An 1874 painting by Henri Paul Motte depicts the Greek myth of the Trojan Horse . [Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art/Encyclopedia Brittanica]

Surprise attack: Canada’s own Trojan Horse tale

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT

Everyone seems to be talking about The Odyssey, this summer’s cinematic blockbuster based on Homer’s ancient poem. Among other things, the film portrays the story of the Trojan Horse, that legendary symbol of warfare deception.

The hero Odysseus and his Greek army are camped on a beach outside the gates of Troy, having laid siege to the city without success for a decade. To break the stalemate, their army pretends to sail away, while secretly retreating to a nearby island. Outside the gates of the fortified city, they leave behind a large and mysterious wooden horse.

Believing it to be a gift, the Trojans haul the horse into Troy, allowing Odysseus and other warriors hidden inside to emerge through a trap door, open the gates to their waiting army and destroy the city.

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Among the British war heroes honoured at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, is Captain Alexander Macnab of Upper Canada. A plaque dedicated to his memory is located near the tomb of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (pictured at left). [Diliff/Wikimedia]

Historian Tanya Grodzinski on Canada and the Napoleonic Wars, Part 2

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Within the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, rest two of the country’s most revered war heroes. To innumerable Britons, both the tomb of Admiral Horatio Nelson—the seafaring legend of Trafalgar—and that of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington—whose cunning carried the day at Waterloo—are sacred. Together, they embody Britain’s victory over France during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), epitomizing the martial prowess and imperial confidence that defined an era.

Nearby, however, the chamber holds a far humbler memorial—indeed an ode to an all-but-forgotten chapter in Canadian history and heritage.

“If you stand in the right spot,” said military historian Tanya Grodzinski, “you’ll see near Wellington’s tomb, a bust of [Canadian prime minister] John A. Macdonald, then a little rectangular wall stone dedicated to the memory of Captain Alexander Macnab.”

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An 1815 British illustration depicts the “Capture of the City of Washington.” [Smithsonian]

War of 1812: The general who set fire to the White House sets the record straight

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT​​​​​​​

On a recent visit to Halifax’s Old Burying Ground, the city’s oldest cemetery, Legion Magazine was surprised but delighted to encounter the ghost of Major-General Robert Ross, the British army commander who famously captured Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. He appeared distraught. Even so, we asked him for an interview, and the general’s spirit kindly agreed.

Legion Magazine: General Ross, why are you wandering among the gravestones? Shouldn’t you be inside your tomb?

Ross: I’ve been cooped up in there more than 200 years. Even a spectre needs to stretch his legs once in a while. Plus, these are disturbing times. Walking around calms my nerves.

LM: Disturbing? How so?

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An artist depicts the British attack at Fort Oswego on the New York shoreline of Lake Ontario in May 1814. The War of 1812 was part of the larger Napoleonic Wars. [U.K. National Army Museum/NAM.1971-02-33-289-1]

Historian Tanya Grodzinski on Canada and the Napoleonic Wars, Part 1

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

They called it the Great War, an industrial-scale conflict that spanned four years and more than 30 countries across the globe. When the Armistice was at last declared on Nov. 11, 1918, millions had died in its calamitous wake.

Over time, the so-called “war to end all wars” would instead be known as the First World War. The new name, however, was something of a misnomer.

“Great” it was, devastatingly so, but perhaps not the first. That title, assert countless chroniclers, goes to the 1756-1763 Seven Years’ War, which involved dozens of belligerents in theatres extending from Europe to the Americas to Asia and Africa. It would be followed by the Napoleonic Wars, a conflict in which numerous countries were again embroiled in desperate fighting that reached five oceans and at least four continents—the Canadian colonies of British North America among them.

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