Strange Fatality: The Battle of Stoney Creek, 1813

I'd been looking forward to this book since I saw an article in the Stoney Creek News several months ago. (Ironically, my brother Stateside was able to get his hands on a copy before me.) I've spent almost half my life in Stoney Creek. (I did the mental calculations just this past weekend, walking through the parts of the town where the book's battle took place.) I spent most of my formative years here. I played in Stoney Creek the actual body of water, trekked around the Devil's Punch Bowl, the Bruce Trail is a route I run as an adult, most of my screenplays have some element of Stoney Creek to them, my current novel is set here......and through all of this, throughout my entire life, the Battle of Stoney Creek has always been there, as social underpinning, and the Monument in so many ways, (with the changes going on in the 'City of Hamilton' of which we are now -regretfully- a part) is THE visual mnemonic for the town.So it was no small surprise to read Mr. Elliott's telling of this historical event, and reap the benefits of his exhaustively researched and meticulously laid-out efforts. (Before I go any further, I do want to express my gratitude that he's spent the time and effort he has in 'getting it right'. It's no small feat that he's accomplished, gathering what he's gathered, presenting it in so cohesive and cogent a way. Having done some research myself in my own writing efforts, I can appreciate entirely what lengths he quite clearly went to in producing 'Strange Fatality'. So the most effusive kudos to him.)I'm no fan of war.And I'll stop that tack right there, before it turns into a polemic.Even having confessed this, I was compelled to read this history, and to keep reading it once I'd begun. Mr. Elliott made my participation that much easier by not constructing some kind of paean to war, to 19th century warfare. It was descriptive, yes; he presents just enough detail to accomplish the requisite accuracy, but doesn't get bogged down in the absolute minutiae. Because he goes after the human elements with almost as much dedication as he does the military and political ones, the result isn't strictly a piece of cold reportage. It's a solid, studious piece of 'fact clearing-up'-age.However...This is the third book of historical non-fiction I've read in the past month, and I suspect that when it's done well, it's understandable when someone says 'I don't read fiction; why do I need to read something that's been made up, when there are so many well-written true stories out there?'. But I've read some of these great retellings of history, and I've read less-than-great retellings of history...and the latter make me wish that their authors had taken a novelistic approach.'Strange Fatality' is not the piece of captivating reading I was hoping for. I'd like to say that, because I now know the 'truth' behind the Battle of Stoney Creek (that it's actually not a piece of military wizardry, but rather a mélange of missteps, mistakes, a dearth of talent and a whole lot of luck), that my disappointment can be attributed primarily to the integrity of the facts of the day. (That is, in the end, it wasn't the stuff of particularly high drama.) But unfortunately, there's more to my disappointment than merely 'the materials he was given', referring of course, to Mr. Elliott.Anyone who sets out to 'explain' or 'relate' an historical occurrence, is, by definition, a storyteller. One of the best I've come across, where presenting notable events or developments, is Simon Winchester. There is a glee that comes off the page, an energy that gets transmitted when Winchester is doing what he does best, bringing all of his considerable talents of researcher, historian and *storyteller* to bear on his subject. I didn't find any of this with 'Fatality', and for me, this was the tome's greatest downfall. (Second to this, and contributing to it, is a decided lack of editorial oversight.)A great storyteller can transport you even with the most threadbare of tales. They can elevate the so-so to the transcendent. As I recently expressed in a tale of my own: 'it's all in the telling'.I am grateful that my hometown has been so well-served by Mr. Elliott's 'Strange Fatality'. I only wish that its delivery had been as profound (in an entertainment sense) as the event itself turned out to be in regards to how the rest of the War of 1812 unfolded, and that almost a century and a half later, I was able to grow up here, in Stoney Creek, as a free and proud Canadian.(My personal rating: 7/10)

After General Henry Dearborn' s capture of Fort George on 27th May 1813,Brigadier Generals John Chandler and William Winder pursued the retreating British forces supported by Colonel James Burn,2nd US Light Dragoons.On 6th June 1813, between 2 and 3:30 am,Lt Colonel John Harvey led a daring raid,by the 49th and 8th Foot on the American encampment at Stoney Creek,initially successful ,the American infantry from 5th,16th,23rd and 25th Regiments staggered the attackers by a heavy fire from higher ground,forcing them to retreat ,while the fate Upper Canada hangs in the balance,Major Charles Plenderleath ,49th Foot,leads a small group to attack the US 2nd Artillery position in the center of the American line.The British capture the guns and both Generals Chandler and Winder and retreat,the next day Colonel James Burn orders a retreat leaving his dead unburied and his wounded on the field.The British recover and pursue the the Americans ,supported by their Indian allies.The American army retreated all the way to Fort George,and the 1813 offensive collapsed by 9th June,Another battle on the 24th June ,between the Iroquois Indians and Colonel Charles Boerstler force ,comprising 14th ,6th and 23rd US Infantry regiments results in the surrender of 492 men,2 guns and the colours of the14th US Infantry regiment.The Author described the differences between the 2 armies,the character of the various officers,some resolute others incompetent or unlucky ,the illustrations and photos with short biography enliven the book and held my interest ,the battle of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams are not well known in the literature of the War of 1812.I found the incident of the recapture of a brass cannon at Stoney Creek, which was taken by the young Major Henry Dearborn at Saratoga in1777 a peculiar twist of fate! A thoroughly good read!

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