Ramparts at Hamilton Cemetery - Hamilton ON (Canada) - War of 1812 on Waymarking.com

Located in Hamilton Cemetery, you can find the remaining earthen ramparts erected by British troops during the war of 1812. This site is part of the Burlington Heights post of the British Army. It was here where American Troops would have attacked during June 1813, but instead British Troops left from here and took them by surprise at Stoney Creek on June 5th 1813(The Battle of Stoney Creek).
Although heavily eroded and slightly modified (three mausoleums were built into the hills in the mid 1800s, and at least one road was cut through the hill), the ramparts are still very much visible although they can easily be overlooked. The coordinates for this Waymark will bring you to a sign erected in the 1940s. The ramparts have been preserved since that time.

The sign erected at this site reads:
“THESE RAMPARTS WERE ERECTED BY THE BRITISH TROOPS DURING THE WAR OF 1812-14. FROM THIS PLACE ON THE NIGHT OF JUNE 5 1813, 700 MEN UNDER THE COMMAND OF LIEUT. COLONEL HARVEY MARCHED TO STONEY CREEK WHERE THEY SURPRISED AND ROUTED AN AMERICAN FORCE OF 3570 MEN, RIDDING THE NIAGARA PENINSULA OF THE INVADERS.”

According to one local "historian":
"There had been plans in the 1890s to alter the earthworks to such an extent that they would no longer be recognizable as regards their original purpose."
"The then-newly formed Wentworth Historical Society successfully lobbied the Hamilton City Council to pass a motion requiring the Cemetery Board to keep the earthworks intact."
(taken from (visit link)

Interestingly, the first recorded burials at this site were eight men convicted of treason during the war:
"Following the conclusion of the War of 1812, eight men convicted of treason were hung from temporary wooden gallows set up near the ramparts that had been constructed on Burlington Heights (the northern extremities of modern-day Hamilton). After being cut down and beheaded, the executed were then buried in an unmarked mass grave, becoming the first occupants of what would become Hamilton Cemetery less than thirty
years later."
(taken from (visit link)

Date Erected/Dedicated: on or before 1944 Who put it there? Private/Government?: Private: Head of the Lake Historical Society (successor organization to the Wentworth Historical Society) Location/Address: 777 York Blvd. Hamilton, Ontario Canada County/Province: Canada Website (related) if available: [Web Link] Rate the Site: Photos Will Be Uploaded: yes Hours or Restrictions if Appropiate: Not listed

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