Laura secord war of 1812 biography definition
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Biography of Laura Secord
Heritage Minute on Laura Secord
INGERSOLL, LAURA (Secord), heroine; b. 13 Sept. in Great Barrington, Mass., eldest daughter of Thomas Ingersoll and Elizabeth Dewey; d. 17 Oct. , at Chippawa (Niagara Falls, Ont.).
When Laura Ingersoll was eight, her mother died, leaving four little girls. Her father remarried twice and had a large family by his third wife. In the American War of Independence, Ingersoll fought on the rebel side, but in he immigrated to Upper Canada where he had obtained a township grant for settlement. His farm became the site of the modern town of Ingersoll. He ran a tavern at Queenston until his township (Oxford-upon-the-Thames) was surveyed. Within two years, about , Laura married James Secord, a young merchant of Queenston. He was the youngest son of a loyalist officer of Butler’s Rangers, who had brought h
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LAURA SECORD
HOMESPUN HEROINE
History is making other's experiences our own.
For bravery above and beyond the call of duty during the War of , Laura Secord earned the honour and distinction of being named the Heroine of Beaver Dams. Canadians take great pride in the name and the fame of the courageous woman, who at great fara to life and limb, she walked a considerable distance through field, forest and glen to warn the British military of an impending American attack.
Laura Ingersoll was born in Massachusetts. Her father Thomas fought on the side of the rebels, but in the family immigrated to Upper Canada, where they obtained a township grant. Thomas's farm became the site of the town of Ingersoll, Ontario. Laura and her family were 'Late Loyalists,' American immigrants that Henry Clay and his War Hawks had bragged, "Would welcome release from British tyranny," and would readily raise their ranks when the Yanks invaded Canada.
In Laura married James Secor
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After the American army invaded Upper Canada in May , the U.S. controlled the area along the Niagara River from Fort George to Fort Erie. The British army had retreated nearly thirty miles to regroup. Local inhabitants were left to fend for themselves under the American occupation.
In the war-torn town of Queenston, Laura Secord was nursing her wounded husband back to health when she heard about a planned American offensive. An American officer reported that the small British force guarding a storehouse at Beaver Dams could easily be captured with only men. On June 22, while the Americans mustered their troops, Secord decided she must warn the British.
American soldiers patrolled the roads between Queenston and Beaver Dams, so Secord was forced to walk across the countryside and through an area marked on maps as the “Black Swamp.” By early morning on June 23, she had walked nearly twenty miles.
As she approached Beaver Dams, native warriors emerged from their camps and stopped