a hasty defence of their farms to oppose the sudden American landing. Visitors will see small-scale tactical battle enactments and skirmishes, but will also have a chance to explore encampments and a historic farmstead from a family who served in the war.

Our aim at the Engagement at Bradley is to highlight aspects of life from the War of 1812, and to explore and honour local veterans who served in the war – there are 37 known veterans of the War of 1812 buried in Mississauga today.

We acknowledge the vital role that Indigenous peoples played during the war in defence of what would become Canada. There will be Indigenous sutlers taking part over the weekend, as well as Indigenous crafts. As a re-enactment hobby, there are few Indigenous re-enactors who focus on the War of 1812.