Lake Huron's British Naval Base after the War of 1812
The United States and Great Britain have usually been allies since U.S. independence
except during the War of 1812. Then they were bitter foes, a legacy preserved at Discovery Harbour. At this recreated military post in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada, visitors experience the history of the Royal Navy on the Great Lakes. Discovery Harbour and similar posts were most useful in peacetime, when they supported exploratory expeditions and hydrographic endeavors. But this facility was established to protect Canada in wartime.On 1 June 1812, President James Madison asked Congress to declare war on Britain. Neither side could gain the upper hand throughout that year, but everything changed when opposing squadrons on Lake Erie met at Put-in-Bay on 10 September 1813.
This single engagement gave the U.S. Navy mastery over Lake Erie, forcing the British to abandon most of Upper Canada's southwest and severing their tenuous links to the U.S. Northwest Territory. Repercussions rippled throughout the Great Lakes, throwing the Royal Navy off balance and causing it to maintain a strictly defensive posture on Lakes Huron and Michigan.
In the aftermath, Britain began to seriously contemplate the need for a full naval base on Lake Huron to secure its western lines of communication. In the autumn of 1814, Royal Navy Captain Edward Collier was ordered to Penetanguishene to establish one. Even after the war ended in 1815, work on the base continued. The British had vowed not to be caught napping again.
The base was at its zenith in the 1820s, when it was home to 20 vessels and more than 70 people. In 1828 the Boundary Commission awarded Lake Huron's Drummond Island to the United States. The British Army garrison there was then transferred to Penetanguishene and for several years shared the facilities with the Royal Navy.
At the time, they included extensive wharves and slips for the maintenance of vessels, storehouses for all manner of military goods, a primitive sawmill, a blacksmith shop, separate barracks for soldiers and sailors, and a hospital. This is the era to which modern visitors return when they enter Discovery Harbour, a living-history museum consisting of a dozen reconstructed buildings along a 1
-mile stretch of scenic Georgian Bay shoreline.One of the key buildings was the home of Lieutenant (later Admiral) Sir Henry Bayfield, who spent 1817
23 surveying Lake Huron, and its infamous 30,000 islands, and then Lake Superior. But perhaps the highlight of the park at Penetanguishene is the officers' quarters, the only original building and one hailed as a prime example in Ontario of Georgian architecture. Recently having undergone a multiyear restoration, it brings to life the lavish lifestyle that officers of the period enjoyed in direct contrast to the Spartan conditions found in the barracks. While the building was made of limestone and designed to withstand attack, there's an elegance to it that allows one to picture the officers' life of croquet, entertaining, reading, and recitals.Moored nearby are two reconstructed tall ships, HMS Tecumseth and HMS Bee, faithful replicas of their early 19th-century namesakes. The originals were the first ships built at Penetanguishene, rolling down their slips in 1817. They were the largest Royal Navy vessels ever constructed in Canada above Niagara, measuring 43 feet long with a burthen of 40 tons.
Guided tours offer the best way to enjoy the site, as knowledgeable guides provide entertaining insights and anecdotes that visitors would otherwise miss. For example, at the sawmill we learned the origin of the word "underdog." A primitive sawpit design, the mill was a two-floored building crewed by two men. The one above mostly guided the saw, and the man below did all the sawing. He had the worst of it. His shoulders aching, sweating from his labor, with sawdust in his face, it's no wonder he was called "the underdog."
After interacting with costumed interpreters and exploring the buildings, visitors can enjoy a fine dinner at the waterside Captain Roberts' Table. Later, the King's Wharf Theater provides entertainment throughout the summer. An attraction of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Discovery Harbour is operated by Huronia Historical Parks.
Andrew Hind is an Ontario, Canada
based freelance writer specializing in history and travel.Discovery Harbour
93 Jury Drive
Penetanguishene, Ontario, L9M 1G1, Canada
Open 1000 to 1700, last admission 1630
25 May to 30 June, Monday
Friday26 June to 5 September, seven days
Admission prices range from $4.25 to $6.00; free for children under five.