Quilt Display at the Fort La Presentation War of 1812 Symposium

A selection of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 quilts will be on display as part of our exhibit at the upcoming Fourth Annual War of 1812 Symposium in Ogdensburg, NY on April 27-28, 2012.  We will also have a preview of some of our new War of 1812 theme interpretive panels on exhibit.  

For all the details and to register for the event visit the Fort La Presentation website at: www.fort1749.org 

Stop by and say hello at our booth at the Freight House Restaurant on Saturday.

The events seminars and presenters include:

Research leading to the discovery of Col. Zebulon Pike's encampment on the Saranac River:   Keith Herkalo is an 1812-era re-enactor and a founding member and current president of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association. As an amateur historian, his research is the catalyst behind the archaeological discovery of “Cantonment Saranac” and the location of the Grab Island graves. Mr. Heraklo edited The Journal of H.K. Averill, Sr.: An Account of the Battle of Plattsburgh and Early North Country Community and is the author of September 11th, 1814: The Battles of Plattsburgh. He is involved in restoration projects as the City Clerk for Plattsburgh.

The archaeology confirming the site of Col. Zebulon Pike's encampment on the Saranac River:   Timothy Abel, PhD, has interests spanning the prehistoric and early historic archaeology of the Great Lakes. Since 2003, he has conducted more than a dozen projects related to the military and domestic archaeology of the War of 1812 in northern New York. Recently his archaeological investigations have produced conclusive evidence in Plattsburgh of the encampment named “Cantonment Saranac” by its commanding officer Col. Zebulon Pike. Dr. Abel is an instructor at Jefferson Community College in Watertown, New York.

Medical practices during the War of 1812:   Gregory Baran, MD, a private practitioner and medical consultant in Kingston, Ontario since 1992, is the regimental surgeon for the re-enacted Regiment of Canadian Fencible Infantry and King's Royal Regiment of New York. He regularly presents on War of 1812 medical practices at Upper Canada Village and continues to consult as a medical historian with various bicentennial projects and productions related to the War of 1812. Dr. Baran collects antique medical equipment.

The discovery, investigation and the preservation of the Schooners Hamilton and the Scourge:   Nancy Binnie, MSc, is a Senior Conservation Scientist with Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa, Ontario. Her career began in 1988, and she has had a long association with the wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge. An experienced scuba diver, her scientific interests have also taken her on the recovery of historic aircraft, such as the Fokker Universal from Lake Charron in northern Manitoba, and the search for Avro Arrow models in Lake Ontario. Ms. Binnie is the author or co-author of many papers related to artefact conservation and preservation.  

The Battle of Queenston Heights and the role of Fort George in the War of 1812:   Ronald Dale served as the Superintendent of Niagara National Historic Sites, including Fort George and Brock's Monument for 14 years, before being appointed the 1812 Bicentennial Project Manager for Parks Canada to develop a strategic plan for federal bicentennial commemorations.  As an historian he is the author of The Invasion of Canada: Battles of the War of 1812, The Fall of New France: How the French lost a North American Empire 1754-1763 and Niagara-on-the-Lake: Its Heritage and Its Festival. He resides in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. (Featured in the PBS War of 1812 production.)

Planning for and conducting of War in North America, 1808-1815:   Major John Grodzinski is an assistant professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. His doctoral thesis is The Constraints of Strategy: Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost as Commander-in-Chief of British North America during the War of 1812. His MA discussed the War of 1812 on the Upper St Lawrence River. Since joining the army in 1983, he has held several appointments with his regiment, Lord Strathcona’s Horse, and various staff positions. Major Grodzinski conducts War of 1812 battlefield tours for the Canadian military. (Featured in the PBS War of 1812 production.)

Teaching the War of 1812 as a civil war:   Melissane Schrems, PhD, is an assistant professor of history at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where she is a member of the Native American Studies Advisory Board and teaches courses focused on Native American and Colonial American history. Dr. Schrems doctoral dissertation was on the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians on Cape Cod, and her minor fields were Native American history, the history of Colonial America and Comparative Slavery. She is on the board of the Fort La Présentation Association.

Abbé Piquet and the legacy of Indigenous/Mohawk alliances during the War of 1812:   Scott Stevens, PhD, is the Director of the Newberry Library’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies in Chicago. His research interests concern the diplomatic and cultural strategies of resistance among North American Indians in the face of colonialism, as well as the political and aesthetic issues surrounding museums and the indigenous cultures they display. Dr. Stevens is currently working on a book-length research project entitled Indian Collectibles: Encounters, Appropriations, and Resistance in Native North America. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation.